Beats From Your Pastor’s Heart
Romans 8:13, “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.”
I have no existence apart from Christ.
I am in Him.
I am in the beloved One.
I do not have a history outside of Him.
I dare not consider myself outside of Him, not even a millimeter outside.
Everything that is true of Him is true of me.
Hallelujah!
I relate to myself in the realm of the Spirit of Christ.
I can now by that Spirit put to death the deeds, or practices, of the body.
I am no longer left to myself to handle those practices.
If however we do not remain in our union with Christ (Rom. 8:9-11), and we instead indulge in the practices and conversation of the flesh, eventually not only will we be relating to ourselves from our flesh, but we will also be relating to others in the same way.
In other words, when we do not exercise ourselves to remain in the realm of the Spirit, we are left to the realm of the flesh and the self.
In this realm there is no capacity to receive ourselves or one another.
But through many failures in the realm of the flesh, we learn to quickly get to the Spirit.
We learn to quickly get through all the mire of thoughts and feelings.
We go directly to our spirit-union with Christ.
We do not solve problems.
We are not concerned about answers.
We do not stay on that level.
We go directly to Jesus.
Satan wants to have long, drawn-out conversations.
He likes to talk things out, to reach a compromise–whatever allows him room to live in us, nullifying the cross.
That is his realm.
But God’s realm is the realm of the Spirit where the cross is.
You always know when you are in the reality of the cross, because the cross is always quick.
It works fast.
If what you are doing is prolonged, if you yourself are trying to live a crucified life, it is probably not the cross.
The cross is in the Spirit, and when you touch the Spirit, there is a quick cutting off of the flesh.
It just happens.
A quick circumcision of the flesh takes place.
When we identify with Christ’s death in the Spirit, we will live.
Until Tomorrow
With A Shepherd’s Love,
Pastor Jackson
Wednesday’s Prayer Requests
Linda Alexander
June Cronan
Jillian Gray
Ethel Proudfit – Hospice
Amy Garner’s Mom & Dad
Ashton Bateman
Brandon’s Dad
Charlene Palmer
Dan Haines
Darlene Thaxton
David Harrison
Denise Hulsey – Jordan’s G’mother
Dr. Don Davis
Easton Fielder
Erik Magusson
Freddie May’s Mom
George & Linda Alexander
James Burnette
Jim Mabe
June Cronan’s Sister
John Austin
John McClain
Lillanna Magnusson’s Mom
Linda Hodges’ Sister
Michael Stanley
Mike Ferus
Ricky Gipson – Ashley’s Brother
Rose Fuller
Sandra Graham
Scott Nix
Terrell Loyd
Tom Witcher
James Garner’s Friend
Kim McClain’s Mother
Lonzo Christin
Ashely Burn’s Sisters
Coly/Connor – Allison’s G’sons
Larry Barker
Linda Breedlove’s Sister – Sarah
Mary Sims
Marynell Ford
Pastor & Mrs. Driskell
Ricky Stubbs
Roseleigh Osborn
Scott Lanier
Sheila Simmon’s Cousin