Practicalities

Practical ways of developing our relationship with God

The Wedding

Imagine you are a contestant on one of those matchmaking TV ‘reality’ shows, like ‘married at first sight’, and you are one of the brides-to-be.

As a contestant, you have been given detailed descriptions of each of the prospective grooms, including photographs, assessments of their strengths, weaknesses, finances, prospects, interests, work and personal values. Without meeting any of them personally, you get to choose which one you would like to marry.

Some are easy to eliminate. They don’t like cats or children or pizza. One or two come across as arrogant and self-entered. One is clearly a serious adventure seeker and you are not sure you could keep up with him. 

But as you pour through the reports on each one, one just seems to stand out, to stick in your mind. He is not the best looking, or the wealthiest, or the fittest looking, but somehow his report gives the impression of a genuinely kind and amusing man. One who would listen and care. One you could share your innermost thoughts with and not be laughed at. One who would laugh and cry with you rather than at you. One you could enjoy doing life with. So you put him as your first choice.

Later that day you are informed he also choose you! You got your first choice! Your heart leaps with anticipation and nervousness. You so want to meet him, talk to him, and find out if he is really like you think. Yet you are also nervous that he will somehow not be what you thought him to be or that you will disappoint him in some way. Excited and nervous you wait for your wedding day meeting, pouring over his report and getting yourself as ready as you can.

The next day your wedding dress arrives. You put it on excitedly and are astounded. Never in your life have you had a dress that is so flattering. Even without the makeup and jewellery you will have on the day, you can’t believe how beautiful the dress makes you look. It is like a dream come true.

Then the wedding planner comes to see you and all their suggestions and arrangements are just the ones you would have chosen! The bouquets of red and white roses. The simple yet elegant wedding cake. The open air venue with a chapel, surrounded by native bushland. The music to your taste. And enough spaces to invite all those you would want to be there. It all seems magical and you are told the groom likes it too!

The wedding day comes and with it all the wardrobe team from the TV show. You are pampered, dressed, bedecked, made up and primped till you struggle to recognise the stunning beauty that looks back at you from the mirror. 

Your bridesmaids and made-of-honour arrive looking just as spectacular as you expected. Their dark sky blue dresses have hints of sparkle here and there as thought there are stars hidden by the fabric and they too have been pampered, bedecked and primped. You greet them warmly and you laugh nervously together as you talk about the evenings events to come and how great it will be to have and intimate partner with which you can share the ups and downs of life. 

The time comes to leave for the wedding and you all climb into the special white cars waiting for you and drive to the chapel in the bush.

At the door you meet and greet your father. “I am so proud of you!” He says.

The wedding march music begins and the bridesmaids followed by the maid of honour start down the central aisle. As you enter the chapel you see a sea of faces smiling at you, some with the hint of a tear in their eye. Looking past them all you look down further to see the groom and your heart skips a beat. You can see the best man and groomsman but no groom! In fact, about where you would expect the groom to be standing there is simply a very large book! 

“What is going on?” You whisper to your father. “Nothing!” He says, “It is all fine! Just keep going and you will see.”

So wondering if you are really on “Candid Camera” or some other trickster TV show you keep going to the front with your eyes on the book in disbelief. When you get to the alter your father leaves you standing beside the book. Smiling he says again, “Don’t worry!” And walks to the front row where your mother is standing smiling. You look around at the congregation and they are ALL smiling. No one seems at all surprised or bothered by the fact that the groom has been replaced by a book! How could you leave now? What would look more stupid, running out or marring a book? Fixed in place by the shock of it all you remain.

The minister steps forward smiling and nodding and says, “Please be seated,” to the crowd and they sit. The minister then proceeds to go through the wedding ceremony as though the book was the groom. And when the groom was needed to respond, the right words, like “I do,” appeared on the top cover and the best man said, “The groom says “I do”. It was all so surreal that it felt like you had been planted into a weird horror movie. You kept waiting for someone to jump up and say, “Smile! You’re on candid camera!” and the book to be replaced by a smiling groom. But it never happened. And when you left the chapel for the wedding marquis, you left carrying this very large book and placed it on the grooms seat.

As the wedding celebrations took place you asked people what was going on. Why were they celebrating the fact that you had just married a book? And all of them just laughed and said, “You’ll be fine! You”ll see! Just read the book and do what is says. That is the way we all do it!”

The grooms speech was made by the best man reading from the book. The nightmare just went on and on.

As it became time to leave, you picked up the book and got into a car and drove off with the guests all cheering you off. And going into the bridle suite at the hotel the show had arranged for you that night it was just you and the book, alone, with a bottle of champagne, a basket of fruit and chocolates. You put the book down on a chair, pour yourself a glass of champagne and sit down. 

Sitting down in front of the book, sipping champagne and eating chocolates, you open it and begin to read. Maybe in the book will explain what just happened?

In the book you find your groom’s life story detailed. His birth, his childhood, his schooling, his family, his career as a carpenter and then teacher, his search for a bride and how he found and chose you. Then it described the home he built for you, a mansion on the top of a hill in your favourite town. It even had a list of the rules he used to live by and was hoping his wife would embrace!

Then the story took a strange turn. For rather than stay for his wedding, he had given the best man his book and had been called home to live with his father again. And it turned out his father was a king and he was a prince! Not only that, but his father had decided to retire from ruling and had given all the authority of his kinship to the prince! His father was still there to guide and be with his son but the prince now had all the king’s authority and power! How exciting to be married to a king-prince! Maybe he would send for you and it would all be ok? A happy ever after tale?

Fortified with strawberries, chocolate and more champagne you read on in hope.

Next comes the description of how the two of you will live and reign forever together, in his house built just for you, enjoying the intimacy and love that only real partners in life can have. It is such a beautiful picture that you begin to cry in relief. He does love you and does want to do life with you!

And that is where the book ends! “What?” You cry, “But how do I get there? Is he coming for me? What do I do now?” Silence. No one is there to answer. Exhausted you fall despondently into be and go to sleep.

The following morning you crawl out of bed, shower, eat breakfast and pack, ready to go on your honey moon. Still trying to work out what you have read and make sense of it, you pick up the book and head off to your tropical island honeymoon escape. Perhaps if you study the book more carefully, without the aid of too much champagne, you will get it. So out you head, book in hand, to the airport.

On the plane you have two first class seats next to each other, one for you and one for ….. the book. Sighing, you dump the book and your bags in it and settle back to enjoy all the luxuries the flight had to offer. 

After landing you are whisked to the bridal suite of a well known local resort, and ignoring the slightly puzzled look on the face of the bag carrying boy, you dump your bags and the book, grab your handbag and bathers and towel bag and head out to explore. You wander the streets of the local town, looking at all the tourist ware for sale. You have lunch in a quaint local restaurant, enjoying the fresh seafood. You spend the afternoon on one of the local beaches enjoying the sun and surf. But all of it is done, alone. And as evening falls you head back to the hotel.

One drink at the bar and the loneliness creeps in. Strange men look at you enquiringly so you flash your wedding and engagement rings, looking away but it all becomes too much. You hurriedly head back to your room, ordering room service for two, just to keep up the charade. 

Watching house movies, you eat what you want of the two dinners and drink the wine as the loneliness of your situation sinks in. Crawling into bed you determine that tomorrow you will read the book again to see if it makes more sense. 

After breakfast you head down to the couches by the pool, book in hand, to read. You choose a couch, order a coffee and settle down to read. Reading carefully, you again read the book from cover to cover, and though you are now quite sober, the story remains the same. Your groom planned to marry you in person but had been called home to rule instead. No explanation of what would happen next or how you could be reunited. Maybe living life by his rules would help? Sighing you put the book down and go for a swim in the pool.

Coming out of the pool to seek lunch, you notice a good-looking young man has taken up residence on the couch beside yours. Just to be polite, you smile and say “Hello.” He smiles and answers, “Hello.” to you. Sitting down you look for the lunch menu but it is no longer on the table beside you. Turning to the young man you say, “Have you seen the lunch menu? I want to order some food.” “Yes,” replies the young man, “I was just going to order some food and put the menu over here,” picking it up from the table the other side of him. As he hands the menu to you he says, “Would it seem very strange if I asked you to have lunch with me here? My girlfriend was supposed to come with me on this holiday but instead she ditched me the day before we were due to leave so I am a bit short of company.” “Sure,” you reply, “I’m in a similar boat. This was meant to be my honeymoon but my husband was called home to help his father and so I came alone too.” “Oh, how disappointing!” He replied, “Let’s get lunch!”

So you both order lunch and chat about life together and the strange circumstances which bought you together were left behind as you discovered how much you had in common interests. You had similar tastes in books, movies, music and even TV shows. It was such a great conversation you agreed to go and see tourist sights together that afternoon. And after that it seemed only natural to have dinner together. 

For the rest of the week you and the young man spent your days an evenings together. You swam together, shopped together, went to tourist sights together and ate together. It all seemed so natural and fun. The only time it got a bit awkward was the evening he suggested you could spend the night together too but your firm ‘thanks but no thanks’ ended that. After all, you were still married, or at least that is what all your documents said. And fidelity in marriage was one of your husbands ‘rules to live buy’. 

Occasionally, in the late evening or early morning, you take out the book again and browse through a few pages but nothing becomes clearer.

When the week and your honeymoon time was over you said goodbye to you new friend and went home. He gave you his contact details, “just in case things don’t work out with your husband…” but you dropped them in the nearest bin as you went to board your plane. No need to keep them you hope.

Back on home soil you head home. Home to your old apartment and your job and your old life, hoping that things will change, and you will be with your new husband. But as the days go by nothing changes. At first friends, family and people at work ask about the honeymoon and the new husband but the evasive answers you give mean they soon give up. As you make excuse for the absence of your husband at social events you see people’s expressions change from surprise to that being the expected norm.

Days turn into weeks and then years with no sign of your husband appearing. Gradually you have given up even looking at the book and put it away in the back of your cupboard. In the evenings the loneliness of it all haunts you. Why did they bother with the wedding ceremony if he had no intention of ever turning up? What is the point if he is never there with you? How can have a relationship, friendship, intimacy and children with a book? Even the rules to live by seem just pointless restrictions as all fuss and wonder of the wedding fades into oblivion. 

Some of your family and friends tried to encourage you to work on your relationship, maybe even get counselling. After all vows had been made. But it was the book that had really made the vows and there was no point in talking to a book.

Eventually, you give up waiting for your husband to turn up. The wedding vows and the promises and pictures of a life together in the book seem just empty façades. That is when you stop making excuses for the lack of a husband at social event just explaining the relationship ‘did not work out’ and that your husband had ‘left’. And you go back to life as a single person again.

This is the situation too much of the Christian church lives in today. They have been told they have a personal relationship with Jesus and that He has saved them, lives inside of them, and will one day be their spiritual husband, but they have also been told that He does not speak or appear or visit people today, now, in any way, because we have the Bible. Through the Bible alone we are supposed to have a personal relationship with Jesus and God. Yet that very same book is full of the personal encounters, visions, conversations, and even arguments that other people have had with God. And thought the book itself never claims it, we are indoctrinated with the belief that all those things are past and we will not personally experience God or Jesus till we are dead. Instead our relationship is to consist of reading the book and following it’s ‘rules for life’. 

Personal relationship is replaced with dead religion. Living in the Presence and Power of Jesus resurrection is replaced with simply doing what looks like good works. No wonder so many Christians are exhausted and feel powerless to change the world! Trying to do God’s work for Him but without Him is exhausting and ultimately impossible. The Christianity too many people have been taught is simply a watered down version of the Jewish Law with Jesus taking the place of the sacrificial system. It downgrades Jesus sacrifice to simply a whitewash of our sins for now and a ticket to heaven when we die. AND THAT IS THE MOST APPALLING LIE!

“Eternal life means to know and experience you as the only true God, and to know and experience Jesus Christ, as the Son whom you have sent.

I am not asking that you remove them from the world, but I ask that you guard their hearts from evil, For they no longer belong to this world any more than I do.

You live fully in me and now I live fully in them so that they will experience perfect unity, and the world will be convinced that you have sent me, for they will see that you love each one of them with the same passionate love that you have for me. “Father, I ask that you allow everyone that you have given to me to be with me where I am! Then they will see my full glory— the very splendour you have placed upon me because you have loved me even before the beginning of time.

I have revealed to them who you are and I will continue to make you even more real to them, so that they may experience the same endless love that you have for me, for your love will now live in them, even as I live in them!””

John 17:3, 15-16, 23-24, 26 TPT

That is an abbreviation of Jesus’ prayer as he gathered with His disciples just before He was crucified. It is that eternal life NOW that the Amazing Exchange web site was created to help you enjoy. Doing life in unity with the Trinity, living in and experiencing the glory of Jesus, is the foundation of the eternal life Jesus is offering us NOW. Who would not want that?

Gospel in brief

God made this world perfect and made us to live in it, governing and maintain it .

We decided we could do it without him.

The reason this world is not perfect is that we chose to rule it for ourselves, without God and we have made a mess if it.

Religious rules and laws do not change us, they only serve to point out where we have gone wrong.

We do not have the power to change to doing things God with God’s way without His help.

So God sent Jesus to:

1. show us how He can empower us to live His way and restore our world.

2. Pay for our rebellion

3. Restore us to being children of God just like Jesus

When we make Jesus Lord of our lives, He comes to live in us, be one with us, giving us His perfect relationship with God and filling us with His Spirit, His power and wisdom to restore this world. We are translated into God’s kingdom where we gain a new heart and new Spirit, joined to God’s Holy Spirit. Living life with God brings freedom from old habits and wrong thinking to live God’s way.

Loving Difficult People

Suppose you have a difficult person to deal with in your workplace or somewhere else and you want some ideas on how to dealt with that. Here are some suggestions:

I want to say up front that these things do NOT mean you should stay in a situation where another person is being violent or seriously abusive. Nor do I in any way suggest that reporting violent and abusive people to the relevant authorities is not needed. Nevertheless even if you are coming out of a very abusive situation these things will still help.

Start by looking at this other difficult person not as a problem but as a gift to you so you can learn how to live more fully in peace, love and forgiveness.

Instead of seeing them as the enemy, trying looking for the strengths in them that could be the foundation of a good relationship between the two of you.

Do not assume they are out to get you. Start from the belief that they are simply a hurt and damaged person themselves, acting in way that they think will protect them from further hurt because that is what the overwhelming majority of badly behaved people are. They simply do not have the skills to deal with their own hurts in an appropriate manner.

Then ask God/Jesus to impart to you the desire and power to forgive this other person, forgive everything negative they have said and done.

It might be worth making a list or collection of those negative things or and then destroying them as you pronounce forgiveness for them.

If these negative incidents are replaying in your mind, do something with it in your mind like painting with a bucket of Jesus blood or nailing it to the cross with His hands and watching it die with Him. And I would keep doing that until the past did not bother me.

I would also take every opportunity I had in further contact with that person to announce they were forgiven as soon as possible or even before they had a chance to do or say anything. You could do that in your mind, quietly out loud so no one else can’t hear it, or if it seems suitable, say it out loud to their face. That will free you from having your future determined by your past interactions with that person

Secondly I would ask Jesus to to use His resurrection power to replace those bad interactions with blessings for both myself and the other person. I like to ask Him to show me what those blessings are.

Thirdly I would meditate daily on Jesus to receive His love, peace and forgiveness. I would ask Him to show me what they look and feel like, how I should receive them today, and how He would envisage me using them to bless others today.

This is so that I can carry that peace, love and forgiveness within me and overflowing from me and release it in my workplace (or indeed wherever I am) to change the atmosphere. I might even choose to wander around my the place where I interact with the difficult person quietly saying “I release peace/love/forgiveness”, or get symbols of those things to put in their, or even donate coffee cups with those words written on them to the tea room. Whatever seems appropriate or Jesus suggests.

I can’t guarantee doing these things will stop the problem person behaving badly but I can guarantee it will release the person who chooses to practice them from constantly living in the adverse effects of the bad behaviours of others.

Jesus spent most of His ministry dealing with difficult people, troubled people and abusively religious people, yet they were not able to diminish the love, peace and forgiveness He live in and gave out. He can give the same grace to you.

Dealing With Sin

Confession of sin is only mentioned in the Bible as being important in the context of becoming a Christian (1 John Chapter1:verses 8-10) and continuing sickness (James 5:14-16).

What we do, whether sin or not, is a result of what we believe, think and feel (Matthew 12:35; Romans 2:29).

The core of sin is unbelief, a failure to trust in God and His Word (Genesis 3:1; Matthew 4:3, 5, 9).

The problem with unbelief is that it makes sin look attractive and even good (Genesis 3:6; Romans 1:18-32).

When we sin our perception of our relationship with each other and God is broken so we hide in fear and shame (Genesis 3:7-8; Romans 1:18-32) even when God is still clearly seeking and talking to us (Genesis 3:9; 4:9-16).

God’s solution is to cleanse us from sin with Jesus’ blood (Hebrews 10:22) kill off our old broken sinful nature on the cross (Romans 6:6-7) and replace it with Jesus righteousness and powerful holy eternal life (Ezekiel 36:26; Ephesians 1:3-5) forgetting ALL our sins (Hebrews 8:12; 10:10, 17-18).

God credits us with Jesus righteousness effectively making us part of all the good things Jesus has done (1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:3). 

God implants in us the power required to live like Jesus (Ephesians 1:18-20; 2 Peter 1:3). 

But to learn to trust God in doing this we actually have to get to know Him personally and intimately (Jeremiah 4:22; 9:24; 31:34; Ezekiel 36:26-28).

Thus the main teaching of the New Testament is about renewing the heart/mind through repentance (repentance means changing your mind) and turning to God and receiving the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2; Acts 2:38; 20:21).

The real solution to the unbelief which is at the root of sin is being with God, listening to Him and letting Him personally transform our inner person and thinking (Exodus 33:13; Ezekiel 36:26-28; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Hebrews 3:6-19).

Our response to God’s offer in Jesus:

Lord Jesus, I praise and thank You that You died on the cross to pay for all the things I have ever done and will ever do wrong. I thank You for that and accept now Your free forgiveness for all my rejection of You and God and cleansing from my sin. Thank You that You took that old me on to the cross and it died with You. Fill me now with Your Holy Spirit, raising me from the dead to eternal life now with God and You. Thank you for the new heart and new spirit You have placed within me that is founded on the character of God and physically joined to Your Holy Spirit. I praise and thank You that in You I am made totally new, whole and Holy, a full and complete child of God. Amen.

Name:………………………………………………………………………………………Date:   /   /

As a Christian we are new creations (John 3:5-6; 2 Corinthians 5:14-17; Colossians 3:9-10; Ephesians 2:10; 4:24). The old person that was sinful by nature died on the cross with Jesus (Romans 6:14; Galatians 5:24; 6:14; Ephesians 4:20-24; Colossians 3:1, 3, 9-10; 1Peter 1:23) because it was too damaged to renovate (Matt. 5:13-48).

You and I have been given a new identity which results from Jesus Personal Presence in us and our presence in Him, the Holy Spirit’s Presence in and around us, the physical union of our spirit with the Holy Spirit, and the gift of a new heart (mind, emotions, will, imagination) that has God’s laws of love as it core (Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26-27; Luke 15:31; John 3:5-6, 16; 4:9; 5:11-12, 21; 17:3, 20-23; Acts 11:15-18; 15:9; Romans 2:29; 5:2, 5, 21; 6:4-5, 22; 8:2, 10-17, 30, 32; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 3:17, 21-23; 6:11, 14; 2 Corinthians 3:3, 6, 17-18; 4:16; 8:9; 10:4; 12:9; Galatians 4:7; 5:22-23; 6:8; Ephesians 1:3-4, 11, 13-14, 19-20, 23; 2:5, 22; 3:6, 8, 19; 4:23-24; Philippians 3:12-14; 4:19; Colossians 1:27; 2:12; 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 2:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Hebrews 2:6-7; 6:19; 8:10; 9:15; 10:10; James 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:2, 4; 2:24; 5:10; 2 Peter 1:3-4; 1 John 2:20, 27; 4:4)

 That nature is sinless because it is Jesus own eternal life and He is sinless. But we still have the choice of which nature we identify with and live from (Romans 8:13; 13:14; Ephesians 4). And because the world around us is based on rebellion against God, we actually have to choose to immerse ourselves in the nature and culture of God and heaven (Eph. 1; Col. 3:1-2) so we can see and learn how to live God’s way, so we can see Jesus and be transformed by the experience (Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18; Ephesians 1:18).

If identify myself as a sinner I am only seeing the old dead nature and living in that. If I identify myself with my new sinless nature in Christ I will be looking at Jesus and being transformed into His image (2 Cor. 3:18).

Freedom Prayers

From the Biblical account of Adam and Eve’s fall into sin in Genesis 3, we can see that sin (rejecting God’s ways) damages us emotionally and spiritually, damages others in the same way, and damages our relationships with each other and God.

Jesus died to free us from that damage and that is what these prayers are about.

FREEDOM PRAYERS

Romans 8:12-14 (NLT) “Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. 13 For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”

Freedom Prayer 1

Lord Jesus I ask you to be obviously present to me now. 

Lord I ask that by the power of Your blood and Your death on the cross I be freed from captivity to the sins of others. 

I ask that you cleanse me from all the sins that have been done against me so they no longer have power over me. 

I nail to Your cross all the negative words that have been spoken against me, all the negative thoughts they have had of me and all the physical ways other people have hurt me.

I ask that you cleanse me from all the sins that they have done against me so it no longer has power over me. 

Wash all those things away from me with Your blood so that they are powerless to control me any more.

(Allow time here for the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any specific things He wants to deal with and repeat the above as seems appropriate for what He brings to mind).

e.g. Irritated; Harsh or hard; Bitter; Resentful; Impatience; Selfishness; Uncontrolled, Addicted; Being mean; Fickle or unreliable; Perfectionist, Religious.

Holy Spirit from the well of Your Presence in me, pour out Your Resurrection healing power into me to heal those sin damaged places in me. Fill those places with Your powerful eternal life. Be my double compensation for the losses I have received.

Show me the new, whole, clean and Godly spirit and heart/soul You have planted in me and teach me to live from that. Glorify Jesus in me now and always.

Every hindrance becomes an advantage instead
Irritated – Harsh or hard – gentleness
Bitter – grateful
Resentful – content
Impatient – patience
Selfishness – goodness, selflessness
Uncontrolled, addicted – self-control
Being mean – moving in the goodness of God
Fickle or unreliable – faithful
Perfectionist, religious – gracefull

“So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.” Romans 8:28 tPt

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

Freedom Prayer 2

Lord Jesus I ask you to be obviously present to me now. 

Lord I ask that by the power of Your blood and Your death on the cross I and others be freed from captivity to my sin. 

I ask that you cleanse me and others from all the sins that I have done against others so they no longer have power over me or them. 

I nail to Your cross all the negative words that I have spoken against anyone, all the negative thoughts I have had of anyone and all the physical ways I have sinned against anyone.

I ask that you cleanse us all from all the sins that I have done so they no longer have power over us. 

Wash all those things away from us with Your blood so that they are powerless to control us any more. 

(Allow time here for the Holy Spirit to bring to mind any specific things He wants to deal with and repeat the above as seems appropriate for what He brings to mind).

Holy Spirit pour out Your Healing Presence on all those I have sinned against and heal the damage I have done. Glorify Jesus in them.

Holy Spirit from the well of Your Presence in me, pour out Your Resurrection healing power into me to heal those sin damaged places in me. Fill those places with Your powerful eternal life. Be our double compensation for the losses we have received.

Show me the new, whole, clean and Godly spirit and heart/soul You have planted in me and teach me to live from that. Glorify Jesus in me now and always.

Freedom Prayer 3

Lord Jesus I ask you to be obviously present to me now. 

Lord I ask that the power of Your death and resurrection work in me now to enable me to forgive ……………………………………(name of person) for ……………………………………… (the ways they have hurt you). In Your Name and because You have paid the price for their sin too,  I announce they are forgiven. Thank You Lord, Amen.

Biblical References for freedom prayers:

Psalm 107:20; Job 42:10; Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:26; Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 8:16-17; Luke 10:1, 17-20; 13:10-15; John 3:5-6, 16; 5:21; 12:31-32; 17:3, 20-23; Acts 11:15-18; 15:9; Romans 1:21; 2:29; 3:22-24; 5:5,17, 21; 6:4-5, 14, 22; 8:2, 5-8, 10-17; 16:20; 1 Corinthians 1:18, 30; 3:17; 6:11, 14; 2 Corinthians 3:3, 6, 14, 17-18; 4:4, 16; 5:14-17; 10:4; 12:9; Galatians 3:13; 4:5-7; 5:22-24; 6:8,14; Ephesians 1:4-5, 7, 13-14, 19-20, 23; 2:5, 10, 13-16; 3:19; 4:17-18, 20-24; 5:8-9; Philippians 3:12-14; Colossians 1:19-20, 22; 2:9,12; 3:1, 3, 9-10; 1 Timothy 6:5; Hebrews 8:10; 9:11-14, 28; 10:10, 12-18, 22; 12:23; Titus 1:15; 2:14; 3:5; 1 Peter 1:2, 21-23; 2:24; 2 Peter 1:3-4; 1 John 1:7; 2:2, 20, 27; 3:8; 4:4, 9; 5:1, 11-12; James 1:3-4; 5:14-15.

Favour that produces vengeance. Every curse against you you can turn into a prophesy for good. Every evil purpose becomes an opposite blessing. Every area of defeat God will turn into a victory! For everything against you He’ll give you a promise for the exact opposite. As you partner with God he will move you from measure to fullness because everything will be useful for your growth and development. God will do more than you can ask or think.

Instead of
Fear – courage
Anxious – confident
Timidity – bravery
Nervous –  totally unafraid
Distressed –  lionhearted
Abandoned, Rejected – One in Christ
Intimidated –  bold
Bound up –  free
Unbelief. –  faith
Compliant towards the enemy – assertive towards the enemy
Procrastination – energy to do something now
Negativity – enthusiastic
Cynical – optimist
Immorality and sin – righteousness
Shame -holiness
Critical, Abusiveness – kindness
Hate – love
Tiredness, Depression – joy
Angry, stressed – peace
Agitated – peaceful
Hating yourself – love yourself
Misery and sadness – joy of the Lord
Sickness -health
Praise instead of despair.

“In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.
Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. “For I, the LORD, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them.
I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels. The Sovereign LORD will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere.” Isaiah 61:1-4, 7-8, 10-11 NLT

“For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.” Galatians 3:26-27 NLT

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” Galatians 5:22-23 NLT

So daily as you run into difficulties, declare the negatives in your life as dead on the cross with Jesus and thanking Him for the compensation He is giving you, particularly the love, joy, and peace He is gifting you with. It is challenging, sometimes very challenging to trust God to make everything right. The results are not always immediate but the rewards will make the effort very worthwhile.

Why forgive?

Holding on to the hurt or offense, waiting for human justice, remorse, apology or even an opportunity for revenge keeps us tied to the person who hurt/offended us and we remain a victim of their behavior.

How can we forgive?

God says Jesus’ death on the cross is sufficient punishment for everyone’s sin. 

So if we choose to come into agreement with God, then Jesus has already taken the punishment for the hurt or offense that has been inflicted on us. He was crucified for their sin as well as ours. Jesus has paid for the right to own our bitterness, our offense, our hurt, our desire for revenge and judgement. He has paid to set all the captives free!

So we can give our offense and hurts to Jesus and receive in their place His love, healing and forgiveness flowing through us to set us free from the people who hurt/offended us. Ask Jesus to pour out on you the compensation for your hurts, the healing and blessings for which He paid so dearly. Let Him do the work of forgiveness in you and for you. Let your hurts and offenses die with Jesus on the cross and receive the fullness of His powerful eternal life to fill all those places of hurt with His healing Presence and love. Look for the compensation Jesus has already paid to give you.

Jesus himself claimed this exchange ministry (Luke 4:16-21)

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory. They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities destroyed long ago. They will revive them, though they have been deserted for many generations.

Instead of shame and dishonor, you will enjoy a double share of honor. You will possess a double portion of prosperity in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours. “For I, the LORD, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them.

I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels. The Sovereign LORD will show his justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, with plants springing up everywhere.”

Isaiah 61:1-4, 7-8, 10-11 NLT

Please note this is about our heart attitudes NOT a comment on whether legal action is necessary. The circumstances may require legal action to protect people but human justice does not heal the damaged heart.

New for old:

God says Jesus’ death on the cross is to exchange our old life for a new one overflowing with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and self-control.

So if we choose to come into agreement with God, then Jesus has already killed our old life which was subject to negatives like loneliness, illness, grief, fear, pride, unbelief, hurt etc. on the cross. He was crucified so all that was negative in our lives could die with Him. Jesus has paid for the right to own all the negative stuff in our lives. He has paid to set all the captives free!

So we can give our griefs, problems and hurts to Jesus and receive in their place His love, healing and forgiveness flowing through us to set us free. Because while whatever caused the negative things we experience may be very real, it is our response to them that binds us to them or sets us free. And Jesus died to give us a new response. So we can come into agreement with Him and declare all those negatives are now dead, powerless against us because they died with Jesus on the cross. Then we can declare we will receive from Jesus the compensation for these negative things, the healing and blessings for which He paid so dearly. Let Him do the work of transformation in you and for you. Let your negative experiences die with Jesus on the cross and receive the fullness of His powerful eternal life to fill all those places of loss with His healing Presence and love. Look for the compensation Jesus has already paid to give you.

Jesus himself claimed this exchange ministry (Luke 4:16-21)

“The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive

Jesus declares to you:

Every mistake, Every sin You have ever made is now Mine and the burden for it, the responsibility for it, belongs to Me. I purchased the right to it from the cross. I paid for the right to exchange it for My eternal life, My eternal love, and My kingdom blessings.

Every mistake, every sin, whether Yours or someone else’s that has hurt or hindered you or others is now Mine and the burden for it belongs to Me. I purchased them all on the cross. I paid for the right to exchange them for My eternal life, My eternal love and the eternal blessings of being a child of God.

I am Your justice, I have paid all your debts, given back more than you or they ever lost.

I am your advocate and I say you are now innocent.

I am your Judge and My verdict is, “Not guilty!”

You are My joy, My desire, the love of My life!

All that I am and have I have given to you. Everything that is negative you have ever been part of, all the hurt, pain, anger, frustration, rejection, fear, shame, violence, abuse, illness, persecution, etc. it all belongs to Me now.

Justice has been done, the penalty paid so let it all die with Me on the cross.

Pick up My love gifts for you, My love, joy, peace, healing, patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control. Enjoy them!

Live in the arms of your new long family, Papa God, Holy Spirit and Me, your brother Jesus.

Be clothed, filled with us and Our love for you – it is Our Presence in and around you that guarantees you are whole and holy, loved and valued. You are Our joy, Our delight, a treasured member of Our family.

 

The Process of Forgiveness

The process of forgiveness:

1.Do you want to be free of the damage others have done to you so you don’t need to complain any more except in making formal complaints for the protection of others. Continue only if the answer is yes.

2.Was it just that Jesus died on the cross for everyone’s sins? 

3.Do you truly believed Jesus has been judged and punished enough for all your sins, past, present and future ( they were all in the future when Jesus died)?

4.Was Jesus death sufficient to kill your sinful nature too? 

5.Have you experienced your death to sin in Christ and His resurrection power enabling you to do things differently and not sin? 

6.Have you asked God to free others from and compensate others for the consequences of your sin?

7.Has Jesus had been judged and punished enough for the sin of the person who has hurt you? 

8.Was Jesus death sufficient to pay for the sin of the person who has hurt you? 

9.Have you experienced Jesus resurrection power healing you from and compensating you for, the consequences of that person’s sin?

All those things are available but you need to keep praying until you experience them as a reality in your life. And sometimes it may require a prayer battle to hold onto it until it becomes your new way of living. We do not need to keep living as victims of our and others sin! Jesus has paid dearly for the privilege of bearing the costs of all our sin to death so He can replace them with His resurrection life. We need to glorify Him by coming into agreement with Him and living in the fullness of life He paid for.

This does not mean we are whitewashing our or anyone else’s sin, but agreeing with God that what Jesus did for us was more than enough. We may still have to act against someone to stop them hurting others but if we are healed from the damage done to us then we can act out of love rather than a need for revenge and justice.

Hearing From God

One of the things I have found really useful in my journey of seeking to hear/see from God better has been to make a regular time to listen to God without an agenda on my part so there is no pressure to get answers to anything in particular. So I –

Daily spend time (alone is easier) with God and pen and paper. I start by asking, “What do You want to say/show me today?”

Then, the REALLY important thing is to trust that whatever you see, feel, taste or hear or whatever words or pictures come into your mind, is God speaking to you. Usually the answer begins before or just as you have the question finished and before have time to think about it. Write it ALL down as fully as you can for as long as it lasts WITHOUT judging it.

Ask God all the questions you can think of about what you see/hear particularly “what does it mean?” And “what should I do?”

ONLY when you have finished ALL that should you look at what you have written and check that it aligns with Biblical teaching. If it aligns with what the Bible teaches and particularly if it is more encouraging or positive than anything you would say to yourself you can be sure you heard from God. Even if God is correcting you He does not use condemnation! His correction redirects and empowers you to act differently.

When I first began this I found it really hard but I persevered and it really paid off in so many ways.

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