No More Drudgery
I once had a relationship with God based on my behavior and performance… oh the drudgery.
In recent days, I’ve discovered that my behavior never mattered to Him, it was never a factor in our relationship, at least on His end.
What drudgery, what lostness, what misery, what darkness and what a waste of time and effort I was engaged in.
Oh so grateful to be free from the self-inflicting, self condemning, judgmental and pompous BS…
I count all thing but loss for the excellency, the intimacy and the dance of life now available in union with Christ.
I’m mesmerized! I’m Loved without my even lifting a pinky! How sweet it is!
No more drudgery! Be loved today!
Seed
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited, imagination circles the world…After a certain age reading diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits as does watching too many plays… I believe in intuition and inspiration…” – Albert Einstein
Knowledge puffs up. It’s coming at life from a position of lack, always got to read the next book, never quite enough, do more, endless learning curve, try harder.
The mystery of the kingdom is like the power of the seed. No scientist has ever explained how an Apple seed can produce a tree filled with apples, but it does it naturally, no effort of will.
Every inspiration or intuition will come to you when you need it. It’s the power of the seed. It’s the kingdom! It’s Christ in you!
“He gives to His beloved even in their sleep.” Psalm 127:2
“There remains a rest for my beloved!” Hebrews 4:9
“No promise from God is empty of power. For with God there is no such thing as impossibility.” Luke-1:37
Passion Translation
“You have been given to know the secret of the kingdom of God.” Mark 4:11
What we believe in our heart has the power in itself to supernaturally produce.
Take your desires and plant them in your heart, meditate on them. You don’t have to know how it works, you just need to know that it super-naturally produces like a seed.
Religion exists and profits on the lie of separation, distance and delay. The gospel reveals our union, oneness and intimacy now!
Sin-consciousness is so counterproductive!
Righteousness consciousness transforms us and the world!
Live one with Him today
Love you
Lloyd
Inspired by Mike Popovich
God Out of the Box
God doesn’t live in a box! No religious limits! He’s not a tightrope walker, no narrow road into His love, what a ridiculous idea!
He’s always wanted to live and move and have His being in every one of us!
He always will! His love is perfect and complete for each and every one of us! No exceptions!
So go ahead, live, move and have your being in him! Live in the expanse of His love!
He loves you to the moon and back!
To infinity and beyond!
How deep, how wide, how long, how high; is the love of God!
So go ahead and enjoy!
He already lives in and enjoys you!
Reckless love!
Love you
Lloyd
Sin Isn’t the Problem
As a young man I attended a Bible school in upstate New York. Those were wonderful days. I met my trophy wife there!!! She’s made my life one big adventure!
I also bought into a lie there that is still being populated by that institution and by most religious institutions across America. The lie? Sin is the problem between God and man; distance, delay and separation are still the norm and that we are still prone to wander…
I have since learned that nothing can be farther from the truth!
Yes, sin has consequences. But sin is no longer the problem. Ignorance is. Ignorance of the incarnation and the finished work of Christ 2000 years ago!
When that light of truth shines into our hearts, sin is the least of our concern and the well-Springs of Abundant Life burst open as promised!
All I want to do now is to discover more on a daily basis the significance of that glorious finished work; and how He sees us! Our union! Our oneness! And day by day the “wow” factor and the transformation blows the lid off everything that religion failed to produce in and through me. The gospel is such good news!
I know far too well how focusing on sin spoils the party!
You are loved! And it has nothing to do with your behavior or performance! There are no hoops you “must” jump through to have intimacy with your Father! He’s already jumped through them all! All there is are lies that need to be exposed and renounced! No more running and hiding.
So let the sun shine in! Face it with a grin!
Open up your heart and let the sun shine in!
For you bring me a continual revelation of resurrection life,
the path to the bliss that brings me face-to-face with you.
(Psalm 16:11)
Mary and I are living the dream! Join in!
Love you
Lloyd
Grace as a World View
I think the church historically, and to this day, remains mostly ignorant of the finished work of the cross.
Our focus remains on sin and brokenness, instead of our image and likeness redeemed in the death, resurrection and ascension of Christ; Our righteousness and our innocence…
Religion is occupied with comparing, competing and controlling.
Religion makes you schizophrenic, self-aggrandizing and judgmental on your good days and then introspective and self-loathing on your screw-up days. When your performance is good, you’re cocky and smug. When your performance is bad, you are repugnant and covered in shame and self-loathing. Neither are transformative encouraging or helpful to you or anyone around you.
But God doesn’t see people in their sin. Sin is no longer his issue! He sees their in-Christ-ness.
Not that sin isn’t a problem. Sin has consequences, but sin is no longer the issue. The problem of sin and the law was dealt with 2,000 years ago. Identity is the issue! Sin is just the fruit of the ignorance of our truer identity!
Seeing yourself, and then everyone else, in Christ rather than in our sin is essential for a healthy life and world view—way better than the religious hypocrisy of sin consciousness! Come on church, you’re way better than you think!
I’m discovering such delight in seeing first myself and then everyone else in the finished work of the cross and relating with others from His perfection. Its way more transformative, encouraging, and helpful than using scripture to shame sinful behavior.
Mercy is one thing, but grace is our new world view…it’s the life of our design fully redeemed!
Live fully redeemed today!
Love you
Lloyd
You Don’t Have to Be a Sinner
There was a woman caught in adultery.
She was literally ripped naked from the bed. She was half chased, half dragged through the streets by angry idiots with rocks. They meant to throw them at the woman until her bones were broken and her flesh a bloody pulp. They meant to kill her for her sins. It’s what she deserved!
Then Jesus, in all the Father’s splendor, is thrust into the middle of the story. Can you picture it? The woman, weeping and afraid, is flung before Him. Then yanked to her feet, she’s forced to stand. She tries to cover her nakedness. She won’t meet His eyes; the condemnation is so great, her shame so real, her guilt so sure. She knows it, the vicious mob knows it; even the disciples know it.
“The law says she should be stoned” the men scream, frothing at the mouth.
Then Jesus, our hero—perfect theology—does something so stunning it brings tears to our eyes. He reveals the Fathers love… and it looks like mercy.
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” (John 8:7)
His words resound through the city streets, the nation, the world, and all the way up to heaven. “She will not get what she deserves. I will show her mercy.”
“At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. (John 8:9-11)
“Mercy by itself isn’t enough. Jesus didn’t just come to set us free from sin; He came to empower us into righteousness.”
(click to tweet)
Mercy! It’s beautiful—stunning in its simplicity!
Even if the story ended there, it would be worthy of the good book, worthy to be retold century upon century. But it didn’t end there. Why? Because mercy by itself isn’t enough.
Jesus didn’t just come to set us free from sin; He came to empower us into righteousness. He didn’t just reveal the Father in all His mercy, He revealed the Father in all His grace. Jesus never released mercy without following up with grace. In fact, mercy is incomplete without it.
In my opinion, the next thing Jesus says to the woman is just as beautiful, just as stunning as what’s already been proclaimed.
Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:11)
You may have heard it said like this, “Go and sin no more.”
That is grace; the power, and the wonder, the beauty, and the fullness of His glorious love.
It was
“Mercy covers sin, grace releases identity. Mercy sets us free; grace empowers us to become how He sees us. Mercy redeems, grace transforms.”
(click to tweet)
I want to make this clear, not once, not ever did Jesus release mercy without grace. He always empowers who He forgives.
As stunning as mercy is, it’s only half of the story. It’s the Oreo cookie without the cream center. It’s Seinfeld without Kramer. Mercy and grace are two sides of the same coin; they perfectly work together to reveal the fullness of His love—the whole story. Mercy covers sin, grace releases identity. Mercy sets us free; grace empowers us to become how He sees us. Mercy redeems, grace transforms.
The woman caught in adultery not only left set free, but she also left transformed. She received mercy AND grace—the fullness of our Fathers love!
For most of my life, I’ve lived from earth to heaven. I have received the wonder of His forgiveness but somehow grace seemed too good to be true. And so I’ve embraced mercy and colored it grace… and in so doing I limited the impact of the transforming power of His love.
“Our relationship with God is not only about the beauty of His forgiveness, there is more! It’s also about the wonder of our transformation into His righteousness through grace.”
(click to tweet)
Our relationship with God is not only about the beauty of His forgiveness,
Grace is seeing ourselves from His perspective—in Christ. Grace releases heaven on earth. It’s the authority and power of Love. I believe we are called through mercy into grace—it is the fullness of the Fathers love—the love Jesus lived in and revealed.
While mercy shows us
“Regarding the woman caught in adultery: Jesus wasn’t suggesting that she would never sin again, but He was saying, ‘You no longer have to be a sinner.’”
(click to tweet)
Regarding the woman caught in adultery: Jesus wasn’t suggesting that she would never sin again, but He was saying, “You no longer have to be a sinner.” I am convinced He was revealing why He had come, not just to forgive our sins but also to set us free from a nature bent on sinning. Jesus was showing us that life no longer had to be just about not sinning; instead, life could be about
Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, we have been invited into the revelation of Love—both knowing and becoming! We are being transformed and we no longer have to be sinners. How’s that for good news?!