Have You Opened Your Two Gifts From God?

Do you have any gifts from last Christmas which you have never opened?  If so, you can send them to me!  The reality is that you probably don't.  Most of us have such anticipation of opening our gifts; we struggle to even wait until Christmas!  One of my own sons always looked at his gifts in stealth before Christmas and then perfectly put the wrapping paper back on them. Sadly, many of us have two gifts God gave that we have never opened.  These two gifts have been provided for the transformation of our lives and relationships.  Interested in knowing what they are?  According to Romans 5:17, they are abundant grace and righteousness.  "Much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."  God says if we open these gifts and enjoy them, we will reign in life through our relationship with Jesus.  So, what does this look like in real life? Abundant grace means the limitless life of Jesus Christ is in us.  He is in us to give us the most satisfying intimacy we can ever experience while on this earth.  One of my first staff members was what is often termed as a "complete Jew" because at 16 he received Christ as His personal Messiah.  However, over time, he fell into deep depression and tried everything he knew to free himself from it.  That all changed when he began to understand and live by God's abundant grace so much so that an elder at his church once told me that he was one of the most changed persons he knew.   That's reigning in life! The gift of righteousness means that because we are in Christ, God has made us as righteous as Jesus.  He did this by replacing our former identity of being a sinner with a new identity of being righteous.  Romans 5:19 describes it by contrasting the identity we received from Adam with the one we received from Jesus. "For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous."   As a result, you are always 100% righteous in your spirit.    I met Billy at a pastors' retreat.  Just before I took the stage, he asked me what I was going to speak on, trying to decide whether he wanted to stay.  When I shared a little of my message, he did stay and discovered that though he had lived a very fleshly rebellious life until recently, God still viewed him as righteous instead of a dirty rotten sinner.  Before, he had seen himself as unworthy of marrying a godly Christian girl.  Afterwards, he realized that was a lie.  Why?  Because he opened his gift of righteousness by believing he was 100% righteous.  It wasn't long before our Papa brought him a wonderful Christian girl to be his wife.  He is now a full-time student pastor with a very fruitful ministry. You can also open these gifts today but only through faith.   To open the gift of abundant grace is to depend on Jesus Christ in you, to meet your deep need for intimacy and then to live His life through you.  To open the gift of righteousness is to believe that your identity in Christ makes you as righteous as Him.  Why don't you open these two gifts right now?  Here is a suggested prayer for you to pray today and beyond. "Jesus, I know that I have tried many ways to find intimacy but I realize none of those will ever satisfy me. I choose to believe that You are in me to be my eternal companion, offering me intimacy far beyond what any human could ever give.  Though I may not feel it today, I believe You live in me to love me, to talk with me and listen to me.  I am also convinced that without You I can do nothing in any area of my life.  I ask You to fill me with Your love for me and to live Your life through me today in all that I do, especially in my relationships.  Finally, Jesus, I believe when You gave me the gift of Your righteousness it became my righteousness.  This is my true identity regardless of how often I have failed or succeeded.   I choose to believe that I am righteous regardless of my behavior, circumstances or feelings.  Please remind me often to enjoy these two gifts which You gave me.  Amen"

Believe it! It's the Gospel.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

Will God Curse You If You Don't Give?

Most of my life, I heard sermon after sermon that if you don't give, God is going to curse you and you will get a flat tire or something even worse!  But if you give, and it has to be at least 10% or it doesn't count, God will bless you financially in ways you could never imagine.  I heard it so much, I believed it and preached it at the first church I pastored.  The main Scripture used for this teaching is from Malachi 3:8-10 (I think he was the Spanish prophet!  His name sounds like a mariachi band.) 8)"Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You?' In tithes and offerings. 9) You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! 10) Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."  There are some who will hedge a bit, acknowledging that we are to give by grace, but then make us feel guilty by saying things like this.  "You, who want to say we are under grace in our giving, remember that grace always does more than the law, so you should give more than 10%!"  Sadly, I believed and preached that, for many years, also. However, when God began to show me His economy in the New Covenant, I began to question all of this teaching. As I kept studying Scripture, God affirmed that He definitely wants us to give, but not because of any of the reasons mentioned above. Let's step back for a minute and look at those Malachi verses.  It seems like our motivation for giving is primarily fear.  Fear of financial punishment and fear of not getting a financial blessing.   Also, if we look closely at these Scriptures, they precisely fit the arrangement God had with Israel in the Old Covenant whichwas:  "If you obey Me, I will bless you.  If you disobey me, I will curse you." (See Deuteronomy 28.) Yet, we are New Covenant people who are not obligated to keep the external standards of the Old Covenant Law.  God has placed His Laws on our hearts and minds, meaning He has put His character in us.  This gives us the desire and ability to live from the inside out instead of the outside in.  (Hebrews 10:16)  This applies to our giving as well.   He does not want us to feel obligated to give, or guilty, motivated by Law.  He wants us to give as a result of Who He is in us.  Is our God a generous God? Absolutely! Most teaching on giving causes people to think that they can only be defined as a "generous person", if they give generously.  The New Covenant, however, turns that definition on its head by defining us by what Jesus has done, not what we do.  This means that we are generous people in Christ, whether we give or not.  It's simply who we are deep within, in our spirit, in our identity in Christ. A good friend of mine, Pastor Brad Lynch, began teaching his people that they were generous people in Christ.  His encouragement to them was to embrace this and then to live like who they are in.  He didn't set a percentage for them to shoot for; he simply reminded them over and over that in Christ, they are generous.   Then he challenged them to begin asking God how much He wanted them to give.  In other words, he exhorted them to live by grace instead of law in their giving.  Then, an amazing thing happened.  The giving at the church doubled!  Grace does do more than the law, but not because of guilt; rather because of love. When I was a pastor, I began to understand "grace giving" instead of "law giving".   I stood in the pulpit one Sunday and told the congregation what God had been showing me from Scripture.  I then took them through the Scriptures to unfold it for them.   Then, I paused, told them I was sorry I had taught them "law giving" instead of "grace giving" and asked them to forgive me.  But I didn't stop there.  I challenged them to go home, pray, ask God how much he wanted them to give, and then obey Him.  To be honest, I was taking a huge risk.  This was a brand new church and my salary was directly tied to the weekly giving but I knew I had to be honest and tell them the truth no matter the consequences. Guess what happened?  The giving increased!  Imagine that, when you take people out from under the law, they are then free to listen to God, and live like who they truly are in Christ! How about you?  Do you feel condemned, feeling like you never measure up in your giving?  Or, do you give generously but it's out of fear and obligation?  You died to all of that with Christ on the cross according to Romans 7:4.  God wants you to give cheerfully out of Who He is in you and who you are in Christ.  Let go of a law mentality and live from a grace mentality.   Ask Him how much He wants you to give, and then respond by faith.  You will experience joy instead of condemnation.

Believe it! It's the Gospel.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding but please pass it along!

Finding Your Roots

Have you seen the hit show, Finding Your Roots with Henry Lois Gates, Jr.?  It’s a fascinating show where he traces the historical family tree of famous people and surprises them with the results.  For example, Condoleezza Rice, 66^th Secretary of the United States, found that her maternal roots are from the Tikar people in Cameroon.  On another show, Professor Gates revealed to Ben Affleck that surprisingly, he and Matt Damon are cousins, 10 times removed!

My wife worked for months on both of our family trees and discovered some remarkable facts.  My last name should be Smith instead of Maulding.  One of my great, great, grandmothers, last name Smith, had children out of wedlock and took on the name Maulding.  On my wife’s side, she may have traced her roots all the way back to an Englishman, Rowland Taylor, who was burned at the stake for his unwavering faith in Christ. 

Yet, here’s a reality check for all of us when it comes to our roots.  All of us have a great, great, great, great…grandfather whose name was Adam.  We are all related to him and to each other.  This is significant because in God’s economy, He not only views us from our biological roots but also from our spiritual roots.  Let me share with you what I mean.

You were biologically in Adam when he ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but more importantly, you were also spiritually in Adam.  That means a few significant things.  When he sinned his first sin, you sinned for the first time, also.  When he died, you died spiritually and became a spiritual zombie.  (Romans 5:12) Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned. (Ephesians 2:1b) And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.   So, because of our roots, we all showed up on planet earth with a much bigger problem than simply needing forgiveness.    We showed up spiritually dead.

Here’s the good news.  When you believed in Jesus Christ for your salvation, God took you out of Adam’s family tree and relocated you into Christ’s family tree.  Your roots are now found in Christ, not in Adam!   This phrase, “in Christ” or its related form is used 165 times in the New Testament.  In Ephesians alone, it is used 36 times.  There are fantabulous benefits from having our roots in Christ.

Your identity in Adam, as a sinner, died with Christ on the cross.  (Romans 6:6) That same identity was buried with Christ and left in the grave forever.  He’s not going to get up out of the coffin!   (Romans 6:3-4).  When Jesus rose from the dead, God created a new identity for you in Christ which is the deepest essence of who and what you are.  (2 Corinthians 5:17)  Your new creation identity came with the guarantee that you are 100% righteous.  (2 Corinthians 5:21)  Your identity in Christ is seated at the right hand of God the Father, where you are unconditionally loved, accepted, forgiven and blessed forever!  (Ephesians 2:6)

The next time you have thoughts from the enemy which tell you how inadequate, inferior or messed up you are, remember your roots are now in Christ!    

Believe it!  It's the Gospel.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

The Longer We Live in Darkness, The More the Lies We Believe in our Head Seem True

Years ago I led a mission trip to Bermuda. Yea, I know. You are thinking a mission trip to a beautiful island? That's really suffering for Jesus.  Well, somebody's got to do it! One night I was walking back to the home where I was crashing every night and there were no lights anywhere.  I started freaking out because every sound caused me to think that I was about to be jumped. Soon, I saw a dark figure headed straight for me. My thoughts raced just as fast as my heart raced. "Here it comes" I thought. I am definitely going to get jumped. As this island native approached, I prepared for fight or flight.  Then he said, "Hello" and simply kept walking. I had believed lies because in the darkness of the night my thoughts seemed like reality. While believing those lies, my feelings were following right along and made what I believed seem even more true.

This story illustrates what sometimes happens in our spiritual lives. The longer we live in darkness in any area of our lives, the more the lies in our head seem true.   This darkness is caused by our lack of understanding the Gospel.   Let me give examples of some common lies we may believe. 

"I have to obey God for Him to love and bless me."

Not true. However, this is a very common misunderstanding of the Gospel.  It's part of the toxic Christianity making Christians sick today.  The truth is, it's difficult not to obey God when we are confident that He already loves us with no strings attached and has already blessed us in Christ with everything we need to live our lives.  Who would you most likely obey from your heart? A parent you were afraid of or a parent you know loves you?  (Ephesians 1:3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. 

"What I do defines who I am."

Not true. God uses birth, not behavior to define us.   Our spiritual birth defines who we are. Our faith in Christ gave us a new spiritual birth. Knowing who we are in Christ will positively affect every area of our lives."  Do you have a list of who you are in Christ to read?  Meditate on them and you will not medicate your low self-esteem with food, abuse of alcohol and drugs, shopping or legalistic Christianity!  (John 3:3)

Jesus replied, "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again."

"I sin because I am not committed enough to Jesus."

Not true. While we certainly need to be submitted to God, being more committed to God often means deciding that we will try harder to obey Him. Instead, we need to rest in Christ by asking Him to live His life through us.  I remember asking a man in his late 20s to begin doing this and when I saw him next he said, "I experienced God's peace in a very tangible way." People will pay good money for some peace of mind! (Matthew 11:29)  "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."

Jesus said in John 8:32, "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free".  If His truth sets us free, then what keeps us in bondage?  Obviously lies!   Why don't we stop right now and ask God to show us the lies we believe about the Gospel, and ask Him to replace those with His truth.   

   

Believe it.  It's the Gospel!

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

Are You Broken?

First let me say a big, "Hello" to all of our readers, in the Carolinas, the USA, Ukraine, Russia, France, China, India, Bulgaria, Germany, Pakistan and even the land of Skype!  I am glad you enjoy this blog.

Brokenness - The very mention of the word causes many Christians to shudder inside, though they may nod their heads agreeing that it is something spiritually necessary.  While Scripture makes it clear that this process is essential for optimum spiritual growth, as well as fruitfulness, there remains quite a bit of uncertainly and confusion regarding it.

Brokenness in Scripture - Romans 8:13 makes a startling statement directed at every Christian when it says, "For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live."   A cursory reading of it sounds like God is saying that if you are constantly sinning, that is living according to the flesh, God is going to take you to heaven sooner than you thought!  But this is not the meaning at all.  He is letting us know that because of His great love for us, He is not going to permit us to keep using our flesh to cope with life.  He has provided a way of coping with life which is much much better.  It is Jesus Christ in us. 

Brokenness is not -

Suffering  Though suffering is often used by our DAD to bring us to brokenness, suffering alone is not brokenness.   At GLI, we often hear people tell us they have been broken, when what they really mean is that they have been through a hellacious  time of suffering.  It may be a divorce, a tough marriage, a rebellious child, joblessness, money problems, a family blow up, continuous feelings of low self-esteem and inadequacy, depression, constant worry, habitual sexual sin, unresolved anger and bitterness, major disappointment, illness, adultery or other problems.  When we hear the pain of these legitimate sufferings, we listen compassionately.   However, we also realize that though these are no guarantee of brokenness, they can be the vehicle the Holy Spirit uses to bring them to brokenness.

Unresolved Pain  Today it is common to hear someone say that they are sexually, emotionally, relationally or some other type of "broken" because of events in their past, which are causing negative consequences in their present.  At GLI, we understand what they mean and don't deny that they are in pain.  We also realize they are stuck in patterns that are causing dysfunction.  Yet, this is not the kind of brokenness spoken of in Scripture.  Having said that, we see people in our counseling with those types of issues. We see them receive great healing from Jesus when they begin to experience Him as their Life, on the other side of spiritual brokenness.

Brokenness is - 1.  A growing awareness that no matter how hard I try, my ability to make my life work is getting worse instead of better.  2.  An orchestrated work of God who loves me too much to permit my fleshly coping mechanisms to keep working for me.  3.  The results of the Holy Spirit moving me to the other side of brokenness so that I am changed by Him, not by my efforts.  4.  A growing experience of the reality of my union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.  5. Not a one-time event.  Though many people in our ministry can point to a time when the process of brokenness brought about a huge spiritual paradigm shift in them, they eventually realize that there are other "miniature versions" of brokenness as part of their ongoing conformity to the image of Christ.  See Romans 8:28-29.

How do you know if you are broken?  True brokenness from God will produce lasting transformation in us.  This is a result of a type of death in which our reliance on our flesh is exchanged for reliance on Christ in us, not only as our Savior and Lord, but our Life.  Colossians  4:4 says it this way, "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." 

My personal brokenness -  Every person on our staff has an amazing story of their own brokenness.  I wish I could share each of those 35 stories with you.  But for now, I will give you the brief version of my own. 

I remember thinking one day that my life had become like our kitchen table I was staring at.  I imagined that one by one, the legs on the table were being removed in the same way all of the things in my life seemed to have been removed.  My friends had vanished, my goal of starting a growing church was failing, my ability to overcome sin was ineffective, and my relationship with God was stressful.  These deficits had been mounting for quite some time, culminating in me to finally telling my wife, "If this is all there is to being a Christian, it doesn't work."  I think my Father was smiling with joy knowing that I was finally where he wanted me - broken.  It was there that He revealed Christ in me.  It was in such a dramatic way that I had never felt the depth of His love as I did then.  That is when everything began to change and my transformation received a ginormous jump start.

What to do - Tell God you know that He loves you, so you are giving Him your permission to do anything He wants to bring you to brokenness.  Already experienced that initial brokenness?  Have you asked Him to bring your family members to brokenness?  How about your children - a tough one to pray?  And if you believe you need help walking through your own brokenness, contact us.  We've been there and we can help you or refer you to someone else in your area who can.

Believe it.  It's the Gospel!

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

How Christ Esteem Can Replace Your Low Self-Esteem

Researchers tell us that 80-85% of people around the world suffer from low self-esteem, including those in the United States.  I think most of us believe that those who have money, fame and a winning personality are exempt from this.  However, when interviewed, some of those famous people surprise us with their candidness about their struggle with self-esteem.

For example, actress Demi Moore shocked many in a 2012 interview with Harper's Bazaar when she exclaimed,  "What scares me is that I'm going to ultimately find out at the end of my life that I'm really not lovable, that I'm not worthy of being loved. That there's something fundamentally wrong with me...and that I wasn't wanted here in the first place."

Will Smith concedes, "I still doubt myself every single day.  What people believe is my self-confidence, is actually my reaction to fear."

One source says of this worldwide malady, "Low self-esteem is a thinking disorder in which an individual views him/herself as inadequate, unlovable, and/or incompetent."

We see low self-esteem all of the time in our counseling at Grace Life International, regardless of whether it is male, female, single, married, teens or adults. 

As Christians, a large majority of us often believe most of our Christian friends have it all together and we don't.  So, we conclude that we simply aren't as good as other people, not in a moral sense, but in the realm of lovability.  That is what it all kind of comes down to, isn't it?   Do we believe in our hearts that we are lovable?

How we determine whether we are lovable is the difference between having good self-esteem or low self-esteem.   Let's ask ourselves, "Is our self-esteem based on our love-ability or is it on Jesus' love-ability?  That is, is it our abilities which make us lovable, or it is based on Jesus' ability to make us lovable?  Before someone gets bent out of shape for saying you need to love yourself, Jesus said you are to love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:31)

I don't know about you but when I evaluate myself, my failures, my successes, my appearance, what others say about me, I often fall short.  It's like we are all hoping that each day we will be able to produce more pluses than negatives, so we will have good self-esteem.  And before we judge those outside the church who do this, let's be clear that this is the essence of legalism in the church.  It is hoping that my spiritual pluses will outweigh my spiritual negatives so I will be more lovable to God!

Are we truly lovable and if so, why?  For each of us who are in Christ, the answer is that we are 100% lovable, 24/7 because our Father made us lovable when He completely forgave us and made us righteous in Christ!  Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.  (Romans 5:1)  This doesn't mean everything we do is pleasing to God but that what we do doesn't make us less lovable to Him.

Let's drill down a little deeper.  God has made you lovable but do you agree with Him?  In other words, do you ever say something like this?  Father, because you have made me lovable in Christ, I agree with you that I am lovable.   Why is this so important to agree with God?   Because, we have an enemy who seems to constantly tell us how unlovable we are.  Remember, he is a liar and we must replace his lies with God's truth!  

All of us should have great self-esteem in Christ because He has made us lovable.  But it takes diligence to keep agreeing with God based on what Jesus has not only done for us but to us.  We see many Christians in our office for counseling who after they come to an understanding of what God has done to them, they begin to enjoy a peace with God they never had previously.  Why don't you take out a piece a paper right now and write down the prayer below?  Then go somewhere private where you can pray it out loud.

Father, because you have made me lovable in Christ, I agree with You, confessing that I am lovable.  Remind me Holy Spirit to pray this often.  In Jesus' name, Amen.

Beleive it.  It's the Gospel!

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

30 Things We've Leaned in 30 Years of Marriage

Wedding Day

30th Anniversary

 "I'm sorry but I don't love you."  These were the damaging words that tumbled out of my mouth to Ellen the first year we were married.  I cringe when I think about it now.  It's not that we had a horrible marriage but there was a deficit from my side that I desperately wanted to address, but was powerless to do so. 

30 years later, I love her more than ever and I feel more loved by her than I ever have.  Would you like to know our secret?  It's the healing, freeing, powerful grace of God in Christ!  Let me explain. 

30 Things in 30 Years

1. A revelation from the Holy Spirit of Jesus and His Complete Gospel/New Covenant is the foundation for a successful marriage.

2. Intimacy in marriage is rooted in experiencing God's unconditional acceptance of you in Christ.

3. Jesus is your Life and your identity, not your spouse, kids or job.  Not knowing this always leads to relational idolatry.

4. Asking Jesus to live through you to love your spouse every day is the only way marriage will ever work.

5. Communication is one of the biggest challenges. That takes time, intentionality and God's grace.

6. Men and women are designed by God as loving leaders and respectful responders respectively.

7. Almost every problem in a marriage is a result of one or both spouse's fleshly strategies taking over.

8. There is only one answer to the flesh--brokenness, so we can know Christ in us as our Life, in an ever increasing way.

9. Marriage is one of God's greatest vehicles to break you, i.e. to reveal the bankruptcy of your flesh and to free you from it.

10. Conflict is inevitable, but reconciliation is always possible because Christ is in us.

11. Forgiving your spouse every time is essential.

12. Not asking for forgiveness when you have hurt your spouse is not only prideful but puts undue pressure on the relationship.

13. Speaking the truth in love to your spouse about their fleshly behavior is not easy but is often necessary as the Holy Spirit leads you. As a result, both of you can grow.

14. Yielding your rights to God prevents you from living in constant disappointment and hurt.  E.g. The right for your spouse to meet your deepest need for love.  Only Jesus can do that.

15. You are not responsible to make your spouse happy but you are responsible to love and respect him/her.

16. When a spouse shares a problem, unless they ask for it,  they are not looking for a fix but a listening and understanding heart.

17. Christ living through both parents, not just one, is the best way to raise your kids. 

18. Time away from the kids is an act of love that will help you feel closer to each other. This includes taking your wife on a date at least once a month which is up to the husband. (And will keep your wife sane!)

19. Though not the most important, marital sex is important for a healthy marriage.

20. It takes time and God's grace to accept, but He knew exactly what He was doing when He put you with a spouse's personality type, totally the opposite of yours.

21. Don't talk about weighty matters past 8pm.

22. If you have been offended by your spouse, talk about it right then and do not let much time go by.

23. It's OK to feel frustrated, angry and express emotion with your spouse but it is not OK to spew hurtful words or actions out of your anger, frustration or strong  emotion.

24. Be on the same page about how to handle your finances using a budget.  (Suggestion: Financial Peace by Dave Ramsey)

25. "Different" is not necessarily "wrong". (Such as having your shirts hung on hangers pointing left is "different" but not "wrong" if they are hung pointing right)

26. Do stuff together (activities) as this gives opportunity for social, emotional growth and enrichment with each other.

27. Do stuff apart (activities) as this gives opportunity to let your relationship breathe and minister to others.

28. Learn your love language and your spouse's love language.  (See The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman)

29. Know and understand your spouse's temperament and yours, along with how they complement one another and how they may conflict. (Read Tim LaHaye's The Four Temperaments)

30. When you want to communicate with your spouse, make sure you have their undivided attention.  In this day and age, miscommunication is an epidemic due to T.V., mobile phones, IPads and other technological devices. Make sure all of these are down when communicating with your spouse.

                    

Need help in your marriage?  Want to help your healthy marriage grow even stronger?  Come to our Marriage by Grace Retreat led by our Vice-President and his wife, our Financial Assistant, Bill and Tonda Layle.  The story of how God's grace healed their failing marriage will inspire you.  And their teaching on marriage will give you grace based tools which are powerful but founded on grace, not trying harder to be a better spouse.  Please see the info in the sidebar.

Believe it.  It's the Gospel.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

Surprising Self-worth!

A few years ago, a New York family spent a leisurely Saturday perusing yard sales.  A small 5 inch white bowl caught their eye, but they were only willing to give $3 for it.  It sat on a shelf in their home for six years and was probably used to hold candy.  Eventually, the owners became curious about its value and took it to have it appraised.  To their surprise, they were in possession of a 1000 year old rare "Ding" bowl from the Northern Song Dynasty of China.  Sotheby's presented it for auction on behalf of the family where it sold for a whopping $2.2 million dollars!  This makes me want to go to a yard sale right now!

As you ponder that story, which value do you place on yourself?  Do you constantly think of yourself as a $3 common bowl, a $2.2 million dollar treasure or somewhere in-between?  I suppose, for all of us, it depends on who is doing the appraising.  Most often, we consider the opinions of others, along with our own performance and appearance to be what determines our value.  If we perform well and others think well of us, we give ourselves high value.  If the opposite is true, we give ourselves minimal value.  At the end of the day, the value of anything or anybody is determined by what someone is willing to give to purchase it.  Right? 

Why don't we stop for a moment and let God appraise you?  As He looks you over, He thinks, then He looks some more and finally He writes down His estimation of you.  His answer?  He is willing to give His only Son, Jesus Christ, so He can purchase you!  YOU, are as valuable to Him as His Son!  He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Romans 8:32.

It's not that we are worthy of salvation through our works.  We are not.  However, God has assigned worth and value to us as demonstrated by the gift of His Son.   The question then is this:  Do you place the same value on yourself as God does?  If so, pray something  like this to your Father. 

Father, because You gave the most valuable possession You had when you gave Your Son to die for me, You have made clear that I have great worth in Your eyes.  Thank You!  As a result, because You say I have great worth, I agree with You and say back to You that I have great worth, no matter how I feel today or how I have performed this week. Amen.

Believe it!  It's the Gospel!

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

When Brushing Your Teeth is an Act of Righteousness

I want you to imagine for a moment two large wooden boxes in your home.  When you peer inside the first one, you see it filled all the way to the top with the foulest smelling garbage ever.  As you examine the second one, you find it contains beautiful golden coins but they scarcely fill the bottom.  In a similar way, we often keep two boxes in our minds.  In the first box, we place our actions we believe are sinful, thinking this one is always filled to the brim.  In the other box, we place the actions we believe are righteous, thinking it barely fills the bottom.

This kind of thinking is "stinkin thinkin."   It is a result of misunderstanding gospel.  This commonly preached version of the gospel has convinced many us that our hearts are sinful through and through, even though we are in Christ.   Scriptures like Jeremiah 17:9 are used as proof.  "The heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; Who can understand it?"  Yet, this is a reference to our former heart (identity) in Adam.

The genuine Gospel unveils quite a different and encouraging reality.  We have been given a new heart according to Ezekiel 36:26.  "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."  This new heart is a heart of stone, meaning it is not sinful.  It has been replaced through our death, burial and resurrection with Jesus.  This new heart "of flesh", is soft and always desires to live a righteous life.  This new heart is our identity in Christ, a righteous and holy identity. (Hebrews 8:10)  That is why we can say that our deepest desire it to live a life which pleases God. 

In addition, we have the Holy Spirit in us to fill us with the life of Jesus.  Every time we depend on Him to live His life through us, whatever we are doing, that action is an act of righteousness.   "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."   (Philippians 1:21)  We were designed by God to really live when Christ is living through us!  John 10:10 says, "I have come that they may have life and have it in abundance."

On the other hand, whenever we are not depending on Him to live through us, whatever we do is an act of sin.  Romans 15:23b says, "Whatever is not from faith is sin."  When we are not doing something by faith, that is, when we are not relying on Christ to do it through us, it is sinful, even if we doing something good like serving in our local church.

Why don't we all change our focus to the real gospel? Every day, let's ask the Holy Spirit to fill us with the love and life of Jesus, so He can live through us moment by moment.  As we do, we will realize our box of righteousness is much fuller than we might have previously thought!  Why?  Because everything we do will be an act of righteousness.  When we pray and read our Bible, that will be an act of righteousness.  When we drive to work, that will be an act of righteousness.  When we do our job, that will be an act of righteousness.  When we eat our lunch, that will be an act of righteousness.  And when we brush our teeth after lunch, even that will be an act of righteousness!

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

The Surprise of God's Wrath on a Nation In the Context of Grace

Many may be surprised at this, but God's wrath that comes on a nation is the result of the majority rejecting Him as their Creator Who loves them and wants a relationship with them. His wrath is revealed not by what He does to them but what He permits them to do to themselves. He permits these things to happen by the removal of His grace which was like a fence holding them back from certain sins. Once He removes those fences, that nation will begin to destroy it's own social structure. In this increasingly hopeless situation the good news is that Jesus Christ still desires to forgive and come live in every person who sincerely invites Him. No matter how much a nation or individual has messed up their lives, He still loves them and desires to be intimate with them. This intimacy with Him always results in transformation both personally and nationally. There is always hope in Him! If you wonder where I got this from, read Romans chapter 1 in the Bible.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

Every Thought We Have Is Not Our Own

It is so encouraging to know that not every thought entering our mind is our own and to be able to tell ourself that. Because of this, it's also good to know that since feelings follow our thoughts, not every feeling we have is the truth. We have an enemy who wages war against our souls but we have a gospel which gives us understanding in how to discern what is true and what is not

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding but feel free to pass it on

10 Gifts God Gives for Personal Happiness

The mere mention of the song "Happiness is the Truth" by Pharrell Williams should immediately cause you to break out singing this wildly popular hit song.  It's been featured in the movie Despicable Me 2, commercials, singing competitions, news shows, and more.  I also think one of the reasons it was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 list for 10 consecutive weeks was that it touched a desire God placed in every human soul: the desire to be happy.

Yet, you have probably been taught as a Christ-follower that happiness and joy aren't the same.   If you mean happiness based on the "happenings" of life, then that is true.  However, when considered in Biblical context, I'm not sure they are different.  You may have also been taught you are not supposed to focus on being happy but on being holy.  Yet, the more I understand the New Covenant, the more I'm convinced these aren't mutually exclusive.  Why?  In one sense, holiness is simply living life the way God intended.  It would seem then that the more you do that, the happier you will be.  Of course, many have their own ideas of what makes them happy that are far from God's ideas.  Let's see if we can discover together in the story of creation what God originally provided for your happiness.  

1. Himself:  When God breathed into Adam, He breathed Himself into him.  His intent in creating each of us has always been to be intimate with us by living inside of us so He could love us and show us how wonderful He is.  He also intended to live through us to reveal Himself to others.   Genesis 2:7 describes this and is similar to Jesus breathing on the disciples in John 20:22. 
2.  Identity:  When God created Adam, Genesis 1:27 says, He created him in his own image.  This means you were created with a God-centered identity.  Though Adam's identity was stolen in Genesis 3, Jesus came to give it back to all who believe in Him.  2 Corinthians 5:17
3. Forgiveness:  After Adam and Even sinned, God came looking for them.  Afterwards, He banished them from the Garden but before He did, He killed animals and covered them with their skins for clothing.  This was the first sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and was pointing to the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus Christ's death on the cross, which would provide past, present and future forgiveness to all who believe.  Genesis 3:21, Colossians 2:13, Hebrews 10:17-18
4. Companionship:  When God said, "It is not good for man to be alone", He formed a wife for Adam from his rib.  However, this speaks of a truth larger than just marriage. You were made to be in satisfying relationship with a group of people starting with your spouse(unless God has called you to be single).  Married or single, you were made to enjoy human connection on a deep level.  Genesis 2:18-25
5. Children:  God intended for most of us to have children so He could have others to live in and through.  In a fallen world, some have experienced anything but happiness in raising their children.  Yet, God originally intended for them to be a blessing.  Also, even those who don't have children may often enjoy their family or friend's children.  Genesis 1:28; Psalm 127:3
6. Animals: God gave us animals to take care of and to enjoy.  If you've ever owned a dog or cat, you know how special they can be to you.  You also know how much sorrow you feel when they die.  Maybe that is why there will be animals in the new heaven and earth that we are going to inhabit.  Genesis 2:19-20.  Isaiah 11:6-9
7. Creation:  God gave Adam a beautiful earth and breathtaking stars to gaze upon.  Why do you enjoy fall leaves, geological formations, mountains, the ocean, a river, a sunset and the stars?  It's because God gave those to us to enjoy and to see Him reflected in it.  That may be why many people feel close to God when they are in nature.   Genesis 1:1-19
8. Work:  God gave Adam a specific job to do - to cultivate and keep the garden.  Genesis 2:15.  According to Ephesians 2:10, you were uniquely designed by God to do specific jobs which include good works in your time on this earth.  Do you know what you are designed to do?  If not, find out for a very small fee at www.placeministries.org.  It will help you understand why you keep being drawn to certain activities.
9. Food:  God created a smorgasbord of tasty nutritious food.  Adam and Eve were given carte blanche permission from God to eat any of the hundreds of fruit and vegetables in the garden any time they wanted (except for one).  When the majority of the food we eat is a variety of God-made food rather than man-made food, we will typically feel a lot better physically and emotionally.  Genesis 1:29; 2:16-17.
10. Land/Home:  In Genesis 2:8, we are told, "The Lord God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed."   The desire to have your own home whether a house, condo, cabin, apartment or tent, is not rooted in the American dream.  It comes from God.  So much so, that the Scriptures speak of God having a home for you in God's house after you die.  John 14:2-3

As you just read about all God gave to provide for your happiness, are you enjoying them?

Here are a few other comments as I conclude.  Did you notice that this is a God-centered happiness instead of a man-centered happiness?  Unless you are enjoying 1 - 3 in light of the New Covenant, the remainder will provide only fleeting happiness.  On the other hand, if 1 - 3 are in place, you can enjoy the others more than you could ever imagine.  You can enjoy God-centered happiness without having all of 4-10 such as children or animals.  The world, your flesh and the devil have the goal of twisting all 10 of these to make you miserable.

Believe it! It's the Gospel!

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

Robin Williams and How to Deal with Depression

Robin Williams shocked the world this week when he committed suicide.  He is one of the last people anyone would have ever thought was depressed.  It just goes to show that depression can be something people share openly or hide secretly.   As a result, I am dedicating this article to those who suffer mild, moderate or severe depression, especially Christians.

Depression is something everyone experiences at some point in their lives. Did you know that many well-known people struggled with depression such as Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther, James Taylor and Charles Spurgeon? 

There are also some great characters in the Bible who experienced depression.   They include the Prophet Elijah, Hannah, King David and the Apostle Paul.  As you can see, depression is a condition which is blind to wealth, notoriety, achievements or beliefs.

Sadly, most Christians don't want to talk about their depression because they believe that if they trusted God enough, they would not be depressed. That can be true but it is not necessarily valid in all situations.

If you identify with a majority of these symptoms, you are most likely depressed.

1.  Ongoing feelings of sadness or irritability.

2.  Loss of interest or pleasure in activities.

3.  Changes in weight or appetite.

4.  Changes in sleeping patterns.

5.  Feeling guilty or worthless.

6.  Inability to concentrate, remember things or make decisions.

7.  Fatigue or loss of energy.

8.  Restlessness or sluggishness.

9.  Thoughts of suicide.

10. Unexplained or heightened physical pains.

11. Intermittent or prolonged anxiety.

To be open and vulnerable, I have at some point in my life experienced the different types of depression that I am about to list. You may have too or you may know someone who has. Simply put, these types are Non-biological and Biological.  Let's take a look at each.

Non-biological depression can be caused for a number of reasons such as difficult circumstances, not being a believer in Christ, being overworked consistently, attempting to get your love and acceptance needs met apart from Jesus, performing to measure up instead of resting in your righteousness in Christ, rejection, trying to be perfect, unforgiveness, unresolved guilt, unyielded rights, not understanding the New Covenant, spiritual oppression, prolonged disappointment, failure and more.

How can you deal with non-biological depression? The best thing you can do is to resolve the spiritual conflicts within you - most often with good grace-based Biblical counseling. We see God work to bring healing in many depressed people's lives each week in our counseling ministry, Grace Life International. If you are interested in having a consultation, we provide live and Skype counseling for people. For more info, visit our web site at www.GraceLifeInternational.com or call us at 704-522-9026.  We may also be able to refer you to one of our counseling associates elsewhere.

I encourage you to read a wonderful book, "Conquering Depression" by Bill and Anabel Gillham.

Biological depression is such that counseling, praying, reading your Bible, knowing your identity in Christ, or setting your mind on Biblical truth will not alleviate it.  As a doctor friend once told me, "You can't think you way out of this kind of depression." Some of the reasons for biological depression include illnesses which change the body chemistry such as a stroke, side-effects of some medications, drug or alcohol abuse, extreme fatigue, hormone imbalance, and heredity.

What can help with biological depression? Thank God that we live in a time when there are both natural and traditional medications to help with this kind of depression.  See your doctor to discuss your options for this kind of treatment. And listen Christian!  There is no need to feel guilty or ashamed if you need to take a natural or prescription medication for depression. Would you feel this way if you had to take thyroid medication? Of course not!  So don't let those feelings prevent you from seeing your doctor.  Also, let me say that in our experience, some people cannot deal with the spiritual causes of depression until they get some help from medication to get their brain chemistry back on track.  Afterwards, some are able to stop their meds with their doctor's help while others may need to remain on them for the rest of their lives.

There are many books on biological depression to help you understand the role of brain chemistry, hormones, blood sugar, medications and more.  Though you will need to disregard the evolutionary bent, one such book is "The Broken Brain: The Biological Revolution in Psychiatry" by Nancy C. Andreasen.

Most of all, pray for God to heal your depression and to guide you to the best counseling or treatment for you. He does not want you to remain in depression.  He loves you and He is for you.  2 Corinthians 7:6 says, "But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us in the coming of Titus." (NASB)  Also, tell someone.  Secrecy is a mighty weapon Satan wields against God's children.

Finally, if you don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, talk to Him and ask Him to forgive you for your sins and to come live inside you.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding

Objections to Our Freedom from the Law

Occasionally, someone challenges me when I teach that under the New Covenant, Christians are not obligated to keep the 10 Commandments.  I appreciate their honesty and prefer that response, rather than automatically dismissing what Grace Life International and I teach.  It provides an opportunity for dialogue so we can reason together with Scripture.  Here are a few of the challenges I have received and my responses using Scripture.

   1.      Christians need the Law to show us our sins.

   2.      The Law helps Christians sin less.

   3.      The Law can't save us but we need the Law to sanctify us.

We Died to the Law

The moment you die you will no longer have to pay taxes because your death frees you from the tax law.  In the same way, when your old nature died with Christ on the cross, you were freed from the Old Covenant Law so that your new nature could be united to Christ instead.  "So, my brothers and sisters, you also died to the law through the body of Christ, that you might belong to another, to him who was raised from the dead, in order that we might bear fruit for God."  Romans 7:4 (NIV)  Having Jesus is so much better than having the Law!

The Law Was a Shadow

When I come home late at night from speaking, sometimes my wife sees my shadow first.  If she gets in the floor to hug my shadow, I'm calling 911!  The shadow tells her I am coming in.  The Law was a shadow according to Hebrews 10:1, telling us that Jesus was coming.  "The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming..." (NIV)  Don't hug the shadow.  Hug Jesus!

 The Law Is Not For Righteous People

 The only righteous people in the world are those in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21)  As a consequence, we don't need the Law.  "We also know that the law is made not for the righteous..." (1 Timothy 1:9)

 The Law's Purpose

1. To Show Unbelievers their Sins  "Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin."  (Romans 5:20 NIV)
2. To Prepare Unbelievers for Salvation  "Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."(Galatians 3:24-25 NASB)

The Law Cannot Sanctify Us  

To sanctify means to grow spiritually.  For those who say the Law is not needed to justify us but it is needed to sanctify us, meditate on this verse written for believers."For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace." (Romans 6:14  NIV)   To deepen it's meaning, let's read it backwards.  "For sin shall be your master, because you are not under grace but under law".  Spiritual growth is a result of living under grace not law!

The Law Provides No Power to Live a Righteous Life

 Many don't realize Paul was writing about how he came to the end of himself by using the law to try to live a righteous life in Romans 7:15-25.  That is why he said in verse 15, "I don't really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don't do it. Instead, I do what I hate." What we see in our counseling at GLI is that victory over sin for Christians increases dramatically when they live by grace instead of the Law!

Our identity in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit has replaced the Law. (Hebrews 10:16, Romans 7:6) All of the New Covenant in Scripture exhorts us to understand this and to live in a way consistent with it.  This is how we live an "inside out life" by faith, which pleases God.

    

Believe it!  It's the Gospel!

Live Free In Christ,


Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2014 Mark Maulding