My friends…
Yes there is. And praise God for it! This weekend was revealing. It was an inspiration. It was an encouragement. All through the power of the Holy Spirit and watching God work his magic in multiple ways, I feel refreshed and new. Better understanding and clearer mind. Ive built an incredible family and friendships. Im more then excited to “do life” with my incredible team and squad!
HOPE. What was spoken into me this week by prayers and the teachings I have gained a new, organic understanding of the freedom we have through Christ. When it kinda just clicked, it felt so good. I think im still processing it and learning how to better dwell in it and actually hold my grasp on it and not let the enemy pry my fingers off. Ya know? I picture my hands holding onto something so tight that is so important to me and could change lives but at the same time I see the enemy…prying and prying at my fingertips, trying to get me to let go, because before this week it was as if he was the one who had his grasp on me in a sense. I know satan is so pissed rite now. I see him rite NOW, trying harder and harder. But…I’m looking down at him laughing because I KNOW NOW I don’t have a spirit of timidity of a spirit of POWER. He had my thoughts in his grasp, not my heart or soul. And while typing this, the only thing that comes to mind is prayer and meditation. “Lord, I pray rite now God that you continue speaking into me. God, I pray that this grip on hope and freedom will only continue to get stronger. I pray my mind will daily be cleared out more & more. I feel also that this can only happen with obedience to you and consistently praying for direction and vision. Lord I want to take this into the nations and into my home. I want people to taste what ive tasted, I want to bring Heaven to earth and leave a never ending trail of what I have BURING inside me for people to pick up on and follow. And all this will be in your glory God. God I pray when you cry, I cry. I pray that my tears and the words off my tongue are literal tears and words of sheer love, power, healing, comfort, encouragement and what else you have them to be. Lord I pray rite now for pride, and that in all situations I am humbled. ALL of this…in you name, Amen.”
My friends, It feels so good to know that I have no condemnation, law, or the enemy holding me back!
ROMANS 6:2-7 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with,[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7 because anyone who has died has been set free from sin. ROMANS 6:14 14 For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.
You guys! Think about these verses! Because we have accepted Christ, SIN is no longer IN us! Answer this: Can a dead man do anything? Can a dead man sin? No he can’t, he’s dead, duh. That saaaame principle applies to our faith! Anyone who has DIIIED (which is what we did) we have been FREED from sin. He took it away. You guys, I AM NO LONGER A SLAVE TO SIN OR FEAR. Now I haven’t been since I’ve been saved, but not until this week did I grasp it. And boy im holding on for dear life
So really Its ME and YOU that keeps, in a sense, bringing sin back to life. A dead man cant sin, so our sin issues are only us. Sinful passion comes from the law. The law points it out to us and teases us and puts us on a guilt trip. Before meeting Christ we are bound and married to the law, but not anymorrrre! So dwell on this if you are have any doubts about things.
I learned a really neat analogy for baptism that totally makes sense. Its like pickles…When you take a cucumber and put it in the vinegar or w/e it is, it comes out with a whooole new IDENTITY. It comes out with a new look, taste, and feel. This is just like baptism, and accepting Christ! When it happens we are now a new person. And just like the cucumber and vinegar are now one, that’s how we are with God. We are saturated with one another. He is in me as I am in him. Therefor we are agaaaain dead to sin and the law. 2 Timothy 1:7 says “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline”. 2 Timothy 1:14 says “Guard the good deposit that was entrusted to you—guard it with the help of the Holy Spirit who lives in us”. –These are 2 things that totally hit home with me this week. I’ve finally realized I am no longer a slave to fear, doubt or worry. Do I still have they urges to fear and doubt? Yes but everytime it happens I just think back on how God and worked and remember that when I obey God, even in awkward or stressful moments, incredible things happen! And until we actually begin to obey, we will continually live in the fear and lies. I encourage you to just take that step. If you feel God calling something on your life, or telling you to talk to that person, DO IT and I guarantee you won’t regret it! If you want to do something and then say oh well I can’t because of work or I have this or that, I say that that’s a lie. If you feel a burning inside you for something that’s giving glory to God and you think you can’t do it….then do it. Quit school, quit your job if need be. There’s so much holding us back and we don’t even realize it. I hear this all the time and it honestly breaks my heart. It kills me to hear someone say they have a passion for something or feel a tug on their heart for something and just brush it off their shoulder. Even when the desire keeps coming back time and time again, they just brush it off (that’s what I kept doing with the World Race). Why do you think it keeps coming back? Why do you think it won’t go away? Gods trying to tell you to do something radical and you keep pushing it away, when this will be worth so much more and be way more of an experience then what your probably doing rite now. Expect the unexpected and live a day to day life. I totally learned to do just this. It’s going to be a process for it to fully set in though, but I praise God that it’s happening. I’ve experienced God moving through me in the most unexpected ways. I simply said God I have no idea what I’m doing and I’m just trusting you to move….and he did…big time. So do it. Give it up and just move. Obey and watch what he does. It’s incredible, I’m telling you! Ha…and to think I’ve only been doing it for a couple days. Wow….what is to come? I can’t wait!
A lot of this may be second nature to some, and to some hopefully this is encouraging. I have to much more to talk about but this is already long enough lol. There’s so much going through my head and I really want people to hear it, even if they’ve heard it before. Thanks for taking the time to read this! Any questions or anything lemme know! Love you all.
-Ben
B Squad (BEST SQUAD!)
This Is my team ill be spending 11 months with. Paul and Katrina, Rebecca, Ash, Kenra, meee
