Choosing The Correct Path

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(Excerpt from Cheryl Gnagey's Spiritual Healing:  The Surrender That Brings Victory, Chapter 12)

As I begin to wind down the message of Spiritual Healing in the next few blogs, much of it will seem familiar to you, at least I pray that it will.  The last chapter of the book is the culmination of the first eleven.  Each blog will have less information, but it is designed to be that way.  Prayerfully absorb the truth, look deeply within so that you can correctly assess your spiritual condition, and then choose the correct course of action that will lead you into the Holy of Holies.

"Are you in the same court [of the Tabernacle] as when you began to read this book [or these blogs on the book], or have you covered some ground on your way into the next court?  Which court is your current address?  Each of the courts can be reached by taking appropriate steps, and sometimes even leaps, in our spiritual lives.  The goal is always to reach the presence of God in the Holy of Holies.  But your arrival there will depend on these two things:

1. You!
2. And the choices you make!

If you never choose to die to yourself and your sinful ways, you will never walk boldly into the Holy of Holies here on earth, for no flesh can reside in His presence.  So to reach that goal, one must die to self.  Do you remember that the placement of everything in the Tabernacle lines up into a cross?  In order for Jesus to secure a way for us to travel through the Tabernacle into the presence of God, He had to sacrifice His life on a sinner's cross.  If we desire to bask in His presence, we must choose to do the same.  He died for our sinfulness, but our sin still is present in us to many varying degrees.  His intimate presence will only be gained when we die to the sin still found in us.  The Old Testament Tabernacle was a prophetic picture of Christ's death.  It was also a prophetic picture of what is required of us now; it shows us how we must die even as Christ had to die."

What will you do with this information?   Did you recognize this as truth and absorb it?  Did you assess your spiritual condition and the sin that still is apparent in your life?  Will you decide to do whatever it takes to die to your flesh and to your daily sin?  These choices are up to you.  Your choices will determine and reveal whether or not you are serious about moving forward in your walk.

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(Excerpted from Cheryl Gnagey's Spiritual Healing:  The Surrender That Brings Victory, Chapter 10)

"Consider you spiritual life right now.  Do you desire to be pleasing to the Lord by bringing Him your sacrifice of surrender now?  If so, let these next tree passages of Scripture shed new light on the picture of the artesian well of surrender.  They will clearly reveal the life rewards that await the one who is submitted to the power of the Holy Spirit within:

• Therefore, you will joyously draw water from the springs of salvation.    (Isaiah 12:3)

•  Jesus answered and said to here, 'Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.'    (John 4: 13-14)

• He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water,' but this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.   (John 7: 38-39)

God is so specific, isn't He?  But let's not just revel in the wonderful thought of what can be.  Let's take the thought one more step -- into action!  We must apply this truth by contemplating our own lives.  Do you have sin in your life that you are holding onto, sin that is keeping God's power trapped inside you?  Has your pride kept you from giving over all of your sin habits to the God who desires to explode forth from you?  Do you understand clearly now that repentance and surrender are the only tools that will enable you to bore deeply into your own heart, bringing you to victorious, overcoming power in your life?  Are you ready now for the Holy Spirit to flow out of your life to others, touching them with His living waters?  Do you realize that in your lifetime, there will be many such borings of repentance and surrender?  Surrender was never intended to be a 'once and for all' deal.  It will be a continual process during your walk toward Heaven.

Your understanding and application of surrender of your whole heart will determine the amount of power that can be witnessed in your life.  If you seek to overcome by the power of the Spirit, then you must find the altar of death and the surrender that can only be found at the veil of the Tabernacle.  That is the place where your flesh dies.

Sacrifices The Delight God

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(Excerpt from Cheryl Gnagey's Spiritual Healing:  The Surrender That Brings Victory, Chapter 10)

"What will happen if we do surrender our sinful hearts to God?  Our surrender will lead to victory, perseverance, and power!  If we lack power and victory in our daily walk, we can most assuredly know that our personal surrender is lacking.  Psalm 51: 16-17 sheds some more light on just what kind of sacrifice God requires of us when we surrender.

For You do not delight in [animal] sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offerings.  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

 God wants our hearts and spirits to be broken by our sinfulness.  He is looking for a broken and contrite heart in the one who comes to a place of total surrender.  This brokenness and contriteness must be so intense that it leads to real repentance, the turning away from that sin and toward the God of our heart.  This kind of brokenness is a deep sorrow and remorse for our sinfulness that is followed by the desire to never fall prey to that sin ever again. 

To be broken literally means to 'break or crush into pieces' and the word contrite  means to 'collapse'!  Is that how you have taken full vengeance on your sin in the past?  Have you ever been to that place?  Have you been broken to pieces by your sin?  Or have you ever collapsed from following after your sinful flesh,  your sins, your gods?  It is difficult in our pridefulness to get to that place of contriteness and brokenness.  We will try every form of evasion to avoid being ground to pieces, won't we?  Believe me, I know that from my own experiences!  True surrender and repentance are rare in the church today, it seems.  Yet we cannot offer God the correct sacrifice if we are never broken and contrite about our sin. 

Have you ever found yourself saying any of these things to yourself, as I have?

• "I don't need to do that because I'm already forgiven."
• "I am not all that affected by my sin."
• "Who cares anyway?"
• "I don't want to be labeled a radical Christian."
• "I am afraid that if I fully surrender, God will make me do something that I am uncomfortable with."

Maybe the enemy has spoken things to you that are different than these.  It doesn't really matter what has has spoken to you; they are still excuses if you listen to them and use them, and worse, believe them. 

Do you know what all these excuses are?  They are lies and deception from an enemy who would love for us to remain unyielded to God.  He stands to gain territory in our hearts if he can keep us from submitting to God's call to surrender.  If the enemy of of our faith  can make us believe, for any reason, that we don't need to take our sin seriously, then he will be thrilled to keep us from the power that is available to all who do surrender to God's full control.  He would love for us to never surrender anything to God!  He would love to continue to hold us captive in our sin!  He wants to keep us from the victory God has for us!"

For the believer, spiritual healing is all about the surrender that brings us victory over sin.  If you want to lead a victorious, holy life for Jesus, you must come to grips with the idea that it only flows from a heart that has been utterly shattered by its sin, and is now fully surrendered to Him.  There are no short-cuts on the way to the victory that Jesus can bring to our spiritual lives.

Standing Out Or Blending In?

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(Excerpt from Cheryl Gnagey's Spiritual Healing:  The Surrender That Brings Victory, Chapter 9)

"Just like Abraham was asked to sacrifice his own flesh and blood, Isaac his only son, we have an altar of death that we must face as well.  And the sacrifice we must bring to the altar is our flesh.  These two verses describe it well.

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. (Romans 12:1)

God is asking for our crucified flesh when He urges us to be living sacrifices.  You might be asking what your flesh actually is.  What is God really asking for?  Your flesh is made up of the body , the mind , our intent,  and our thoughts.  Our flesh is anything that stands in opposition to what God says.  And this is what God asks of us:  to put to death anything that is unacceptable to Him.  This crucifixion of our flesh unto death, given up as a sacrifice of our living being, is what God defines as worship.

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

This a a huge problem with Christians today.  We don't look any different, in most cases, than those who are not believers.  The world can barely tell the difference, if at all.  We do not stand out; we blend in.  We are conformed to the world when we watch the same television shows and movies that the world watches.  We are conformed to the world when our CD's, iPods, and radios pump the same kind of music into our minds and hearts that the world listens to.  We dress like the world. talk like the world, and think like the world.  We take firm hold o the reins of our lives every morning when we wake up, and we don't lay them down until we fall into bed at night.  We continue doing what we know is wrong to do.  We want the same things that the godless want--more money, bigger homes, all the newest toys--security in all the wrong things.  We often are independent, self-sufficient, multi-taskers who have no need for a God who wants to take away our control."

In order for God to have His rightful title of Lord of our lives, we must crucify our flesh.  We will make the choice to blend in or stand out.  So which one are you?  Are you a chameleon who changes with every situation, always protecting himself by blending in?  Or are one who, moment by moment, is courageously crucifying your fleshly and worldly drives in order to be the stand out Christian God desires you to be?

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 40

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Day 40:  Now What About You?  (Romans 12)

The whole purpose of this 40 day devotional leading up to Easter was for you to focus on the experiences of real people in the Bible whose lives and hearts were resurrected by Jesus Christ, whose resurrection we celebrate today.  This devotional, if read every day, likely challenged, convicted, and humbled you as you read these incredible testimonies and answered honestly the questions that followed. If you have been challenged in your relationship with Christ, your attitudes, your mindsets, and your sinful ways, there is a very good chance that your heart is in the process of being resurrected to a new place of faith.

Can you see that new growth that comes from death to your flesh and surrender to Jesus?   Or are you still acting like the same person you were before your salvation?  What sins have you overcome since you have been saved?  Do you want to experience the kind of dramatic conversion that those you have been reading about the last 40 days, the kind of conversion that reveals to all who know you that you have been resurrected to a new life?  Do you struggle to know what is required of you?

Look at Romans 12: 1-2.  They hold the key.

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present (surrender) your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.  And do not be conformed (any longer) to this world, but be transformed (resurrected) by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Surrender everything to God!  That is true worship, and God expects it of us.  It is a reasonable request that, if He died for us, we would choose to live for Him! We must be conformed to what God wants, not what we want, because that is a worldly and selfish lifestyle.  By allowing God to convert your heart as you read, study, and apply the Word, and as you surrender to God completely, you can experience a  “Lazarus” resurrection—a calling forth from the way of death to the way of life.  This can be your resurrection day!  Hallelujah!

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 26

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Day 26:  The Two Criminals (Luke 23: 32-33, 39-43)

The beatings and the trial were now behind Him, but the cross still loomed ahead of Him.  While Simon of Cyrene carried His cross, the two other convicted criminals carried their own crosses to Calvary.  Yes, death was just a few hours ahead.

Crucifixion was a torturous and horrific way to die.  But Jesus kept His eyes fixed on the goals:  the sacrifice to be made once and for all, salvation that would be available to the whole world, and a chance for all to have a personal and real relationship with the Father, the Spirit to come, and Him.  But He also focused on the glorious moment that He would return to His Father and be Home again.  But what would lie ahead for the two criminals?  What were they thinking about on the way to their deaths?  What did they have to look forward to?

As Jesus and the two men hung from their trees of death, some of the rulers, the commoners and the guards began to hurl insults at Him.  Even one of the criminals joined in.  “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us!” he sneered, laughing an evil laugh.

“How could he say those things?” the other criminal thought.  The sheer audacity of that sinful man!  It just doesn’t make any sense that he would be demanding to be saved from the consequence of his own sin!  How could he so blatantly speak out such evil?  Did he not fear God Almighty?

Finding his voice amidst the pain, he had to speak.  “The punishment we received is just and fair for us.  We did what was unlawful and hang here today because of our disobedience.”  Then looking directly into the eyes of Jesus he said, “But this Man, He has done nothing wrong.  Jesus, please remember me when You come into Your kingdom.”  Seeing into the man’s heart, Jesus answered him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”

Are you looking for Jesus to save you out of the circumstances of your own sinful life, expecting Him to change them?  Or are you recognizing your sinfulness, confessing it to Jesus, and letting Him change you?

THE RESURRECTED LIFE -- Day 3

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Day 3 -- Abraham's Test of Obedience

Life is full of tests.  Tests are what lie between the beginning of our faith journey and the day we receive our glorified bodies in heaven.  They are not intended to squash us.  On the contrary, they are to move us toward a greater dependence on God.  Our faith is revealed to God and others by the degree to which we obey, worship and love God.  These three Christian principles of faith are mentioned together for the first time in the Bible in Genesis 22 when Abraham is tested by God.

Abraham already had righteousness credited to his spiritual account (Gen. 15:6).  God told him that One would come from him who would be his heir and would give him many descendants.  Through this Heir, ALL the nations would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3).  Abraham knew of the Messiah to come and believed God.  Through his child of the promise (Isaac), Jesus would come.

But God tested Abraham’s faith by asking him to take his beloved Isaac and offer him as a burnt sacrifice.  How could Abraham obey that command?  He could obey because he believed the promises that God made to him!  If God allowed Isaac to die, Messiah could not come through that line.  Abraham trusted God to do what He said He would do.  This is how he was able to tell the men with him, “I and the lad will go over there; and we will worship and return to you.” 

Again Abraham demonstrated and acted on faith when his son asked him a difficult question.  “Where is the lamb for the burnt offering?”   Abraham replied, “God will provide for Himself the lamb.”  Abraham passed God’s test when he followed through on everything God commanded him, binding up the one he loved most, laying him on the altar, and raising the knife to slay him.  Because of such faith, Abraham is a picture to us of true worship.  His actions reveal to us an obedient heart.  No wonder Abraham was called a friend of God!  (James 2:23)

Though he was a man from the Old Testament days, Abraham’s heart was transformed by his love for a Savior who had not yet come.  We have the promises in the Word; we say we believe them.  But do we live a sacrificial life that is proven by our obedience to God’s commands?

Trusting in the Wrong Thing

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Do we?

Israel was living in some of their darkest days.  It was the time of the judges, and the rule of thumb was that "everyone did what was right in their own eyes."  They had woefully fallen short of the commands of God to go into the Promised Land and dispossess all of the people living there.  So those very people became their enemies, thorns in their sides.

One of their fiercest enemies was the Philistines, who were stronger, bigger, and had implemented iron into their weaponry.  Fierce doesn't begin to describe them.  Unstoppable.  That was what they were.  

When Israel received word that the Philistines were about to draw up battle lines, the elders declared this to the people, "Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines?  Let us take for ourselves from Shiloh the ark of the covenant of the LORD, that it may come among us and deliver us from the power of our enemies."  Yes indeed, the people were doing whatever they wanted.  No corporate prayer, no fasting, no discussion with the priests, no High Priest consulting the Urim and Thummim in his breastplate to determine the will of God.  They were doing what was right in THEIR eyes."

At that point, they were trusting in the ark of the covenant to defeat their enemy and be their protection, not in the God that had delivered them countless times before.  One commentator said that, "They trusted in the Ark of God instead of the God of the Ark."  And the result in trusting in the wrong thing?  The Bible tells us that the Philistines destroyed Israel with a great slaughter--30,000 soldiers to be exact.  But that was the primary victory.  The Philistines also captured and took away the ark of the covenant, God's very real presence with Israel.  (I Samuel 4: 1-11)


Israel trusted in the ark instead of their God to carry them through.  Seems ridiculous until we realize that we do the very same thing.  So often when something comes against us, or when life becomes more difficult than we like, we are just as prone to turn to everything else but God.  We soothe our hurt feelings in so many ways:  food, anger, bitterness, shopping, gossip, dumping our story out over and over and over. We withdraw so we don't have to deal with our life by hiding ourselves in TV, the internet, romance novels, work.  We will do whatever it takes to keep from taking care of it with God.  We trust in everything else out the God who can help us win the battle! 

One of the worst ways is to throw ourselves into our ministry or benevolent works, trusting in them instead of God to overcome our enemy.  This attempt to defeat the enemy in our lives  looks just like the Israelites who trusted in the ark, not God!  And the end result of trusting in these kinds of idols will have the same type of result.  We will eventually be overtake by them.  They will win the battle, not us.

So what would it look like to trust God first?  The Israelites figured it out just a few chapters later.  We would do well to follow their example.  (I Samuel 7: 5-11)   Samuel, their spiritual leader now, called the Israelites together  and they began to trust the Lord together.  This is what they did, and it is what we should do as well.

When faced with an enemy, Israel:

• Prayed, crying out to God, pouring out their hearts before Him, including in that prayer
• Confession of sin
• When they saw the enemy advancing, they cried out AGAIN to be saved from the enemy
• They made a sacrifice to God

What should you sacrifice to God?  Yourself!  It is you that must die.  It is you who must crucify your flesh.  You must surrender to the will and hand of God, and let Him fight your spiritual battles if your intend to win them!  Israel constantly learned the hard way.  How long will you?  Who do you want fighting for you?  You weak and ineffective gods or God Almighty, the Lord of the Heavenly Hosts?