God is Not in the Business of Fixing Junk: He's in the Business of Restoration

I had been chewing on it for several months before I felt brave enough to make this my status update on Facebook:

"God's not trying to fix the old me...nope... the old me died. He made me a NEW CREATION IN CHRIST. So I will discontinue trying to fix a corpse."

It's only been a few months since I have discovered that God is not interested in fixing my old nature. I knew the Word of God says that we are a New Creation in Christ Jesus, but some how missed the part that God is not interested in behavior modification.


He does not want to fix the stuff in my life or your life that is broken. At least not fix the old sinful natural man born of Adam's seed. I was re-born of the Last Adam (Jesus) so I am reborn of incorruptible seed. We just have to have it revealed to us who we really are.


I knew that the Word says we are overcomers in Christ and that no weapon formed against us shall ever prosper, but it seems for so many things in my life that I was not overcoming and not prospering. I knew 3 John 1;2 that says, "Beloved I pray that you would be prospering and be in health just as your soul is prospering" but I would think this was something I did to make my soul prosper. I would sincerely ask God to purge me of the weak or bad character flaws that kept me from living a victorious life. I would ask God to show me how to overcome that junk that remained in my life. I was asking God to fix my old sinful nature.


This is good to want to change. It's good to want to live a more holy life and be a better example of a Christian. I would even see some change at times in my life to overcome some really yucky, unholy, shameful junk that seems to stick to me like slime. I would seem to change and even proclaim a victory but then the same junk would just keep creeping back in my life and I would be right back at square one.


Why is this? It's seems pretty simple to me now. God is in the business of restoration. He does not want to fix the old junk you (your sinful nature) Nope! He is using a process that is called sanctification (1 Thes 5:23) that does not fix the old nature but reveals the New Creation to your mind. If we can understand in our soul or mind about who we are IN CHRIST then we will start living it. However, I have proven the opposite to be true in my life. If see myself as junk that needs to be fixed then I will continue to identify myself as broken junk never able to do the job I was designed to accomplish.


When I really got a hold of the truth that I was crucified with Christ, then buried with him, that qualified my old sinful nature as DEAD!!! I died! My old yucky, sinful, unholy person died and also was buried. I did not know that I was not to dig it up and ask God to fix it. Sounds rather silly now. I'm a brand New Creation. I was qualified to partake of the divine nature (Col 1:12). God had to do this because His Holy Spirit could not dwell in an unholy habitation. That's why the Holy Spirit only visited the Old Testament believers. They were not redeemed by Christ so they could house or be the tabernacle of the Most High God. Hallelujah! That we can have His Spirit dwell within us.


If I believe I am a sinner that is saved by grace then I continue to identify with being a sinful creature. But I I know that I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus (2 Cor 5:21) then I start to identify myself with God's righteousness inside of my new nature. God needed me transformed into a holy vessel because a Holy God cannot live inside of an unholy habitation.


The moment I was born-again I was made holy and righteous because of His grace toward me. It is unmerited favor of course. I did nothing to deserve such a gift and in the same manner I can do nothing to deserve God continuing to work in me to transform my inward nature to my outward life. This is God's business. I can only cooperate by choosing to believe that this process is taking place.


So my new motto: "Nice people do nice things but changed people change a culture." Since I now recognize that I'm a New Creation and not some piece of junk that God is trying to fix up. It is a truth that is setting me free!

The irony of laboring to enter His rest.

It’s Labor Day here in the USA. It’s our holiday to honor the extremely hard-working folks who go to work to make this country great. It’s about celebrating the many generations of people who decided they could get ahead if they would just do their best. They knew their efforts would be rewarded as they labored to make their lives better and the lives of their families. Those of us who know God, know that He has blessed our nation but working hard is one of those factors of how He blessed us. Working is noble and I am proud of the people in this country that work hard and make it what it is today.

From our Christian perspective, I was thinking about our laboring. I used to approach serving God from a standpoint of fear of being punished or missing out on a blessing if I didn’t do the work that I thought was required of me. I even thought of prayer as one of those works that would please God and get the attention of my Father in Heaven. This process of a works mentality was very exhausting and kept me bound to some very destructive habits in my spiritual life.

I had a notion that serving God meant I did things like praying, giving, fasting, reading my bible, working in the church building, as well as committing to projects that my pastor and the other leaders of the church were promoting. These were all good things. They were all healthy things IF I had a proper perspective and appropriate mindset. I did not. I thought DO these things equaled blessing.

No we are blessed because we HAVE the blessing. The blessing is the Spirit of Christ dwelling on the inside. Eph 1:13-14 In Him you also who have heard the Word of Truth, the glad tidings (Gospel) of your salvation, and have believed in and adhered to and relied on Him, were stamped with the seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit. That [Spirit] is the guarantee of our inheritance [the firstfruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage], in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring [complete] possession of it--to the praise of His glory.

We are co-laborers with Christ. That does not mean we work along side of Christ. Nope. It means He works in us and through us as we are IN CHRIST JESUS.

You and I are actually dead. The old man died when I became born-again. This is very important to realize if we are to understand what it means to rest in the finished work of Christ or the Cross.

Jesus did all the work. He labored so I could rest. I have to laugh at the irony in Hebrews chapter 4. We are told to labor to enter into His rest. Well, I guess that makes sense. It’s my natural mindset to try to work to make God happy. I asked Him to even work on me to perfect me, which is contrary to the Good News. God is not trying to fix my old nature.

He made me a NEW CREATION in Christ Jesus. So I need to stop trying to fix that corpse. So as a Christian brother reminded me recently, we labor to rid ourselves of the erroneous beliefs. This takes time and is a process. Hallelujah! We can labor to enter His Rest.

I need to continue to grow in the knowledge that I am not that old corpse but a brand New Creation and no longer from the seed of the first Adam but from the Seed of the Last Adam. Wow! Take a minute and wrap your mind around that. I am --and you are --now born of incorruptible SEED.

So if you are still thinking you need to work for God to be blessed, take some time and ask the Holy Spirit to show you this process of resting in the finished work of Christ. I promise you He will be faithful and begin a good work in you that will change your Christian walk from a chore to a daily Sabbath Rest.

Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush

I must admit it is still hard for me to be transparent and allow people to see how I walk through this thing we call "Life." I finished my book on 8/16 and submitted to my publisher. It was a huge joy the whole time I was writing it and although at time tedious to read and re-read my work it felt like I was being encouraged over and over by the very teaching I wanted to bring to others. So it was a huge shock and disappointment for me to awake exactly one week later feeling like a load of bricks was on my chest.

Of course I prayed and took my authority over this attack. After a few days, I was still not feeling well and my blood pressure was still very high, I went to see my doctor. No surprises there that he said to continue to take my prescribed medication to keep my blood pressure in a healthy range. But still a couple weeks later with controlled blood pressure, I was feeling extreme fatigue and aches in my body.

Of course the enemy tried to lie to me and tell me that depression was upon me again along with all the symptoms of pain, fatigue, anxiety and the whole dung pile. Well, I knew that was a lie. God does not heal us to see us go back under the same oppression but honestly, I felt like I was missing a key to healing. What I was missing was THE Key to walking in the strength of the Lord.

A few days ago, I was having a delightful conversation with a dear friend who was telling me about how God delivered her from a besetting sin. She shared with me the account in 2 Samuel 5 where David went up against the Philistines in the place that is called Baalperazim ( Breakthrough). David was also instructed to listen for the sound in the tops of the mulberry trees.

My dear friend's testimony of God's goodness and grace to change her from the inside out was like a drink of fresh water in my season of discouragement. I was a bit afraid she took it the wrong way when I laughed aloud with joy when she said this account made her think of the song "Here We Go'Round the Mulberry Bush". Her whit and desire to share how God brought her through was inspirational. I thought it's true, these strongholds of sin or sickness are like the song "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush"

So as we look at this account we see that David's army destroyed the enemy, but they left a bunch of junk laying around. It says in verse 21 that they were to burn it but this word in the Hebrew is nasa' and it means to lift, bear up, carry, take [1) to lift, lift up2) to bear, carry, support, sustain, endure3) to take, take away, carry off, forgive.] So this junk just sat around--it doesn't say if they used it. Maybe it just lay on the ground getting rusty, but if the word does not mean they actually got rid of it.

If the junk stayed with the Israelite army, could one say it's like mixing the truth with the lies left over from before our breakthrough took place?

The next few verses explain that David's enemy is getting very numerous and congregating in the Valley of Rephaim which is the same word we get the name of God "The Lord our Healer" (rapha' ) So the enemy invaded and grew numerous in the Valley of Healing. Talk about making me pay attention to this story! At that point, I was struggling with the issue of healing again. I was feeling an urgency in my spirit to rid myself of some lies that were left over from after my breakthrough! It was no coincidence that my friend asked me to have coffee with her and told me her testimony and how this scripture played a big part in her deliverance.

So David was instructed to go the long way around and then wait to hear the sound in the tops of the mulberry trees. This word for sound is qowl and it is the same word used to describe the voice of God when Adam and Eve were hiding in the garden after their original sin. I hope this has your attention as well. Adam and Eve's original sin was not believing God.

They chose to believe the serpent and went after stuff that they already had in their possession. They believed they lacked something they already had.

Go to Genesis chapter 3 and see the serpent temped them to 1: "to take the fruit because they saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and 2) that it was delightful to look at, and 3) a tree to be desired in order to make one wise". They already had all of this in their intimate relationship with God. I too have been guilty of going after stuff that I already possess. I too, was feeling like I was lacking something and needed to go after something. Once again the Lord revealed to me, it was a perceived lack.

So let's sum up this account in 2 Samuel 5: 20-25

*Victory in the place of Breakthrough
*David's army does not burn the junk left over by the Philistines
*The Philistines overtake the Valley of Healing
*David is told to go the long way around and wait until he hears the 'sound' in the top of the Mulberry trees which is the same root word for God's voice.
*David once again is victorious over the Philistines and destroys the enemy in the Valley of Healing.

Are you getting excited to hear what God told me next?

I told you I was asking God for an understanding of truth to know if I was holding onto some false believe about healing and lacking some truth concerning walking in divine health. I was asking God and expecting Him to reveal to me a truth that I had previously missed KNOWING that this would bring healing to my body.

The following is what a Facebook friend posted on His wall within moments of my healing:

If a son shall ask for bread (of grace) of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone (of the law)? Luke11: 11~ Beloved, we are to feed this generation with the pure bread of grace, without the stone of the law! Did Jesus say feed my sheep, or discipline my sheep? Jesus said, feed my sheep, not beat my sheep with the law!"

"Beloved, in the old covenant under the law, you would have to be willing and obedient to eat the good of the land! But in the new covenant of grace the word "obedient" has been "replaced" with the word "believe!" So when you read the old covenant, read it with grace eyes like this: If ye be willing to believe, you shall eat the good of the land! Isaiah 1: 19 When we believe right we will be blessed!"~Rudy Rodriguez

THIS was the sound in the top of the mulberry trees--THIS was the sound of the voice of God. I needed to put away my notion that obedience is the way God will use me. I need to trust that Jesus did everything--including obedience to obtain everything for life and godliness. I need to rest in the finished work of the Cross for everything including obedience. I have to trust that submitting to God's way --grace-- will cause me to walk in obedience.

The Old Covenant was obey and be blessed. The New Covenant is BELIEVE you are blessed.