The Disciples, Then and Now

During the time of Jesus, his disciples wanted to crown Jesus as the physical king of a physical kingdom, when the Kingdom of God that Jesus was talking about was spiritual in nature. We do not see Jesus trying to politically influence the Roman government.

Things haven't changed much. The disciples are in the same boat today - wanting to control the physical kingdom, instead of being the yielded and the effective conduits of the invisible Kingdom that is within and among us.

Two Catalysts That Set Me Free

The revelation of the grace of God and the revelation of the unconditional love of God were the two catalysts that set me free from the bondage of the religious treadmill. Few years ago, if it were not for these two, I would have walked away from anything that was even remotely connected to the mainstream Christianity. In my heart, I was through with the ineffective religious clubianity.

Before I met 'grace', I was exposed to and grounded in the 'Word of Faith' (WoF) camp. Despite the scorn it receives (even though some are well earned), I give them the sole and the well-deserved credit for instilling in me the goodness of God; that He does not teach lessons with sickness or poverty, the power of what one believes and the creative power of thoughts and words. But without the light of Grace, WoF can easily devolve into an old covenant mindset,  repackaged in a shiny new package. 

Prior to WoF, I was born and bred in a Pentecostal background. Thanks a ton to that background, I do not waste time debating about the Holy Spirit, healings, deliverance, spiritual gifts and all the charismatic related topics. But, this particular background was cemented in legalism, contrary to the truth, that what is begun in the Spirit cannot be made perfect by the flesh.

So, if you:

a. have not been exposed to the message of grace and the unconditional love of God as of yet,

b. believe God is angry with you and that He "prunes" you with disasters,

c. believe that His love towards you is depended on your actions,

d. desperately want to be free from the religious treadmill of never-ending and fruitless performances to please God, 

- consider reading or listening to books/messages by people like Peter Youngren, Joseph Prince, Steve McVey, Darin Hufford and/or Andrew Wommack (this is not an exhaustive list). Read or listen with the knowledge that the Holy Spirit is the teacher who enlightens. Listen with your heart. The Gospel is really good news.

Does this mean that I have arrived and have all the answers? Far from it and it is not my goal either. It would be presumptuous for anyone to assume that they have all the answers. It is this journey that I am treasuring. I am barely scratching the surface of the ever-increasing revelation of the person of Christ. Minus the after-effects of the religion in my psyche, which I still am being free from, this is one cool eternal ride.