THE OLD MAN IS DEAD

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

So often our practice doesn’t line up with our beliefs – and this affects every area of our lives. We speak of “the new man in Christ Jesus” but yet live like the old man used to live. Once we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior a change takes place. This change is real. It's a tangible change. A review of the Bible’s teaching about the old man may be of help in bringing our living in line with our believing

first of all, we need to look at this verse as a statement of fact in our own personal lives. We need to see it as an action viewed as accomplished – old things are already passed away.  It's a done deal.  What are the old things that have passed away? We’re not talking about the physical or material sense (arthritis, a leaky roof, etc). Obviously the spiritual is what is spoken of here. This includes sinful habits, lusts, patterns of life, spiritually related personality problems, internal spiritual disorders (such as pride, hate, stubbornness, etc.) We’re talking about an action reversed – all things are become new. Things have changed from old to new. This is also viewed as having already taken place. That word, “Behold” is an attention getter. It's meant to grab your attention

We should be able to make this case from our own personal experience in Jesus. However this is contrary to much common experience in which one is saved, freed from old habits and then doomed to the return of many of those same habits. We tend to live the opposite way – old things are not only alive but actually dominant keeping us from fleshing out our Christianity. This raises serious questions – are the Scriptures wrong or should they be somehow re-translated? Have you ever asked yourself, “Why are the Scriptures and experience so often so far apart?”

Let's examine this a bit further. God has made a provision – sin was covered on Calvary. As far as God is concerned, sin is cared for -  it's taken care of through the shed blood of Jesus. So the answer must lie elsewhere. Are you ready for this? We are the problem. We fail to appropriate what God has done for us. Actually we, rather than the Scriptures, need the new translation. God has even provided the answer to this problem in His Word.

Galatians 5:16 “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”

Ephesians 4:17-24 (Message) “And so I insist – and God backs me up on this – that there be no going along with the crowd, the empty headed, mindless crowd. They’ve refused for so long to deal with God that they’ve lost touch not only with God but with reality itself. They can’t think straight anymore. Feeling no pain, they let themselves go in sexual obsession, addicted to every sort of perversion. But that’s no life for you. You learned Christ! My assumption is that you have paid careful attention to Him, been well instructed in the truth precisely as we have it in Jesus. Since, then, we do not have the excuse of ignorance, everything – and I do mean everything – connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it! And then take on an entirely new way of life – a God fashioned life, a life renewed from the inside and working itself into your conduct as God accurately reproduces His character in you”

Colossians 3:5-15 (Message) “Meanwhile be content with obscurity, like Christ. And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. Don’t lie to one another. You’re done with that old life. It’s like a filthy set of ill fitting clothes you’ve stripped off and put in the fire. Now you’re dressed in a new wardrobe. Every item of your new way of life is custom made by the Creator, with His label on it. All the old fashions are now obsolete. Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on everything is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. Be even tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic, all purpose garment. Never be without it. Let the peace of Christ keep you in tune with each other, in step with each other. None of this going off and doing your own thing. And cultivate thankfulness.

God has accomplished certain things for us – things which can set us free.  The question we must ask ourselves is what we are willing to do with what He has accomplished?  Let's appropriate the promises of God and stand on them in our own lives.  

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

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WHAT ARE WE DOING NOW?

Now that we have made the transition out of the pastorate, some have asked what we are doing now?  Where are we "going to church" now?  What kind of church services are we attending now?

Interestingly enough, however, no one has asked, "What is God doing in your lives now?"  I blame this on the fact that we have a skewed view of what the Bible teaches about the church.  I have often said in this blog that we have a wrong understanding of what "church" is.  I attribute this to the wrong teaching that has been prevalent over the years.  This wrong teaching began as early as 400 AD.

When God led us to our last assignment, we had been outside the box of organized religion for better than six years.   We were happy and content doing what we were doing for God.  Then when God led us to make this move it was quite an adjustment for us.  It was like trying to put a square peg in a round hole.  It was difficult and challenging at times, but our ultimate goal then, as now, was to obey God and do His will.  This we did with everything we had in us.

Now that God has led us back outside the box of organized religion we are, once again, enjoying the freedom that I believe God desires every believer to have.  It's like a breath of fresh air.  Someone asked recently if I miss preparing a message?  My answer?  Nope.  When God is done and leads you on He does so completely.

Now to address the questions I started off this blog post with.  We are staying quite busy.  Of course I remain working full time and Cindy has a part time job with very flexible hours.  We believe God provided that job for her.  God has opened many doors for us to go sing.  It looks as though we will be doing some major traveling next year with doors opening up potentially in Alabama, Missouri, South Carolina who who knows where else?  Many opportunities have opened up here in the Central Illinois area, as well.  I've even had a couple of opportunities to fill the pulpit for vacationing pastors.  It's been exciting to see what God is doing in this area.  

Where are we going to church now?  I have written previous blog posts regarding the Scripture's teaching on being the church as opposed to going to this institution we call church.  I do firmly believe we should gather with our brothers and sisters as the Word instructs us to.  However, the method, way, time and structure that has become so common is a foreign concept to the New Testament church.  We do gather with other believers.  We do fellowship and look forward to having opportunities to share what God is doing in each of our lives.  

We do attend an organized church service from time to time.  For some, that is all they know.  If that is where they are in their spiritual journey, who am I to discourage that?  I'll not criticize them for where they are.  On the other hand they ought not criticize me for where we are.

At one time, I struggled with going into these organized churches to sing.  I was praying and seeking God's direction on this.  He spoke to my heart very clearly and stated we are to minister to God's people wherever they meet and in what ever mode or fashion they meet.  From that day on, I have not questioned God.   We go in to edify, exhort, and encourage God's people wherever they are.  

I continue to blog and plan to do so more frequently than I have over the past couple of months.  We have looked into starting a podcast, but have not yet done so.  I'll announce that in my blog and on Facebook when we have the podcast up and running.

If you would like to connect with me on Facebook you may do so by sending me a friend request at www.facebook.com/rayspellbrink 

I say with full confidence today, THE BEST IS YET TO COME!  There is absolutely no doubt about that.  

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

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NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME WILL PROSPER

Isaiah 54:17 (KJV)  No weapon formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise up against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of Me, saith the Lord.

Amplified  But no weapon that is formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that shall rise against you in judgment you shall show to be in the wrong.  This [peace, righteousness, security, triumph over opposition] is the heritage of the servants of the Lord [those in whom the ideal Servant of the Lord is reproduced]; this is the righteousness or the vindication which they obtain from Me [this is that which I impart to them as their justification] says the Lord. 

Over the last week I have given a lot of thought to this verse.  I have meditated on it.  I have stood in faith on it. I have claimed this promise of God for my own life.  I have seen God work this verse in my life as I have stood on it through the years.  God's promises are sure.  There's no doubt about that.

The enemy has many weapons he uses to sidetrack the child of God.  Weapons such as health issues, family issues, temptations, trials, discouragement, stess and the list can go on.  Sometime it's a frontal attack where he attacks head on.  Other times, it's more indirect.  He can use other people or circumstances to do his dirty work.

Like most people, I am no stranger to the enemy's tactics.  He has come at me many times and in many ways through the years.  For example, I was told I would be confined to a wheel chair by the time I was 35 due to rheumatoid arthritis.  I'm 52 and don't own a wheel chair.  In the winter of 2000 I sustained a head injury that resulted in an acute concussion and eventually seizures.  This affected our work for the Lord, but didn't stop it.  After taking a handful of anti-convulsive medications for a few years and still having seizures I entered the hospital and went off all my medications cold turkey.  I was hooked up to an eeg machine for a week to find out exactly what part of the brain the seizures were being generated from.  I was a candidate for brain surgery at that time once they pinpointed the area to operate on.  However, God came on the scene and totally healed me!  I left the hospital and flushed all my seizure medications.  I've never looked back.  Then about three years ago I began having migraine headaches.  I refused to allow them to stop me from doing what God called me to do.  Once again, it slowed us down a bit and did impact what I was able to do.  But, again, God has been good.  I have not had a bad migraine in quite some time.  Most recently, I was diagnosed  with moderate to severe arthritis in three places in one of my knees.  In addition, the ligament is gone and I have bone on bone.  The surgeon has said a knee replacement is in my future.  Again, I'm standing on God's Word.  I like the old hymn "Standing On The Promises Of God".  In the past, I have been lied to and lied about by so called preachers as well as professing Christians.  But here we are still serving Jesus.

I shared all of that to say I have been claiming the promise that NO weapon formed against me shall prosper!  None!  Nada!  Zilch!   God is opening door after door for us to minister in song and Word.  I know the enemy will come knocking.  When he does, I'm sending Jesus to answer the door!  God has called us to do His will and  He's providing the opportunities.  I don't have time to be troubled with this knee.

As I was praying one night recently before going to sleep I began to quote and meditate on this verse.  I claimed it as a promise from God to me.  I'm standing on it.  The next day, I found the limp I had was gone!  Praise God!  I was walking normal.  That's not to say I don't have any pain in that knee, because I still do.  However, I'm believing God to take care of that and even restore the cartilage.  I'm not asking, "Can God?"  I'm boldly declaring "GOD CAN!"  This is my heritage as a servant of God!

I encourage you to claim this promise in your life.  There isn't anything too hard for God!  Stand on God's Word and on His promises.

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

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TRANSITION COMPLETE!

As I mentioned in a recent post, God has led us into a time of transition.  A transition from  pastoral ministry.  I have retired from pastoral ministry.  This past Sunday was my last Sunday as pastor of the church I had been serving for just over five years.  July 30th was my last "official" day as pastor.  That means today I am celebrating two days as a former pastor.

I do mean  I am celebrating!  I'm ready to sing the old song "Free at last, free at last, thank God Almighty I'm free at last!"  People have asked me if it was really that bad?  Were the people that hard on me?  I don't celebrate leaving the people.  That was probably the hardest thing about this transition for my wife and I.  The people are precious.  Many will be friends for life. What we are celebrating is this next leg of our spiritual journey.  God has a plan and a purpose in all of this and it's exciting to see Him bring it together as only He can.

If you have been reading  my blog for very long, you will know that I am an outside the box Christian.  When God led us to this very traditional church, I must confess that I asked,
"Are You sure, God?"  As we prayed about this we came to understand that God wasn't trying to put us back in a box, but rather sent us there to lead the folks there out of the box.  We've done our best to do that with some success.  But as you can imagine, some do not want to come out of the box - out of their comfort zone - ever.  They have resisted it when being led to do so.  Why?  The response we heard over and over again was, "But we've always done it this way."  I guess in many people's minds that makes it right.  We believe God desires to do something different than what passes for the "norm" in the church world today.  If we want to see it, we have got to allow Him do it.  We've got to let Him be God.

So today, we celebrate our freedom from the bondage of tradition as well as the chains of religion.  God is opening new doors as well as doors to places we've been to in the past.   This outside the box journey is an exciting one.  I encourage everyone to think outside the box in regards to your own spiritual journey.  After all we serve a God who is outside the box!

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

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I LOVE JESUS!

I can, and do say, unequivocally, I love Jesus!  I love Him because He first loved me.  I love Him because He laid down His life for me. I love Him because He shed His blood at Calvary to save me.  I love Him because He blesses me more than I deserve.  I love Him because He demonstrates and shows His love, grace and mercy toward me. Yes, there's no doubt about it, I love Jesus!

I love God's church, as well.  I love God's people. God's people are a very diverse group of people.  They come in all shapes and sizes - literally!  His church is alive and well!  Of that there's no question.

I do take issue with this thing we have today called "church".  I'm speaking of the organization recognized by the government called "church".  You see, God's church is not a corporation or an organization.  It's a living, breathing organism.  We are more than a legal entity on a piece of paper.  We are God's people made in His likeness!  We are God's people who have been blood washed and blood bought with the precious blood of Jesus! We are God's people who have been set free from the bondage of sin.

Being set free from the bondage of sin does not mean we should come under the bondage of religion.  That's like jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, as the old adage goes.  God didn't save us to put us in to a another type of bondage.  We are free in Jesus!

I do believe we should gather with our brothers and sisters to encourage and exhort one another in our spiritual journey (Hebrews 10:23-25).  The Scriptures don't say how often we should gather or what, specifically, should go on in our gatherings besides encouraging and exhorting one another.  Nor do the Scriptures tell us how long our gatherings should go.  That would be too structured, in my opinion.  We could gather several times a day, once a week, every other week, once a month or whatever the case may be.  The important thing is that we gather for this general purpose of encouraging and exhorting one another. 

Another thing that is important in the meetings is that there not be a one way, front to back ministry.  In the New Testament church each member had opportunity to minister and interact.  These days, everything comes from the front back. We have professional and paid clergy to tell us what to do and how to do it.  What ever happened to everyone ministering as  the Holy Spirit moves upon them?

Don't you think its time to get back to Bible basics?  I believe if we want to be a biblical New Testament church we will need to do so.  If we want the Lord to have free reign in our gatherings we will need to do so.

Yes, I love Jesus!  However, I can certainly do without all the baggage that comes along with what passes for "church" these days.  Who's with me?  Tired of "church as usual "  Then let's do something about it.

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

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I'VE GOT THE JOY, JOY, JOY, JOY...

Nehimiah 8:10 "...for the joy of the Lord is your strength"

I remember singing a little chorus; I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart. Watching many Christians today, though, makes me wonder why there seems to be so little joy among God’s people? We seem to have everything figured out except how to be joyful. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. It’s something that should be developing in each of us, as believers.

You know you haven't got the joy when you are constantly complaining. You know you haven't go the joy when you often withdraw from spiritual life or even life in general. You know you haven't got the joy when you are angry a good portion of the time. You know you haven't got the joy when you sense a constant frustration in your life. You know you haven't got the joy when you are seldom grateful.

If the joy is missing from your life it could be due to a number of reasons. For example, perhaps you haven't got the joy because you lost it to your own self-centeredness. Self-centeredness is incredibly common – even among Christians. Self-centeredness is the enemy of joy.

Maybe you lack joy because you are focused on circumstances. Biblical joy is unrelated to circumstances. Paul, the apostle, is proof of that. You see, a focus on circumstances limits your joy to when times are good. The reality is, even when times are bad, when you are going through a trial or a valley you can still have the joy of the Lord.

Christians are some of the most negative people I know. This negativity can zap the joy in your life. I'm not sure why so many Christians are so negative. After all, the child of God always has reason to be positive. Think about it, we've been forgiven! Our sins are gone! Jesus has gone to prepare a place for us. He sits at the right hand of God ever making intercession for us. I could go on and on.

Sometimes its a spirit of rebellion that takes our joy away. A rebellious Christian is never a happy Christian. To the Christian, rebellion is the rejection of God's rule.

Disobedience to God will certainly impact the joy of the Lord in our lives. Obedience is the pathway to joy. A disobedient spirit is always joyless.

Perhaps you are substituting other things for the genuine joy you are looking for. Things such as happiness, mindlessness, activity, acquiring things, even relationships. While these things, in and of themselves, are not bad, they are no substitute for the joy of the Lord.

Jesus tells us how to obtain this joy in John 15. He said in John 15:11, These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. So if you really want joy, it comes from God’s pruning (Vs 2), living a godly life (Vs 3), abiding in Jesus (Vs 4, 6, 7), exposure to Scripture (Vs 3), answers to prayer (Vs 7), a sense of God’s love (Vs 9), basic obedience (Vs 10), real fruit bearing (Vs 8). Joy is developed as we grasp the things recorded in John 15. As His joy remains in us, our joy will be full.

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

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IF YOU WANT TO WALK ON WATER, YOU HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT!

I shared the following with a Bible study group I was asked to come and share with a couple of weeks ago.  I pray it will be a blessing to you.

Matthew 14:22-33 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”

And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.

Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

To be effective in our spiritual lives, we will sometimes have to take a risk (or what appears to be a risk). The turtle wouldn't get anywhere if he didn't stick his neck out. You won't do anything in life nor for God without risk.  Don't be scared to take a risk.  Remember, it's not really a risk when you are serving Jesus!

In our text, Peter wasn't testing Jesus, something we are told not to do (Matthew 4:7). Instead, he was the only one in the boat to react in faith. His impulsive request led him to experience a rather unusual demonstration of God's power.  We sometimes are critical of Peter for taking his eyes off of Jesus and sinking.  But keep in mind Peter was the only one of the disciples to take this step of faith and walk on the water,  He did something and experienced something none of the others did.  He took a risk.

When Peter was in the boat and asked Jesus to help him step out, he was a lot safer on the water than in the boat. When he was in the boat he was depending on something man made, but when he was in the water he was depending on the One who made man.  It's time we step out of our comfort zones and take a leap of faith.

Peter started to sink when he took his eyes off Jesus and focused on the high waves around him. His faith wavered when he realized what he was doing.  But he knew who to turn to - Jesus!  Peter cried out to Jesus and He came through.  Sound familiar?

We may not walk on water, but we do walk through tough situations. If we focus on the waves of difficult circumstances around us without looking to Jesus for help, we, too, may despair and sink. To maintain your faith when situations are difficult, keep your eyes on Jesus and His power rather than on your inadequacies.

When Peter stepped out of the boat, he stepped out of his “comfort zone”. When we step out of our “comfort zone”, that is when God is able to do something. We are no longer depending on us, but rather on Him. Anything that is accomplished is accomplished by faith anyway, so let's step out of our comfort zone and see what God will do.

How many of you can identify with Peter?  He was always outspoken and doing things he shouldn't.  But he also was someone who was willing to take risks, sometimes crazy risks. Where do you feel God is leading you to get out of the boat now?

Until next time...enjoy the journey!

Ray

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