A Season of the Spirit

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See I am doing a new thing!  Now it springs up, do you not perceive it?  I am making a way in the desert and streams in the waste land.”  

~ Isaiah 43:18-9

I’ve been in Hawaii less than two weeks, yet it’s amazing how quickly God assimilates those following where He guides into the new season or place He brings them to.  As I was reading my Bible a few mornings ago, God began affirming to me – through the above scriptures – the things He’s laid on my heart since attending the church here, Grace Bible Church.  Although the following words specifically fall in line with the direction God seems to be leading Grace Bible Church, I believe these words also apply to the Church in America as a whole.  It’s time we step into new seasons ready and willing to leave former things behind, instead of grasping to every last remnant of the old season.

Friday night, September 17^th, at Youth Night I watched the young adults worship their Creator and wept.  It brought joy to my heart to see that sincere desire to please the heart of God; as we sung about chains being broken and coming before the throne of God, a sudden picture came into my head…

            A young adult knelt at the foot of the throne of God, their chains lying in front of them in a pool of blood – their own blood.  The young person held their bloodied hands up over their face as the individual wept…

            God impressed upon me that this was a picture of the stage many young people are getting stuck in.  For, when we come to Him with our junk, He breaks the chains off…they are gone.  Yet, this individual in the above picture chose to sit at the Throne of Grace still near those chains, dwelling there, in their own blood and condemnation.  The young person was continually shedding their own blood as a way of trying to make penance for past things which God has broken from their life.  The blood (penance and sacrifices) from our veins will not amount to His blood, which He wants to pour out to not only break away the chains, but wash them away as well.  There comes a point when we must implement the first part of the above verses from Isaiah and release theses chains – not dwelling on the past sins, but allowing the chains to be cast AWAY (note: this does not excuse us from bringing current sins/chains to God and letting Him take those away).  I challenge you, if you have been stuck on the former things and dwelling on the past, don’t keep those chains near you anymore and continue dragging them around into the presence of God.  If you truly have repented, then you are to let God replace the old with the new.    God is saying, “Child, it is time to come before my throne praising!  Not with a heart of the condemned, but one redeemed!”  Have you been redeemed?  Then come to the throne with that heart and don’t cover your face in shame, but lift your hands in rejoicing!

Now, another aspect of not dwelling in the past involves new seasons.  At Grace Bible Church’s young adults’ service on Sunday, we were praying before worship and one of our prayer focuses was “New Seasons.”  God impressed upon me to realize that God is doing new things now in His church.  Just like with the youth’s chains, God was pressing on my heart to intercede that we do not dwell on old hang-ups, past failures, nor past miracles/movements.  Instead, we are to SEE He is doing a new thing.  Not just look, but see because that involves spiritual eyes; for Isaiah 42:18 declares, “look you blind, see!”  Anyone can look, but eyes must be opened and perceptive to the new things God is doing to truly see.  Bobbie Houston, of Hillsong Church, has this to say about seasons in her book I’ll Have What She’s Having:

New seasons may merge gently into your experience, or they may arrive abruptly on your doorstep.  The key is in recognizing the season and having the capacity to allow each season its purpose.  Therefore, do not camp longer than you are supposed to, do not resent one season over another, do not confuse seasons, and definitely do not try to skip a season…”

A new season is coming to the Church of America – one of awareness and action.  Can you smell it, because I have at Grace Bible Church.  And, God is warning that if we do not pay attention, the new season will sneak up on us and we will miss the glory of the process, or perhaps begrudge not having what was in the former season.  Don’t miss the buds of newness which God is springing up in your life, and the church around you.

Finally, the last verse scripted above applies to the message spoken at Grace Bible Church that very same Sunday night.  Pastor articulated that often we go through times in the desert, and that, “on the path towards destiny, sometimes God will lead us through the desert.”  As this sermon reminded us, these times are times of learning and teaching.  Verse 19 of Isaiah also reminds us of this, and furthers the message in saying that these spots of God teaching and guiding us can actually cause the journey through the desert to be refreshing.  For, there are streams in the dry land where God provides for us.  This does not mean everything turns wonderful – we still must endure the heat and dryness all around – but our SOULS do not have to grow dry.  The Holy Spirit is the Living Water – which is something my brother Nathan has been speaking to me about.  And, if we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, this Living Water lives inside of us!  No matter where life takes us, even to the great spiritual-Sahara-desert, our stream and source of refreshment is there.  We can continually sip from it!  That time in the desert does not have to drain, but can be a time when learn to fully depend on the Holy Spirit for our source of fulfillment and LIFE!

In short, God says to Grace Bible and the rest of His church:

LEAVE THE CHAINS BEHIND, DON’T DRAGTHEM WITH YOU ON YOUR JOURNEY; LOOK AND SEE GOD SPRINGING UP LIFE IN THE DRYNESS AROUND YOU; AND, WALK TOWARDS THIS NEW SEASON, BEING LEAD BY THE STREAM OF LIVING WATER!

“For I will pour out water on the thirsty land,

And streams on the dry ground; I will

Pour out my Spirit…” Isaiah 44:3

Killing Religion

I’ve said it before, and I shall say it once more – I hate religion, and I usually don’t use that “H” word. 

Religion kills.

Religion cripples.

And, religion keeps the dead down and the lame immobile.

The saddest part about religion is that it’s sneaky.  The shackles, like snakes, slither through the cover of theology, church culture, and the pursuit of knowledge.  When we receive the bite of religion, and the slinking cords bind us, we are poisoned with immobility.  The mentality keeps our hands and feet from being effective because we become so inward focused.  Life suddenly becomes overgrown with the need to “be better” than others, prove ourselves to God, look and act right, or follow all the right rules so we are “holy.  Instead of moving forward in the Kingdome (by winning souls), we cycle in this constant of striving, guilt, and striving again to “make up” for lacking. This is the religion that kills when given power long enough; for, soon it causes this thing called Christianity to lose the Christ-centered focus we become enslaved to something other than Jesus Christ’s heart…

Theology, church culture, and the pursuit of knowledge in and of themselves are desirable.  We should all seek to become educated and involved, but when they replace the pursuit of Christ’s heart first, we open ourselves to religion’s sneak attack because everything becomes about ME and MY life. As we honestly seek out – then live out – the heart and passion of our Savior, it’s impossible to grow inward focused and solely rules oriented.  Jesus’ heart was for the people.

HE BROKE THE RULES FOR THE PEOPLE.

            Everywhere He went and everything He did focused on reaching and saving people.  He ministered on the Sabbath, spoke outside the church walls, conversed with races he wasn’t suppose to associate with, went against the law for the sake of a woman caught in adultery, ate with people still in sin…

ALL

   For the sake

               Of the PEOPLE in need of what He had to offer.

 If we are truly Jesus-people, then we lose the intense focus on MY calling, MY gifts, MY struggle, MY reputation, and understand that life is all about JESUS working through the “my” to reach the “other” people.  The only reason why we have a “my” in this life is for the “others.”  After all, Jesus didn’t come to this earth for the “my,” but for the entire world!

I’ll be the first to admit that getting caught in the cycle of religion is easy.  One of the main reasons, other than it being like the “sneaky snake” I spoke of earlier, is that often we can’t see we are being religious!  As previously mentioned, the religious’ spirit masks mostly in things which remain good disciplines for our life.  So, outwardly all appears commendable, but as the mindset rears its head, the fangs come out – not only hurting the freedom we’re meant to have through the cross, but hurting those around us.  To keep ourselves alert and our minds and hearts in check, let’s break down the practical differences between living as Jesus-People and Religion-Slaves.

~A Jesus person looks for the lost people and hunts for those in sin for the purpose of sharing hope with them (Luke 19:10); a person driven by religion huddles only

in the safe circle of church groups and does not seek outside of the church to bring in the lost.

~A person with Jesus’ heart reaches out in gentleness to those who are struggling and hurting, broken by this world and sin (including those already in the church) – realizing that NO ONE is righteous without the mercy of Christ (Matthew 9:12-3); a slave of religion sees the broken, fallen, and condemns them as “unclean,” and perhaps even unworthy of their company.

~A Jesus-heart seeks to serve not for the title, but as a way of getting close to those in need of a word from God and to attract others to God because they know that God is the one who grants them authority (Matthew 9:4-8); a religious person serves in order to be recognized by others and elevated to a higher position by the world’s authority.

~A Jesus-follower embraces those “weaker” spiritually and opens their arms to the less-educated (Mark 9:36-7); a religion-bound person looks down upon the more vulnerable and enjoys the feeling of being “elite.” 

The list extends on and on, and the difference between religion and a true Christian-Jesus-follower always goes back to one’s approach towards people.  After all, if we love the Lord our God with all our hearts, soul and mind, then we have to love what He loves too.  When it came to a choice between a doctrine/practice/rule or a person’s heart, Jesus cast aside it all for the sake of one man or woman in need!  He didn’t do things the old way.  He put to death religion (the sacrifices which people did in attempt to be holy) with His final death in order to bring eternal life to the hearts of people.  Are we willing to do the same?

Are we willing to bring someone with a “bad” rep to church and risk the association?

Are we willing to do serve when no one is watching or applauding?

Are we willing to cast aside every judgment and the way things are supposed to work in order to seek to reach the heart of one person?

Because, if we are ready to also put religion to death, suddenly we will find we are FREE and ALIVE because we are allowing Jesus’ resurrecting power to flow through us and breathe life to the dying and suffering around us every day.  Take a deep breath.  Ahhhhh…now go find people to breathe into.

In-a-Sane Way, I’m-Possible

Below, answer the multiple choice question with the best answer as you see fit.

Q. Does Krinda Joy err more on the side of being impossibly corny or insanely crazy?
             (A). Impossibly Corny
             (B). Insanely Crazy

Please announce your vote, and may the truth be known once and for all. Wait! You may first want to read the rest of this piece before proceeding, for it may influence your decision.

So, I’ve always leaned more towards the fact that I am impossibly corny, since my sense of humor is random. However, lately I think I’ve progressed into craziness. You see, I’ve gone crazy in the fact that I am choosing to laugh at adversity and view things in a way that defies logic, sort of like the Mad-Hatter in the most recent Alice in Wonderland (haha, have you seen it?). The Hatter seems at first to be utterly, well, mad, but later we discover that his insanity really masks his sane purpose for re-establishing TRUTH and the order of what’s RIGHT in Wonderland. Lately, God’s been making me laugh a lot at difficulties and “impossibilities.” I’m sure some people think I’ve gone batty – especially when they see me running alongside the road laughing to myself and muttering (AKA praying) out loud. But, in reality, I feel like this insane behavior is causing me to view the world in-the-most-sane view I’ve yet maintained.

God’s been showing me it’s all about perspective. Yesterday, as I was writing, He was breaking down words for me in a way that caused a little giggle.
     • Insane: breaks into “in sane,” as being in a sane mindset    
     • Insanity: splits into “in sanity”; to be in full sanity
And, finally, my favorite…
     • Impossible: stands for “I’m possible,” because anything that seems impossible is possible with God!

As silly as this seems, there’s a profound truth in God’s little phonics lesson to me. As a Christian, we are called to be set apart. What the world may call insane or insanity is really us living out the TRUTH and RIGHT order of things in our world, as God intended. In John 1, God tells us that Jesus Christ is the light that shines in this world of darkness, but that the dark world has not understood Him or His purposes. And, we are called to be the same: “But you are a chosen people…a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light (1 Peter 2:9).” If we are called to be in His light, then we can also assume that we will not be understood! When I choose to say no to sex outside of marriage or to wake up early on a Sunday morning to go to two church services, the world may call me insane, but by Jesus’ standard I’m living in true sanity.

Now, for my new favorite word: impossible! Like God showed me, as someone living by the standards of Christ this word should mean “I’m possible,” or “I AM possible.” Who’s possible, you ask? Check it out, Matthew 19:26 clarifies this – “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Anytime we are faced with an obstacle or task that seems totally impossible, we can know that YES, THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE. Ha, now you are officially thinking I have turned into the Mad-Hatter because I’m spouting contradictions, but let me finish. It IS impossible, but the thing is that God declares I AM the very definition of POSSIBLE. Nothing to Him is too crazy to do, and there is no circumstance that remains too hard to overcome in His power. After all, Jesus declares Himself to be the “I am” (John 8:58). To understand what this encompasses, we have to go back to the original origin found in Exodus 3:14, in which God declares “I AM WHO I AM,” expressing His infinite, dependable and faithful character as the one who is and can do all things! If we serve the I AM who makes all things possible, then the impossible really just acts as a reason to turn to our “I’m possible,” and declare in complete sanity that if God wills it, IT WILL COME TO PASS.

I’ve shown you a new perspective on these words, and so I shall also tell you my vote for the initial question. I think I’m both (A) and (B): sure I’m-possibly-corny and in-a-sanely-crazy mindset. After all, to truly serve God’s requires that I become both, because like the Mad-Hatter’s riddle – “Why is a raven like a writing desk?” – sometimes we won’t have the answer or any idea of the outcome, all we have is the words God gives us and we must repeat them and declare them. Now, return to the above question and replace my name with your own…are you more impossibly corny or insanely crazy, or both? Will you enter the world of “I’m possible” and viewing the world “in-a-sane” way? The world will call what we claim possible in Jesus impossible, and will label us as insane, but we know the true meaning of these words according to The Word...

©Krinda Joy

Fright’s Flight vs. Faith’s Fight

We have two pathways diverging before us: the Way of Faith, or the Way of Fear. The way of fear seems safe and comfortable; there are not as many blind corners or roots bulging from the packed earth, while the path of faith appears uncertain. As we gaze down the Way of Faith, the immediate bend obscures the direction which the trail will take us. The vegetation along the bumpy way seems to reach out in a threat to engulf the passerby - too few take this way, so the path is overgrown. HOWEVER, though the Way of Fear is comfortable, I must pull out the map for you and point to where it leads. At the end of this path, a swamp awaits. The swamp sucks you in and mud will stop your eyes, ears, and eventually plug up your heart, completely immobilizing any further progress. This swamp is the end result of journeying through life along the way off all your fears and doubts: by entertaining the "what ifs" and not stepping towards trusting in God, our steps eventually take us to this point of immobility in which we can no longer decipher reality as God defines it. Now, let's examine the Way of Faith. Certainly it appears scary because it's always new and uncertain; it requires that we give up preconceived notions and TRUST. However, around each uncertain bend awaits beautiful meadows, stunning waterfalls. Sometimes, on the Way of Faith, we have to climb high, or run hard, but when we reach the end we come into an open field. This field is a place full of color and LIFE, where we feel our heart expand and our vision stretch beyond the mountains and seas, straight towards heaven.


Now that I've painted a picture of the two pathways before us as a church, the question is, Which one will we take? God has been pressing on my heart to no longer live by fear, which constantly keeps me fleeing from the swampy "trap" of feeling helpless and immobile before the pains of life. He has challenged me to rise up in faith and defy what I see with my eyes. As I continue to believe and fight for what I KNOW is right, I begin to feel the forces of our enemy fleeing in fear. The Way of Faith is not easy, because, certainly, the enemy does fight back, but before the power of the Holy Spirit, they must eventually bow and back away. We do not need to go by what is seen - for at times it will look like the enemy is winning - but what is unseen. "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (2 Corinth. 4:18). I plead with every member of the church to no longer flee because of fear or back down because what we see does not look comfortable or encouraging. Instead, allow the Holy Spirit to stir your heart for His cause and declare FAITH'S FIGHT today...

Poem: Fright’s Flight vs. Faith’s Fight
We are a people scared.
Running from the faith we once dared.
Scared to lay on hands,
scared to dream and hope –
What if we don’t see a miracle account?
We fear that we won’t – don’t – amount.
This fright that we aren’t enough,
that we won’t make a difference,
spurs on our sprint from the many needs,
thinking, Not me, someone else will do these deeds.
We are a people letting our hearts callous:
shutting out pain all around,
plugging ears from the children’s anguished sound.
Reasoning, There’s too much – sex, slavery, sin –
we can’t possibly change this world’s battle course.
We fear God’s power won’t manifest in the fight
So we simply continue on this fright flight.
And yet, deep down in our depths we’re stirred.
Like the unsettled waters before a storm emerges,
our souls ripple with the Spirit’s voice
calling forth faith in us to make a choice,
to stop this running and stand;
to rise up and be an army in this land.
The Spirit ask: "Will you trust me?
Hope? Pray? Obey? Love?"
In a world where love has gone cold,
He rouses us to merge our hearts with His Cause, so bold.
So we must fight
We must sing
For hopes to rise high
And dreams to live, not die.
As we imagine greater things,
letting God’s infinite love take control…
We must become a people brave –
confident in the One who has the power to heal and save.
We the church must choose to battle with faith not fear,
turning the tide to send the enemy now on fright’s flight, for the end is near.

Written By: Krinda Joy, September 4th, 2010
©Krinda Carlson