Grace Works: Let God Change Lives through You in 2013

As you consider the beginning of a new year, I want to encourage you to pray about how you can make a positive impact for God's kingdom in 2013. Next year is not so much about your dreams but about God's dreams for your life. With Christ in you, you can do this!

Prepare
Experiencing God's life and love in you is the best way you can prepare to change your world. You don't have to live a perfect life to impact your world. God uses imperfect people to express Himself through us to other people. Yes, I know, we are perfect in our identity but you know what I mean. In a sense, we are all a mess. Here are some books to give you and those you care about, a deeper understanding of Christ in us. The Rest of the Gospel, The Naked Gospel, Classic Christianity, and The Ultimate Makeover.

Pray
Ask God who is currently in your concentric circles who He wants to love through you? What are concentric circles? They are areas of your life where you have or can have relationships. They may include family, friends, neighbors, work place, Christians and those not yet Christians. Write them down. Then ask God to show you how and when to express His love to them. God's love is radically transformative for everyone. That doesn't mean you will act weird and go up to them and say, "God loves you" out of the blue. You can tell them you are praying for them or ask how you can pray for them or anything God leads you to do.

Pause
You don't have to be in a hurry to express Christ's life and love to people. Wait and watch for where God is already working in people's lives. If you just watch for it, you will be amazed at what you see. People are empty and often hurting underneath the veneer of their smile. In the book of Acts, every time the Holy Spirit ministered through a Christian, it was because God was already working.

Praise
You might want to keep a journal of how God works through you in 2013. I think by the end of the year, you will be giving great praise to God at how He impacted people's lives through you.

Happy New Year in Christ!


Mark Maulding, President and Founder



www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Celebrate Christmas: Open the Gift of Righteousness!

    Do you have any gifts from last Christmas you have never opened?  Of course not! You opened those gifts with great excitement and anticipation.

    Yet, many who are in Christ have an incredible gift from God which they have never opened. We read about it in Romans 5:17. "Those who receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." God gave us the gift of righteousness the moment we believed in Jesus Christ for our salvation. It is already yours, but is it possible you are one of those who has not opened it yet? Here is what I mean. When you truly believe that your identity in Christ means that you are righteous, only then have you opened that precious gift. In believing this, you begin to revel in the reality of God's unconditional acceptance of you.

    From age 9, I knew that God accepted me into heaven because of my faith in Christ but I did not know that he accepted me as a Christian. Because I had not opened the gift of righteousness, I was blinded to the fact that I had a "work for God's acceptance" mentality. As a consequence, over time, I began to unravel. When God made clear to me at age 32 that He unconditionally accepted me, my self-worth improved, my marriage improved, my spiritual growth improved and my health improved. I have never been the same!

    I asked a man one time, "How righteous are you?" He said, "It depends on the day." Like many Christians, he was equating his obedience to God with how righteous he was, but his life was falling apart. Counseling and discipling thousands of Christians, we have discovered at Grace Life International that this is a central issue for every Christian.

    2 Corinthians says it this way, "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." Do you see it? God gave us His own righteousness so that it is now our righteousness. You can't get any more righteous than that!

    A lady who recently learned that God had made her righteous the moment she placed her faith in Christ, cried with joy saying she had been struggling with God's acceptance and being loveable.

    God made you acceptable and loveable to Him when He gave you the gift of righteousness! Why don't you do yourself a favor and tell God that you believe He made you righteous in Christ even if you don't feel like it is true? Then pray it as often as you can and watch what happens. Otherwise you will be working really hard to be more righteous and wonder why you feel so defeated. And if you want to help someone else truly celebrate Christmas this year, pass this on so they can choose to agree with God and open their gift of righteousness too!

    Comfort and joy are available to those who open this free gift.

Merry Christmas in Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder



www.GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Celebrate Christmas: Give to Christians in Need

     A Christian leader and his wife drove 100 miles to Grace Life International earlier this year because their marriage was in trouble. They could not afford to come but more importantly they could not afford to not come! Others paid for their counseling because they wanted them to have quality Biblical counseling before their marriage dissolved. Once at Grace Life, the message of the complete Gospel freed and healed them, restoring their damaged marriage. Like many of us, they wondered how they could have missed the simplicity and power of the complete Gospel. They were so impacted by what they heard, that they recently enrolled in our Distance Learning so they can be trained to share what they learned with many other struggling Christians.

   Can you imagine how some of those who paid for their counseling feel now? They are full of joy realizing that their financial investment in this couple kept this Christian leader's marriage from being another sad casualty. You, too, can help other Christians like this who cannot pay for their counseling but desperately need to receive quality Biblical counseling at Grace Life. You can be their unseen hero whom God uses not just to get them through a tough time but to bring them to a place where they want to share with others this marvelous message of "grace"! How can you help? By choosing to financially invest in other needy Christians. 

  At Grace Life International, we need monthly donors who know how transforming the complete Gospel can be in a person's life and relations. As one who receives my weekly e-devotion or blog, you are one of those who personally understand the power of the "grace" message in your own life. Most of these hurting Christians who come to us have not heard it and you can help them, especially the ones who cannot afford to pay for their counseling at Grace Life. To show how great the need is, we counseled 300 people per week in 2012 and have a waiting list even now. Those whom you help will be eternally grateful to God for you. It's like 2 Corinthians 9:12 says, "This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but it is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God".

   To help the needy Christians whom God keeps sending to us, Grace Life International needs monthly donors at $50 per month, $75 per month, $100 per month or any other amount smaller or greater. How do you get started? The easiest way is to sign up on our secure web site. To go there click here. Donate Now  Once on our Donation page, you will be able to check the "I want to make a recurring donation" box so that your gift will be automatic each month. You can also send your first check made out to and mail it to Grace Life International, 1337 Hundred Oaks Drive., Suite EE, Charlotte, NC 28217. We will send you a receipt and envelope for the next month. Or, we can do automatic check withdrawals for you each month. Just request a form at Info@GraceLifeInternational.com. All gifts are tax-deductible.

   Would you pray right now and ask Father about helping these needy Christians and at what monthly amount? He may even surprise you and ask you to give an amount beyond your ability. If He does that, then you simply tell him, "Lord, if You will provide that amount, I will give it each month." I think you will be blessed by what He does for you and through you! Let's work together to restore and strengthen our brothers and sisters in Christ who need God's healing, freeing grace.

Merry Christmas in Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder



www.GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Celebrate Christmas by Surrendering Your Rights

As we approach the celebration of the Incarnation, God the Son becoming human, let's reflect on what happened in heaven before that blessed event.

In Philippians 2:5-7 we read, "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus who although He existed in the form of God." (NASB) Jesus, being God the Son, is equal to God the Father. Because of this, He had every right to remain in heaven. He did not have to leave and miraculously be born as a human. Yet, He did not hold onto this right but gave it up in order to obey His Father and to redeem us. In doing so, He put Himself in a position to depend upon His Father in heaven and in Him to live, minister, die on the cross and be raised from the dead. As a human, though He would still be 100% God, He would never once depend on His own deity to do one miracle or live one moment. Another way of understanding what Jesus did is that He gave up all of His rights to live as God the Son.

We are exhorted to have this same attitude or "thinking" in our own lives. God wants us to surrender our rights we are holding on to, to Him. For example, we all want to be loved and accepted, especially by certain people. That desire is from God. However, it is very easy to turn that into an expectation and then a right. Once we believe it is a right, if we do not surrender it to God, it puts us in bondage because we become disappointed and angry when a person does not come through for us.

There are many other rights that we need to surrender to God. How do we know what those rights are? Usually when we feel afraid or angry, that is like the "check engine" light in our car. It lets us know there may be a right God wants us to surrender. We need to ask God about that and see what He shows us.

Here is a suggested prayer for surrendering our rights. "Father, just as Jesus, who lives in me, surrendered His right to stay in Heaven and live as God so He could become human, I surrender my rights. I surrender the right to ________________ (Fill in the blank with each right the Holy Spirit shows you to surrender.) Having surrendered this right, Father is there an exchange you want to give me in its place? (Wait a few moments and listen to the Lord for each right you surrender.) Thank you Father. I receive that gift from you as an heir to one of my blessings in Christ Jesus. Amen."

Surrendering rights is not a one-time event. Throughout our lives, we will need to surrender our rights to God, some of them over and over. We will experience much more peace and freedom as we do so.

May your Christmas be bright as you surrender your rights to God even as Jesus, Who is our Life, did before being born into this world!

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #12 - My (kids, job, etc.) are My Life

   It was quite embarrassing. Several years ago, we were meeting our home group at the church building. Two of my boys were horsing around and one hurt his brother. I talked with him sternly about the seriousness of what he had done. After we cleaned up, it was time to go. I noticed that this particular child was not around. After a while, all of the adults were searching for him. We could not find him anywhere. I was fairly certain he had reacted to my discipline by hiding somewhere. So, not knowing what else to do, we went out to our cars and just sat there. In a few moments our son came walking out from behind the very large church building. We were all relieved.

   During our search for our son, there were tempting thoughts arising in my mind like these: "I am in the ministry. What will they think of me?" "How can I teach on parenting at Grace Life International and have a child act like this?" I knew these thoughts were not coming from me but from indwelling sin. As we were driving away, I turned to Ellen and said, "I sure am glad that Jesus is our life and not our kids". That was the end of those tempting thoughts.

   It is so very easy to make our life our kids, our wife, our husband, our job, our sports team, our hobbies, etc. By "life", I mean, that we make them the primary source of a meaningful life. That person, activity or organization is where we derive most of our joy in life. We believe that we cannot be happy unless these are close to perfect.

   As you can imagine, there are a lot of things which go awry because of this. We try to control our kids, spouse, job, etc. to the point that it can become an obsession. This is often called co-dependence. At Grace Life International, we believe it is better defined by the words "relational idolatry", because we are attempting to get these to do for us, what our relationship with God Himself can provide for us. No wonder Galatians 5:20 says, "Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions."

   It took me many years to understand what Colossians 3:4 means when it says, "For when Christ who is our life shall appear, then shall we also appear with Him in glory." Christ in us alone is our life. Our relationship with Him is our primary source of meaning in life and power to live like who we are in Christ. When we believe Jesus is our Life, we can actually love and enjoy our relationships, jobs, exercise, and hobbies more than we can imagine.

   I love what Eric Liddel said to his sister in the movie, "Chariots of Fire". She was concerned that his running for Britain in the 1924 Paris Olympics was moving him away from his relationship with Christ. His response gave clear evidence that the opposite was true because running was not his life, Jesus was. He said, "When I run, I feel His pleasure." He actually enjoyed Jesus as his life so much, that he could sense how much God enjoyed his running.

   Who or what are we making our "life" today? Maybe it's time to reconsider this as we bear down on the end of 2012. Why don't we all pray, "Father, show me what or who I have been attempting to make my life. If He reveals something, renounce it, and agree with Him that Christ alone is our Life even if we don't feel it! God give me revelation understanding about what this really means."

Live Free in Christ,


Mark Maulding, Founder & President




www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #11 God Will Not Give Us More Than We Can Handle

    Since this week is Thanksgiving week, I thought I would write on a myth that you may face this week. Some of us are going to be in family situations which are very difficult and stressful. Others of us are facing a Thanksgiving without a loved one for the first time. Or maybe, we are in a circumstances this year which is very dire.

    Often in these situations, we say, "God will not give me more than I can handle". This idea is most likely a misinterpretation of 1 Corinthians 10:13 which says, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." If we read closely, it does not say "God will not give us more than we can handle." It actually says that when we are tempted, God will provide a way of escaping the temptation. Our ability mentioned here is referring to Christ in us.

    God does allow us to sometimes experience more than we can handle because He loves us, not because He's mad at us. He knows that our inability to handle life circumstances will often lead us to spiritual brokenness. In this brokenness, He can reveal Christ in us as our very Life. Romans 8:13 speaks of spiritual brokenness this way. "If you are living according to the flesh, you must die". Death here is a reference to us coming to the end of our own self-sufficient way of trying to handle our lives.

    Paul wrote of his own brokenness in Romans 7:23-24 saying, "Wretched man that I am! Who will save me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord." Paul finally realized he did not need a "how to", he needed a "Who to" - Jesus Christ in him!

    So, whether you are headed to a joyous Thanksgiving or a challenging one, turn to Jesus in you and ask Him to handle each relationship and situation. 

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder



www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #10 - If I Prayed and Read My Bible More, I Would Overcome My Sin

    Praying and reading our Bible are very important for a number of reasons, most of all for experiencing intimacy with God. In fact, these are essential for us. Not in a legalistic, religious, check-list way, but in a relational way. When I came out of legalism, I realized I had no idea how to really be intimate with God. Praying and reading the Bible was such a "performance" that I asked God to teach me what He meant. It's all about a relationship!

    Many Christians have read their Bibles and prayed in hopes of overcoming a sin which continually defeats them such as anger, lying, pornography, people pleasing, never being wrong, superiority, self-condemnation, sexual lust, performing for acceptance, addictions and more. The next time they fail, they may think as I once did, "If I prayed and read my Bible even more, I would be able to stop committing this sin." It becomes a vicious cycle. Sin - confess my sin to God - pray more - read the Bible more - sin - confess my sin to God - pray more - read the Bible more - etc.

    Some will get an accountability partner in hopes that when they are tempted to commit that particular sin again, they can contact them to prevent them from falling into this sin again. It's fine to have someone to share our struggles with who will pray for us and encourage us but most of us who have done this have discovered it doesn't stop our sinning problem. God has only one way of defeating the sins which keep defeating us - grace! And the (complete) Gospel explains this to us clearly. In fact, Romans 6:14 says, Sin shall not be master over you for you are not under law but under grace." But, what exactly does this mean?

    Grace means that when we are tempted, we need to face the temptation head on with the truth of our union with Christ. What most of us do when tempted is say to ourselves things like, "I am a Christian. I shouldn't feel this way or do this." While this is true, it only serves to put us under the law turning us to the bankruptcy of self-effort. We soon find ourselves doing the sin we said we shouldn't do. Why? Because sin actually gains power from the law causing us to sin!

    The "grace way" of dealing with temptation is something like this. We need to take ourselves out from under the law in our minds by saying or praying, "I'm free to do this sin because I am not under the law. God will still love me and accept me if I do this." (Romans 7:6, Romans 8:1) Because my old identity in Adam which loved to ______ (insert your sin) died with Jesus on the cross. (Romans 6:6) I am not a ______ person. (insert angry person, pornographic person, etc.) As a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), I am a ______ (insert your identity in Christ which is the opposite of your sin - for example, a forgiver in Christ, a pure, righteous person in Christ). Jesus, please live through me and take care of this temptation right now. (Galatians 2:20). This is not a formula. It is responding relationally with God based on our union with Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection. I've been amazed through the years as to how many people have experienced victory over temptation through understanding  grace (their union with Christ). Some have asked me what to do if this does not "work". I tell them that it usually means they are no longer dealing with the flesh but with demonic resistance. We must at that point take authority over our enemy based on Jesus' victory over him and our union with Him - still overcoming by grace (what has already been done for the believer)!

    What is your sin which keeps defeating you? God's only solution is His grace! Choose to believe it and live from it. If you need some confidential help, please call our office for a free consultation with one of our very gifted counselors. We will be glad to walk with you to show you how God's grace can be God's solution to your struggles with sin. Contact us today!

Live Free in Christ,


Mark Maulding, Founder & President
(On Behalf of the GLI Staff)



www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Myth #9 - The Gospel is Only for People Who Aren't Christians

Have you every read a familiar verse of Scripture but this time it sort of "jumped out at you"? If you know what I mean, it is as if you had never read it before because it has suddenly come alive in your spirit. Some of you recognize this as a "quickening" or a "check" in the spirit. That happened to me recently as I was reading in Romans 1:15, where the Apostle Paul says, "So, for my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome". "You", in this context means---to the Christians. Was Paul wanting them to "get saved" again? No. So what's up with that?

Paul knew that if Christians do not have a revelation of the (complete) Gospel, we cannot grow spiritually to our maximum capacity. Paul knew that understanding the (complete) Gospel can heal the deepest wounds of our hearts and ruptured relationships. Paul knew for us to be the fullest expressions of Christ in this world, (the best human being possible) we need to understand the (complete) Gospel.

That is why He spent 11 chapters in Romans explaining the (complete) Gospel. What is very surprising is that in those 11 chapters, he does not tell Christians to "do" anything. He does give the greatest explanation of what God has not only done for us, but in us and to us, through our union with Christ. Then in chapters 12-16, he tells us how to live from our union with Christ. Would you like to know the essence of the (complete) Gospel? Here it is:

A. The (complete) Gospel is that we can be intimate with God because Jesus Christ is in us and we are in Him, to love us and to live His life through us. Galatians 2:20 says "'I' (the old sinner in Adam) have been crucified with Christ...nevertheless 'I' (the new creation) live, but Christ lives in me". Our new union and Source for living life.

B. The (complete) Gospel is that we can experience peace with God because He has forgiven our past, present and future sins. Colossians 2:13 says God has "forgiven us all our transgressions." Hebrews 10:17 says And their sins and iniquities I will remember no more."

C. The (complete) Gospel means we are defined by our identity in Christ (by what's been done for us, in us and to us (through our union with Christ), not by our past, the opinions of others, our professions or performance. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation."

D. The (complete) Gospel gives us the ability to conquer sin by living under grace instead of Law. Romans 6:14 says "For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace."


E. The (complete) Gospel frees us to love God beautifully, ourselves Biblically and others freely and boldly, (because we don't need anything from them because are choosing to allow Christ to meet all our needs).

I don't know about you, but I need to "preach" the (complete) Gospel to myself daily so that my focus remains on Jesus and what He has done for me, to me, and in me, through my union with Him, so He can live through me (meaning His character is revealed). But even more, all of us at GLI are passionate about sharing the "complete" Gospel with all of the Christians God is sending our way.

Have you been taught the "complete" Gospel? If not, contact us because we have several ways you can gain understanding through the Scriptures at our discipleship conference, personal discipleship, personal counseling, a grace group or our Advanced Discipleship Training, in a community environment. Life's too short. Contact us today.

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder



www.GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

The Gospel for Christians through Technology

   

Early in 2012, I was asking our Father where He wanted to take Grace Life International. One thing He spoke very clearly was "technology". I knew what He meant immediately. Up to date technology is a tool which can be used by God to share the complete gospel with Christians. Look at some of the opportunities coming our way and pray for us.

SKYPE COUNSELING
"I live in another state but I really need your discipleship counseling. Can you counsel me through Skype?" This is a question we are getting more and more. The answer is "Yes we can but for only a limited number of people because of our computers are too old to handle this technology."

DISCIPLESHIP CONFERENCES
"I would like to go to one of your grace-based discipleship conferences but I live too far away. Can I download it from your web site?" The answer is "No, but we have a plan in place to provide that in the near future." At this point, we can send you the DVDs or the CDs along with the Grace Life Conference manual which works fine in the USA, but is a little more challenging in other nations.

DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING
When I was meeting with Christian leaders from several European countries recently, I was shocked when one of them said publicly, "It is great to finally meet in person one of my mentors, Mark Maulding." Later, I asked him what he meant only to find out that he and others in Europe had been watching, not only my teaching, but Grace Life International's entire Advanced Discipleship Training on DVD. That was exciting, but later I realized that if it could be provided over the internet, we could train hundreds or even thousands in Europe in how to live by God's grace and how to disciple others to live by God's grace.

LIFE COACHING
Life Coaching and Counseling are very different. Christian counseling is in essence helping a person find God's answer in Christ to their present problem caused by events in their past. Christian Life Coaching is helping a person discover how God designed them so they can plan their future to fulfill the purpose for which God created them. Most people today want Life Coaching through Skype. I can currently provide this through the Internet on a limited basis.

These are a few ways that the complete gospel of grace is finding avenues for us to be able to share it with Christians who are hurting, Christians who are spiritually hungry and Christians who want Life Coaching. I write this week to ask you to pray with us at GLI that our Father will provide the resources we need to be able to reach out through technology locally, in the USA and to the nations.

Live Free In Christ,



Mark Maulding, President and Founder







www.GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Myth #8 - We Need to Balance Grace with Law

 


    God's grace seems too good to be true because God accepts us who are in Christ with no strings attached! He accepts us 100% when we obey Him and He accepts us 100% when we sin. Put another way, we cannot cause God to accept us more through obeying Him and serving Him nor can we cause God to accept us less when we disobey or don't serve Him. When we are reading our Bibles, praying, giving, serving, attending worship, going to Sunday school or our small group, God completely accepts us. On the other hand, when we are not doing any of these, God still accepts us.

    How do we know this? When we study Romans 5, by the end of the chapter, we see two amazing statements. Romans 5:1 says, "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (NASB) Justified means to be forgiven of all sins - past, present and future; and it means to be made 100% righteous. In fact, by being a new creation in Christ, we have become as righteous as God in our identity! (See Corinthians 5:21) The second amazing statement we see is Romans 5:20. "The law was brought in so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more." (NIV) In other words, we cannot "out sin" God's grace! Grace is always faster, bigger and stronger than our sin!

    This might scare us into thinking, "If people believe this, they will live a very sinful lifestyle. We need to balance grace with God's law so they will not sin." Actually, believing that God accepts us will lead us into an incredible intimacy with the One who is in us! And from this intimacy, we will sin less and obey God more! We do not need the law to keep us from sinning. That is what Romans 5-8 is all about. (If you have never studied Romans 5-8, please consider coming to one of our weekends or purchase our CDs. Find out more info in this email.) Keep walking in the grace of God and don't lose your freedom in Christ!

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder




www.GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #7 - If I Really Trusted God, I Wouldn't Have Problems

    I wish it was true that if we trusted God we wouldn't have problems and our lives would always be great. That would be terrific...if it was the way God operated. This kind of thinking comes in many different forms such as: "If I really trusted God I would never have financial problems." "If I really trusted God, I would always be blessed with good circumstances." "If I really trusted God, I would get healed." "If I really trusted God, I wouldn't get depressed or feel afraid." "If I trusted God, I wouldn't need to take an anti-depressant." "If I really trusted God, my kids wouldn't mess up." "If I really trusted God, I wouldn't need Christian counseling."

    Because this kind of thinking is false, we can feel very guilty when things don't change as we have prayed they would. Then we can even go down the road of, "If I only had enough faith."

    Some time back one of our staff had to have surgery for a serious condition. This staff member received a call from someone well intended exhorting them and somewhat scolding them that if they would really trust God and have faith, God would heal them and they would not have to have surgery. This staff member was trusting God and we were all believing God's promises. This staff member chose to have the surgery and in the midst of a very difficult recovery, experienced a depth of intimacy with God he had never known before! God did heal him through the surgery and through his faith he experienced God in new ways!

    There is no doubt God wants us to trust Him, depend on Him and believe His promises. However, even if our trust in God is 100%, that does not obligate God to do anything. He always loves us and His sovereign plans intersecting with His love are always what are best for us even when we don't understand.

    It's interesting that when you look at God's heart for us in the Bible, you see a very different perspective. For example, in 2 Corinthians 1:9-11, Paul writes that he is under such difficult circumstances he thinks he may die. He responds to this by saying, "These things happened that we might not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead." Paul's challenging life events were not a result of him not trusting God. In fact, Paul understood that these difficult circumstances were an opportunity to trust God in a deeper way.

    Did you know that Paul and his mission team experienced depression even though he trusted God? He writes in 2 Corinthians 7:6, "But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus." Paul also had health problems though he trusted God. He reminded the Christians in Galatia "As you know, it was because of an illness that I first preached the gospel to you." Galatians 4:13

    Trusting God is not going to keep us from problems. These problems are an opportunity to affirm in prayer that we are relying on all that God is and has promised because we are united with Him. To live in and from our union with God while we trust Him provides opportunity after opportunity to go deeper into intimacy with Him!

Live Free in Christ,


Mark Maulding, Founder & President




www.GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #6 - If I Obey God, He Will Love Me More

 

    It is very typical for us as Christians to think that God will love us more if we obey Him but that is simply not true. Yet, every week our counselors at Grace Life hear Christian after Christian share on some level how they believe God's love for them is in direct proportion to their obedience to Him. We understand how they feel because most of us were there at one time but it also breaks our hearts knowing the bondage this produces.

    It seems as if we are sometimes schizophrenic in how we view God's love for us. We tell those outside of Christ that God loves them no matter what they have done and He wants to have a relationship with them through faith in Jesus Christ. Once a person has come to Christ, we can infer or say outright that God will now love them only if they obey Him. Wait a minute! So God loves us unconditionally so we can come to faith in Christ but once we are saved, God loves us conditionally? To take a line from the movie, "O Brother Where Art Thou", "That don't make no sense!" It would seem as though our Father's love would be just as unconditional after we are saved. Right? So, for we who are in Christ unconditional means that there are no strings attached to our behavior whether good or bad.

    I love what John wrote in 1 John 1: "We love Him because He first loved us." Living with the constant awareness of God's love will lead us to obey Him. Imagine a child telling her parents she loves them but not obeying them.

    For some who believe in living by grace, if the topic of obedience to God comes up, they immediately call that legalism. As Forest Gump said, "I'm not a very smart man, Jenny, but I do know what love is." I'm not a very smart man either but I do know what God's love is. And I know that when we know God loves us, we want to obey Him because we love Him. That's not legalism at all. It's a love relationship. Paul wrote that the love of Christ compelled Him to obey God.

    If you are a recovering legalist, like me, and you have recently come out of legalism, I realize that because you obeyed God for all the wrong reasons, that word may conjure up very bad feelings. I remember when I had my grace awakening that I had no idea how to pray, even though I had been praying for two hours a day before that. I had to ask God to show me what prayer was all about because I had done it to impress God so He would love me more. We may need to ask the Holy Spirit to renew our minds about the difference in love based obedience versus legalistic based obedience to God.

    We need to ask ourselves where we are as we read this? Have we obeyed God so He would love us more? The good news is He loves us whether we obey Him or not. Let's all pray the Holy Spirit would deepen our understanding of this great gospel truth!

Live Free in Christ,


Mark Maulding, Founder & President




www.GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #5 - I'm Just a Sinner Saved by Grace

The common phrase, "I'm just a sinner saved by grace", sounds humble but it is far from the message of the gospel. I understand what people are attempting to communicate. All of us in Christ realize that before our salvation, we did not deserve our salvation. Then after our salvation, because we still sin, we do not deserve the blessings God gives to us. While this phrase may sound humble, it is not true and may actually cause us to sin more. Why?

We understand that the perception we have of ourselves will determine how we live our lives. The late Dr. Adrian Rogers said, "The me I see is the me I'll be." Take a moment and repeat that statement. If we are just a sinner saved by grace, why would we expect to do anything other than sin? In fact, if that is who we really are deep within our inner most being, it would be much more likely for us to sin. Right?

So who are we? The only perspective of us which really matters is God's. Believing any opinion we or anyone else has of us which is contrary to God's opinion causes much trouble. When we agree with God about who we are and the Holy Spirit makes this real to us, it transforms us. Our Abba says things like, "You are my son/daughter". "You are a saint." "You are righteous." You are beloved (lovable and loved)." Isn't that really fantastic news?

Unfortunately, it is tempting to do mental gymnastics to squirm around this truth by believing God just sees us that way but it won't really be true until heaven. The good news is that who God says we are is true now, regardless of our sins, obedience, feelings, etc. 1 John 3:1 says "What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it--we're called children of God! That's who we really are." (The Message) Notice that last phrase - "That is who we really are". God is not pretending or just seeing us as we will be in heaven one day.

I was the main speaker at a pastor and wife retreat when I met him. He was 21 and trying to decide whether to come and hear me speak or to go to the youth event. He asked me about my topic and I told him it was about who we are in Christ. He decided to stay and he heard me preach all three sessions. The last day after everyone departed, he approached me with his story.

"I am a Christian but until recently, I strayed far from my relationship with God. Because of the things I did, I did not feel worthy of God blessing me with a godly wife who loved Jesus like I now do. After hearing what God says about who I am in Christ, I realize that I can have a godly wife." About a year later, he married one of the sweetest young ladies who loved Jesus just as much as he did. He is now a student pastor.

What if we all said, "I was a sinner saved by grace. Now I am a child of God who sometimes sins." Our experience at Grace Life is that when people come to believe this in their hearts, they actually sin less and are much more aware of when they do sin. God cannot lie and He does not call you a sinner saved by grace but He calls us His child and much, much more. What will we call ourselves today?

Live Free in Christ,

Mark Maulding, Founder & President



 www.gracelifeinternational.com
Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #4 - God Punishes Us

  

The majority of Christians wrongly believe that God punishes them when they mess up. So, when bad things happen to them, they default to thinking, "I must have committed some sin because God is punishing me. Otherwise, this wouldn't have happened to me."

God does not punish us who are in Christ! He cannot! Why? Because all of His anger for our sins was placed on Jesus on His cross. 1 John 2:1 says, "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins..." Have we told the Lord lately that we are so glad for our propitiation? Probably not! We may have no idea what that word means. It is a great word and it literally means this. The anger of God towards us because of our sins was completely satisfied by the death of Jesus on the cross. If all of our Father's anger for our sins was dealt with on the cross, then He cannot and will not ever get angry with us or punish us again, because He punished Jesus who took all our sins for us.

In the movie, Double Jeopardy, a wife is convicted of murdering her husband and goes to prison. While in prison, she learns that her husband faked his death and framed her. Another inmate tells her that if she gets paroled, she could kill her ex-husband and would not be tried for murder because of the 5th Amendment. According to the double jeopardy clause, a person cannot be tried for the same crime twice.

We were tried for our crimes of sin and found guilty. Our sentence was death but Jesus took our place and died for us. As a result, we cannot be found guilty again by God for our sins because they are already paid for. God the Father will not ever be angry with us because of our sins, even the ones we have not yet committed.

Because He loves us, He does sometimes discipline us according to Hebrews 12, but that is not the same as punishment. Punishment is when we are required to pay for our sins. Discipline is when sin gets us off track and God is working things in a way to get us back on track. Back on track, in depending on Him and enjoying our union with Jesus Christ.

Then does God feel anything when we sin? Yes, it hurts Him like it would any parent. That is why we are told not to grieve the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 4:30.

If we believe God still punishes us, we don't really understand the gospel. That is why our slogan at Grace Life International is that we are all about "Sharing the Gospel with Christians." We were a mess and someone shared the transformative gospel of grace with us, which continues to free us from pain and religion. We are now passionate to walk with others in their journey of God's grace.

What peace, relief and rest we can experience when we understand and believe God does not punish us for our sins. Do we really believe in the whole gospel? If you have never attended one of our Grace Life Conferences where we spell this out using lots of Scripture, please visit our web site for more information and come join us for one of our monthly conferences.

Live Free in Christ,



Mark Maulding, Founder & President







 www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #3 - Christians Must Keep the 10 Commandments

Do we as Christians need to obey the 10 Commandments? No. Yet, when I hear Christians talk, I wonder if we are reading the same Bible. A man I was discipling one time got in trouble when he shared at his church that we are not obligated to keep the 10 Commandments. This belief is caused by a lack of understanding of the transformative gospel of grace.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:17-18, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from  the Law until everything is accomplished." (NIV) Jesus Himself did what no human has ever been able to do. He perfectly fulfilled the Law so that we don't have to.

Still not convinced? Look at Timothy 1:9 "Realizing the fact that the law is not made for a righteous person..." (NAS) There is only one way to be a righteous person - through faith in Jesus Christ alone, not through our obedience. So, the 10 Commandments are not for Christians.

Imagine waking up every day with a husband whose first words are, "I have a list of things you have to do today. I am going to follow you to make sure you do them perfectly. I will point out every mistake to you. And by the way, I will not lift a finger to help you. Have a good day!" Does anyone want to be in that marriage? That is what it is like to be married to Mr. Law.

But what if you have a husband whose first words every day are, "I love you so much! Let's go have some breakfast together. While we are talking together, enjoying each other, I will share with you some things I want you to do today but don't worry about them. I will not only go with you but I will actually do each one through you if you will trust me. And if you make a mistake, I will gently let you know but no matter what, don't forget that I love you." Who wants to be in this marriage? It's a no-brainer. This is what it is like being married to Mr.. Grace - Jesus! Romans 7:1-7 says we died to Mr. Law and are now in a holy union with Mr. Grace!

Some will argue that we only have to keep the law for our sanctification (spiritual growth) but not our justification (salvation). Galatians 3:24-25. says, "So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the supervision of the law." Can it be any clearer? Once we come to faith in Christ, we are not obligated to keep the 10 Commandments!

God has given us something so much better than trying to keep the 10 Commandments. He has actually written the Law on our hearts according to Hebrews 10:16. This is referring to our new creation identity in Christ which gives us the desire to obey Jesus in us. We have Jesus in us so we can love God, people and ourselves appropriately. And love always fulfills the law according to Romans 13:8-10. Ask Jesus to live His life through you in the power of the Holy Spirit by faith (not by feelings) and you will live out the 10 Commandments without even thinking about them! Let go of the 10 Commandments today and enjoy your union with Jesus!

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder





www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #2 - Get Closer to God

Is it possible for a Christian to get closer to God? No. Yet, if you listen to a lot of Christians, you would never know that. Look at the titles of these articles I recently read. "12 Steps to Get Closer to God" and "10 Ways to Get Closer to God". If we add those together, we need to do 22 things to get closer to God! I'm tired already! How about you?

This kind of thinking is based on a faulty understanding of the gospel. The real good news is that we who believe in Jesus Christ are as close to God as we are ever going to get, both in this life and the one to come. Why? Because we are united to Christ. He lives in us and we live in Him. You cannot get any closer to God than that! For example, Galatians 2:20 says, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Also, the letter to the Ephesians mentions that we are in Christ over 30 times just to mention a few.

Some may wonder about James 4:8 which says, "Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." In the early church, some who believed in Jesus as their Savior, especially Jewish people, were taught that they also needed to commit themselves to believing in the law if they wanted to truly be saved. Salvation was Jesus plus the law. James appears to be addressing these who were in church but who were not appearing as genuine Christians because of the false gospel they believed. So, he calls them double-minded and sinners. His exhortation to come near to God is an invitation to become a Christian. The Bible never tells Christians to come near or to get closer to God.

We can certainly feel closer to God at times, but that is not an indication of whether we are close to God. During those times of feeling closer to God, we are actually experiencing our union with Jesus Christ in a more tangible way than we do on other days. You might ask, "Is there a way for us to experience more of our closeness to God?" Yes! It's much like our human relationships in that the more communication and time we spend with another person, it makes us feel closer to that person. However, if we don't have the foundation of understanding and believing that we are already as close to God as we will ever be through our union with Him, these ways tend to become legalistic.

These are often called the "spiritual disciplines". I don't like that designation because I can't imagine calling the times I spend and communicate with my wife the "marriage disciplines". Yet, there is no doubt we sometimes (not always) feel closer to God through prayer, reading, memorizing, meditating in the Bible, fasting, etc. When we desire to do these, it gives us the opportunity to gaze upon the Lover of our soul. I personally love reading my Bible and praying every day. I will also confess to you that every time I get ready to read my Bible, I am tempted to watch television or read a magazine. I've come to realize this is just a temptation to try and stop me from my times of intimacy with my God.

Believe that because you are united with Jesus Christ, you can never get closer to God. And to experience more of that closeness, be creative in how you spend time and communicate with Him. There is not a right time or right way to do this. It is as unique as God has designed us.Live Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, President and Founder www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Christian Myth #1 - Get More Committed to Jesus

   Often we are under the impression that we would live a less sinful life if we were more committed to Jesus.  Being more committed to Jesus means we will try harder to live for God instead of for sin.  If we have bought into this myth, we have realized it leads to failure upon failure.  Why?  Because being more committed to Jesus actually puts us in a position to live in our own religious strength instead of His divine strength.  Being more committed to Him causes us to act as though we are separate from Him. That would be like pushing our lawn mower over our yard without any gas in the engine in hopes that it would cut the grass.  No wonder many people give up on the Christian life completely.   

   God does not want us to get more committed to Him.  What may surprise us is that the words "commit" and "committed" are used 99% of the time in the Old and New Testaments in the context of committing sin.  They are never ever used to tell us to get more committed to God.  

   Then what does God want?  For we who believe, He wants us to daily surrender to Jesus in us.  This puts us in a place of dependence on Him and not ourselves.  Rather than living as though we are separated from God, we live from our union with Him. Take a quick look at a few scriptures describing our union with Christ.  1 Corinthians 6:17 "But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him."  Romans 7:4 "...you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ, so that you might be joined to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God."  Galatians 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I now live in the body, I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."  Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ..."

   Surrendering to Christ so we can live from our union with Him is saying, "I  am willing to do whatever You want me to do today and I am depending completely on You Who lives in me to do those things through me".  Do you see how different this is from being more committed to Him?

   I have had the privilege of mentoring all three of my sons.  One said to me, "I just can't live the Christian life!"  As we talked through it, what became obvious was that deep down he believed the myth that being committed to Jesus Christ would result in living a life which overcomes sin and he was failing over and over.  You see, he was so focused on his behavior that he was missing the wonderful relationship of our union with Christ.  I encouraged him to focus more on that and in time the behavior would follow.  

   The good news for us today is that we can stop trying to be more committed to Jesus and can surrender to Him, since we are united to Him - He is in us and we are in Him.  Are you willing to begin right now?  Go ahead and tell Him.  Even if we don't feel any different or see an immediate change in our behavior, let's not give up.  Over time, we will be transformed.

  

    

 
Live Free In Christ, 


Mark Maulding, President and Founder 



www.GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Freedom from Bitterness

 
   Hebrews 12:15 "See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."  Bitterness is our unawareness or unwillingness to deal with the offense inflicted on us by another person.  When we live in bitterness, we often fantasize about what we really would like to say or do to that person if we had a chance.  We think of how we would make them pay for what they did to us or to someone we love.  You see, it is OK to feel but it is not OK to get stuck in that hurt.  If we get stuck in the hurt, it turns into bitterness.  This bitterness eventually spills over into the relationships of those we love who haven't even hurt us. 

   On the trail where my wife and I run, there is a plant called Kudzu.  It was introduced to the USA from Japan in 1876 as a forage crop and believe it or not, as an ornamental plant.  Southeastern farmers were encouraged to grow it to prevent soil erosion.  What no one knew at the time is that the climate conditions in the southeastern United States are perfect for the super duper growth of this plant and it has no natural predator.  By 1953, the Department of Agriculture declared it a "pest weed".  In other words, it has grown out of control on millions of acres of land and there is no way to stop it! 

   Bitterness is just like that.  It was introduced by Satan to the human heart back in the Garden of Eden and there is no human way to stop it.  It will overrun your entire life!  But God has a way to kill it.  When Jesus died on the cross, we died with Him to bitterness (Romans 6:6-7)  and we were raised with Him as new creations who are "forgivers".  This is our identity. 

   God's remedy to bitterness is to live out of our identity.  This means we need to sit down with God and tell Him all the reasons we are bitter towards that person and how we feel about that person, even if we "hate" them.  We need to go on and tell God that we forgive that person though they don't deserve it, just like we did not deserve God's forgiveness in Christ.  Ephesians 4:31-32 says, "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." 

   I have learned that we need to also confess our sin of bitterness to God so we can experience the full freedom of our forgiveness in Christ.  Without this, we may not experience complete peace. 

   So what are we going to do today?  Are we going to let bitterness grow inside of us like Kudzu?  Or, are we going to live like who we are in Christ, agreeing with Him and forgive?  The choice is up to each of us.  When you choose to forgive, schedule a time on your calendar or you may keep putting it off! 

   If you need someone to walk with you through the forgiveness process, we can help.  Contact GLI at 704-522-9026.  Also, please pray about signing up for the Lay Aside Every Weight Conference scheduled for Sept 7-8 at the Steele Creek Church of Charlotte.  You can get more information and register by contacting our office.  

Live Free in Christ,

  

Mark Maulding, Founder and President

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

The Pain of Rejection

 It is said that there are only two things which are certain in life - death and taxes.  I want to add a third one - rejection!  You don't have to live very long in this life before someone rejects you.  And when they do, wow, does it ever cut so deeply into our soul.  It really hurts!

Why do people reject us?  It is a symptom of the sins of their own flesh.  Real quickly, how should we define sin?  Romans 14:23 (...everything that does not come from faith is sin) tells us sin is any time a person is living life without depending on God.  What is flesh?  It is the patterns of sin we develop when we do not depend on Christ in us.  For example, perfectionism may arise from a desire to do things perfectly to try to control my world.  If you are a neurosurgeon, please be a perfectionist!  That is OK.  If we are parents and we require perfection of our kids, that is not OK!  It communicates rejection.  We are trying to control them.

That is just one example of how the flesh can inflict rejection on a person.  A sin can convey rejection to those around us.

How do we deal with rejection?  First recognize that you have felt rejection.  Second, sit down with God and be honest about the rejection, then choose to forgive the person who rejected you.  Finally, in prayer affirm to God that He unconditionally accepts you because He made you acceptable by giving you your new identity in Christ.

We may also need to lovingly confront the person about their rejection behavior.  Before we do this, let's make sure we have really prayed about it to make sure that is what our Father wants us to do in this situation.  Sometimes, all we need to do is forgive.  Other times, we need to forgive and confront in love.  Read Matthew 18:1-17.

If you are stuck in your feelings of rejection, we would love to walk with you to help you experience God's healing.  At Grace Life International, we have all been there and are available to help you in person, by phone or by Skype.  For more information, please call us at 704-522-9026.  You can also visit us on the web at www.GraceLifeInternational.com

Live Free In Christ, 


Mark Maulding, President and Founder 



www.GraceLifeInternational.com 
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Identity Theft

    Every minute, 19 people have their identity stolen.  Identity theft means someone takes your identity away from you without your knowledge and uses it for their own devious purposes.  Most often, it is a way for that person to benefit financially at your expense.

   A few years ago, I was a victim of identity theft in the Amsterdam airport on my way to teach a retreat for some leaders in Central Asia.  YOU have also experienced identity theft.

   In Genesis 3, all humans had their identity stolen by Satan.  Our identity was far more valuable than billions of dollars.  The identity God had given mankind was stolen from our original parents, Adam and Eve.

   We have all been searching to recover identity ever since.  Where do we look to try to find it?  Parents, friends, boyfriends/girlfriends, sex, jobs, performance, religion, appearance, past successes, failures, opinions of others, clothes, money and to many other sources.  The problem is that none of those can adequately define us.  If we let any of those define us, we are living with a false identity.  What we need is an identity that we can not mess up and no one can take away.

   Jesus Christ came to give us back our identity.  In John 3, Jesus tells Nicodemus that his problem is that he has the wrong identity and needs a new one.  That is what Jesus meant when He said to him and to all of us, "You must be born again."  

   Through our faith in Christ, we have been given a new identity!  We are sons and daughters of God who are righteous, holy, alive, givers, forgivers, beloved and so much more.  God does not just pretend to see us this way.  And God does not just see Jesus in us.  He sees us for who we are in Christ.

   1 John 3:1 says, "What marvelous love the Father has extended to us!  Just look at it--we are called children of God!  That is who we really are.  But that is also why the world does not recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who He is or what He is up to."  (MSG)

   Let go of all of the messages you believed to define your false identity and embrace who your Heavenly Father says you are.  At the end of the day, only His opinion counts.  Why don't you take some time to pray and tell God that you have been searching for your identity all of your life.  Ask Him to show you the source of the false identity you have been living from.  Then make a choice to accept Him as your Source for your identity in Christ even if you don't "feel" the truth of this. 

   If you have never attended our Grace Life Conference where we explain this from Scripture very clearly, I urge you to attend.  If you cannot attend a live Conference, we have it on DVD's and CD's that includes the Conference workbook.  Simply contact our office at 704-522-9026 and we will be happy to assist you. 

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com 

All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Pray that Jesus Will Love Someone through You Today

Years ago, when our Father began to free me from legalism and sin, I had such an incredible desire to love other people that often I would pray, "God, please love someone through me today".  You see, God does not heal us and free us only for us to have peace.  He frees us so we can love people!  If you believe in grace, yet it has not produced a desire and ability to love people, you may be falling short of the grace of God. 

 

Galatians 5:13 (MSG) says, "It is absolutely clear that God  has called you to a free life.  Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows." 

Recently, I was on the phone with my cell phone provider working on a technical issue with Kimberly.  As we waited for my phone to "reboot", she began to tell me that she lived in Colorado where they were having a number of fires due to the summer drought.  She went on to say that she lived not too far from where the gunman had killed and injured all of those innocent people in the movie theater.  I sensed the Lord wanted me to ask her if she would have gone to heaven if she had been one of those killed in the theater.  As it turned out, she was a Christian who was experiencing deep hurt in her marriage.  She seemed delighted for me to refer her to one of our affiliate offices near her for counseling but I also told her if it did not work out to please call our office at 704-522-9026.  We offer Skype counseling and phone counseling. In the midst of trying to take care of a cell phone problem, God had another agenda.  He wanted to love a lady in Colorado through me who needed to know her Heavenly Father was pursuing her.

I have observed Jesus living through my wife, Ellen, in many similar situations.  She loves people, especially those outside of Christ, so unconditionally that more often than not, she is able to share with them how to become a Christian and most of them do.  Her relationship with them is so authentic that they are very open to her when she broaches the subject of the God who loves them.

Most days, the people He wants us to love are already all around us in our families, jobs, neighborhoods or churches.  I wonder what would happen if we prayed each day for God to love someone through us?  Oh, we would still work hard but who knows what incredible impact that would make in our world.  Wouldn't we all like to have people around us who were asking Jesus to live through them to love us?  Then we look for opportunities to do that?  That would be heaven on earth!  

How about you?  Would you be willing to ask Jesus to live through you to love someone each day?  If so, I think you will be pleasantly surprised!

 

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder



www.GraceLifeInternational.com

All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

The Olympics is Like Heaven

If you are like me, you loved the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics this week. What an incredible sight it was to watch all of the athletes from different nations parade into the London Olympic stadium. Each nation showcased their beautiful colors and is present in hopes of personal and worldwide glory.

As I viewed the stadium after all the nations were in place, I turned to my wife and said, “That reminds me of what heaven is going to be like”. Why? The word, “nations” in the Bible is from a Greek word from which we get the English word, ethnic. For example, Jesus commanded us to “make disciples of all nations” literally meaning every ethnic group in the Great Commission, Matthew 28:18-20 (NIV).

In Revelation 7:9 we get a little glimpse into heaven when we read, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb”.  If we are not careful, we might think that this scene in heaven has all of these different ethnic groups divided into different sections around God’s throne. Most likely that is not true. I’m sure these ethnic groups are mixed all together rather than segregated. There will be all kinds of ethnicity in heaven!

In Christ, we all have the same identity regardless of our ethnicity. We are sons and daughters of God. Our ethnicity no longer defines us. Jesus changed all of that at the cross. “For Christ Himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in His own body on the cross, He broke down the wall of hostility that separated us. He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in Himself one new people from the two groups. Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of His death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.” Ephesians 2:14-16 (NLT) Let me put this in modern terms. In Christ, there is neither Jew, Arab, European, African, Latin, Asian, black, white, brown, yellow, red, mulato, etc. We are either in Christ or in Adam.

Let’s all pray that God’s will “that what is true in heaven will be true in our lives”, meaning that, we will see every Christian through the eyes of their identity in Christ instead of their ethnicity. What an incredible blow that would be to Satan’s theology of prejudice! When Jesus freed us FROM sin (Romans 6:6) and FROM the Law (Romans 7:6), He freed us TO love! We need Him to live through us to see every brother and sister in Christ not according to our skin color or ethnicity, but as those who are one with us in Christ! We also need to see those outside of Christ as those we want to invite into God’s family regardless of their ethnicity. Why don’t you ask God to show you if you have an issue with prejudice? If He says, “Yes”, confess your sin to God, accept your forgiveness, ask Jesus to live through you to love without regard to ethnicity and ask God to bring you a friend who is of a different ethnic background.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder




www.GraceLifeInternational.com
All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

Discover God's Special Purpose for You

As I was listening at our church recently to Sean McDowell, son of the great apologist, Josh McDowell, preach "Has Science Disproved the Bible", I was overwhelmed by the incredible knowledge and wisdom our God has.  Sean shared that a well known scientist stated that the flagella (tail) of a certain bacteria is the most complicated machine ever.  We know Who designed it.  Later that day, my mind drifted to Ephesians 2:10 which says, "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in."  (ESV)  As I pondered that, the Holy Spirit seemed to give me an even greater awe at how each of us in Christ was created by God.  Just as flagella were designed by God to propel bacteria, God uniquely designed each of us for a unique special purpose.  Let me explain.    He created your physical body for His purpose.  Psalm 139 tells us that God divinely designed your body.  Your response?  By faith, tell God you accept your body and even the things you do not like as a perfect gift from Him.  Secondly, take care of your body since it is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Tools to help:  healthy nutrition, exercise, proper sleep and tell God you accept your body as His gift to this world to express Jesus!  You may want to consider a Christian health and wellness coach.

   He gave you specific abilities and talents.  Luke 19:12-27  Your response?  Understand them and develop them trusting Christ to live through them.  Tools:  Read a book such as, "Strengths Finder 2.0" by Tom Rath.  Also, list the things you really enjoy and are good at.  

   He gifted you with certain spiritual gifts.  Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 14.  Your response?  Understand what they are and use them with love.  Tools:  Take a Spiritual Gifts Assessment such as offered by PLACE Ministries at www.placeministries.org.  What gifts have others affirmed in you?   

   He gave you your unique personality.  Psalm 139  Your response?  Understand it and accept it as God's unique instrument for expressing Himself to those around you.  Stop trying to be someone you are not.  Also, let God free you from any "fleshly" aspects of your personality type.  Tools:  Take the DISC Profile and/or 4 Temperaments Assessment such as offered by PLACE Ministries.  

   You have had experiences which have prepared you to fulfill God's purpose.  2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Sometimes this includes your failures as well as your successes.  Your response?  Write down the experiences in life you have had and ask God which of those He might want to use.  Tools:  List them.  

   He has given you specific grace/passion.  In Galatians 2:7-8 Paul writes that he had been given specific grace by God to minister to the non-Jews.  You too have been given very specific grace to minister.  This is why you are drawn to certain types of activities/ministries over and over.  Tools:  Passion assessments such as by PLACE Ministries.      When you are trusting Christ to live through you in all of these areas, whether you work for a business or a ministry, you are living in your divine design.  It is your "sweet spot".  There you will be the most fulfilled, the most effective, and the most fruitful.  And God will be the most glorified.  That is what it means when we believe Philippians 1:21 "For me to live is Christ..."

   If you want to learn more about living in your divine design, I highly recommend a wonderful ministry, Crossroads Career Network, by my good friend, Brian Ray.  I have taken his course and it was fabulous.  Find out more at www.crossroadscareer.org.

(Please note:  While I was editing my devotion last week, "6 Primary Stages in Our Spiritual Journey", I inadvertently deleted the following very important sentence,"These are also based on the book, 'The Critical Journey: Stages in the Life of Faith' by Janet Hagberg and Robert A Guelich, along with several other articles and books.)   

Live Free in Christ,  

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

 www.GraceLifeInternational.com
 All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding

6 Primary Stages in Our Spiritual Journey

How do you know where you are in your spiritual journey? The following is what I see in Scripture as well as what the staff of Grace Life International and I have observed in our counseling with hundreds and hundreds of people for almost 20 years.  I would love to hear from you what you think of this. Email me and let me know if you think this is helpful.  

STAGES 1-3

You know that Jesus is IMPORTANT to you.  You know Him as your Savior and Lord.

1.  Recognition of God - You are starting to believe IN God, believing there really is something bigger than you but you are not a Christian yet. 

2.  Life of Discipleship - You have come to faith in Christ and are beginning to learn more ABOUT God and the Bible.

 

3.  The Productive Life - You are serving and doing things FOR God, the church and people. 

THE WALL - This is a place in your spiritual journey where things stop working in your life for one reason or another. This occurs typically during stage 3 but might start happening in stages 2 or 3.  Often, a person is confused, disillusioned, defeated and/or discouraged during this time.  Because you have not yet realized that you have been living much of your life for God in your own fleshly strength, you must be broken of that.  (Romans 8:13 "For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die...")  

STAGES 4-6

You discover that Jesus is also ENOUGH for you.  You realize that He is your Life.  

4.  The Journey Inward - You begin to understand that there is a new way to live life and to be in a relationship with God, yourself and others.  You typically experience God's love in a very substantial way.  This stage often involves a time of personal healing and freedom.  The Holy Spirit has given you a revelation of Christ in you and your identity in Christ.  (See Ephesians 3:14-21)

5.  The Journey Outward - Your spiritual journey is continuing as you learn to live, serve and love by faith.  You are learning to depend on Christ in you to live through you in everyday life.  (See Philippians 1:21)  

6.  Life of Love - God's love is filling you and  pouring out of you in such a way that it is amazing.  

 Important Truths About These Stages: 

You cannot jump around initially.  There are no shortcuts or workarounds. You don't go from 1 to 4 or 2 to 5.  It's a 1-2-3-4-5-6 process; but once you have gone through them you may skip around and revisit certain stages during different times of life. 

You can get stuck at any of these stages on your journey.   At the same time, there are things that you can believe/do to keep moving.  

None of these stages are good, bad, right, wrong or better than another.  They just are.  It's important to remember that we couldn't have gotten to where we are now without the prior stages.  Sometimes we forgot that without our stage of learning scripture, involvement in our church, and working hard to use what God gave us to bless others, we wouldn't be where we are today in our relationship with Jesus.  

The majority of Christians never grow beyond stages 1-3.   These first three stages produce workers in the church, people who sit in the pews and learn, givers, and volunteers who pull the ministry off.  Those in stages 4-6 are involved in ministry in the church also, unless they have burned out in stages 1-3.  If so, it may take them some time to recover and reengage in their ministry in their church.  Those in stages 4-6 have a much more fruitful ministry than when they were in stages 1-3.  


These are also based on the book,"The Critical Journey: Stages In The Life Of Faith" by Janet Hagberg and Robert A. Guelich along with several other articles and books.

I look forward to hearing your comments.     




Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2012 Mark Maulding