I get the frustrated email all the time. “Wayne, it doesn’t seem like anything is happening in me.” People who go on a journey to learn to live in the love of the Father get impatient when change doesn’t come as fast as they hope for. I understand. Many are used to intellectual change. I hear something. I believe it. And then I should be able to apply it to my life.
But transformation doesn’t work that way. We may know God loves us, but letting him win us into the reality of that love takes time. It may even seem as if nothing is happening and we begin to doubt either God’s love or the process. I’ve watched over many years as people write me frustrated that they don’t seem to be “getting it.” In fact Brad and I recently did a podcast on what may be the scientific reason Why Transformation Takes Time. If you missed it, you might want to give it a listen.)
I try to tell people to relax in the Father’s affection and to relax in the process of how he changes us. I know it isn’t easy. We want quick-fixes and be in control. But we can’t rush it. It isn’t ours to do. All we can do is just lean into him each day as much as we are able and set our affections on him. Yes, we’ll make mistakes. Certainly we’ll fee trapped by habit patterns and ways of thinking that don’t seem to change. But what we miss is what’s going on deep down in the core of our lives, beneath the level of us simply trying to act better.
That’s why I tell people to let it unfold the way God wants, even if it takes two or three years to see progress. I know that’s hard, but one day you’ll begin to see that things have been shifting in your life and now you are able to transit circumstances with more freedom that we’ve had before. That’s when you’ll know God is doing the work not you. Like Paul, you’ll end up with nothing to boast about except him and his work in you.
I got this email earlier this week from someone I’ve been in touch with over the past few frustrated years. Look at what God has done:
I (am now experiencing) what I have been seeking for years. I can only describe it as heavy warm feeling on my chest that leaves me feeling peaceful and I am left with an excited expectation for what is next to come in my life and that all is well. I found out I have grown into Fathers reality a lot more than I ever dreamed because when the chips were down and I came to the end of me, grief lost its power, fear had no effect and I was left with a simple faith knowing he is in control. That’s the only way I know how to explain it. I was growing up all along and didn’t even know it.
I love that. Changing by our own strength is much quicker, but it doesn’t last long and we soon slip back in our old patterns. Transformation works more deeply, helping us think differently from the inside, so that we live differently on the outside. I hope this email encourages those of you for whom change seems to be moving too slowly. He is at work in you. You’ll see it one day and then you’ll overflow with thanksgiving.
- Wayne Jacobsen
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Until You Learn Powerlessness
Anyone who has not gone on journeys of powerlessness will invariably abuse power.
A good friend sent me a recent devotional from Richard Rohr, thinking I would love it! I did! In fact I share it with Brad on tomorrow’s podcast at The God Journey, but I wanted to highlight some of it here and give you a chance to read it before. I love the whole thing and how most ancient initiation rites led men into feelings of powerlessness so that he would not abuse that power, especially in male-dominated societies.
He goes on (emphases mine):
Jesus clearly taught the twelve disciples about surrender, the necessity of suffering, humility, servant leadership, and nonviolence. They resisted him every time, and so he finally had to make the journey himself and tell them, “Follow me!” But Christians have preferred to hear something Jesus never said: “Worship me.” Worship of Jesus is rather harmless and risk-free; following Jesus changes everything.
… I have often thought that this “non-preaching” of the Gospel was like a secret social contract between clergy and laity, as we shake hands across the sanctuary. We agree not to tell you anything that would make you uncomfortable, and you will keep coming to our services. It is a nice deal, because once the Gospel is preached, I doubt if the churches would be filled. Rather, we might be out on the streets living the message. The discernment and the call to a life of service, to a life that gives itself away instead of simply protecting and procuring for itself in the name of Jesus, is what church should be about. Right now, so much church is the clergy teaching the people how to be co-dependent with them. It becomes job security instead of true spiritual empowerment. Remember, anyone—male or female—who has not gone on journeys of powerlessness will invariably abuse power.
You can read the whole thing here. Maybe you’ll love it too. It may be more difficult for women to read, especially those that have been harmed by the abuse of power in our male-entrenched cultures, but the message is so powerful for all of us.
- Wayne Jacobsen
A good friend sent me a recent devotional from Richard Rohr, thinking I would love it! I did! In fact I share it with Brad on tomorrow’s podcast at The God Journey, but I wanted to highlight some of it here and give you a chance to read it before. I love the whole thing and how most ancient initiation rites led men into feelings of powerlessness so that he would not abuse that power, especially in male-dominated societies.
He goes on (emphases mine):
Jesus clearly taught the twelve disciples about surrender, the necessity of suffering, humility, servant leadership, and nonviolence. They resisted him every time, and so he finally had to make the journey himself and tell them, “Follow me!” But Christians have preferred to hear something Jesus never said: “Worship me.” Worship of Jesus is rather harmless and risk-free; following Jesus changes everything.
… I have often thought that this “non-preaching” of the Gospel was like a secret social contract between clergy and laity, as we shake hands across the sanctuary. We agree not to tell you anything that would make you uncomfortable, and you will keep coming to our services. It is a nice deal, because once the Gospel is preached, I doubt if the churches would be filled. Rather, we might be out on the streets living the message. The discernment and the call to a life of service, to a life that gives itself away instead of simply protecting and procuring for itself in the name of Jesus, is what church should be about. Right now, so much church is the clergy teaching the people how to be co-dependent with them. It becomes job security instead of true spiritual empowerment. Remember, anyone—male or female—who has not gone on journeys of powerlessness will invariably abuse power.
You can read the whole thing here. Maybe you’ll love it too. It may be more difficult for women to read, especially those that have been harmed by the abuse of power in our male-entrenched cultures, but the message is so powerful for all of us.
- Wayne Jacobsen
What Love Transforms
When three different people send you a copy of the same book in the same week, you take note. About a month ago Sara and I were able to start reading Love Does by Bob Goff. We have found it a delightful read as Bob shares his adventures in learning to live inside of love, both for himself and for others around him.
This one paragraph really caught my eye, because I think it is the essence of transformative love. You cannot know God’s kind of love without it changing you from the inside and finding yourself a freer, kinder person in the world, not because you have to but because you’re free to be the person Jesus made you to be:
“The cool thing about taking Jesus up on His offer is that whatever controls you doesn’t anymore. People who used to be obsessed about becoming famous no longer care whether anybody knows their name. People who used to want power are willing to serve. People who used to chase money freely give it away. People who used to beg others for acceptance are now strong enough to give love.”
That’s what love does. It reshapes us from the inside. You don’t learn to love by trying to change the way you feel about these things. Instead learning to live inside the love of God changes your value systems, often while you’re least aware it is going on. I am so enjoying the things that love is reshaping in me and I’m excited to see what it will yet change as I find myself valuing more what God values.
Someone also sent the this quote from the NPR show On Being by Omid Safi about busyness:
“This disease of being ‘busy’ (and let’s call it what it is, the dis-ease of being busy, when we are never at ease) is spiritually destructive to our health and wellbeing. It saps our ability to be fully present with those we love the most in our families, and keeps us from forming the kind of community that we all so desperately crave.”
It speaks into that same space. We’re not busy because the world demands it of us, we’re busy to run from ourselves and those around us as a retreat from the insecurities in our own heart. As those insecurities are cleansed by his love, you’ll find yourself far less busy. There’s no reason to be anymore and having time for the people in your life will allow you to experience the richness of real community, not just another meeting to rush off to or another responsibility to check off your list.
(Health update: For those concerned about my recovery from open-heart surgery, all continues as well as can be expected, which is a bit too slow for me. 🙂 I’m now three weeks from surgery in some pain and discomfort at times, but mostly just allowing the trauma to heal and my strength to recover. I’m walking about 4 miles per day now and will begin cardio therapy in a week or so. This has been quite a process, but filled with some lovely things God has done in the midst of it all. I’ll share those some day too. My family has been an incredible source of care and courage to get through this. For now, it is back to sleep, which seems to sneak up on me without notice and without my permission!)
This one paragraph really caught my eye, because I think it is the essence of transformative love. You cannot know God’s kind of love without it changing you from the inside and finding yourself a freer, kinder person in the world, not because you have to but because you’re free to be the person Jesus made you to be:
“The cool thing about taking Jesus up on His offer is that whatever controls you doesn’t anymore. People who used to be obsessed about becoming famous no longer care whether anybody knows their name. People who used to want power are willing to serve. People who used to chase money freely give it away. People who used to beg others for acceptance are now strong enough to give love.”
That’s what love does. It reshapes us from the inside. You don’t learn to love by trying to change the way you feel about these things. Instead learning to live inside the love of God changes your value systems, often while you’re least aware it is going on. I am so enjoying the things that love is reshaping in me and I’m excited to see what it will yet change as I find myself valuing more what God values.
Someone also sent the this quote from the NPR show On Being by Omid Safi about busyness:
“This disease of being ‘busy’ (and let’s call it what it is, the dis-ease of being busy, when we are never at ease) is spiritually destructive to our health and wellbeing. It saps our ability to be fully present with those we love the most in our families, and keeps us from forming the kind of community that we all so desperately crave.”
It speaks into that same space. We’re not busy because the world demands it of us, we’re busy to run from ourselves and those around us as a retreat from the insecurities in our own heart. As those insecurities are cleansed by his love, you’ll find yourself far less busy. There’s no reason to be anymore and having time for the people in your life will allow you to experience the richness of real community, not just another meeting to rush off to or another responsibility to check off your list.
(Health update: For those concerned about my recovery from open-heart surgery, all continues as well as can be expected, which is a bit too slow for me. 🙂 I’m now three weeks from surgery in some pain and discomfort at times, but mostly just allowing the trauma to heal and my strength to recover. I’m walking about 4 miles per day now and will begin cardio therapy in a week or so. This has been quite a process, but filled with some lovely things God has done in the midst of it all. I’ll share those some day too. My family has been an incredible source of care and courage to get through this. For now, it is back to sleep, which seems to sneak up on me without notice and without my permission!)
The Paper; The Book
Romans 5 introduces us to contrast, that of being
in Adam or being in Christ.
"As through one man's (Adam) disobedience, the
many were made sinners, even so, through the
obedience of one (Jesus) shall many be made
righteous. (Romans 5: 19)
In Adam we receive everything that is in Adam;
in Christ we receive everything that is in Christ.
When He was crucified we were crucified there
with Him, because we had been placed in Him.
Nee gives an illustration of a piece of paper that is
separate from a book. He puts the paper into a
book and then sends the book to a friend. He sent
the book, not the paper, but because the paper was
in the book the paper went with the book. The paper
has to go where the book goes. It is not separate
from the destiny of the book.
In 1 Corinthians 15:45,47, Jesus is spoken of as
being the Last Adam and the Second Man. As the
last Adam, Christ is the total sum of humanity;
as the Second Man He is the head of a new race.
As the Last Adam His union with the human race
began in Bethlehem and ends at the Cross and the
Tomb--where He took judgement and death. Our
union with Him as the Second Man begins in
resurrection and ends in never ending Eternity. He
rose again as Head of a new race of men, in whom
that purpose will eventually be fully realized. As
Adam He wiped out the old race; as the Second
Man, He brings in the new race.
"For if we have been planted together in the
likeness of his death, we shall be also in the
likeness of his resurrection. (Romans 6:5)
We died in Him as the last Adam; we live in Him
as the Second Man. The cross is the mighty act
of God which translates us from Adam to Christ.
(Watchman Nee; The Normal Christian Life)
in Adam or being in Christ.
"As through one man's (Adam) disobedience, the
many were made sinners, even so, through the
obedience of one (Jesus) shall many be made
righteous. (Romans 5: 19)
In Adam we receive everything that is in Adam;
in Christ we receive everything that is in Christ.
When He was crucified we were crucified there
with Him, because we had been placed in Him.
Nee gives an illustration of a piece of paper that is
separate from a book. He puts the paper into a
book and then sends the book to a friend. He sent
the book, not the paper, but because the paper was
in the book the paper went with the book. The paper
has to go where the book goes. It is not separate
from the destiny of the book.
In 1 Corinthians 15:45,47, Jesus is spoken of as
being the Last Adam and the Second Man. As the
last Adam, Christ is the total sum of humanity;
as the Second Man He is the head of a new race.
As the Last Adam His union with the human race
began in Bethlehem and ends at the Cross and the
Tomb--where He took judgement and death. Our
union with Him as the Second Man begins in
resurrection and ends in never ending Eternity. He
rose again as Head of a new race of men, in whom
that purpose will eventually be fully realized. As
Adam He wiped out the old race; as the Second
Man, He brings in the new race.
"For if we have been planted together in the
likeness of his death, we shall be also in the
likeness of his resurrection. (Romans 6:5)
We died in Him as the last Adam; we live in Him
as the Second Man. The cross is the mighty act
of God which translates us from Adam to Christ.
(Watchman Nee; The Normal Christian Life)
A New Creation
Our old history ends with the Cross; our new history
begins with the resurrection.
"If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature:
the old things are passed away; behold they are
become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The cross terminates the first creation, and out of
death there is brought a new creation in Christ, the
Second Man.
If we are in 'Adam' all that is in Adam necessarily
devolves upon us; it becomes ours involuntarily, for
we have to do nothing to get it. There is no need to
make up or minds to lose our temper or to commit
some other sin; sin comes to us naturally and despite
how much we try to be good. In a similar manner if
we are 'in Christ' all that is in Christ comes to us by
free grace, without effort on our part. It is on the
ground of simple faith.
It is a four step process.
1 Knowing
2 Reckoning
3 Presenting ourselves to God,
4 Walking in the Spirit. (Watchman Nee)
Does this sound a bit complicated?
How does it work out in life?
Above all, does scripture back it up?
begins with the resurrection.
"If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature:
the old things are passed away; behold they are
become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)
The cross terminates the first creation, and out of
death there is brought a new creation in Christ, the
Second Man.
If we are in 'Adam' all that is in Adam necessarily
devolves upon us; it becomes ours involuntarily, for
we have to do nothing to get it. There is no need to
make up or minds to lose our temper or to commit
some other sin; sin comes to us naturally and despite
how much we try to be good. In a similar manner if
we are 'in Christ' all that is in Christ comes to us by
free grace, without effort on our part. It is on the
ground of simple faith.
It is a four step process.
1 Knowing
2 Reckoning
3 Presenting ourselves to God,
4 Walking in the Spirit. (Watchman Nee)
Does this sound a bit complicated?
How does it work out in life?
Above all, does scripture back it up?
Consecrated to Him
For the past nine blogs I have been sharing
The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee.
If you have missed any, go back because
each one builds on previous blogs.
The study has now brought us to the point where
we will discover the true nature of consecration.
"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal
body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof:
neither present your members unto sin as
instruments of unrighteousness; but present
yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead,
and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.
(Rom 6: 12,13 KJV)
The operative word here is 'present' which occurs
five times in verses 13,16,19. Paul is not speaking
of the 'Old Nature' with its instincts, resources,
natural wisdom, or strength given to the Lord for
His use. No, he says, 'present yourselves unto
God, as alive from the dead.' For what is here
refers not to the consecration of anything
belonging to the old creation, but only that which
has passed through death to resurrection. When
I really KNOW I am crucified with Him, then
spontaneously I reckon myself dead (verses 6,11);
and when I KNOW that I am raised with Him from
the dead, then likewise I reckon myself 'alive unto
God in Christ Jesus. (verses 9,11)
Death has cut off all that cannot be consecrated to
Him, and resurrection alone has made consecration
possible. Presenting myself to God means that
henceforth I consider my whole life as belonging to
God. (Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life)
The Normal Christian Life by Watchman Nee.
If you have missed any, go back because
each one builds on previous blogs.
The study has now brought us to the point where
we will discover the true nature of consecration.
"Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal
body, that ye should obey the lusts thereof:
neither present your members unto sin as
instruments of unrighteousness; but present
yourselves unto God, as alive from the dead,
and your members as instruments of
righteousness unto God.
(Rom 6: 12,13 KJV)
The operative word here is 'present' which occurs
five times in verses 13,16,19. Paul is not speaking
of the 'Old Nature' with its instincts, resources,
natural wisdom, or strength given to the Lord for
His use. No, he says, 'present yourselves unto
God, as alive from the dead.' For what is here
refers not to the consecration of anything
belonging to the old creation, but only that which
has passed through death to resurrection. When
I really KNOW I am crucified with Him, then
spontaneously I reckon myself dead (verses 6,11);
and when I KNOW that I am raised with Him from
the dead, then likewise I reckon myself 'alive unto
God in Christ Jesus. (verses 9,11)
Death has cut off all that cannot be consecrated to
Him, and resurrection alone has made consecration
possible. Presenting myself to God means that
henceforth I consider my whole life as belonging to
God. (Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life)
The New You
What does God say about you as a believer?
You are not condemned!
'There is therefore no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus.' (Rom 8:1)
You are free from the law of sin and death
'For the law of the Spirit of Life has set you
free from the law of sin and death.'
(Rom 8:2)
You are Sanctified (holy and set apart)
'To the church that is in Corinth, to those
sanctified in Christ, called to be saints...'
(1Cor 1:2)
(Notice that Paul is addressing a church whose
performance left much to be desired.)
You are the righteousness of God
'For our sake he made him to be sin who
knew no sin so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God.' (2Cor 5:21)
You were created for good performance (and I
can let Christ live in me to perform it.)
'For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk
in them.' (Eph 2:10
You are complete (perfect)
'For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells
bodily, and you have been filled in him.'
(Col 2:9,10)
You are raised up with Him
'If then you have been raised up with Christ,
seek the things above...'(Col 3:1)
Your life is hidden with Christ in God
'For you have died, and your life is hidden with
Christ in God. (Col 3:3)
You are not condemned!
'There is therefore no condemnation for those
who are in Christ Jesus.' (Rom 8:1)
You are free from the law of sin and death
'For the law of the Spirit of Life has set you
free from the law of sin and death.'
(Rom 8:2)
You are Sanctified (holy and set apart)
'To the church that is in Corinth, to those
sanctified in Christ, called to be saints...'
(1Cor 1:2)
(Notice that Paul is addressing a church whose
performance left much to be desired.)
You are the righteousness of God
'For our sake he made him to be sin who
knew no sin so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God.' (2Cor 5:21)
You were created for good performance (and I
can let Christ live in me to perform it.)
'For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus for good works, which God
prepared beforehand, that we should walk
in them.' (Eph 2:10
You are complete (perfect)
'For in Him the whole fullness of deity dwells
bodily, and you have been filled in him.'
(Col 2:9,10)
You are raised up with Him
'If then you have been raised up with Christ,
seek the things above...'(Col 3:1)
Your life is hidden with Christ in God
'For you have died, and your life is hidden with
Christ in God. (Col 3:3)
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