'If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten. If you want something different, you've got to make the change yourself and not wait for someone else to do it for you.' ~Author Jane Kirkpatrick
2 Corinthians 5:17 King James Version (KJV)
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about a mutual acquaintance who seems to have had a significant spiritual experience in the past, but who currently is walking a very dark and dangerous path to destruction. It's all very troubling and I must admit, sends doubt and shockwaves through my belief system. Why is it that so many supposed followers of Christ live in bondage to the past? The Bible speaks to those who are in Christ as having the same power of God within them, that resurrected Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:20)...the exact words used in one translation are "the incomparably great power for us who believe".
...incomparably great power...
...incomparably...great...power...
I've heard all the explanations from "well, maybe he/she never truly believed in Christ in the first place" to "they're just walking in disobedience now" and whatever other benign 'Christiany' things we say to justify a believers destructive behavior and help us feel like that would never happen to us. All of those explanations may contain truth, but is it just a pipe dream to think that Christ followers actually CAN live a victorious, bondage free life? And, it's not just in my friends life, it's the whole evangelical Christian church in America. I don't see Christians experiencing that kind of 180 degree miraculous 'holy cow' transformation! My guess is that we've learned how to 'look' like Jesus, but that's it. We act like Jesus on the outside, but we're still full of crap on the inside. And, until we are miraculously transformed by God from the inside out, we can "do" all we want, but we will always come up short...living within our own power and not tapping even a smidge into the 'incomparably great power' that is available to us. An old country idiom says it like this, "You can put icing on a turd, but at the end of the day, it's still a turd." (Excuse my verbal graphic all you who are faint of heart...I don't mean to be offensive)
I want to believe in a supernatural transforming power that can transcend and make a difference in our humanity. I want to believe that people can be purged of their past demons and live in freedom and victory. I want to believe that there is a monumental difference between having a personal relationship with Jesus and not.
Is it that we don't ask for it? Is it that we don't believe transformation can really happen? Is it that it will only happen in heaven and not here on earth?
I want to believe Jesus, I want to believe.
I want to believe because in my heart of hearts I really do think it's possible this side of heaven...I really do...
"Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." ~George Santayana
"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."
I was talking with a friend of mine the other day about a mutual acquaintance who seems to have had a significant spiritual experience in the past, but who currently is walking a very dark and dangerous path to destruction. It's all very troubling and I must admit, sends doubt and shockwaves through my belief system. Why is it that so many supposed followers of Christ live in bondage to the past? The Bible speaks to those who are in Christ as having the same power of God within them, that resurrected Christ from the dead (Ephesians 1:20)...the exact words used in one translation are "the incomparably great power for us who believe".
...incomparably great power...
...incomparably...great...power...
I've heard all the explanations from "well, maybe he/she never truly believed in Christ in the first place" to "they're just walking in disobedience now" and whatever other benign 'Christiany' things we say to justify a believers destructive behavior and help us feel like that would never happen to us. All of those explanations may contain truth, but is it just a pipe dream to think that Christ followers actually CAN live a victorious, bondage free life? And, it's not just in my friends life, it's the whole evangelical Christian church in America. I don't see Christians experiencing that kind of 180 degree miraculous 'holy cow' transformation! My guess is that we've learned how to 'look' like Jesus, but that's it. We act like Jesus on the outside, but we're still full of crap on the inside. And, until we are miraculously transformed by God from the inside out, we can "do" all we want, but we will always come up short...living within our own power and not tapping even a smidge into the 'incomparably great power' that is available to us. An old country idiom says it like this, "You can put icing on a turd, but at the end of the day, it's still a turd." (Excuse my verbal graphic all you who are faint of heart...I don't mean to be offensive)
I want to believe in a supernatural transforming power that can transcend and make a difference in our humanity. I want to believe that people can be purged of their past demons and live in freedom and victory. I want to believe that there is a monumental difference between having a personal relationship with Jesus and not.
Is it that we don't ask for it? Is it that we don't believe transformation can really happen? Is it that it will only happen in heaven and not here on earth?
I want to believe Jesus, I want to believe.
I want to believe because in my heart of hearts I really do think it's possible this side of heaven...I really do...
1 comment:
How does the verse go, About satan prowling around like a lion, looking for someone to devour.. the world and everything in it is evil, but we are not of the world. We belong to God. We can be, we ARE transformed because we believe.It is that simple. You and I share some mmmm, irritations about the church. So, I won't go into that here. But, as believers we need to, are required to pray constantly for each other. How to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit, we only need ask. So why don't we??? Lord I believe, help my unbelief.
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