Relational Christianity and the Indwelling Christ

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L.D. Turner

If you desire to truly walk the path of Christian spiritual formation, the concept of “relationship” is inherent every step of the way. Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola, in their recent book entitled, Jesus Manifesto, speak directly to this reality:

In all the religions and philosophies of the world, a follower can follow the teachings of its founder without having a relationship with that founder. Not so with Jesus Christ. The teachings of Jesus cannot be separated from Jesus Himself. Christ is still alive, and He embodies His teachings. This is what separates Him from every great teacher and moral philosopher in history.


I find this aspect of the Christian faith to be one of the most edifying on many levels. The “personal” aspect of life with Christ is something I discounted, minimized, and misunderstood for years. I have come to see things differently now and, as stated, find great comfort and satisfaction in the personalized reality that is part and parcel of authentic Christianity.

The fusion of the individual Christ-follower and the Indwelling Christ is a mystery that can never be fully understood, only experienced. Personally, I find any attempt to analyze and dissect this sublime intimacy, the kind of divine intimacy Christ mentions in his moving prayer recorded in John 17, to be both futile and arrogant. Any notion that we can contain, harness, or otherwise corral such a sublime fusion of persons is filled with hubris and akin to a dog chasing its tail.

Still, it is helpful to have at least a rough sketch of the parameters of this divine dance of spiritual intimacy, offered with the caveat that it is just that, a blurred outline of a mystery beyond human comprehension. Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola speak of these themes with proper humility when they say:

“ …….the incarnate Christ in you is God’s person for your situation. Consequently, the question is not ‘What would Jesus do?’ but ‘What does Jesus want to do now through me. . . through us?’”

“Being Jesus for the world does not mean that Christ has come to obliterate you. It rather means that Christ has come to complete you and live His resurrection life through you. Granted, Jesus Christ has crucified your flesh and the old fallen humanity that gave birth to it. But you have been resurrected with Christ, and you are a new creature, part of the new humanity of which Jesus is the firstborn son.”

As you can see, Sweet and Viola rightly insist that the fusion of the Indwelling Christ – complete with his resurrected life – and the individual does not negate the individual. Instead, Christ enables the believer to become more complete, and by becoming so, better able to serve as an open channel through which Christ can live his resurrected life. In our new, reborn state we, are in a very real sense, siblings with Christ, the firstborn of many. The authors go on to liken this sublime fusion to a dance of intimacy:

“Perichoresis is a composite Greek word that every Christian should know. It means ‘move about’ or ‘dance around’. The Cappadocian Fathers used it to define the communion of the Trinity as the ‘Great Dance.’ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit flow and frame their lives in a dance of perfect love, and we are invited to add our moves to this dance of the divine. A perichoretic relationship is one where we draw life and energy from this dance with the divine life. Christians have a perichoretic relationship with Christ. That relationship makes you more fully yourself than you could have ever been apart from Him.”

From these realities we can see that our relationship with the Indwelling Christ contains both mystery and paradox. The metaphor of the “dance” is an attempt to describe by analogy the mystery of the fusion of the individual and the Risen Christ, but it remains just that – a metaphor – an analogical approximation. And the paradox becomes obvious: by becoming one with Christ through this perichoretic relationship, we become more authentic. As Christ said, “...he who loses his life for my sake shall gain it.”

Rather than the complete negation of the old self, the divine dance of perichoretic relationship gives birth to a reconfigured self that is a reflection of God’s original intention for humankind. Christ, the firstborn, is the divine human prototype and as the divine dance continues, the dividing line between the human and the divine becomes increasingly transparent. Sweet and Viola continue:

“…..the Lord helps us become more ‘rounded’ human beings – not more straight-edged, straightlaced, straight-backed, straight-faced, straightjacketed human copies, but more ‘rounded,’ more complete and whole humans. Jesus is God’s original thought for humanity. He is the paragon of humanness, and all who are in Him and share His life are part of the new humanity that He has brought into existence through His resurrection.”

And what is the result of this divine-human merger? Sweet and Viola conclude by saying:

“This will lead each of us to do life differently, even from other followers of Christ. Can the same Christ allow one person to be a Calvinist while permitting another to be an Arminian? The answer is yes. This is why the life of Christ has a freedom, a specificity, a range of reach that truly takes the breath away as it girdles the globe.”

As stated at the outset, it is this very relational aspect of the Christian path that sets it apart from other spiritual journeys. And this relational context is far from static. Our relationship with Christ is truly a transformational intimacy – a fusion whereby the resurrected, living Christ, in all His power and glory, revives, reconstructs, and regenerates us into the beings God intended in the first place. On a practical, day-to-day, where the rubber meets the road level, this divine mystery is summed up quite nicely by the Great Apostle when he says:

Not I, but Christ……

© L.D. Turner 2012/All Rights Reserved

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Today's Encouraging Word

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Solitude is as indispensable to man’s spiritual welfare as sleep is to his bodily well-being; and pure thought, or meditation, which is evoked in solitude, is to the spirit what activity is to the body. As the body breaks down when deprived of the needful rest and sleep, so do the spirits of men break down when deprived of the necessary silence and solitude. Man, as a spiritual being, cannot be maintained in strength, uprightness, and peace except he periodically withdraw himself from the outer world of perishable things and reach inwardly towards the abiding and imperishable realities.

While a man is absorbed in the contemplation of inward realities he is receiving knowledge and power; he opens himself, like a flower, to the universal light of Truth, and receives and drinks in its life-imparting rays; he also goes to the eternal foundation of knowledge and quenches his thirst in its inspiring waters. Such a man gains, in one hour of concentrated thought, more essential knowledge than a whole year’s reading could impart. Being is infinite and knowledge is illimitable and its source inexhaustible, and he who draws upon the innermost depths of his being drinks from the spring of divine wisdom which can never run dry, and quaffs the waters of immortality…Man’s true Home is the Great Silence – this is the source of all that is real and abiding within him.

James Allen

(from Byways to Blessedness)

Today's Encouraging Word

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You need to ask this simple question to get yourself properly adjusted and in focus: What should I be doing? Every one of us has a unique and important role in human history. All of us have been created by God to bring him honor through serving humanity and doing something that makes a difference in the world. There is a hero within you waiting to be awakened. Some were born to be the hero of a story of epic proportions, others perhaps the hero for one small child sponsored across an ocean. Both require a hero’s soul and have a hero’s call. While you can’t do everything, you were created to do something of incredible importance. The tragedy is if you try to be everything and do everything, you may so diffuse your effect that you will not optimize who God made you to be and what he created you to accomplish. This is why you need convergence. You need to bring together all of your talents, gifts, passions, intellect, energy, time, and resources and harness them in such a way that you focus on the mission God has given you for your life.

Erwin Raphael McManus
(from Wide Awake)

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Lessons in Spiritual Potential: Releasing False Limitations (Part One)

Cover of The Greatest Secret

L.D. Turner

As new creations in Christ, one of our first tasks is to face ourselves honestly and assess the level of our current functioning. I have discovered that when most people do this, they come to the stark realization that they are generally living far beneath the level they are capable of. In fact, most studies show that the vast majority of us a easing along through life like a six-cylinder car running on four.
Sputtering and gasping, we are capable of a lot more. As followers of Christ, it is imperative that we come to an understanding early in our walk of faith that the Master calls us to a much higher standard.
Ron McIntosh opens a chapter in his book, The Greatest Secret, by telling a great story that makes the point that to a large degree, we are controlled by the limitations we set for ourselves. In essence, our own thoughts impact what we can and cannot do to a far greater extent than we may realize.

In 1983, Australian Cliff Young set a new world record for the ultra-marathon distance race of 600 km. Three factors make this feat so incredible it almost seems beyond belief. First, Young not only broke the record, he demolished it by topping the old record by 36 hours. Second, Young was 61 years old when he did it. And finally, Young was not a trained athlete or world class runner. He was a local farmer who liked to run.

Ironically, Young was able to shatter the world’s record primarily because he did not realize that what he was doing was impossible.
The accepted strategy among ultra-marathon runners for the 600 km run is to run for 18 hours, rest for six hours, then repeat these same intervals until the race is completed.

Someone forgot to tell Cliff Young.

Young began the race with the mistaken notion that you were supposed to run the distance straight through and that is exactly what he did. The 61 year old farmer set a new world’s record in the process. Because he did not grasp the fact that running straight through was impossible, Cliff Young was not limited by the accepted standard. In the end, he set the standard.

From a biblical perspective, we begin to remove the limitations set on us by coming to fully grasp and accept our new identity in Christ. Until we accomplish this task, our efforts will remain limited. In Christ we are indeed new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), with a new power, energy, and presence at our disposal. We have been blessed by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and further, as we are told in Ephesians 4:10, Christ, by rising higher than the highest heaven, has filled everything in the universe with himself. Add to this the fact that we have within us the same power that raised Christ from the dead, and you can begin to see just how powerful we are now that we are “in Christ.” McIntosh describes the process of our new nature as declared in 2 Cor. 5:17 this way:

This verse shows the key difference between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant. It isn’t about people trying to live for God, but living through Christ (Galatians 2:20), who now indwells you by His Holy Spirit. This personal encounter with God gives people a new spirit, a new nature, and a new identity. Once you are born again, God creates a new nature in you. You now have new inherent tendencies, new instincts, and an inborn character that comes from God. You spirit is brand new, but your mind has to be renewed.


I would add that in addition to the new spirit, new nature, and new identity described by McIntosh, we also are operating in a new universal milieu. By infusing himself into everything, Christ has vivified all that is, seen and unseen. He has given all things new life and part of that new life is a heightened sensitivity and responsiveness. This especially is true of the subconscious mind, which is the divine matrix through which our thoughts manifest things according to their nature, positive or negative.

Let me pause here for a moment to deal with an issue that must have arisen in your mind by now. Does this mean that Christ has infused everything and everyone with his nature? Yes, that is exactly what scripture tells us in Ephesians 4:10. Does this mean that all people have access to being a new creation, with the power that raised Christ from the dead? Yes it does.
Does this mean that everyone, including atheists and those that deny Christ has the same inner power stemming from Christ’s actions? No, it does not. It would seem that there is something required to activate this new identity, new power, and new nature. I am thinking that what is needed to activate these things is “faith.” In addition to faith, we also must connect with – align with – and abide with Christ. Another way we activate these blessings is through obedience to Christ’s principles and yet another way is through proactive service to others.

To be continued......

(c) L.D. Turner 2011/All Rights Reserved

Arise! Your Time Has Come

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L.D. Turner

If we take an honest and thorough look around us at this current juncture in the history of the Christian faith, I believe it is safe to say that we are at a critical crossroads. In America, people are leaving the church in droves and the term “Christian” has come to be viewed as a derogatory label rather than indicating a positive, constructive force in contemporary society. Recent research also shows that even those remaining loyal to the faith increasingly view the organized church with a marked level of suspicion and distrust.

With this negative backdrop, it may seem surprising that I want to briefly speak a few encouraging and motivating words regarding where we, as individual Christians, go from here. Yet that is precisely what I want to do. With the faith at such a crisis point, it is more vital than ever that a new, passionate, and creative cadre of Christian evangelists step forward and blaze fresh and attractive pathways not only into the faith, but into authentic Christian discipleship. Following the lead of the Master, Paul and the early apostles envisioned and preached a faith that was vibrant, service-oriented, and above all, transformational. Given the contemporary cultural milieu and the general disrepute into which Christianity has fallen, we cannot afford to settle for anything less.

I am convinced that God is moving in this world in new and exciting ways. Some of these movements are perhaps unfamiliar but soundly biblical in nature. For example, as the church undergoes the negative trends mentioned above, there may well be a sublime, positive purpose undergirding this entire process. Perhaps God is in fact dismantling aspects of the faith’s superstructure that have become time-worn and outmoded. Like anything else, there has to be an emptying before there can be a fresh filling. It is difficult to predict the exact forms this new in-filling will take except to say they will be different than what many long-standing Christians are used to. It is imperative that we understand that as uncomfortable and confusing as this process might be, it is absolutely necessary.

I am also convinced that God is calling many among us to be a part of this positive vanguard of Christ-followers who are stepping to the front and leading the way in these challenging but exciting waters. God is looking for faithful, open-minded, and creative sons and daughters to take the point in this vital endeavor – brothers and sisters who understand that Christianity is an approach to life, not just something we do on Sundays or at mid-week potlucks. Two interrelated words describe the kind of passionate followers Christ is calling out at this crucial period in cultural history: consecrated and committed. Both these terms refer to people who are willing to sacrifice, surrender, and get their hands dirty as they go about the task of laying a firm foundation for the Master’s kingdom. Noted Christian sociological researcher George Barna describes these consecrated, committed believers this way:

The United States is home to an increasing number of Revolutionaries. These people are devout followers of Jesus Christ who are serious about their faith, who are constantly worshipping and interacting with God, and whose lives are centered on their belief in Christ. Some of them are aligned with a congregational church, but many of them are not. The key to understanding Revolutionaries is not what church they attend. Instead, it’s their complete dedication to being thoroughly Christian by viewing every moment of life through a spiritual lens and making every decision in light of biblical principles. These are individuals who are determined to glorify God every day through every though, word, and deed in their lives.

The Master is calling those among us, perhaps you, who are willing to make the commitment to take up his mantle and reawaken his church. I am convinced he is looking for living epistles who are shining examples of what it really means to be a radical, revolutionary Christ-follower. More than ever this world needs his salt and light and the Master openly seeks those willing to step forward – those willing to shake and shine.
I am reminded of the call issued in the 60th chapter of Isaiah and feel this precise time in the history of the Christian faith is ripe for such a high calling. Listen closely as the Spirit speaks through the prophet:

Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. (Isaiah 60:1-3)


I feel this calling directly upon my heart and it is my sincere hope that more and more of you do as well. It is not that I expect kings and nations to come to me, but perhaps other people who are floundering in darkness, despair, and confusion. It is, indeed, like my personal “dawn.” No doubt darkness covers the earth and there is a thick darkness over its peoples, and I think this may be especially true regarding the church.

I first became clear about this calling in my life several years ago when the Spirit moved deeply in my heart during my early morning reflective meditations on scripture. I had slowly been working my way through several sections of Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Proverbs. When the call came it was in relation to Isaiah 60: 1-3 as quoted above. As time passed, this calling became more and more obvious in my life in ways both large and small. The LifeBrook blog, which I started in early 2008, was a part of my response to that calling. In addition, I composed a highly personal affirmative prayer that I used on a daily basis over the next two years. The prayer, which became an integral part of my daily devotional life, continues to be something I use to remind myself of why I am here and what the Master expects of me. The prayer is:

Lord, I indeed arise and thank you that my light has come and that your glory has risen upon me.
Although darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the people, Lord you have risen upon me and placed the light of your glory over me. Because of the brightness of this new dawn over me, others can witness your love and glory through my thoughts, words, and deeds. I thank you for the blessing of your presence and your light, the light that lights everyone who comes into the world, within me.
Lord, I thank you for this blessing and this opportunity to serve you in this dark and desperate, yet exciting and challenging age. May all that I think, say, and do bring honor to your cause and to your name.
In Jesus name, Amen.


It is my heartfelt hope and fervent prayer that at least in some small way this short article has stirred your spirit. I encourage you to prayerfully spend some quality time with the Master, in whatever way works best for you, and seek clarification on what the Lord is calling you to do. If you are genuinely serious about your faith and you desire to create a lifestyle that is Christ-centered, Christ-honoring, and spiritually significant, then rest assured that he is indeed calling you. In ways both great and small, each of us has something to contribute – some talent and some task that we can perform that brings both honor and glory to the Master and the kingdom.

Again, we are fortunate to live in such a challenging and opportunity-filled time. What is happening in the church only seems negative when viewed from a superficial perspective. Those of us who are, as Barna calls us, “revolutionaries,” take a deeper angle on all this. We realize that the dismantling of the old is necessary in order for a new, fresh, infilling to occur.

Each of us has a role to play in that infilling. Spend time communing with the Sacred Light that shines within you and I am assured that you will find clarity on exactly what it is you are to do. God gave you talent, ability, and multiple skills. Two things are thus certain: there is someone right now who needs exactly what you have to offer and secondly, for you to carry your talents and gifts to your grave unused would be a tragedy of immeasurable proportion.

Think about it.

© L.D. Turner 2011/All Rights Reserved

Today's Encouraging Word

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We have been designed by God to succeed. However, you cannot unlock your potential to become the winner that you are unless you learn how to think and maximize your tripartite (body, mind, and soul) makeup……….we are spirit beings who live in physical bodies that possess a soul. Our souls are made up of five components: the mind, the will, the imagination, the emotions, and the intellect……If I analyze the truth, I see that my potential for doing well in life as a believer is relative to the development of my mind, my will, my imagination, my emotions, and my intellect. This statement may come as a startling revelation for some, because many “church folk” tend to think that things are just going to happen, just going to get better, and just going to change. However, this is totally flawed thinking……….We experience God’s best based on our actions of obedience. Unless I know what to do and how to do it, unless I develop the five components of my soul, and unless I develop my thinking, I am not going to release my full potential and maximize my life, no matter how much I love Jesus and no matter how holy I live. Although many people do not wish to view life that way, you cannot argue with the Word of God. The Word says that you will prosper and be in health based on the way the five components that make up your soul prosper, thrive, flourish, or develop.

Dr. I.V. Hilliard

Today's Encouraging Word

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Jesus is like air to the lungs and water to a desert dweller. He is not a religious artifact. He’s not dead. He is alive. He is engaged and engaging. He is here now, changing lives all over this world this very moment. When He walked on earth He changed everything for everyday, for all time. What started then continues today. It can’t be stopped though many have tried. Jesus is the rock of redemption and His church will prevail. He is here in this moment with you, doing what He always does, calling you to a higher place, calling you to break free from convention and stop going to church and start being the church everywhere you go. Let’s be “Jesus people” again. Let’s be men and women whose hearts are captured, redeemed, renewed, enlivened, ignited, set fee! Let’s return to the revolution to be the change we want to see in the world!

David Foster
(from A Renegade's Guide to God)

Arise! Your Time Has Come

Image by archer10 (Dennis) via Flickr

L.D. Turner

If we take an honest and thorough look around us at this current juncture in the history of the Christian faith, I believe it is safe to say that we are at a critical crossroads. In America, people are leaving the church in droves and the term “Christian” has come to be viewed as a derogatory label rather than indicating a positive, constructive force in contemporary society. Recent research also shows that even those remaining loyal to the faith increasingly view the organized church with a marked level of suspicion and distrust.

With this negative backdrop, it may seem surprising that I want to briefly speak a few encouraging and motivating words regarding where we, as individual Christians, go from here. Yet that is precisely what I want to do. With the faith at such a crisis point, it is more vital than ever that a new, passionate, and creative cadre of Christian evangelists step forward and blaze fresh and attractive pathways not only into the faith, but into authentic Christian discipleship. Following the lead of the Master, Paul and the early apostles envisioned and preached a faith that was vibrant, service-oriented, and above all, transformational. Given the contemporary cultural milieu and the general disrepute into which Christianity has fallen, we cannot afford to settle for anything less.

I am convinced that God is moving in this world in new and exciting ways. Some of these movements are perhaps unfamiliar but soundly biblical in nature. For example, as the church undergoes the negative trends mentioned above, there may well be a sublime, positive purpose undergirding this entire process. Perhaps God is in fact dismantling aspects of the faith’s superstructure that have become time-worn and outmoded. Like anything else, there has to be an emptying before there can be a fresh filling. It is difficult to predict the exact forms this new in-filling will take except to say they will be different than what many long-standing Christians are used to. It is imperative that we understand that as uncomfortable and confusing as this process might be, it is absolutely necessary.

I am also convinced that God is calling many among us to be a part of this positive vanguard of Christ-followers who are stepping to the front and leading the way in these challenging but exciting waters. God is looking for faithful, open-minded, and creative sons and daughters to take the point in this vital endeavor – brothers and sisters who understand that Christianity is an approach to life, not just something we do on Sundays or at mid-week potlucks. Two interrelated words describe the kind of passionate followers Christ is calling out at this crucial period in cultural history: consecrated and committed. Both these terms refer to people who are willing to sacrifice, surrender, and get their hands dirty as they go about the task of laying a firm foundation for the Master’s kingdom. Noted Christian sociological researcher George Barna describes these consecrated, committed believers this way:

The United States is home to an increasing number of Revolutionaries. These people are devout followers of Jesus Christ who are serious about their faith, who are constantly worshipping and interacting with God, and whose lives are centered on their belief in Christ. Some of them are aligned with a congregational church, but many of them are not. The key to understanding Revolutionaries is not what church they attend. Instead, it’s their complete dedication to being thoroughly Christian by viewing every moment of life through a spiritual lens and making every decision in light of biblical principles. These are individuals who are determined to glorify God every day through every though, word, and deed in their lives.

The Master is calling those among us, perhaps you, who are willing to make the commitment to take up his mantle and reawaken his church. I am convinced he is looking for living epistles who are shining examples of what it really means to be a radical, revolutionary Christ-follower. More than ever this world needs his salt and light and the Master openly seeks those willing to step forward – those willing to shake and shine.
I am reminded of the call issued in the 60th chapter of Isaiah and feel this precise time in the history of the Christian faith is ripe for such a high calling. Listen closely as the Spirit speaks through the prophet:

Arise, shine for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you. See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the Lord rises upon you and His glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn. (Isaiah 60:1-3)

I feel this calling directly upon my heart and it is my sincere hope that more and more of you do as well. It is not that I expect kings and nations to come to me, but perhaps other people who are floundering in darkness, despair, and confusion. It is, indeed, like my personal “dawn.” No doubt darkness covers the earth and there is a thick darkness over its peoples, and I think this may be especially true regarding the church.

I first became clear about this calling in my life several years ago when the Spirit moved deeply in my heart during my early morning reflective meditations on scripture. I had slowly been working my way through several sections of Jeremiah, Isaiah, and Proverbs. When the call came it was in relation to Isaiah 60: 1-3 as quoted above. As time passed, this calling became more and more obvious in my life in ways both large and small. The LifeBrook blog, which I started in early 2008, was a part of my response to that calling. In addition, I composed a highly personal affirmative prayer that I used on a daily basis over the next two years. The prayer, which became an integral part of my daily devotional life, continues to be something I use to remind myself of why I am here and what the Master expects of me. The prayer is:

Lord, I indeed arise and thank you that my light has come and that your glory has risen upon me.

Although darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the people, Lord you have risen upon me and placed the light of your glory over me. Because of the brightness of this new dawn over me, others can witness your love and glory through my thoughts, words, and deeds. I thank you for the blessing of your presence and your light, the light that lights everyone who comes into the world, within me.
Lord, I thank you for this blessing and this opportunity to serve you in this dark and desperate, yet exciting and challenging age. May all that I think, say, and do bring honor to your cause and to your name.
In Jesus name, Amen.

It is my heartfelt hope and fervent prayer that at least in some small way this short article has stirred your spirit. I encourage you to prayerfully spend some quality time with the Master, in whatever way works best for you, and seek clarification on what the Lord is calling you to do. If you are genuinely serious about your faith and you desire to create a lifestyle that is Christ-centered, Christ-honoring, and spiritually significant, then rest assured that he is indeed calling you. In ways both great and small, each of us has something to contribute – some talent and some task that we can perform that brings both honor and glory to the Master and the kingdom.

As stated several times already, we are fortunate to live in such a challenging and opportunity-filled time. What is happening in the church only seems negative when viewed from a superficial perspective. Those of us who are, as Barna calls us, “revolutionaries,” take a deeper angle on all this. We realize that the dismantling of the old is necessary in order for a new, fresh, infilling to occur.

Each of us has a role to play in that infilling. Spend time communing with the Sacred Light that shines within you and I am assured that you will find clarity on exactly what it is you are to do. God gave you talent, ability, and multiple skills. Two things are thus certain: there is someone right now who needs exactly what you have to offer and secondly, for you to carry your talents and gifts to your grave unused would be a tragedy of immeasurable proportion.

Think about it.

© L.D. Turner 2011/All Rights Reserved

Today's Encouraging Word

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God has a purpose for each of us, a role to play in His cosmic drama of redemption for a lost world. Your role will be different from mine and, indeed, from that of anyone else. We are each unique. God has ordained a part for you that you alone can play. The tragedy is that so many people never discover their part until after the curtain call. God calls us to turn to Him for guidance. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” (Prov. 3:5-6). Another way to render that last phrase is “He will direct your paths.”………..If we trust God and obey His will, He will bring us “onstage” at just the right time to play the “role of a lifetime” – a role He has been preparing us for all along.

Dr. Myles Munroe

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• How God's Redemption Works (answersfromthebook.org)

Today's Encouraging Word

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Whether due to poverty, ignorance, oppression, illness, spiritual blindness, procrastination, or just plain disobedience, multitudes of people either fail or never have the opportunity to fully become everything God meant for them to be. They take all their hopes and dreams to the grave and their glory dies with them……..As long as we are alive the possibility exists for us to reach our full potential. God has endowed us with gifts, talents, and abilities and He wants us to use them for His glory and for mankind’s good. We should strive to freely pour out all that is in us in unselfish service to the world. If we fully express ourselves in this life as God desires, we will not take any unfulfilled potential to the grave. Our goal should be to “die empty.”

Dr. Myles Munroe
(from The Glory of Living)

Today's Encouraging Word

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I am confident that God has called you – and has promised to strengthen you – to do his work. So don’t waste any more days. God will do something special with your life if you will exercise faith in living out your purpose. If you discover how he’s gifted you and where he’s calling you, and if you glimpse what he’s up to, your confidence will grow with deep roots, roots that will see you through the droughts of doubt and the winters of wondering why you’re here on this earth. Move out boldly into your future, my friend, infused with the confidence that the Creator of the universe made you unlike anyone else for a special purpose that is yours alone.

Jim Graff

Today's Encouraging Word

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

We wish every preacher, teacher, and leader would come to the realization that God’s people – not to mention the world – need above all else a glorious unveiling of Jesus. . . . . . . . . . . .There is much more in Christ than we have ever imagined. And there is infinitely more to Him than we have yet to know or touch. We can never exhaust Him. Christ is so large that no search party in the universe can explore an iota of His infinite depths. What is more, He will never grow old or stale. Jesus Christ is the only thing in God’s universe that doesn’t wear thin.
Yet so many Christians are blissfully unaware of His vastness. They have settled for so much less and have known Him so little.

But mark this down: When the people of God get a sighting of their incomparable Lord – and when the world encounters His unfathomable love, His irresistible beauty, and overwhelming glory – every idol will be forced to the ground. The clouds of doubt will part from our eyes, and Jesus Christ will displace everything. But first, the church and the world must see Christ.

Therein lies the task of every disciple – to proclaim this amazing Christ to both lost and found.


Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola
(from Jesus Manifesto)

It's Time To Become Who You Really Are

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L.D. Turner

In the Christian’s journey of faith it is foundational to understand the following biblical principles before we travel very far down the road of spiritual formation:

God has provided everything we need in order to develop and evolve spiritually. It seems he has done this in ways that are highly mysterious but also highly effective. One way of looking at it is that he has provided all that we will ever need on the spiritual level and also he has provided, through the person of the Holy Spirit, the power we need in order to contact these spiritual blessings and bring them down from the spiritual world and into manifestation in our daily lives.


Once we understand this fundamental reality, the logical questions now center on what our responsibilities are in this process. Some advocates of the “everything is by grace” school would insist there is nothing we can do to grow in the spiritual life, but even a minimal check of the reality of the situation would prove that position untenable. There is plenty for us to do as the process of our spiritual development, what is called our “sanctification,” is a joint venture.

Our part in this is first, to place ourselves into a position of receptivity and obedience. We can increase receptivity by practicing the classical spiritual disciplines, especially meditation, prayer, lectio divina, and contemplation. In terms of obedience, we do not need to make this process overly complicated. Most of God’s will for our lives in revealed in Sacred Scripture, but many of us ignore this aspect of obedience by looking for God’s “specific will,” which is fine, but can also be an exercise in self-absorption.

The other aspect of practical Christianity involves advancing God’s kingdom through service to others. That service, motivated by compassion and fueled by kindness is our main task. If we are to be truly obedient, we start right here.

So you see, here we have three aspects of practical faith before us:

Receptivity
Obedience
Service


The fourth element I might add to this is Sacred Character. The formation of sacred character is the goal of any path of spiritual formation. Sacred Scripture informs us that we have the mind of Christ and few of us it seems realizes just what a blessing this is. In addition to our own mind, we have operating in us the same mind that operated in Jesus when he walked the earth. We find that mind through quieting our own internal chatter enough to encounter Sacred Silence. The disciplines of meditation and especially contemplation are highly important here. It is through the transformative encounters we have with Sacred Silence and our Inner Light that the foundation stones for our journey of spiritual formation are laid. Encouraged by our increasing contact with the Divine Source, we are better equipped to walk boldly in the world and deal with the vicissitudes of life.

Sacred Character is synonymous with moral integrity. We know who we are, how we are supposed to live, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, we live consistently with those values. Sacred Character means that we have a highly developed, internalized worldview and concomitant value system and that we live accordingly. In this way, Sacred Character becomes a bridge that connects our receptivity and our obedience with our service to the world. Here, then, we have the dynamic of our four responses to God’s grace and equipping:

Receptivity
Obedience
Character
Service


If we seek a workable model of a person who integrated these four aspects of a dynamic relationship with the Father, we need look no further than Jesus. If ever a person was receptive and obedient to God, it was the Master. A deep, abiding sacred character was also evident in all Jesus said and did. And as far as service is concerned, Jesus gave us a great example in the 13th chapter of John when he introduced the disciples (and us) to the ministry of the towel.

I am certain you are aware of Paul's idea, repeated in one way or another throughout his correspondence with the fledgling churches, of the relationship between Jesus and God. Paul tells us that all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Christ, which meant that God and Jesus were in some mysterious way the same being. In the Jewish culture of his day, Paul was making an incredible claim here. Jews were not supposed to make any image of God and even to speak his name was considered a capital offense. Now, here was Paul echoing Jesus by implying that the great and mighty Jehovah was in essence a loving, creator who was not only the Father of Jesus, but was also Jesus himself. And the reverse was true. Jesus was not only a great teacher and a skilled Rabbi; He was not only a great healer and the leader of a band of shady-looking disciples; Jesus, according to Paul, was Jehovah Himself.

Standing alone, that sort of statement was enough to give the High Priest a major migraine. Paul, however, wasn't finished. In fact, he was just getting started. If you take a look at Ephesians 3:19, the Apostle tells the early church members that he prays "that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." (NSRV) Here Paul was pulling no punches; instead, he went straight for the knockout. Paul basically was saying that he prayed for and believed that, as Christians, the new believers were expected to become like Jesus.

No wonder the religious establishment saw Paul as a dangerous, if not demented, man. Equating Jesus with God was a reach. Saying that a human being could become like Jesus was beyond the pale of comprehension and acceptability.

Yet is precisely the character of Christ that we are charged to develop within ourselves. In order to accomplish this great mission we have a divine partner in the Holy Spirit and our Christian brothers and sisters for power, guidance, and support. An open, honest relationship with the Holy Spirit is where we must place our energies at this time, even though much confusion and lack of knowledge about the Holy Spirit exists. We are told by Jesus that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is where we are to focus our efforts for learning and guidance. Unfortunately, many of us refuse to get too close to the Spirit, as we operate primarily out of fear and ignorance.

Part of our process of appropriating the divine gifts already provided by God in the spiritual realm involves claiming them. This process is not so much “name it and claim it” as often espoused in the so-called “Prosperity Gospel,” but does involve a similar principle. We are not claiming something that is not rightfully ours, but instead, we are claiming the free gifts of grace provided to us and for us as joint heirs with Christ. In this sense, we do “name and claim,” – we name and claim what scripture tells us we should name and claim. In fact, if we fail to claim these free gifts of God’s grace we are, in essence, rejecting much of what Christ achieved on our behalf.

One other aspect of this also needs to be mentioned. By naming and claiming the gifts of character that are rightfully ours by virtue of our new status of being “in Christ,” we are not pushing God to act in our behalf and do our bidding. Instead, we are recognizing, accepting, and appropriating what God has already done through Christ. This may seem to be a subtle distinction, but it makes all the difference in the world. By recognizing and claiming our scriptural status as new creations in Christ, we are exercising our faith in God and praising him for what he has already accomplished.

Unlike the prosperity preachers, we are not turning God into some sort of cosmic bellhop who fetches at our command. Instead, by claiming his free gift of a new heart, a renewed mind, and a transformed character, we are recognizing God for what he is, a loving Father who has provided everything we will ever need to live the kind of life he desires for us.

As new creations in Christ, we are blessed indeed.

© L.D. Turner 2011/All Rights Reserved

Today's Encouraging Word

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Earth’s unlimited resource is the gifts, talent, passions, imagination, and ingenuity of its citizens. You would think that we know this by now, but we often seem to miss the gift right in front of us. The world needs you to find the hero within you. The real battle is not between good and evil but between less and more. Most of us don’t choose the worst life; we just don’t choose the best. We can’t afford for you to sleep through your dreams…..The world needs you at your best. This planet is made better or worse by the people we choose to become. If you live a diminished life, its not only you who loses, but the world loses, and humanity loses. There is a story to be written by your life, and thought it may never inspire a graphic novel, it is a heroic tale nonetheless. Though you may not recognize it, there is a greatness within you.

Erwin Raphael McManus

(from Wide Awake)

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Spiritual Formation: Align and Abide

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L.D. Turner

If a person is discerning enough to see beneath the sea of “Sunday smiles” and outward displays of spiritual satisfaction, it would quickly become apparent that many Christians seem to be living, in the words of Thoreau, lives of "quiet desperation.” It is as if many sincere believers are staggering about under a dark cloud of disappointment and, deep in their inner core, asking themselves, “Is this all there is?” Although Jesus came to give abundant life, it is quite commonplace to see depression, anxiety, fear, and a host of other negative emotional states ride on the backs of sincere Christians and, to make matters worse, most have no clue as to why.

Even the most superficial scan of scripture will reveal that this is not the way things were intended to be. We are, in fact, promised to "have life more abundantly". So what is the basic issue here? Why are so many within the Body of Christ so beset?

The basic issue here seems to be one of misalignment. Let me explain this in brief. Scripture reveals that we are composed of three aspects, Body, Psyche, and Spirit. Space does not permit a detailed description of this tripartite makeup of our being, but a few words of explanation or in order.

1. Our body is the home of our being while here on earth. God created us primarily as spirit beings, but in order to dwell in the physical world, we need a physical home, thus our physical bodies.

2. Things become a bit more complicated when discussing our mind. The biblical term most often used to describe this aspect of our being is “soul” and the Greek word is “psuche.” It is obvious that our English term “psyche” is derived from this word. Our psyche includes our cognitive life (thoughts), our emotions, our will and our habituated responses to life (our habits). Since the Fall, our Spirit has been inactive and our soul or psyche has been in charge. This was not what God intended and the results of this usurpation of power have been dismal.


3. Our Spirit is the key to living a life in accordance with God’s will and plan. As mentioned, our human spirit became inactive at the Fall, and was dethroned by our psyche. Yet, God intended for our human spirit to be the vehicle whereby the Holy Spirit could communicate with each of us. It is interesting to note that the Greek word for the human “spirit” is “pneuma” and is the same word as the one used in Holy “Spirit.” Obviously, God intended a strong connection between our spirits and the Holy Spirit. Further, it was our human spirit that God intended to be used when we communicated with the spiritual world.


Once our spirit is reactivated through conversion, we are supposed to live a life where the Spirit is in the pilot's seat so to speak, directing the thoughts and actions of the mind and body. But here is the rub. Just because we become Christians, the mind doesn't just go away. The old mind remains strong and active. Here perhaps a better word is psyche. The psyche is composed of our thoughts, feelings, temperament, and affections.

It is important to understand that the psyche has a life of its own and, more importantly, it has its own agenda. All of our life, the psyche has been in charge. The psyche has called the shots and it isn't about to give up this role without a fight. So the fact of the matter is that as soon as we enter the Christian walk, a battle is set up inside between the psyche and the spirit. This battle is basically between our old self and our new self or, as Paul puts it, between our flesh and our spirit.

As Christians, we are called to walk in the Spirit. What does this mean? It means the Spirit is supposed to take precedent in our lives. The Spirit is the presence of God within us. This is our new command center. But, as stated earlier, there is an internal war in progress and the fact is, our enemy in this sense is our psyche. It is our psyche that has to be put under control of the spirit. This process is never easy and we can never accomplish it on our own. But we are not left alone to fight this battle. God has promised to empower us to emerge victorious. He has said in Ezekiel that He will remove our heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh; a new and living heart, controlled and directed by the Holy Spirit.

The problem is most Christians lose this battle on a daily basis because they have not been taught, or if they have been taught, they have resisted, the methodology of how to procure the necessary tools to fight the enemy and ultimately gain victory over their old self.

The solution to this problem is complicated on some levels perhaps, but basically it is quite simple. We have to undergo a realignment whereby our bodies, psyche, and spirit become a functioning whole with a unified purpose. This new alignment is under the direction of the Spirit. As we go through the process of this alignment, we are also told by Christ that we are to abide. "Abide in me.." he tells us. So we can say that what we are called to do is to align and abide. The problem is that most Christians never learn how to do this. There are many reasons for this but space does not allow for a discussion of that here. At its core, this problem I think has resulted from the ongoing faith/works controversy and has placed much of the church in a position of being dis-empowered and paralyzed spiritually. What the church must now do is to rediscover how to align and abide. I say rediscover because the methodology for this process has been around since the beginning of the church.

One other note here. Any discussion of alignment should include the fact that this process has an inner dimension and an outer dimension. Actually, there is no real distinction in essence, but to define it in these terms seems more comprehensive. The inner dimension involves achieving an alignment as follows:

Spirit
Psyche
Body

The outer dimension involves the alignment spoken of by Christ in the Gospel of John when he prays that we are in Him as he is in the Father. So the outer dimension looks like this:

God
Christ
Human

Looked at from this perspective, the inner dimension reflects the reality that the mind, when controlled by the Spirit in proper alignment, is the mediator between the Spirit and the body and thus, the mediator between the Spirit and our actions in the world. That is why we have to "renew our minds" or, again in the words of Paul, "have the mind of Christ". Only by doing so can we then effectively incarnate the Spirit through us and into the world. The outer dimension reflects the reality of the Gospel in its essence. It is only through Christ that we can connect with the Father and this awareness sheds light on Jesus' statement that he who has seen me has seen the Father. It is also scripturally sound in that it reflects the words of Paul that alludes to the fact that there is one mediator between God and man, and that is Jesus Christ.

How then are we supposed to bring the needed realignment about? The process is quite simple to understand, but sometimes difficult to apply. What we have to do is:

1. Trust God to do what He says he will do. We have to trust in and rely on the Holy Spirit.

2. We have to look to Christ as our model of how to walk in faith.


3. We have to rediscover the value and the power of "Spiritual Disciplines"

4. We have to directly confront and, with the help of the Spirit, deal with the psyche in all its subtle ramifications and retrain it to be subordinate to and in line with the directions of the Spirit. This is accomplished by following the Spirits lead as it "convicts of sin.” Many times what we call "sin" is a direct result of "misalignment". I think it can also be said that our problem with misalignment began with the Fall, when the original couple tried to “be as god” and wound up putting the soul (psyche) on the throne where Spirit should rule. That is where all behavior that we call sin comes from.

5. At LifeBrook, we often stress what we call “conscious cognition” as a vital part in abiding. Basically, this refers to the process of renewing the mind in general and dealing with our thought life in particular. Conscious Cognition involves directly dealing with our thoughts, taking thoughts captive for Christ, tearing down strongholds, and learning to think in more positive, optimistic, and constructive ways.

6. Perhaps the most significant aspect of establishing a life that is aligned with God and continues to abide in His will is obedience. More than anything else, obedience allows us to abide in God’s will more continuously and to manifest that will in proactive ways.

A misalignment where the psyche is dominant and the Spirit negated, even if it accomplishes much, can accomplish nothing that does not, at least at a subtle level, bear the taint of selfishness. Secondly, in order to accomplish this we must "renew our minds" and I can think of no better way to do this than by actively sowing the seed of the Word of God into our hearts. Remember, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”

The sequence is important: first we align, and then we abide. Abiding is nothing more or less than maintaining our connection with the life giving Spirit of Christ. We align by initiating a practice of spiritual disciplines that have been used for centuries in the church; practices such as prayer in its various forms, meditation (sacred silence and listening to God), study of and reflection upon Scripture, submission, service, and any other practice that is biblical, places Christ at the center, and seeks to discern God’s will and carry it out.

Again, proper alignment is central to every aspect of the Christian life. Without proper alignment we are more prone to walking in our own illusions and making mistakes, sometimes big and sometimes small. And what is it we are to align with? The answer is a simple one. We are to align with the Spirit of God that has been placed within us by the loving hand of the Father. At conversion our human spirit again became what it was in Genesis, alive. The Hebrew word for this is chay and the Greek is Zoe. New Testament writers almost always used this word, zoe, to describe life.

As we are able align and abide, our zoe, our very life, becomes more vital and spirit-filled. More importantly, with proper alignment it is spirit-controlled. We then abide and, in the words of Paul, walk in the Spirit.

When we are able to arrive at this point where we are able to truly walk in the spirit, with our renewed minds and our spirit-controlled body in proper alignment, we tend to experience the polar opposite of those harshly negative mental and emotional states discussed early in this post. Instead, Paul speaks clearly to us, saying that if we walk in the Spirit we will experience such blessed states as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

© L.D. Turner 2010/All Rights Reserved

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A God of Purpose - A God of Provision

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L.D. Turner

I am convinced that few of us truly understand our true potential as children of the Father of Lights, the Living God. By remaining ignorant of who and what we are, we end up limping through life rather than soaring. We end up settling for scraps from the table when we should, in fact, own the table and the house that it sits in.

For many years I either failed to understand the blessings of the full gospel or I misunderstood it. Either way, I wasted a lot of time thinking I knew what I was talking about when, in fact, I didn’t. I would be greatly saddened if that happened to you and this, my friend, is one of the main catalysts that gave birth to Sacred Mind Ministries. God etched upon my heart the need for sound teaching and quality educational materials that would foster deeper awareness of the Christian’s true potential and identity “in Christ.” Further, I began to understand that the primary purpose of having this blessed gift of a new identity and new personal power in Christ is to assist in the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth. It is to this mission that we at SMM remain committed.

Understanding our true identity is intimately connected with the realization of our divine potential. These issues are among the deeper things God, working through the Holy Spirit, wants to impart to us. All we need to receive these vital revelations is an open mind and a receptive heart. We don’t need to wait until we arrive in heaven to gain awareness of these gifts – in fact, by the time we get to heaven we will have already been utilizing our divine power here on earth for many years. Dr. Myles Munroe speaks clearly to these themes:

God has prepared so many deep things about who we are. Our eyes can’t see them, nor can our minds conceive them, yet God is revealing them to us through His Spirit. God doesn’t want us to wait until heaven to know our full potential. He didn’t give birth to us so we can develop our potential in heaven…..God wants us to realize here on this planet who we are. That is His purpose in creating us. We need the Holy Spirit because eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, nor has it entered the minds of men who man really is. Only the Holy Spirit searches “the deep things of God.”…..God beckons you to take another step into a deeper, more relevant knowledge of your potential in Christ – Though you may have been saved for years. You need to take this step because you still don’t know who you are.

You see, friends, most of us claiming to be followers of Christ are well intended but poorly equipped to make those intentions a reality in daily living. This statement is not intended to be a criticism of the modern church or a slap in the face of well-meaning Christians who are committed to bringing God’s kingdom out of the spiritual realm and making it manifest right here on earth. Instead, I say these words because they are true. Most of us do not have a clue as to what we can do to not only make our lives more fruitful and productive, but also to bring success to the calling that God has placed in each of our hearts.

The good news is, however, that we serve a God of purpose and provision. The Father of Lights has a well-planned purpose for this world which involves redemption and restoration. He is proactive in redeeming what was lost in the Garden and, joined at the hip of this plan of redemption, is the reality of restoration. Each of us, and that includes you and me, are being redeemed for the purpose of restoring God’s will on earth as it is in heaven. We are being redeemed in order to bring about the establishment of God’s kingdom on earth.

Please note that I use the word “redeemed” not just in the past tense, but in the sense of an ongoing process. We were indeed redeemed when we acknowledged and accepted Christ for who and what he was and is, but it doesn’t stop there. The process of redemption continues and goes deeper and deeper as our bodies, our minds, our wills, and our spirits, become properly aligned with those of the Master. In essence, we were given new life and a new identity at our second birth. Now each of us is in the process of growing into that life in increasing measure. The goal is that we have, as Paul so aptly puts it, the “full measure of Christ” within us.

We are given this new life, this new status, and this new power for the primary purpose of continuing the incarnation that we saw so vividly in the life of Jesus. The Master announced the coming of the kingdom and then proceeded to go about the work of making it manifest in this world. And hear this, he charged us with the task of carrying on where he left off. Furthermore, he sent the Holy Spirit to live in us, empower us, and guide us forward in that holy process. God not only has given us a calling and a purpose, he has provided the power we need to meet that purpose and make it a living reality.

In 2 Peter 1:4 we are told that God has put us in a position where we can share in his divine nature. No, that doesn’t mean he has made us Gods, or even little gods as some have suggested. It does mean, however, that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead now resides in each of us. The Father of Lights, as stated earlier, is not only a God of purpose, but also a God of provision, enabling us to meet the challenges of doing those things that he has called us to do. Friends, if you can understand that principle, make it yours through faith, and take action based on it, you can succeed at any God-directed, God-ordained calling.

© L.D. Turner 2010/ All Rights Reserved

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Christian Optimism is Grounded in God's Love and Grace

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L.D. Turner

One of the very first praise songs my daughter Salina learned in the Christian pre-school she attended was the same classic that I learned when I was her tender age.

Jesus loves me, this I know
‘Cause the Bible tells me so

Chances are this is the first praise song most of us learned, especially if we grew up in and around the church. Interestingly enough, these innocent words of this simple children’s song contain two of the most basic yet strategic reasons for being a Christian optimist.

First, the song gives us the basic premise of the gospel message right out of the gate, “Jesus loves me, this I know.” Christian optimism begins with the fundamental biblical truth that God loves us, whether or not we deserve it. The fact that I am loved by God (as are you) is the crown jewel of the gospel and the cornerstone of Christian optimism.

“For God so loved the world…”

So begins the most famous verse in scripture. Along with the simple praise song we have been talking about, I suspect that John 3:16 is one of the first Bible verses we came in contact with. Just as in the Jesus Love Me hymn, the message here is that God loves us in a way that we can’t imagine. He loves us enough to offer up the greatest sacrifice that can be offered and, tied to our belief in this truth, comes the incredible love gift of eternal life.

“Shall never perish, but have everlasting life.”

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I have to pause, pray a little, and let the enormity of the implications of this all-too-familiar passage of scripture truly sink in.

“Shall never perish, but have everlasting life.”

With the promise of such an incredible gift flowing out of God’s heart of divine love, how can we be anything but optimistic? In fact, I think anything short of radical optimism in response to what God has done may be right on the cusp of sin.

As Christians we often hear about God’s love for us but perhaps it is the very frequency at which these words, “God’s love,” are spoken that make us deaf to the real message here. Unlike other religions and belief systems, Christians worship a God that is proactive in his desire for us to enter into a life-giving and life-changing relationship with him. Remember the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son? He didn’t just sit at home hoping that his wayward child would some day find his way home. No, the father lived in faith and positive expectancy. As a result, he went out to a place that overlooked the road and waited in anticipation for that tiny speck to appear on the horizon and, as the speck drew closer and grew larger, he ran out to meet his prodigal. It is this kind of proactive love on the part of God that makes our human capacity to love even possible.

John, who liked to call himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” tells us, “We love because he first loved us.” As we can clearly see from this scripture, not only is our optimism grounded in God’s love, but also our capacity to love itself.

In closing, let me say that if you are seeking justification for Christian optimism, just turn to scripture. The Bible is filled with reasons, stated in ways direct and sublime, which give us great cause to be optimistic. If you happen to be person with a long history of pessimism or thinking that gravitates toward the negative, take specific scriptures that give you reason to be optimistic and read them over and over. Turn them into positive statements and use these powerful scriptures as affirmations. Doing this is a standard part of what we at Sacred Mind Ministries call ‘proactive prayer.”

Here is an example. Philippians 4:13 tells us, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Also, 2 Corinthians 5:17 affirms that, “…anyone who belongs to Christ is a new creation. The old life is gone and the new life has begun.” Turning this pair of powerful scriptures into a positive, proactive prayer, you might say:

I take possession of the reality that in Christ I am a new creation and that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

If so moved, you might even add:

Behold, the old life has passed away and my new life has begun.

Repeating these positive, proactive and affirmative prayers repeatedly helps sink the potent words of scripture deep into your subconscious mind, bring a healing presence and a voice counter to those old negative tapes that have been playing for so long. Granted, change won’t come overnight but believe me, friend, it will come. Few people went through life more negative than I did. I could find a dark lining in any silver cloud and often did. God’s grace, working through the personhood of the blessed Holy Spirit, has helped me heal many of those deep-seated scars in my psyche. Don’t doubt the process of positive repetition of scripture – it will work wonders.

As they say in the Nike ads – Just Do It!

(c) L.D. Turner 2010/All Rights Reserved

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Today's Encouraging Word

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You are not just a bad person getting better. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus, and the old things are passing away (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). They’re on their way out, not because are working on them, but because there’s a new life principle working in you…Because you’re new, the old can’t last. The newness is replacing all that is obsolete. A new person is emerging, not because the old one is changing a little bit at a time, but because you are a new person. You are complete in Christ. Colossians 2:10 says, “You have been given fullness in Christ.” You’re fully who he wants you to be. And you’re in the process of becoming who you really are…..What God does is establish your identity and then pull you up into it. You’re in that process – of being pulled up! God deals with you according to your true identity: a new creation in Christ with a new power source, a new position, a new potential, and a new purpose.

Jerry Cook
(from The Monday Morning Church)

Today's Encouraging Word

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If you attempt new things and make choices that stretch your horizons, you will embark on an exciting journey. You will begin to see the marvelous being God created you to be – a being filled with more capabilities than you ever dreamed possible. The journey begins when you gain an understanding of what potential is and how you can release it. For once you understand the wealth God gave you, to turn from consciously and conscientiously unwrapping God’s gift is to abort your potential and refuse to fulfill the purpose for which He gave you life. The knowledge of what you have failed to use to benefit yourself, your contemporaries, and the generations to follow will judge you on the great day of accountability. Potential is given to be released, not wasted.

Dr. Myles Munroe
(from Releasing Your Potential)

Renewing the Mind: The Power of Affirmative Prayer

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L.D. Turner

Renewing the Mind: Conscious Cognition and Affirmative Prayer

Throughout his letters, Paul repeatedly demonstrates his understanding of the importance of dealing with our minds. The Apostle clearly recognizes that the mind is where our behaviors and actions begin and he also understands that it is in the mental realm where the enemy is most likely to launch his most diabolical attacks. It is for this reason that Paul tells his readers over and over again how important it is for the believer to renew the mind.

At Sacred Mind, clients and visitors often here phrases and terms related to dealing with the mind in general and the process of renewing the mind in particular. In our training programs on “Strategies for Renewing the Mind” and “Who We Are In Christ,” we typically explore the importance of developing what we call Conscious Cognition. Basically, conscious cognition involves assisting participants develop the ability to be acutely aware of their mental functioning. The more conscious we are about out thinking, the more equipped we are to master our minds.

“Conscious Cognition” is based on the teachings of Paul regarding the renewal of the mind, tearing down strongholds, and taking thoughts captive for Christ. The actual practice of conscious cognition involves disciplines such as positive thinking, positive imaging, positive statements, and affirmative prayer.

We have found that the most fruitful exercise for most people involves what is popularly referred to as Affirmative Prayer.

How to Form an Affirmative Prayer

1. Affirm your identity as a child of God and a new creation in Christ.
2. Affirm your positive connection with the Divine and the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life.
3. Voice your desired goal in positive, affirmative words in the present tense.
4. Express your gratitude for having your desire granted by God.
5. Close prayer in Jesus’ name with a firm and joyous Amen!


After your formal prayer session, your Affirmative Prayer process continues in three important ways. First, maintain a sense of positive expectation in which you faithfully believe your prayer has already been answered. This is not wishful thinking or a “fake it til you make it” pretense. Instead, it is the faithful acknowledgement that, just as scripture promises, your blessing has already been provided on the spiritual world. This brings us to the second manner in which your Affirmative Prayer process continues. You act as if the object that you prayed for has already been obtained in the physical world. What this does is aid in the process of bringing your already granted blessing from the spiritual world down into the flesh and blood reality of your daily life.

The third way in which your Affirmative Prayer session continues involves a personalized affirmation. This type of affirmation is a short phrase, usually gleaned from Step Three in the process described above. For example, if you prayed for an increased sense of confidence and courage, your personalized affirmation might be:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; I am courageous and confident in all my endeavors.

The important point here is to repeat this shortened form of your prayer session as often as possible. It is especially important to repeat your personalized affirmation when you first arise in the morning, and just before going to sleep. Another method that has been helpful for many Christ-followers is to coordinate their affirmation with their breathing, just as when performing “breath prayers.”

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. (inhale)
I am confident and courageous in all my endeavors. (exhale)

I have found affirmative prayer to be an excellent modality of approaching our relationship with the Creator. As stated earlier, effective affirmative prayer is always based on scriptural promises. The actual process of affirmative prayer as described in the preceding paragraphs is not designed to remind God of his promises. God does not need to be reminded of anything. Criticizing the method of affirmative prayer based on the “reminding God” notion is a mistaken and futile practice.

Affirmative prayer does help remind us of our need for God, our utter dependence upon God, and of the generous blessings he has already provided for us. With these thoughts in mind, let’s look at an example of an affirmative prayer that meets the criteria laid out above.

I take possession of the reality that I am a child of the Living God and a new creation in Christ. I acknowledge that because I have been adopted into the family of the One True God, His eternal light shines in me and through me, casting His presence and His love onto a dark, hurting world. The Holy Spirit, a full one-third of my Heavenly Father lives in me, making me powerful and whole, capable of doing great things for the glory of God.

Therefore, I go forth each day with confidence and courage, meeting the challenges of life with faith and optimism, knowing that the Lord is within me, equipping me for any circumstance.

Lord, I thank you for your presence within me, beside me, above me, and in every circumstance, and I am especially grateful for your gifts of courage and confidence, the very things I requested as I approached your throne.

With love and gratitude, I pray these things in Jesus’ most holy name, the name at which every knee shall bow. Amen…


Remember also that the abbreviated form of the prayer is:

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want; I am courageous and confident in all my endeavors.

I have found that for both the long form and the short form, repetition is the key to success. Our bad habits of thought were formed in the exact same way as we, along with the Holy Spirit, will go about forming new habits of thinking that will move forward the process of renewing our minds. Each time we repeat our positive affirmations and our affirmative prayers, we make a little progress toward our goal. We repeat it, and we move forward a little more – and on and on it goes. The good news here is that we can soon begin to see change taking place and that change, no matter how small, is significant. When we experience the fact that change is possible; when we see through our own experience that we are actually making gains – this provides us with the ability to live in hope and optimism.

As time passes and we remain faithful in our practice, the pace of change accelerates. Our friends and associates will notice that we are somehow different. Even if they can’t put their finger on exactly what has changed, they know that for some reason you are easier to be around. Whereas before you often greeted them with a flat expression and a diverted gaze, now you approach them with a smile and look them in the eye. And guess what, my friend? This opens a door for you to share the source of the “new you.” As you continue to manifest the fact that you are, indeed, a new creation, you will have increased opportunities to share how this all came about.

Renewal of the mind, as Paul pointed out, is the key to an effective walk of faith. If you have been ignoring Paul’s insistence of cognitive renewal, why not get back to it? And if you have been avoiding this teaching, why not push yourself to get on with it? Your progress will be minimal until you place a renewed mind in the new you, the new creation.

Also, I suggest that you keep in mind the goal of all this work toward the mind’s renewal, as well as other disciplines in your program of spiritual formation. You want to get to the point where, as the Apostle, you can say with confidence the four words that best describe the state of the truly transformed Christian’s life:

Not I, but Christ…

© L.D. Turner 2010/All Rights Reserved

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