Raymond E Ashmore

God does not "rape" us. He does not force Himself on us. He will never penetrate us without our consent. He demands submission, but does not force it. We are called upon to "surrender" to spiritual consummation, to the intimate penetration of our total beings by the Holy Spirit.
The Salvation Covenant, an agreement with God for our redemption, must be accompanied either immediately or subsequently by the consummating "filling of the Holy Spirit.”

The pattern for our salvation process is pictured in the marital covenants during biblical times. The wedding ceremonies we've inherited from the 15th–16th centuries give us an incomplete if not faulty view of the salvation covenant. That's why our churches today are filled with many who think they are saved, but may not be. This includes religious leaders of every stripe and hue. Making a "decision" for Christ can be very misleading if not accompanied or followed up with complete surrender.

The bed clothes of our surrender are evidences that we are truly married to Christ.

When we chase "spiritual" feelings rather than seek the God of spiritual feelings, we've missed the whole point of the Christian life. We are to abide in God's presence spiritually and grow in true godliness rather than emphasize feelings, confusing them with spiritual victory. The Holy Spirit is not a "morphine drip," given to medicate our inner pain the way drugs, alcohol, sex, religious works, etc. used to do. The true victory in the Christian life is to walk with God in all the ups and downs of life. In the past I lived this roller-coaster life for quite a few years. When I was up, I was nauseatingly " religious. " When I was down, I was " profane. " When I was up, I was tempted to pride. When I was down, I was tempted to substitute fleshy stuff for the feeling I was missing. But thank God He brought me out of that to the place where I am now. I possess a settled peace in my heart that abides continuously. When I experience God's presence and power, I am grateful beyond words! When I don't, I still experience a settled peace. I love God when I feel Him and love Him when I don't. It's a wonderful place to be. This is no holier-than-thou message. It's just a reminder of what the Christian life is supposed to be. So, where are you on this journey up the mountain to the City of God? Still in a pup tent at base camp playing with spiritual toys, or do you have your climbing boots When we chase feelings rather than seeking God, we've missed the whole point of the Christian life. We're to abide in God's presence spiritually and grow in true godliness rather than emphasize feelings, confusing them with spiritual victory. The true victory in the Christian life is to walk with God in all the ups and downs of life.

To quote actress Mia Farrow, an unusual source with an interesting insight: " There is a way in which I have come to see evil. A person relinquishes parts of himself, retains one fragment of his total personality. The cleverest can represent that fragment as the whole person. The people around him don't realize he is not accountable in the same way others are, that he doesn't experience himself in the same way. " To have a heart that is pure is to have a heart "unmixed," not fragmented or compartmentalized —a heart with a singular desire to follow Jesus and fellowship with Him, no matter who we have fleshly relationships with (pardon the " who " and the preposition). In Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis suggests that God cannot speak to us face-to-face " till we have faces, " i.e., until we drop the masks and pretenses and the lies we constantly tell ourselves and present to others. Until we are our true selves before God, our relationship with our God will be distant at best, even if we feel Him and His Spirit in our church services. The feeling will be there on occasion, but the personal intimacy will not. Wearing masks will only keep us as " wilderness Christians, " out of Egypt but still enslaved; enslaved to ourselves and pretending to those around us to be something we're not—with the Promised Land nowhere in sight.

True Discipleship: Fakers, Forsakers, and Followers " And Jesus came and said to them, " All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age " (Matthew 28:18-20).

Genesis 1:26-27 is the reason that relationships outside of marriage (fornication) violate the will and word of God. It is the reason that relationships that betray the marital covenant (adultery) violate the will and word of God. It is also the reason that same sex, group sex, and sex change identity relationships (homosexual, bisexual, and transgender) violate the will and word of God.

The Starting Point is a Person: What differentiates a kingdom interpretation of the scriptures from any other hermeneutical approach? Simply this. Most studies assume an understanding of the nature of biblical principles and precepts, applying them to our lives without the foggiest notion of what they are or how they're applied. Any study of biblical interpretation must begin, not with ideas and propositional statements, but with a Person, Jesus Christ. Why? Because all ideas, concepts and points-of-view are only pale reflections of Him. Like planets orbiting around the sun, our doctrines, dictums and assertions pale into insignificance when compared to the One who gives us light. Our marginally adequate explanations of truth are exercises of feeble minds trying to comprehend the One who is Truth itself. All of the historic confessions of the church and all the sermons ever preached are barely adequate to reveal Him. So let's not take ourselves too seriously in our quest for kingdom understanding, or in how we distinguish ourselves from those with whom we disagree. After all, He is the revealer of truth, opening our fallen minds to understand His word and transform our lives. In order to understand scripture one must first be enraptured with the One of whom all of the scriptures speak. To the degree we are impressed with our own intellectual abilities, to that degree we will form propositional theologies abstracted from and barely related to the Lord of Glory. Our beliefs may be doctrinally orthodox, but will they have Life-the ability to transform us and others? All head, no heart. On the other hand, to the degree we see in the scriptures-in all of the scriptures-the Lord Jesus Christ, to that degree our knowledge will be infused with Wisdom. The following is a paragraph from our doctrinal statement, " What We Believe " : " Every word written in the Old Testament was written to bear witness to the person and work of Jesus Christ as Living Word, Risen Savior and Eternal Lord. The moral law of the old covenant testifies of God's standard and Christ's perfection. The sacrifices and religious rituals bear witness to His eternal sacrifice on the cross, His resurrection, ascension and heavenly glory. The government and rule in Old Testament Israel testify to His Lordship and His Kingdom. Every word written in the New Testament was written to fully interpret Jesus Christ to His children that they may grow into His image through faith. "

Why are we here instead of there? Why are we on this earth in the first place? We are not here just to go through dry religious rituals as if that will satisfy God. They won't. We are not here to vote for legislators who will do our jobs for us. And we are not here merely to learn about the Bible. Learning about the Bible is good and foundational. But if that's as far as it goes, it's no different than reading a driver's handbook but never getting into a car. The purpose for our presence here is to worship, commune with, and serve Jesus Christ. Worship and communion are primarily internal with external manifestations. Service is primarily external with internal motivation. Jesus has given us instructions as how we are to live and serve Him. And the one instruction repeated in all four gospels and the book of Acts is His " mandate " for the Church. What is a mandate? It's a command given by a King or Lord. It tells us what we are to believe and how we are to behave in His name. Jesus came and told his disciples, " I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age " (Matthew 28:18-20).