aFather God, thank you for your joy and for your perspective and for your help in all things. This week I need help with the packing and finding work. I know you are with me, and I don't have to run in fear or give in to the overwhelming feelings that make me want to run and hide in my bed. Thank you that you are giving me strength for each moment and that I can take one task at a time. Right now, I am spending my time in Your word and in spirit with my dear friend, Tina. I pray that you will fill us both with joy, pressed down and running over. ~Amen.
2:11 "In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ..."
circumcision: peritome (from peritemno): circumcision
peritemno (from peri & the base of tomoteros): to cut around, i.e. to circumcise
peri: around, circuit, excess (beyond), or completeness (through). AND tomoteros: to cut as if by a single stroke; more keen; sharper.
He is saying that our sinful nature was completely cut off in one stroke...Jesus' death on the cross. I have been hearing this more and more over the past year. It is hard to reconcile this with the teaching that I will always sin and never be perfect like Jesus is perfect. I am still wrestling with this concept, asking the Holy Spirit to enlighten me. I am beginning to understand some things about it, but not enough to really write about it.
2:12 "...having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead."
Paul just keeps repeating the gospel over and over again in different ways for different ears. I love this book! I was buried with Christ...dead to my sinful nature, and I have been raised by my faith alone...my belief that Jesus is the Son of God and died for my sins and is now seated at beside Him on the throne interceding on my behalf. And I have been raised in power, God's power. God, who raised Jesus from the dead and seated Him in heavenly places, also raised me from the dead and has seated me with Christ in heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:20 & Ephesians 2:6)
The power of God, which is at work in Paul, is also at work in each of us, wooing us, calling us, cleansing us, healing us, and preparing us for the good works that He has prepared in advance for each of us to do!
2:13-14 "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross."
While I was dead, God forgave me of all my sins. He did this by canceling the debt I owed to the written code of the Law. It doesn't mean that I won't break the law, but it means that He has canceled the opposition against me. He has taken the foothold away from the accuser. Satan accused Job, and God allowed Satan to take advantage of that situation because Job was still beholden to the law. It is different now. Satan still accuses us. I hear his voice every day in my head accusing me of stuff...bad motives, wicked intentions, bad moods, yelling at my kids. He is constantly telling me I'm a loser. The difference is that he doesn't have anything to stand on. He doesn't have anything to take to God against me anymore. I'm not even sure God entertains him in the courts of heaven any longer. It says he was confined to roam on the earth. He tries to pit us against ourselves and against each other, but he no longer has any basis to stand on to accuse us in heaven!
It says here that the law was opposed to us! NOT GOD!! For so long I believed God was out to punish me, just waiting to let the hammer fall. Makes sense, since that's what I was taught by my parents. Mistakes are intolerable and speaking my mind was punishable by the law in my house! Please Father, help me really get this. Help me really see that you are a loving Father, not waiting to punish us with words, deeds, or withholding of your love for us. You are a Daddy who gets excited when we step out and try new things. You are a Daddy who loves us and wants us to explore this world you created for us without fear. You are a Daddy who looks us in the eye and tells us we are wonderful, special, delightful, talented, and gifted! You are the greatest encourager of all! The Gift of Encouragement comes from you. You are the source of all encouragement. Show us your encouraging nature today!
2:15 "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross."
This is so amazing! Again, I got ahead of myself in the last paragraph about the last verse. He has defeated every power and authority...it's like the wars where the treaties were signed, but the final battles were still being fought out to seal the deal. Our mission here on earth isn't to defeat Satan; it's to allow God to mop up the messes of the final battles and set us on our feet aright. He wants us fighting in the Promised Land and not in the wilderness. This last year has been the transfer of that for me. What I have realized for my own self is that the fights in the wilderness are fights against myself...my bad behaviors, my negative thinking patterns, the roots of my problems concealed and hidden so that it seems as though I am my enemy. I am beginning to take these words Paul has spoken to heart, thanks to good teaching and some good friends who have learned about authority and the lack of power the enemy has over us. Now, I can see more clearly the generational nature of my "sins." I can see that they are rooted in a faulty foundation of lies and wounds, and I'm beginning to see the lies and wounds unraveling. The enemy is falling quickly, and now I am not fighting myself any longer, but I'm standing against him. It's such an amazing and different feeling not to hate myself anymore.
Father, I thank you that I am beginning to learn to love myself and not feel betrayed by myself all the time. I pray that you would continue to strip away the lies and show me the truth of the victory that I have in You. I pray this for Eric, too. That you would open the eyes of his understanding, that he might see the truth and begin to shout triumphantly for joy. I pray this also for Mark and Tina, as well. I pray for a completion of the mop-up and the beginning of an organized fight against the enemy and his lies! ~Amen.
So begins the packing huh? Wow that was incredibly fast! You have been talking a lot about the voice in your head that tells you how bad you are. I am glad your recognize this for what it is, the enemy. I pray that you would stop hearing this voice and only hear the quiet still voice of God. He would tell you that you are beautiful, you are worthy, you are holy, you are a work in progress, you are special, you are wonderfully made, you are incredible, he delights in you, you have a purpose, you are needed, you are his daughter and he loves you a million times over. When ever you hear the voice repeat one of these things, combat it with the truth. You are all of those things and more, he sees you more than I do, he recognizes a million more wonderful things about you.
ReplyDeleteTina
Thank you, Tina! It's funny how reading your words I'm like, "Voice in my head? Oh yeah, now I remember. I talk about that a lot? Shoot! I was hoping it was getting better. Oh yeah, it is a whole lot better, but not gone." Thank you so much for your prayers for me about this. I also want that voice completely eradicated. I am going to write these descriptive phases out for myself so I can do exactly what you're advising.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, packing! I'm so overwhelmed. All of a sudden, it feels too fast even though I've been waiting and hoping and waiting and hoping to get this very good news. Please pray for both of us. We should be so excited, but we are really weighted down by all the logistics and by the concerns we have about money. I did get my first response back on a job today. I sent it to my grandma to investigate whether it's legitimate or not. I'm so nervous and excited at the same time.
I'm so glad to know that you are walking with us and praying for us. Sometimes I feel very alone here, unsupported maybe more than alone...not having a church covering is very hard on me. I'm so glad we have one to go to in Redding!
Love you, Angela