God Lives in Our Hearts, Not in Our Heads

 

 

"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love," (Ephesians 3:17)

Jesus dwells, abides, makes Himself at home in our hearts.

Not in our heads.

Yet the whole thrust of the AA cult is to teach people "Choose your own conception of God!"

What does that mean? You choose God to live in your head.

He becomes a figment of our imagination, rather our depending on Him for our life, our breath, our very being.

It makes no sense to me, how anyone can look at the AA cult, and conclude that it is a mainstrream program, a basic plan of action to help people break free of alcoholism.

How can you break free of the debilitating affects of alcohol addicition if you give into the lie that you are defined by this perversion, and that you can run off to some made-up deity to help you find your way in life?

The issue of God living in my head, though, and the relentless challenges I faced trying to make sense of Him working in my life, these conflicts created an unprecedented burden for me.

Verses like this were really difficult for me to understand:

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)

I was constantly bombarded with this question: "What am I supposed to do? Am I doing enough? Is it wrong for me to rest? What is my part?"

I was plagued by these questions because I had learned nothing but mixture from my parents, my church, and other people on TV. People do not hear the fullness of the wonderful Gospel. Jesus is our life, and He is taking care of us.

He is not some figment of our imaginations, nor is He some conception that we think about, so that we can feel good about ourselves as we pray to Him.

The truth is that He is taking care of us, He is a GOD to us! (Hebrews 8:12)

He is not someone whom we have to figure out. He has us all figured out, and He has figured out the best way to guide us! Yet for so long, I was going along with a god that my mother had come up with, that my father went along with, a god based on human efforts and human works, Church-ianity at its finest, or rather at its worst.

No one had ever told me that He lives in me. No one had ever told me that He is taking care of me every step of the way, so therefore I do not have to constantly look over my own shoulder. He is taking care of you, and He is taking care of me.

If we would only let Him, and Let Him make Himself at home in our hearts!

Daddy God is Holding Onto Me

 

Lord Jesus!

My head is so at peace!

No longer do I judge whether Daddy God is on my side depending on how I feel or what I am thinking. I realize that You have been actively holding onto me this whole time!

"9If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

"10Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me." (Psalm 139:9-10)

He holds onto us! We don't hold onto Him.

Now this verse means so much more to me than ever before:

"29Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)

I had such a hard time with this simple exhortation. I did not realize how much Jesus is doing.

Lord Jesus, I did not realize how much YOU are doing for me.

For so long, someone else told me who You are. Today, because of the grace of God, because of the full revelation of the New Covenant, I allow the Holy Spirit to tell me who You are!

"I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee." (Job 42:5)

I finally see You, Lord Jesus, and I know that You are holding onto me!

"My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." (John 10:29)

What is so different now is that I see how alive You are. What is so different now is that I know You are holding onto me, even when bad things happen. Even when things are not going the way that they are supposed to:

"And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian." (Genesis 39:2)

This promise is fulfilled for all of us in Christ!

"Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." (Matthew 1:29)

Daddy God is holding onto me. I am not trying to hold onto Him. And that means so much!

Why was this so hard for me? Because I kept thinking that I had to conjure Him up in my mind. But He is greater than our minds, greater than our awareness. He has been caring for us, and carrying us, from the moment we believed on Him! That is great revelation:

"O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" (Romans 11:33)

And all this time, when I would talk or think out loud, I was still under this false impression that God was far away, distant, that I had to search for Him.

But I was so wrong, Lord! You are right here, and You are always right here with me!

"If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there." (Psalm 139:8)

and

"And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;" (John 14:16)

and

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:" (Colossians 1:27)

Daddy God, You are always with me, and You are always working and caring for me. Thank you, Daddy God, for Your patience and Your kindness towards me. AMEN!

The Work is Done, and Jesus is Still Working in Our Lives

                              

This may seem like a contradiction to some, but I can make this make sense.

Yes, Jesus has Finished the Work. He put aside all our sins, and He gave us His righteousness. We have become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21), meaning that our nature, our identity is new, defined by His righteousness, not our wretchedness.

We no longer have to do "our part" to make sure that Jesus does His Part.

But here's the part that I did not understand for the longest time: Jesus is alive, and He is working for us!

Jesus is not some figment of our imaginations who comes and goes if we feel bad, think bad, or even do something bad.

He is alive, and Hes serves us ever still!

"[Jesus] is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. For he testifieth, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec." (Hebrews 7:16-17)

Jesus is not seated at the right hand of our Daddy God doing nothing:

"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." (Romans 8:34)

He is also working in us and through us:

"For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

Why have I struggled with this, and what has been changing in my mind? How has Daddy God been transforming me from glory to glory via His Holy Spirit, as I behold His Son in the Scriptures?

I am really starting to understand now that all the upsets in my mind, the assaults and fears that have plagued me and demanded my attention, they are not only from me, but all these fears and tumults are answered by the Cross!

That's what Paul is writing about when he tells the Corinthians:

"4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:4-6)

It's not my job to bring those thoughts into captivity. God brings those thoughts into captivity, and He does so through the obedience of Christ, that is what His Son accomplished at the Cross!

The weapons of our warfare are indeed mighty, and yet for the longest time I had believed that bad thoughts, bad fears, upsets in my mind or feelings, all of that was my job to do something about. Today, I understand that all of those premonitions are nothing but mind control from the AA Cult. Furthermore, I know that Jesus is ALIVE, that He is providing for me in all my work and my walk. I am not trying to live this life on my own. It's about seeing Jesus by faith, with the eyes of my heart further and further enlightened (Ephesians 1:17-18). It's not about looking at myself. It's not about trying to figure things out in my head. It's not about trying to seek God's presence through my feelings or some kind of rational discernment. He was already made present to me the moment that I believed in His Son, and I accepted His sacrifice on the Cross.

What has been happening since then? I have had to unlearn so much of the garbage, the mistakes, the distortions, the outright wrong-believing of my parents. Many of us have to go through this, and there is no reason for me to feel bitter about it. Christ Jesus makes all things better:

"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." (Revelation 21:5)

Pastor Prince Devotional: God's Not Angry -- The Rainbow in the Sky

 

God’s Not Angry—the Rainbow in the Sky “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:9–10 I love rainbows. Who doesn’t? But do you know how the beautiful rainbow came about? In the Book of Genesis, God placed a beautiful rainbow in the sky to remind Himself and us of His oath never to flood the earth again. Then, in the Book of Isaiah, He declared that just as He had sworn never to flood the earth again, He has sworn never to be angry with us again. My friend, God is NOT angry with you today because of the covenant of peace established by the blood of Jesus. Today, see the Lord smiling at you, eager to bless and heal you!

The Finished Work, and Rest for Our Minds

 

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3)

This is really amazing, and this is really something that is leaving my mind reeling.

It's hard for me to explain, but I am going to do the best that I can with my writing.

I have been all too alive in my head. For the longest, longest time I treated every tremor, every thought, every rumor in my mind as something that I had to respond to. Why was I so concerned about what was going on in my mind?

I was convinced that I had to keep my mind free in order to hear God talking to me. For so long, I had treated God as someone who lives in my head. I was not walking by faith, but walking by feelings, and walking by the reason of my mind, based on only on what I can see, touch, taste, sense, etc.

All of that is wrong. All wrong! 

I have written in previous posts that I was so obsessed with keeping my mind and thoughts in order. I was so busy living in my head, thinking that I had to figure out life in my head first to get anywhere.

I did not realize how alive, how pertinent, how present Jesus is in my life, regardless of whatever is going in my flesh, my feelings, or the facts before me.

For too, too long I was attaching the truth to what I was thinking, rather than getting my thinking in line with the truth.

Finally, I have a greater understanding of this great promise from Paul to the Corinthians:

"4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5)

The weapons of our warfare are mighty through God. It's not based on our efforts, but His work! I don't have to conjure up Daddy God to be present in my life. He is already here working in me, and working around all of us!

What is starting to become real to me now, though, the bigger revelation than ever before, is that much of the noise--no, all the noise--that is warfare against my mind. It was never me to begin with! The weapons of our warfare are indeed mighty through God, because Jesus, His obedience to God the Father, vanquished sin, and Satan, and the grave. He has paid for everything. There is no need to do extra, to think different, to correct my mind or to answer every fear, doubt, and question that rises up.

The Cross of Jesus Christ puts the answer to every challenge, interrogation, fear, or wonder. I understand what it means to walk by faith now. It's not about making stuff up in our minds. It's not about hyping up our feelings. Nor is walking by faith some leap into absurdity. We take as true and unshaking that God is with us, that Jesus Christ accomplished what He said He did at the Cross, and that to this day He is seated at the right hand of His Father--and our Father--ministering, interceding on our behalf.

The revelations that have also been pouring in for me for the last two weeks have included recognizing that Jesus, who is alive, the Holy Spirit who is moving are always providing for me and providing everything. I am not supposed to worry about anything.

And I am not supposed to worry about worrying about anything, either.

I have fought the fight in my head for so long, being distracted with all the sentiments that I was going through. Now, I know and believe in Daddy God's love for me, and I understand that I am not supposed to worry or fight off bad thoughts or worried thoughts, either.

The Cross, the Finished Work of Jesus Christ, has paid for all of it! AMEN!

Reject "A Conception of God", Choose the Truth About God

 On this theme, I am beating a dead horse, but then again, I find that too many Christians are riding a similar dead horse, so once again this horse needs to be whipped so that people stop riding it in the first place.

I do not want to believe in my conception of God. I do not want to believe in anyone else's conception of God.

And yet, too many people are coming to God and interacting with our loving Father via the conceptions of preachers, pastors, and teachers. We need to consult God's Word to see who God is.

If we can conceive of God, He would no longer be God. I cannot begin to understand how any divine or supernatural intelligence could have brought this world, the entire universe into being, yet even then such a conception does not begin to help us really understand who God is.

We know who He is based on His Word.

And throughout His Word, we read:

"Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good. His mercy endures forever." (Psalm 136:1)

The LORD is good.

His mercy (His grace) endures forever!

Most people do not know this, or they do not believe this about God. They simply do not know or believe.

Yet John shared the following:

"And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (1 John 4:16)

There is no way anyone of us could have figured this out or come up with this on our own. No way.

It takes revelation, because our reason cannot begin to grasp this amazing truth about our loving Heavenly Father.

Consider also how great this love is for us!

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

There is no way that I could ever understand a loving God sending His own Son to die for me.

Paul expounds on this massive revelation:

"6For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8)

Sure, one man might die for a good person, or even a great person. But the notion that God Himself would send His Beloved Son to die for all of mankind, you and me, when were still red-blooded rebels against God, alienated from His life and love for us (Ephesians 2:12), that is something that we cannot begin to understand.

For that reason, Paul prayed this prayer, and urged us to pray the same in turn:

"17That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." (Ephesians 3:17-19)

Some people will tell you to settle for whatever conception of God they can come up with. Most people end up coming up with some abusive conception of God based on how their parents treated them, or based on the stuffy, legalistic rationale that most pastors and preachers push on their congregation.

I want to know Him and see Him in His gracious fullness. I do not want to be stuck, sand-bagged with the crappy ideas of what someone else thinks God is like. If we go with our own conception of God, we are stuck living in our heads, trying to make sense of everything. 

That's what happened to me, because that is what I was taught for so long.

No, I do not want to believe in my or anyone else's conception of God. I want to believe and receive the truth conception of the living, loving SAVIOR OF THE WORLD!

This is the Savior we need to believe in:

"Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." (John 6:29)

If that is the only work, then we need to know Him, not ourselves. We cannot know Jesus through our own efforts. We need to see Him and receive Him through His Word!

"25Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself." (Luke 24:25-27)

Jesus taught of Himself. He didn't talk about having a great marriage. He didn't talk about getting rich, or dying trying. He didn't talk about how to have a healthy family or a great career or calling.

He taught of Himself, and we are not going to Himself except through the Word of God.

It's all about Jesus, not ourselves. He is our focus, for He is our life (Colossians 3:4).

Consider Peter's last words in the New Testament as a testimony to what we should all be focusing on:

"18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18)

There's an "Amen" at the end of that prayer! Let's make Jesus our focus, since He is so focused on us. He is good, and His grace endures forever!

No Need to Think So Hard

                                      

"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people," (Ephesians 1:18, NIV)

This journey of the being enlightened has been a real blast. It's just amazing!

I really see Jesus, far more than I could have ever imagined. This is a new life, a new opportunity.

When I walk out and about, it really does seem that everything is lighting up! I can see everything so much better! It's really amazing.

Pastor Prince preached about the Year of Hazon Vision in 2021. When Year 2022 rolled around, however, I was not finished with the eyes of my heart being enlighted. I wanted to see more, and I want to see more of Him. Yes!

I am a Revelation Addict now, and I am not ashamed to admit it. I don't need no Twelve Step program to break free of this "addiction," either.

For the longest time, I lived my life by thinking through everything. I really believed that life would not go on in my life if I was not thinking through everything. This may sound crazy, but remember that I grew up in a hard-core, Twelve-Step household, in which everything was based on the cult of Alcoholics Anonymous.

God is real. God is good. He is working in us and around us. We do not have to force the issue. We do not have to strive or cogitate on our own to make God real in our lives.

We only need to ask God to enlighten the eyes of our hearts, so that we see more of Him!

God is thinking about us. We don't have to strive in our own minds to think about Him, to keep Him active and alive in our lives. This is a simple revelation, perhaps so simple that it would insult most people's intelligence, but for the longest time I lived as though His live, His presence, His love for me was all conditioned on what I was thinking, feeling, or even doing. It has taken me a long time to realize how alive, how powerful, how independent Daddy God is in my life, and that Christ Jesus lives in me by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It's one thing to know about it, to hear about it. It's quite another when you start to realize how alive He is in our daily lives, caring for us every day, in every way. I really do see Him at work in my life. I understand what it means to walk by faith, not by sight. I understand also that God is not trying to play hard-to-get or hide-and-seek with us. Because of our limited sight and ability, because we are creation and not creator, it takes time for us to understand and receive revelation based on spiritual revelation, not through mental cogitation or physical discernment.