In our modern era, finding truth has never before has been more confusing or elusive. One theology says go this way, one doctor says try this pill, and one self-help book says practice this discipline to find the answers. While each antidote may provide some temporary relief to problems, the root cause of the problems still remains.<< MORE >>

…bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5, NKJV

In the heat of the battle, the mind is reeling with a potent cocktail of raw explosive emotions and obsessive thoughts.  The seeds are being planted for destruction with no regard to any collateral damage.  This is the turning point of either life changing victory or miserable defeat.  The outcome depends on the choice.  Paradoxically, at this point the only strategy for victory is the choice of surrender.  For those who have put on the helmet of salvation and have learned to take every thought captive to the obedience of Jesus Christ, then this tactic has become the natural means of surrendering to the power of God.  Victory is inevitable.

Unfortunately, most are completely unaware of the battle being waged from within.  An evil thought surfaces, combined with a flood of irrational passions or absolute repression, and the clueless inescapably fall prey to the ultimate consequences of out of control actions, or deliberate debilitating inaction.  Moving from the seeds of unfiltered thoughts to destructive actions, consequently affecting character formation, and finally shaping destiny oft times quicker than we could possible imagine.  We look back and are left with the unyeilding question, “How in the world did I get here?” 

As believers in Jesus Christ, we are given the full Armor of God, and if surrendered to the obedience of Jesus Christ, we are trained on a daily basis to do battle.  It is in the daily battle that we are honed to walk in victory over any event that crosses our path.  Whether believer or non-believer, we are all faced with challenges in our lives.  Fighting based on our own limited capacity to understand who or what we are fighting, or running away to avoid confrontation leaves the emptiness of loss that nothing of this world can truly repair.

This loss carries with it unwarranted stress and despair effecting not only the emotional being, but the physical and spiritual being as well.  The parasites of depression and apathy are left to suck the life out of its oblivious victims.  Fortunately, by God’s amazing grace --His unmerited favor-- at any point while we still draw breath in this world, we can choose to simply surrender to the Answer.  If willingly agreed, the scales of the heart are lifted and truth is revealed that Christ is with us and has been waiting for us patiently for a long time.

Perspective is altered and hope is found. We can truly be anxious for nothing, bringing our prayers and petitions, with thanksgiving, before God (Philippians 4:6 ) knowing without a shadow of doubt our prayers are answered. The helmet of salvation belongs to the freely surrendered, and the victory belongs to God.

For other resources, live group meetings, support and encouragement in the spirit of True Fellowship in Jesus Christ you are welcome to join The Personal Journey group on-line.

Regina M. Dick
rdick@gnbm.org

All rights Reserved.  Copying of any of this material is expressly prohibited.  Permission can be given by written permission from Good News Broadcasting & Multimedia – at contact@GNBM.org. 

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms… Ephesians 6:12-12, NIV

And the battle begins.  To maintain a blind eye to the fact that we are in a major Spiritual battle is tantamount to giving our lives over without a thought to hopeless oblivion.  To continue to beat each other up with quarreling, unforgiveness, and strife is to lose not only the battle, but the war.  There is Spiritual wickedness that we must acknowledge to even begin to do battle.  Oxford scholar, and former atheist, C.S. Lewis, wrote:

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils.  One is to disbelieve in their existence.  The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors…

C.S. Lewis.  The Screwtape Letter. 1941

As believers in Jesus Christ, we have the necessary Armor to do battle even of epic proportions.  The problem is that most believers remain unaware of just what they do possess as Holy Spirit-filled ambassadors of Christ.  Satan and his cohorts’ battle strategy consist of lies, deceit and division.  It is their continual means of keeping believers off focus, thusly vulnerable to major attacks.  Uniformly, when we begin to become aware of what is transpiring all around us, the attacks seem to become relentless.  Most cunningly adaptive, the Enemy’s best lie is that one degree from truth for which many theologies have been based.

Divide and conquer, the basic battle strategy of any successful wartime leader is the quickest means of victory, especially in Spiritual warfare.  Singularly separated, alone and wallowing in self-pity, the field-day of abuse begins to descend from every direction.  As the Enemy succeeds in dividing families, the basic God-designed and ordained unit, then the ripple effect of division permeates throughout communities building into tidal waves of separation effecting all the way to our nations.  

The only means of winning a war for which we are out-gunned and overrun by any means of earthly discernment is simply surrender.  This humbling surrender is a one-day-at-a-time act of will to our Savior, Jesus Christ.  By first surrendering our current understanding, we discover that we can trust God in a very personal way to cover all of our needs.  From this revelation builds the faith needed not to ignore or walk away from any of life’s trials, but rather stand through to the finish in resounding victory.  Triumphantly we declare that we are more than conquerors through our Lord, Jesus Christ (Romans 8:37), suited with the complete Armor of God standing firmly with each other to the end.

For other resources, live group meetings, support and encouragement in the spirit of True Fellowship in Jesus Christ you are welcome to join The Personal Journey group on-line.

Regina M. Dick
rdick@gnbm.org

All rights Reserved.  Copying of any of this material is prohibited, unless expressly given by written permission from Good News Broadcasting & Multimedia – at contact@GNBM.org.

*Image by Bill Osborne at http://www.billosborne.com

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Matthew 14:30, NIV

We hear the still quiet voice becoming louder as a result of answering the calling with the choice for Christ as the Proclamation of Faith resounds.  Salvation is claimed, and this turning point initiates the intimate personal journey with Jesus Christ.  Now the transformation begins into the fullness of salvation that can only be achieved by continual focus on the Savior.

We have stepped out of the boat and begin walking on water.  Sound impossible?  It is in the natural, but not in the heavenly realm of God’s kingdom.  Simplified, the new man is reborn into Christ’s own image leaving behind the understanding of this world to be transformed into the next.  He is in this world, but no longer of this world (John 17:14-19).  And the battle begins.

The honing of faith, as sanctification continues, comes in the one-day-at-a-time journey of life’s obstacles, and this is where focus requires our utmost attention.  Focused on the wind and waves of circumstance continually beating against us, we sink.  Listening to the voices and popular opinion of those still sitting in the boat, we sink.  Attempting to figure it out in our own power how to stay afloat, we sink.  If we are no longer of this world, but rather in the Kingdom of God, then we are focused on Jesus Christ.

As Spiritual maturity grows and faith is strengthened on this daily battleground of circumstances, perception changes and the big picture begins to unfold.  We are never given more than what is required to stretch and build the faith in Christ needed to overcome anything put before us.  These muscles of faith being torn down by the old to be rebuilt by the new bring us ever closer to Gods’ ultimate design.  The war has already been won on Calvary, but we walk the victory daily through this valley of the shadow of death.  “Where’s your focus?” becomes the decisive battle cry.  As the world progresses in confusion and deception, the saints are ever more attuned to the voice of the Savior as a result of the day-to-day personal victories through the power of the Holy Spirit indwelling within us.

For other resources, live group meetings, support and encouragement in the spirit of True Fellowship in Jesus Christ you are welcome to join The Personal Journey group on-line.

 Regina M. Dick
rdick@gnbm.org

All rights Reserved.  Copying of any of this material is prohibited, unless expressly given by written permission from Good News Broadcasting & Multimedia – at contact@GNBM.org. 

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  1 John 4:8, NIV 

Continual communion is the personal love affair with Jesus Christ.  As with any intimate relationship, the very natural next step when free choice is made to our intentions is pursuit of the desire.  With Christ as the object of our desire the magnificent passion begins.  This divine relationship brings a fullness and depth of understanding far beyond any conventional wisdom.

When someone truly falls in adoring love with someone else, their thoughts, their actions, their hearts are guided by this surrender.  The difference with this love of God is a fullness that transcends our limited capacity to comprehend.  This agape love is unconditional, and with it presents an abundance that defies all human ability to explain.  The only possible way to appreciate this communion is through personal experience.  If you know this love of Christ, then you know God, and knowing only comes through familiarity.

From this depth of our being comes deep awareness as we progress forward on the journey of continual communion with Christ.  Our mind and hearts are literally transformed as we become one with Christ and our perspective on every aspect of life is forever altered.

The communion is life-long and as we grow more intimate in this powerful relationship Truth naturally unveils itself.  From Truth we are given the tools needed to discern and walk in victory in every aspect of our lives.  The void within our hearts that nothing else can fill becomes overflowing with abundance.

The overwhelming abundance is what spills over onto others and fulfills Christ’s declaration to, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself."  Luke 10:27 ,NIV

For other resources, live group meetings, support and encouragement in the spirit of True Fellowship in Jesus Christ you are welcome to join The Personal Journey group on-line .

If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. John 7:17, NIV

Let’s face it, wherever we are at this point in our lives -be it good or bad- is the result of our choices.  The good news is that each day is a new day, and no matter what our past may be, we still have the opportunity to make the one free choice that could literally change everything.  It is really that simple.

In the past our choices may have been based on one of three things, intellectual analysis, emotional reasoning, or just plain probability.  Regrettably, each decision process in its own way will always be limited in its ability to produce the best results, yet there is a way that produces the best for all concerned.  It is the way, the truth, and the life through the simple choice of Jesus Christ.  No one goes to God except through Christ. (John14:6 )

To make this pivotal choice requires the simple verbal Proclamation of Faith (Salvation prayer ) in Jesus Christ, as prescribed in the Bible in Romans 10:8-10 .  From this one choice springs forth living waters of change that go beyond our wildest imagination.  Slowly, as we continue on this journey of change the scales begin to fall off the eyes of our hearts, and truth is revealed.

Each day is a new day and with it come new challenges that require new choices.  As followers of Jesus Christ these choices begin to be filtered through a purpose much bigger than ourselves.  At some point on our journey, as we contemplate our past, we begin to see that every piece of the puzzle of our lives begins to fit together and discover it was Jesus that chose us, not we that chose Him.

For other resources, live group meetings, support and encouragement in the spirit of True Fellowship in Jesus Christ you are welcome to join The Personal Journey group on-line .

 Regina M. Dick
rdick@gnbm.org

All rights Reserved.  Copying of any of this material is prohibited, unless expressly given by written permission from Good News Broadcasting & Multimedia – at contact@GNBM.org. 

"...a voice of one calling in the desert, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'” Mark 1:3, NIV

As illustrated in the previous article, this movement of the Holy Spirit is not just reaching Christian communities; it is reaching every corner of the earth.  Amidst the chaos, the confusion, the corruption and greed comes Hope in the form of a still small inner voice calling us back to our creator.  This calling is our great occasion to find the Answer we have been looking for, the question is will we take heed or not.

For naysayers, look at the statistics of global change in every area of our lives, and there the pattern emerges.  The first Spatial Statistic conference 2011 mapping global change, being held in The Netherlands in March of 2011 is an unprecedented attempt to quantify the uncertainty of rapid changes in environmental, ecological, climatic, energy, health and economic issues while speculating the potential consequences.  Experts from academia, research, and industry are invited to participate to find answers.

Ironically, what these experts in various fields will use research and intellect to come to some scientific conclusions, the individuals who believe in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit will already know.  This paradigm shift in global thinking becomes even more evident as followers of Jesus Christ develop a deeper relationship.  The story is unfolding for those who have the eyes to see, and the ears to hear.

To follow this calling to what is not seen, but sensed intuitively is a move from the natural to the supernatural.  God did not leave us here to wander in the dark, he gave us clear instruction through the His divinely inspired Word –the Bible.  This Spirit-led book chronicles both man’s existence and destiny; all the while, pointing to one pivotal moment that brings man into union with God.  This one moment in history was the birth, death and subsequent resurrection of God’s Word made flesh (John 1:14) –His Son, Jesus Christ.

Our choice to answer this personal intimate calling to the love of Jesus Christ is to choose eternal life.  It is not just life after death, but eternal life living within us here and now.  This one simple choice opens the door to the Kingdom of God, and His Glory (Luke 17:21) takes residence within you.       

For other resources, live group meetings, support and encouragement in the spirit of True Fellowship in Jesus Christ you are welcome to join The Personal Journey group on-line.

 Regina M. Dick
rdick@gnbm.org

…if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth. 1 Timothy 3:15, NIV

With the advent of our current technological age has come with it an overwhelming need to find peace amidst the chaos.  Our lives, our relationships, our interests are now fraught with never before experienced complexity and confusion.  Within this confusion is a growing movement finding simple truth through Holy Spirit-filled small groups.

This movement is not localized, it is actually global.  It is not a new concept, but the result of the original movement over 2000 years ago.  It was the period after the death of Jesus Christ, when the Holy Spirit descended upon believers and the gospel of Jesus Christ began to spread.  So threatened by the power of this movement local authorities used every means possible to stop its proliferation.  If it were a movement made of man it might have been squelched at some point, but it was and still is a movement growing to every corner of the earth. 

This movement to come together in unity through Jesus Christ in the form of small group meetings and House Churches, both domestically and abroad is creating a growing shift in global thinking.  The Home Church movement in the US, as described by the HomeChurchMovement.com , is taking the very large churches and breaking them into smaller units to deal with the personal issues of our daily lives through the power of the Holy Spirit, as ascribed by Jesus Christ.

Overseas, the House Church Movement is springing up in some of the most oppressed areas of the world.  Despite arrest and the threat of death, House Churches are growing in countries as anti-Christian as Iran.  The Christian Broadcasting Network, CBN.com , reports in their video on House Churches Growing in Iran ,  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad  is so threatened by the House Church movement in Iran that he is making it his chief aim to stop the this movement of Christianity.  He is more intimidated by these small groups than the organized Christian churches currently allowed in his country.

What makes this movement so powerful?

The simplicity of the love that is Jesus Christ is the center of this movement.  There is no need for debate of theological beliefs and ideologies because the needs are personal and the answer is undisputedly simple.  It is the one dynamic that is bringing nations together when all else has failed.

For other resources, live group meetings, support and encouragement in the spirit of True Fellowship in Jesus Christ you are welcome to join The Personal Journey group on-line .

Regina M. Dick
rdick@gnbm.org

All rights Reserved.  Copying of any of this material is prohibited, unless expressly given by written permission from Good News Broadcasting & Multimedia – at contact@GNBM.org. 

…Mary, who sat before the Master, hanging on every word he said. Luke 10:39 NIV

The Personal Journey is the intimate one-day-at-time personal walk with Jesus Christ.  It is about developing the most intimate relationship with Him through our day-to-day experiences.  It is the essence of understanding who we are in Christ and how to walk victoriously in every area of our lives.

      The Personal Journey is a journey of change,
         A journey of sweet surrender,
         A journey of splendid renewal,
         A journey of unmistakable revelation,
         A journey of restored relationships,
         A journey of complete recovery,

And most assuredly, it is a journey of unconditional love for the journey of a lifetime.

When we first make the choice to turn our lives and our wills over to Jesus Christ, one of the most amazing things begins to blossom within us. Deep down within our inner being the glory of God through the power of the Holy Spirit testifies with our spirit.  We discover that we are chosen to follow this path of amazing grace –unmerited unending favor.

To attempt to explain this journey in mere human words is impossible for it is a journey through this world, but not of this world.  It can only be understood through personal experience.  By simply choosing to surrender our own current understanding to the trust and care of Jesus Christ, the answers to all that we have been searching begins to unfold.

This is a journey of relationship, and as with any relationship we begin by communicating.  This communication, also called prayer, is not just a monologue it is a dialogue with Christ. It is through this Spiritual dialogue, and the use of the Bible for discernment, that we begin to discover the true nature of our Lord.  We are in essence sitting at the feet of Jesus Christ, like Mary in the story of Martha and Mary in the Bible (Luke 10:38-41), listening to every word He says.

Thus begins the journey with Christ, the one who becomes our very best friend, a friend who will never leave or forsake us.  He will never disappoint us, but rather show us life from a completely different perspective –His own.

For other resources, live group meetings, support and encouragement in the spirit of True Fellowship in Jesus Christ you are welcome to join The Personal Journey group on-line.

 Regina M. Dick
rdick@gnbm.org

All rights Reserved.  Copying of any of this material is prohibited, unless expressly given by written permission from Good News Broadcasting & Multimedia – at contact@GNBM.org . 

“Then the LORD answered Job out of the storm. He said:

 "Who is this that darkens my counsel
       with words without knowledge?

  Brace yourself like a man;
       I will question you,
       and you shall answer me.

  Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
       Tell me, if you understand.

 

…Have you journeyed to the springs of the sea
       or walked in the recesses of the deep?

  Have the gates of death been shown to you?
       Have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?

  Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the earth?
       Tell me, if you know all this.

 

  What is the way to the abode of light?
       And where does darkness reside?

  Can you take them to their places?
       Do you know the paths to their dwellings?

 Surely you know, for you were already born!
       You have lived so many years!”

 

Job 38:1-4, 16-21 (NIV)

 

In Un-limiting God part 1, I shared one of the very first things that God put on my heart to do on my personal journey with Him, and that was to surrender “my own understanding.”  This was much easier said than done. In fact, it actually became a revelation for me through the culmination of both time and divinely guided effort to even begin to grasp this concept.  Everything I had learned in the past and everything I knew was 180 degrees opposite from this proposition.  Yet it was the very door that opened up a whole new world of understanding and complete freedom in Jesus Christ. 

The revelation started when I was at one of the lowest times in my life in the midst of complete fear and total confusion.  I was temporarily living with my parents in a sleepy little Texas town on top of windy rolling hills with no sounds to disturb my much needed peace other than cows bellowing in the distance and the cicada bugs singing the sounds of a long hot summer evening.  It was during one of those tranquil days that God gave me an assignment.  He clearly put it on my heart to read the story of Job. I was not naïve to the story of Job and my first reaction was that I would find comfort in the story knowing that in the end God came through for Job and blessed him with even more than he had lost.  I later discovered that this was not God’s intention for me on this part of my journey with Him.  There was something much bigger and far deeper than just getting what I thought I wanted and needed at the time.

As I began to read the story of Job and came to the part about Job’s friends attempting to have the answers is when I began to realize that my perception of the story from Job’s position was incorrect.  I quickly realized I was guilty of being one of Job’s friends. I was being convicted of thinking I could find all the answers and maybe even put my arms around the concept of pleasing God for my own ulterior motives. After all, I thought I had a sharp mind and if I wanted to know what God wanted I could study him by reading about him, listening to others own understanding, or following the religious theology of the day that seemed most appropriate to my perceptions at the time.  In all honesty and complete humility I was clueless!  My ego and misconception that I could lean on my own understanding to know God was simply wrong.

It was when God rebuffed Job and his friends for trying to figure Him out in the story that I began to grasp that it was not my job to figure God out.  It was my calling to know Him through a divine intimate relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.  When I proclaimed Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, who died for my sins and received the power of His Holy Spirit into my life was when all of God’s wisdom and power became available to me simply because at that point I was His child.  In other words, it was not about knowledge it was simply about divine relationship.

As long as I was attempting to put God-in-a-box by trying to figure Him out I would be continually searching, continually wondering, and continually confused.  The simplicity of relationship with Jesus Christ in not debatable it is simply the door to all truth.  For I cannot trust man’s limited ability to understand, but I can trust Jesus Christ.

What freedom this truth professes to all those who seek to understand God. For if we could truly understand God then we would not need to know Him, and might very well consider ourselves God.  We do not have control of our world, our universe, or even our existence.  This is the essence of the Biblical verses written in response to Job’s questioning God.  God is in control.  Yet God gave us free will.  We have the free will to relinquish our limited understanding and our presumed control or not.

The next step in un-limiting God is the realization that we are not the ones in control and never will be no matter how hard we try.  This un-limiting of God allows not just the best for us, but the very best.

The quandary of this life is not knowledge or control it is intimacy with God.  This intimacy is one on one, not through any other source than Jesus Christ by the power of His Holy Spirit that resides in us when we choose to believe.  Our Father wants the very best for His children, but we are allowed to freely choose to love and follow Him or not.

Regina M. Dick
regina@gnbm.org