Hi there!
So I had the first real connection with the Holy Spirit, right now and I thought "I better share this, or I will miss what's next"! Anyway, what I was thinking was "I'm always thinking of the Cross, with Christ on it" - like that is the default way the image works in my mind. The logic was "if I see the Cross the way Christ did, maybe there is more relevance, to what was happening on the way there - like what was happening in the Garden of Gethsemane. Imagine the Cross, but imagine seeing the Garden of Gethsemane there, that's what I was thinking. Do you see how they overlap (the Garden and the Cross)?
Ok, well, now that I have just coaxed you into joining me, in curiosity about the Cross, now listen to what the Holy Spirit said to me "don't worry about it!". In other words, you are supposed to see the Cross as the culmination of everything Christ suffered. You don't need to imagine Gethsemane and the Cross the same time - that's not how the Holy Spirit communicates the Cross. I know, I know "but now I'm wondering, if maybe I don't understand the Cross!" The point the Holy Spirit wants to make, is that your prayer doesn't change your Cross, it changes you. In other words, Christ was supposed to become a mystery. You don't need to figure it out, you need to trust!
And what do we trust? That our sins are forgiven, that we have righteousness by God's Grace and that we have overcome the Devil, the obstacle to our faith is gone. There are then many reasons to love our work, for the Lord, no reason to go back to a time when Christ had not been crucified. The brethren that hear this will understand at length, what it is that you mean when you say you "really, really, really" trust the Cross. The Holy Spirit understands this too, and is already preparing rewards for you to receive, as you enter Heaven (doing the Lord's work, Lord willing). It is a process of encouragement, not cajoling. The Holy Spirit is even pleased, to reward you for trusting the Cross, without thinking about it too much. How good is that?
The strength we have in the Spirit, stems from our conviction that we have sinned, but that we have repented of sin, that we are righteous and righteous in doing the acts of the faith, that we submit to God and resist the Devil and overcome him scripturally. All this should make sense. You shouldn't have to consult scripture after scripture (after scripture) to make plain that you are departing from evil. You want to follow Christ's example and can tell what it means to trust your Cross will get where it needs to go. That's real trust. That's trust God gives you. That's the true power of surrender; that you don't drill yourself on how to fulfil the will of God in your own strength.
I hope this has been of some encouragement.
God bless.
PS. Wait for the power of the Cross to grow (and the Cross alone) and you will start to get what this means.
So I had the first real connection with the Holy Spirit, right now and I thought "I better share this, or I will miss what's next"! Anyway, what I was thinking was "I'm always thinking of the Cross, with Christ on it" - like that is the default way the image works in my mind. The logic was "if I see the Cross the way Christ did, maybe there is more relevance, to what was happening on the way there - like what was happening in the Garden of Gethsemane. Imagine the Cross, but imagine seeing the Garden of Gethsemane there, that's what I was thinking. Do you see how they overlap (the Garden and the Cross)?
Ok, well, now that I have just coaxed you into joining me, in curiosity about the Cross, now listen to what the Holy Spirit said to me "don't worry about it!". In other words, you are supposed to see the Cross as the culmination of everything Christ suffered. You don't need to imagine Gethsemane and the Cross the same time - that's not how the Holy Spirit communicates the Cross. I know, I know "but now I'm wondering, if maybe I don't understand the Cross!" The point the Holy Spirit wants to make, is that your prayer doesn't change your Cross, it changes you. In other words, Christ was supposed to become a mystery. You don't need to figure it out, you need to trust!
And what do we trust? That our sins are forgiven, that we have righteousness by God's Grace and that we have overcome the Devil, the obstacle to our faith is gone. There are then many reasons to love our work, for the Lord, no reason to go back to a time when Christ had not been crucified. The brethren that hear this will understand at length, what it is that you mean when you say you "really, really, really" trust the Cross. The Holy Spirit understands this too, and is already preparing rewards for you to receive, as you enter Heaven (doing the Lord's work, Lord willing). It is a process of encouragement, not cajoling. The Holy Spirit is even pleased, to reward you for trusting the Cross, without thinking about it too much. How good is that?
The strength we have in the Spirit, stems from our conviction that we have sinned, but that we have repented of sin, that we are righteous and righteous in doing the acts of the faith, that we submit to God and resist the Devil and overcome him scripturally. All this should make sense. You shouldn't have to consult scripture after scripture (after scripture) to make plain that you are departing from evil. You want to follow Christ's example and can tell what it means to trust your Cross will get where it needs to go. That's real trust. That's trust God gives you. That's the true power of surrender; that you don't drill yourself on how to fulfil the will of God in your own strength.
I hope this has been of some encouragement.
God bless.
PS. Wait for the power of the Cross to grow (and the Cross alone) and you will start to get what this means.
