Grace Life International Christian Counseling Center

Christian Counseling Leading to the Life-Giving Power of God's Grace

Archives for February 2015

Grace-Onomics: God’s Exchange Rate for Shame

In 2002, staff members, Sandy Witherspoon, Dan Ascher and I traveled 24 hours to get half way around the world to Kyrgyzstan so we could teach the New Covenant message to the staff of a large Christian ministry.  While there, we were all shocked at the monetary exchange rate.  For example, $10 US dollars exchanged for about 600 SOMS which would buy an enormous amount of beautiful Kyrgyz goods.
In our world, there is also an exchange rate for an issue called shame.  Shame in this case is not being ashamed of something you did or some sin you committed or the ones committed against you. This kind of shame is more about an inner sense of being defective.  It is the overwhelming thought, “Something’s wrong with me!”  It’s a cousin of guilt, feeling very similar but not quite the same.

For those outside of Christ, there truly is something wrong with them.  Their core self, called the “old self” according to Romans 6:6 is all wrong.  It is an enemy of God and evil through and through.  We can praise God, though, that once a person is placed into Christ through faith in Him, that old self is crucified with Christ and removed permanently.  Then it is replaced with the “new self”, your New Creation identity.

Yet, if we don’t constantly remind ourselves of our identity in Christ, this world we live in can mold even in us shame based messages.  It often comes from thoughts the Accuser places in our minds or from people who criticize by throwing identity statements at us like:  “You’re stupid.”  “You’re crazy.”  “You can’t do anything right…and more.”

Let’s make this practical.  Do you know the central lie you believe about yourself which your shame based identity is wrapped around?   If not, would you stop and ask the Lord to show it to you right now?  Here are a few I’ve heard through the years.

I’m not a very good Christian.

I’m very inadequate and inferior compared to other people.

I must be the best to be important.

I’m too stupid to get my life together.

Once you know what that central lie is about you, then you can let God’s truth replace it with the genuine reality about who you are.    That is you can be renewed – change how you think – about yourself.  Here are some good examples.

Who Am I? (Taken from our Grace Life Conference) 

Matt. 5:13 I am the salt of the earth.

Matt. 5:14 I am the light of the world.

John 15:1, 5 I am part of the true vine, a channel (branch) of His (Christ’s) life.

John 15:15 I am Christ’s friend.

John 15:16 I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit.

Rom. 6:18 I am a slave of righteousness.

Rom. 6:22 I am a slave to God.

I Cor. 3:16; 6:19 I am a temple of God. His Spirit dwells in me.

I Cor. 6:17 I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him.

I Cor. 12:27 I am a member of Christ’s body.

II Cor. 5:17 I am a new creation.

II Cor. 5:18.19 I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation.

II Cor. 5:21 I am the righteousness of God in Christ

Gal. 3:26, 28 I am a son of God and one in Christ

Eph. 1:1 I am a saint. (See I Cor. 1:2; Phil. 1:1, Col. 1:2)

Eph. 1:4 I am holy and blameless.

God has exchanged your shame-based identity for a grace based identity (Gal. 2:20) (Col.3-1-4) which is dependent on what Jesus has done instead of what you have done!  Are you tired of your attempts to remove your shame through “try harder religion teachings?”   Spend time this week proclaiming the truth of who you are in Christ, and enjoy resting in the exchange of your shame for God’s grace. 


Believe it! It’s the Gospel.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2015 Mark Maulding but feel free to pass it on!

Continue Reading »

Grace-Onomics: God’s Exchange Rate for Shame

In 2002, staff members, Sandy Witherspoon, Dan Ascher and I traveled 24 hours to get half way around the world to Kyrgyzstan so we could teach the New Covenant message to the staff of a large Christian ministry.  While there, we were all shocked at the monetary exchange rate.  For example, $10 US dollars exchanged for about 600 SOMS which would buy an enormous amount of beautiful Kyrgyz goods.
In our world, there is also an exchange rate for an issue called shame.  Shame in this case is not being ashamed of something you did or some sin you committed or the ones committed against you. This kind of shame is more about an inner sense of being defective.  It is the overwhelming thought, “Something’s wrong with me!”  It’s a cousin of guilt, feeling very similar but not quite the same.

For those outside of Christ, there truly is something wrong with them.  Their core self, called the “old self” according to Romans 6:6 is all wrong.  It is an enemy of God and evil through and through.  We can praise God, though, that once a person is placed into Christ through faith in Him, that old self is crucified with Christ and removed permanently.  Then it is replaced with the “new self”, your New Creation identity.

Yet, if we don’t constantly remind ourselves of our identity in Christ, this world we live in can mold even in us shame based messages.  It often comes from thoughts the Accuser places in our minds or from people who criticize by throwing identity statements at us like:  “You’re stupid.”  “You’re crazy.”  “You can’t do anything right…and more.”

Let’s make this practical.  Do you know the central lie you believe about yourself which your shame based identity is wrapped around?   If not, would you stop and ask the Lord to show it to you right now?  Here are a few I’ve heard through the years.

I’m not a very good Christian.

I’m very inadequate and inferior compared to other people.

I must be the best to be important.

I’m too stupid to get my life together.

Once you know what that central lie is about you, then you can let God’s truth replace it with the genuine reality about who you are.    That is you can be renewed – change how you think – about yourself.  Here are some good examples.

Who Am I? (Taken from our Grace Life Conference) 

Matt. 5:13 I am the salt of the earth.

Matt. 5:14 I am the light of the world.

John 15:1, 5 I am part of the true vine, a channel (branch) of His (Christ’s) life.

John 15:15 I am Christ’s friend.

John 15:16 I am chosen and appointed by Christ to bear His fruit.

Rom. 6:18 I am a slave of righteousness.

Rom. 6:22 I am a slave to God.

I Cor. 3:16; 6:19 I am a temple of God. His Spirit dwells in me.

I Cor. 6:17 I am united to the Lord and am one spirit with Him.

I Cor. 12:27 I am a member of Christ’s body.

II Cor. 5:17 I am a new creation.

II Cor. 5:18.19 I am reconciled to God and am a minister of reconciliation.

II Cor. 5:21 I am the righteousness of God in Christ

Gal. 3:26, 28 I am a son of God and one in Christ

Eph. 1:1 I am a saint. (See I Cor. 1:2; Phil. 1:1, Col. 1:2)

Eph. 1:4 I am holy and blameless.

God has exchanged your shame-based identity for a grace based identity (Gal. 2:20) (Col.3-1-4) which is dependent on what Jesus has done instead of what you have done!  Are you tired of your attempts to remove your shame through “try harder religion teachings?”   Spend time this week proclaiming the truth of who you are in Christ, and enjoy resting in the exchange of your shame for God’s grace. 


Believe it! It’s the Gospel.

Live Free In Christ,

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2015 Mark Maulding but feel free to pass it on!

Continue Reading »

Fellowship is Free

“The fellowship is free too, by the way. People talk about fellowship like it’s a connection with God that comes and goes with our behavior. No way. In the Bible, if you’re a new creation, a child of God, then your Father remains ‘in fellowship’ with you at all times (1 Cor. 1:9; 2 Cor. [Read More…]

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Grace-Onomics: You Can’t Out-sin God’s Grace!

I was a sophomore in high school who loved competing in basketball for our team.  I had a key to our gym and played almost every day, even during the summer.  However, everyone on the team was also required by the coach to play a second sport; so, I chose to run track.
I was 6’4″ and as skinny as a bean pole but for some reason I was fast, that is fast enough to be on the one mile relay team. That meant that all four of us had to run around the track one time and then pass the baton to the next person.  I ran the third perlegon a team of very fast seniors.
One day, we were competing against a rival team and I became nervous when I discovered I was running against the fastest guy in our region.  He was a muscular football player and I wondered how this was going to turn out.  In the race, I received the baton about 30 feet ahead of him.  My plan was to run at 5/6’s speed until I reached the final turn, then go as fast as I could. About half way, I heard his steps and he was gaining on me.  Now I had to change my tactics.  I needed to match his speed to keep our distance.  When he ran faster, I ran faster.  When he turned on his final sprint, I turned on my final sprint… and, it worked.  He never did catch me no, matter how fast he ran.  I passed the baton to our last runner and we won the race. It was a great day.
Romans 5:20 gives us the picture of a similar race in our own lives.  It is the race of sin versus God’s grace. 
All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. (The Message)
The sins of someone who has not received Christ is never greater than the ability of God’s grace to save that person.   In the same way, the sins of someone who is in Christ are never greater than God’s grace to keep that person 100% acceptable to God.
Some worry that if we tell Christians this amazing truth of the New Covenant, they will see grace as a license to sin.   However, our identity in Christ tells us that God’s law has been written on our hearts according to Hebrews 10:16-17.  This means that God’s character is the very core of who we are now.  Though we can sin, our deepest desire is to live a life consistent with who we are in Christ and who He is in us.  When people have a growing understanding from the Holy Spirit of who they are in Christ, they don’t live for sin but rather they live for Jesus  – relying on Him to live through them.
I remember one man telling me a few years ago that the more he understood grace, the more he was able to live more faithful to his wife as he overcame pornography.  Another man was delighted to understand that he could now live in the freedom of holiness instead of his bondage to cocaine because of God’s strong grace.  God’s grace is always stronger and faster than sin!
How about you, do you believe you can’t “out-sin” God’s grace or do you live in fear that you might?  Let’s believe the New Covenant this week according to Romans 5:20 and grow spiritually so we can live free and holy in Christ.  
          
For the Freedom of Others,
Mark Maulding 
President and Founder
                               

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2015 Mark Maulding but feel free to pass it on!

Continue Reading »

Grace-Onoimics: You Can’t “Out-Sin” God’s Grace!

I was a sophomore in high school who loved competing in basketball for our team.  I had a key to our gym and played almost every day, even during the summer.  However, everyone on the team was also required by the coach to play a second sport; so, I chose to run track.
I was 6’4″ and as skinny as a bean pole but for some reason I was fast, that is fast enough to be on the one mile relay team. That meant that all four of us had to run around the track one time and then pass the baton to the next person.  I ran the third perlegon a team of very fast seniors.
One day, we were competing against a rival team and I became nervous when I discovered I was running against the fastest guy in our region.  He was a muscular football player and I wondered how this was going to turn out.  In the race, I received the baton about 30 feet ahead of him.  My plan was to run at 5/6’s speed until I reached the final turn, then go as fast as I could. About half way, I heard his steps and he was gaining on me.  Now I had to change my tactics.  I needed to match his speed to keep our distance.  When he ran faster, I ran faster.  When he turned on his final sprint, I turned on my final sprint… and, it worked.  He never did catch me no, matter how fast he ran.  I passed the baton to our last runner and we won the race. It was a great day.
Romans 5:20 gives us the picture of a similar race in our own lives.  It is the race of sin versus God’s grace. 
All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down. (The Message)
The sins of someone who has not received Christ is never greater than the ability of God’s grace to save that person.   In the same way, the sins of someone who is in Christ are never greater than God’s grace to keep that person 100% acceptable to God.
Some worry that if we tell Christians this amazing truth of the New Covenant, they will see grace as a license to sin.   However, our identity in Christ tells us that God’s law has been written on our hearts according to Hebrews 10:16-17.  This means that God’s character is the very core of who we are now.  Though we can sin, our deepest desire is to live a life consistent with who we are in Christ and who He is in us.  When people have a growing understanding from the Holy Spirit of who they are in Christ, they don’t live for sin but rather they live for Jesus  – relying on Him to live through them.
I remember one man telling me a few years ago that the more he understood grace, the more he was able to live more faithful to his wife as he overcame pornography.  Another man was delighted to understand that he could now live in the freedom of holiness instead of his bondage to cocaine because of God’s strong grace.  God’s grace is always stronger and faster than sin!
How about you, do you believe you can’t “out-sin” God’s grace or do you live in fear that you might?  Let’s believe the New Covenant this week according to Romans 5:20 and grow spiritually so we can live free and holy in Christ.  
          
For the Freedom of Others,
Mark Maulding 
President and Founder
                               

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2015 Mark Maulding but feel free to pass it on!

Continue Reading »

Contributing to Personal Salvation

Christianity Today reported on a LifeWay survey which reveals that 56% of self-proclaimed evangelical Christians believe “people must contribute their own effort for personal salvation.” This is an urgent wake-up call for pastors nationwide to realize that a majority of churchgoers are not actually feasting on the solid food of God’s grace. #‎TheNakedGospel

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Grace-Onomics: God is Good, Even When Life is Bad


Dear Mark, 

This week, my friend Dale Dunnewold, President of Grace Ministries Tennessee, is my guest writer.  He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few days ago and what he write here is amazing.  It will inspire you to live by faith more and to know Jesus in you better.

I have always hated the testimonies at church, “My parents were in a accident, but they walked away from it without injury.  God is good.” Especially after my mom was killed in a traffic accident 14 years ago, I wanted to scream, “Does that mean God is not good?”


Going all the way back to the garden, it was never God’s plan for us to judge good and evil.  That was His job.  We were just called to walk with Him.  But ever since Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, we’ve deemed ourselves worthy to judge even God over good and evil.  Since our wisdom is limited to this 80 year span, we make judgments that seem valid.  We can’t see outside our understanding.  So if God is doing things to make these 80 years better, then He is good. If we need something to be okay in this life, and God doesn’t provide it, then we feel abandoned.

The disciples felt abandoned.  When Jesus died, they were left in shock.  When He had talked about being King, bringing His Kingdom, they put that in their understanding.  Obviously He had come to fix their current situation.  He was going to rise up and set them free from Roman rule.  He was going to be King in Jerusalem.  He had come to their rescue.  He was good.  But now that He was dead, their hope was gone.  They went back to their jobs.  They had trusted a fake.


But He came back to life and changed all that.  He showed them what His Kingdom was all about.  Then leaving them with His Holy Spirit, they entered into an intimacy with God that had never been possible before.  Here was a Kingdom that offered complete acceptance, love, forgiveness, sonship from their Creator.  The mystery of all that Jesus had been speaking of, now revealed, Christ in you, the Hope of Glory!


These men went on to face persecution and death, but they lived life with a passion that came from an intimate connection with Father God.  The Kingdom was way bigger than they had ever dreamed.  No matter how bad their circumstances became, His Kingdom was their anchor.  Jesus, not their circumstances, was life to them.

So when life is unfair, when God doesn’t answer our prayers, when we don’t get healed, when terrorists take out Christian villages in Africa, when children are sold into slavery, where is God?  If our understanding is exhaustive and complete, then we can say, “God doesn’t care.” “He has abandoned us.”  “God is not good.”  But if our understanding is only a microcosm of God’s full, infinite knowledge, let’s remember that His original plan was for us to take our cues from Him. He is the One with wisdom, knowledge and insight.  He is Love. God is Good.

I’m not afraid to die. That’s not a big deal to me.  But the idea of leaving my family is unbearable. So my prayer is that God would heal me from this cancer in my body, whether through His supernatural touch or by the hands of doctors.  But whatever the outcome my anchor is still that God is good and His nearness is my good.

Dale Dunnewold


Please pray for Dale and his family.  Also, if you would like to keep up with him, he is on Facebook.

          

For the Freedom of Others,

                   
                               Mark Maulding 

                                                      
All Content Copyright © 2015 Mark Maulding but it can always be shared with others! 

Gray 

Mark Maulding, President and Founder

www.GraceLifeInternational.com All Content Copyright © 2015 Mark Maulding but feel free to pass it on!

Continue Reading »

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