Without Spirit, We Miss The Mark

We are made of both spirit and mind, all contained somehow in a physical body. To myself, this is the miracle of being alive; being endowed with a spirit and mind that is the core of our existence. Two strong forces, vying for control. The mind is so strong, and is the center of our anxiety, worry, anger, much of our emotions. And the spirit is everlasting, made to be eternal, yet tied to this very transient living soul to prove itself worthy of our Creator. We are encouraged to not be carnally minded, meaning, not to live in the soulish realm of the mind, but to set our mind to eternal things of the spirit and be led by the Holy Spirit. Jesus implores us to seek FIRST the kingdom of God, and all things will be added unto us! It is so hard to do this when we are living in our carnal mind, instead of our spirit and bonded to the Great Spirit. It is when we are living in sync with the Great Spirit, we are truly living, and we can walk with out sin. Sinning means literally to "miss the mark", related to archery. When we live only in our mind, and are not led in spirit by the Great Spirit, we are not in sync with His good and perfect will, then we are missing the mark. Therefore, if we are not being led first by Spirit, we are sinning.

Real Persecution

Matthew 5:11 11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

What stands out to me about this scripture is how easily it could be taken to mean that if a Christian lives out their faith, goes to the right church, wears the right shirt, votes for the right president, believes in a Jesus that is very well defined in their culture, that they are blessed when they are misunderstood or not accepted.

I would submit to anyone that being forsaken and persecuted in context was not merely for believing in Jesus, but for listening to the Spirit, being obedient, and effecting major and instrumental change within the Kingdom and against the enemy. When just living your life becomes warfare against evil, you can be certain the persecution and feeling forsaken is in your destiny. It is not conceivable that the enemy would tolerate such an adversary in you to allow you to peacefully be obedient to the Spirit and wreak havoc on their plans. Being forsake isn't about being made fun of because of your Jesus t-shirt or music, its because you are living a righteous life that yields fruit in the power of Spiritual manifestations that release the power of God to break strongholds. For that, you will surely be persecuted. And rightfully so. Most of us who call ourselves Christian, we do not even KNOW or understand the persecution and forsakenness that Jesus is speaking about here.

The true blessing comes from the obedience and the fruit of your works, which sets captives free, is satisfied by thirsting for righteousness, loves on the poor in spirit and meek, is a peacemaker, and is pure in heart. Blessed are you for your good fruits, and NOT for your culture of Christianity, your Jesus tshirt, or your political stance.