Firewalls

Grace, fear and freedom- big themes to a believer who wants to truly be what she talks about. Why grace and fear in the same breath? If grace leads to freedom and fear leads to lack of freedom, could these two opposites possibly intersect?

Steph has a very good discussion of this (Aug. 8.) She suggests we put conditions on receiving grace, thereby saying we fear freedom. Hmm... I agree. But does that make any sense? Certainly not from an objective standpoint. It would not make sense to fear freedom; freedom is good. But from a subjective, experiential perspective it rings true. I mean it should ring true as to the falseness of what we are believing! It points out a lie is lurking in our mind. What we believe acts like an effective firewall against intrusion. If what we believe is mingled with fear-- say, fear of punishment, fear of rejection, fear of making a mistake or a wrong choice, then grace will have a hard time freeing us to believe and live in truth. There's something that we just don't get about grace. Could it be that grace demands that we trust love to be at its source?

I am not rewarded with grace because of an impeccable life. I cannot make all the right choices and decisions in order to walk into more freedom. Please sound the buzzer! That's head knowledge. I know that these are truths, but how do I behave? Too often I operate as though the future rests on my ability (alone) to make wise choices, not screw up and cause bad consequences to occur for myself and others. I need freedom from a faulty firewall that blocks the intrusion of grace, and worse, keeps me from knowing the source of it- the Intruder himself who is a person named Love. I do need a powerful firewall (based in truth) that quarantines lies that conflict with grace and freedom. I need a divine hacking of my code to loose a virus of perfect love. It not only overrides all fear, it casts it out.

I need my mind washed, my spirit renewed, my heart strengthened, and my friends to walk alongside me to encourage my soul as I grow in grace.

Yes and No

Torchwood was started as a group blog for a women's leadership team. This post is by Susan:

I've been thinking about this verse alot lately:

Matthew 5:37 "But let your statement be, 'Yes, yes' or 'No, no'; and anything beyond these is of evil."

About this, Ras Robinson was quoted at http://elijahlist.com/words2/display_word.html?ID=10 ...

"Guard your heart. And be careful about your words. I want you to put a high bar for the words you use. Measure them with great care. Careless words cause so much harm in offenses. Your promises need to be your bonded word. Do not speak until you have My word in your mouth. Refuse to let others put their words in your mouth. And with this comes a loyalty to Me first of all and then to all with whom you communicate. Remember Noah and how his son uncovered him. Do not uncover. And if you have, confess the sin and bring it to me. We want to stop betrayals and drive them totally out. Be careful of betrayals."

"Refuse to let others put their words in your mouth. And with this comes a loyalty to Me first of all and then to all with whom you communicate. "

This is the key. It covers everything. It refuses untruths and eschews belittling and throwing rocks. But it also supports the naming of evil when evil emerges.

"Do not speak until you have My word in your mouth."

How do I know when God's word is in my mouth? It's clear when it's there. If I have any doubt, then that's a good indication that I should keep my mouth shut.