The Misguided Illusion of Control

Oh, to be free even from the conciousness of self… to be so yielded to the impartation of His Spirit as to only be Jesus to those around us.
— Makala B. Doulos



“When you look at the inner workings of electrical things, you see wires. Until the current passes through them, there will be no light. That wire is you and me. The current is God. We have the power to let the current pass through us, use us, to produce the light of the world, Jesus, in us. Or we can refuse to be used and allow darkness to spread.” 
— Mother Teresa

  • In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. — Ephesians 2:22

Paul is expressing a wonderful truth here.  We, believing Jews and Gentiles, both corporately and individually are now the very dwelling place of G_d.  This is a pervasive theme, throughout the New Testament, that starts with the rending of the veil in the Jewish temple at the climax of the Crucifixion of our Captain and consummates in the book of Revelation with us literally dwelling with Him throughout eternity!

This is an epic truth with profound implications.  The new creations that we become at conversion are not beings given new powers to go out and take control of our lives, thus becoming useful to our king.  Rather, we are to present our new vessels for consecrecated use towards the Glory of our Creator. 

Truly, in yielding to this truth, there is great joy and enjoyment.  However, do not be deceived.  Our enjoyment of Him is not about making us happy.  It is about G_d manifesting His absolute Holiness, Goodness, Love, and bringing Him the Glory He alone is due.

As His power flows through our lives there is a temptation to believe that we are gaining some modicum of control in our lives.  Beloved, let us avoid this temptation at all costs.  All the ground G_d has gained in our lives is territory under YHWH-Nissi (G_d is our banner).  Oh yes!  There is victory… Righteousness, Joy and Peace, but it is HIS Kingdom that is advancing – and not ours.

Seriously friends, may we not just give lip-service to this most important of realities in our faith.  Said simply:  If we try to take control of our lives and work hard, follow the rules, and do great things for G_d, WE WILL FAIL.  And in failing, people may be doomed to an eternity separated from the One who wills that He should pervasively show His wonderful Self in and through us.

Even the most sincerely self-motivated religion (even christianity) and law has always had one axiomatic result: death and separation from G_d.

Everything is about Jesus Christ
Everything pertains to Jesus Christ
and every issue is solved by Jesus Christ.
This is about Jesus Christ.
Now this may sound like a very obvious thing in Christianity,
but for some reason
we have a thousand things
that we turn to instead of Him.
When, in fact,
He is our All-in-All. 
— Eric Ludy


“About You”
ZOEgirl

I’ve been thinking lately about You
When it hit me from nowhere, out of the gray
Everything’s been coming together
Now that I’ve moved beyond myself
And wrapped my head around something else

It’s not about me, it’s gotta be about You
(Everyday and…)
All I wanna see is who You’re turning me into
(In every way and…)
I will not forget that You said You’d always lead me through
To who I wanna be, making every part of me about You

I’ve been spending so much time disconnected
I was searching for perfection inside myself
But I finally turned away from my reflection
I saw Your world outside my door
And everything that I’d been looking for

So I’ll lay down my pride ’cause You laid down Your life
And I’m giving up all that’s holding me back
And clinging to You
And You’ll lead me through
‘Cause You always do