Wrote this to a friend then thought more than just that person may want to read it:
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...I wish I had someone to tell me the truth when I was your age. Maybe I wouldn't have wasted so much time or guilt on a lie.
So here goes:
If you are addicted to a behavior that you hate, it is impossible to change unless you analyze why you like it. What does your inner self use it for? Whether sexual, substance, food or any other addiction, it isn't just the chemical addiction that controls you. There are ways to help overcome the chemical aspect, but still we tend to return to the issue. Rather, even after the chemical link is broken, it is the feelings that behavior gives you which control your behavior. Doing them makes you feel, powerful, happy, secure, valuable or whatever...for a moment. The problem with satisfying these feelings outside of God is that the feeling is fleeting. You only feel happy or powerful WHILE you are doing them. Therefore, you begin needing to do them all the time. You get suck into doing the thing that you hate because it gives you a momentary satisfaction of a legitimate need.
You were created to live "Life Abundantly." Your natural state is happy, powerful and secure. These things are true; they are your destiny. They are not an illusion. However, they must be acquired in a manner that satisfies permanently in order to bring us into the balanced state in which we no longer need to strive for them. When we are whole, those feelings pour out of us. "They are" because "we are." They are no longer produced by a state of doing, but a state of being. The key to this state of being is your relation to "I AM." It is when you find this natural state of being in relationship with THE "Being" that you will feel whole.
You were created in the image of God to rule the world by Love. [Gen 1: 26, Rev 22: 4&5, Matt 20: 24-28] You can only truly rule the world when you are a reflection of love. You can only reflect Him exactly of you know the True Him. Not just what you've heard about Him, but what you have seen for yourself. Reflecting the Source is a matter of relationship. Relationship is not a matter of who serves whom; it is a matter of knowing and being known. You must get to know the Character of the One in whom you are supposed to trust. It cannot be just from listening to what other people say about Him. YOU must get to know Him for yourself. Your guilt feelings can be a catalyst to drive you to seek Him for who He is, or they can make you want to hide from Him. Your Adversary is the one screaming for you to hide. The Holy Spirit on the other hand is trying to help you admit the problem so you can work through the process of forgiveness.
It is true that all have fallen short of being an exact reflection of who He is. However, your value isn't based on what you do. It is based on the fact that you are. You are a human; therefore, you are priceless treasure. Your value was declared when God traded the life of His Own Son to buy you back from the consequences of the "Law." It is based on the fact that He paid for your ticket, not whether you have cashed it in. Each human's worth has been set at the exact same as EVERY other human without regard to color, creed, or capabilities. The whole world changes when we realize that EVERY human is worth the same as you, has been loved the same as you. He died for them just as much as He did for you. They act the way they do because they are trying to satisfy the same needs as you--needs like love, joy and peace. "They" are not worth more than you, nor are "they" worth less than you. It is easy to have mercy and compassion on them when we realize that we are all equal. You are not the sum of your actions and neither are they. We are all valuable because we "are."
The tool that helped me get to know the Character of God the best was "The Daily Bible" by F. LaGard Smith. It is arranged in chronological order so you could see the progression of God's actions and reactions toward people. If you want one I will buy it for you and send it to your house. It's only about $15 on CBD.com. My favorite version for this type of endeavor is the NIV because I can read it fast with comprehension. I can get the big picture in a short period of time. I still use the other versions for study. (The NIV version of "The Daily Bible" also has the best background info for each section. It gives historical context, etc. I liked it better than the NLT "Daily Bible" that I tried.)
The character trait that changed all of my understanding of God is Love. His macro image is Love and, His micro image is love. Like a fractle pattern, He is the same near as he is far. He loves unconditionally and completely. He loves His enemies as well as his friends. He loves without regard to status, merit, or need. He loves regardless of whether we reciprocate. Our value to Him is fixed. It's not dependent on our actions; it is based on our being. We are. Therefore, as His creation, we are loved. In a human way of thinking this is irrational. In a heavenly way of thinking this is reality.
What we see as "Justice" is based on the fact that He loves both victims and offenders. When victims do not have anyone to defend them, God will come to their defense. Some call this "wrath" aimed at offenders. Yet, defending the defenseless is what humans were supposed to do. That is His first choice and He will give us a chance to do it before He steps in [Is. 59:15-17]. What we see as "inaction" is love for offenders. He does not desire to crush anyone [Ez. 18:21]. He will give everyone the chance to quit being selfish and learn be Love [2 Pet. 3:9]. However, in the end, it is our choice to love ourselves or love others that determines our consequences. The Law of God has set a predetermined consequence. It is in our power to "chose this day...life or death." He has provided the means, the motive and the opportunity to choose life. Trust Him. Let go of Self. And Live.
So, if you feel that the only way to change the behavior you hate is to chain yourself up, remember that Jesus came to set the captive free. He came to empower you to live free by choice. He came to set you free from the power of sin and the imprisonment from the "Law." [See Galatians.] You are intended to be an Heir of the Kingdom of God, living powerfully and on purpose as a result of who you are in your heart. Nothing less will satisfy you long term. Love, True Love, is all that there is. He is all that you need. You living in the image of Love is you living for real. In order to get from where you are now to where you want to be, you must get to know Him personally. His Love will change you from the inside out. If you trust His character then you are predestined to transform into the image of Him. NOT the other way around. It is as easy to live the "Christian" life as it is to save yourself. Stop trying; "Be." You can only be as a result of relationship with "I AM."
This is an example of a fractle:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...I wish I had someone to tell me the truth when I was your age. Maybe I wouldn't have wasted so much time or guilt on a lie.
So here goes:
If you are addicted to a behavior that you hate, it is impossible to change unless you analyze why you like it. What does your inner self use it for? Whether sexual, substance, food or any other addiction, it isn't just the chemical addiction that controls you. There are ways to help overcome the chemical aspect, but still we tend to return to the issue. Rather, even after the chemical link is broken, it is the feelings that behavior gives you which control your behavior. Doing them makes you feel, powerful, happy, secure, valuable or whatever...for a moment. The problem with satisfying these feelings outside of God is that the feeling is fleeting. You only feel happy or powerful WHILE you are doing them. Therefore, you begin needing to do them all the time. You get suck into doing the thing that you hate because it gives you a momentary satisfaction of a legitimate need.
You were created to live "Life Abundantly." Your natural state is happy, powerful and secure. These things are true; they are your destiny. They are not an illusion. However, they must be acquired in a manner that satisfies permanently in order to bring us into the balanced state in which we no longer need to strive for them. When we are whole, those feelings pour out of us. "They are" because "we are." They are no longer produced by a state of doing, but a state of being. The key to this state of being is your relation to "I AM." It is when you find this natural state of being in relationship with THE "Being" that you will feel whole.
You were created in the image of God to rule the world by Love. [Gen 1: 26, Rev 22: 4&5, Matt 20: 24-28] You can only truly rule the world when you are a reflection of love. You can only reflect Him exactly of you know the True Him. Not just what you've heard about Him, but what you have seen for yourself. Reflecting the Source is a matter of relationship. Relationship is not a matter of who serves whom; it is a matter of knowing and being known. You must get to know the Character of the One in whom you are supposed to trust. It cannot be just from listening to what other people say about Him. YOU must get to know Him for yourself. Your guilt feelings can be a catalyst to drive you to seek Him for who He is, or they can make you want to hide from Him. Your Adversary is the one screaming for you to hide. The Holy Spirit on the other hand is trying to help you admit the problem so you can work through the process of forgiveness.
It is true that all have fallen short of being an exact reflection of who He is. However, your value isn't based on what you do. It is based on the fact that you are. You are a human; therefore, you are priceless treasure. Your value was declared when God traded the life of His Own Son to buy you back from the consequences of the "Law." It is based on the fact that He paid for your ticket, not whether you have cashed it in. Each human's worth has been set at the exact same as EVERY other human without regard to color, creed, or capabilities. The whole world changes when we realize that EVERY human is worth the same as you, has been loved the same as you. He died for them just as much as He did for you. They act the way they do because they are trying to satisfy the same needs as you--needs like love, joy and peace. "They" are not worth more than you, nor are "they" worth less than you. It is easy to have mercy and compassion on them when we realize that we are all equal. You are not the sum of your actions and neither are they. We are all valuable because we "are."
The tool that helped me get to know the Character of God the best was "The Daily Bible" by F. LaGard Smith. It is arranged in chronological order so you could see the progression of God's actions and reactions toward people. If you want one I will buy it for you and send it to your house. It's only about $15 on CBD.com. My favorite version for this type of endeavor is the NIV because I can read it fast with comprehension. I can get the big picture in a short period of time. I still use the other versions for study. (The NIV version of "The Daily Bible" also has the best background info for each section. It gives historical context, etc. I liked it better than the NLT "Daily Bible" that I tried.)
The character trait that changed all of my understanding of God is Love. His macro image is Love and, His micro image is love. Like a fractle pattern, He is the same near as he is far. He loves unconditionally and completely. He loves His enemies as well as his friends. He loves without regard to status, merit, or need. He loves regardless of whether we reciprocate. Our value to Him is fixed. It's not dependent on our actions; it is based on our being. We are. Therefore, as His creation, we are loved. In a human way of thinking this is irrational. In a heavenly way of thinking this is reality.
What we see as "Justice" is based on the fact that He loves both victims and offenders. When victims do not have anyone to defend them, God will come to their defense. Some call this "wrath" aimed at offenders. Yet, defending the defenseless is what humans were supposed to do. That is His first choice and He will give us a chance to do it before He steps in [Is. 59:15-17]. What we see as "inaction" is love for offenders. He does not desire to crush anyone [Ez. 18:21]. He will give everyone the chance to quit being selfish and learn be Love [2 Pet. 3:9]. However, in the end, it is our choice to love ourselves or love others that determines our consequences. The Law of God has set a predetermined consequence. It is in our power to "chose this day...life or death." He has provided the means, the motive and the opportunity to choose life. Trust Him. Let go of Self. And Live.
So, if you feel that the only way to change the behavior you hate is to chain yourself up, remember that Jesus came to set the captive free. He came to empower you to live free by choice. He came to set you free from the power of sin and the imprisonment from the "Law." [See Galatians.] You are intended to be an Heir of the Kingdom of God, living powerfully and on purpose as a result of who you are in your heart. Nothing less will satisfy you long term. Love, True Love, is all that there is. He is all that you need. You living in the image of Love is you living for real. In order to get from where you are now to where you want to be, you must get to know Him personally. His Love will change you from the inside out. If you trust His character then you are predestined to transform into the image of Him. NOT the other way around. It is as easy to live the "Christian" life as it is to save yourself. Stop trying; "Be." You can only be as a result of relationship with "I AM."
This is an example of a fractle:
1 comment:
Just to be clear: Conviction by the Holy Spirit that what you are doing is not what you should be doing is good.
Feeling like a piece of garbage because you made a wrong choice-or someone made it for you-is not good or productive. It is a lie meant to hold you in a prison of shame.
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