Rise Up part 5
We don't rise up in order to shine. We rise up because we ARE shining! The brilliant glory of the Lord IS risen upon us. We have everything we need to leave the spiritual depression behind. Not in our own strength--because we don't necessarily have any--but in HIS strength. He finished the work and now we get to enjoy the fruit of His labor. The fruit of the Spirit, which is love! And let me be clear: we DO have some strength. There are some things that I am pretty good at. But when we're talking about the Kingdom, we don't have to (and can't) take it by force. The violence of human effort will never get it done. Look at Galatians 3:3, "Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" It's not what you DO, it's what you BELIEVE. Because what you do FLOWS from what you believe. You don't MAKE the light shine in order to rise up. You BELIEVE that the light IS shining and then you can't HELP but rise up. God's love for us is so big, and so overwhelming, that when you let Him love you it fills you to overflowing. You fill yourself with what you've been filled with, if I can say it like that. You apprehend what you've been apprehended of. What's already in there comes out... when you know and believe that it's in there. And that's where the Holy Spirit comes in. The Spirit of Truth that leads and guides us into all truth. The Spirit that testifies of our true identity by testifying of Jesus. The Spirit that whispers, in a still, small voice inside of us, the ultimate truth of the universe; The Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand. Daddy loves you. That affirmation is what equips and empowers us. We can't rise on our own. If you start out "not good enough" how can you, in your own strength, make yourself good enough? But when we look into the mirror with an unveiled face... with the stone of the Law--which demands perfection without being able to produce it--rolled away... that's when you see the glory of the Lord. That's when you are changed into that same image FROM glory TO glory. See that? We start at glory. So even when we're mired in spiritual depression... even when we're stuck in a rut... that's not who we really are. And that's not where we have to stay, either. Because there's something inside us that will rise up. It's a fire. A Holy Ghost wildfire. And all it needs is a spark. All it needs is for us to see something better--a more excellent way--and believe that we can have it. Not earn it, because you can't earn a gift, but simply receive it and release it! Don't try to rise up on your own. Because you'll probably stumble and fall. And then you'll get discouraged. But let what's inside you rise up. Let me end this Rant series with 2 Peter 1:19, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." It's all about what's in your heart. Because it's all about love. When you know and believe that you ARE loved... that's when you CAN love. That's when you can lay aside the sin (unbelief) that so easily besets you. That's when you can shake off the yoke of religion. That's when you can escape from the bondage of sin and death. When the light (love) shines (arises)... that's when YOU can rise up and live a life of receiving and releasing the love of God!