Holy Spirit – Governance

The World Race culture puts forth the idea of giving grace by allowing believers to act out their faith through self-governance. Believe it or not, this is a huge whoop-dee-doo concept to the majority of the people on this mission. It has tried my patience to the extreme on several occasions to the point that I have had to prayerfully release people and trust God and just step back as they test their training-wheels while taking ownership of their own life. (I even have a hand motion that demonstrates me curling a fist and then gently uncurling my hand while I pray so I can release people…haha)

I don’t personally take much pleasure in doing this, but it probably means God is stretching me and growing me in trust.

I also personally don’t necessarily agree with owning our lives as much as living out as bondservants…the bible says living sacrifices to be exact… who were ransomed by the blood of Christ. I’m not my own. I really do get it, and I love my God—and I know that He loves me. It’s a joy to live for something…someone…greater than myself!
Someone paid a price for you & me, and I’ve been rescued from going to hell; point blank, bottom line. Thank
you Jesus!

 
I understand and am sensitive to the fact that many people are discovering who they are in Christ and I’m with them (by the way, this is something we never stop doing as we walk with Him.)

Through their World Race experience, many people are being set free from religion, legalism, false gospels and previously being bound-set: they are figuring out the basics of the Christian faith. These are people who think they have learned a lot about God, but have never truly experienced Him.

And that’s where I differ, so God needs to teach me patience and also discernment to test all things against His truth. Some people have some really wimpy and jacked up theology and the idea that all truth is truth, and we can all learn from each other — even if it isn't biblical.

But there comes a point in all the process, in the discovery and in all the “getting it” that we must allow God to examine us and then we get to repent. It’s biblical.

So I repent of letting this all build up inside me and holding back the Word of the Lord and not speaking up sooner – because I know better.

I repent of my entitlement issues that I wanted to be on a mission trip with like-minded saints who pray together, minister in the Word together, break bread together, serve and love one another in a Christ-like manner and live in the Spirit.

I repent of growing frustrated and impatient with everyone’s process, lack of manners at times, and overall immaturity. I repent that I did not immediately trust God’s sovereign guidance in bringing me to the World Race to be with these people when I made up my mind month 1 that I was not OK with being signed up for an 11 month therapy session. (I didn’t sign up for wimpy theology, doubting God’s word or spending time thinking positively of myself more than reverently of Jesus! Not gonna happen.)

I repent for not loving people by withholding God’s word, God’s grace and God’s love from them.

I repent for becoming severely withdrawn.

I repent for becoming irritable with people.
I repent from expecting too much.
I repent because it grieves God tremendously to see His children not obeying Him.

The World Race is crazy.  I absolutely love these crazy people as individuals, but as a group they drive me crazy!

So with all due respect WR, I repent of self-governance. And I am praying daily that the Holy Spirit would prevail against my self and that I be governed by the one reigning authority that can set me free from the madness: Jesus.
 

 
I get it, I am but dust. (Myrna Paige, if you're reading this, you know how I really want to spell that out.)

Pray for me to love people the way Jesus loves me and that I may learn to have compassion on the multitude, the prodigal, and the wayward.