When you believed in Christ, He identified you as His own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom He promised long ago.” My dear warrior,
I have come to understand something recently in the research for my next book. I had a realization about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Last year I made a mistake while I argued with someone about the reality of what it was to be filled with the Holy Spirit—a mistake that has since grieved my spirit. We each argued that we had been filled with the Holy Spirit, and eventually spat that the other had not. I had very little theological understanding of it at the time; all I knew was that I had been filled with the Holy Spirit, and that I experienced fresh infillings of the Spirit over the years, and I knew my relationship with Him was real. What I didn’t understand is how much more intimate the Holy Spirit is with us even when there is no outward sign for others to see.
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 Oh my dear warrior!
Last week I shared with you my ‘epic’ quest for truth, and the fact that I am exploring Christianity as objectively as possible. I have chosen to step back and try to see Christianity for what it is, what it was intended to be, and to discover my faith for myself. It is a deep and difficult journey, and on some days my quest seems to lead to more questions than answers. But this is not a journey of doubt. It is a journey together with God to discover deeper and more glorious truths than I have yet allowed my heart and mind to access. Scripture tells us to love God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. This is me doing just that. As I wrestled with some particularly difficult topics, I felt myself torn as I realized that the logical end in any direction went to ridiculous extremes. Then I realized: you can take any thought, statement or belief and follow it to its logical conclusion (meaning you can chase it down to its extreme end) and you will end up with such radically heretical beliefs that they cease to be Christian. When we use human logic to try follow something to its so-called ‘logical’ end (meaning, we go beyond what God said and meant), we will inevitably end up with something corrupt, ungodly and far removed from what God intended. Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.  My dear warrior,
Recently I’ve been reflecting on the beauty of Christianity, and what it truly means to be the body of Christ, and the kind of unity we are meant to enjoy. I’ve been delving deep in my research lately, and have been finding stunning truths (and it has, of course, become the next book I am working on). The reality I’m discovering of what it means to live for God is so much more magnificent than I could ever have dreamed. My mission right now is to scrape away the ‘barnacles’ that have attached themselves to the faith over hundreds of years (the corporate faith, as well as my own individual faith during the span of a lifetime). The thought that has been ringing through my mind this week has been this: we ought to be unshakeable in our faith, but ought not be immovable in our hearts towards God. Another simple thought has been this: It’s ok not to have all the answers. (You won’t, and no one expects you to have them all. Nor does anyone expect you to be right all the time. You won’t be.) For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. My dear warriors,
Today I want to share something with you. Something that may even be personal. I wanted to tell you why I write to you as warriors. When I address you as a warrior, I do not use this term lightly (as some may assume). When I write to you (as warrior), I am speaking to the nature that is within you. I am calling out the warrior spirit within you. My writing is in a sense a rallying war cry, a call to arms, a call to battle—a call to awaken the sleeping warrior within. I intend to speak confidence into you where perhaps no one ever has before. Why? Because the only reason I am alive today is because God spoke directly to the sleeping warrior in me a few years ago. |
Check out Michele's new book, now available for purchase on Amazon!
Mere Humanity: Becoming a Mature Christian in an Immature World 
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