The Pursuit of Holiness

Sometimes it takes divine intervention to get our attention. 

Dear family in the birthday-King Jesus!

On the quest to holistic health I am asking God to show his heart in the information I receive. That is essentially what holistic health means to me. Knowing God´s heart in every aspect of life and allowing it to transform us more after the image of Jesus- a son or daughter of God.

We must not lead a life of craving satisfaction.
We get to be free of regrets after a meal.
We need not be ashamed of our bodies.
We are blessed to make healthy choices.
We get to be united with God`s initial intention, as presented in the story of the Garden of Eden, which has not changed: to be known as the provider of the needs of our body, psyche, and spirit. In this context I want to share a dream I had last night.

In the dream someone gave me a word from God for me, personally. A request to stop doing something related to nutrition. (I am not going to tell you what the exact request was, as I believe it was for me personally and you get to ask Him yourself what His word is to you, personally.) So, back in the dream they gave me the request verbally and I instantly argued with them. I argued with them even though I was convicted that them delivering this word makes for two witnesses and I should accept their word to me. Then they gracefully left the table we were sitting at together, leaving me with a few sheets of paper. I grabbed the paper and tried to jot down as much as I could. The only sentence I recall writing down was: Christina is not to _____________.

Waking up I knew that this dream couldn´t be ignored. Especially not since I had recently told someone close to me that I believe God sometimes speaks to me in dreams. Had this dream been about somebody else, I would have not hesitated to prayerfully reflect on it. BUT, since I definitely did not like the message, nor thought it was necessary, I knew my mind would not just come up with a dream like that.

I spent the whole morning pondering on the dream, seeking a truthful response to it, since I knew I really did not wish to be obedient, hoping to find a reason why this was not God speaking. Then it dawned on me: I get to submit my will to the Father in heaven that I trust. What an experience of freedom! In the dream I thought to myself that there were two witnesses, as I had felt that I had procrastinated to really seek God´s will concerning that particular thing for a while. It was nagging in the back of my mind, accusing me. So now I had my divine intervention gently steering my attention towards a personal topic, and I get to have peace knowing that God spoke to me and I get to be obedient until further notice.

I cannot make a rule of what He asked of me, because the thing itself is no sin. Usually the thing itself is not the issue, but our heart´s attitude towards it.
Now I joyfully expect to get to know God´s heart better. 

Now, dear family connected in the holy spirit, let me encourage you to spend some time at the end of this year and pull on the lose threads that dangle in front of your life´s eyes. What are they leading to? Is God trying to get your attention? Is He asking you to start to do, or to quit something? If you feel a nudging, or a check within yourself to change something particular in your life, please also be free to know:

It is not your salvation that is at stake when you disobey.
Nor do you gain your salvation when you obey.
Our salvation is secure in the personal acceptance of what Jesus Christ did for us.

In times when I know God has a direction for me that I do not want to take it has an effect on my relationship with Him. The divine direction I ignore becomes a nagging voice in the back of my head, turning into sin (something that separates me from God) giving the accuser of the church (satan) grounds, because I do not wish God to enter that part of my life. Christians might be the most wretched people in the world if they still cannot be fully honest with others, themselves and essentially God.

That is also when the dreaded "should-ing" starts to enter.

"I know I should do this, but....". A terrible feeling. A time to come up with excuses. Maybe even a season to seek for biblical reasons to avoid personal obedience. "The bible says I am free to do all things, so don´t you put me under the law...". Eventually that leads to the hardening of the heart, and the deliverance to the consequences of our choices.

If you are feeling this way, I encourage you to allow God entrance into this part of your heart. Even if you know you do not wish to adjust to His personally expressed will to you, ask Him to stay with you as you continue with what ever it is that you cannot let go of or do not want to do. Ask Him to change your heart, to convict you of his trustworthiness.  
I have experienced God works within me exactly in that way, until the put-off request becomes a decision of freely submitting my will and actions to God. And as humans we are to be free do that! 

Having been saved from an abusive micro-managing leadership I desire to pass on nothing but God´s freedom and grace.
AND- not BUT-  there is also the freedom and grace to obey God´s individual leads. At the very least we can expect to get to know more of His heart! As children we start our lives seeking personal happiness. As adults we get to realize that setting ourselves apart as God leads us, individually, we could never be happier! 
 
Merry Christmas, a happy new year, and be blessed abundantly!