The question of late has been how do we as individuals who believe in the power of the cross of Christ go from a natural place of living out of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to living supernaturally from the tree of life?
As a believer in Jesus Christ, His life, death, and resurrection there is a constant tension attached to my life regarding this belief and what it really means to me on a practical everyday level. If I believe there is power in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ how does that change my everyday existence and is my life supposed to look like something other than it is? What does the cross of Christ really mean for me as an individual living in an affluent culture where I am taught that I don't need God. Where I am taught I can take care of myself and live my life doing whatever makes me happy with no thought of God or His influence on humanity. (Unless of course I see an injustice which I can readily blame on His negligence or lack of feeling for me or others)
In my frustration with life and the mundaneness of it I seek to find what is missing. Life doesn't seem to have much meaning within the confines of the daily routines involving work, church, and everyday home life. There must be more to this "Christian" life and I intend to find it!
Two influences who the Lord has set in my journey of discovery have been Jared Black and Ian Clayton. I began listening to Ian about a month ago and through his teaching the Word of God has opened up to me in ways it never has before. Now I find after attending teaching sessions with Jared Black the Lord seems to be saying very similar things. Both of these men have learned the value of studying the Bible from a Hebraic interpretation instead of from the Greek interpretation in which we now have. This leads both of them to a form of teaching that is more Rabbinical in nature. Leaving each subject open ended in an effort for the student to "chew on" what has been said and seek God for the answer therefore making room for relationship between the student and the Savior. I personally thrive in this form of teaching because it gives me time with the Father to work out of me everything that is not like Him.
So in my journey of discovery the subject that God seems to be highlighting within both settings involves the way I live my life as follower of Jesus and the two trees in the garden seem to be His method of approach. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life found in Genesis represent two ways of thinking and living life. It says in Genesis that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil brought death while the other tree brought life. So just like Adam and Eve we have the choice to live our life pursuing the knowledge of good and evil or pursuing life.
Jesus was our example here on earth as He never addressed questions posed to Him from a right or wrong standpoint. He always gave another option and turned it from right or wrong, good or evil to something else. The something else He would focus on most often resulted in the choice of life or death. So what does this look like for us as we live in a society where social justice has become the god of choice and what is right or wrong, good or evil is in the eye of the beholder? How do we climb down from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and climb up the tree of life? What does that look like practically?
This question is not easily answered because unless we are daily sitting at the feet of the Father learning what His heart is saying in every situation our natural tendency is to run back up the tree of knowledge and judge what we see from our perspective there. How do we get down from the tree and stay down in every situation or circumstance that comes up?
Today while listening to a teaching by Ian Clayton I heard some things that made sense regarding this very subject. He stated that the Laws of the Kingdom of Heaven are not a set of rules and regulations that produce death but are a lifestyle of knowing and experiencing the power of a higher law. The Laws of the Kingdom of Heaven produce life. This statement reminded me of the two trees one producing death the other producing life. He went on to state that the Laws of the Kingdom of Heaven are a living substance that exists in a living kingdom and is secured by relationship with that kingdom. If you don't have a relationship with the Kingdom of Heaven and secure the laws out of that kingdom then you will remain subject to the laws of sin and death.
So what does this mean for me in the confines of my earthly existence? I am not sure, but one thing I do know, if living in the confines of this earthly existence keeps me subject to the law of sin and death I need to find a way out of these confines.
The Lord has revealed to me in a greater way lately the truth of my existence as a spirit being first. I was created to be a spirit being before I was created to be a human being. This being said, as a spirit being I have access to and authority in the spirit realm and the realm of heaven. I am still fleshing this revelation out and all the nuances of it but if Jesus said in John 14:12 that we would be able to do the things He did on earth and even greater this makes perfect sense. Jesus not only healed the sick and raised the dead, He also walked on water and through walls and crowds. If we are to do the things He did and more should it not stand to reason we would have to access and live our lives more as spirit beings than human beings?
If I could live my life continually as a spirit being there is no telling what my life would be like and how God could use me to further His Kingdom here on earth. It would beat living a mundane life of routine any day.
As this revelation unfolds I would ask that you give me grace to explore what I am hearing the Father saying on the subject and seek to hear Him for yourself.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Tuesday, February 5, 2013
The Season of Transition
This season of my life has been a very interesting one to say the least. I have been very dissatisfied with where I am in my spirituality, in my work, in my relationships, in my church life, in my home life, etc... It seems as though every area of my life is stuck somehow and refuses to go forward. Now I have plumbing issues that have been ongoing for about a month without any solution that is affordable. I was telling the Lord this morning that I feel my spiritual condition is manifesting in the physical realm through my plumbing issues. This seems to happen to me a lot, I will have a spiritual issue going on in my life and it will somehow show up in my physical reality. Then there are times I will have a physical reality that will later show up in my spiritual reality. This is one of the ways the Lord speaks to me about what is going on in my life and sometimes in the lives of others.
Anyway this feeling of being stuck appears to be manifesting in every area of my life. I am ending one season and trying to transition into another season. However the transition is not happening and I feel stuck somewhere in the middle, not being able to go forward and not being able to go backward either. To give you an idea of what this looks like I am going to relay some of the particular events occurring in my life during this season. First of all, I felt the Lord asked me to lay down everything I had been doing at church in order to come to a new place of intimacy with Him as well as concentrate on helping my daughter transition into the next phase of her life. I did that back in July-September finishing up my last obligation in December. So every place in which I had identity within the church structure is gone. If you have ever had to do this you can understand what a loss this is and how it feels like a large piece of who you are no longer exists.
Next, I have been a mother for what seems like my entire life, it has been my identity and I would not know how to live my life without being a mother to someone. My youngest child is now 18 years old and has moved to Los Angeles to go to college. She wants to be an actress and influence Hollywood with the love of the Father, which by the way, she was made to do and I know she will do. So much of the last few months of my life have been consumed by making sure she had everything she needed to achieve her dreams and goals and get her moved to California. She is now safe and happy in a good home where she is loved and encouraged to go after God and everything He has for her. So where does that leave me? Without a child to mother; and another part of my identity that has been taken away.
I have always felt I would one day get married again and have hoped for the day when I felt released to date. I never felt God wanted me to date while I was raising my children for their sanity as well as my own. Now that my children are grown I feel a release to begin looking around at the men the Lord has placed in my life but I am not having much luck. I feel transition in this area is right around the corner and at the same time very far out of reach.
My finances have always been a place of faith for me. I felt after my divorce the Lord still wanted me to stay home as much as possible, like I did while I was married, in order to be there for my children and possibly diminish the effects of the divorce. So for 11 years raising my children the Lord has provided for us without me having to work full time. His provision has been a beautiful thing to watch and He has taught me so much about myself and about Him that I would have never learned otherwise.
I am very thankful for this journey of faith He has taken me on over the last 11 years. Over the past several months, however, I have been receiving words and confirmations that there is coming a change in my finances, that bills would be completely paid off, and I would have an exponential increase in my finances. So I have been very expectant looking at any opportunity that comes up to see if God is in it. However, if you look at my circumstances right now with being $88k in debt with school loans, no car, a part time job where I receive donations for my services, my daughter's school bill of over $9k half of which is due now, plumbing issues that are going to run about $1800, no money in savings, no help from family members, and no responses to the many job applications I have sent out, you may say where is God in all this. He is not showing up at all. Unfortunately, I cannot go there with you. My experience has been God always shows up and makes a way when life looks impossible. Although I know God will show up, I still feel stuck unable to go forward and unable to go backward.
I asked the Lord about this feeling of being stuck because I have learned over the years that anytime I am going through transition there will be times of feeling lost, lonely, and confused. In the past these times have been seen to be the result of the Lord trying to get something out of me that is not like Him or doesn't line up with who He is or His Word. I have learned many lessons over the years and the most important one of all is to go to Him in those times when I don't understand and am tempted to question what I already know to be true about Him.
So after laying all of this before Him this is what I heard Him say, "Suzanne, I am preparing you for the next season and there are parts of you having a hard time with it, but now is the time and my timing is perfect. You will get unstuck and it will be a place of freedom and rest for you. I am teaching you new things in this season that will open up in you an awareness of Me and My plan for you to walk in. This awareness will propel you into the next season of your life. Write about what you are experiencing in this season and how I am showing you My grace and revelation of who you are. The time for the sons of God to be revealed on the earth is fast approaching and I have prepared you to be revealed."
Okay, so that is why I am writing all this down in my blog, because I feel as I get more and more revelation and I share it, more and more revelation will come and I will grow into who He created me to be. One of the places that I am getting revelation is through the teaching of Ian Clayton. The Lord first hinted at the fact that He wanted me to listen to him back in July when Rachael came home for a month. She told me about him and we listened to one of his teachings on a road trip we took together. At the time I was very impressed with what I heard and wanted to hear more, however, life got in the way and I ended up forgetting about him and what I had heard.
Then when Elizabeth and I went to California in early December to look for her a place to live, the lady she is living with now asked if I had ever heard of Ian Clayton. I told her the name sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. She told me a little about what he taught and that she and the church she attends really agree with and follow his teaching. I couldn't argue with the things she was telling me that he taught but I didn't know this guy and what he taught and I was leaving my baby here with this woman, so I was a little skeptical. However, I did not have a check in my spirit so by the time we got back home and life got in the way I didn't think about again.
Then again when we went to California to move Elizabeth there we talked with the woman again about his teachings and again I was skeptical but didn't have a check in my spirit. So I talked with Elizabeth about it and we both agreed we needed to listen to his teaching before making a judgment call and we both agreed it seemed weird but we weren't discerning anything that wasn't of God. Elizabeth agreed that she would keep her discernment up and pray about whatever came up, so I felt better. After getting home I was determined to check out his teachings in order to make a sound decision.
Once I listened to the first teaching I was hooked. I began to grow in the Lord exponentially because I finally found a place where I felt I was really being fed. The reason his teachings are so different is because he teaches the Bible from a Hebraic standpoint instead of a Greek standpoint. He interprets the Scriptures from the Hebrew instead of the Greek so a lot of what he says can really test your theology, make you think, and go to God for the truth which in my case has always the best place to be. I am amazed how his teaching has begun to answer so many questions I have had over the years about certain Scripture passages. I have a Master's degree in Theology and have studied the Bible extensively over the years with so many questions unanswered. Hearing certain explanations of passages from a Hebraic standpoint has opened my eyes to so much more of an awareness of the nature of God and has brought freedom through understanding and revelation.
I have learned so much about going into the court room of heaven and taking care of business there instead of trying to do it from an earthly standpoint. We have been given an open door to the throne room of God to ask for forgiveness and be called righteous before God, to worship in His presence without fear, to claim what is our inheritance through the shed blood of Jesus, and to petition God on our behalf for the things we need from moment to moment. As a result of interceding from the court room of heaven instead of from an earthly place I have seen some of the places in my life become unstuck over the last few days.
Money has come in to take care of my plumbing, which I see as a sign in the spirit realm of the beginning of the physical realm becoming unstuck. As the plumbing problem is getting resolved I have also seen money come in from unexpected sources to begin to cover my daughter's tuition costs and I received a phone call for an interview for a job. Slowly the pipes of my life are being unclogged as I gain more and more revelation of my position in this earth as well as in heaven and I am certain I will see the completion of free flowing pipes in the natural as well as the spiritual very soon.
If you would like to hear some of the teachings I have been listening to you can go to ITunes and put in Ian Clayton podcast in the search and you will see about 23 teachings you can download for free. Also, if you get hooked like I have you can find teachings you can purchase at his website: resources.sonofthunder.org
I hope you will take the time to check out his teachings, I know it will inspire you and bring revelation.
Anyway this feeling of being stuck appears to be manifesting in every area of my life. I am ending one season and trying to transition into another season. However the transition is not happening and I feel stuck somewhere in the middle, not being able to go forward and not being able to go backward either. To give you an idea of what this looks like I am going to relay some of the particular events occurring in my life during this season. First of all, I felt the Lord asked me to lay down everything I had been doing at church in order to come to a new place of intimacy with Him as well as concentrate on helping my daughter transition into the next phase of her life. I did that back in July-September finishing up my last obligation in December. So every place in which I had identity within the church structure is gone. If you have ever had to do this you can understand what a loss this is and how it feels like a large piece of who you are no longer exists.
Next, I have been a mother for what seems like my entire life, it has been my identity and I would not know how to live my life without being a mother to someone. My youngest child is now 18 years old and has moved to Los Angeles to go to college. She wants to be an actress and influence Hollywood with the love of the Father, which by the way, she was made to do and I know she will do. So much of the last few months of my life have been consumed by making sure she had everything she needed to achieve her dreams and goals and get her moved to California. She is now safe and happy in a good home where she is loved and encouraged to go after God and everything He has for her. So where does that leave me? Without a child to mother; and another part of my identity that has been taken away.
I have always felt I would one day get married again and have hoped for the day when I felt released to date. I never felt God wanted me to date while I was raising my children for their sanity as well as my own. Now that my children are grown I feel a release to begin looking around at the men the Lord has placed in my life but I am not having much luck. I feel transition in this area is right around the corner and at the same time very far out of reach.
My finances have always been a place of faith for me. I felt after my divorce the Lord still wanted me to stay home as much as possible, like I did while I was married, in order to be there for my children and possibly diminish the effects of the divorce. So for 11 years raising my children the Lord has provided for us without me having to work full time. His provision has been a beautiful thing to watch and He has taught me so much about myself and about Him that I would have never learned otherwise.
I am very thankful for this journey of faith He has taken me on over the last 11 years. Over the past several months, however, I have been receiving words and confirmations that there is coming a change in my finances, that bills would be completely paid off, and I would have an exponential increase in my finances. So I have been very expectant looking at any opportunity that comes up to see if God is in it. However, if you look at my circumstances right now with being $88k in debt with school loans, no car, a part time job where I receive donations for my services, my daughter's school bill of over $9k half of which is due now, plumbing issues that are going to run about $1800, no money in savings, no help from family members, and no responses to the many job applications I have sent out, you may say where is God in all this. He is not showing up at all. Unfortunately, I cannot go there with you. My experience has been God always shows up and makes a way when life looks impossible. Although I know God will show up, I still feel stuck unable to go forward and unable to go backward.
I asked the Lord about this feeling of being stuck because I have learned over the years that anytime I am going through transition there will be times of feeling lost, lonely, and confused. In the past these times have been seen to be the result of the Lord trying to get something out of me that is not like Him or doesn't line up with who He is or His Word. I have learned many lessons over the years and the most important one of all is to go to Him in those times when I don't understand and am tempted to question what I already know to be true about Him.
So after laying all of this before Him this is what I heard Him say, "Suzanne, I am preparing you for the next season and there are parts of you having a hard time with it, but now is the time and my timing is perfect. You will get unstuck and it will be a place of freedom and rest for you. I am teaching you new things in this season that will open up in you an awareness of Me and My plan for you to walk in. This awareness will propel you into the next season of your life. Write about what you are experiencing in this season and how I am showing you My grace and revelation of who you are. The time for the sons of God to be revealed on the earth is fast approaching and I have prepared you to be revealed."
Okay, so that is why I am writing all this down in my blog, because I feel as I get more and more revelation and I share it, more and more revelation will come and I will grow into who He created me to be. One of the places that I am getting revelation is through the teaching of Ian Clayton. The Lord first hinted at the fact that He wanted me to listen to him back in July when Rachael came home for a month. She told me about him and we listened to one of his teachings on a road trip we took together. At the time I was very impressed with what I heard and wanted to hear more, however, life got in the way and I ended up forgetting about him and what I had heard.
Then when Elizabeth and I went to California in early December to look for her a place to live, the lady she is living with now asked if I had ever heard of Ian Clayton. I told her the name sounded familiar but I couldn't place it. She told me a little about what he taught and that she and the church she attends really agree with and follow his teaching. I couldn't argue with the things she was telling me that he taught but I didn't know this guy and what he taught and I was leaving my baby here with this woman, so I was a little skeptical. However, I did not have a check in my spirit so by the time we got back home and life got in the way I didn't think about again.
Then again when we went to California to move Elizabeth there we talked with the woman again about his teachings and again I was skeptical but didn't have a check in my spirit. So I talked with Elizabeth about it and we both agreed we needed to listen to his teaching before making a judgment call and we both agreed it seemed weird but we weren't discerning anything that wasn't of God. Elizabeth agreed that she would keep her discernment up and pray about whatever came up, so I felt better. After getting home I was determined to check out his teachings in order to make a sound decision.
Once I listened to the first teaching I was hooked. I began to grow in the Lord exponentially because I finally found a place where I felt I was really being fed. The reason his teachings are so different is because he teaches the Bible from a Hebraic standpoint instead of a Greek standpoint. He interprets the Scriptures from the Hebrew instead of the Greek so a lot of what he says can really test your theology, make you think, and go to God for the truth which in my case has always the best place to be. I am amazed how his teaching has begun to answer so many questions I have had over the years about certain Scripture passages. I have a Master's degree in Theology and have studied the Bible extensively over the years with so many questions unanswered. Hearing certain explanations of passages from a Hebraic standpoint has opened my eyes to so much more of an awareness of the nature of God and has brought freedom through understanding and revelation.
I have learned so much about going into the court room of heaven and taking care of business there instead of trying to do it from an earthly standpoint. We have been given an open door to the throne room of God to ask for forgiveness and be called righteous before God, to worship in His presence without fear, to claim what is our inheritance through the shed blood of Jesus, and to petition God on our behalf for the things we need from moment to moment. As a result of interceding from the court room of heaven instead of from an earthly place I have seen some of the places in my life become unstuck over the last few days.
Money has come in to take care of my plumbing, which I see as a sign in the spirit realm of the beginning of the physical realm becoming unstuck. As the plumbing problem is getting resolved I have also seen money come in from unexpected sources to begin to cover my daughter's tuition costs and I received a phone call for an interview for a job. Slowly the pipes of my life are being unclogged as I gain more and more revelation of my position in this earth as well as in heaven and I am certain I will see the completion of free flowing pipes in the natural as well as the spiritual very soon.
If you would like to hear some of the teachings I have been listening to you can go to ITunes and put in Ian Clayton podcast in the search and you will see about 23 teachings you can download for free. Also, if you get hooked like I have you can find teachings you can purchase at his website: resources.sonofthunder.org
I hope you will take the time to check out his teachings, I know it will inspire you and bring revelation.
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