re-discovering the Gospel...

there have been moments, especially in the last 4 months of my life, that i have truly pondered the possiblility that i know very little of the authentic Gospel.
because if i truly, deeply knew and believed that this life-changing wonder of all wonders was true, it should no less than affect every moment of my every day.
litterally.

so, i wonder.
i wonder, if it's true that we live out what we believe to be true-- than how little or how much of the Gospel do i really believe...how much of the Gospel am i holding God's hand and re-enacting to the best of my ability, as He daily leads?

off and on for the better part of today, i've been chewing on a little somethin', somethin' i read last night in an outrageously great book i'm currently reading.
from "The Normal Christian Life" by Watchman Nee...
pgs. 62-67
"Romans 6.6- 'knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him'.
the tense of this verb is most precious, for it puts the event right back there in the past. it is final, and once-for-all.
and it simply cannot be undone. our old man has been crucified once and forever, and he can never be un-crucified.
this is what we need to know.
then when we know this, what follows? look again at our passage. the next command is in verse 11:
'even so, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin.'
that is the order.
when we know our old man has been crucified with Christ, then the next step is to reckon it so.
unfortunately, in presenting the truth of our union with Christ, the emphasis has all too often been placed upon this second matter of reckoning ourselves to be dead, as though that were the starting point, whereas it should rather be upon knowing ourselves to be dead.
God's Word makes it clear that 'knowing' is to precede 'reckoning'.
'know this...reckon...'
this sequence is most important.
our reckoning MUST be based on knowledge of divinely revealed fact, for otherwise faith has no foundation on which to rest.
once we KNOW, then we RECKON naturally, spontaneously.
so, in teaching this matter, we musn't overemphasize 'reckoning'. people are always trying to reckon without knowing first.
they have not first had a Spirit-given revelation of the fact; yet they try to reckon and soon they get into all sorts of difficulties. when temptation comes they begin to reckon furiously. 'my old man is dead! my old man is dead! my old man is dead!' yet, in this very act of reckoning, they lose their temper. then they say, 'it doesn't work. romans 6.11 is no good.'
and we have to admit verse 11 is no good without verse 6.
the greek word 'reckoning' used in this verse means "accounting, bookkeeping"
this word is important.
you see, accounting is the only thing in the world we humans can do accurately.
an artist cannot paint a picture of the landscape totally perfectly.
a historian cannot vouch for perfect historical data.
but, you see, accounting is based on math that is always constant and remains forever the same.
because 1 + 1 will always = 2.
always.
why does God say we are to 'reckon ourselves dead'?
because we are dead.
lets return to the accounting analogy. suppose i have $15 dollars in my pocket.
what can i enter into my account book?
$14?
$16?
no, i MUST enter into my account book that, and only that which is, in fact, in my pocket- nothing more, nothing less.
accounting is the reckoning of facts, not fancies.
i cannot enter what i "feel" like...yet that is what many of us do when it comes to the realities of the Gospel according to God.

it is because i am dead that God tells me to account it so.
God has not and will not ask me to put down in my account book what is not real.

and reckoning is not a form of make-believe.

its not that i have $15 in my pocket and God is asking me to account that i have $20 through mind games...' i really have $20, i really have $20...'
no!
reckoning will not make $15 into $20 dollars.
nor will it make what is untrue, true.
God tells us to reckon ourselves dead, not that by the process of reckoning we may become dead, but because we ARE dead.
He never told us to reckon what was not fact..."


oh God, will You do it? in Your deep grace and mercy, will You show us again the countless wonders of Your Gospel?
would you mystify and astound us once more with Reality according to You?
will you make us of those who are banking on the promise that You are on Your way, and coming soon? will You make us of those who live this life as if the unseen and eternal truly are more real than anything our eyeballs can see or our hands can touch?
will You make us of those who are so unattached to the temporary things of this world, that we LONG inside for the redemption of this world, that we look for any and every occasion to bless, honor, serve and love...for Your glory. that You alone may receive Your due and just reward. and because we're banking on the fact that You've gone to prepare a place for us. a place of eternal rest, safety, love, hope, pleasure...and we want as many souls as possible to come with us.

good golly miss molly.
about a week ago i felt the Lord challenge me to be disciplined enough to spend at least an hour a day on music whenever at all possible.
i've been able to almost completely hold fast to this challenge for the last week or so...YESSSS!
parts of me are coming back to life...i honestly don't recall the last time i've been able to devote even a consistent 15 minutes a day to musical endeavors.
it's quite tasty to the ol' soul indeed.

tonite, He gave me a lil' diddy to write out of Isaiah 55--


" why do you do it, day after day
trudge through half numb, who told you to?
emptying your pockets & spilling out your soul
for all these things entirely impotent to save

chorus X2-
so come, free drinks - but only to them who know they thirst
come, buy & eat - but only for them who know they're beyond bankrupt
it's you He wants, only you He wants
it's you He wants, only you He forever wants

listen to me, come to me
i'll bind myself to you and never leave
i'll fill you up, 'til you can't seem to get enough
i'll satisfy & fill every aching abyss within

chorus X2-

my thoughts aren't your thoughts,
my ways, not your ways
look up, up into the heavens & know
you make this heart skip a beat
oh how you make my heart skip a beat..."


it's already been a deep, deep pleasure to get lost in music once more.
music is most assuredly something God has fashioned me to intensely value.

so here's a challenge...
to remember afresh today what it is you've been fashioned to deeply appreciate and value...and then to steward those things with all His energies.
daily.
for His glory.

awake o sleeper.

luke 9.32 - "peter and his companions were very sleepy, but when they became fully awake, they saw his glory and the two men standing with him..."

revelation 16.15- "Behold, I come like a thief! Blessed is he who stays awake and keeps his clothes with him, so that he may not go naked and be shamefully exposed."

isaiah 52.1 - "awake, awake, O Zion, clothe yourself with strength. Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, the holy city."


for almost 3 years now, i have awoke many mornings with these words escaping my spirit through my mouth:
"More Lord, More."
they slip out completely apart from any cognitive command.
month, after month, after month.
and i believe with all my heart that it's been one of those deals where the Spirit inside me takes over and prays through me with no forethought of my own...

and just last week, He whispered to me "sarah, I have your heart, but not all of your thoughts...".
He's been kind & patient enough, especially in these last 4 months of being mobile, to take me through a rather extensive "renewing of the mind".
again.
trust me, He and i have walked through countless "mind renewals". turns out "renewing of the mind" isn't so much a "season" as it is a lifestyle.

so, anyway, this "More Lord, More" & this renewing of the mind, i believe with all i am are two huge longings of His heart right now-- for the Bride as a whole to be awakened & jolted out of her slumber, numbness and identity crisis enough to remember who she is meant to be- a Bride ALWAYS hungry, always CRAVING...somehow always satisfied, @ rest, content and @ peace in her Beloved...yet always jealous for MORE of Him!

it seems americanized christianity has far too covertly stripped true Christianity in our nation of Her beauty, simplicity, unity and purity. if it's the pure in heart who see God, it is one of my biggest prayers and desires to see God continually, and ever-increasingly, separate the chaff of our americanized chrsitiantiy from the wheat of pure Christ-cented Chrsitiantiy, in our hearts and minds.
and i believe He's doing it- He's revealing false mindsets...those "filters" and "defense mechanisms" those subconscious, even, ways of seeing Him, others & ourselves that affect ALL that we are, say, believe, treasure and do in this life on a moment by moment basis...

Lamb of God, get Your due and just rewards.
get the Bride You layed Your life down for.
the Bride You see, dream about, long for, daydream about, yearn for, and have anticipated since Creation for.
help us daily only "live up to what we have already attained" in You.
continually peel back the layers of the onion, the filters, the blinders that keep us from seeing you and being knocked off our feet by Your holiness.
reveal the distractions, busy-ness, movement, and noise that keep us from "being still enough to KNOW"...You REALLY ARE God and in charge.
may the eternal and unseen actually BE to us as they truly are- more REAL than the temporal and seen.
may all the "workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which You planned ahead of time" truly, fully be fulfilled. daily.
get all Your glory through us Lord.

more Lord, more.