Sons Not Sects

Is it any wonder the lines of definition have become so blurred and the best that most ever see, is this thing called “Christianity?”
I was thinking this morning how I am living in a nameless, faceless time, and it transcends my particular generation, it is one of the most ambiguous and assimilating life sucking entities operating, masquerading as that which tries to define who and what we are, aka, religion!

I love this quote from Rob Rufus, “Jesus needed to know that the Father loved Him! He didn't just assume that - He got revelation that the Father loved Him before the creation of the world. In heaven He knew it already. He was fully God - but when He came to the earth, His divinity was restrained and He had to walk in humanity depending on the Holy Spirit.”

Two specific times the man Christ Jesus heard these words, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased!” The first time this exploded within the life of the ‘man Christ Jesus’ was after thirty years of obscurity, following John the Baptist into the Jordan River to be baptized, the windows of heaven were opened up, a dove came and rested upon Jesus, a loud voice affirmed and defined Who’s this son of man was and who he, Jesus was.
On the heels of this event, Scripture says that Jesus was driven out into the wilderness where he was going to be subjected to the onslaught, barrage of attack aimed and targeted at the heart of this son of man.

The first salvo was designed to cripple this man, the man Christ Jesus, “If you are the “Son of God” use your power to alleviate the duress of this painful moment in your life.
The true sustenance needed in this situation was not a warm and fuzzy “conceptual” buzz, but out of knowing Who’s he was, the ability to respond, “It is written.”
For those following some of my thoughts that are very much in flux, motion, this illustrates well how many know the scriptures so well and yet are totally bankrupt with regard to knowing the WORD!

Another quote from Rob Rufus, “Thank God for Christianity but being a son is far better. The word "Christian" does not appear once in the Old Testament and under the New Testament it only appears once in Acts 11:26. Yet all over the world you hear talk about "Christianity", "Church-ianity" but the New Testament only mentions the word "Christian" once - but dozens and dozens of times it talks about being "sons".
Please hear my here, I am not endorsing this brother other than the fact he is my/our brother, but how he is using what he is seeing and it fitting into his idea of son-ship is not mine!

Only out of this life quickening unfolding revelation of Who’s we are will the blurred lines ever be removed from our lives.
This makes me laugh in light of the plethora of names available and being used to define sects, such as Christianity, heck even some cool new ones like, “Missional and Organic” to name a few, but this does/will not define who we are, because that is but the fruit born from Who’s we are!

Rich

I Have Heard, but Now I See

Is it meant to be an ‘either or’ proposition coming to know the truth of our identity in Christ, as in what came first, the chicken or the egg-hearing verses seeing? What are your thoughts on this?

The first thing that comes to mind on this line of thinking comes out of a prolonged, divine reckoning taking place between God and a man named Job, let’s listen in shall we.
Job answered GOD: "I'm convinced: You can do anything and everything.
Nothing and no one can upset your plans. You asked, 'Who is this muddying the water, ignorantly confusing the issue, second-guessing my purposes?'
I admit it. I was the one. I babbled on about things far beyond me, made small talk about wonders way over my head.
You told me, 'Listen, and let me do the talking. Let me ask the questions. You give the answers. I admit I once lived by rumors of you; now I have it all firsthand—from my own eyes and ears, I'm sorry—forgive me. I'll never do that again, I promise! I'll never again live on crusts of hearsay, crumbs of rumor."

Is it possible that without a true understanding of who the center of our universe is, much like what unfolded in Galileo’s or Copernicus’ day debunking the long held belief that the universe revolved around the earth, rather than it revolving around the sun, although saved, we move out of sync with the truth?
A clouded mind (no matter how insightful one thinks they are), sees nothing.
If our center in being re-birthed has not become observable (knowable) to us in everything pertaining to us in further “knowing Him,” is it any wonder that “Christianity” is seen as just another of the vast menu options displayed on the buffet of religions already long established?

I am seeing that perhaps the reason there is such blurred, distorted perceptions within Christianity is because of not allowing God the Father to renew our thinking based upon a surgical operation he successfully accomplished in the heart of everyone he has received into His family, by joining us to Himself. “He that is joined to the Lord IS one spirit.”
One would think this ability to accurately see would be the norm now that we are no longer of the world, only in it, but sadly we are misguided and there still resides within us such great and undetected ignorance!
The continued transformation our lives coming into sync with our true center is not happening by osmosis, it is no less than His grace going beyond merely saving our spirit, this work of grace is being fought, contested every step we take. There has been designed by God imprinted as it were into our spiritual DNA a longing for the truth of who’s we are to be unmistakably seen among our fellow human beings.

It is very important to see how our dear brother Paul was being lead into such profound and liberating clarity of inner sight by the spirit of truth wherein he saw this. Read here, and here.
It is only in Him making the truth known to us individually that we will ever walk freely with Him and with the body, into so much more he has hidden for us to discover out of the overflow of this divine and sacred romance of the ages.

Hearing this message of life is great, but seeing it walked out relationally is the longing-cry within our hearts why, because He’s put it there, let’s be those living patterns-examples to those who have only heard the “Good News.”

Rich

What are your thoughts?