Purpose for Soaring son

I sensed the Lord leading me to start a blog, though I know little to nothing about blogging. Abba was stirring me to seek a way to connect with those who support us in ministry and friends who want to share life with us. I was led to choose the title because I have been on this journey from Romans 8:14-17 of discovering what it means to walk in being one of the sons (not gender specific but either son or daughter). Amazing that through the astounding grace of our God, we are no longer need to experience life as slaves of God but enter into the intimacy of being His sons and daughters. It is also my hope that we will go on the journey that God has called us into and learn to soar as an Eagle in the heavenly places as sons and daughters (Ephesians 2:6). This is not just a slight change in the way we see life but a whole renewal of the mind that the Holy Spirit does in our innermost being, starting with entering into being forgiven of our unbelief in the saving work of Jesus Christ. It is too easy to focus on forgiveness of sins as the central point of the Gospel but as we study the Word we find that entering into a new relationship with God where we are truly set free occupies a greater place in His Word. This new relationship is the basis for the New Covenant of grace. A Covenant is a binding relationship built on unconditional love and sealed by an oath. I will talk more about Covenant as we go on because understanding the New Covenant through the revelation of the Holy Spirit I believe is the key to experiencing freedom in our lives. Jesus is the New Covenant.

My heart is that through this blog I will be able to share God's work in my heart, life-giving stories of His grace in ministry, and that we can share the life of Christ together. I hope this will be two-way dialogue but I trust the Holy Spirit to work through this medium to build community. My prayer is that each person who comes to this blog will be touched and transformed by the love of God in Christ. I would love to hear your prayer requests that I may agree with you to see God's Will revealed and accomplished on earth as it is in Heaven. Please know there are limitations to the confidentiality to a blog, so if you don't want to share a request with everyone you can email me directly at: bret@elmcolo.org. The more I experience of God's grace and love in my life, the more I want to share. I pray that you would be blessed by this blog and even share it with your friends. These are lofty goals but I walk with the Almighty and He delights to reveal Himself.

The first thing the Holy Spirit began to stir in my spirit was at the end of 2007 as I looked to 2008. As I sought the Lord for what He had for me in 2008 I was impressed in my spirit, that the power of life and death is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21). This has led me on a journey with the Lord to see how my words over myself, my family, and others can either build up in love and be His words or can tear down. It is so easy to speak death over yourself without even knowing. We seem to point out the discouraging things, or what's not going well in our lives, and progressively we become more negative. This can lead us to lapsing into depression. Are we just to be speak positively like some in the world have suggest or does God give us His words to speak over our lives. I believe as "New Creations" we are giving new language, it is God's way of speaking through us. Our usual speech that has been patterned by the world system and Satan's lie that all life comes from being self-sufficient and independent of God must be broken that we would started to speak God's words. It is amazing to me that James says that our tongues can turn our whole bodies (the direction of our lives), so this is no small matter. So also what a tremendous opportunity we have to speak words that come from His Life (Christ in us - He dwells in those who receive Him by faith). Going back to Proverbs we see that life and death are in the power of the tongue, not necessarily right and wrong. Do we want our tongue to be an expression of His Life in and through us or do we want to try to control our own tongue? James tells us flatly, no one can control the tongue. If you have tried to control your tongue you have seen the frustration. We have a 5 month old puppy and it has been hard to not let loose the frustration or worries of the day on this unsuspecting bundle of energy. We joke saying to each other, "Speak Life" when you just want to be negative that this puppy will never be fully trained and obedient. Words of life must be filled with faith, love, truth, and most importantly the Lord's initiation.

I have so much to share but my prayer is that we will share, encourage, and be challenged together. Signing off for 2/4/08.

IN HIS Grace and Love,
Bret Rutland