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Having lived in a world of darkness all our lives, the introduction of light can be very bewildering or discomforting at first. Funny how the Lord is like that, disturbing the comfortable, and comforting the disturbed. The nerve of this God!
In John chapter 8, Jesus begins sharing from the Father’s heart for those wanting to escape the darkness that has blinded them: “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
Wasn’t it for the blind that he had come? Later he goes on to say, “Those who know they are blind will receive sight, but for those who say they can see, they will remain blind.”
There were those who saw themselves as being cut from a different human cloth, these being the religious leaders, who always seemed to misunderstand what Jesus was saying. This time proved to be no different: “They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.” Nonetheless, despite their opposition, a wonderful thing transpired in the hearts of others: “As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.”
As we are learning to discern the voice of the one who is the Truth, the familiar voice of the one who has been our source of direction, in our flesh, is going to be exposed. There will be set into motion a violent hatred and reaction towards the voice of the Lord bringing us illumination, freeing us to step out of the darkness. This hidden enemy within our flesh knows that he cannot stop a person from being reborn, but through his continued trickery - using lies and deception - his efforts are aimed at one purpose: to keep us stunted and deformed within our soul. He knows if he can keep the believer turning to himself (Satan) as his point of reference, the available resources of grace will be cut off from him.
We just do not see, apart from the revelation coming from the voice of the Father, the subtle ploys of pride within us. When we have ourselves as the point of reference the spirit behind it is pride, but when we turn to the Lord the abundance of His grace is available for further transformation, bringing us ever more so into the fullness of the stature of Christ being fully formed within us. So Jesus ended up adding insult to injury, as he always does, to those being ruled by the flesh.
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!
Just as this made no sense to those who saw themselves as being free already, or to those of us who think we are likewise “free” (because of the father of lies within our flesh), we will oppose the Lord.
“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
We once were nothing but natural men, but through the quickening of the last Adam, Christ Jesus, we are now spiritual and discovering daily just what that might encompass.
The liar’s voice is being challenged as we are growing in the true knowledge of Papa's love for us. As my friend Dave shared with me: “This whole voice thing – and whose voice we are going to listen to… Papa's wooing voice seems like a foreign language to us because we are so used to listening to the father of lies.”
Jesus asked then and asks today: "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.”
Our souls have been and continue to be veiled or clouded as a consequence of giving a mind to the father of lies. A clouded mind sees nothing!
The real blow to the heart is what Jesus said, not just to this people grouping but in my opinion all who are ruled by the flesh: "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
There is an unnatural inclination within us to agree readily with the voice of the father of lies, as it has been the only voice we are familiar with, but in hearing the voice of our true Father there is a dynamic released whereby the needed and necessary transformation, the renewing of our minds, is made available. Without this ongoing inner work of grace regarding our soul (mind, will and emotions) we will inevitably and blindly become an active or armchair participant in “Holy Crusades” launched to ‘righteously’ deal with the ‘infidels’ who are marching to another beat (voice).
Rich
In John chapter 8, Jesus begins sharing from the Father’s heart for those wanting to escape the darkness that has blinded them: “Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."
Wasn’t it for the blind that he had come? Later he goes on to say, “Those who know they are blind will receive sight, but for those who say they can see, they will remain blind.”
There were those who saw themselves as being cut from a different human cloth, these being the religious leaders, who always seemed to misunderstand what Jesus was saying. This time proved to be no different: “They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.” Nonetheless, despite their opposition, a wonderful thing transpired in the hearts of others: “As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him.”
As we are learning to discern the voice of the one who is the Truth, the familiar voice of the one who has been our source of direction, in our flesh, is going to be exposed. There will be set into motion a violent hatred and reaction towards the voice of the Lord bringing us illumination, freeing us to step out of the darkness. This hidden enemy within our flesh knows that he cannot stop a person from being reborn, but through his continued trickery - using lies and deception - his efforts are aimed at one purpose: to keep us stunted and deformed within our soul. He knows if he can keep the believer turning to himself (Satan) as his point of reference, the available resources of grace will be cut off from him.
We just do not see, apart from the revelation coming from the voice of the Father, the subtle ploys of pride within us. When we have ourselves as the point of reference the spirit behind it is pride, but when we turn to the Lord the abundance of His grace is available for further transformation, bringing us ever more so into the fullness of the stature of Christ being fully formed within us. So Jesus ended up adding insult to injury, as he always does, to those being ruled by the flesh.
So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!
Just as this made no sense to those who saw themselves as being free already, or to those of us who think we are likewise “free” (because of the father of lies within our flesh), we will oppose the Lord.
“But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
We once were nothing but natural men, but through the quickening of the last Adam, Christ Jesus, we are now spiritual and discovering daily just what that might encompass.
The liar’s voice is being challenged as we are growing in the true knowledge of Papa's love for us. As my friend Dave shared with me: “This whole voice thing – and whose voice we are going to listen to… Papa's wooing voice seems like a foreign language to us because we are so used to listening to the father of lies.”
Jesus asked then and asks today: "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word.”
Our souls have been and continue to be veiled or clouded as a consequence of giving a mind to the father of lies. A clouded mind sees nothing!
The real blow to the heart is what Jesus said, not just to this people grouping but in my opinion all who are ruled by the flesh: "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
There is an unnatural inclination within us to agree readily with the voice of the father of lies, as it has been the only voice we are familiar with, but in hearing the voice of our true Father there is a dynamic released whereby the needed and necessary transformation, the renewing of our minds, is made available. Without this ongoing inner work of grace regarding our soul (mind, will and emotions) we will inevitably and blindly become an active or armchair participant in “Holy Crusades” launched to ‘righteously’ deal with the ‘infidels’ who are marching to another beat (voice).
Rich
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