On my post from last week found
here:
I left out a very important word in the following:
"In the story line of Jacob, we are seen in
Genesis 28:10ff, but not in the companions of Leah nor
Rachel. We are not the bride of Christ, but we are
the embodiment of Jesus Himself because of our being
brought into the intimate union of the Godhead by the
indwelling Holy Spirit. This is a more profound
and deeper level of intimacy with Jesus than that of a
bride. We get to embody Jesus yet also knowing we
are Him."
The last sentence should have said, "We get to embody
Jesus yet also while knowing that we are not Him."
*******
With us currently being in the middle of Tabernacles, a
number of folks in the watching community are zero-ing in
on Shemini Azeret. There may be a dovetail here with
respect to the start of Noah's flood timing.
Some have presented over time that there is a
possibility that the timing of Halloween ties to the
original timing of the flood. If so, then the timing
of Methuselah's removal would also be at the end of this
year's Feast of Tabernacles.
*******
As I have tried to write about our union with God
prior, and I want to continue to do so here. It is a
reality for all of us in Christ Jesus yet not a simple
subject to put into words. It is easy to be
misinterpreted. I ask that you take what I am
presenting to the Holy Spirit. Again, it is a
reality for us in Christ Jesus, even if one is not aware
of it, never heard of it nor thought about it. What
matters is what our Abba, our Saviour and the Holy Spirit
have pulled off for us and what God knows to be true about
you. God is also not stressed by anything you do or
think that might be contrary to the Reality on the short
term down here. God reveals to us over time, in a
flow of time. And He will accomplish all His good
pleasure concerning you. Being the Great I AM means
that God never breaks a sweat.
Now, about our Union with God.
"He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit." I
Corinthians 6:17 KJV
"
1For I
want you to know how great
a struggle I have in your behalf
and for those who are at Laodicea , and
for all those who have not
[a]personally seen my
face ,
2that their hearts may
be encouraged , having been knit together in
love , and
that they would attain to all
the wealth
[b]that comes from the full
assurance of understanding ,
resulting in
a true knowledge of God’s mystery
,
that is, Christ
Himself, 3in whom are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge .
4I say this so
that no one will deceive you
with persuasive arguments .
5For even though
I am absent in body , I am
nevertheless with you in spirit , rejoicing
[c]to see
[d]your orderly manner
and the stability of your faith in
Christ .
6Therefore , as you have received
Christ Jesus the Lord , so [e]walk in Him, 7having been firmly
rooted and now being built
up in Him and established [f]in [g]your faith , just as
you were instructed , and overflowing
[h]with gratitude .
8See to it that there is no
one who takes you captive through
philosophy and empty deception in
accordance with human tradition ,
in accordance with the elementary
principles of the world , [i]rather than in
accordance with Christ . 9For in Him all the
fullness of Deity dwells in bodily
form , 10and in Him you have been
made [j]complete , and He is the head
[k]over every ruler and
authority ; 11and in Him you were also
circumcised with a circumcision
performed without hands , in the removal
of the body of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ , 12having been buried
with Him in baptism , in which you were also
raised with Him through faith in
the working of God , who raised Him from the
dead . 13And [l]when you were dead [m]in your wrongdoings and the
uncircumcision of your flesh , He made you
alive together with Him, having forgiven
us all our wrongdoings , 14having canceled the
certificate of debt consisting of
decrees against us, which was hostile
to us; and He has taken it out of the way ,
having nailed it to the cross . 15When He had [n]disarmed the rulers
and authorities , He made a public
display of them, having triumphed
over them through [o]Him.
16Therefore , no one is
to [p]act as your judge
in regard to food and drink , or in
respect to a festival or a new
moon , or a Sabbath [q]day— 17things which
are only a shadow of what is
to come ; but the [r]substance [s]belongs to Christ . 18Take care that no
one keeps [t]defrauding you of
your prize by delighting in humility
and the worship of the angels , [u]taking his stand
on visions he has seen , [v]inflated without
cause by his fleshly mind , 19and not holding
firmly to the head , from whom the
entire body , being supplied and held
together by the joints and [w]ligaments , grows with a
growth [x]which is from God ."
Colossians 2:1-19 NAS
God's mystery? Jesus
Himself. Easy to say.
Over the years of trying to
rest in this truth, there was a foundation-level lie in my
thinking that kept undermining this in my day to day life.
I can best express the lie
like this: "Jesus is inside me, looking out through
my eyes. He knows my thoughts. He knows my
heart motives. He knows my every action. Jesus
sees when I am manipulative. He sees my additive
behaviors. He knows when I do not express
love. Jesus also sees when I am giving. He
sees when I walk by faith. He knows when I express
love."
The lie is found in the 11
times I use "I" and "my". This is not simply a
limitation of language. Count how many times Paul
uses personal pronouns in Romans 7:14-25? Over 30.
When you see the singular
word "Sin", think of it as all of the complete programming
in my brain and body that is premised with, and has fully
embraced as "normal", the Lie of the Evil One that we can
be a god, that we are indeed a "stand apart from the Great
I AM" entity. Part of embodying the lie is that I am
committed to it. I want to be a real, stand alone
person on my own.
Another way to try to
express the lie is: "Jesus is inside of me, looking out
though my eyes." No, there is just Jesus
looking. The awareness that you and I claim as our
own is actually the awareness out God Himself. We
just pretend it is our own conscious awareness. The
Father is the Father of spirits. From Job 34 it
says:
14“If He were
to [d]determine to
do so,
If He
were to gather His [e]spirit and
His breath to Himself,
15[f]Humanity would
perish together,
And
mankind would return to dust.
The above verses are with
respect to all human beings. This is different from
those as New Creations in the Body of Christ who also have
the Holy Spirit within them.
Now, at this point, I am
not saying that I am not a human being, a created being, a
New Creation. I exist. Yet like Paul, as New
Creations, we each can say, "I no longer live, but Christ
. . .".
It is not "Jesus plus the
well-intentioned ME plus a sin-programmed mortal
body. It is just Jesus, within a sin-programmed
mortal body. The individual "self" that I have
become so accustomed to over all the years of this life is
simply a figment of my imagination. It is an image I
set up beside God in my mind. I am a created being
that has awareness both from the Father and from the Holy
Spirit.
*******
Try this mental
exercise: Picture a bronze statue of yourself,
life size, very detailed. Go ahead and reduce the
mid-section a bit. Add a little more hair than
normal. In front of the statue you are going to have
multiple placards, each on their own pedestal, prominently
displayed with good size font to be easily read by anyone
passing by. List all of the things that you are
pleased with about yourself. Do you know Jesus as
Salvation? as Lord? as Life? Do you have
a better grasp on Grace than many you come across in the
Body of Christ? Are you watching for Jesus' soon
return? How long have you been watching? Do
you intercede for others? Do you find that your
heart is not caught up in this world system? Because
of your love for Jesus, have you lost friendships?
Have you been slandered for His sake?
Now, bow done to
it.
Or, you can do what Paul
did when he laid out a similar list in Philippians
3:4-6. He counted all to be as a dung heap (Aramaic
in Plain English). He wanted to live only in the
Reality of Jesus.
In other words, Paul turned
his back on his statue.
In Christ, we died.
There is only Christ.
Jesus perfectly Loves His
Father.
Jesus perfectly pleases and
satisfies the Father.
Jesus perfectly trusts the
Plan.
Jesus will always do the
will of His Father.
Jesus loves everyone
because He is Love.
Jesus is the Fruit of the
Spirit.
Jesus does not place weight
on how people may interpret Him in a given moment or
situation.
All the above is our
essence.
*******
Here is another mental
exercise to help express what I am trying to get at:
See yourself in the boat
with the disciples during the massive storm. Jesus
is standing on the water in front of you. You ask to
come to Him and He says "Come". You get out of the
boat and walk to Jesus. You are standing in front of
Him.
Like Peter, you start to
see the storm around you. You take your eyes off of
Jesus and begin to sink. You call out to Jesus just
before you go under. He has grabbed your wrist with
a firm grip. He has you. You are still under
water at this moment.
Now, I want to change the
familiar account.
Jesus is not lifting you
out of the water. You know He has you. You
know He is not going to let go. And He is not
pulling you up.
You look up towards Him
wondering why.
Jesus speaks into your
thoughts. "You don't understand right now. I
want you to trust Me."
Instantly, you are flooded
with both a profound sense of peace and also a knowing
that Jesus is not going to pull you up.
You still do not
understand.
You know He is going to let
you drown.
You ask Him, "Will it
hurt?"
"Yes, but only for a short
time."
"Will I panic and fight it
as it is happening?"
"I made your body so that
it will fight against it. It is OK. I have
you."
You cannot hold your breath
any longer. You inhale cold water. The pain
shocks your body. Your muscles contract,
spasm. You fight to no avail.
Your vision begins to
darken yet you still feel Jesus' unrelenting grip.
Your body is now dead . . .
Instantly you are no longer
in your body. Instead, it is as if you are inside
the body of Jesus Himself, while He is still standing on
the water, looking out at everything through His eyes.
Your feet feel as it they
are planted on a granite mountain. The storm is
nothing to you. Peace is filling your whole
being. Your love for the other disciples over in the
boat is almost too much to bear. You are
experiencing true Joy. Everything is going according
to an amazing plan.
Jesus is still holding the
wrist of your now dead body. It is floating beneath
the water like a rag doll.
The knowing within Jesus is
also your knowing.
It is time to let that
go. It served its purpose. Even the lie-based
self orientation programmed into it served a purpose for a
time.
As you see that temporary,
tent-like shell sink out of view, you realize that the
awareness you have being in Christ is your only reality.
*******
Jesus shares all that He is
with us, so much so that we can enjoy all of Him, even as
if we are Jesus Himself, yet knowing that we are simply a
created being blessed beyond comprehension because of how
mind-blowingly loving our generous God is.
God bless you.