Grace - Freedom from Addiction 3

In the following quote, Gerald May describes how his own addiction began.  Notice how the pain and anger he experienced because of his father's death opened a door for him to push God away and embrace another source of comfort:

"In a reaction typical for a nine year old, I expected God to somehow keep me in touch with my father after his death.  I prayed for this, but of course it did not happen.  As a result, something hurt and angry in me, something deeper than my consciousness, chose to dispense with God.  I would take care of myself; I would go it alone.  My wanting--my love--had caused me to hurt, and something in me decided not to want so much.  I repressed my longing.  Just as my father faded from my awareness, so did God, and so did my desire for God.  During college, I fell in love with literature and philosophy.  In retrospect, I think this was my desire for God surfacing again, as a search for beauty and truth.  I even tried to go to church on occasion, but I wasn't consciously looking for God.  By then I was searching for something that I could use to develop a sense of mastery over my life, something that would help me go it alone."

May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print.  p. 5.  The above quote may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside its context.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - Freedom from Addiction 2

"Addictions are not limited to substances.  A person can be addicted to work, performance, responsibility, intimacy, being liked, helping others, among many other possibilities."

May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print.  p. 9.  The above quote may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside its context.

Grace - Freedom from Addiction 1

Below is a quote from and citation of a book I've read through recently.  I hope these quotations will shed light on both the depths of our freedom in Christ and the trappings which rob us of that freedom:

"All human beings have an inborn desire for God.  Whether we are consciously religious or not, this desire is our deepest longing and our most precious treasure.  Some of us have repressed this desire, burying it beneath so many other interests that we are completely unaware of it."

"Addiction and Grace" by May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print.  p. 1.  The above quote may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside its context.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace - It Must Be Experienced

"Sound Bible exposition is an imperative must in the Church of the living God. Without it no church can be a New Testament church in any strict meaning of that term. But exposition may be carried on in such way as to leave the hearers devoid of any true spiritual nourishment whatever. For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience, they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts." (A.W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, Kindle Locations 51-56)

Knowing Scripture is good. But Scripture's object is not Scripture. Scripture's object is God. Scripture, empowered by God's Spirit, points us to the abiding relationship with God. That's what we need.

Thank God for Scripture. But Scripture is not to be worshiped. Only God is.

-- John Piippo

Grace - John Gaston on Life in Christ

The following post comes to us from my good friend, John Gaston.

Enjoy!

Freedom from Rules and New Life in Christ


And now, just as you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, you must continue to follow him.  Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him.  Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT)


Some people could look at this and see a command, but it's so far from that!  The New Living Translation's headline speaks perfectly, "Freedom from Rules and New Life in Christ"

How did we accept Jesus Christ as our lord?  What did that look like?  What do we have to do when we accept something?

We don't have to do anything to accept someone's gracious gift to us, but just to be willing to receive.  That's it.  There's no prerequisite.  We accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord by His grace because He gave us the desire for Him in the first place.  He drew us to Himself.
 
We accepted Him by falling into the grace which was already laid out before us; we fell into the Holy Spirit's prompting.  Falling into something takes no works, no sweat, no striving--you just let yourself go.  (Picture falling back onto a fluffy memory foam bed.  Not much effort on your part, right?)

Paul goes on to say, "you must continue to follow him", but this must be understood in the context of the previous statement. Just as you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord, you must continue to follow Him.  So, just as we accepted Christ by falling into the Holy Spirit's prompting and just as we received the salvation He already paid for us, by saying a simple "yes", we were made a new creation (See Ephesians 1:13:  "...having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise" and John 5:24:  "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.").  The command, "you must continue to follow him", refers to your need to follow the Holy Spirit as you did when you were saved.  You continue in intimacy with Him, not as a command, but because it's what you were born for (or should we say, reborn).  He's the only one Who will satisfy you and your every need and want.  You were designed for intimacy with Jesus.  You were never designed to live by rules or commands.

Paul then says, "Let your roots grow down into Him and let your lives be built on him."  Here, the Holy Spirit showed me something specific:  the scripture verse used the word "let" twice.  When we let something happen, is there work on our part?  Naw!  It's passive; it's a restful state.  God shows us that we are naturally drawn to grow down into Him and our lives are naturally drawn to be built on Him.  He's the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  The only way we don't let our roots grow down into Him is by consciously choosing not to set our hearts on Christ in us and His love for us, but this is now actually unnatural for us to not do, for although we are still in this world, we are now not of it--we died and have been reborn.

When we live as new creations, our roots naturally grow down into Him.  We let them grow and we let our lives be built, but it's not in our own power that our roots grow down into Him and that our lives are built on Him.  It's His power working in us and us letting His power in us do the work, instead of us trying to work.  When we are not trying to follow a "command" in our own strength, the power of Christ's Spirit works.

After Paul states, "Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built upon Him", he says, "Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught."  Faith, being a gift, grows through Him.  It's awesome, but this passage reveals a deeper reality.  The phrase "in the truth you were taught" refers to the truth you are taught by God Himself, through the Holy Spirit given to us by Jesus.  Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life."  Podcasts, books, and videos are all amazing--I love all of them, but our true source is God Himself.  Yes, we have fathers, apostles, prophets, teachers, evangelists, and pastors--all are important, but we are taught by God Himself.

Jesus is revealing all truth to us through His Holy Spirit in us!  Relax, receive, and let Him be your source, your life, and your teacher.

Grace=Peace