I Corinthians 15:10
But by the Grace of God I am what I am, and His Grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the Grace of God which was with me.
Vineyard Recovery is for everyone who is struggling.
Struggling just to make it through the day...
To find a semblance of what we think is real life...
But what I want to give you is not a mere semblance, but the real deal life you've thought was just beyond your reach.
You see, we have a tendency to walk around with the switch turned to the "OFF" position.
We use our own personal experiences to define and give meaning to everything we encounter.
Since our lives are a mess because of the addiction, we have trust issues.
Why?
Because we don't trust ourselves. So when someone comes along and starts talking about a supernatural encounter with someone named Jesus, we automatically go into "don't trust what their saying" mode.
Our personal history has no frame of reference to helps us relate to Jesus. We hear stories of other people being healed, or set free from demonic spirits and it may as well be stories about fairy godmothers with magic wands.
Why are we like this? Because we are trying to reason with our minds and not our hearts. We are processing the information through the reasoning structure of our brain rather than listening with our spirit. Did you ever notice that when you first encounter God, it is your heart that responds first isn't it? I mean you suddenly find yourself sitting there listening, your heart begins to race....a strange feeling comes over you..and all the while your mind is trying to process what is going on....you may even try to reject the feeling....but it is stronger than your thoughts. That is power and presence of God coming upon you, drawing you to move toward a surrender of will and live over to His care.
I always tell people who are going through this kind of experience, to turn the switch to the ON position. To simply let God speak to them and not to struggle against what is happening.
The verse from I Corinthians 15 shows us an individual who has turned the switch on, the apostle Paul. Paul has put himself in a place where his surrender has introduced the GRACE of God into his life. Once more let me define to you my understanding of what grace is.
It is the empowering presence of God, in my life, that enables me to be who I was created to be, and to do what I have been called to do.
When we allow ourselves to receive this incredible gift of salvation from God, we are turning on the switch to a whole new level and way of living.
We are placing ourselves in a position to receive from God His kingdom rule in our lives. Such a rule includes times and seasons of supernatural intervention in our lives. Or, as author Gary Best puts it..."We learn how to live naturally supernatural. We have a tendency to see ourselves at our worst...at times, our very worst. Yet the amazing part of who God is and his response to our condition is that He simply won't give up on us. He just keeps loving us.....Grace upon Grace.
When Jesus came proclaiming that the Kingdom of God was near....the message was, "The answer to the deepest longings of your heart and the longing's of God's heart has come near to you. It is within your reach." How incredible is this good news? Here is where we truly need to let God's Spirit, when He comes in contact with our spirit, turn the switch on. What Jesus has proclaimed is this----"Let's trade. You give me your whole life, which by looking at it was not that great, and I'll give you mine." It's like trading a YUGO for a MERCEDES. But (no fine print here...everything out in the open) you absolutely have to surrender to Him. You can't buy into this on a cheaper level or discount price. "I'm Yours...All of me!" Everyday....my will I surrender..."Get me out of the way, Jesus...I don't want to run the show anymore."
Now the switch is on.
Now you are ready to start living naturally supernatural.
From this place, you will begin to move and operate in the power of Christ.
But that is another posting for another time....
God on you...
mb
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