Wanna Become a REAL Christian?

6/25/2024

Collaboration amongst a few...

We have always talked about what it means to be a Christian—to be someone who is not just a good person or a nice person or a moral person, but to be someone who is truly Housing the Spirit of God with the LIFE of God overflowing from your inner man with ever-increasing Glory.

Many people are discovering (or having to admit) that they are not who they thought they were or said they were. They have not truly surrendered all to Jesus. Therefore, they are not really a Christian.

Some are pouting “I triiiiied,” as if it is not their fault. Some want to say just the “right” words with just the “right” emotion and do just the “right” thing to “fix it” all. They are finding this doesn’t “work” or get them any closer to Jesus and His Kingdom.

Becoming a Christian is not saying or doing some “magic” set of things... And it has nothing to do with getting to some magic moment or magic measure of having gotten to know God “well enough” or having been “good enough” or having some magic amount of “love” for Jesus first.

Yet, something does need to happen... so what is it?

For starters, deep down you know there is a REASON why you have been a FAKE. It’s not that you “just didn’t know” something. If you want to make it, you are going to have to TURN your face to Jesus now and admit to yourself and to Him just WHY you were a fake. Will you?

Don’t pretend like it is some great mystery. If your little ole world revolves around little ole you, then you can know that (and all the specifics of that) if you want to know. If you have been a corner cutter, you can know that (and all the specifics of that) if you want to know.

With that as a backdrop, let’s discuss some steps you can take toward Jesus now, ok?

Step 1 — Apologize for Murdering His Son

How about you deal with the fact that *YOU* have and are crucifying the Lord of Glory with YOUR disgusting vile selfish life. You KILLED the Father’s Son! YOU!

God doesn’t owe you anything good at all—not even another breath for your lungs. You crucified His Child.

So if you are looking for a “starting place” for God “hearing you” and opening the door for you to come into His Presence... then here’s a little piece of advice: START with apologizing for murdering His Son.

That doesn’t require a bunch of “feelings”... (it’s just TRUE!) and obviously has nothing to do with being “good enough”... (yeah right, HOW COULD IT be about that?) But you can acknowledge that you have sinned and are in a state of sin and are therefore GUILTY of His death. Anyone claiming that they are not one of the guilty murderers... is a liar and the truth is not in them.

Step 2 — Repent, Turn Around—Love Righteousness and Hate Wickedness

After you see and admit that you are a murderer, if you want to be forgiven of this murder along with all the other dark sins of your mind and heart... if you want to be washed and to come into His Life... Then Repent. Turn away from every speck of wickedness and darkness.

Have you ever seen a movie or situation where there is some “rift” or “offense” between two “kin” and one disowns the other? “You are no longer my child.” Or “I no longer know you.” Or “You are nothing to me.” And then they turn their back and walk away for good.

That is what it means to renounce and repent of sin. To say, “Wickedness will not be my kin. Wickedness will not be my love.” We must TURN our back on wickedness and TURN toward Righteousness.

Conversion, the world, the universe—is ONLY about polar opposites, supernaturally. Light and darkness, good and evil, Jesus and Satan. There is no middle ground.

To think there is some middle ground or “improvement” that has “value” is a false religion and present-age Satanic delusion.

The gap or chasm between the two is infinite—and requires a supernatural miracle. It’s not a philosophy change, or a so-called “heart-softening position,” or "humility," or "joining something," or even a ritual of baptism. It is a violent chasm, according to Jesus.

If a person doesn’t see this, and feel this, and live as if this is Truth... then they will never be converted, ever.

Fully selling out to the blood of Jesus and His Kingdom and Reign brings a supernatural separation. It just does. This is an Immutable fact (because of the violent chasm).

But whatever you do, don’t you dare blame God for “supernaturally withholding” Himself from you when it is really that you have repeatedly tried to skip this repentance step. (You’ve already been there and done that, you faker. So don’t do it again!)

DON’T think that you can continue doing just what you HAVE been doing in terms of your “weed pulling” (or lack thereof), your “sowing” (or lack thereof), your “giving up one more thing” (or lack thereof), and your building with others (or your lack thereof—Heb. 3:12-14)... and that somehow everything will change. YOU have to make these Fundamental changes, rather than sowing to the flesh and continuing to reap the well-deserved “whirlwind.”

All of that can CHANGE starting now... Choose. He’s desirable beyond words! And you already are experiencing the first tastes of the other side of that chasm without Him. :(

Dangerous place? Yeah, well maybe. But mostly I would say, a “disappointing” and “unnecessary” place. Resolve it in Him, and see yourself more clearly, and your absolute neediness of Messiah as a result. Then “He who is forgiven much, loves much.”

You’ve been offering Him some token portion of your life in exchange for His. Maybe in your mind the “portion” has been growing over time (because True Followers of Jesus won’t let you get away with your “portion” giving), but it is still just a portion. STOP IT! Can you see how ludicrous that is when you murdered His Child?!

How dare you even bother offering Him some token portion of your life in return? That is not “noble.” That is INSULTING. You might as well be offering Him your poop on a plate.

All means ALL. You must forsake... leave... ALL to be His disciple. There is no middle ground. This is a supernatural issue. There are only two sides with the chasm in between.

You say you want God to hear you and supernaturally open a door to Life and Peace for you. Well, taking these steps we just mentioned is the place where God can start to hear you... Not your poopy plate offer. Can’t you see why God Almighty wouldn’t even bother to turn His head toward a disgusting partial poopy plate offer? He won’t.

The ONLY APPROPRIATE RESPONSE to what you’ve done is: “I killed the Anointed Lord of Glory. My whole life for His? Of course! What a small price to pay. I REPENT of crucifying Jesus with my SELF-life and of how my whole world revolves around ME. I REPENT of that and offer you my life. I want to serve You forever. I don’t even know what all that means, but I give up all my “rights” to ever choose anything except for what you want. I am your slave. You are my Master. You deserve my life, forever.”

Step 3 — Have a Little Faith

A mustard seed amount of faith will move mountains. And you need that speck of faith to enter the Kingdom... because the first mountain to move is YOU.

If you’ve been steeped in a life that is all about you, with strongholds of self-life wrapped around your little neck, don’t be surprised if it takes a while for your blurry-eyed vision to clear. Self-motives die hard.

But can you have a little Faith in who HE is and what He has Promised? Can you have a little Faith that He didn’t GIVE His Son to die for you for no reason? He WANTS to open the door.

So can you “Knock and keep on knocking” not because you are afraid He won’t answer, but because you KNOW (with a smile on your face) that He is very desirous of hearing and answering, even if it takes some time to get you to retch out your self-motives! What you believe about HIM has a whole lot to do with whether He opens that knock. So Knock like crazy... with a peaceful smile on your face. And keep that peaceful smile on your face forever!

Step 4 — Forever Covenant Promises—A Sealed Deal

Don’t ever give in to the enemy’s convincing arguments to stop knocking or to stop being honest about your life. No matter what has happened or ever will happen. Honesty is an excellent place to find the Spirit of the Messiah.

There is NO possibility that it is “too late” for forgiveness, or for deeper intimacy than you’ve EVER known—though you may have grieved the Spirit in choices or habits or lack of investment in Him.

It ALWAYS comes down to confidence in His Deal—to be sealed in His Blood and in His Spirit. When you repent and renounce and turn from wickedness and surrender ALL to Him, HE WILL COME TO YOU. Why? Because fully selling out to the blood of Jesus and His Kingdom and Reign brings a supernatural separation. Immutable and unmovable fact—so do that, and “no worries.”

When you really let your knees buckle and admit and see what you’ve done (killed Him!) and turn away from wickedness and love righteousness, the only natural next response is to offer Him your life in exchange. Again, “My life for His? Are you kidding me? Of course, it is truly the least I can do. I give you that forever, Jesus. This is a Covenant Promise, God, because this is what YOU Deserve. I owe you everything, (so of course) You owe me nothing. And no matter what, though none go with me, still I will follow. Even if it seems like You aren’t going with me and I am just picking up little scraps from the table like the dog I am, I am still giving all I’ve got because You deserve it.”

And guess what? When you are ready to make THAT deal... He’ll be there. It is an immutable and unmovable fact.

When you enter into THAT whole-hearted Covenant with God (ALL IN, FOREVER, NO CORNER CUTTING), and you decide to seal that deal in a Covenant Baptism, then, in so doing, God will show up and make a Covenant with you, too.

Walk, Come Out, You Dead Man

So you see, no one should be waiting around for some magic moment. WALK! COME OUT, you dead man! He deserves your life. I don’t care what you feeeeel. It is just TRUE. Give it, recognizing that you don’t deserve anything in return.

You don’t have to SEE “everything you have to give up” ahead of time... you just have to completely lose control and give up that stinky life of yours. You have to make a Covenant that renounces all your “rights” to hold on to any part of your life ever again. You renounce and forever turn your back on your right to hold on to your own way, rights, opinions, and anything that is not like Jesus.

You’re renouncing your right to refuse any teaching or any direction of Jesus Christ by His Holy Spirit in the future. You’re renouncing your right to refuse to die. You’re dying to your right to live. Period.

As the days go by, God will interpret that for you in deeper and more profound ways as we walk with Him. But the only Covenant that HE joins Himself to is one that says, “You get everything, henceforth, from now on. I have no life apart from You. I trust you to help me interpret what that means every day, and I will walk with You through it all the rest of the way.”

He doesn’t “sign” any other “contract” or “deal” offered to Him. You give Him ALL, or you get no signed and sealed Covenant Deal from Him. No deal. No down payment. Period.

So I don’t really care how many emotions you have or don’t have about all that, or how “good or bad” you think you are, or how “far” you think you have to go. This is just plain Truth written into the code of the universe. Take it or Leave it.

To Summarize

And of course, no matter where we start on THAT Covenant Journey with Him (emotions or no emotions), Knowing Him and Loving Him will very likely become part of any True Covenant Bond with Him, sooner or later along the journey (how could it not when you are binding yourself to someone so Wonderful)... but it isn’t required. Letting your knees buckle at what you have done... apologizing and repenting of crucifying Him and of your wickedness... and having a little Faith... and an absolute losing-control commitment... IS REQUIRED.

BEHOLD Him, by commitment... and He’ll CHANGE you, by Oath (2Cor. 3:17-18).

A Declaration of What Is to Come

Some of us are going all the way. That doesn’t mean we are superheroes or extra “strong” people. But we have a signed and sealed-in-blood contract with Him, and with His downpayment inside, we are NOT going to be denied. We now come BOLDLY before the throne of grace by His blood. Do we still stumble and fall? Yes. But those who have pushed the button all the way down of denying their very self (not just 95%) and have been washed in His blood, then as we walk in the light and confess our sins one to another, then the blood of Christ continually cleanses us from all sin.

We’ll deal with the obstacles as they come because the Lamb that was slain deserves to receive the reward of His suffering. Every obstacle will be avoided, leaped over, or bulldozed into. We’re taking the road Home and nothing is going to stop us, by His grace. When someone says, “Here’s a sin in your life,” we’re not going to say, “Well, I’ll think about it, I’m not sure whether I’m going to repent of that, too... I’ve already repented and given up so many things...” No way. We already decided to repent of it a long time ago when we gave our lives to Jesus. Now it’s just a matter of how to repent of it; using the recourses and the tools and weapons of righteousness in the left hand and the right, as Paul said. We’re still learning, but we are learning. Learning how to put on the armor of God, being willing to be instructed and taught, humbled and encouraged by our brothers and sisters, in circumstances, in God himself.

We will not be stopped. So satan, get ready. We are reaching across the chasm to help Set Captives FREE!

06/27/2024

One person's immediate response...

Even Artificial Intelligence AI knows how to not be an artificial Christian

“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. “Come, follow Me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” And at once they left their nets and followed Him. Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets. Jesus called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him.”

Isn’t it amazing how people who don’t want to leave their nets and boats and father make “conversion” sound so complicated?

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