The Clear Gospel, (Freedom from Fear)

Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your heart and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

Proverbs 3:5 AMPC

Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ [give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself into His keeping] and you will be saved

Acts 16:31 AMPC

This isn't a 12 step program

There is no cost

No approval required by anyone before you trust in Him

There's no gauntlet to run

No hoops to jump through first

Are you afraid that it's too simple?

Take in and do every word in the above verses and you will be rocked by the greatest Power that you will ever know.

The Ties That Bind

We might all have certain items on the shelf of our heart that are sitting there to be more fully understood and used at a later time.

I witnessed a process where sin came in, and the sin used doubt like a wrecking ball, overtaking and becoming completely hopeless.  Then, the depth of the truth of liberty in the Gospel of Our Salvation was simply believed in and life changing freedom immediately resulted.

Still, there were those who were blind to what had just happened and some were those in charge of "handling" the incident.  After all, it happened to young people who were born again.  As the situation handlers struggled with the young people's previous behavior, they saw the depth of sin but could not see the stunning power of God that had just changed lives in front of them. They had been able to preach about God's power but could not comprehend that the same power that creates a new nature in one born again is the same power that delivers a heart that knows Jesus Christ as Savior but doubts His all sufficiency, and is consequently stuck in a cycle of sin.

The process turned a little ugly as certain rules were set up, certain expectations were raised and certain demands were required.  Scriptural logic was used to batter the soul of the dear ones who, by this time, were already free.  I kept thinking, "There's something wrong here," but didn't know how to define it.  Besides that, the scriptural logic was flawless.

[As a side note, those of the world love to observe these ones who claim Christ as Savior but sin grievously.  They point a finger and laugh because these dear ones aren't perfect after all.  The world sees it as an excuse to continue in their own life of godlessness while proclaiming personal self-righteousness.]

I had been able to conclude that the "something wrong here" was related to the leadership lacking understanding of the process of The Gospel but could not define what happened.  Then, in a Bible study, someone made a comment that caused me to reach for that shelf to finish the missing definition.

It was the story of the demon possessed man and the herd of swine.  A brother pointed out that he was bound in three ways:
(1) Bound by sin,
(2) bound by demons, (both of those resulting in the most terrible inner condition possible),
and then,
(3) bound in chains, (man's reaction).

Finally, there it was.  Number 3!  Our own brethren, reacting in a way that didn't regard the Gospel of our freedom, were tending to do the same with those who had sinned in our midst.  Binding with rules, expectations, demands, and Old Testament law.

(1) Sin binds.
The Lord Jesus releases from sin, but
(2) doubting His all sufficiency binds spiritually
and then we, as brethren who are not of this world, react like men of the world and
(3) bind with the chains of requirements.  That is, requirements to prove that *I am enough, not that HE is enough.

*Yes, dear one, you said it as you entered freedom.  The Gospel in three words - forever.

Trust ME

God's message to the world, unmistakably woven throughout His Word, neglected as a general human rule:

"Trust ME."

Trust in the Lord with all your heart...
It is better to trust and take refuge in the Lord...
...how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God.
...He knows those who trust and take refuge in Him.
What time I am afraid I will trust in You.
Pray...without doubt.
He shall not be afraid of evil tidings; his heart is firmly fixed, trusting in the Lord.
For surely I will deliver you...because you have put your trust in Me...

We are at peace if we treasure and earnestly remember these words.

We are rich if we collect all of those sayings and so many more just like them in our hearts while we read through His entire Book. 

All of these nebulous titles that we frequently speak of but don't really know how to explain:  "The Gospel," "The Glory of God," "His power."  These all have their meaning, and our understanding of them is complete, when we take Him at His word and trust Him.

Old People

"Old people" who have learned to be content in any state of existence because of their confident trust in Jesus Christ their Lord are described right here:

The [uncompromisingly] righteous shall flourish like the palm tree [be long-lived, stately, useful, and fruitful]; they shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic, stable, durable, and incorruptible]. 

Planted in the house of the Lord, they shall flourish in the courts of our God.

[Growing in grace] they shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be full of sap [of spiritual vitality] and [rich in the] verdure [of trust, love, and contentment].

[They are living memorials] to show that the Lord is upright and faithful to His promises.
Psalm 92:12-15 Amplified (Classic)

It's likely that you know a handful of people fitting this description.

It's God's intention for you to be the same way.

Power

In seeing God's power we better comprehend His glory.  Without this comprehension, how can we confidently trust in Him?

Pay attention to those times of deliverance in your life that you think are only remarkable to you.  His power was manifesting itself on your behalf.  Watch His powerful deliverance of others around you as they choose to trust Him.  See His obvious power to overcome the impossible in us.

Earnestly remember how He has delivered you in so many ways since your youth.

Then, as a believer, you can say:

"The Lord God is my Strength,
my personal bravery,
and my invincible army;
He makes my feet like hinds' feet
and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk]
and make spiritual progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]."

Habakkuk 3:19 (Amp Classic)

Deliverance Through the Faith of Others?

"Then they came, bringing to Him a paralyzed man, who was being carried by four men.  When they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus; and when they had dug out an opening, they let down the mat on which the paralyzed man was lying.  When Jesus saw their [active] faith [springing from confidence in Him], He said to the paralyzed man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."
Mark 2:4 (Amp)

We need to pray with active faith for deliverance for our brethren:
Deliverance from spiritual bondage,
disease,
wasting fear,
servants of the evil one,
physical disorders and the mental disorders that they cause.

When Jesus saw the active faith of the four men springing from confidence in Him, He delivered the paralyzed man.

Pray with confidence for your brethren AND your friends who are not born again.

Integrity Defined

Occasionally you might hear something like this; "The Lord is holding up His end of the deal, how about you?"  Instead of feeling undue pressure and misplaced shame, the confident reply could be, "I am walking in my integrity."

Bold, isn't it?  Maybe not what the person asking the question is looking for in an answer.

What is integrity?  Unless we are having a proud moment, the first thought might be that we don't have much - if any - integrity.  That could be true if we are using the world's definition or even the definition that our brethren might hold over our heads.

The Final Authority defines it this way, (more clearly, I believe, when read in the Amplified Version):
"Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity; 

I have [expectantly] trusted in, leaned on, and relied on the Lord without wavering and I shall not slide."

Psalm 26:1

Sure, "holding up our end" is not always easy. We make it harder because we might value self imposed busyness or buy into the pressure of living up to the misguided expectations of others. Those two influences pressure us to take our integrity into our own hands.

Trust Him and don't waver.  That's His expectation.  That is integrity.

As always, His way with us is simplicity and freedom.

Choices

"Who is the man who reverently fears and worships the Lord?  Him shall He teach in the way that he should choose."
Psalm 25:12 Amp.

This verse shows liberty regarding our choices, as ones who love God.  It also shows that the Lord will teach us in that way that we choose.

So many project negativity on God in that He will most likely have to painfully redirect us from our choices when most often He very positively uses those decisions that we make to gently teach us and reveal even more of His careful love and awesome glory.

I've seen a boy and girl choose each other at a young age.  Despite substantial condemnation of their choice the Lord taught them in that way that they chose.  The two of them are now beautifully one and the Lord's love, power and glory have been generously displayed.

Have confidence in Him, knowing that the way you chose is an opportunity for Him to teach His everlasting ways.  Freedom to choose is a gift and an open opportunity.

Why?  Because He is enough.

A Thankful Heart

It occurred to me that our thankfulness to God is an expression of our seeing of the unseen.

He faithfully takes us by the right hand and leads us through the impossibilities.  He reveals His delivering power over the obstacles that are impossible for us to overcome.  We see this activity and our confidence is boosted, doubt flows away and our hearts react with thankfulness.

So take courage.  Your thankfulness is a deep expression of faith in Him.  It is worship and it is an expression to others of His glory.  You are part of His kingdom of priests as you tell of your thankfulness to others. 

All You Have to Do Is Wake Up

"God provides.  He's like, 'I'm going to do everything for you, all you have to do is wake up every morning and be who you are.'"
(Kentucky Singer Jordan Smith on God's faithful dealings with him.)

This isn't a statement of slackness.
It's a statement of faith.

Not everyone is able to do what they love every day.  We find ourselves having to do something in order to eat and have shelter over our heads.  Either way, do we trust Him like Jordan?  That trust is essential.

He made you who you are and put you where you are.  Whatever work there is to do to put food on the table, whatever assignment is your necessity, the instructions are the same.  As we trust in Him, "All you have to do is wake up every morning."

How to Win

Simple Food Guide

"The longer something is in man's hands, the more failure we see."
J. Redekop

This statement is certainly true for man's handling of God's pure truth.
However, it is just as valid for man's handling and "improving" the food that we eat.

GMO food is somehow better?
Processing food and adding to it makes it more nutritious?
Refining is an improvement?

Please, don't go along with the failure.

High Yield Seeds

The foundation of belief* in Jesus Christ, confidence and complete trust in Him and the sure faith that makes it possible for His power to work in our lives isn’t just a truth in Romans and part of a couple of other books. It is seeded throughout scripture in its entirety. 

Seeing, understanding and accepting the power of this solid foundation compels the one who believes to properly use scripture, view things in the true reality of the unseen, understand the difficulties of those roundabout, and have compassion on those who are born again but still spiritually bound.

* Give yourself up to Him, take yourself out of your own keeping and entrust yourself entirely into His keeping.

A View of a Point

As in a play or a movie, there are always actors that play a distasteful role. When the production is over however, that role was a necessary part of the story and those actors stand as respected players of the part without which the story would not be complete.

I am to unconditionally love my brethren in Christ that play that distasteful role.

Epicness

We go to weddings and most of us feel the thrill of the epic event.  It's emotional and reminds some of us of the Lord Jesus who pursued us until we trusted in Him.  We became His and gained everlasting freedom.

After it all dies down, everyone goes home and life begins its mundane and normal patterns.
But that is where the epicness really is.  Moving through the mundane and normal with trust and confidence in Him, overcoming the world one small step at a time.

Who is he that overcomes the world but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

His quiet deliverance through the daily grind is the supporting canvas that will display God's glory and lasting power in our lives.  Those small insignificant moves that seem pointless, the existence through the tiring moments that don't produce tangible benefit.  Knowing that He is enough for everything from the dramatic to the dull.

Father Wounds Healed

Kate Hudson is a celebrity who is known to have father wounds from her biological dad.   He didn't turn out to be someone she could trust.

Recently, when she had an outing in the wild with Bear Grylls, Kate summed up her experience with Bear near the end of the recorded episode.  She directly targeted what has been missing in her life:
"When you have someone you can trust, it's everything," she said as she broke down emotionally.

There is Someone we can trust and He is everything.  His arms are wide open for you to believe and run into them.  You might be born again.  Are you still struggling with inner difficulties, not trusting in Him to be everything - really everything?

Thoughts come in that you have to be in charge of your own righteousness.  "I have to do better, others are telling me so."  You are convinced that your own "right hand" must deliver you.  Apparently, that isn't happening.

That is not your job.

Sadly, our own right hand can only work self harm, (as it also burdens those around us).

Give up on yourself and be free.  Only Jesus Christ is enough to deliver.  Truly trust Him, His love, goodness and power.  Be richly rewarded.  See how He is all sufficient to heal father wounds and anything else that enslaves us.

Baggage

A local radio show host spoke of his close relationship to his father in law.  While explaining their ability to communicate so freely and get along so well, he made reference to the fact that the father in law's relationship to him was perhaps closer than some of his own children, "because of baggage."

Hmmm.  Doesn't that highlight the need for a parent to be Christ-like, gracious, loving, understanding and compassionate to the children?  We sacrifice those attributes too often so we can be firm, preventative and corrective.  Behavior is emphasized over faith.  We have a better chance of getting it right when we become a grandparent.

When the Lord personally addressed one of His followers about something didn't He usually highlight a lack of faith?

A dear friend alienated one of his daughters and damaged his relationship with the other by his reaction to what was wrong with their character when they were younger.  Now that he is a grandparent, he was able to pour out his heart in letters to both daughters and much of the baggage has been left behind.

The Bible doesn't address a solution specifically for baggage issues that were created by parents.
But, it does.
Just like absolutely everything else we have to trust that He is enough.

Understanding Samson

Samson was such a bad man.
(Judges 16:1)

Samson prayed with understanding brought about by faith.
(Judges 15:18)

Samson appears in the faith chapter.
(Hebrews 11:32)

We are stunned that he appears in the faith chapter with all the other great men of God.
(...no scripture to support this bewilderment)

We busy ourselves looking for behavior.
God sees faith.

"You [set yourselves up to] judge according to the flesh (by what you see).  [You condemn by external, human standards.]  I do not [set Myself up to] judge or condemn or sentence anyone.
John 8:15 Amp.

Quiz

Multiple choice:

Abraham ___________________ and He counted it to him for righteousness.

   (a) prayed to God
   (b) obeyed God
   (c) carefully followed rules that he knew would please God
   (d) believed God

Extra credit reading:

"Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people;"
Psalm 62:8 Amp

The Little Box of Godly Order

Some things that we think are proper godly order are really our opinion of what needs to happen so we don't get annoyed or pushed outside of our preconceived notions.

He is enough for that as well.

Losing Doubt or Caging Ourselves

This blog started on March 19, 2009 with some thoughts on confidence.  Here we are almost 5 years later with a minute-by-minute need for confidence in Him.  Apparently, this is a lifetime work.  As you grow in the Lord, confidence in His true all sufficiency is a necessity that will always need to be increased.  Once you think you might have the belief-and-no-doubt thing figured out, something will come along to prove you wrong.

Doubting and belief don't work together in pleasing Him.
You can't walk in the Spirit with doubt.
You can't pray in the Spirit with doubt.
You can't put on the full armor of God with doubt.
We can't see the glory of God for what it is unless doubt is overcome by belief.

Speaking for myself, it seems easier to doubt than to sin in any other way:
Stuck in traffic, needing to get somewhere, starting to feel stressed because... I'm doubting that He is enough for this too.
My day is "falling apart" with errors, losses, non-productivity, my own wasted time, etc...  Doubting, again, that He is enough.
I have failed as a parent.  Look at what my kids are thinking and doing!
If I had just done better at school, I would have been able to...

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."  Romans 8:28  I know that, don't you think I know that?!
Well, doubt does come easy and that verse says "ALL things."  That includes everything from little annoyances to the devastating tragedies of life.

Martha was believing but doubting and Jesus told her this, "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  John 11:40

Peter was believing, but started doubting and heard this, "Oh you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

We might be quick to point out the unbelief or doubt driven failings in others who are born again while we are not living in the promise that "He who has begun a good work in you will be faithful to complete it..." Therefore, we tend to pray for them with doubt in our hearts.

Too many of us think that we've been fully believing since day one; that day we were born again.  Yet, every day it seems we are being proven wrong but not noticing; then wondering, "What is the problem that is keeping me from walking in the Spirit?" Unrecognized doubt has us caged.  We are supposed to be free.  Could it be that our tendency to doubt is under emphasized in teaching, (it is certainly not under emphasized in God's Word), and unnoticed in our own self judgement?  Notice that believing comes before hope and the power of the Holy Spirit in us:
"Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the Holy Spirit."  Romans 15:13

"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!"

Praying Effectively

"And whatever you ask for in prayer, having faith and [really] believing, you will receive."  Matthew 21:22

"Only it must be in faith that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting)...For truly, let not such a person imagine that he will receive anything [he asks for] from the Lord,"  James 1:6 and 7

The two verses above simply express the foundation of effective prayer.  How often would we hear the following spoken to us if the Lord were standing nearby as He was with His disciples:

"O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"  Matthew 14:31

How easily the foundation of effective prayer is eroded by doubt or unbelief.

There are the times that we pray thinking that we are believing.  In the back of the mind, however, we are harboring thoughts of unbelief:  "Lord, deliver this person from the evil that has him/her trapped."  "You know, this person is in so deep for so long, there's just no way that they could ever get out of it now.  Hope they do, though."

We need to pray this most important prayer from the Gospel of Mark:

At once the father of the boy gave [an eager, piercing, inarticulate] cry with tears, and he said, Lord, I believe! [Constantly] help my weakness of faith!

Mark 9:24

Drive By Preaching

The Body of Christ preaches very well on right living, what godly living looks like and how to get our young people to be prepared for presenting Christ to others as they grow in Him. 

How about the many young people, too many middle aged and some elderly who are listening to the preaching, thinking that it's good but there is something that is not right about themselves?  They sometimes doubt that they are even born again.  They experience great difficulty battling their own sinful selves and believe this godly living is something they can't achieve because they know themselves to be especially bad.

These dear ones are not established.  Too many times, there is a lack of preaching on belief, full belief, in the Gospel of our salvation.  The book of Isaiah says, "If you will not believe, surely you will not be established..."

At the heart of this is real unspoken error, (yes - error).  It is the assumption that when you are first born again, you assume full confidence in Christ as your all sufficient One.  That is almost never true.  Certainly your head might tell you that but what does your heart say when the trials come, or when you come face to face with your own evil self.  Have you been able, through belief, to move from the doubt as expressed in Romans 7 to walking in the Spirit as expressed in Romans 8?  If not, you cannot be established.

"We need to pray...," is preached.  Praying is necessary, but how about praying with faith?  We drive right by that foundational need.  James says, "...let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.  Only it must be IN FAITH that he asks with no wavering (no hesitating, no doubting).  For the one who wavers (hesitates, doubts) is like the billowing surge out at sea that is blown hither and thither and tossed by the wind...[For being as he is] a man of two minds (hesitating, dubious, irresolute), [he is] unstable and unreliable and uncertain about everything."

So much preaching drives right by this foundation of full belief and moves into right living as if we can skip Step One.  We leave behind the ones who are in deep need.  They are left to languish in what sounds like a necessity for them to fix themselves and live right. They are driven to look inward for deliverance and don't know that deliverance can't be accomplished through their own strength.

He is enough for this too, and will prove faithful, good, powerful and all-sufficient despite drive by preaching.

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Despite your best efforts, are you still not really established in Christ and at peace with all of God's ways with you?  Are you not trusting Him in everything?

The answer is woven throughout God's Word:

"If ye believe not, surely ye shall not be established."  Isaiah 7:9

Position Yourself

"You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, Who is with you..." 2 Chron. 20:17

How many times would we escape great stress and ensuing health difficulty if we would realize that His yoke is easy and His burden is light by way of 2 Chronicles 20:17

Position yourselves:  In dependence on, and confidence in the Deliverer, Jesus Christ.  This comes from belief that He is all-sufficient to deliver you from everything, including your own treacherous self.

Stand still:  Let Him perform the little or big deliverance that you are in need of - not depending on your own self-effort.  Allow Him to show you clarity in a difficult situation rather than anxiously looking for it sooner than necessary.  Looking to your own strength for deliverance will bring disaster.

 

See His salvation:  It works every time.  He is not limited.