Everybody's All-American (Christian)

So, after two weeks of alternative teaching, we get ready to turn back to a discussion of the "flesh" and how it affects our lives, our loves, and our losses. I am really excited about revealing (or maybe reminding you of) these teachings. But, I am more interested, today, in continuing to show you real life studies in flesh.

I have been promising to introduce you to Greg. I have really wanted you to meet him because he is really one of the best natured, talented, athletic, and friendly men you could ever meet. I really like Greg. As a matter of fact, everyone likes Greg.

Greg is pretty humble, though. And, when he knew I wanted to discuss his life, he wouldn't really give me approval. So, I have struggled this week with what to do. I was about to go ahead and publish the article about my own flesh when I received this..... an e-mail from Greg, permitting me to go ahead and use his life as an example, as long as I published, not my words, but this e-mail - verbatim.

So, here is Greg, described by Greg... what a guy!

"Hey guys. I really don't have much to say. I don't have much of what you would call a testimony. I am sure you would be much more impressed with the testimony of some of the other guys Doug and I know. As a matter of fact, Doug knows some guys with some pretty impressive stories about their lives and their born-again experiences. But, he said he wanted to share me with you. So, for what it is, here it is.

You might think that I am kind of strange for not allowing Doug to write this. But he has this gift of encouragement and he talks a little too much about parts of me that I get uncomfortable sharing. But, he has insisted I read about Ben and Kimberly and kind of format my stuff after them.

So, here is a stab at that. I was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and raised on Signal Mountain. My dad is a business owner in town and my mom has always called her occupation - Assistant to Greg and Jana (my sister).

As a kid I always had a great time with my family. Jana and I were really into sports. She's the golfer and tennis player and even though I knock around both the dimpled and fuzzy ball now, I always have really loved the big three: baseball, basketball, and football.

Dad was a pretty fair ball player as a kid (played college baseball at Alabama in the '70s) and brought a love for sports into my life. From the time I was a kid, about four I think, I was throwing, kicking, shooting, or running with a ball. Dad and I spent a lot of time in the driveway and backyard having a catch, playing a little one on one, or just working on technique. Dad was (is) a great coach. But that would kind of sell him short if that is all I said about him. Dad is a great mentor, my best friend (going to be best man in my wedding this summer), and an incredible Dad.

Dad always put family first. He has had a very busy professional life, but he never allowed it to come before Mom, Jana, or myself. I know that he has given me every bit of example, coaching, and encouragement to be the best husband and someday dad my self. My fiancee' said after she met Dad that she had no idea that there was another man in the world like the one she fell in love with (I'm just a product of him - but lucky for me, huh?)

Mom is also a great example to me and a real side-kick to Dad. They have never missed an opportunity to teach or encourage me. Mom never missed a ballgame, always helped with home work, kept the most incredible scrap books of our accomplishments, and cooks the best lasagna in SouthEast Tennessee.

I'll never forget the day I graduated from high school. I didn't think Mom and Dad would ever quit gushing over my Valedictorian speech. Why? It was just all about them. I could have never been all-state in baseball without my Dad. I couldn't have carried the 4.0 without Mom helping me juggle three sports and my studies. I wouldn't have ever learned piano without Mom forcing those lessons on me. I just recently figured out that no matter how slow I get on the court I'll always be able to sit and produce at the piano or keyboard.

But in a really big way, do you know what I need also to really credit Mom and Dad with? In this venue, on Doug's website, I really need to give them the credit for the greatest thing ever in my life.

When I was ten years old, Dad and Mom revealed the plan of salvation to me. They showed me Jesus and the cross. They showed me how Jesus died for my sins. I thought about it all night and asked Jesus to come into my heart right before breakfast the next morning. If it weren't for their love of Jana and I, taking us to all those church events, youth choir, working with the student ministry, and making us learn all those bible verses for Kid's Klub, I might not have my faith in God.

God and my church are two of the most important things in my life. I love working with the young adults ministry in the church. I was asked last year to help lead a Bible study. I have even been given the privilege of sharing some of my college athletic experiences with the local FCA and seen some kids ask Jesus into their heart. I love sharing what I have done for God, encouraging others to give their time to ministry, and also teaching what I know about the Bible. I have worked at using these truths to make a difference in my and the lives of others less fortunate than me.

So, to sum up Greg (I guess if you reallt want to know me) I can wrap it up in three words.

God, Dad, and Mom. Without these three, helping me in everything I have ever done, I would have nothing at all to talk about. I give them all the credit.

In closing, I will ask for one thing a little selfishly. I am going to be accompanying Dad on a medical mission trip to Tanzania this summer. He has been there many times but it will be my first mission trip to Africa (I am a little more experienced in the roofing houses ministry here, and doing some gospel mission sports camps in the Ukraine). Pray for me that I can do all God would have me there for.

Thanks for indulging me this time. If we ever meet, through Doug, or maybe at church, please don't give me too hard of a time - LOL. This was all Doug's idea, and I owed him one!

God Bless you in all you do for the Lord!

Greg K."

And with that,

~ Doug out

A Life and Death Situation Revealed - Performance Based

So how was last week's look at ourselves?

I know I have had to look harder and harder at me, just to be able to talk to you about you. Fact of the matter is, the more we talk about us, I hope the more we can begin to see how much more of us we want to know, and how much less about us we believe.

I'm not saying that many of the things we believe to be true about ourselves aren't really happening. They are very real.

What I am saying is that these things are mostly temporary, contained to this life. Well, contained to life as we currently know it.

In Christ we have a brand new life. I believe some of you reading this already know that. I mean really know it. But many of you have just begun to discover this wonderful Truth of your salvation. I believe it is possible maybe many reading this still have not received Christ.

I am praying for you that through some of these things we talk about, that barriers between what you have been conditioned or thought to believe about you and/or God will be demolished. I am praying that you will break through, jump over, and overcome these barriers through pure surrender and begin to run free in the wonderful Life of Christ.

"What is it about me tha is holding me back from Life (in Christ)? I've been trying the best I can to live this life!" you might say. God may also answer your question with this response, "life?". "You actual mean, death."

"What does that mean?" Well, even if it doesn't make sense yet, it gets us ready for me to introduce to you Kimberly :) .

Kimberly in Real "life"

Kimberly is what I would like to call our "everyday" person. You can run into Kimberly everywhere you go. We all know tons of Kimberly's. As a matter of fact, you may be Kimberly, but going by a different name...... Kimberly's everyday life is characterized by everyday death. I mean, she is going through life pretty well, but somehow no matter how hard she tries to live, she just gets closer and closer to more death(s) .....

Prepared to meet Kimberly? You must be thinking, "That intro is intriguing ..." Right?

Well, doggone! Anyway. Here she is:

Kimberly grew up in a modest home. Her parents made a modest income. She had decent grades in school. Kimberly was thought to be a "sweet" girl by all her friends. Her Dad's occupation was a welder. Her Mom was a bookkeeper at a local merchandise wholesaler.

You may or may not be able to see it, but her Dad, Jim, loves his little girl. He just works too many hours and is home too little and then is too tired to get to know Kimberly, too well.

Kimberly's mother, Jean, is quite the opposite. Jean, spends much time around Kimberly. Their relationship would not be fall into the category of nurturing but it would fall into the category of "mothering." Jean was very available for Kimberly, was also pretty strict by the day's standards. Kimberly always thought her Mom was too hard on her. "Just look at my other friend's moms.... They're not ...."

Jim and Jean are "involved" in Kimberly's life. Even though neither parent ever majored in "encouragement" they make it to most of the special events in Kimberly's life. School stuff, church programs, piano recitals, etc... - Jim and Jean are there...

Kimberly doesn't get what you would call special attention. But, Kimberly did get what many would call "performance" attention. For example:

• Good grades = "Atta Girls"
• Bad grades = "Good report card, but how about this C in geometry. Got to get that up." (Forgetting or canceling the small recognition of three hard earned A's and a B+ in her other classes)

Like all of the relationships we're going to look at we need to look into this question. What was Kimberly's relationship like with her Dad?

Well, we've got to go back to Kim's first day, I mean her first day breathing earth air.... Dad really wanted another boy, but got a girl.

Jim didn't really understand girls. But it was not hard to fall in love with such a pretty baby. Jim's real weakness in fathering Kimberly came in his own experience. Jim didn't really know how to relate to girls or "girls stuff". As she grew-up, most of their conversations were superficial about daily "how's it goings" instead of deep Daddy talks.

Seems like Dad only really stood up and took notice when Kimberly:

• looked more pretty than normal
• got a little too emotional
• was overly dramatic about a situation
• or, seemed to disrespect Jim's 'authority'

Ok so that' pretty good ground-work .....

Let's look deeper at the other prime early development relationship Kimberly had. What was Kimberly's daily relationship like with Jean (her mom)?

Remember, Jim worked a lot so he "let" Jean make most of the decisions - finances, discipline, etc...

Mom's primary concern was raising a "lady". This got Kimberly most of her attention and most of her identity.

If Kim:

• Looked neat
• Had good posture
• Spoke well
• Was more classy, than "tacky"

Things went well with she and Jean.

When "Kimberly Renee!" did not measure up- Mom scolded amd made Kim feel not quite up to standards - almost "trashy", as Jean would often say.

Their family were pretty regular attendees at church - their "woman-only-wear pants-on-Sunday-night" church - - -

The family would attend church events, socials, kid's programs ....

Kim sang in the youth choir and even went on a couple of "mission trips"

All of this gave Kim a real sense of her religion --- a sense of doing the right stuff.

So here is how Kimberly's home and life experiences shake-out to form her own personal identity.

With friends:

• Kimberly gets along with most people
• She's sometimes a little too quick to judge others on appearances
• She acts like she accepts everyone - though she definitely draws the line at actual association depending on her quality grading system

With the opposite sex:

Kimberly found that if she dressed neatly with just enough "flirt and skirt" boys would notice

Kimberly discovered from her relationship with Dad - if she "played games" with the boys just a little, you know, was emotional at just the right times - positive or, better yet, negative - then she could keep a boy interested.

How about Kimberly's personal relationship with God?

"If I sing in the choir, stay lady-like, go to church, act nice to people, pray about stuff that worries or scares me, and stay mostly good and not "trashy" - God will keep liking me; God will be pleased, too."

You now have more information on Kim than she has discovered herself. But, that's not the "sum" of it. You know Jim kept working, Jean kept cooking, Kimberly kept growing up, and then one day grew-up, got a life, and took her personal identity with her.

Kimberly married Gary right out of high school:

She knew how to play him just enough to not really ever get to know him.

And, for his part, Gary thought that Kimberly was plenty pretty enough and surely sweet, enough -This just made him know she would meet everything He expected in a wife.

Problem was, that Kim picked up on what Gary liked early enough that she was able to perform just like he expected - Gary and Kimberly both worked pretty steadily to convince themselves 'it must be love'.

They married and soon had one beautiful child together, Evan. And, their young marriage continued on.

Where Gary and Kimberly's marriage began to fail was when both of their fairly "normal" flesh (experience based engrained truth), clashed and it became obvious they had conflicting ideas of marital bliss.

Gary wanted two things:

• He wanted to manage and control the housedhold (his experience)
• He wanted emotional and sexual support and submission from Kimberly

For Kimberly, life as wife and mother was very different than what Gary had envisioned she would turn to:

• Kim had seen a wife/mother controlled household growing up, and that's all she knew (Jean's style)
• The more Kim tried to manage and do well, as she had learned, the more Gary felt disrespected
• Kimberly's emotional games and "flirt and skirt" were not really what Gary wanted anymore- it was definitely not what Kim had the stamina to continue to produce, either.

When reality set in, a diagnosis of their problem from Kimberly's side would look like this if Kimberly had someone to actually show her to it:

• Jim (her Dad) had not just never related to Kim so he had never really helped her learn how to relate to any man
• Kimberly failed miserably in actual male/female, real life relationships
• Gary saw Kimberly as a failure in meeting his needs
• Kimberly therefore eventually thought herself a failure, too
• Though Kim really tried, she couldn't turn this relationship around all by herself

Gary and Kim split after he had an affair with his "more understanding" co-worker. Kimberly felt so betrayed and "trashy" she couldn't go on with him.....

So, How about Kim today; this year?

Kimberly is now married to Alan - his second marriage. And, though they just might make it work, their mixed family (his daughters and her son) and their previous relationship hang-ups, are sure beginning to take big hits on their own new "love".

But, "maybe if", Kim thinks, "If I can hold it together, do better with Alan's needs, and keep him happy" this one will work out.

What do you think?

I'd really like your comments on this. Look right below this and see the "Comments". Click on that and sound off a little bit... Don't be shy, you can even do it anonymously....

In the mean time, I am really hoping you are beginning to pick out "flesh" patterns from Ben (last week) and Kimberly (this week). I am anxious to see if you are beginning to pick out - new term here - some performance based acceptance behaviors, too.

I know and you know that this young mom named Kimberly looks a lot like what many of us see ourselves looking like.

Try this: Pick out some of those traits similar to you. Then ask God to show you the real truth about you. He'll answer if you ask!

You know I love you and am continuing to pray for you, daily!

And , how about this -- We'll meet Greg in a couple of days -- he is really impressive!

' til then.....

~Doug out

'Your Flesh Becomes You!'

Hello, my friend. I sure hope your last week has been great!

Thanks for taking the time to read through all of the information that has been so graciously provided to us. It is important to get to some common ground, some mutual understanding, some Truth that we can all grab hold of.


Why a "common ground?" We all come from different backgrounds, different experiences, different levels of need and different definitions of wants. But that is not the only reasons we need common ground. Common ground gives us a firm foundation, a place we can stand, a place where confusion is not found, and truth is at large and in-charge.


We've talked extensively over the last two weeks about the importance of truth; the importance of life's questions and choices that our mind needs answered, every second. To answer these questions, to make good choices we desire informed, reliable information. For me especially, there really is a need for the reduction and elimination of confusion in a life that wants to be freed by the Truth. Unfortunately, that's not the world we live in.. We live and breath in a society that breeds confusion.

Now, I am not to saying that I'm looking for "the good old-days". All "times" and "generations" have had their own share of confusion. I don't believe, however, that confusion has been so embraced by all society as it has been during our time, our generation.

'Confusion embraced?' That does sound strange. After all, many say that this is the era of personal accountability and intellectual enlightenment.

Sure... but personal intellect and Truth are not always mutually respective of each other.

• I see more things every day that make black look white, and right look wrong, and "maybe" becoming a "good enough" answer.



• I see depression as a way of life being accepted because culture has been advertised into believing pharmaceuticals can "cover" the symptoms and everything is now alright.



• I see divorce and short-term, low-commitment monogamous relationships becoming more accepted and inevitable than the type of family oriented, commitment driven, conflict resolving, grit your teeth, "fight for love with tooth and nail" life-long marriages that characterized previous generations.

Acceptable Confusion....Believe it or not, confusion is actually desirable in many different places.

• I see it in business where policies are written so loosely so that they can be interpreted to whatever fits the need.


• I see it in government where the US Constitution has been up under attack for the last twenty years. The Constitution is now considered by lawmakers and judicials to be a "living" document, meant to be reinterpreted by all generations to fit that generations current political comfort level....


• I have even seen it in my beloved "Star Wars" - episode three - where Obi-Wan tells Anakin, "Only the Sith deal in absolutes"..... Now that's Confusion....

It is no wonder that depression, which I have already mentioned, is so rampant (I counseled with three people Sunday, and at least one each day since, that are suffering from deep reoccurring depression).

I also am not surprised, no matter how sad it makes me, at the number of my kid's friend's parents (all Christians) that are getting divorced.

Why am I not just blown away? I don't have to look any further than my own self (flesh) to see why....

Society, that's you and I, has been raised by our present culture to believe that a happy life is all about and dependent on "Me". And, a respectable level of confusion allows "me" to keep it about "me", whether it being about "me" makes any sense or not......

You say, "What?"

I began to discover so much about "me" a few years ago. I began to find out things that made so much sense, about why things weren't making sense. I began to discover that a lot of the things I believed to be true were totally not. I also began to uncover some truths that totally were....

Now, I know the answers to how I was feeling, then. I know the advantages of what it took to get to this place...... But back then I wasn't so sure I liked what I was seeing.

I learned so much. As a matter of fact, I learned so much then, that God must have been pleased... 'Cause He gives me plenty of new lessons everyday, now :).

Here's some things I learned; some things I want you to look forward to learning in the next few weeks as we go through some stuff; some things that layed a foundation for me that is even giving me the strength to type these words - to keep putting myself out there.

So here they are - five things I can go to daily, hourly, sometimes minute by minute:

• I am not really who I have always believed I am. My true identity is so much better than that!
  


• I don't have to fight everyday to stay "good" so I can stay at peace with God.
  


• I can't do "it". "It" can be done through me, though (by God).
  


• The person I have trusted the most from day one is "me". Tragically, even my beloved feelings will lie to me, and the enemy will use them against me.
  


• And the biggest lesson learned.... If I can find out the truth, whether I like it or not, I can deal with it and have joy in any situation.

Here are two things that I came to realize needed to happen for God to "get me ready for what He has next":

• If I don't deal with pain from my past, my past is my present, and my future will look the same.



• I need to wake-up and be more excited about today. Today is where God wants to spend time with me "in Christ" and today is when he is gonna bless me by working through "Christ in me."

Now, read these statements (all seven of them) just one more time (Momma said always ask, "Please?").....

What do you think? Hope this is really making you think. I hope you are beginning to see another little thing that I call truth - God does things almost the opposite from you and I.

This is what I know, though.... Everyone of these statements stands completely against where society would have us (confused). Everyone of these statements boils down to one word that we all need - Truth.

So, just so you will know, I am going to take a little different approach in teaching over this next week-and-a-half.

This next week, instead of simply pouring information into your psuchēs (intellect/thinker), I am going to begin to introduce you to four people.... Ben, Kimberly, Greg, and then me (Doug). You are going to hear each of our stories, be allowed to evaluate us, and even be challenged to evaluate yourself....

"How about my dirty SARX?"

I know... I promised to begin to teach about the three components of our body, specifically the flesh (Greek: sarx).... And that is most definitly what I am going to help happen. It's just going to be a little different teaching than you may have expected.

I promise:

Between the four of us, Ben, Kimberly, Greg, and myself, we have enough "dirty SARX" (flesh) to show you all you are going to need to know to help get started in this process (LOL)... you'll see..

Before we begin, there is something else new I need you to do....

I need you to check out this disclaimer, first.......

Got that? It is now not my fault if you stop. Nor is it my fault if you begin to get ready for what God has next. As a matter of fact, I have turned all responsibility over to Him. He really likes that.... LOLLLLL!

(Composure).... Now that you are prepared, and have been duly warned, lets meet part of ourselves.... Oh, uh, I mean, Ben:

Ben is a lot like many of the guys you and I have worked with over the years, gone to school with... He is like a lot of the guys I have tried to help out, to listen to, to try to talk some sense into. Ben is the guy I will typically also give up on too easily because he makes perfect sense to him and no sense to me at all.

Here's some things you need to know about Ben....

Ben will show up at parties, won't really talk to anyone, will stand to the side or in the corner, may act mad, or frustrated, leave early, and then be angry because no one talked to him.

Ben will be really emotional about some of the craziest things. He will laugh at some not really funny stuff or act like everyone else is stupid over some truly hilarious things. Ben takes everything very personally. As a matter of fact, everything is meant towards him personally. Even things that no one else knew had been done or hadn't been done or had actually never really happened - except in Ben's perception. Ben is so about this "personal" thing, that he could actually be called Mr. Out-of-Context, instead of Ben....

Ben is also very lonely. Ben terribly wants friends. Two major things stand in his way of making friends, though. He tends to either shy away from people or he's really smothering or possessive if he thinks you are "actually" accepting him. Ben does not know how to just hang.... he wants desperately to be "normal like the other folks".

Ben especially has a hard time with girls. He hasn't had too many girl relationships and most didn't have much of a chance to begin with. Ben's expectations were either too high, too fast, or too low of himself, too soon.

You are thinking, 'Ben must have been born with the worst personality?' 'He must be quite annoying'........ right!

Well, not really. See, Ben was made and is "at heart" a law abiding, good-willed, brimming with potential love, kind of guy. But we just don't know it. Chances are though, if you actually can bear to spend a lot of time around Ben, you might even have a better idea of Ben's potential than Ben does, himself.

Ben... where did this real Ben go? What happened? The real Ben, the potential Ben, the designed Ben is waiting to be "born" or has been "reborn" and is buried under rejection, lies, and life.

See, Ben was born with all the potential of the "best people" we work and play with. But things around him have hidden his "true identity". Let's check out "What happened to Ben to make him like he is?".

Ben's mom Cheryl and his dad, Steve, got married too young - too soon!

Fourteen months into the relationship, when the sex had lost its newness, and the thrill was all but gone, there were three things that still remained -

two strangers in the house and a new baby boy, Ben.

Its not to say there was no love in the house. Both Steve and Cheryl were proud of the baby, but neither one of them had a very good frame of reference, or foundation to put this love on. Neither had stellar family lives, really bad mostly, and fourteen months of marriage and a baby now... Whew!

To say the least their relationship was very strained. Neither one had any college. Steve was working as a construction laborer and Cheryl was trying to juggle "having a kid" and a string of second-shift jobs.

Steve and Cheryl couldn't afford a regular baby sitter so they alternated shifts .... this helped financially but it sure didn't help their already strained relationship.

Steve didn't have a clue how to raise up a boy.... His dad was never really very involved with him, if he was ever around.

Cheryl cared for Ben but stayed so stressed and tired, was always so tense, that she took it out verbally on everything: the cat, Steve, and even baby Ben.... "Why are you such a bad baby? Why do you cry all the time? I don't care, just lie there 'til you can stop squalling!"

As Ben got older, Mom and Dad fought all the time. Dad would get home from work later and Mom would be late for work.... and both would scream at each other the few minutes they would see each other... and Ben would watch. Mom would leave and Dad would go into the bedroom to watch TV, to "cool off" and wind up "three-sheets to the wind" by 8:30 (Ben's bedtime). Dad had to constantly ask Ben to quit "bugging him for stuff".

Ben was so lonely when Mom would leave. Mom was so angry while she was home. Mom and Dad were both angry when all three of them were together. Little Ben went from being on edge, to sadness, to plain lonely....

One day Dad came home late and Mom was particularly edgey and it blew up. They were arguing and Mom looked at Ben and said, "If it wasn't for him I would just leave right now!"

Dad said, "If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be in this s*** to begin with!"

Ben was only four, but the light went off in his head the best he could understand it, "The reason I feel so nervous, so lonely, so sad, so unloved - its my fault - I'm the problem." If Ben had any other frame of reference he might have been able to say - "Hey Dude, where do you get off saying your sorry life is my fault.... It may be my problem but it ain't me causing you to hate you!" But, Ben is just four.

Whoa, so what just happened: Ben's emotions became his truth.... and the "flesh" foundation of who Ben was became his own personal identity... at four years old.....

It is said by some experts that our personal identity is set into us by the time we are 6-7 years old. Other experts say that it is set in by age 10.

By age seven these things had happened to Ben:

• He discovered he could get attention if he screwed up enough - broke enough things - disobeyed enough.It wasn't good or positive attention. But if you are very lonely, some attention is better than none..... problem is .... Mom constantly griped at him and Dad about how "bad a kid", Steve had.


• One day Dad quit coming home late. He actually just quit coming home at all. Mom cried for a couple of days and then said they would be better off without him. Mom didn't seem better off, and somehow Ben got lonelier and sadder, and madder - at himself... Why? Dad had already said it. So Ben believed it. "Dad left because of me and Mom is mad at me because of it."


• School wasn't any better. Mom started working days while he was at school and "after-care" either at school or with Mom's step-dad (that is a whole other story of a bad influence). Teachers were constantly calling Ben down, other kids thought he was a bad kid, he couldn't keep up in school because Mom had a new boy-friend and they were always busy.... No matter... Ben knew he wasn't very smart or likeable ... even though he really wanted to be.


• When Ben got older there was a few guys like him, with their own stories, and own rejections that he gravitated, too. But these were not the "normal or cool kids". Ben really wanted to be "normal".


• Mom didn't really care if Ben passed or failed in school. So, Ben didn't either. He actually didn't see any positives in himself other than his ability to stir things up when he needed some attention.


• When Ben was 14 the first "positive" thing to ever happen to him, happened. A shop teacher noticed Ben was talented working with his hands. And he complimented Ben. Ben didn't buy it to begin with, but when he got good grades on his stuff, he got a strange new feeling! Then, before long the other kids in shop admired his work and the teacher would use Ben for examples. Two things very telling things happened:
  

1. Ben found out something he was good at. As a matter of fact Ben makes money today working with his hands. He has a pretty good job as a machinist.


2. Ben also found something else out to add to his "flesh" identity. "If I do well, show good performance, I will be accepted! When I have had bad performance, I am usually rejected. This may be something I can control."

• Good performance=acceptance=Likeable person
• Bad performance=rejection=unacceptable person

Ben got his grades straightened out at school. As a matter of fact he became kind of peculiarly perfectionistic in almost every thing. This even helped out some at home as Mom didn't yell as much. Their relationship was too far gone for much more than that, though.

Ben was not able to gain many friends using this technique, however. Why? He had never been confident enough, young enough, to gain real social skills.

• Dad left too early, called too seldom, to help him know how to be a "guy"
• Mom rejected him mostly, so Ben's only experience with girls was what he saw on TV - that really helped.
• Ben had never really been accepted before, so he went into every possible friendship expecting to be rejected.
• When Ben was accepted, he tried so hard to keep the friend or girl close, that he defeated his purpose and became rejected.

So, this is Ben's life .... This is how he lived for many years:

• Worked lots of hours


• Drove people crazy with his perfectionism (even his boss)


• Stayed at home a lot


• Watched a lot of TV


• Tried to go to church, or a bar, or somewhere to meet people sometimes - usually left mad because no one seems interested in what he has to say or because no one talks to him.


• I didn't mention his anger issues, huh? His quick temper? We'll leave that to your imagination and save it for later.

How does Ben turn out? Is this it? Is his whole life summed up this way? Could be.... But we will revist him later.

To wrap up this teaching, I want to pull out four things that have been working against Ben and still work against him today:

1. His emotional roller-coaster as a kid left him with a "flesh" based personal identity that has him operating in fear or anticipation of rejection. This is why everything is taken personally.


2. His lack of attention from his mother and lack of friends has left him feeling not only rejected but also very insignificant


3. His lack of love and support from Mom and Dad mostly, and teachers and his current boss, have left him feeling very insecure.


4. The sum total of all his experiences has him believing his rejection or acceptance based on his performance is all about and up to him. Failure is feared but also expected.

So, how did you make out reading through this? Who do you see in this picture of Ben's life? Did you see some of yourself? I know I see some elements of my own "flesh".

If this doesn't look like you at all, well that is ok, too. But, I will leave you with a warning. Don't feel too good about your own "flesh" or too badly for Ben because of his. Ben knows he has a problem and is going to be more ready to accept the solution than you might be.....

Finally, if you have been made weary or anxious by reading this, if it does look a lot like you... Believe it or not you are in the right place. You have begun the process of "getting it".

Remember the first thing I learned in my own process?

- I am not really who I have always believed I am. My true identity is so much better (actually probably the opposite) of this!

And remember the first of the two things I learned that have gotten me ready for "What God has next"?

-If I don't deal with pain from my past, my past is my present, and my future will look the same.

I just want to remind you what Jesus said, 'I have come that you might have life and to have it more abundantly.'

If you are in Christ, uncovering these things, allowing you to be able to see the truth will put you into the process of living in this 'abundant life'.

If you are not in Christ, uncovering these things will get you started, and Jesus, if you will surrender to him, will give you a new life.

Until later this week, when we meet Kimberly, know that I am praying for you!

I love you and am proud of you!

~ Doug out.....

Becoming Whole Again!

So, good to see you again! Its great you made it back!


I have been so excited about getting back with you this week and sharing more about our solid foundation in Christ. I mean I am pumped about sharing more about you, with you, so you can see more of Him!


O.K. What we've really done in the last three weeks is to begin to lay-out a true foundation by beginning to learn about our identity in Christ. Identity in Christ? Thats kind of a new term I really want to introduce. We will talk tons more about this in the future. That is something I really look forward to. But, in considering the impact of understanding it , I believe we are going to begin to toss it around, today.

What do you think.........? Well, of course I can't hear what you just said, so I am going to take it that you said "Sure!", and just go right ahead....

So, to refresh our psuchēs, specifically, our thinkers, I've got to ask you these questions.

• Up until now what have we done?
• Where have we seeked?
• What have we found?

Know the answers? Great!

Don't know the answers? That's cool, too! Here they are....


So far, we have talked about how God created us in His image... and what that really means.

• God is triune (three parts of one whole) - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• We are triune (three parts of one whole) - spirit, soul, and body

That defines our physical, spiritual, and even mental and emotional "identity" as far as design goes.....

• I am, you are, a triune being made up of three parts.

We have talked about each of the three parts of us and the "Greek" definitions:

First: the spirit (pneuma)

Second: the soul (psuchē)

Third: the flesh (sarx) - or body (soma)

We got started on explaining their differences and the more clinical use of each.

And, I promised that this week we would begin to talk more practically about how each part of these three parts function. We'll also talk some about how these very different pieces interact.

Wound up and ready? Good .... Cause I'm about to bust wanting to lay this out.

Today we are going to concentrate mostly on the spirit and soul, give a quick redefinition, and then move into how God intended for these to interact, and (watch this) how most of us actually allow them to interact.

We will "touch" on the flesh today, just to tickle your fancy (a little play on words.....) and get your mind a little whirly on what's been going on in you!

I like to lay out some goals, so here is one: Our goal from this point forward will be to begin to expose lies, and reveal the truth.

I want you and I to be able to know the lies that the people around you have been telling themselves and you. I want you and I to be able to know the lies that the enemy has set as traps for you (yes, we all have an enemy that is even realer than those people we see everyday). And, most importantly, I want you to begin to see the lies that we have been telling ourselves that have kept us from moving forward, individually, into "what God has next".

O.K. the spirit of man and the Holy Spirit of God. What correlation is there between these?

During the last two weeks we learned:

• We were made in God's image
• God has a Spirit part
• Man has a spirit part

Today, as we continue to talk about the spirit part of man, I want to nail down four things.

1. God communicates with man only through His Spirit to a man's spirit.

2. Man was made as a spiritual being so he could then communicate with God and live eternally with God.

3. A person's true "identity" as God intended it, and man could conceive it, is only understood by that person's spirit.

4. If a person's spirit remains dead, for all purposes, that man is dead - a "walking dead man"

Number 1: God made man with a spirit so He could communicate with him.

Huh? Well ,we talked about this some last week. I even showed you the description of this in the four paragraphs I shared from the Bible:

We need to share part of that again. You can also go back to last week's and review.

But, here, look:

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. (remember this is taken from the second part of the first letter from Paul of Tarsus to the church in Corinth)

Paul is telling us two big things right here:

1. God communicates to us from His Spirit to our spirit.

2. You cannot communicate with God just through your mind.

Let's go further. Here is further information to add to this commentary on ourselves and our identity that we are discovering:

Check out these passages from the Bible. This is being reported to us by John, son of Zebedee, who traveled with and was taught by Jesus from somewhere between 30-33 AD or 28-31 AD.

Jesus is speaking to a woman at one of the wells in the region of Samaria. They have been speaking on God and how God is worshiped (adoration communicated to):

But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

Jesus himself is showing us this truth, as well.

God is spirit. Man may only worship Him, then, in spirit and truth.

****We will talk about the truth part later. Oh, and that is when our goal of exposing lies will begin to be realized! But the spirit of man and its correlation to God is what we are nailing down right now.****

Jesus says that a time is coming and is here, now (because He our messiah is now here), when true worshippers will begin to worship in spirit and in truth. When Adam disobeyed God (reference the last two weeks lessons) his spirit began to die. All of his descendants (you and I included) were born with a dead spirit..... But beginning "now" Jesus, the Son part of God, has come to be our savior and through belief in Him, his death (sacrifice for sin) and resurrection as our savior (new life), the spirit can become alive again and communication with God will be restored.

That takes care of point one: God made man with a spirit so He could communicate with him

And it introduces number two:

Man was actually made a spiritual being so he could communicate with God and live eternally with God.

We were born DOA - our spirit was Dead on Arrival

As we just discussed, when Adam disobeyed God his spirit began to die. You and I were actually born with a dead or dormant spirit . You may have heard that a Christian is "born again". When we believe on Jesus as our savior, it is the spirit part of us that is "born again".

So watch this again:

• We have just seen: God is spirit.
• We have studied: God made man in his image; with a spirit.

Here it is in a nutshell.

• God is a spiritual being
• We were made in His image
• He made you and I spiritual beings
• We were not made a human being with a spirit
• We were created by God as a spiritual being with a God-made human body

Number Three:

A persons true identity as God intended it, and as man could conceive it, is only understood by a person's spirit.

The true part of us, our true identity is revealed only in our spirit.

Let's look back at what God communicated to the church at Corinth through Paul of Tarsus:

For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him?

So, let me say that again:

The true part of us, our true identity is revealed only in our spirit. (now, as a favor to me read the preceding three statements again to yourself)

Get that? Without salvation through accepting Jesus Christ, the Son part of God, we will not, forever and ever, I mean - can never - and will never, know who we really are.

• We will never know our true identity
• We will never know our real purpose
• We will never know God's plans for us
• We'll never be able to know or even comprehend His love for us as His child and creation

if we spend an entire earthly lifetime with our spirit remaining dead.

Number four:

If a person's spirit remains dead, for all purposes, that person is dead - a "walking dead man"

Without a savior in Jesus, as a spiritual being, I am for all purposes, a walking dead man.

With my spirit dead, I'm left functioning only on what information my mind, will, and emotions can collect as livable truth , in order to help my body survive its own slow walk to death.

Pretty gruesome to think about... being seperated from God, in this life, forever, all alone?

But how awesome to think about how God has got a plan to restore that communication (hint: If you're saved you've already "got it" - now its time to "get it")

That pretty much nails down the importance of our spirit and its need for communication through its correlation to the Spirit of God.

*****At this point, if you need to take a break and think about these things. That's cool. Do so. As a matter of fact, it may be eternally important for you to do so.......*****

I will continue right here, then, to get to a practical discussion of the next part of you and I - the next part of God's grand design for us - our soul.

Let's take a second to review again what we now know about our soul.

Each person's soul is made up of three sub-components - our intellect, our emotions, and our will. We may also say, thanks to Dr. Bill Gillham - our thinker, our feeler, and our chooser

And so with our intellect (mind) or thinker, we get:

• deductive reasoning
• data collection
• receiving of formal and informal learning and education
• processing of formal and informal learning and education
• survival instincts

with our emotions or feeler, we get:

• negative emotions - anger, fear, dread, depression, etc...
• positive emotions - happiness, excitement, passion, courage, etc...
• instinctive emotions - caution, intuitiveness, etc...
• response to physical senses- hunger, pain, amusement, etc...

with our will or chooser, we get:

• planned courses of action
• instinctive responses based on external stimuli
• "knee-jerk" reactions

Now that is information you and I will reference back to over and over today and the next few weeks. What is really neat, though, is to discover how these three pieces really work in our daily lives.

So I begin this discovery simply by saying to myself and you, "Choices, choices, choices! To do or not to do..... To say or not to say..... To be or not to be..... That is the question!"

Questions, really? "Questions" is the simplest answer to the question, "What is our soul really designed to handle?" Our soul is designed to provide answers to questions so that correct or at least informed decisions can be made in regards to everyday situations.

Here are some easy examples of day to day questions the soul may handle:

• To eat or not to eat?
• To sleep or not to sleep?
• Should I go or should I stay?
• Am I to be angry or be calm?
• Should I answer or simply be quiet?

Here are some more difficult day to day questions our soul is asked to field:

• Should I envy or should I be satisfied with what I have?
• Should I steal or should I remain hungry or poor?
• Should I have sex with my co-worker or should I be true to my mate?
• Should I lie to keep from losing favor with my boss or should I tell the truth?

There are questions to be answered, which call out to be answered. So many questions need to be answered. So much need for right answers. And for better or worse, there are so many people, and so many experiences, so much education, so many opinions, all screaming for attention in order to give you and I the answers we are needing.

God knew when He made you and I that there were going to be many many decisions each of us would have to make. And, he knew that anything from life and death, to instinctive decisions based on our senses, to complicated and complex work related decisions were going to consume us every day and night.

So, he created a processor (our brain - part (member) of the body) in order to house our soul and its components. He designed the soul, to be able to use the brain to store information, receive information from our senses and emotions, and then to make decisions that the brain could communicate to the body for needed action or patience.

Its really amazing how God integrated each of our souls components to accomplish the work He designed for us.

As the Psalmist wrote:

We are fearfully and wonderfully made.

How incredible! God made us into some extremely complex dudes - so complex, the design demands fearful respect; so amazing to look upon, all heaven and creation watch in wonder as life brings us into animation.

To add to the complexity, God didn't make us robot-like, either. As part of the wonder that he created in us, in our souls, He created each of us individually with individual traits and personalities. We can really see the wonder as we examine the complexity of the three parts of our soul.

Just look at our -

Thinker : some of us are analytical and some creative and some everything in-between

Feelings: with these complex responses to stimuli, we may experience life to its fullest - from joy to sorrow, from passion to pain

Chooser: we were given a "free will" - the ability to make decisions to answer all life's questions, on our own, with or without any information ever given.... Whoa!?!

Let's talk - Choosing .... with our Chooser

It was actually in this grand design of our soul not the spirit, that Adam and Eve found themselves with the ability to choose. Just as we can. This chooser component sets us apart from all other members of God's breathing creations.

We can choose to believe or not to believe. We can choose between what would harm others or what would benefit us. We can choose to obey or to rebel. We can choose to laugh or to cry. We can choose to stay or to go. We can choose right things or wrong, wrong things.

We can also choose to accept and deal with the consequences of our decisions. Or, we can choose to run and hide if things don't turn out like we planned. God gave us even that measure of freedom in our will.

How much freedom of will did God give us?

We can even choose to love God or to not love God

And, when we really get down to it, the choice to love God or not is the real reason "free will" was given. God made us in His image in this way, too.

Just like us, God wants to be loved for His love that is given and for the lover He is - God does not want us to love Him because He forced, programmed, or manipulated us into loving him. God is love and wants to be loved.

Think about that....

So.... Let's start bringing this all home.

We have determined that we have three components to our soul. And, we have established that they are constantly at work seeking answers in order to make decisions.

And, here, as promised, is how it all works. At least, this is how most of us do it:

Our Feeler tells the thinker how it feels - the thinker then checks the feeling against life learned truths (however they were gained) and present "identity" then passes the information on to the chooser as personal truth - having what appears to be good information, the chooser may then decide what course of action needs to be to taken. This information is passed on to the body through the brain and action is taken.

Feeler>Thinker>Chooser...... Body Reacts

OR

Feeler goes into such red alarm over a situation that the thinker bypasses all relevant data contained in its memory banks other than survival mode, comfort mode, or gratification mode, clicks to automatic-pilot, and the chooser will default to engrained or instinctive reaction and the brain passes the information to the body which will typically respond. (more explantion next week, here)

still: Feeler>Thinker>Chooser .... Body Reacts

You see, in love and for protection, God made us, made our soul, extremely adaptable. I truly believe, because He knew that we would choose wrongly, often, and He loved us so much, He wanted us to survive day-to-day, and not to die physically because we made a few bad decisions (you know - sometimes really bad decisions).

What? Even if we chose wrongly and hurt ourselves ... or, worse, hurt others? Shouldn't He just take over and make us do it right? Wouldn't a good God do this?

God made our soul adaptable with abilities that it should never have had to use on its on. Why? It makes no sense. I agree. It makes no sense except for one thing. Love.

God made our soul adaptable to this world so we may survive until He could "draw us to himself". Until we would choose to be saved (sounds like a "church-word" but I really mean it literally - we (you and I individually) need to be saved from this lonely deserted island we call "myself")

Now, this next thing is really big. This is going to blow your mind!

Want to know why we stay so mixed up and make such bad decisions?

Watch this....

This is how we have been taught and "life-learned" into how to "create" the information we use to make decisions:

• If we feel it>we act on it>we'll then believe it>it becomes our truth (ultimately our Identity)

This is bigger.....

This is how God intended for us to make decisions:

• We are given His Truth>we act on it>we then believe it 'cause it works>Real Truth changes the way we feel

In this world's present scenario, full of darkness and sin, if we don't have Christ, we only have the soul and body (body, flesh, and members) working together to sustain us. That is not what God intended. God did not intend for us to be held hostage to truth created by our feelings.

This is what God intended......

God intended for all three parts of us to be working together.

This is how the scripture from the Bible tells decision making should work, can work, if we are "in Christ" (see above scripture on the Spirit and Truth):

God's Spirit speaks Truth to our spirit -which communicates it to our soul -

our chooser receives God's will and perfect Truth and "renews" any of our thinkers wrong thinking. -

the "Renewed" Truth coming from our thinker changes our feeler's reactions ....

the brain (processor) passes this information to the Body which reacts correctly based on the Truth.....

God's Spirit..Truth....our spirit..Truth....>soul (renewed)> body = Truth revealed in actions

See, our soul was made to work with our spirit. But, daily, if the spirit of a man is dead in his life, or an alive spirit Christian is still making decisions without being in communion with God's Spirit - bad or uninformed decisions are most often made. Why? We only have our emotions, education, and our life-based truths to go on.

But, "in Christ", God's Spirit will reveal wisdom and mysteries that we do not have, information, and timeless Truth from the ages that overcomes and "renews" temporary truth from the world.

In Christ, by utilizing our newly created spirit in communion with God's Spirit, our self-created identity will begin to be replaced with our "identity in Christ".

Lets take a stab at this again from another angle.

If most of our decisions are made in the soul, based on emotions, then we are in definite trouble.

Remember, remember - Think about all of the times this has happened to you:

Your emotions lied to you. When you most needed it you couldn't see Truth......

How did we get into this "fix". I mean if our soul is so adaptible why can't it just fix itself? Well, it tries to fix itself.

See, our soul knows that something is missing. And it still searches for truth. St. Augustine said that we all have a "Christ shaped void in our lives". From our studies, we now know this hole comes from not being "whole". This hole comes from a dead spirit - a dead life without Christ..

So what does the soul do to compensate for this hole in our lives? How does it adapt to its need for communion with God? It searches....

• finding "comfort" elsewhere (drugs, alcohol, sex, etc...)
• finding "truth" elsewhere (opinions, life experiences, acceptance, rejections)
• finding "love" elsewhere (sex, lust that looks like love, conditional love)

Our soul will create for us an identity that came not from the Spirit but from - elsewhere. And it collects it as information to be used later to answer questions, to help make choices, to give us some sense of identity since we have no clue who we really are.

And what does the soul do with all of this information? Where is it collected?

Our soul stores up all of its truth....where? Elsewhere - in our FLESH........

You may not realize it, but now we are getting somewhere.

As part of the brain, we store up - actually in its circuitry - all of "our truth" and all of our "own identity".

And, that is where we will go next week. Next week we will visit the place where we've stored our life's truth, our auto-pilot, (or, better stated) we will visit the place that contains all of our individual engrained patterns of behavior.

Next time, you and I will study together one of the most frequently used and most intriguing parts of the body - our FLESH.

Until then .....

I know this has been a ton of information. And it may take you a week to begin to process it. But God can and will translate this back to you quickly if you are His in Christ.

Pray this prayer as I pray if for myself, won't you?

Dear Father,

Help me to begin to understand how I was made, how I have used what I was left with, and how you have made me new to prepare me for the life you have planned next.

Reveal to me in my spirit by your Spirit, what I need to know to trust you further.

Amen!

I love you and can't wait to talk again.....

~Doug out ......

I am TRIUNE.....

Three parts of me?

Last Thursday, I promised that I would begin to share with you this week in regards to the tri-une or three parts of man..... If you've not read that post you may be saying .. Three parts of man? That's right. I said the three parts of man.

Its not that difficult to get, really. As a matter of fact, understanding how God made us makes incredible sense as you begin to study and understand it. The real cool thing is this. As you begin to really grab hold of this stuff, and study it deeper, you begin to see some clues into why and how you and others act and why you feel like you do! It has been incredible learning about "me". I can't tell you the difference it has made in me spiritually, emotionally, mentally, and physically.....

Well actually I can tell you the difference it has made, but just not this week.... LOL.... It will make much more sense later.

So, without any further adieu, lets get crackin'!


(If I may indulge to divulge --- A little review from last week)

God is made up of three parts:

God made man in His own image. Actually what was said in Genesis is, 'in our image'. (We will talk more about the triune oneness of God a little further down the line but you can check out the last week's info for more details)

And this is how man then appeared "triune"- just as God is "triune":

Man was formed with three distinct parts: spirit, soul, and flesh (in general - body).

Today we are going to look at each of these three parts in detail. We are going to discuss the function of each. Next week we will see how they interact together. And, maybe next week we will also be able to discuss how the functioning or non-functioning of each part impacts us on a daily basis.

Ready to learn more. Ready to go further in your quest for 'What God has next'?

Here we go........

First: the spirit (pneuma)

Second: the soul (psuchē)

Third: the flesh (sarx) - or body (soma)

It is interesting to note that many people think saying "my spirit" or "my soul" are interchangable terms for each other. As you can see above, the actual words used in the Bible to describe these parts of man are different. The word from the original language, Greek, that was used to describe the spirit is pneuma (pronounced: new-ma). That is a cool word. And the word from Greek that we translate as soul is another cool word - psuchē (pronoumced: psoo-khay')


Why are these words so cool? Well, not only are they fun to say, but we say words all the time in our language that come from these.... Like pneumatic drill, or pneumonia, psychology, or psychotic.

What does pneumatic drill and pneumonia have in common ... air or breath

What does psychology and psychotic have to do with each other .... mind or thoughts or feelings

See. Two totally different things; spirit and soul.... Of course we could see that plainly if we looked at this from the Bible:

'Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.' (taken from the first letter from Paul to the Thessalonians)

See these are three different terms and spirit and soul are listed seperately.

Why is this so important to note? Why do I seem to belabor this point before I actually discuss these two parts? You'll see.....

The spirit of a man is an incredibly special place. In this place, a man can know, really know who he is. In this place, a man can be inspired, really inspired. In this place wisdom from beyond man's own understanding or education can be revealed. In this wonderful place, God can meet us and show us and tell us the mysteries of ourselves, and others, and Him. He'll show us mysteries that keep other men baffled and helpless; mysteries that have baffled men all through the ages as they continue trying to discover their world on their own.

In this place, in his spirit, a man can really begin to discover who he is. In this place God can begin to show a man who He really is. Oh, WOW!

I'm getting ready to lay something powerful before you. It is a lot of Bible (about 4 paragraphs). But don't shut down or you are really gonna miss something.


Check this out.... (Paul of Tarsus is the guy speaking)



And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him"—

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. "For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
(taken from the second part of the first letter written by Paul of Tarsus, to the people of the first church at Corinth)

I wanted to show you all of this for a reason. I mean, I could have cut out the "good" parts and pasted them here, but I really needed us to have a sense of the complete thing Paul was communicating to these guys.

You see Paul was, before he became a believer, one of the most educated men of his time. He was either a lawyer or perhaps even a judge because he was a part of the highest court in the land - the Sanhedrin.


Paul knew pretty much all there was to know in his profession. He also was a foremost "expert" on God. He would have been a great talking-head on CNN or Fox News. But Paul, like me, like you if you have received Christ, realized that all his wisdom and education was nothing compared to God's. And God is relaying to us here a very strong and very crucial piece of information that many of us have never really received. God is showing us here that we were missing "it" before we were in Christ, and how we can now "get-it" if we are in Christ.

"Get" what ......?

Everything! I don't mean have all knowledge or education, but I mean, have the opportunity for God to show us not only all the why's of our life but also the how's of our life. And also have the opportunity to prepare us for the when's of our life.

Wake up, Dadgummit! That is why most of us are so unsatisified. We either don't know what we have available to us in Christ or we have never received Him so we could know!...... Whew! Ok.... OK!

Plainly stated:

it is in the spirit of a man where a man finally KNOWS his thoughts and plans.... It is in the spirit of a man where God by His Spirit part reveals His greater thoughts and plans to that man.

• The word is pneuma.
• The definition is breath.
• Without breath there is no life.
• Without a spirit, a man is, for all practical purposes, dead to God.
  
  Is this a problem? Watch this:
  
  
  This is God speaking to Adam after Adam has disobeyed him and eaten of the tree of good an evil....
  
  
  
  By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread,till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.
  
  
  Try to get a picture of this in your mind.... Now I am not talking a picture of a mean vengeful person as your picture of God.... I am talking about a loving God that had poured all of his love out upon a man, a disappointed God, a God, though, that had set consequences for disobedience and had to carry these consequences out...... See the picture.... Read the above again then come back to here......

God is telling Adam that he is cursed, the earth is cursed, and that unlike how His plan for man was to be, Adam was going to die. And with Adam's death, the spirit of each man born after him was dead, dormant, lifeless.

And man was left to fend alone, without God, without that incredible place where communion was had. Man was left shattered, broken, each only 2/3 whole.

A Dead spirit, empty soul, and dying flesh

So, every man and woman born after that time has walked around with a dead spirit. Walked around with only two parts of a whole trying to figure out the "hole" that was left.

How could we function?

Part two - Our soul:

Our soul is also a pretty neat place. As a matter of fact, our soul is where the majority, the largest majority of us spend 98-99% of our day.


Remember a few minutes ago I was talking about the word soul and I said that it comes from the Greek word - psuchē --

Each person's soul is made up of three sub-components - our intellect, our emotions, and our will.

One of my favorite teachers, Bill Gilham, describes it in a way that I can better grasp in applying this practically to my life. Bill instead of calling these "pieces of our soul", our intellect (mind), will, and emotions says instead, "your thinker, your feeler, and your chooser." Pretty descriptive way to look at it, huh?

So here are the details I promised .....

And so with our intellect (mind) or thinker, we get:

• deductive reasoning
• data collection
• receiveing of formal and informal learning and education
• processing of formal and informal learning and education
• survival instincts

with our emotions or feeler, we get:

• negative emotions - anger, fear, dread, depression, etc...
• positive emotions - happiness, excitement, passion, courage, etc...
• instinctive emotions - caution, intuitiveness, etc...
• response to physical senses- hunger, pain, amusement, etc...

with our will or chooser, we get:

• planned courses of action
• instinctive responses based on external stimuli
• "knee-jerk" reactions

Now, all of these three sub-components are somewhat dependant upon each other.

But look:

For every choice we make, we are always presented first with some type of information from either the thinker or the feeler or both.

Now, depending on the person and their back-ground, or the situation, one or the other of these two sub-components (thinker or feeler) will be the dominant component in providing the information that the chooser will most likely respond to.

In the course of most human relations, the feeler (or our feelings) screams the loudest, is the most listened to, and most unreliable component in supplying the information that the chooser must have in order to make the best decision. But, thats the punch-line for next time..... (teaser)

Can you begin to see how a person who has not received Christ (see graphic above again), or one who isn't aware of the power of the Spirit received in Christ, could find their soul to be most inefficient in problem solving. Not yet? You'll get it.


**As a lead in for next week, think about this. We were never intended to use the soul, an inferior sub-system, as the main component by which we make life's decisions.**


So, that leaves us to look briefly at the final component of man - our Flesh (or Body):


The body consists of all physical matter that is seen either inside or outside of our physical self.

The body supplies the frame-work and earthly life-support needed to carry our soul and spirit around. The body also has a processor on which our soul is dependant to be an information and systems "hardware" platform. This hunk of meat is commonly called the brain. The brain, however wonderful and complex an organ it may be, is not the mind, nor is it a component of the soul. The brain is simply one of the pieces or members (organs, limbs, etc...) of a man's body.


The brain, unlike the spirit and soul, can not have eternal life. But, it is an incredible organ within our body and upon it, and within its circuitry, resides a part of us that is most intriguing, and most dreadful at the same time; flesh.


The word body and the word flesh are two distinctive words in the Bible. As well as is the word member. Member being a word that points to "parts" of the body. Body is actually the Greek word sōma, flesh is the Greek word sarx, and members is the Greek word melos.


sōma: is defined as the whole body


sarx: is defined as the nature or, better, engrained patterns of behavior


melos: is defined as seperate organs, limbs, or maybe the skeletal system within the body

So thats the details of our God made construction - spirit, soul, and body.

And, I can't wait until next time. Next week we will talk more about how each of these pieces all work seperately. As well..... we'll begin to talk about how they interact together (big big info).


May God Bless you and keep you until then.

My prayer is that God has begun to give you some real desire to learn more about Him, how He wants to show you more of you, so you can know so much more of Him!


I love you!


~Doug out....

I used to be able to get a "do-over"....

Man, I sure would like to be able to have a "do-over"!

Wouldn't it be great to be able to wake up one day and start all over? I mean, what if I could right all the wrongs in my life, have a "redo" on all of the stuff that I screwed up so badly. Or what about the things I just could have been better at. How different would things be if I could redo them now? How about you? How would you like to do this - have a life "do-over"?


Well, God is all powerful, and I would imagine if He wanted us to have that ability, he could make it available. But, God actually chose a much better plan. God developed a plan which can allow you and I to be able to learn from our experiences, and still have a "do-over" of sorts (well kinda like that but really a "re-start" more than a "do-over").


Its a pretty cool plan. I'd love to share it with you. I've actually got some pictures and charts and stuff. Would you like to see it?


I'm going to need your help though. I mean, if this is your "do-over" you've got to be involved, right? Great!


Ready? I want you to think way back. Think back to your earliest child-hood memory. Well, however wonderful or unpleasant that may have been, it was not far back enough. Actually we are going to have to go way back.... back further than you or I or anyone you know can remember. We are going to have to reach back to the beginning. We're going to reach back to the beginning.... not quite the beginning of time. We are going to go back and look at the beginning of man.


So, here's the deal. If you are a Christian this will make some sense pretty quickly. If you are not you may be tempted to shut down, close-out, or click the back-button....but hang-out just a few more minutes. I think you may see something of value here that could still intrigue you, too. Ok? Cool, cause this is really fun.


So, as the Bible, states, on the sixth day God created man. This is how it says it:

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."


And it pretty much nails it. Do you see it? Well, ok, do you at least see the dominion part. Do we or do we not, as humans, have pretty much complete control over every resource here on earth? Well, that my friends is truth. And thats what we really need more doses of, each one of us and...... (Started to go somewhere else. Sorry!)

So, how about the other part? How about the part where it says he created man 'in our image'.

Two pretty intriguing things here, huh? The crazy thing is that it says God, being one entity, said we shall create man in our image. Man math, in English, tells me God=one. Man math, in English, tells me our > one.

Looks like a rabbit trail for me, huh.... Thought we were going to talk about a kinda like-a "do-over"? Its cool, though. I'm getting there.

What I want to talk about has been a question for many believer's and a detour sign for many who are seeking God or who don't know him..... I want to now show you a picture (I promised), exhibit one, if I may, in God getting you ready for what's next.

This is what God was talking about. He said in our image. All the way through the Bible we see references to multiple parts of God. God is one entity, made up of three parts.

Check it out: Father, Son (Jesus), and Holy Spirit.

Some places you will see this called 'the Trinity'. That word is not found it the Bible. But it does a pretty good job of describing God... Probably a better description of God is Tri-Unity, though.


God is one entity, made up of three parts that are in unity. Said again, God is triune.

And that is how you get a "do-over", right? Somewhat. We're getting closer, anyway.

Remember God said 'Let us make him in our image.' Now thats a good one! I have heard so many times, "If God looks like, acts like, is like most men I know I don't want to have anything to do with Him!" Hallelujah! (this means I agree). But, see, that is not what happened at all.

If I look in the mirror, do I see an exact replica of me? Will it talk like me, will it think like me, will it be like me. Well, as long as I animate it yes. It will appear to do so. But If I took a picture of me and left it with you, would it talk like me, think like me, act like me. Of course not. That's silly, isn't it. Why? Because it is simply an image.

God did the same thing when he made man. He made an image. He made us a triune creature just like him.

Check out this, Exhibit two:

Man is made up of three distinct parts. We have a spirit, a soul, and our flesh (body in the natural sense). Just like God, but simply an image of God.

Next week I will break down each of these parts so that we may study the function of each.

But for now.... the "do-over"!

And man, Adam, used each part of himself, as he was created.

• With his spirit he communicated with God
  


• With his soul he thought about what God was teaching him, he felt the emotions of his life and of his love for God and for Eve, and he chose the things to do, the ways to lead, and the ways to follow.
  


• With his flesh he learned reflexes, carried out developed instincts, survived the elements, and carried the life God gave him all around creation.
  

Adam had it made. But, just like us, no matter how made we have it, we desire some companionship. So God made for Adam, Eve. This is what the Bible says about that.

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him."

And as we already talked about, Adam loved Eve and they made a life together. Eve, just like Adam was made in God's image. Eve as well was made into a triune being. And she was able to talk with God through the spirit, think, feel, and choose with her soul, and act on these things with her flesh.


***When I read more about where these two lived and how they lived with God, the more I would like to have my "do-over" right there***


Anyway, so Adam and Eve lived their lives before God, literally naked and unashamed.... Everything was exposed, inside and out: no hang-ups, no depression, no disappointments.

There was peace and there was joy. And there was no need for hope..... Wow!

But, God gave them a soul and the ability to choose. And, one day Eve chose to do the one thing God had told Adam to never do. What happened? Adam stood right there and let her. Then He did it himself, as well.

Whoa! Now that sounds like my life! Wonder why?

God could not abide this sin. So. God took away this life, and took away the lives of all of their offspring as well.


Adam and Eve were meant to live for an eternity, but when they chose to be separated from God, one of their three parts began to die. This part, was the most precious part - the place where God communicated to them, their spirit. Their spirit became dormant, dead. As well, the soul, was left on its own. It was not intended to be making decisions without hearing God's will through the spirit. The result.... sin became active. That is, those things that were out of God's will became the norm because the part of man that could continually speak and hear from God was dead.

And this is what man has looked like without God since that day. Exhibit three:

Dead spirit, empty soul, and dying flesh.

But God had a greater plan than this. And, He sent himself, the Son part, to live here, to show us Himself, and then to sacrifice himself for us that we may live - that we may have life.

The Son said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. None can come to the Father but through me."

The Son said, "I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly"

The Son said, " If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you."

And that is what happened. The Son part of God, took all of our stuff (its called in general, sin) that we continually do that is out of God's will i.e. - lie, cheat, steal, murder, envy, brag, sex outside of marriage, etc.... God took all of these things that create death, steal hope, steal love, bring depression, whatever, and said, "I love my created people so much that if they will believe on my Son, that he died their death for them, pouring out His blood - His life for them. If they will believe in Him I will give them a re-start.... A new beginning. I will give them life"

There it is. History tells us that Jesus was crucified before men and died. History also tells us, with over 500 witnesses to attest to it, that three days later He came back to life.

Get this.

• He died to take on our death.... our forever death. The death our spirit was already in.


• He rose out of the tomb, completely alive three days later, to give us forever life.

So, here it is: the look, the reality, the product of how I look.

Its: how you look if you believe on the Son - how you can look if you will receive him.

I give you exhibit three:

When you believe in Christ everything changes. A supernatural event happens, even if you do not feel it.

Check these statements out from the Bible... and then I'll wrap this up.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (from 2 Corinthians)


You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. (from Romans)

Remember what the Son (Jesus) said the Father is going to do? He is going to send a Helper, the Spirit of truth....

That is where the "do-over" the "re-start" happens.

When you believe in the Son - that simple - believe in Him.... Then, God the Father part, sends God the Holy Spirit part, to make alive your dead spirit. BAM! Right then! Your soul is then filled with the awareness and presence of God. And, your flesh, even still dying, is under new management...

You are now a new creation. You are brand-new. You can be as Adam and Eve were designed. It can be for you now, as it was for them then:

• with your spirit you can now communicate with God, walk and talk with Him daily


• with your soul you can think about and learn from what God is teaching you , feel the emotions of your life but still be lead instead by God through his love for you, and you can chose well the things to do, the ways to love, and how to lead and to follow


• with your flesh, even though it is still dying, you can relearn the right reflexes, instincts, and carry this brand-new life all around God's creation.
  

And really, now you can wake up.... Brand new, each day a complete re-start.... Just as God intended it.

As a Christian this may not be news to you. But for most Christians it gives them a perspective on what they truly have in Christ. Not some religion. Not some man-made tradition. But, new, brand new life.

If this is all new to you, but you would like to have all God intended for you..... If you need hope... If you have no idea where you are going or what is next.... God wants to put the foundation in and around you to get you there.... That foundation is Him and it comes through the Son.

Below is a prayer that can be prayed by you to help get you there:

Jesus, I'm sorry for the ways I have lived without you. Please forgive me. I believe you are the Son of God who came to this earth to save me from a life that I have lived apart from You. Please save me from this "sinner" identity and give me a new identity that is holy, acceptable, and (as unbelievable as it may seem) in your likeness. I believe that I am now in You, and You are now in me. Change me from the inside out. I mean this. Though I will surely fail at some point, I believe that You will never fail in me. Thank you. Amen.

Time and again God has changed lives and He has just changed yours. If you didn't feel it or see fireworks or hear heavenly choirs like in the movies... remember God doesn't work like we do. But nothing any more real has ever happened than what was just described. You are new, saved. Your "re-start" has begun!

I'll talk next week about this "re-start" and how God designed us to be new in our spirit, soul, and body.

I love you!

Doug out....