New Creation

The same power that conquered the grave lives in me!

(Thursday, June 7th 2012-- This blog post comes from what God taught me yesterday through a Mark Driscoll sermon, a lady named Cynthia, the book of Ephesians, and a couple friends.)

I'm prone to wander; my flesh is weak. I know that my true identity is in Christ... but I forget.

The term "In Christ" is used 38 times by Paul in his letter to the church in Ephesus. (Instead of reading this blog you should read Ephesians #sogood.)

I'm just a sinner saved by grace, nothing more, nothing less, nothing else.

I thought that was my identity. But if we look at ourselves we will not have an accurate identity. Once we are saved, we are to look to Jesus, and our identity should be in Christ. We are actually a new creation. A new person. We can have a new life. My struggle lately has been continuing in my old ways and old patterns and forgetting who I am, and whose I am. Continuing to live not as free, but as a slave. God is convicting me of this because it was for freedom that Christ set us free.

Our hope... is to not be defined as a sinner, but as a saint. In Christ.
Paul doesn't start by calling us guilty. "You people that Jesus loved, died for, made brand new, gave a new nature with new desires and a new mind and a new power by the Holy Spirit to put off an old sinful way of life and put on a new Christian way of life. (Mark Driscoll)"

Last weak I realzied through a Bible study I am doing that I am totally needy, sinful, unable to do good on my own, or earn acceptance. I suck. But the good news is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the answer to my issues, my sin, my idols, my feelings... Jesus is the Way, Truth, and Life. I must preach the Gospel to myself every day. Every moment, every second, because that is how much I need it. I need it to breathe. It is my breath. It's the air I breathe. Without it, i'm suffocating, dying, dead in sin.

I'm prone to go back to my dead self and live in prison, but God has chosen me, adopted me, and called me to live like a child of God. What I just realized is that I can do nothing to earn or deserve this- free gift. My word is receive.

I love Peter- the disciple. He actually believed that He could do what Jesus did, so he stepped out of the boat cause he wanted to walk on the water like Jesus. As he started sinking, Jesus asked him why he doubted himself.

This is where I am. But God is speaking truth to this lie that Peter and I both believe as we follow Jesus. I praise God for my struggles, adversity, and weakness- for when I am weak, then I am strong. In Christ.

Truth: The same power that conquered the grave, lives in me. The same love that rescued the world, lives in me. The Spirit of God, the Spirit that helped Jesus live a perfect life... lives in me. God became a man and lived by His Holy Spirit. Baptized in Holy Spirit. Remained in Him. Jesus' whole life was empowered by the Spirit- even when He was sinned against.

While we know we are sinners, we need to remember the Truth... We can ask the Holy Spirit to help us become like Jesus. As we follow Christ, trying to know Him and be like Him, the Holy Spirit is who will transform us and help us to become more like Christ. It is actually impossible for us to be like Jesus by our own strength; but the Holy Spirit working in and through us can make us like Jesus. (This truth just touched my heart yesterday. #sogood)

How has Jesus responded to you? As Jesus responds to me, I can respond to others the way Jesus has responded to me. Because I am loved, I'm able to love.

Driscoll talks a lot about relationships and being hurt and wounded in this sermon. Even things in the past... if they still hurt, then it's in the present. Minimizing feelings diminishes the work of Jesus... because Jesus died for it- it's a big deal. We need to talk about how we are feeling- stop lying to ourselves and others- and begin to be truthful. We need to say what is true.

I love how Mark Driscoll talks about emotions. I have been condemning myself for my feelings lately, because I know that they are not truth and that I shouldn't give them as much power as I do. However... emotions mean we aren't emotionally dead, but still alive. We need to give ourselves permission to feel. (That is huge. #sogood)

The key I think... is "In your anger do not sin..." Our feelings are valid. They can even be good, especially when we feel what God feels. But we cannot give the devil a foothold. Satan can empower words and deeds to make them more powerful than they should be. The only access that satan has to believers is the access believers give him through sin. Don't invite the devil into our words and deeds and relationships- he will empower bitterness and anger and hatred to escalate and divide people. Don't let satan enable and empower sin.

**Don't just think about your hurt... think about your enemy and how he is using your hurt to multiply your hurt and using you to hurt others. Deceptive, demonic trick.**

Old way vs. New way:
We each have an old way of thinking and acting and have patterns of reacting. In Christ we can have new habits and new responses and new patterns. We are a new creation in Christ. We have new power through the Holy Spirit to put into motion new responses to old frustrations. I was reminded that I don't have to act like my parents or grandparents, or act like the old Laura, but I can act like Jesus because of the Holy Spirit.

#calledtocommunity
We are fellow sinners, and together by the grace of God we can be like Jesus. We can respond by power of the Holy Spirit. We can love like Jesus.

I have Jesus. I can respond to others the way Jesus has responded to me. The Holy Spirit wants us to be like Jesus. Jesus modeled responses that were truthful, brave, emotional, passionate, and His words were always life giving! Our former nature... wants to counter-punch, but our new nature is love. If you think you can't do it- you are right- you can't. And if you are able to do it, it's a miracle. Holy Spirit has to enable you to do it.

You only can through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit!

***Driscoll calls it a ship that sets it's sail. The wind is what comes and powerfully compels it towards its destination. This is what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Repentence, humility, new identity in Christ- that is setting your sail and asking the HS to make you go in the direction of Jesus.

Paul isn't telling us to do something, because it has already been done. Jesus did it for you. The pressure is off. Let the Holy Spirit enable you to do what Jesus did. Let God do something in and through you.

Holy Spirit can empower you to respond in a miraculous way! Invite the HS to change your behavior to help make you more like Jesus.



I'm going to be transparent. (Can you do that in a blog?)

I have wounds and hurts- I'm a mess. I believe in my heart and soul that I'm unlovable. Deeper than that- I don't even beleive that I deserve to be lovable.

The Holy Spirit is working and moving in my heart. Miracles are happening, strongholds are being broken, Truth is being revealed... I don't think satan likes this because He definitely attacked me yesterday. The very thing I was learning is where he snuck in and put lies and self-doubt to make me sink, even though I had stepped out of the boat and started to walk on water. It was very frustrating to go back to my former way of life, and react and respond not like a child of God, but as an unlovable ragamuffin who is scared and can't trust. I had forgotten. I forgot who God was. I forgot what God did. I forgot what God said. I forgot who I was. #whatasheepmove #baaa

BUT greater is He that is in me than he who is in the world. And even as I sinned, and felt defeated... I believed that satan won the battle... I'm thankful for a God who loves me and saves me. Not just for eternity, but every single day! Satan intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. (Gen 50:29) The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy... which is what if felt like happened last night. But Jesus has come so that I may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) I cannot forget that He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ. (Phil 1:6) So this means that I am still in process and a work in progress. I don't need to let satan condemn by setback. Therefore there is NOW no condemntaion for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1).

Satan meant it for bad, but God used it for good.

Because in that moment... I prayed. And I confessed to God my sin. I admitted my need. I asked God to help me through His Holy Spirit because I was completely unable to do it in my own strength.

The main lie that I am believing and living out of is that I'm unlobale. Even deeper... I don't deserve to be lovable. Satan tried to prove me a sinner last night, prove me unlovable... and he almost succeeded.

*******<3*******
I didn't realize this until afterwards when I was talking to a friend.... but what had happened was God was revealing His love for me. He was giving me grace. It was an opportunity for God to forgive me and love me. I even let a friend love me, too. This was a battle won by me and Jesus. Maybe God didn't want me to "respond perfectly" but he wanted me to be loved. If I would have responded the way I wanted or thought I should- then I would have been functioning in my old ways of earning and deserving love- in essence, rejecting love and rejecting the gift God gave me, rejecting the gospel. He wanted me to feel love, receive love, and accept love so I could believe the Truth, that I am lovable. He wanted to give me a gift of love and grace. And he wanted to show me that he loves me even when I'm not deserving it or earning it. It was a little victory. A little miracle. I loved it.

#receive



(Mark Driscoll- How to Hug a Vampire)