WHAT? The Mayan Calendar is WRONG!

WHAT? The Mayan Calendar is WRONG!

(This article is for the hurting, the abused, the confused and no where to turn Individuals Looking for an Answer)

According to the Mayan Calendar we’re on borrowed time (pun intended). The Mayan Calendar made us all stop and think about our lives and the question of eternity. We sum up all we have done to find out how empty our lives have been. How meaningless and the lack of purpose we have had in our lives. We know the pain that others have emotionally inflicted upon us on others physical and yet still others sexual. We wake up every morning go to bed every night trying to figure out in our minds how to end the pain store right behind our foreheads.

Then suddenly the Mayan’s tell us from centuries past that I am running out of time, December 21^st came and gone without the world ending but for how much longer? In a hotel room I open up the draw beside my bed only to find a Gideon’s Bible I open up the pages out of some dumb curiosity and my eyes rivet on this passage. So I sat down to read it.

Matthew 24:30 “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32“Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. 34I tell you the truth; this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

36“No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,but only the Father. 37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time?

As I read this passage key phrases stuck out to me… like, the Son of man will appear, he will send His angels, gather his elect from the four winds, my words will never pass away, no one knows about that day or hour, only the Father, the flood came and took them all away, one will be taken the other left, therefore keep watch, so you also must be ready, because the Son of man will come at an hour when you do not expect him, who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? The very last sentence about the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time…that’s me… Richard Wafford. I am here writing this blog “Intimacy With Christ” to inform you that Jesus can heal you of your past. He can heal you of the pain from your past. He can unleash unchain you from your dependency on substance abuse or your codependency on someone.

From the book Love is a Choice Recovery for Codependent Relationships Authors Dr. Robert Hemfelt, Dr. Frank Minirth and Dr. Paul Meier Published by Thomas Nelson Publishers copyright 1989, I give to you what it means to be a codependent, it is very insightful and relevant to the cause of your pain and anger.

“Codependency is the fallacy of trying to control interior feelings by controlling people, things, and events on the outside. To the codependent, control or the lack of it is central to every aspect of life. The codependent may be addicted to another person. In this interpersonal codependency, the codependent has become so elaborately enmeshed in the other person that the sense of self-personal identity-is severely restricted, crowded out by that other person’s identity and problems. Additionally, codependents can be like vacuum cleaners gone wild, drawing to themselves not just another person, but also chemicals (alcohol or drugs, primarily) or things-money, food, sexuality, work. They struggle relentlessly to fill the great emotional vacuum within themselves. Our patients have described it as, “Walking around feeling like the hole of the center of the doughnut. There is something missing inside me.”

I have experienced your pain, your hurt and your anger, whether at yourself for self inflicting substance abuse cause by your own hand or inflicting abuse cause by someone else close to you. How the hurt and pain that was inflicted upon you isn’t as near as important as the cure…the antidote that will set you free and fill the void deep inside the inner recesses of your soul. My dysfunctional family traits consisted of a self absorb, sexual addiction, pornography, alcoholic abuse, emotional incest, and emotional abuse. I had no one to turn too. I was all alone, the black sheep of the family that no one really cared for, I was just a nuisance and inconvenience. So trust me I am familiar with your  hurting, pain and inner torment.

The answer to my own equation was Jesus Christ asking him to forgive me of all my sins and come into my life as my Lord and Savior. To repent of my sins is to turn 180 degrees in the opposite direction that I was previously heading, which was overindulging in feeding the lust my desires. I also indulged in sinful habits in order to fill the emptiness and lack of joy I had within my life. I wrongly thought that these vices would bury the hurt and the pain only to find out that the pain was still there and I was inflicting by those same sins pain onto those around me. So the cycle begins I indulged in order to drive away my pain but in the process I created pain for those who loved me that later they would have to over come. So I came to the conclusion through God’s word and my daily living that the sin that was clearly pointed out in His word was destructive to my love, joy and peace.  Once this revelation came to me I had to rely heavily upon reading God’s word constantly in order to keep my focus away from sin. What you think on a consistent basis you give power to it, you empower whatever it is that your focus is on. Example the more you think of dieting the more you want to eat. The more you think and concentrate on trying to overcome your sinful habits the more you will give in to them. So the answer is to think on those things in your life, which are good, loving, uplifting and positive.

Phil. 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

By reading God’s word you keep your mind off of sin and onto that which is positive. Thereby ending the power of sins control over your life.

The next challenge I faced was to forgive those who had hurt me. The forgiveness I am talking about is not forgiving them Lord Jesus amen and you’re done. Keep in mind forgiveness is never for the other person; forgiveness is for you and you alone. This healing to your own soul it frees you and releases that bondage that other person put you through. Forgiveness doesn’t always mean you will have to reconcile or even face the person. The first step is to get angry over what happened to you and then as you willing choose to forgive that sinful act to forgive that person to forgive the wrong that was done against you, the pain and bitterness is released leaving you healed and pain-free. But keep in mind every time you are reminded of what they did you will have to keep forgiving them in order to keep the peace of God in your life.

Jesus gave me a true healing to this messed up, confused, codependent person whose identity got lost and severely restricted since childhood by controlling people in my life.

My salvation was not by any means an instant cure-all it was only the beginning of the healing process. Did I still sin, did I still make mistakes, and did I still make very bad choices, the answer is yes sorry to say I did. However, God slowly lovingly and patiently brought healing to me through His word. It was not just the knowledge or just knowing the facts of what he said but the revelation of the truth behind the facts of His word that brought changes into my life. He also perfectly placed people into my life that caused me to see myself as I really was, you know the kind of people who inflicted upon you what you previously inflicted upon others in your past in order to bring about change in your present mindset or patterns of habit. Thereby bringing about a changed person more compassionate towards other people who have been hurt by the sins of others just as I have been. Bringing about a person whose pain is gone my emptiness of my heart filled to the brim with His fullness and now as his servant He has put me in charge of giving spiritual healing food of knowledge at the proper time in your life just when you needed it the most. Are you tired of the addictions, tired of the confusion, tired of the abuse, tired of the pain, and tired of a loss identity? I beg you to come to Jesus and let the healing begin.

With Love from Me to You

Richard Wafford

Intimacy With Christ

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The Tools of Satan Were Mine

The devil cannot tempt us unless we first give him the tools ~Perry Noble

This is a very profound statement; we enable Satan to destroy us by allowing him to see what we are weak in the flesh with. When the Bible says resist the devil and he will flee from you is basically telling you NOT to give him any tools of your human weakness so he can use those same tools to destroy to make you ineffective, fruitless, and powerless before God and man. We need to MASTER our fleshly appetites make them obey us not the other way around. We need to throw ourselves at the feet of Jesus in total obedience allowing His word to have the last say in every aspect of our lives. To be weak in him is to make him be strong within us. To be weak and powerless before Christ is to give him the tools He needs to make himself strong within our lives to empower us to be strong witnesses for him. When we surrender completely to Him to His word, when we become weak, to rely on His power he will thereby enable us to take our stand against sin, against the principalities and powers in high places. When we give our all to him he enables us to do all things through Christ who gives us strength. In  John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. ~ Richard W. Wafford

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER
This article, “The Tools of Satan Were Mine ” is protected by copyright. You are free to share the link via social media, but it may not be republished,copied or redistributed without attribution and permission. For questions or concerns, contact me at findintimacywithchrist@gmail.com

Astigmatism Christian’s ~ The Focus Factor

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matthew 6:22, 23 KJV)

Astigmatism Christian’s!
This maybe a new concept to you, so I will attempt to describe to you as to what is an Astigmatism Christian. You may have heard of this term if you have ever visited an Ophthalmologist, but Astigmatism is a defect in the eyes caused by a deviation from spherical curvature. It is when your cornea is not symmetrical it is therefore unable to refract lights rays onto the retina at the back of the eye. Instead when the cornea is oblong and not round like a teaspoon it causes several points at the back of the eye causing a blurred vision rather than one single light ray centering onto the retina that will give you 20/20 vision.
Christians resemble this defect of the eyes in the sense that when we do not keep our focus on Jesus Christ our spiritual vision becomes blurred and fuzzy, our judgment and the choices that we make are not sound and many times unreasonable. Just like astigmatism if our focus is on the world, our fleshly appetites, or your circumstances, our vision is blurred out of focus, unable to see clearly our direction our purpose in life. When we receive a spiritual set of corrective lens which is the word of God our focus is corrected and the light ray from God centers on our retina thereby giving us 20/20 vision spiritually. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! (Mat 6:22- 23) My light was darkness before I opened my eyes for the very first time so I can honestly say that I was my own worst enemy since being birthed into sin it was fairly easy for me to create my monster. I was spiritually blind at my first birth and I had astigmatism at my second birth. At birth I had the makings of a monster right inside of me. As King David so aptly put it, In Psalms 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. The monster was working full force into maturity until I reached the age of fourteen when I was born-again. However, as a baby Christian my sight was blurry, I had spiritual astigmatism.
So the point is I failed to correct my spiritual astigmatism through the knowledge of the word of God so I continued to allow my monster to grow and gain strength due to my lack of seeing the will of Jesus clearly. Due to my blurry spiritual insight I made some wrong choices and bad decisions causing my growth to be stagnated.
This is how Richard Wafford created his own monster as Dr. Frankenstein the bodies parts that I used to create this evil monster of sin were assembled together from different body parts from the world: deception, lies, lust, self-centeredness, anger, worries, and fears, these were woven together since conception electrified by Satan through the serpent in the Garden of Eden in causing Adam and Eve to sin. What Adam and Eve’s failure to obey the word of the Lord in eating of the tree of good and evil had caused every offspring to be born into sin. Hence came my problem being born into sin wasn’t the very best of family heirlooms that my great-grandfather Adam handed down to me through the ages.
When a sinner falls at the foot of the cross and repents of his sin to the Lord Jesus Christ His blood falls from the cross covering the sinner transforming him into a new creature in Christ where old things have pasted away and all things have become new, hence he becomes born-again of the Spirit according to John chapter 3. When this takes place an instant healing opens as the Holy Spirit takes resident within you, the scripture that was before foreign to you is now a small ray of light of understanding as truth comes alive off the page. However, being babes in Christ crawling through the word and applying it to our lives the truth will cause us to we grow, from crawling to standing wobbling to and fro in the world. As babes in Christ we are unsteady easily tripped by the cares of this world hence our blurred vision is caused by focusing on to many things in this world. When our minds are attracted to too many things of the world that will not satisfy, these worldly rays of light miss the mark of our retina of our soul causing a blurred vision, so by doing this we create a monster until the knowledge of the truth sets us free.
Frankenstein’s monster in the Christian life is created when an Astigmatism Christian focuses his full attention on his problem instead of the problem solver; another way of putting it is focusing on the disease instead of the great physician. Our monster is created when we focus on our sin instead of on our savior who died to free us from those sins. What I’m trying to say is a when a Christian who wants to be fully delivered from his sin that he easily gives into time and time again hurting everyone he loves, needs a corrective set of lens. So he can see clearly what he is supposed to be looking at…. which is Jesus Christ, NOT his sin problem. He’s living a Romans chapter 7 Christian life and his corrective lens will help him live the life of a Romans chapter 8 Christian where he can live a life that Christ died to set him free. We have been set free but we don’t fully realize it because we as an astigmatism Christian we are looking at the wrong things in life. We spend our Christian life focusing on the problem instead of the cure. Focusing on what causes you bondage will only create more bondage however focusing on the freedom we have in Christ will create more freedom to live our life in the way He expected us too.
However, Satan is crafty and called the angel of light in 2 Corinthians 11: 14 for a good reason. He knows we are washed in the blood and there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ because sin has no hold on us but if he can cause us to focus all our attention on our own sins we empower that same sin, giving strength to it causing it to become a huge giant problem in our life much like the same giant Goliath that David fought. Israel focused on the giant in 2 Samuel 17:11 & 24 they were dismayed and greatly afraid, which only made Goliath more fierce, more powerful in their own eyes. Then David comes along in 2 Samuel 17:45 and tells his giant I come to thee in the name of the lord of hosts in verse 49 prevailed over his giant. Why, did he prevail where the army of Israel failed to do? David focused not on the giant but on the God of Heaven. When we focus on God and not on our sins of the past we pull the plug on the power of sin. Every time we focus on sin we give the power of sin to reign over us and control us, thereby robbing us of the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus.
The power of applying this truth to your spiritual wellbeing is given to us in James 4:7 “submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” Resisting sin is not easy task especially when your unbridled lower nature emotions cry out for that which is wrong in God’s sight and yet your body craves. Yet discipline is what’s needed in every Christians walk with God. Paul had the right idea in 1 Corinthians when he stated, “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” (1Co 9:27) Paul kept his lower nature in check by subduing every sinful thought bringing it under his control so that the Spirit of God living within us could rise up to the surface of our lives taking precedent over our lower natures so when we preached to others we would not be a castaway.
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Rom 8:6 – 14) We become so obsessed with the enemy that we allow him to define us instead letting God define us. Let us from this day forward walk in the Spirit of the living God focusing fully and completely on him, so that only in Him can we be fully satisfied and when we do this His ray of light rest upon our retina of our soul correcting our Spiritual Astigmatism to seeing clearly the dangers and luring of the world because mature in Him and not easily tossed to and fro but an anchor stand firm in the promises of God’s Holy Word.
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER
This article, “Astigmatism Christians ~ The Focus Factor” is protected by copyright. You are free to share the link via social media, but it may not be republished,copied or redistributed without attribution and permission. For questions or concerns, contact me at findintimacywithchrist@gmail.com

Gentle Shepherd Come and Lead Us….But I Still Did It My Way

 

Gentle Shepherd come and lead us for we need you to help us find our way………..back when I heard another group sing this same song just as good as the Gaither Home coming was in November 1983 it was cold and raining, the special day was at my wedding. When I sang the words of this song on that day I meant every word. The word of God says, “you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.” However, at this time in my life at the age of 22 I can honestly say I was as far from the truth as one could get. Oh, don’t get me wrong I was born-again 8 years earlier, but I had a dozen excess baggage’s of hurts, emotional abuse, and sins that would make one question whether I really received Christ or not. The change in me at the age of fourteen was to me undeniable the weight of sin lifted off my shoulders and was gone, I felt clean, like a brand new creature in Christ. However, due to excess baggage and not knowing how to solve or know what to do with them eluded me as well as my new bride.

I was saved in a religion that was legalistic where works were more important than grace, how I looked was more important than an intimate walk with God. The more stringent I would adhere to rules and regulations the closer to God I would be. However, in Acts 15 it tells us of the Gentiles who got saved through Paul and Barnabas but contention arose between them and legalistic Christians. I know people tell their story better than I do so let them tell it in their own words, “Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1 NASB)
Then in verse 7 we continue the story. 
 “After there had been much debate, Peter stood up and said to them, “Brethren, you know that in the early days God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the Gentiles would hear the word of the gospel and believe. And God, who knows the heart, testified to them giving them the Holy Spirit, just as He also did to us; and He made no distinction between them, and us cleansing their hearts by faith. Now therefore why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in the same way as they also are.” (Acts 15:7-11 NASB)

I brought this up because it is vital to my life story to show you how wrong my thinking was at that time in my life. That the truth I knew about Christ was a lie. It only hindered my healing process for many years because my personal view of God was far from seeing him as a loving savior far from seeing his salvation is of grace not of works. While growing up I felt I had to dance and sing; figuratively speaking, I felt I had to do better in order for my parents to accept me and when I became a Christian nothing changed for me. How I felt about how to get my family to accept me I had transferred this same concept to God. The legalistic environment I was apart of then made me feel the same way. I believed I had to dance and sing so to speak, to follow rules and regulations in order for God to accept me. It would take me 14 years through some pretty dark roads and pathways for me to discover the truth that God loved me unconditionally just as I am. That even in my most ugly state He sent His son and His Son willingly accepted to die just for me. I was very lovable and selfish this truth blew me away. My Christian walk is by faith. Faith is what made me righteous in God’s eyes not my works, although good works is a byproduct that came about because of my faith and never the other way around. Works is never a byproduct of faith. As James put it faith without works is dead.

The scripture makes it clear, ”For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8, 9 NASB) Paul gives another strong reasoning in this next verse, “But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace.” (Romans 11:6 NASB) Again it says, “But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,” (Romans 4:5 NASB)

At this time in my marriage I didn’t know all this till 28 years later God would have to take me through a dark valleys, some deep dark tunnels, hard trials and for people to throw me away for me to see the truth. In order for my healing to begin drastic changes in my life had to happen in order for me to check in my excess baggage forever with the master physician. However, in the mean time sin clouded my judgments along with my pains from my past along with new ones being created on basis of the lies I believed at the time.

The problem was as Frank Sinatra and Elvis sang so beautifully, “I did it My Way” and there was the problem. The Lord was patient, loving and full of mercy with me even though my healing was gradual and I made a very slow progress. Romans chapter 7 describes me very well at this time for it says in verse 14 through 16, “For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin. For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, But I am doing the very thing I hate.” Skipping down to verse 18, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present with me, but the doing of the good is not.”

I admit I played a fool and a hypocrite even though my heart was sincere in wanting to serve the Lord the will to do it escaped me. Oh God still worked through me because His word will not return to him void. I wasn’t completely sold out to him. I still wanted my way, which greatly hindered what God wanted to do with me in the youth ministry, church discipleship, and latter church Pastor.

I was living a Romans Chapter 7 Christian when in the last 4 years God revealed the truth that set me free. Now I am living a Romans chapter 8 Christian. My mind went from focusing on what the flesh desires (Romans 7) to focus on what the Spirit desires (Romans 8).

Allow me to illustrate further with the word of God.

Romans 7:15 (NASB) For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate.

How many of you have been there or maybe you’re in there now and it frustrates you greatly.

Romans 7:21-24 (NASB)
21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good.
22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man,
23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
24 Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?

The answer is in this verse notice what Paul is saying. One hand with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Once the mind grasp hold of the real truth then we are set free from past lies. As verse 24 states, “Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?” Then in verse 25 says who will set me free, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Romans 7:25 (NASB)
25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin.

Notice in verse 22 I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, verse 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body waging war against the law…of what…MY MIND. My mind needed to be free to the truth in chapter 8.

Now let’s look at my transformation into a Romans 8 Christian

Romans 8:1-14 (NASB)
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.

No condemnation for those who are in Christ!!! For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from …What? The law of sin and of death!

3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

The law was weak but God sent His son as an offering for sin condemned sin, so that the requirement of the Law would be fulfilled in us.

5 For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 
7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so,
8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

We became dead to sin when the seed of Christ was birthed within us. However, our minds have not grasped hold of the truth that it has been set free. Our minds are in the habit of satisfying our selfish wants and desires. In verse 5 it all depends on what you set your minds on. In Verse 6 for the mind-set on the flesh is death but the mind-set on the Spirit is life and peace. Verse 8 those who are in the flesh cannot please God, that is precisely why the old nature is dead within us and we are alive in Christ.

Take a careful look at the next verses 9 through 11 and you will see what I mean.

9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.
10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness. 
11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Notice what it says above I highlighted it for you. You are NOT in the flesh but IN the Spirit. Also notice, if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ DOES NOT BLEONG TO HIM. Meaning that person has not been born-again. When Christ said on the cross that it is finished he referred to the plan of salvation was complete. Once we were born again the old nature dies and yet our minds are still controlled by the flesh until we deal with the truth we have been set free and we have the power through Christ to be over comers to sin in this world. Look at the next verse 12 – 14.

12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh—
13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 
14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.

We must be lead by the Spirit in putting to death our habitual deeds of the body. Example: I had laser surgery done on my eyes, I have had to wear glasses ever since I was in third grade, but in my mind I still had the thought that I was still wearing them. Pushing them up on my face when they were not there or reaching over to the nightstand to get your glasses that you do not need. Habits of sin need to be broken…. Why? You no longer need it that’s why. Jesus done laser surgery on you and you are now dead to sin but walk in newness of life. The chains of the carnal nature are broken but our desires are still ever-present with us. Our desires we have to discipline, to put them under our control and not let our desires control what we do. Since the carnal nature is crucified to the cross we now have freedom of choice to decide what we do with our desires. The example of what I am talking about is written below for in

Romans 7:1-3 (NASB)
1 or do you not know, brethren (for I am speaking to those who know the law), that the law has jurisdiction over a person as long as he lives? 
2 For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. 
 3 So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man.

The main focus of this passage is not on marriage but the main point is about us being chained to the law. For he says, “I am speaking to those who know the law” and continues with verse 4 he continues with his thought by saying “therefore.”

Romans 7:4-6 (NASB)
4 Therefore, my brethren, you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God. 
5 For while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death.
6 But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.

To be Continue………

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CHANGE ME, HELP!!!! I Need To Overhaul My Mind

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

God loves us way too much to leave us where we are so its through life’s events that he helps in our transforming process. The renewing of our minds to a better plane of living and thinking is vitally important for a God who deeply loves those He created. Being cut off from God at birth alienated by His morals, His truth and His love, only to be taught by someone who wants to sift every one of us as wheat, to devour and destroy, to burn in hell as his end has been decreed. So our perspective is everything to God we’ve been taught lies which causes us to see things from a lying point of view, tarnished and blurred has been our perspective until we come to Christ in a born-again experience. Then slowly as God tears away one lie at a time, replacing that lie with a spiritual truth about life itself, our perspective slowly begins to change from darkness to light. Being born into sin with an already corrupt thinking process has left us mentally challenged to what the real truth is. That is why being transformed by the renewing of our mind through the power and influence of God’s word is vitally important to living an abundant life.

If our perspective is a lie then everything I see around me will be with the false assumption of that same lie. For instance if my perspective of God is of the false assumption that he stands up in heaven with a baseball bat ready to pounce on me when I mess up. This false assumption, this lie will cause me to feel defeated, worthless and that no one cares, for if God doesn’t care so why even try?! Why, because I believe it to be the real truth of who God is and how he will treat me when I mess up. If I further believe this lie then it affects my whole life. For if God doesn’t love me then he doesn’t care what I go through or what happens to me so in the process I end up losing all hope. I will end up thinking that suicide is my only option.

However, the reading of God’s word will change my perspective from the lie to the real truth of the matter thereby changing my earlier point of view I will realize who God is and that He is a God of love. That He does indeed love and care about every single thing I go through and experience. Knowing what the truth is makes His word truth and if God says He will do something for me it in turn becomes a promise.

John 15:12-13 (KJV)
12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus gave up His life for us in this there is no greater love. Take a look at the next verses of scriptural truth.

John 10:17-18 For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. No one has taken it away from me, but I lay it down on my own initiative. I have authority to lay it down and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from my Father

This truth states how much He loved me to pay for sins he didn’t commit. To suffer and die a horrible death just for me is mind boggling. To know He always had a choice, that He could of said no at any time further states how much God loves me.

John 3:16 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Jeremiah 31:1-3 (NASB77)

1 “At that time,” declares the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.”

2 Thus says the Lord, “The people who survived the sword Found grace in the wilderness– Israel, when it went to find its rest.”

3 The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.

God so loved us that He gave the best he could offer on our behalf. To love us with an everlasting love to draw us unto him with loving-kindness is a transforming perspective of truth that God has not abandon us nor has He forsaken us but is constantly working to replace each lie with His truth in order for you and me to have an intimate walk with him and to experience an abundant life, a little bit of heaven on earth if you will. That we can be so in armored by His truth His promises that we can have peace even in the midst of our stormed tossed life. Allow God with His truth to replace each and every lie so your perspective WILL be changed and you will see everything in a whole different light a whole different perspective than you did yesterday.

Personal note:

I have believed a lot of lies that were taught me by the devil through many avenues of media. I was blinded to the truth of God and it seemed foolish to me until the day I was born-again at the age of fourteen. The changing of my perspective has been a long process for me from the age of fourteen to the age of fifty, dramatic changes for me has occurred since 2008. The battles, the pains, the sufferings and the regrets were good teachers that brought me to the truth in Christ and of His word. I stand before you as a testimony as to what truth can do for a person who wants change and needed it as desperately as I did, however the ripple effects of my living in lies is still affecting me today. The truth is much sweeter by far and the travel well worth the trip to get me here. Thank you Jesus!!!

Intimacy With Christ

Richard Wafford

Being Courageous in Todays World

The disciples after Jesus death, lived and cowered in fear, until he rose again the third day and they were fill with His Holy Spirit at Pentecost. Then they became courageous powerhouses for the kingdom of God in reaching the lost for Jesus, willing to give up their lives to spread the gospel. We have that same Spirit living within our hearts that lived within the hearts of those disciples and we have the very same God, so why do we cower in fear refusing to take a stand for God and His word. The answer is we need to have an Intimate walk with Christ in order to have PASSION in serving him with all our heart, mind and strength.

As Casting Crowns sing, “we were made to be courageous, we were made to lead the way, we could be the generation that finally breaks the chains, we were made to be courageous.”

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind 2 Timothy 1:7.
To live in fear is to live every waking moment with dread and constant anxiety over what may not even happen at all. To live by our emotions is very dangerous because feelings fluctuate they are unsteady not to be trusted in basing your every day decisions on. The byproduct of living by your feelings is to inherit the qualities that follow it, like worry, fretting, anxiety, discouragement, depression and fear.

Gods word says the just shall live by faith. As creator of all living things I believe he would know what is best for us. In John chapter 10 Jesus states,” I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The way to an abundant life is also stated, ” The righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” Think about this with me for a moment to live by faith is to inherit its qualities like confidence, boldness, steadiness, encouragement, strength, and self-confidence. How many times has fear stop you from accomplishing a certain thing that later you regretted not doing it? Fear hinders you from being all you can be for Jesus Christ. Hinders you from having life more abundantly. Faith in God will erase all fear. So let God take hold of you in all His love and the power of His word to stand strong in the fight against sin, hypocrisy and weak knee Christians.

Personal note:
I have experienced many fears in the past several years since all my securities were in people and not in God were by my own misguided decisions caused my loved ones to be taken away from me which helped me to see myself and God in a real way. God had turned my sinful behavior and bad choices which separated me from those I loved and hurt into my eventual good. Why you may ask would God do anything for my good since my own sin caused my own pain, suffering, and being ostracized by those who were close to me. The reason? I fell at the feet of God’s mercy, God had to get me at the end of myself before he could mold me and shape me according to His will and purpose. I lived a life of hypocrisy until I came to the end of myself at the foot of the cross and looked up to Jesus pleading to have mercy on one who had previously frustrated the grace of God. God in his love towards me was patient working within me till the time of my full deliverance. By the power of God He has caused me to stand in truth and in righteousness by the faith I had in him to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” Ephesians 3: 20. He did for me more than I could ever imagine possible. For years in my struggle against the sins that so easily beset me I said unto God that if He could deliver me completely I would become a walking miracle. The past four years that miracle has become a reality in my life. Now I say to you do not let sin hinder, do not let fear hinder you from becoming all that you can be in Christ and to your family. Isaiah 55:1 “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Come to Jesus who will freely give to your soul what it has long been searching and craving for.

Intimacy With Christ,

~ Richard W. Wafford

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I Need a Change, I’m Ready To Fly, and I’m Forming a New Past

My New Past

A dear friend of mine Debra Powers gave this profound truth, “Remember you are forming the past today. You can’t change the past you already have had. God isn’t backtracking. Stick with me on this thought. The best way to change your past is living in truth today. By that I mean. Today you are forming the “new past” you will have. Embrace where you are, who you are and who God is molding you to be. Let God give you a sound mind vs. a spirit of fear so that you can start changing the past you are going to have.”

Song written by Deibler and Jeromy called Ready To Fly sung by FFH has a lot of insight, keys if you will to what we can do with our past. As my friend Debra states above you can’t change your past, however, we can start forming our new past today which is an extremely insightful thought. The song states “I’ve been grounded far to long” how many times as our past hindered our present blinded us to sound thinking, sound choices and wise decisions. If we surrender our all to God he will take us to the place where the song says, “I’m ready to see the open wide Ready to sing a different song” why, because we‘ve been hinder far too long. That is why upon our new birth in Romans 12:2 “do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Our minds due to being born into sin are corrupt our thinking faulty therefore needs renewed, our lies to be replaced by the real truth to life itself written by the author of truth the creator of human life, Jesus the Son of the Living God. John 14: 6 (KJV) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
It will take a different mindset to think on things eternal to forming my new past in the present. We get too much involved and upset in the things that do not matter in the eternal view. How many times have we got into fights and arguments with trivial matters are that only temporal and in actuality now really worth fighting or arguing over when you stop and think of eternity. Is it really worth winning when your lose a relationship or that intimacy that was once there is lost due to a fight that was trivial to begin with?

PERSONAL NOTE:

I have all my life allowed my past to hinder my present thereby affecting my future. By this I am referring to how I perceived my treatment as a child while growing up, I felt like I was the black sheep of my family. I perceived in my mind at a young immature age that my older brother was the cream of the crop and I was the crap left over. This perception whether true or not left me feeling worthless, unloved, and not good enough in their eyes. This false mindset affected my every present my every waking moment therefore the present decisions that I made affected my future. My schoolwork? Selecting college? My vocation? Why, press on to become something better or why reach out to greatness when you perceived yourself to be worthless and not worth the effort. If my false perception of the people I trusted the most believed I was worthless then it must be so. My born-again experience began at the age of fourteen in 1975 while my eternal view had changed sadly the view-point of myself did not, I still had a low self-esteem, depression, and suicidal thoughts. In 1997 my view-point of God had changed drastically from a marriage counselor who told me that God loved me unconditionally and you know what? I believed him and saw in God’s word that he did indeed love me with no strings attached contrary to those who claimed that they did.

Again in 2008 I saw in God’s word a simple truth to some but was so profound to me that the just are saved by faith. I ruminated for 3 months Romans 9: 16 it does not, therefore, depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy. then I sat down and read the entire book of Romans the truth hit me like it did with Martin Luther we are justified by faith.

Romans 4:1-6 (NIV)            Abraham Justified by Faith

4 What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh,discovered in this matter? ² If, in fact, Abraham was justified by works, he had something to boast about—but not before God. ³ What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

⁴ Now to the one who works, wages are not credited as a gift but as an obligation.⁵ However, to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.⁶ David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the one to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=romans%204:1-6&version=NIV)

Abraham was justified not by works or else he could boast to everyone, he was justified by his faith in God and it was credited to him as righteousness. To the one who does not work but trusts in God our faith, my faith was and is credited as righteousness.

My mindset had changed from lies to the actual truth. I not only didn’t have to perform for my parent’s approval but I didn’t have to lobby for God’s approval. I saw a whole new me just like the song says, “I’ve been grounded far to long” and “I’m ready to see the open wide Ready to sing a different song.” I was excited about life now I no longer wanted to die and get to heaven as soon as possible but the truth that Paul stated, “to live is Christ but to die is gain”, I can actually grasp the concept. My past forgiven, my excess baggage dealt with along with forgiving everyone who has ever hurt me or wounded my spirit. I now walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus, I became dead in sin and towards sin to walk in the pathway of the Spirit. God is my fortress and strength a very present help in times of trouble, a healer to all my pains, and taking this poor caterpillar and creating a beautiful butterfly to soar into the heavens no longer crawling on the ground of a pathetic life allowing my pains and sufferings to govern my future decisions. I live in Christ alone…..PRAISE HIS NAME.

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