Who you are in Christ

I just thought you’d like to know…

I am accepted…

John 1:12   I am God’s child.
John 15:15   As a disciple, I am a friend of Jesus Christ. 
Romans 5:1   I have been justified.
1 Corinthians 6:17   I am united with the Lord, and I am one with Him in spirit.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20   I have been bought with a price and I belong to God.
1 Corinthians 12:27   I am a member of Christ’s body.
Ephesians 1:3-8   I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.
Colossians 1:13-14   I have been redeemed and forgiven of all my sins.
Colossians 2:9-10   I am complete in Christ.
Hebrews 4:14-16   I have direct access to the throne of grace through Jesus Christ.

I am secure…

Romans 8:1-2   I am free from condemnation.
Romans 8:28   I am assured that God works for my good in all circumstances.
Romans 8:31-39   I am free from any condemnation brought against me and I cannot be separated from the love of God.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22   I have been established, anointed and sealed by God.
Colossians 3:1-4   I am hidden with Christ in God.
Philippians 1:6   I am confident that God will complete the good work He started in me.
Philippians 3:20   I am a citizen of heaven.
2 Timothy 1:7   I have not been given a spirit of fear but of power, love and a sound mind.
1 John 5:18   I am born of God and the evil one cannot touch me.

I am significant…

John 15:5   I am a branch of Jesus Christ, the true vine, and a channel of His life.
John 15:16   I have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit.
1 Corinthians 3:16   I am God’s temple.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21   I am a minister of reconciliation for God.
Ephesians 2:6   I am seated with Jesus Christ in the heavenly realm.
Ephesians 2:10   I am God’s workmanship.
Ephesians 3:12   I may approach God with freedom and confidence.
Philippians 4:13   I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.

 
This list was shamelessly pinched from Freedom in Christ Ministries. (Credit where credit’s due!)

I’ve had a print of this list folded into my old NIV for years.
It’s true, you know – the truth will set you free…

Life. Sentence.

I was just reading about the spaces that writers make for themselves – often a little ‘creative oasis’ wedged into the corner of a busy family house or apartment… and one of the authors, in describing her space, mentions a writing group called ‘Life Sentence’ which I think is just an awesome name for a bunch of writers!

Anyway. The phrase flipped my lid a little. It beached my whale, as it were. It got me thinking (is what I’m really trying to say)…

Being someone who loves words, who enjoys writing…I have a few phrases which I hang on to, some of which sum-up who I want to be. One of them is a line from a poem I wrote a number of years ago after hearing a bloke called Barry Kissell teaching on the prophetic nature of God and associated ‘ministry’. The ‘she’ in the poem was, of course, a real person, but the line has grown to mean so much more about my life, my hopes, my proximity to God and his will, and the ‘she’ has really become anyone who might be within ear-shot!

I was only standing close enough, that when I listened, she could hear Your voice.

If your life, either right now, or as you want it to be, could be summed up in one sentence, what would that sentence be?

Feel free to add a comment and let us know…

Burned by the fire of love

Desert sky, dream beneath the desert sky
The rivers run but soon run dry
We need new dreams tonight.
Desert rose, dreamed I saw a desert rose
Dress torn in ribbons and bows
Like a siren she calls (to me).

…Naked flame, she stands with a naked flame
I stand with the sons of Cain
Burned by the fire of love
Burned by the fire of love.

(Sleep comes like a drug in God’s country
Sad eyes, crooked crosses, in God’s country)

from In God’s Country/The Joshua Tree (C) U2.

I was just watching Rattle and Hum on DVD while having a look at the blog, and there was something about that line ‘I stand with the sons of Cain, burned by the fire of love’ that got my attention.

Typically of all U2’s lyrics, you could go a number of ways with it – you were burned, and hurt, by the ‘love’ of a fallen world, or you were simply a fallen son of Cain, but burned by some greater love…

Back in the mid-eighties when I first heard The Joshua Tree, and was caught up in its magic, its passion, its grit and its grace… I really had no idea about some of the grit and grace that would follow in the 90’s, both in my life, and in the music of my new favourite band.

One of the things that I loved so much about U2 was that they seemed to encapsulate a real-life faith. They were Christians who were musicians, but they didn’t wear their faith like a cheesy badge or tye-dyed t-shirt. Their faith was a part of who they were and what they did; what they did poorly, and what they did well. There was something ‘real’ about that. That grit and grace brought an authenticity to a faith that can so often be, for some, just words on a page.

I’ve always wanted my faith to find its place in my ‘real world’, not just my Sundays or the meetings where I celebrate and learn about my God. I want to know God is with me on a cold, wet week-day morning. It was really only when going through divorce that I realised He was walking with me, closer than I realised, through all those dark, depressing Mondays…

Yes, I stand with the sons of Cain, burned by the fire of love.

But I stand, too, with the Son of Adam – washed in the daily waters of grace.

Don’t be afraid of the future

That sounds a bit dramatic, but I think it’s a very real fear. The unknown reactions of people in your unknown future…

I remember thinking to myself that I might not be ‘acceptable’ by a future partner’s parents, or even ‘lovable’ by ‘her’; the new girlfriend I was hoping would come into my life. The ‘parents thing’ was quite interesting in that I really valued highly my Christian faith, and as such, I thought it would be great if she came from a strong Christian family. And of course I would want their approval and blessing on our relationship. Following that thought would come the whisper ‘If they are so ‘good’, what if you’re not good enough for them?’

In a world based on judgement that might be a real fear, but in a world based on grace, as our life should be, then a whisper like that can simply be discarded as a lie. A lie that says you have to earn love, and that your sins stay with you. Jesus came to give us life, grace, and freedom to live unhindered by the shackles of our past mistakes.

Fast forward a few years – I am now very happily married with a lovely week-old baby boy. It’s a remarkable, challenging time, but I have also never loved or felt love like I have this week. I’m not sure why that is, some kind of mystery. But it’s a beautiful mystery. I have married the most amazing Christian lady with the most lovely Christian family. And not a perfect family either, but faithful, loving, hardworking and understanding.

My wife Sara was watching me set-up the Facebook group the other night and just started to cry; she looked at me with so much love through those teary eyes as she was overcome with compassion and perhaps a fresh revelation of the level of pain that my divorce had caused me. But you know, that moment was a revelation to me of the restoration, the spectacular restoration of my life and the gift of my new marriage.

God is so good. It may have taken me 5 long years on my own before I met Sara, and another 2 years before we married – but God’s timing is perfect and all his ways are just. His love is ever present and his plans for us are good.

Don’t be afraid of the future. God will bring people into your life who will show you His grace, and share with you His love.  Expect good things to come from your perfect Father…

And I did get that ‘approval’ – Sara’s parents gave me their blessing for marriage just four years ago last week, on a blue couch in a little house by the sea. It would only be a week later that Sara said her special ‘yes’ to me.

Never be afraid of waiting for the goodness of God. Believe me, it’s worth the wait.

re:place – a Facebook group

I’ve just started a group on facebook, hoping to drum up some conversation.

I’ve just finished helping with another ‘Divorce & Seperation Recovery’ course at Holy Trinity Brompton. It’s about the only course out there at the moment which is aligned with (though not exclusive to) the Christian life… and was inspired to start this group up tonight. I’m hoping it will grow into something helpful, or hopeful for Christians out there who are going through this very dark, difficult stage in life.

re:place

HTB’s Divorce & Separation Recovery Course

One day you will have forgotten

I thought it intriguing that I chose a theme for this blog called ‘Chaotic Soul’. I chose it on its looks of course, but then thought it was somehow apt for such a blog as this. If you are going through a divorce, you soul will be in a state of chaos. Your life will be. I know mine certainly was.

I was thinking I needed to bring this blog to life. To get some words onto it. A bit like the book really – to start to write it. One of the first things I would like to say in this book I’m dreaming of is that ‘one day… you will have forgotten’.

You will have forgotten the pit. You will have forgotten the hole in your soul that is echoing with painful words; splintered realities. You will have forgotten the very thing that is tearing at your heart today. Really!

It’s hard to believe, isn’t it? I wouldnt have believed it myself, only today, that is how I feel. As someone who wants to recall my experience to relay some of it to others, that’s actually a difficult thing – but in a way, that’s my whole point:

At some point in the future, after getting through many, many ‘one day at a time’ moments, it’s highly likely that you will be just like me; happily remarried, thankful for your life, and excited about tomorrow…

One day, you will have forgotten.

I am a Christian who has been through the journey …

I am a Christian who has been through the journey of divorce, and survived!

As I have looked back over that journey, and reflect on the place I am in today – I can see there is a story to be told. A story that doesn’t get told that often, and certainly less often by those on the Christian path.

I’m not sure exactly how this journey will find its way into the world. Perhaps online or offline. Words on a page or words while gathering. Perhaps that book idea that has been lurking. Perhaps in conversation. This blog is some kind of beginning.

What I want to tell anyone who will listen is not about the darkness, but about the light that came and broke in to that darkness. Not the ‘gory details’ of how I came to the point of divorce, but what happened after the point of no return. What I learned about myself, about God, about love, about grace, about forgiveness – beyond the pain, loss, and confusion. What mistakes have I made? What truths have I encountered?

There is hope!

I married at age 22, found my marriage in pieces at 25 and was divorced by 27, yet I’ve been a Christian all my life, and I intend to keep it that way. That sentence might appear contradictory, but I discovered the hard way that divorce ‘happens’ to Christians too.

We all have questions when faced with such a journey:

What now? What will I do? Where will I go?
What will my friends and church think? What does God think? This is my story, it might be yours, too.

This won’t be fiction; This Journey Out

And it won’t be figuring out how to fix your marriage – if there is any chance, any hope for your existing marriage, then do the work! There are many many books, counselors, and friends who can help you with that. If the path to divorce can be avoided, then do whatever you can to keep your marriage on track – but…

This story is for those who have already crossed the line and have nowhere to go back to.

This is about you, and God. This journey will be a hard, but hopeful one. And God is watching.

It’s time to walk forward, out of the dark and cold, into the light:

It’s time to take This Journey Out.

If you’re a Christian and you’ve been through the journey, or find yourself taking the first steps, I’d love to hear from you. Please post a comment, ask me a question, or just tell me how you think a blog, or book, or conversation like this could be helpful. Or not.

Now happily married at 33, I want to share the hope that you can get through it, and to witness that God is a good and faithful God. And if you go about this journey in a healthy way, and walk with God rather than away from Him, there is much joy, hope and love for your life to come.