What if You’re Not Who You Think You Are?
Ever wonder why the western church lacks such power and presence? Ever wonder why your life seems to be missing something that would take you over the top in your spiritual growth? Do you want to be more like Jesus?
This word is to those who consider themselves disciples of Jesus Christ. This word is to those who have experienced supernatural regeneration and are “born-from-above.” This word is for those in that group who want to go deeper into the mysteries of Christ.
This word is for those who do not think that they already know all there is to know about being a child of the King. This word is for those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good and want to know Him better. You’re disatisfied with the status quo. Tired of fighting the church wars. Underwhelmed by the crowds of professing believers who are more about appearances, perfomance-based-easy-believism, and simple platitudes. You are more interested in relationship than a pursuit of knowledge for knowledge-sake. You beleive the Scripture that says knowledge “puffs up” but that love “builds up.” So you want to know the deep love of Chirst and of the Father.
What if you’re not who you think you are?
What if you’re who God thinks you are? What if you’re not merely a servant of God, or a disciple, or even a friend of God. What if you’re who the Father says you are . . . a “son”?
I believe that He has illumined His intent for the church at this season of our journey? I believe that our understanding of who God says we are is an essential prerequisite to the Second Reformation–God’s recapturing of Family, of relationship in His image.
What difference would it make to KNOW that you are loved deeply and have an identity that you may have heard of, but not yet discovered in experience? What if entering into who God says you are were to transform not only your thinking but your everyday decisions and activities? What if the truth about you placed you squarely in the family that God is Father of?
I believe that the Father wants us to know this important truth:
“All who are led by the Spirit are the ‘sons of God.” (Romans 8.14)
Are you born-from-above? Then you have “the right to become [one of the] ‘sons of God.’ (John 1.12)
Are you “led by the Spirit”? The you are one of the “sons of God.” When’s the last time you heard a message on “sonship”? And if you did hear one (and I’d stand amazed, because in 35 years as a Christian, I’ve never heard ONE) did you understand how important it is to God that you understand that identity? Why did He make sure that Scripture preserved and outlined our sonship?
This is an important word for the church today. Sonship is the key to you living into the fullness of what Jesus did in His Atonement. His sacrifice accomplished more than simply forgiving your sins so that you could fly off to heaven [which is an unbiblical image anyhow].
Your identity as one of the ‘sons of God’ is the word for His Family today.
We’re the ‘sons of God’ . . . So What?: Believe God About Who He Says You Really Are!
My book explains from the Word of God why the biblical doctrine of sonship is so important to God the Father, and thus needs to be important to me and you. Perhaps understanding sonship is the next step in your walk with Christ and your fellowship with the Father. I wrote this book to help those who have responsibility in spiritual formation or who are mentors. I also wrote it for anyone who is willing to go deeper. WSOGSW is not an easy read. You may find that you read some and then put it aside for awhile because you have to ponder or dig into the Word. But you receive what you’re willing to give. If you study and meditate upon these truths, you will be amazed at the result.
What others are saying:
“Believe Who You Are, Do What You Must,” @ Lay It Down | Carl Simmons
Five-star Amazon Reviews by church leaders
QUESTION: How do you view yourself in light of the fact that God has made you a “son.” (yes, ladies too).
©2012, David C Alves
Related articles
- Adopted into God’s Family (joequatronejr.wordpress.com)
- Government of God is familial – discuss? (face2facegduffty.wordpress.com)
- Like Father Like Son (dpeacemakers.wordpress.com)
- Does Church Matter? (askfathereric.com)
Becoming Better Than You Were
Have you ever had a really bad week and reacted in ways that discouraged you? You thought that you had dealt with that anger. You thought that you were reacting more like Jesus, and all of a sudden . . . someone set you off and the “old you” was still there.
Well, I had a day like that last week. Those little annoyances get under the skin and I find myself reacting in anger or defensive tones with people. As I’ve grown in the Lord, it happens less and less, but it still happens. Then our Enemy starts in, “You think you’re such a good Christian. Well, you’re no different than you’ve ever been.”
We ask, “Lord . . . how long till I change and get the victory?”
Those are discouraging times for us.
But Phil. 1:6 says “ . . . he who began a good work in you, will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”
In another place, Scripture says that we are being transformed “from glory to glory DAILY.” The Lord reminds me that He is not finished with me yet. I am growing. I have changed. And so have you.
As we take off the old self and put on the new, Jesus will manifest Himself in the new self that He has placed in us. Paul said, I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless, I live, yet not I. But Christ lives in me.
Jesus is in the transformation business and you and I are His favorite subjects. He will complete what He has started. And sooner than you think, you (and I) will come forth as gold.
Father, will you please keep us focused on Jesus. Keep us anchored in your character and living out of the new self, created to be like you in true righteousness and holiness. Thank you Father.
©2012, David C Alves
First Manuscript: Reflecting
Revisited this journal entry from my Writing Journals. It kind of captures that mix of anticipation with the anxiety of submitting the manuscript to editors. The process was not as severe as I had imagined. But it was long.
3/2/2009
I just uploaded my manuscript to iUniverse. It was a strange thing. I blogged the experience on my Windows live space. Below are those thoughts and reflections:
FINALLY!! Manuscript away!
It was a weird feeling . . . uploading the work of seven years (conception) and three years (writing). I thought it was ridiculous when a writer would say that sending out his/her manuscript was like sending his/her child out into the world alone. I felt two things. First, a feeling that someone else is going to invade the work. Second, that I have little control over it. For some reason submitting this book manuscript is far different from submitting the articles I’ve written. I had no problem getting those off to my editors. No residual feelings. No afterthoughts. Done. Gone. And whatever happened, happened. But the book is far different. I think about it more. What’s to become of it? Will it communicate what’s in my heart to communicate? Will the editors understand it? Do they care to? Or is it just editing for them?
For a moment, while I watched the bright green progress-bar inching to the right as the manuscript uploaded to the publisher’s site, I felt this “no turning back now” feeling. Very strange. Love to know the psychology behind it. I was almost in disbelief. “It’s really happening. For better or worse, you’re a book author now. This will be a new experience.” I prayed that the book will bless its readers. I prayed that those who read We’re the ‘sons of God’ . . . So What? [WsoGSW]will have an encounter with the Living God while they read. And the result will be a new level in their spiritual growth and walk with God.
Now, I find the waiting more difficult than the finalizing of the manuscript.
I’m supposed to have an editorial evaluation back in two weeks from the day of submission. So . . . I’ll move on. Today I’m going to work on my first novel. I’ve been living with the characters and plot for a couple of years. I have a start that Marcy feels is “Great!” So . . . it’s just a matter of, can I live with the work for another year? AND . . . finalize edits, cover work, and galleys of WSGSW? We’ll see. It’s an adventure. And I’m content to be on it. In any case, I’ll leave this to the Lord and move on.
TODAY: The book, We’re the “sons of God” . . . So What?: Believe God About Who You Really Are is available at BarnesandNoble.com or Amazon.com. Scroll down the right side-navigation bar or go to the top menu to “Find My Books.”
I look back on that experience and am so grateful to have had it. It’s a wonderful thing to know that a word the Lord has given you is now in print and can be shared with the intended readers. And especially that the message will transform the lives of those who read it. They will have an encounter with the living God and see their true worth in His sight.
QUESTION: Do YOU recall what it was like to submit your first manuscript?
Shifting Gears
I’m shifting gears. I just returned from a week at the Carmelite Monastery in our city. I spent the week there responding to an invitation to solitude, silence, and prayer. That invitation came by way of a deep inner desire to be alone with God and a divine discontent in my soul that had been growing more intense over the previous several weeks. I was actually thinking about discontinuing my blog and getting off the internet altogether. But I’ve changed my mind. I simply need to shift gears.
As I gave myself to quiet and prayer, reflecting on the goodness and love of God, something happened. I want to write about what happened. What my Father showed me. Things he has been, and is, doing to reveal his love.
We get enough bad news. We hear too much cynicism and skepticism. So I’m making a schism with “cisms.” He’s drawing me to deeper wells. I want to write about the love that surpasses knowledge. I want to write about the journey our hearts are called to embark on. I want to write from the heart about how to go farther up and deeper in . . . to the immeasurable love of God.
I’m hoping that I won’t lose those of you who are here because of my perspective on Islam and things I’ve written in the past. Hopefully, you will find something else here for your enrichment. Something for your soul. Something that calls to the deep places of your heart. In any case, I’m not sure yet exactly how we’ll arrive, but I invite you to hang in here, as we continue on a wonderful Adventure with our Father. Because, I do know the ultimate destination.
If it’s true that “knowledge puffs up, but love builds up,” then I’m inviting a handful of readers to stick with me and see what God will be pleased to do as we dialog together about the journey we’re on.
I’m not a great writer. Nor is my content going to be the buzz online. But I do have a deep abiding relationship with Abba. And my wife and daughter tell me that I’ve shown the heart of God for them. So why not share with you some of what I’m experiencing as I plumb that deep love of God. That love that is greater than any ocean. That love that has as its goal your heart too.
Thanks for being here. Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll stay for a while longer to see if there’s anything here that your soul will be able to feed on. Perhaps we’ll mutually encourage one another’s faith.
I’m still going to try to post 2-3 times a week.
If you have a Kindle, you can subscribe to my blog for .99 a month (help keep me in gasoline) or just subscribe, by signing-up at the top right for email notices when a new post comes out.
I hope you’ll take the time to comment on this and future posts. I’ll always moderate to ensure that comments are edifying. Let’s start a discussion that can enrich us all.
Blessings,
Loving Deeply From the Heart
Are you in God’s school of love? Perhaps you’ve experienced something similar to what follows in this video account of what happened to me on the way to a meeting. Though it’s an older video, I believe the story of what happened was a divine insight. It has blessed others when I’ve shared it. So I’ve included it here for my readers/viewers.
QUESTION: How is God teaching you to love deeply from the heart?
Related articles
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Waiting for Hurricane Irene « Marcy’s Walk
Waiting for Hurricane Irene « Marcy’s Walk.
I recommend this post by my wife. I love her stuff.
Enjoy and Grow strong.
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- What I learned from Irene (karenclassic.wordpress.com)
Humbled to be a ‘son of God’
When I think of all that the Father has taught me about sonship–both while I wrote my book and in recent days as I wrote my previous post–I’m so grateful and humbled. What a privilege to see the remarkable implications of what Christ opened up for human beings. Unbelievable that we are the many brothers of whom Christ is the firstfruit. He is the pattern of the new humanity, which can only enter sonship through the cross and blood of Christ.
I’m convinced that even believers who love the Lord and would otherwise be devoted to Him and making these truths known are so distracted that they don’t enter into these marvelous promises. Promises that allow us to share the divine nature with Father and Jesus, by means of the Holy Spirit.
“His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.” (2 Peter 1:3–4, ESV)
Look at the AMAZING richness the Holy Spirit is revealing through Peter. We have “all things” that pertain to this life we’ve been called to–and god-like-ness. How?
Through “the knowledge of Him who called us TO HIS OWN GLORY and EXCELLENCE (we’re to look like Him). Through understanding this, we enter into it more fully. Do you understand it? When the Lord helps a person to progress from saved sinner (which we all were/are) to friend (I no longer call you servants . . . ) to SONS, we become “partakers of the divine nature.” What a MIRACLE! We partake by believing the promises:
he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature
When once we realize the scope of what we’ve been invited into, how can we any longer chase the things of this world?
I’m through with lesser things.
Of course, this won’t win you lots of friends. Even other believers will think you have departed from their idea of Evangelical faith. When in reality, you are just now entering into the fullness of what God has made possible through Christ. After all, all this is by faith.
Faith is not of our own doing. It is a gift of God. That’s why I’m a humbled son. I could never have gotten myself to where I am today in my understanding and experience of sonship apart from the total love and grace of my Father. And by a willingness to be “led by the Spirit” because ALL who are led by the Spirit are the ‘sons of God.’ (Rom. 8.14)
My hope is that by sharing this, I may make someone jealous enough to hunger to seek after God with a whole heart. What he will lead you to is this great truth of sonship. After all, that’s why Christ died. And for those who have arrived at this understanding years before me, may the Lord confirm and strengthen you as you continue to help others to know their Father by your love and life. Our lives are now lived to secure God’s household and bring many sons to glory.
QUESTION: Where are you on the path to sonship?
©2011, David C Alves
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