IN US
"...Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!" (Luke 1:28b)
There's favor that only comes from God. Mary was called "highly favored one." She was blessed among women. We are spiritually pregnant with promise and we will give birth in the spirit to all that the Lord desires when we yield to Him and hear His voice. We are highly favored of the Lord. Mary didn't deserve to carry our Savior. None of us would have. And none of us deserve salvation and the promise of the Holy Spirit. None of us deserve to be carrying inside of us what HE has placed there. We are carriers of His glory. We HOUSE the glory of the Lord! Prepare yourself to give birth to what He has promised!
THROUGH US
"The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, TO PROCLAIM THE YEAR OF THE LORD'S FAVOR AND THE DAY OF VENGEANCE OF OUR GOD, to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion---to bestow beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. Aliens will shephered your flocks; foreigners will work in your fields and vineyards. And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God. You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast. Instead of their shame my people will receive a double portion in their land, and everlasting joy will be theirs..." (Isaiah 61:1-7)
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord came upon Jesus when He was on this earth and He preached the gospel and healed many people. We are empowered to do greater works than what Jesus did! The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in us! (Romans 8:10-12) (John 14:12)(Acts 1:8)
“And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days. And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth: Blood and fire and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there shall be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the remnant whom the LORD calls." (Joel 2:28-32)
These are the last days. God is pouring out His Holy Spirit and empowering His people to further His Kingdom. The promise IS His Kingdom. His Kingdom is advancing on this earth and we are called to further it until He returns! His Kingdom is now and we are also impregnated with the promise of furthering it until His return on the earth and we enter the Kingdom of heaven. Everyone has their own "pregnancy" but it is part of a WHOLE BODY, the body of Christ, with ONE purpose. And when we birth it, we become impregnated again! Always growing, always changing... new seasons, winds of change, different stories but the same nature---His Kingdom. The year of the Lord's favor and the day of His wrath is coming upon His enemies. They will be crushed once and for all, never to return...NEVER TO RETURN.
All nations are reaching for God and He is returning and answering their cries. He has said in Hosea, "Return to me"!! (Hosea 6:1-3) Let us return to the Lord today and seek His face. His hand is not too short to deliver and to heal. Birthing is coming! His Kingdom is HERE and is COMING!
We are blessed and highly favored of the Lord!
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Border of Prayer
I find myself having to sift through what I would like to write about lately. God has been doing so much that sometimes it's overwhelming in a wonderful way. He has brought me to fertile ground and yet the battle continues (because we are in this world and it's normal).
I'm finding out that I thought I had a grasp on the love of God as much as I have been experiencing it and learning to receive it, but really I don't know it all. Not even close. The depths of His love are unfathomable and it seems that everything in life for me comes back to the love of God and what I believe to be true about God (the lens through which I see Him).
Weekly, we have been gathering at church and praying, reading the Word and worshipping. last week, the Lord gave me a picture of a border that began in the prayer room and started to expand around the church, then around the city and then the region and beyond. It was a border of prayer. When we think of a border, sometimes we can get a picture of being restrained to a certain area and a sense of restriction, not freedom. But I believe that the border is one of protection against the enemy, one of marking "THIS CITY BELONGS TO THE LORD." It is marked by our Commander in Chief, JESUS CHRIST. No longer will this place be a place where the enemy can lay stake or camp. Some areas the enemy has been for a long time. He has been comfortable and has even built a castle of strongholds. NO MORE!!! We are claiming Kalamazoo and the region for Christ. We say it belongs to Him and that is all there is to it. None other than Christ Jesus, the KING OF KINGS taking rulership over our city.
I am reminded of 2 visions and another picture that the Lord had given me for this area. The first one is a picture of a straight line of fire going from Florida up here to Michigan. I believe that it's not just a revival that's going on in Florida. I believe that in time, this will become the norm. People are getting more and more desperate for spiritual things (even if it isn't the right spirit). A flame of fire that won't go out. A burning, blazing fire---- the wrath of God is coming to take stake on the enemy and to rescue the prisoners, to set the captives free! (Isaiah 61) Enough is enough! The jealous King is coming to rescue sinners from damnation, to encounter His beloved bride, THE Church.
The two visions that I received was a few months back. I was at work at the copier machine and I felt like I was back in Kansas City at the International House of Prayer and I was surrounded by young adults praying, worshipping and fasting. I felt as though I was actually there again. (I had gone to this exact conference in Kansas City a couple of years ago). The next vision was of the same picture but I was at the K-wings Stadium in Kalamazoo!!! It was like God was reminding me of what had happened and what was going to take place!!!
By praying the Word and communicating with God corporately, we are putting feet to what God is doing. None of us are called to live as islands. We are called to go into our closet and close the door and seek our Father in secret, but also to gather with other believers and pray in His Kingdom! It's exciting because what God is doing isn't just for a select few, but it is for everyone who will believe and receive and move into it!
There is a harvest out there. I am so excited for the teens that are coming and gathering and crying out to God every week at church. I felt a strong sense of corporate prayer after Desperation and I felt the Holy Spirit say to get on board with what He is doing and that it would just come! And it has! Not just the prayer, but the hunger, too.
I am also excited about what God is going to do in the college ministry. There is untapped harvest in so many areas in this region. People have so much, yet they are so destitute without Christ. They think they are rich, but really they are in poverty spiritually. Come wake us up, God, for the lost!
"So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. “ The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” says the LORD. -Isaiah 59:19-20
I'm finding out that I thought I had a grasp on the love of God as much as I have been experiencing it and learning to receive it, but really I don't know it all. Not even close. The depths of His love are unfathomable and it seems that everything in life for me comes back to the love of God and what I believe to be true about God (the lens through which I see Him).
Weekly, we have been gathering at church and praying, reading the Word and worshipping. last week, the Lord gave me a picture of a border that began in the prayer room and started to expand around the church, then around the city and then the region and beyond. It was a border of prayer. When we think of a border, sometimes we can get a picture of being restrained to a certain area and a sense of restriction, not freedom. But I believe that the border is one of protection against the enemy, one of marking "THIS CITY BELONGS TO THE LORD." It is marked by our Commander in Chief, JESUS CHRIST. No longer will this place be a place where the enemy can lay stake or camp. Some areas the enemy has been for a long time. He has been comfortable and has even built a castle of strongholds. NO MORE!!! We are claiming Kalamazoo and the region for Christ. We say it belongs to Him and that is all there is to it. None other than Christ Jesus, the KING OF KINGS taking rulership over our city.
I am reminded of 2 visions and another picture that the Lord had given me for this area. The first one is a picture of a straight line of fire going from Florida up here to Michigan. I believe that it's not just a revival that's going on in Florida. I believe that in time, this will become the norm. People are getting more and more desperate for spiritual things (even if it isn't the right spirit). A flame of fire that won't go out. A burning, blazing fire---- the wrath of God is coming to take stake on the enemy and to rescue the prisoners, to set the captives free! (Isaiah 61) Enough is enough! The jealous King is coming to rescue sinners from damnation, to encounter His beloved bride, THE Church.
The two visions that I received was a few months back. I was at work at the copier machine and I felt like I was back in Kansas City at the International House of Prayer and I was surrounded by young adults praying, worshipping and fasting. I felt as though I was actually there again. (I had gone to this exact conference in Kansas City a couple of years ago). The next vision was of the same picture but I was at the K-wings Stadium in Kalamazoo!!! It was like God was reminding me of what had happened and what was going to take place!!!
By praying the Word and communicating with God corporately, we are putting feet to what God is doing. None of us are called to live as islands. We are called to go into our closet and close the door and seek our Father in secret, but also to gather with other believers and pray in His Kingdom! It's exciting because what God is doing isn't just for a select few, but it is for everyone who will believe and receive and move into it!
There is a harvest out there. I am so excited for the teens that are coming and gathering and crying out to God every week at church. I felt a strong sense of corporate prayer after Desperation and I felt the Holy Spirit say to get on board with what He is doing and that it would just come! And it has! Not just the prayer, but the hunger, too.
I am also excited about what God is going to do in the college ministry. There is untapped harvest in so many areas in this region. People have so much, yet they are so destitute without Christ. They think they are rich, but really they are in poverty spiritually. Come wake us up, God, for the lost!
"So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. “ The Redeemer will come to Zion, and to those who turn from transgression in Jacob,” says the LORD. -Isaiah 59:19-20
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Unrestrained
I am thankful for the spiritual authority and leadership that God has placed in my life. I truely believe that everything flows out of the local church--- a thriving local church. We were made for community and to "break bread" as one body. Jesus is coming back for a glorious church without spot or wrinkle. Change is coming and we are truely in the last days. I want my life to be a reflection of the Lord Jesus. Why can't we do the works of Jesus every day? We can!
A couple of weeks ago, I thought, "What do Jesus' eyes look like?" I want to look on with compassion like Jesus does. He looked on the multitudes and was full of compassion for the lost.
It's time that the tides change in this city and region through the prayers of you and me. I saw many eyes in the Dominican Republic. Some were sad, some were happy, some were full of fear and some were angry. I believe that Jesus got right in there and touched the very heart of the people with His love and compassion. He wasn't afraid to get dirty. He was unrestrained. I want to be like Jesus when He walked on this earth. He said that we will do even greater works than what He did! WOW! He said, "I have given you authority to trample of snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you." -Luke 10:19
A couple of weeks ago, I thought, "What do Jesus' eyes look like?" I want to look on with compassion like Jesus does. He looked on the multitudes and was full of compassion for the lost.
It's time that the tides change in this city and region through the prayers of you and me. I saw many eyes in the Dominican Republic. Some were sad, some were happy, some were full of fear and some were angry. I believe that Jesus got right in there and touched the very heart of the people with His love and compassion. He wasn't afraid to get dirty. He was unrestrained. I want to be like Jesus when He walked on this earth. He said that we will do even greater works than what He did! WOW! He said, "I have given you authority to trample of snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you." -Luke 10:19
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
With God all things are possible!
On Monday, we returned from the Dominican Republic. There is so much that I could share, but I want to focus on what God did there through healings and miracles. I have never experienced such spiritual warfare on a corporate level, but yet such breakthrough and as an open heaven of the presence of the Lord.
Before I get too far a head, I was among many leaders that took our youth to the Dominican Republic this past week on a mission trip. I had mentioned it in a previous post that we were praying and preparing to go. God showed up in amazing ways!
The mission trip was focused on getting the word out of a 4 night crusade that the ministry that we worked with would be hosting later in the week. We walked the streets of many villages, passing out fliers and letting people know, "Venga a la cruzada!" (Come to the crusade!) everywhere that we went. The teens also performed dramas that they had been working so hard at for months in each site that we visited.
Wednesday through Saturday was the crusade. Each evening started out with singing and celebration. It was so fun to dance! I loved the music! After worship, each group took turns performing their dramas on different nights. After the dramas, Dominic (the founder of Dominic Russo Ministries) would preach the Word and then it would be followed by us going up front and laying hands on people for healings and miracles.
I feel like I can't even express in words everything that went on. Not to isolate those who are reading and weren't there, but because it was such a powerful week.
Here are a few testimonies:
*There was a woman sitting in a chair that pointed to her legs. I don't know if she could move them or if they were just in pain. Macy (a girl from the team) and I layed hands on her and prayed. Shortly after, we both looked up and each other knew right away that she had been healed! I told her to stand up and then I thought, "What do I do now?" Then I thought, "Hey! Maybe if I start jumping, she will, too!" So I started jumping really high in the air and she followed me with the same (if not more) energy! This woman was not young, either! She came to life and was healed!!
*Many people in the area were mute and I don't know why. It seemed like we prayed for so many mute people. There was one girl in particular that we prayed for and by the end of the night, she gave a cough drop to one of the girls in my group and talked to her!! Praise the Lord!!
*Last but not least, we prayed for a baby who had hydro-cephalis and his head was huge. We began to pray and I was starting to get a little discouraged. But as I continued to pray, suddenly something broke in the spirit and I knew that he was healed!! Nothing was manifested in that moment, but I believe with all my heart that "these signs will follow those who believe."
GLORIA DIOS! (Glory to God!)
Now we are taking this back with us and we can lay hands on the sick of our nation and they will be healed as well! With God all things are possible!!
Before I get too far a head, I was among many leaders that took our youth to the Dominican Republic this past week on a mission trip. I had mentioned it in a previous post that we were praying and preparing to go. God showed up in amazing ways!
The mission trip was focused on getting the word out of a 4 night crusade that the ministry that we worked with would be hosting later in the week. We walked the streets of many villages, passing out fliers and letting people know, "Venga a la cruzada!" (Come to the crusade!) everywhere that we went. The teens also performed dramas that they had been working so hard at for months in each site that we visited.
Wednesday through Saturday was the crusade. Each evening started out with singing and celebration. It was so fun to dance! I loved the music! After worship, each group took turns performing their dramas on different nights. After the dramas, Dominic (the founder of Dominic Russo Ministries) would preach the Word and then it would be followed by us going up front and laying hands on people for healings and miracles.
I feel like I can't even express in words everything that went on. Not to isolate those who are reading and weren't there, but because it was such a powerful week.
Here are a few testimonies:
*There was a woman sitting in a chair that pointed to her legs. I don't know if she could move them or if they were just in pain. Macy (a girl from the team) and I layed hands on her and prayed. Shortly after, we both looked up and each other knew right away that she had been healed! I told her to stand up and then I thought, "What do I do now?" Then I thought, "Hey! Maybe if I start jumping, she will, too!" So I started jumping really high in the air and she followed me with the same (if not more) energy! This woman was not young, either! She came to life and was healed!!
*Many people in the area were mute and I don't know why. It seemed like we prayed for so many mute people. There was one girl in particular that we prayed for and by the end of the night, she gave a cough drop to one of the girls in my group and talked to her!! Praise the Lord!!
*Last but not least, we prayed for a baby who had hydro-cephalis and his head was huge. We began to pray and I was starting to get a little discouraged. But as I continued to pray, suddenly something broke in the spirit and I knew that he was healed!! Nothing was manifested in that moment, but I believe with all my heart that "these signs will follow those who believe."
GLORIA DIOS! (Glory to God!)
Now we are taking this back with us and we can lay hands on the sick of our nation and they will be healed as well! With God all things are possible!!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Isaiah 61
More good stuff from God's Word! (Isaiah 61- The Message)
This is my very favorite chapter from the Bible and I believe it's a call to all believers in Christ, not just a few elite. The Spirit of the Living God is on all of us!
Yumm! Eat it up! =)
Isaiah 61
Announce Freedom to All Captives 1-7 The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me.He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken,Announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners.God sent me to announce the year of his grace— a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies— and to comfort all who mourn,To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,Messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness" planted by God to display his glory.They'll rebuild the old ruins, raise a new city out of the wreckage.They'll start over on the ruined cities, take the rubble left behind and make it new.You'll hire outsiders to herd your flocks and foreigners to work your fields,But you'll have the title "Priests of God," honored as ministers of our God.You'll feast on the bounty of nations, you'll bask in their glory.Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your share of contempt,Your inheritance in the land will be doubled and your joy go on forever.
8-9"Because I, God, love fair dealing and hate thievery and crime,I'll pay your wages on time and in full, and establish my eternal covenant with you.Your descendants will become well-known all over. Your children in foreign countriesWill be recognized at once as the people I have blessed."
10-11I will sing for joy in God, explode in praise from deep in my soul!He dressed me up in a suit of salvation, he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness,As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jeweled tiara.For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms,So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations.
This is my very favorite chapter from the Bible and I believe it's a call to all believers in Christ, not just a few elite. The Spirit of the Living God is on all of us!
Yumm! Eat it up! =)
Isaiah 61
Announce Freedom to All Captives 1-7 The Spirit of God, the Master, is on me because God anointed me.He sent me to preach good news to the poor, heal the heartbroken,Announce freedom to all captives, pardon all prisoners.God sent me to announce the year of his grace— a celebration of God's destruction of our enemies— and to comfort all who mourn,To care for the needs of all who mourn in Zion, give them bouquets of roses instead of ashes,Messages of joy instead of news of doom, a praising heart instead of a languid spirit.Rename them "Oaks of Righteousness" planted by God to display his glory.They'll rebuild the old ruins, raise a new city out of the wreckage.They'll start over on the ruined cities, take the rubble left behind and make it new.You'll hire outsiders to herd your flocks and foreigners to work your fields,But you'll have the title "Priests of God," honored as ministers of our God.You'll feast on the bounty of nations, you'll bask in their glory.Because you got a double dose of trouble and more than your share of contempt,Your inheritance in the land will be doubled and your joy go on forever.
8-9"Because I, God, love fair dealing and hate thievery and crime,I'll pay your wages on time and in full, and establish my eternal covenant with you.Your descendants will become well-known all over. Your children in foreign countriesWill be recognized at once as the people I have blessed."
10-11I will sing for joy in God, explode in praise from deep in my soul!He dressed me up in a suit of salvation, he outfitted me in a robe of righteousness,As a bridegroom who puts on a tuxedo and a bride a jeweled tiara.For as the earth bursts with spring wildflowers, and as a garden cascades with blossoms,So the Master, God, brings righteousness into full bloom and puts praise on display before the nations.
Galatians 5
This is something that I have been "chewing" on today and I wanted to share it with you guys... Galatians 5 in The Message... God's Word is so rich!
Galatians 5
The Life of Freedom 1 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.
2-3I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law. 4-6I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.
7-10You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn't come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don't toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment.
11-12As for the rumor that I continue to preach the ways of circumcision (as I did in those pre-Damascus Road days), that is absurd. Why would I still be persecuted, then? If I were preaching that old message, no one would be offended if I mentioned the Cross now and then—it would be so watered-down it wouldn't matter one way or the other. Why don't these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!
13-15It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?
16-18My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?
19-21It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.
This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.
22-23But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
23-24Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.
25-26Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
Galatians 5
The Life of Freedom 1 Christ has set us free to live a free life. So take your stand! Never again let anyone put a harness of slavery on you.
2-3I am emphatic about this. The moment any one of you submits to circumcision or any other rule-keeping system, at that same moment Christ's hard-won gift of freedom is squandered. I repeat my warning: The person who accepts the ways of circumcision trades all the advantages of the free life in Christ for the obligations of the slave life of the law. 4-6I suspect you would never intend this, but this is what happens. When you attempt to live by your own religious plans and projects, you are cut off from Christ, you fall out of grace. Meanwhile we expectantly wait for a satisfying relationship with the Spirit. For in Christ, neither our most conscientious religion nor disregard of religion amounts to anything. What matters is something far more interior: faith expressed in love.
7-10You were running superbly! Who cut in on you, deflecting you from the true course of obedience? This detour doesn't come from the One who called you into the race in the first place. And please don't toss this off as insignificant. It only takes a minute amount of yeast, you know, to permeate an entire loaf of bread. Deep down, the Master has given me confidence that you will not defect. But the one who is upsetting you, whoever he is, will bear the divine judgment.
11-12As for the rumor that I continue to preach the ways of circumcision (as I did in those pre-Damascus Road days), that is absurd. Why would I still be persecuted, then? If I were preaching that old message, no one would be offended if I mentioned the Cross now and then—it would be so watered-down it wouldn't matter one way or the other. Why don't these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!
13-15It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows. For everything we know about God's Word is summed up in a single sentence: Love others as you love yourself. That's an act of true freedom. If you bite and ravage each other, watch out—in no time at all you will be annihilating each other, and where will your precious freedom be then?
16-18My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?
19-21It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on.
This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.
22-23But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely.
23-24Legalism is helpless in bringing this about; it only gets in the way. Among those who belong to Christ, everything connected with getting our own way and mindlessly responding to what everyone else calls necessities is killed off for good—crucified.
25-26Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.
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