Becoming a Sower!!

Christmas time is always busy like so many of you. I have been out of pocket but am back to share my thoughts, life, and Him. As I have gone through challenging times around support raising (full-time support), the Lord has been doing a transforming work in my life. I have realized through the Holy Spirit that I have still seen life as a consumer (when it comes to money), looking to have my needs met rather than being a sower. We are trained in our buying and selling culture that we are to consume things to meet our needs. I believe Jesus lived in the reality of the Kingdom which was giving and receiving. Jesus was truly a sower (of the Word, of love, of healing, of money, and of God-life). In 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 we are shown that sowing sparingly leaves us reaping sparingly. Why do we sow sparingly? I believe so many of us as believers have a poverty mind-set rather than a Kingdom mindset of being rich. I am not talking primarily about money but rich in the riches of Christ. Most of us as believers have been deceived by the Enemy to not lay hold of the riches that we have already been given "in Christ". In Ephesians 1 Paul boldly says we have "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm..." Either God is lying (spoken through Paul) or we are totally ignorant of what we have. The other option is we believe that if we pray right, do the right things, talk to the right people, etc.. then we will receive. Paul states this in the past tense, you my friend are extremely rich and you didn't know it. Religion always has something for us to do to receive from God but grace shows that God has poured out on us. Faith is believing what God says regardless of how we feel, what others say, what religion says, or what we see in front of us. As God took the yoke of slavery off of me, which was "it is all up to me to raise support" I began to get a revelation of being a sower. Since Jesus was the most prolific sower in history and He is in me then I am a sower. The good news is that God also provides seed, what is seed? In Corinthians 9 there is differentiated bread for food and seed to the sower. The Word also says that "And God is able to make all grace abound to you..." What stops God from make all grace abound to you, mainly our lie-based beliefs that direct us back to earning from God rather than receiving His gift by faith. When we give seed there is a supernatural release because according to Genesis 22:18, God will greatly multiply your seed and through the seed is the blessing. This is the promise to Abraham by covenant and this is our promise because the Seed is Jesus and He is in us. It is mind blowing that God's promise according to Genesis 12 is for us to be a blessing to all nations, make your name great (put your name in their____), and that in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. That is a big vision and one that is impossible to accomplish without the supernatural release of God's power. This power is released as we are willing as John 12:24 says to let the seed fall into the ground and die. In other words when we give the seed that God provides to us, we are losing all the potential it could do for us but at the same time God is giving birth to something big. This is New Covenant sowing, whether it be your time, your giftings, your prayers, the Word of God, money, etc... God owns it all and when we live from that perspective, holding everything with an open hand it multiplies and we prosper. Prospering is not about wealth but about having everything we need to do all God has called us to. Many believers have felt manipulated by the "name it and claim it" and the "health and wealth gospel". These are unfortunate misrespresentations of Biblical truth, God's purpose in prospering us is for Christ in us to be a blessing to all the families of the earth. It is the Enemy that has come to steel, kill, and destroy (according to John 10:10), in other words he doesn't want us to prosper. May God bring a transformation in your heart for you to be a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).

In His Grace,
Bret

Freed from Complaining!!

I recently read a encouraging word that talked about Psalm 100:4, which says we "Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name." In this word the person shared that to enter into God's prescence we give thanks. It ushers us into His presence when we give thanksgiving. Did you know the United States is the only country that has a holiday of thanksgiving, do you think this could have something to do with the Bible. We as a family took a drive and listened to the Thanksgiving story of the Pilgrams and their faith. What an inspiring story of faith, endurance, and hope. I know see why my flesh always wants to complain and grumble. As soon as I begin to speak these kind of words out, faith is erroded and can end up in discouragement. I have learned the pattern of complaining and God has had to renew my mind and transform to be a person who is thankful. It makes sense that thanksgiving ushers into His presence, then complaining and being ungrateful must usher me into the presence of darkness which is the Enemy's territory. What do we as people who have a new life in Christ have to be thankful for? We have been saved from death, had all our sins forgiven past and present, have been indwelled with the Holy Spirit, have had our old life cruified and done away with, we have been given a new identity, we have been given every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm, we have been seated "in Christ" in heavenly places, we have been given a position of restored authority over the Enemy, we have been given an inheritance in Christ, we have been made sons and daughters, we have been brought near to God through the blood of Christ, we have been declared righteous, we are led by His Spirit, and etc... ( I can give you Scripture references for all of these). We can be the most thankful people on this earth because we have so much to be thankful for. Why I am I pulled towards complaining, discontentment, self-pity, and ungratefulness? I believe our flesh likes this because it meets our needs and gets our focus on ourselves rather than Jesus. I remember when we travelled to Kazakhstan to adopt my son for 2 months, I was amazed at how hospitable and thankful the people were. The American families that were with us by contrast, never seemed to be grateful because they were always missing something. It strikes me that if we look to our circumstances to be thankful, then we are only thankful in good times. Yet the Word of God in Ephesians 5:20 says to be thankful in all things and for all things. Somehow my flesh loves the pseudo love and attention that it gets by the woe-is-me attitude. I declare that thanksgiving will come through my spirit by the Holy Spirit and that my soul and body need to line up with Christ in me!!! Lord I also repent for my ungratefulness, complaining, grumbling, and woe-is-me view of the world. Thank you Lord for being my life, my source, my joy, my salavation, and the lover of my soul. He is truly good all the time (especially when He doesn't seem good). I believe if we will yield to the Holy Spirit and let the song of thanksgiving come forth in our life that we will walk more and more in New Life. There are new ways in this New Life and I am learning them.

Thank you Jesus,
Bret Rutland

A Funny Story!!!

I had asked the Lord to reveal to me more about sin and defilement. Since I grew up in a non-believing home, where pluralism and tolerance were the main ideologies understanding sin can be confusing. Asking the Lord to reveal this was so I could not participate in sin such as worry, unforgiveness, unbelief, or any such sin. Recently the Lord has been showing me more about forgiveness and how to walk in forgiveness. So as I set out to take our dog Shilo for a walk I bundled up because it was right at freezing and just spitting snow. We walked for a ways with my nose running a little because of the cold, Shilo was content on the leash until we got to an open space. She loves to be off leash if there is no one else around, so unlactched her and she took off with a smile on her face (it does look like a smile). She decided she needed to do some business and went pee then she decided to go poop. Since we were at the end of the open space I used a plastic bag to scoop the poop and put Shilo back on leash. We continue on our walk for a ways on the sidewalk, then out of the blue I hit a patch of ice. I was quickly on my rear end and the poop bag I was holding exploded at the fall smearing on the ice but also my glove and coat. To make matters even better someone stopped to ask if I was okay. I laughed and decided to finish my walk coming back to clean up the poop on the sidewalk. As I walked on I sense the Lord speak to me about what just happened. He reminded me of my prayer and said that the poop is like the sin that is visited on us when someone hurts us. We quickly pick up the poop to contain it through a judgement, judging the person seems to make the hurt a little less painful. Then like I was we carry the poop (judgement from the sin) in a bag, believing we are just fine. It is only when we hit a patch of ice (something or someone triggers the unforgiveness), that the sin/judgement spills out and brings defilement (the poop on my coat and glove). Dog poop stinks by the way, this defilement wasn't me (I showered in the morning) but now I was affected by it. In the same way when our unforgiveness comes out towards another person it stinks (from defilement) but this is an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to free us from the judgment and the defilement. Often the judgement/defilement affects the people we love the most (our family, close friends, or extended family). To be free of both forgive and release the original judgment you held against a person when they hurt you and then ask the Lord to see them through His eyes. If possible go to the person and tell them you forgive them (be specific). According to the Word of God you then release them from prison and yourself. The Enemy will often use unforgiveness as a way to torment believers, don't give him this ground.

In His Grace,
Bret Rutland

A New Heart!

As I again heard the depth of discouragement flow from a friend's mouth, it would be easy to join in the darkness. If I saw only from this friend's perspective, it would be easy to join the pity party. Yet the Word of God does not just bring a change but total change in the reality of our living. Ephesians 4:22-25 tells us to put off the old man (which is everything we are connected with sin), not the behavior but the image (which is a deception) of us in sin. As I shared this with my friend, he looked at me like I came from a strange planet. His whole reality had included discouragement, dispair, loneliness, and darkness for many years. When people met Jesus there wasn't a small change in their life but a whole new reality created by a whole new relationship with God. As I shared the reality of the command in Ephesians 4:22-25, commands in the New Covenant are not given for us to accomplish in our own power but by the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit. As the Holy Spirit reveals the Word of God, something deep in us stirs with a new realm of possiblity for living. It was clear that he wanted to believe he could be free but there was fear of disappointment. This is why I am so grateful that faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The Word of God is a solid foundation because this is God speaking to His people through divinely inspired writing. As he finally decided to agree with the Word of God my friend took off what he had been wearing for years, he was not the darkness but the darkness was on him. It was more secure to continue to live in this darkness than move into a new realm of living where he didn't know who he was or what his purpose was. As he painfully took off what had met his needs for years, the Lord gave him a picture of a shower which was the Lord cleansing him from all the defilement of years of living in darkness. We continued in our prayer to ask the Lord what my friend could put on in the place of the image of the old man. All of the sudden he said his heart dropped out of his chest, he was shocked. But then the Lord did the most amazing thing, the Lord gave him a new heart (Jesus heart). There was surprise across his face and unbelief. We so think we have to earn, deserve, and sweat for what we get in life. Grace is offensive, beautiful, and a gift. For those skeptical or doubting, the Holy Spirit was simply making real the promise of the New Covenant from Ezekial 36:25-27.


"Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances."

It is still truly amazing that the New Covenant is unilateral (God giving to us) but entering into the world of grace is not an easy journey. We are so used to believing "there are no free lunches" that we are skeptical of God's amazing offer of grace. My continual prayer is that God would teach me how to receive from Him. Moving from an approach of life of "getting" to receiving and then giving is a work only the Holy Spirit can do in and through us.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret

Friend or Servant

As I look back on my old posts I am shocked that time has gone by so quickly since I have written. We have been in the midst of a move and I was on vacation. I was recently reflecting on the passage where Jesus said I no longer call you servant for a servant doesn't know what his master is doing but I call you friend (John 15:15). The Lord spoke to my heart and showed me that when I approach Him as a servant that I will not know what He is up to. A servant or a slave is only expecting to be given direction for the task at hand, not to understand and know the heart of the Father. The word "friend" used in this context is a covenant word and marks a fundamental change in our relationship to God through the New Covenant in Jesus Christ. Under the Old Covenant, a system of Laws given by God, your main focus is obedience to a written law. The New Covenant in Christ ushers in a whole new relationship to God but so many times were attempt to relate to God through rules, traditions, and institutional expectations rather than through the Holy Spirit who is within us (if you have been born again). I realize my mind has been programmed with ways of seeing God through this former relationship dictated by rules or internal rules that don't produce real relationship. To actually experience a friendship with Jesus is unique and fresh. I have had many experiences with the Lord but also have had counterfeits, it may have just been my own mind convincing me that the Christian platitude is really God's voice. I have more and more hunger for Him, not for platitudes, traditions, or Law. Clearly God's word to us personally does not violate His written Word and many times He speaks to us through the written Word. Will you join me on this adventure of entering into friendship (covenant) with Jesus where we will not only learn new language, a new way of seeing things, but a new way of living that produces joy and freedom. As I look at New Testament scripture I see a God who has done everything to come to us where we were and is longing for us to really know Him (not just knowing about Him). I long to know His heart and have caught many glimpses but I journey to consistently commune with Him on a daily basis, living in the reality of His love and grace. I invite you to join me on this journey, I say journey because it is an adventure instead of a perfectly scripted path. Father is always drawing His people, are we willing to hear and respond the gently touch of His Spirit.

In His Love,
Bret Rutland

Husbands and the Word !

As we have been going through a difficult situation in our lives the Lord has been revealing some things "in the midst" of this situation. The Lord was reminding me of the center stage which His Word took in Creation, everything obeyed God's Word. Human beings were the ones given free will to choose to agree with God's Word or agree with another voice. In our culture we have so many voices: politics, Oprah, friends, church, our family, the news media, our own mind and bodies, our work, and many others. My point in all this is that we are going to believe some voice and it is out of this agreement that our life is guided then these seeds of belief come to fruition. We were designed to hear an outside voice to guide our life, give us truth, and communicate our value and purpose. God set this in place when in Genesis 1:28 He blessed Adam and Eve giving them their purpose, direction, and mission. The Lord began to speak to me about the importance of listening to His Word (both His spoken Word by the Spirit and written Word) as a husband. God's spoken Word (Rhema in the Greek) will never violate His written Word (Logos in the Greek) or it is not His Word. Adam did not stand in the truth of the Word of God but listened to another voice (Satan through Eve), I am also tempted to question or doubt the Word of God instead of stand. This was the first event of defilement where Eve was defiled/used by Satan to hurt another human being (Adam). Specifically in Genesis 3:17, Adam is told that there will come a curse as a result of listening to the voice of his wife over the Word of God. It is very important for me to listen to my wife in showing Christ's love (Ephesians 5:25-26) but is her voice to dictate my view of all of life? The Lord has been revealing the foundational role of His Word (John 1:14 - Jesus is the Word became flesh) for me as a husband. How do I discern what is happening in our marriage, our family, our ministry, our church, and the world? Looking through the lens of God's revealed Word, life begins to come into focus and then I can be led by His Spirit as to the direction to walk. We all have our opinions about the world, government, family, etc.. The revealed (John 16:13) Word of God is a solid foundation for life, Jesus being the Word became flesh talked about a house built on sand versus on Rock (Christ). As I have been asking the Lord for revelation into family, He has led me to put my focus on His Word instead of people's schooled wisdom. Too often the Christian life is viewed as a list of do's and don'ts rather than agreeing with God's view in all areas of life. God's revealed Word often clashes with culture, trends, religious ideas, and our own ideas about how life ought to work. But when the storms of life blow, the Word of God is a solid foundation (in the love of Christ) for whatever comes.

In His Grace,
Bret

Decisions for a Lifetime

The Holy Spirit spoke through me to a client, He said "The most important decisions of your life are made in the depths of darkness and on the highest of highs." As I was recently walking through a "Great Sadness" I realized that the decisions I make when my heart is hurting have a big impact on how I will live the rest of my life. If in the midst of hurt I decide to close my heart to protect myself from being hurt again, my ability to love and be loved will be impacted. In counseling I often see people in the darkest places in their life but in the midst of the darkness the Light shines brightest. God is light. It is at these difficult times which come in everyone's life where we can turn our face towards God, towards something to distract, or come up with our own internal solution. I love that God's promises are not only solid and true but He invites us to experience these for ourselves. Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted and so many others. In the highest of highs when you feel on top of life, you also make important decisions. You may praise the Lord or you may praise yourself. These decisions have a big impact on your direction in life. In these moments who do we look to? I said who because there is a part of us (our spirit) that is designed for relationship with God. To look towards God is built into us, in pre-believers they don't know what to do with this deep desire. They often turn to lower ways to try to satisfy this desire. One of the definitions for sin is to "miss the mark". When you are feeling deeply lonely and you turn towards alcohol you have definitely "missed the mark". Alcohol then becomes an addiction, an addiction is simply something that becomes a god that is not God. In other words we are to be addicted to knowing and experiencing God, this brings continual experiencing of life (He who has the Son has life - 1 John 5:12) in our spirit. Some would say since you have God living in you through the Holy Spirit you don't need to keep receiving but this makes no Biblical sense. We have a choice to continue to receive from God or from other sources. A big part of receiving from the Lord is receiving His revealed Word, Jesus is the Word became flesh. In Isaiah 61:1-4 it talks about the Anointed One and what the anointing will do for people. Anointing is the empowerment or grace to do something you can not do without God. Many believe it is relegated to charasmatics or pentecostals but the Word is for all believers. Jesus is often went into the synagogues and shared this scripture and then demonstrated setting captives free, healing the brokenhearted, etc...(Luke 4:15-36). Jesus is the Anointed One, which is what Christ means (Cristos in the Greek) and it also means the anointing which was on Jesus to do what He did. Then throughout Paul's writings we are said to be "in Christ" which is covenant language meaning everything He has is given to us. Anointing also means the manifest presence of God (Holy Spirit). Why do I talk about this? I believe according to the Word of God that the anointing of the Spirit is what brings us freedom, revelation of who God is, strengthening, and healing to our hearts. It is not something you earn or only for special people. In 1 John 2:20 & 27 tells us that believers have received the anointing of the Spirit when you received Christ. I will lay more of a foundation around the anointing, please don't judge until you have more understanding.

In His Amazing Grace,
Bret