Analyzing the Mind of Christ - Part 1: The Reality Of His Will

I once experienced the presence of Jesus Christ. And one of the most striking things about this encounter was the tangible experience of His awareness. While on the floor of an old basement wood workshop, I knew that the eternal consciousness of Christ held everything together, and without his intention, the very fabric of space and time would disintegrate. It was as if all of reality was contained in His very thoughts. As I laid flat against the floor, trying to meld into the wooden surface in an effort to get lower while in the presence of perfect love, I felt the universe was eagerly conforming to his will. With what felt like limitless power, countless quantum particles wrapped around my body anxiously awaiting his command, as if their single purpose was to respond to His intent. John 1 states: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” In the referenced verses, the word ‘word’ is the Greek word, logos, which had many meanings. In respect to one’s mind it means: Reason, mental faculty of thinking, cause, reckoning, calculating, thinking, thought & meditating. It becomes very interesting when you read the same passage while replacing ‘word’ with ‘thought’ or ‘reason’. What is a word but a thought manifesting through sound?

Maybe this is why sin (the result of OUR will) separates us from God. Because it’s not HIS thought/will/intention and by default, imposing our own thoughts prevents us from living in His. If the universe, life, power, energy etc. is actually a product of His will & thoughts, then employing our own will over His would literally be living in a different reality/universe, one we created, separating us from the mind of Christ, thus separating us from God. And any reality outside of one God creates, will decay. (Death) “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ.” Introducing Guilt, shame & fear into a reality we create by imposing our will, we can no longer exist in His perfect will/thoughts. It’s just not possible, if God is God. I believe that the fall of man happened when the human will created a reality outside of the will of God. In that moment a dying universe was birthed and was by default separated from the reality of Christ. Within that universe, darkness thrived and the inevitable decay doomed the new reality and all those who resided there. The cosmic conflict of wills had begun.

Although man now lived in a fallen universe, God still loved and desired humanity and the reality of his will and intent ultimately manifested through his Word in the fallen reality. God Preserved a chosen people who would carry the documented will of God through generations, until it manifested within the fallen reality in Jesus Christ who would ultimately reconcile all things to himself through an act of love: “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”  “…For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven” But how did this work? Why did this act cause reconciliation? I mean, we all know the basic answer we have been given. That is, a perfect sacrifice of love covered the cosmic debt humanity incurred setting us free from sin and death. …But why? How? It’s quite a mystery… 

Battling Anxiety

Not long ago, I had a pretty bad issue with anxiety and stress and have since become victorious almost completely. I still have times of stress/Anxiety where I need to pray and meditate on truth until I find my peace, but overall have experienced a ton of freedom.  The biggest tool I found for me was just changing what I believe to be true. I found that most of my stress, was rooted in something negative that I would start to believe. All stress, anxiety, depression etc is really just fear that is manifesting. Kris Valloton once said that "Fear, is just faith, in the wrong kingdom" and I found this to be true. When we have faith that something bad is happening or is going to happen, we are really just in fear, and this prompts all kinds of ugly manifestations. So for me the first thing was to realize that my experience was the result of what I believed to be true, not what was actually true. Somewhere along the lines, I believed lies, and these lies or "strongholds on the mind" as the bible refers to them, are the basis for bondage of any kind. THIS is the foundation of all reality I believe. That is, what is true, and what is not true. The more our perspective originates in truth, the more freedom we experience. In fact, when Pilate is talking to Jesus and asking about who he is and why he was there, Jesus didn’t answer that he came to save the world, or to die on a cross. (Although I believe he did). His answer was this: "...the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth." 

I believe our whole experience is the result of our paradigm, our paradigm shaped by what we believe to be true. So to change our experience we must change what we believe to be true. Many of the fears I had, once I actually stopped to think about them, or shared with other people became obviously irrational, and a constant reminder of realizing this helped alleviate the fear, thus the stress that accompanied it. So, Common sense was a benefit. In our world of knowledge we are so aware of the billion ways things can go wrong we tend to lose sight that the common state of things is not as bad as we can start to believe it is. It doesn’t help that media and news only sell fear based content. We live in a culture of fear and it’s contagious. This brings me to my first big verse that helped me.

Romans 12:2  Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

The bible tells us not to conform to the world. But to be transformed. To do this, the writer states we must renew our minds! This is it! This is what I was referring to above. To THINK and BELIEVE differently. Sometimes that alone does not seem to be enough to find victory in a moment of stress or anxiety, and the scriptures talk about “weapons” we have which help us find victory as well.

2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

Strongholds, or lies we believe, can be demolished. And THANK GOD for this. So what are the weapons I speak of? They are quite simple in concept and I have found, extremely effective in their application. Typically they are the polar opposite of that which we are being attacked. An example is anxiety. The verse below gives us the answer (weapon) which we can use to combat anxiety…

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; 7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

So when I felt anxiety about anything, I would immediately identify my anxiety, and start giving thanks to God for all that I have. Even if I don’t feel thankful in my heart at first, it would not be long before my heart started to agree with my mouth. My perspective would change within a minute or so of being thankful. The truth about my situation would start to become a reality in my heart and color and warmth would replace the area once occupied by anxiety. Thankfulness would demolish anxiety and would often go right into authentic Joy. Within a week of application all the physical ailments went away along with most the anxiety. This was after months of battling intense fear, anxiety, IBS and other horrible things. The root of it ALL were lies. So, THANKFULNESS > anxiety. J

There is another verse I use for maintenance of my perspective which is very powerful in testing our view. It helps me compare my thoughts with what is true. If my current thought or mind pattern does not fall into one of the categories in this verse, I try not to implement it. (Believe it/Act on it)

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Sometimes we just can’t change our circumstances however, and for that I keep this promise in my pocket. It speaks of peace in the midst of conflict. That with the power of God we can ‘enter into rest’ while our “enemies” surround us…

psalms 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows

I hope some of these verses and methods help you as well. It’s really good to be able to recite them in your mind by memory during tough times.  

Supporting Chick-Fil-A

I went to Chick-fil-a in response to Mike Huckabee's call for "National Chick-fil-a appreciation day". This is much more then supporting a company that not only is vocal about Christian values, but in support of free speech in general. The way the media waged an all out smear campaign against this company was really just evidence of the forces that are at war with some of our most basic inalienable rights. I loved seeing such a mosh pot of people out to show their support. Below are a couple photos...

Hiding light under "freedom".

A higher calling is not a more difficult calling but we so often exchange our peace for something far harder to carry. In doing so we also lose the perspective we had in the higher place. With a stunted perspective, we view the effortless with fear and stress. What was once an unnoticeable bump in the road has become a seemingly daunting task, causing the natural self to step in and "do works". Divine perspective is the pre-cursor to divine peace, and when self is served we lose Divine perspective. Jesus said: "My yoke is easy, and my burden is light". This is why abiding in Him is so very important, that is, to maintain the life and perfect perspective we have when we do so. This is denial of self. To deny self is to inherit life, peace, hope and love. This is how we become visible light to the world. Walking by the spirit is a life of constant referral. It’s praying unceasingly, referring to His opinions and ideas. Should I buy a sandwich? Should I save half for someone? Who should get my half a sandwich?" When we are constantly listening to God for the words to speak and places to go, by default we find our self doing the Fathers will. There is freedom for sure, but why do we continue to invest in that which has no return or worse comes at a cost? By no means have I grown to maturity in this place. In fact it is me recognizing where I have sacrificed my peace for the sake of self which has caused me to write. But I do recognize, and will try to apply truth as I move forward. Please forgive our ignorance Father, our selfishness, our immediate claim to freedom while the world bleeds, awaiting love, awaiting for the light to be revealed. Let us no longer hide from the world behind the guise of freedom. Lord may we be what we were meant to be. Thank you for your Love Father God. Thank you for your Son Jesus. "His Bride is still alive!"

Freedom is knowing the Father and the Son

Lord teach me how to be free. Or free me if I am not. In all aspects of life I want to be free. I believe you will see me through any situation. I believe you are with me. Show me this love that sets the captives free. Destroy the chains of self, so I may live. So I may love. Free me from the bondage of the illusions of this world. I believe I am free and made alive. Help me step into this reality. Jesus is alive. He died, and rose again. I will rise with Him. When blood and water hit the ground, I was made free. Show me this reality until it becomes my heartbeat. I want to love without the restraint of self seeking. Without the restraint of ego or pride. This is freedom. I want to be. Spirit of God fill me up again. I desire the desire again. I know what I need to want so bad. My flesh has no recollection of the spiritual experience. Remind my spirit with fire of the Love which you have. Encounter my deep with you. Reign in this vessel oh Spirit of the Son. I will listen until I cant stand to stop listening again. I will work out my salvation daily, today. Give me the strength to do so tomorrow. Thank you papa.

Treasure in the moments…

Losing this life for the pursuit toward God is not losing anything but the dependence on all that is lost already. Lord give me wisdom. Give me revelations of time and the reality of the moment at hand. All things are permissible but most things are a waste of time. Lord God, put each moment in perspective. Let me see how you see. Make all moments a supernova of revelation. Like a star bursting in its completion only to become a new paradigm of truth power and love. Boredom is the result of a stagnate mind. The moment is of the utmost relevance. Even the past’s relevance is only so as to increase the awareness of the moment. By no means is this a call to live in the moment as the world does, perverting truth to justify carnal desires. They see the moment as a fleeting event which must be harnessed for sensuality. But as we live in Christ we live knowing each moment is eternal in that eternity can be found within it. Time, like an ocean being drained into the abyss holds precious jewels which have been hidden only to be sought out for those who desire eternal treasure. This is the relevance of the moment, each holds a revelation. Lord make me an avid treasure hunter, give me a heart and mind hungry for the eternal riches hidden in the moments. All of which reflect facets and depths of your Love. Lord quicken my mind to a steadfastness of seeking. Make my spirit energized with Love and Joy in a pursuit for Truth and Love.

Proverbs 25:2 “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”

Virtue, and Freedom: You can’t have one without the other (part 2)

Demoralization: The foundation of our prison

So what happened? What went wrong? Since America’s declaration of independence in 1776, Our government has grown to a size way beyond the intention of our founding fathers. Income Taxes, Federal sovereignty, socialized health care, welfare, bailouts which monopolize private sectors. We are way passed “a necessary evil” and getting dangerously close to, “an intolerable one”. But, to point at our current state of government which in so many ways has become tyrannical, with frustration and blame toward it’s residing members , is to continue to be ignorant of the source of such evil. The necessary size of our government is always a parallel of the “necessity to be governed”. I placed quotes over this phrase because that is the variable which is debatable and we will discuss further a bit later. I don’t believe the reduction of freedom is justified but is the result of evil taking advantage of a generation’s transgression against the law.

This reminds me of what Paul wrote in his letter to the Roman Church:

“For sin, seizing the opportunity afforded by the commandment, deceived me, and through the commandment put me to death.”

Paul here is referring to God’s law and not mans law, but with this verse we get to the real root of the problem and the source of man’s government. Sin. Thomas Paine speaks of government being instituted due to man’s vices, but that is about as far back that Paine goes. Paul here is referring to the vices themselves. Webster’s dictionary defines a vice as: frailty: moral weakness or a specific form of evildoing. Sin. Sin results in Laws. The original sin of man, resulted in Laws from God, and sin continues to provide the opportunity for more laws. So if freedom is the lack of laws and laws are the result of sin, we could conclude that where sin is absent, freedom is found.

Paul wrote to Timothy in this regard as well…

We also know that law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful”

Paine continues regarding the suffering due to government…

“when we suffer, or are exposed to the same miseries by a government, which we might expect in a country without government, our calamities is heightened by reflecting that we furnish the means by which we suffer! Government, like dress, is the badge of lost innocence; the palaces of kings are built on the ruins of the bowers of paradise. For were the impulses of conscience clear, uniform, and irresistibly obeyed, man would need no other lawgiver; but that not being the case, he finds it necessary to surrender up a part of his property to furnish means for the protection of the rest; and this he is induced to do by the same prudence which in every other case advises him out of two evils to choose the least”

Paine recognizes that if man were to always submit to a God given conscience, laws to restrain man would not be necessary, and freedom would be complete.

An Ex KGB officer named Bezmenov once spoke regarding the communistic approach to take over a society through a brain washing process they called ‘Ideological subversion’. Bezmenov said the following:

“It’s a great brain washing process which goes very slow, its divided into 4 basic stages. The first one being ‘demoralization’. It takes from fifteen to twenty years to demoralize a nation. Why that many years? Because this is the minimum number of years to educate one generation of students of your enemies and expose the ideology without being challenged by the basic values of America. The result? The result you can see, most of the people that graduated in the 60’s, are now occupying the positions of power: Government, civil service, business, mass media, educational system you are stuck with them you can not get rid of them, they are contaminated, they are programmed to react to certain stimuli… The process of demoralization is complete and irreversible.”

Man’s lusts and vices have become the foundation and catalyst for a prison. When we look at the world we see an evil machine designed to enslave people. This system appeals to every aspect of a persons flesh and ego provoking them into transactions of sin which eventually result in lawlessness thus provoking the system to add additional layers of bondage through legislation. Then the process is repeated until a people are completely enslaved.

Bezmenov goes on to say the solution to this problem and only solution is a new generation of people with new values, with virtue.

Virtue, and Freedom: You can’t have one without the other (part 1)

The Original Design

A truly free society would not have a government, but our founding fathers, were forced to settle necessarily for a government which protects inalienable rights so an individual can be as free as is possible in a fallen world. This was the original design. The most limited government possible to protect the rights God has given to every man. The minimal amount of laws so that the individuals inalienable rights are protected.

Thomas Paine Wrote:

“Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher.“

The republic founded by our fathers of old had minimal laws toward the individual which would restrain the vices that represent a threat to said rights. But even this form of government was as Paine puts it “in its best state a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one”.

According to Paine, governments are instituted to restrain vices. The implication in this statement is that there exist vices to be restrained. Transgressing against a law results in new layers of law which further restrict ones freedom . This example can be seen clearly in the life of a criminal who eventually breaks laws, until he is imprisoned by them. Even in prison, were freedom is so limited, further law breaking will eventuate in isolation, an even smaller cell with zero freedom. In the natural world, the size of our prison is determined by our submission to the existing law. The general idea however, was minimal government, maximum freedom. But, there is always a catch. There exists a requisite for such a free society. This requisite, was virtue. This I believe is what Benjamin Frankly meant when he said “We have founded for you a republic, if you can keep it”