One thing has been highlighted in my life over the past few months, and really it's been the underlying theme in this blog, is newness, fresh starts, a new journey, and adventure. A new vision has been something my spirit has been craving and gaining a new vision has become my vision for the time.
I have felt the need for a fresh start since the move to Charlotte. We arrived Easter weekend. It was so amazing, we packed everything in the truck Friday and we had everything out of the boxes Sunday morning just before church. It was new day at a new church in a new city, and having it happen on Resurrection Sunday was without a doubt a prophetic picture of what is happening in my life. The irony of packing our stuff into the U-Haul Friday night and having it emerge from the boxes Sunday morning is also obviously something that I pay attention to. It was like our lives were being buried and and resurrected that Sunday, and the feeling of new life as we rode down 77 on the way to Morningstar was so strong in my heart. It was that morning that I knew I was in the center of God's will and that a new life had started.
This has been something that has driven my relationship with Him to new levels. I'm seeing more of Him, knowing more of Him, feeling more of Him. My relationship with Him has evolved to to a place of rest and security I had never known. His presence and life have been breathed into me in a new way. I've taken so many steps forward, but I must be honest and say that for the most part they are baby steps. A lot of the same junk is in my face, but it's less and less. I'm awakening to the true me more and more, and as I do that, the fake me that the world created is dying.
Newnes. Rebirthing. Birthing. Those are not just words that describe God's heart for just my life alone, but for the whole body. The whole body needs a place of restoration and awakening. Religion has molested us. It has killed us. It has violated our hearts and our relationship with God. Yet the most dangerous thing it as done as been offending us. Or caused us to be offended. We are a generation marked by offence. Not just the young, but all who live in this time have struggled with offence in deep ways. The church has hurt us all. We have been hurt, and many times it's been a deep hurt that was very painful and real. The bible tells us clearly that this is a time that offence will run rampid. The bible says that offence will cause our hearts to grow cold. This is the ultimate end of religion. A cold, dead, offended heart. Religion not only points you in the right direction for offence, it walks you to the door of that molester and helps in you ease in. Our hearts our growing cold. Our love is growing weak. and it's because we are so easily offended.
It's crazy how easily I have seen people leave a church, leave a family, and drop a relationship over minor issues. If something is clear in scripture, sure it's worth fighting for, but I've seen people battle tooth and nail over non-issue things scar the body in the process.
There is a cure. The cure is to wake up. Wake up to our wrongness. Wake up to His being right. Waking up is the only option. Or I should say, allow ourselves to wake up. The Father is already calling and stirring, all we need to do is stop resisting. Coming to Christ was not an action, it was a surrender. I stopped existing to sin. Before I resisted Christ, now I just give in. We need to surrender to the alarm clocks that God is waking this nation with.
I really believe God is about to do something BRAND NEW. Bob Jones had a word at church this Sunday about new fruit that has never been in the world before, and then Tom Hardiman preached a word that was right in line with that, and both were confirmation to what I have been feeling in my heart. Newness.
I'm going to stop rambling with this. God is doing something new. We need to catch hold of it. Letting go of the old wineskin is important. It's crucial. We have to be willing to be adventurous and bold. This is not a time for cowards but for lions. It's time to wake up. It's time to surrender to new life.
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