Here I am, Lord

I read Jeff Robinson's wonderful FB post: we are

mere Kindergartners
in the much larger world of grace-filled, Spirit-led, Christ-following.
Many of us remain Pharisees wrapped in costumes of grace.

How will we ever find our way out...our way forward...
into the Light and Freedom of Jesus?
Who will lead us?
Who among us is even willing to admit how cozy we are in our small and narrow, exclusive cocoon?

And I had to play!!
so this I wrote:

I believe and expereince that Jesus will lead us
- as he did when he walked the earth, and ever since. 
Jesus himself will disciple us
- IF IF IF WHEN WHEN WHEN we let him!

I believe the question is: who will follow Jesus?
Who will say YES! to experiencing him spiritually, and follow him spiritually?

Who being last, is willing for God to put us up front?
Who as followers, are willing for God to have us lead?

I pray to God, the answer for every single person who reads this is:
ME, YES!
Each one of us who Really loves God, who really wants to follow Jesus:
Let's Actually DO it!

.
From my perspective, the tripping point is:
we have been lost in doctrine and ritual and tradition and ethics and physical-focus and... 
We have been led astray by our bodies, our culture, our thoughts, our beliefs, our habits, our feelings, our survival impulses, our control issues...

Mostly we have been led astray by the LIE (of the flesh/physical)
that we must learn from a book
about a Jesus who physically died 2,000 years ago!

Instead of the TRUTH (of the spiritual, available in our soul)
that the Risen and Ascended Christ is right here, right now.
Jesus is just as much available to us as he was to Saul/Paul, for example.

And like Saul/Paul:
- our inner lives, our outer lives, our companions, our world can be completely Transformed;
- when we let go of our Concepts and Traditions and allegedly-biblical Barriers; and
- instead choose to say YES! to our unique Spiritual Adventure with the Living God!

.
From this place, we can engage our Unique Process of Soul Maturity, Teleios 

Realizing who we are in God, into our body, life, world...

.
So
1 - How will we ever find our way out... our way forward... into the Light and Freedom of Jesus?
2 - Who will lead us?
3 - Who among us is even willing to admit how cozy we are in our small and narrow, exclusive cocoon?

MY specific answer to each of these questions, is below
-> what are your answers?

.
1) How will we ever find our way out... our way forward... into the Light and Freedom of Jesus?

I am in that process of letting the Light and Freedom that Jesus IS,
BE more and more IN, AS, Through me. 
It has been an expletive-filled process
- becasue I fight Every Single Step. 

This dying daily business Really Sucks. 

But when I am not screaming so loud,
I am Grateful beyond measure! 
This Way, Light, Life, Love, Truth expereince is worth Everything, Anything!

.
2) Who will lead us?

Jesus leads me, God leads me, Spirit leads me, God sends Angels and Spiritual Masters to lead me -
there is NO lack of spiritual leading, filling, healing, wisdom...

WHEN and only when I am Willing
to Open my spiritual senses
to see, hear, know, touch, taste, smell, feel, expereince oneness with spirit;
then Act spiritually and physically in alignment with that spiritual leading.

This process of opening,
I only utilize
(and eventually was called to share)
because it was and is my call.

.
Like Jonah, I tried to run!
and I suffered terribly for many, many years
- until I let go, and became willing to follow my call.

That was over a dozen years ago.
Since then, I slowly became willing to learn
HOW to operate, to listen and to follow - spiritually, instead of physically.

I am Still learning, of course!
But, I am not overtly running any more. (The war is won, but the battles Rage-on ; )

.
3) Who among us is even willing to admit how cozy we are in our small and narrow, exclusive cocoon?

I have only enjoyed a cozy cocoon a few times in my life - and then, not SO cozy, for not so long...
But, I have had times where I wish to God I could stay and play and at least kinda FIT-in... longer. 

For the last several years, though, I have experienced more True community and acceptance than I ever have, amoung others doing their spiritual work.

Although, I can now own, there has been a tear right down the middle of my being-ness in the world, and in my ministry - that God is NOW healing.

This is getting long - I am putting the rest in another post

in LIFE! Wendy

I have been singing lately, like we did when I was a teen in house church... way back in the day ; )
Here I Am Lord, by Dan Schutte and the Saint Louis Jesuits

.

When we Follow God: Everything Must Go!

Many Religious folks want us to believe,
that following God means being Good and staying out of Trouble
- but really it is the opposite!

story:
One class-series many years ago, I was blessed to teach a group of very powerful Jewish women how to use basic soul tools - not to work with Jesus, just to Open to Spiritual information and action.

They all enjoyed the class, and did well.  One particular woman, I will call her Ruth, was really lapping it up, she opened-up a whole new relationship with God.

SO class series over, Ruth says I don't know what I am going to do
- how can I practice this spiritual way,
AND do my religion?

- she was some kind of Jewish Orthodox, a combination of strictness and freedom that wasn’t completely comprehensible to me
- but this is her Life, it is her Family, it is her Culture, it is her Religion, it is her Identity…

I told Ruth, in this practice, you are following God, loving God, connecting to God.
You are letting in the blessings of God, and more overtly co-creating with God in your world...
this is all good, right?  yes

Ok, now in your religion, in your way of life, you do good, you love your family, you serve people.  You have rules, and it is normal for you to follow them;
there is no necessary contradiction, right?  yes

SO, I say to Ruth:
Ok, you are good for now:
Listen, Deepen, Heal, Love, Follow God, Do good works - all is well - FOR NOW.
For awhile everything will be fine…

But, eventually, sooner or later...
God will lead you Out.

I don't know how or what, but I can promise you,
that you will be led in a way that is not aligned with your religion, family, traditions, community...

I don’t know How, What, Where, When, Who...
But I do know God’s leading will cross the lines of the life you have.

And THEN you will have to choose.
Follow God or follow your traditions...
Until then, enjoy yourself ; )


How can I possibly say this??

Because
God doesn’t play by our rules, or any rules. 
So, following God’s leading sends us on a collision course with the tyrants of our inner and our outer world.

Therefore, as Jesus said:

If any one doth will to come after me, let him disown himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me - Luke 9 YLT

Because here is the thing:
I have been watching life,
I have been learning from lots of other people’s challenges - and my own.

I have noticed many kinds of spiritual literature,
as well as what is written about Jesus, and in the Bible,
and watching how Spirit leads me, and many others...

So, I can say for sure:

God doesn’t play by our rules.
God doesn’t care about the little fiefdoms we set-up.
God doesn’t care about our culture or the leader/follower game.

God doesn’t care about gender roles or what day of the week it is.
God does not care about our little games we set-up about how life is, and how everyone should do it.
God doesn’t take politics or economics or religion seriously.

God is not limited by our beliefs about Life, the Universe, and Everything.
God is not stopped by our beliefs about the Bible. 
God is not controlled by the traditions of our church.

All the Domination systems of this world, are meaningless to God.
All the games we think we have to play to survive, to fit-in, to get love, to be successful...
All the Lines we draw in the sand, and then think we or God can not cross.

God does not honor or pay heed to any of them.


Isn’t it interesting:

Jesus always seemed to be healing on the Sabbath - which was against the rules.
Jesus didn’t care if his disciples followed this rule or that - it drove the religious people batty.

Jesus Being himself,
saying what Abba was saying,
doing what Abba was doing:

Jesus Undermined the Religious Authorities
and the Political/Economic Authorities
and the Cultural/Family Authorities.

So of course, he Had to Go
- he had to be put-down. 

Jesus crossed all their lines
of right and wrong,
of good and bad,
of religious and profane,
of oppressor and oppressed
- willy nilly.

And so will we.

Fortunately, we don’t have it so bad.
The age of the martyrs is pretty much over - thank God - we have had enough of that!

So,
Usually it is merely spiritual, not physical death that we sign-up for when we follow Jesus.

Usually it is some mix of emotional, rational, religious, relational, social, familial, financial, vocational, wellness, ego-identity death that we sign-up for
- and that is WAY more than enough!

As we grow-up spiritually...
As we get-beyond the honeymoon phase in our relationship with God...

Spirit WILL likely lead us to cross the wrong people, authorities, structures, belief-systems outside us.
AS WELL AS inevitably lead us to stand-up to the limiting beliefs, limits, structures and energies… within us.

And THEN we will have to choose
- the old way OR the new way...
- the way of the body, ego, world... OR the way of the spiritual warrior/death…
- following OUR current thoughts, beliefs, feelings, habits, religion, culture About God, Life, Truth, Love, Light, Way...
*OR*
ACTUALLY Following our God, Life, Truth, Love, Light, Way...

When we follow God:
We are gonna Change,
our Life is Gonna Change,
eventually the World around us is gonna Change!

From this place, we can engage our Unique Process of Soul Maturity, Teleios 

Realizing who we are in God, into our body, life, world...

We are gonna die... daily.
Anything and Everything that we hold on to, except God, is on it's way out.
Until then, enjoy yourself ; )

: ) Wendy

My favorite Christian Teacher, Dr Bruce Morgan, used to say this often:

Our God is a consuming fire,
who burns up everything that is not God

This is in NO way a downer, BTW.
This is the greatest gift we can receive
- there is sooo much blessing on this road, this narrow way:

And having called near the multitude, with his disciples, he said to them, ‘Whoever doth will to come after me — let him disown himself, and take up his cross, and follow me;  for whoever may will to save his life shall lose it; and whoever may lose his life for my sake and for the good news’ sake, he shall save it;  for what shall it profit a man, if he may gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? - Mark 8 YLT

.
this post has a similar theme, if interested: This is love: we lay down our lives for our friends

.

Let's stop worshiping the Bible, and instead worship God!

The bible is not meant to be the Final Word.
The bible is not the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Light, the Love of God.

The bible shows us, over and over, folks who walked with God, who heard from God, who followed God.  And calls us to do the same!
The bible encourages the people of God to have a real-time relationship, with the Living God!
The bible is a finger pointing at the moon - it isn't About the Finger, it is ALL about the Moon!

God did not get laryngitis 2,000 years ago.
IMO, if we want answers, fellowship, healing, filling, leading - we Must go to our SOURCE.

I agree with Marcus Borg (whom I greatly respect, but who sadly misses the whole picture, now and then, IMO)
when he says "When there is a conflict between Jesus and the Bible, Jesus trumps the Bible."

But this is what I mean by that: GO TO JESUS - right here, right now. 

NOT the bible. Jesus who is available to us Spiritually, right NOW.

Jesus will show us the Way, the Truth, the Life, the Light, the Love of God - as he has done for those who open to him, for over 2,000 years.

Christianity has fallen down horribly and constantly, by focusing on intellectualizing about the bible. By focusing on doctrine and thought-beliefs - as if that were some kind of spiritual practice.
As if the bible could give us answers, fellowship, healing, filling, leading...

The Bible Can Not Do This...
only God can do this!

I pray, that instead of worshiping the bible, fighting about the bible, wasting time and energy focusing on the bible...
Instead that Christians will begin to do for ourselves (and for All) what is most important:

To Actually Open to Communication and Blessings, to the ONEness-with and Leading-of the Living God, with Jesus, with Spirit.
This is what set the world on fire in biblical times, and that is what does it every time!

 
WE want GOD!
People want GOD!

Let's set the table and enjoy the presence of God, on our own, and with All!
Let's be disciples of Jesus, not disciples of the bible. Let's follow Jesus, right HERE, right NOW, WHEREVER we are explicitly led - this is World Changing!
Let's enjoy the fruit of the Spirit, the Gifts of the Spirit, the Comforting of the Spirit - in All ways, alone and with All people!

If you don't know how, then find out.
If you do know how, then let's DO IT!

From my perspective, this is what the bible tells us to do.
So let's just do it: focus on the Moon, not the finger pointing.

Let's stop worshiping the Bible, and instead worship God!

in life, w