I always say you don't have to keep doing what you're doing. If you want something different... do something different. But then I always put this little nugget on the end: Unless you're building something. Rome wasn't built in a day, right? You don't plant a seed and then immediately dig it up and get mad at it because it hasn't sprouted yet. You have to give it time to grow. 2 Peter 3:18 says it like this, "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen." We learn and grow. And in that way we never lose because we either win... or we learn. But it's important to understand where we start. And, quite honestly, we start at the end. We ARE complete in Him. We are already IN the Promised Land of rest because Jesus already finished the work over 2,000 years ago on the cross. He is our foundation. And according to 1 Corinthians 3:10-11, "According to the grace of God, which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereup. For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." Two keys here: 1. Jesus is the foundation. Period. He is the Rock that we stand on so that no matter what happens we will not be shaken. 2. You better take heed how you build on that foundation. And, listen, I'm not trying to scare you. I'm trying to encourage you. Trying, like the wise masterbuilder Paul, to help you. This is not (ever) a "do it or else" situation. This is (always) a more excellent way situation. Because if you want to build something that lasts you need to build on the right foundation, and you need to know what and how to build. (Spoiler alert: Jesus is the carpenter. It's not "you" building at all, but HIM building in, and through, and as you. But you can either let Him do what He wants to do or you can try to do it yourself. You can fight uphill. Or, as Logan says, you can go with the flow. How's that for mixing my metaphors?) Here's what I'm trying to say: Understanding that Jesus is our foundation is the first step. Now we can start to build. We can start to grow. But what does it MEAN that Jesus is our foundation? Does it mean we should shove Him down people's throats every chance we get? Nosir! That just makes people choke. Turns them off. Makes them head for the hills. What it means is, "That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God" (Ephesians 3:16-19). Get it? We're building the Kingdom of God (in a sense, although, again, it's already built. Maybe a better word is MANIFESTING the Kingdom of God). The Kingdom of love. And in order to build (or grow in) love you have to start with love. THAT'S our foundation. That's who Jesus is! God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in YOUR flesh. Love in YOUR body. So since love is the end, love also has to be the beginning. And it (He) also has to be everything in between! Alpha and Omega. Every breath we take and every move we make. From the inside (heart) to the outside (actions). Rooted and grounded in love.

If we're being honest, we all just want to be loved. But if we're being honest, we really don't think we deserve love. Especially in the church world where we still seem to refer to ourselves as "sinners saved by grace." Where we still can't get past (or OVER) this sin consciousness. We don't seem to understand Romans 5:8, "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." And this is the part that I've really never understood: If we're saved by grace then we AREN'T sinners anymore! "Whoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:9). So this idea that we're just lowly sinners but someday, maybe, if we try hard enough we'll be worthy of God's love is absolutely unbiblical. It's absolutely insane. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. That's what trying to follow the Law of Moses is: Insane. It can't get you where you want to go--especially when you realize and understand that you're already there. The thing about being open and honest is being open TO the honesty that is the Lord Jesus Christ. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). Jesus is the truth. The truth about the Father, and the truth about the Son. The truth about God (who is love) and the truth about you (His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased). Notice that He said no man comes to the FATHER but by Him. He wasn't speaking about "heaven and hell" as we traditionally understand it. He was speaking about relationship. He was speaking about the love that comes down unconditionally from Father to Son. And He was including us in that love. Including us in that relationship as we totally and completely identify ourselves with, and in, and as Him. When Jesus was lifted up from the earth He drew us into Himself. And He planted Himself in us. Then the corn of wheat died so that it could bring forth a great harvest. That's us. Him IN us. Us IN Him. Christ in you the hope of glory. You in Christ no longer a sinner, but a saint. Filled with the Holy Spirit--the love receptor, the Spirit of truth--so that we might know and believe the truth. The truth that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. The truth that Daddy loves you. Not because of what you do or don't do. But because of who HE is, and because of who YOU are. That's how we live openly and honestly. Not by believing the lie that the world screams at us at the top of it's lungs. You know the lie: You have to do in order to be. You have to perform in order to earn. Do good and you'll be rewarded. Do evil and you'll be punished. It's easy to hear and believe that lie because that lie makes perfect sense to the unregenerated, carnal mind. But there's a more excellent way. And His name is Jesus. His name is love. Unconditional love that fills you to overflowing and flows out of your innermost being to get on everybody else that you come into contact with. Not trying to get anything, but knowing that you have something and sharing what you've got. Being open to God's love and then loving others with that same love. We want to be loved. And believe it or not we ARE loved. Which means we HAVE love. Which means we CAN love. That's the truth. And that's how we live Jesus' abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life... by letting HIM live it in us, and through us, and as us!

I think the very worst part about being vulnerable is admitting that you want something--or, worse, need something. Because as soon as you want--or, worse, need--something from someone they have power over you. The power to give it, or to hold it back. And that's terrifying. Especially in the context of what we've been talking about; that basic human want (need!) to be loved. And I know that's why we do what we do. I'm absolutely convinced that people do what they do for one of two reasons. 1. They are trying to get love because they don't know and believe that they have it. 2. They are sharing the love that they have because they DO know and believe that they have it. And, friends, that's why it's so vitally important to be open and honest. Open to the ultimate truth of the universe. John 3:35, "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand." Knowing that love... knowing that WE are the Father's beloved Son in whom He is well pleased... that's what allows us to truly live. That's what allows us to love. We love, because He first loved us. It flows from the source. Into us. Filling us to overflowing so that it comes out of us naturally. It's more blessed to give than to receive, but you have to receive so that you have something to give. That's what it means to be open. Be open to love. Stop disqualifying yourself. Stop thinking you're not worthy of love. Love has nothing to do what actions. Unconditional love (by definition) has no conditions. It's not about what you do. It's about who you are. The Father loves the Son because He's the Father. And because the Son is HIS. It's that simple. And only by seeing ourselves IN the Son (as the Son) can we experience that kind of love. That kind of relationship. And once we get that part of it squared away, everything else is gravy. Once we know who we are--once we know and believe the truth--we can do things for the second reason. The reason of sharing, instead of trying to get, or earn. And that's what love IS. Love is never about getting. Because love IS giving. If you're trying to GET then you're not loving anybody. But if you're sharing what you've got, that means you know and believe that you've got something! So it's all about knowing and believing. Receiving and releasing. Faith, right? Faith works by love. And faith comes from hearing, which comes from the Word of God (which IS love). Walking by faith is walking in love. And you can't walk IN love unless you know that you ARE loved. That you are LOVE. The most holy thing anybody can ever do--in fact, the ONLY holy thing anybody can ever do--is loving others as Jesus loves them. That's the New Commandment. That's our purpose, our calling, and our EPIC (Eternal Purpose In Christ) Destiny. That's the only way to live, because that's what it MEANS to live. I guess my point is that all too often we close ourselves off. We try to protect ourselves because love can be scary. But perfect love casts out fear. Perfect love doesn't expect anything from anybody, because it already has everything it needs. The Father hath given all things into our hands. He did it all so we could get it all and now we have it all. Now we can love because we know we ARE loved!

From a natural point of view, I don't think there is anything scarier than loving someone. Putting yourself out there. Being vulnerable. Because from a natural point of view if you give something, and don't get something in return... you're left with nothing. But that's not really love at all. Not agape love. Not God love. Not true, perfect love. Because true love is never about getting. It is always about giving. Because love IS giving. When I say that I usually quote John 3:16, and I'm going to do it here again. "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Notice a few things: God SO loved the world. And His love was manifested in Him giving. Giving the thing that was most precious to Him. Just like we saw in the story of Abraham and Isaac. But in THAT story--in the type and shadow that was merely pointing to that which would come in it's fulness on the cross--God stopped Abraham's hand. And then He provided Himself as the offering. In the same way that God was in Christ on the cross, reconciling us back to Himself. Because we couldn't get there on our own. And it didn't seem like we particularly wanted to get there. We weren't running to God. We thought He was mad at us. We were afraid of Him. So in the midst of all that He did the only thing He could do--He loved the hell out of us. He showed us what love is by giving His Son to us. By giving HIMSELF to us. By loving us first. By taking that first step. Making that first move. By saying, "I love you. It's ok. You don't have to run anymore. You're safe. I love you." But even then it seems too good to be true. Because I think we're afraid to love a lot of the time... but I also think we're afraid to BE loved a lot of the time. Like, we don't trust it. We figure if someone is acting like they love us that's all it is: an act. Like they must have an ulterior motive. But guys, love doesn't HAVE a motive. Love IS the motive. We don't love because we want something. We love because we have something. And the thing we have is too good to keep to ourselves. So we share it. And that makes it real. But, again, it comes from being open and honest. From getting over our issues, if I can say it that way. I think we all have reasons to believe we're unlovable. The world shouts it at the top of it's lungs. And that can make it hard to hear Daddy's still, small voice. But Daddy's voice is the voice of truth. Daddy gave us something to believe in. And believing that we are His beloved Son in whom He is well pleased is literally the difference between life and death. We know that we are loved, and then we CAN love. That's what it means to live. To live is to love. To love is to live. That's what makes an abundant life... abundant. Abundance is simply being filled to overflowing with love, and letting that love overflow naturally. Being open to love. Knowing and believing the love of Christ. Receiving it and releasing it. That's how we partake of the Divine Nature and that's how we experience everything that's available to us! It's all about love. And it's not scary, when you know where it comes from. When you know that you're connected to the source!

If we're being open and honest (which I know is just about the last thing most of us want to be) I think we all have insecurities. We're all a little bit afraid about love. Which is why it's so important to understand that there is no fear IN love. Perfect love casts out fear. We don't have to be afraid. We don't have to worry about whether or not people will love us. And we really don't have to worry about whether or not people will love us back. I think, on the surface, that's the biggest concern with loving others; we're worried that we'll give them what we've got, and they won't return it, and we'll be left with nothing. But there's a very simple solution to this problem, and it's found in 1 John 4:19 (NLT), "We love each other because he loved us first." We don't have to worry about losing what we've got because we're connected to the eternal, everlasting source. We don't love in order to be loved. We love because we are loved. Remember, you can't give what you don't have, and you can only give what you do have. The love we have for others comes from the source. The God who IS love. His love fills us to overflowing and comes out of us naturally. Effortlessly. Fearlessly. I'm telling you, understanding this Father/Son relationship, and living in the context of Sonship, is what allows us to partake of the Divine Nature. It's what allows us to live Jesus' life by letting Him live it in us, and through us, and as us. It's what's equips and empowers us to live. Because to live is to love and to love is to live. We live BY loving. And we love others because He first loved us. His love isn't just better than life, His love IS life. Eternal, everlasting, abundant, Resurrection Life. To me, the definition of "abundance" is a life filled with love. But just as perfect love casts out fear... fear seems to cast out love. It's almost like you can pick one or the other. And it's almost like picking fear is easier. Because we have "evidence" to back up our fear. But love takes faith. (And faith works by love.) But what is faith? The evidence of things not seen, right? We don't always "see" God's love because it's buried down deep. The HIDDEN man of the heart. And the scary stuff is right there on the surface. The world is screaming at us while Daddy speaks in a still, small voice. What you see is what you be. And what you see is directly related to what you look at, and what eyes you use. Natural eyes see natural things, and judge according to appearance. Spiritual eyes see what's really there. The deep calling out to the deep. The unseen things that are eternal. Spiritual eyes are dove's eyes. And the dove is the bird of peace. Spiritual eyes don't judge according to appearance, or good and evil, they judge righteous judgment. They see others (ALL others) as different parts of the same body. As beautiful creatures worthy of love. And when we see things that way we don't have to be afraid to love. Because we're not trying to get anything from anybody. We've already gotten what we need from Daddy, and we're simply spreading the wealth. It really is more blessed to give than to receive. But you have to receive first so that you HAVE something to give. God had to love us first. Prove Himself faithful. So that we could walk by faith and not by sight. So that we could ignore the lie and be led by the truth. So that we could know and believe the truth. That Daddy loves us. So that we could be open to His love, and be open to loving each other!

Warning: As the title of this Rant series would have you believe, I'm going to be open and honest about something. Ready? I always feel like there's something more. Something I'm missing. Like there's a hole inside of me. A love shaped hole. And it makes me afraid. Afraid that I'm going to miss out on something. Afraid that no matter how hard I try... no matter where I look... I'm not going to be able to find love. True love. The kind of love that would lay down it's life for me. And I'm afraid that even if I did encounter that kind of love... I wouldn't know what to do with it. I wouldn't recognize it, or trust it, or believe it. I'm afraid that I'm not worthy of someone loving me like that. Afraid that even if I found it, it wouldn't last. Not for me. And yet, even in the midst of all of this doubt... I know the truth. Really, I do. I know that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hands. That's the ultimate truth of the universe. That's what the Holy Spirit--our love receptor--leads and guides us into. So that we can understand (and experience) the truth that we know. If we're open to it. But that's the rub. Because it's so hard to take that first step sometimes. So hard to walk by faith and not by sight. Because what we see is what we be. We can't give what we don't have and we can only give what we do have. So while the world is piling up enormous amounts of evidence as to our unworthiness, as the the idea that we are unlovable... if that's what we see, that's what we be. If that's what we have, that's what we give. We ACT unlovable if we BELIEVE we're unlovable. We act bitter if all we've been given is bitterness. We believe the lie because we don't know any better. The lie sounds--not GOOD, but RIGHT. It makes sense. The serpent hissed in Eve's ear and basically said, "You're not good enough right now, but if you do this, this, and this you can become good enough." And man did that hit the spot. Because of course we're not good enough, right? The worst kind of condemnation is self-condemnation. And that's also the easiest kind. Because I know myself better than anyone else. I know every bad thought, and every bad thing I've ever done. And for whatever reason the bad always seems to outweigh the good. (Which, of course, is why we aren't supposed to judge by good and evil. Not judging by appearance, but judging righteous judgment.) So, because we "know" how bad we are we close ourselves off to the very love that we crave. We get hurt, and then we think that by closing off our hearts (making our hearts hard) we're protecting ourselves. But we're not. We're just feeding the lie. Setting ourselves up for more failure and heartache. A hard heart is brittle. It breaks at the slightest hurt. So what do we do? Dig a little deeper. The world piles up on top. Love comes from within. If you're looking for it anywhere else you won't be able to find it because you're looking in the wrong place. In order to be open and honest (with ourselves, and each other) we have to live from the inside out. Know what's in there and let it out!

Jesus surrendered. He waved the white flag. And that's how He won. He didn't fight for His life. He gave His life for us, and He gave His life to us. He laid it down so He could take it up again. And because He did it--and because He had drawn all men into Himself when He was lifted up on the cross--WE did it. Because He won... we have already won. The war to end all wars is over. We don't have to fight anymore. We don't have to fight with sin. He took it away. We can lay it aside. And we don't have to fight with each other. We are all connected by the love of God. The love that IS God. Before the cross it was all about man-centered, performance based religion. Trying to follow the Law in order to earn something from a (seemingly) distant and angry taskmaster. It was all about making yourself look as good as possible. But since the standard of the Law was impossible to live up to--especially when you consider that Jesus made it about your thoughts, and the intents of your heart, not just your actions--making yourself look as good as possible usually consisted of making others look at bad as possible. "Thank God I'm not like that sinner." Only... yeah you are. We're all basically the same. We're all people. We all go through the same stuff. Struggle with the same stuff. But I'm saying NOW, on this side of the cross, we don't have to. We can stop fighting. We can stop trying to earn our bread by the sweat of our brow. We can start resting. It doesn't have to be "us vs them" or "me vs you". Because we are all in this together. All parts of the same body. On the cross Jesus AND Adam died. And ONLY Jesus rose back up. There's only one man left. The New Man. Jesus. God in the flesh. Love in a body. And that doesn't mean we try to be like Jesus. Jesus is not a window that shows us who we might be some day. Jesus is the mirror that shows us who we are right now. Who we are in Him. Who He is in us. And that's what true surrender is. It's not giving up on who we are so that we can try to be someone we're not. It's EMBRACING who we really are and letting go of everything else. Letting go of the world's view of who we're "supposed" to be. Letting go of the chains that have bound us for so long. Guys... Jesus unlocked the door. And He stands at the door and knocks. All we have to do is believe that what He did was enough and open the door! All we have to do is respond to the Way of Grace with the Walk of Faith. All we have to do is surrender ourselves to the truth. Present our bodies as a living sacrifice and--instead of trying to be someone we're not--let Jesus be Himself in us, and through us, and as us. If we try to save OUR lives we'll lose them. But if we lose our life FOR HIS SAKE then we'll find it. Find TRUE life. Abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life. We'll be partakers of the divine nature when we stop struggling with our old nature. When we stop dragging around the corpse of the dead old man we used to be and start letting Jesus carry us as He makes His own foot steps in our feet. His yoke is easy and His burden is light because HE is the one carrying it. He did all the work. It is finished. And now we can enjoy the fruit of His labor. The fruit of the Spirit, which is love. Not by looking for love in all the wrong places. Not by fighting for it. But by surrendering to it. Being open to love. Letting God love us and loving each other with that same love!

You can't win by fighting. But that's ok, because Jesus already surrendered. And by surrendering... Jesus already won. I really think we're missing out on the whole concept of rest. I think at the most we have this idea: "If I work hard enough, for long enough, I can finish the work and then I can rest." That's kind of the world's system in a nutshell, isn't it? Work hard, save your money, then you can retire. But I truly believe we were created for more than that. I think Jesus came so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. He came, He saw, He conquered. And because we were in Him when He conquered, we are MORE than conquerors. Because HE finished the work, we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. And the fruit of His labor is the fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love. He did everything He did out of love. Because of love. He did everything He did because He IS love. And because He first loved us... we can love Him. We can love Him by loving each other. We don't have to fight anymore. There's no longer one nation identified as "God's people." He grafted us all in. Drew a circle around all of humanity. Drew us ALL into Himself. Reconcilied us. Planted Himself in us, so that when He died, we might die. So that when He rose again, WE might rise again. To walk in newness of life. To experience His life by letting Him live it in us, and through us, and as us. This isn't a fight. This is what happened BECAUSE of the fight. The war to end all wars. Look at Zechariah 9:15-16 in the Message Bible, and take a look at the RESULT. "God-of-the-Angel-Armies will protect them-- all-out war, The war to end all wars, no holds barred. Their GOD will save the day. He'll resuce them. They'll become like sheep, gentle and soft, Or like gemstones in a crown, catching all the colors of the sun." See, we think because Jesus overcame we have been empowered to overcome. But that's not it at all. In truth, Jesus overcame so THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO OVERCOME! He won the war to END all wars. Which means there are no more wars to fight. He defeated all our enemies. Which means there are no more enemies to fight. Even in the book of Revelation when it talks about the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony... the Bible doesn't say that's how we overcome. It says that's how we OVERCAME. Past tense. Because it is finished. Jesus took the world's best shot. He laid His life down. So that He could take it back up. To show us that death doesn't have the final say. GOD has the final say. He is the Alpha and the Omega. The Beginning and the End. And everything in between. We don't work really hard and then rest. Trying to finish in the flesh what was started in the Spirit is foolish. Jesus did it all so we could get it all. And now we have it all. Now we don't need to fight anymore. We're like sheep. Gentle and soft. Gemstones in the crown of the King of kings. We catch all the colors of the sun. We experience the Son in every dimension. Every day in every way. We fight the good fight of faith, yes. But only to LAY HOLD of what we've already been given. To believe what we know. And by believing, to EXPERIENCE the gift we've been given. And guys, the best way to experience something is to share it with the people around you. Not to fight with them, but to wave the white flag. To let them be who they are even as we be who we are. To love others as we are loved by Jesus. To love Him back by loving those we come into contact with!

We seem to have this idea of Christians as warriors. Onward Christian soldier and all that. Putting on the armor of God and attacking everything in sight. Everything that doesn't line up with our idea of holiness. Well, first and foremost I want to point out that the armor of God is for DEFENSE. I can't see where we're supposed to ATTACK anything. Even this idea of "good vs evil" was undone when Jesus instructed us to turn the other cheek. Romans 12:21 tells us to overcome evil with good. I guess what I'm trying to say is, if you fight fire with fire everybody gets burned. I'm constantly bringing this up because I think it's important: The ONLY fight we're supposed to participate in is the good fight of faith. Which is laying hold of eternal life. Not GETTING eternal life (because it's a gift that has already been given to us), but laying hold of it. Receiving it so that we can experience it. Receiving it so that we can release it. Receiving it BY releasing it. And notice that it's the good fight of FAITH. Believing that what Jesus did on the cross is enough. Believing that HE won the war to end all wars. Believing that there is peace--because the fighting is over--and that we don't need to fight anymore. Let me say it like this, "The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace" (Exodus 14:14). And now, on this side of the cross, He HAS fought for us and we can hold HIS peace. Not peace as the world gives, but peace that passes all understanding. Peace that doesn't always SEEM to make sense. Because it often FEELS like we are surrounded by enemies. Or, if not enemies then at least by tribulations. It seems like if it's not one thing then it's something else. Feels like, "We are troubled on ever side..." (2 Corinthians 4:8). But let me put all of that verse, and the next two verses, into your remembrance so we really know what we're talking about. "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body" (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). No matter what it FEELS like, we know the truth of the matter. We know that we have overcome, because Jesus already overcame. We bear His death. His greatest victory was when He surrendered. And because He gave His life for us, and gave His life to us, that everlasting, eternal, abundant, Resurrection Life is manifest in us! He died so that He might put death to shame and bring forth a great harvest of life. He didn't fight for His life. He laid it down so He could pick it back up. So we would have nothing to fear. And that, to me, is what peace is. Peace is not the absence of things going on. Peace is the absense of FEAR ABOUT the things that are going on. Looking at things and seeing God in the midst of them. Knowing that it is all working together for good. This idea that we have to fight for every inch... that we have to (or CAN even) change what's going on... through our own efforts... is ludicrous. Jesus changed everything on the cross. We don't need to change anything. All we need to do is know and believe the change that already took place so that it can manifest in our lives. All we need to do is have faith. And faith comes from hearing. Hearing from the Word of God. What He ALREADY did. When He won. When He surrendered...

In the Kindgom, things are not always what they seem. The way things would "make sense" to the natural mind are rarely (if ever) the way things work in the Kingdom. Because the Kingdom is not of this world. The Kingdom is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, and the Kingdom is within you. It doesn't work by the world's standards. And it's so important to understand this concept because if you try to experience the Kingdom--the realm where the King rules and reigns--through "normal" ways you'll totally and completely miss it. You have to understand what Jesus meant when He said things like, "So the last shall be first, and the first last..." (Matthew 20:16). Or, "...It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). Or even, "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it" (Matthew 16:25). Seems counter-intuitive. But notice the most important part of Matthew 16:25: Either way you lose your life. If you try to save it... you lose it. Fighting for your life is senseless when you understand that it's HIS life that matters. And that's what makes "losing" your life for HIS sake even thinkable. Romans 5:7 in the NLT tells us, "Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good." And I understand that this is talking about Jesus dying for us. Talking about the sacrifice He made in that while we were still sinners He died for us. But flip it around. Because if we're supposed to lose our lives for His sake... that takes a lot of trust. A lot of faith. We would basically have to believe that He has our best interests at heart before we'd be willing to give up our lives for Him, right? In order to present our bodies as a living sacrifice we'd have to be pretty certain He'd take care of that sacrifice. Just like the Son trusted the Father when He sacrificed His own life. He trusted the Father to judge Him righteously and bring Him back to life. That's the "lose his life for my sake in order to FIND IT" part. We don't fight the good fight of faith in order to be like God. We are already like Him. Always have been, always will be. We fight the good fight of faith in order to lay hold of the gift of eternal life that we've been given. In order to believe what is already true. And I'm telling you, the only way to win that good fight of faith... is by surrendering. By being still and knowing that HE is God. By letting the Holy Spirit lead and guide us into all truth. Because those who are led by the Spirit are the Son(s) of God. Those who lose THEIR lives... receive HIS life. And, as always, I'm not talking about trying to be someone you're not. I'm talking about letting Jesus be who He is in, and through, and as you. Being yourself. Your TRUE self. Surrendering to who Christ is in you, and who you are in Christ. Waving the white flag and letting Jesus' victory on the cross flow into, and through, and out of you!