Michael Danforth Unconscious Living I was thinking back to previous years when I would have to study and prepare a message for the next meeting, whether on the home front or abroad. Today, that type of mindset seems so foreign to me. Though I am a daily student of the word, I do so out of pure pleasure wanting to know the heart of my Father. This is not to say that there are not times when I won’t make certain preparations the night before or even the day of any particular meeting. However, for the most part, I simply share out of a constant flow of the spirit of God in me. As a result, I am highly motivated to release all that the Lord reveals to me through articles like this, via web, video, books, on the home front and travel abroad. Nonetheless, though all of the above are available to me, they are still not sufficient to release the fullness of God’s glory in me. While I am so grateful for all of you who take the time to view what the Lord has given to me, I realize it is just a piece of the kingdom of God unfolding upon the earth. I feel that is important for us to remain to true to our purposes and destinies in life. While there are so many amazing aspects of the life of God being revealed through countless people across the world, it’s important that we live within the expression of the revelation of heaven working in us. This is not to say that our understanding of God and life are not subject to change on a daily basis, it just means we all have a particular vein in the kingdom of God that we are called to express. Let me encourage you to stay true to His plans for your life. God’s knows there have been times when I have been tempted to jump ship due to the conflictive nature of what I share. I trust this will be different. :-) Yet, in my heart, there is no other course for me. This is the life that God has invited me to live. Therefore, I consider it a great privilege and honor to do so in the manner he has called me. Unconscious Living Unconscious living, it almost sounds like you have to be knocked out before you can start living. I assure you it is not quite that dramatic. However, I believe God is leading His people into an unconscious lifestyle. Let me start by giving you a definition of the word “unconscious.” Unconscious is defined as “lacking awareness and the capacity for sensory perception. It refers to things that occur in the absence of conscious awareness or thought.” Obviously, there is a down side to lacking awareness and perception. There are things that occur around us that we are not aware of or give any thought to. However, I want to present unconsciousness in a different light. Most of our interaction with Jesus, with Spirit, is on the level of consciousness. Many are constantly making a conscious effort to love God and all that He loves. Many of our impacting memories with Jesus are highlighted by moments of personal engagement. Our accomplishments, spiritual encounters and other extraordinary events make us cognitive of our spirituality in the kingdom of God. Without a doubt, all the above are extremely important in our journey with the Lord. Nonetheless, I believe the Lord is leading us into a realm of unconscious interaction in the kingdom of God. We are going from conscious love to unconscious love. Conscious love is always having to be aware of your efforts to love Jesus and others on a daily basis. Conscious living is the constant awareness of spiritually checking in making sure that you have allotted the appropriate time to your relationship with Jesus. I’m not implying that we don’t set priorities in our life and make a conscious effort to carry them out. However, there is a time in every relationship where we begin to love and interact with one another without having to always make a conscious effort to do so. Unconscious love is all about loving Jesus and others without keeping score. Our moments of intimacy are to become a natural part of everyday life. There must come a time in our spiritual walk when we begin to focus on things above without always having to consciously make an effort to do so. Though every journey might start out in constant awareness of every act, eventually our life in Christ must become more like the air we breathe. On average, a person at rest takes about 16 breaths per minute. This means we breathe about 960 breaths an hour, 23,040 breaths a day, and 8,409,600 a year. Now that is a whole lot of breathing. How many of those breaths do you actually give thought to? Unless someone physically struggles in the area of breathing, most reading this give little attention to the millions of breaths that are needed to sustain them. Yet, our lack of awareness does not minimize the importance of breathing; it just means that we don’t have to be aware of every breath we breathe in order to live a healthy life. I believe people who are bent on maintaining a record of all of their good deeds in life, pretty well fall into the category of being legalistic in their thinking. Feeling the need to keep score of all our spiritual accomplishments could reveal just how insecure we really are and the strong need we have for personal recognition. Again, I realize there is a place for conscious intent and awareness. I also realize, for sake of historic reference, that heaven holds a record of every life. Yet there is something very powerful about living a life in the kingdom of God simply because it’s in our DNA to do so. Imagine being the light of the world without always having to make a conscious effort to do so. It is indeed possible, to shine without having to flip the switch on and off. We can leave it on 24/7 without being afraid that the batteries might run down. This doesn’t mean we don’t get a plan for each day, but once we do, why not just shine. I believe this is the essence of what it means to live in Him, move, and have our being in Him. We are always in Him and He is always in us. Obligated Free Zone Many have yet to enter into an obligated free zone. This is not an attempt to minimize our responsibilities as kingdom heirs of God, but a revelation to live outside a regiment mentality. There are a number of scriptural references that point to our obligations in the kingdom of God. 1) Husbands love your wife…Col 3:19 2) Be followers of God…Eph 5:1 3) Support the weak…Acts 20:35 4) To whom much is given, much is required…Luke 12:48 5) Freely you have received, freely give…Matt 10:8 However, in light of our obligations as men and women of God, many, not all, are seemingly limited to a life of relational obligation. Much of our relationships in the Lord are driven by obligation, rather than love. Of course, there is a certain amount of obligation in every relationship, but any relationship that is founded on obligation alone is destined to fail. Obligation is defined as, “an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment. It also carries the meaning of legality. Are we bound to the Lord? Yes. Are we obligated to serve Him to the fullest? Yes. However, there is a depth of relationship that reaches far beyond mere obligation. We are in a season when the body of Christ is moving from a legal and dutiful commitment to the Lord, into a desirous longing to have constant fellowship simply because of our love for Him and His love for us. How does all this pertain to unconscious living? All too often after helping someone one in need most of us have heard the expression, “well, I have done my good deed for the day.” In other words, ‘I have met my daily obligation. This unfortunately is the mindset of most. On one side, there are acts of kindness that are self-serving. On the other side, there are acts of kindness that are truly the result of the nature of God living in our hearts. I know you have heard the phrase “second nature.” Second nature is referred to as a characteristic or habit in someone that appears to be instinctive because that person has behaved a certain way so often. In terms of loving God and others, we should be able to do so without even thinking about it. This is the instinctive nature of heaven appearing on earth. It’s a major intended point of spiritual maturation for the body of Christ. SOHL (School Of Higher Learning) We have a great line up for our SOHL gathering coming up this weekend. I can only hope that you would come with great expectations to be further transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. We will be meeting at the Holiday Inn on Sunday, June 8, 2014 beginning at 10:00AM. Special Event: Treasures In The Darkness In addition, dont forget our special event with Paul Mackie on June 15, 2014 at the Yakima Convention Center. Revealing treasures in the darkness. This will be an awesome artistic gathering. Paul will be sharing some of his amazing art work and how it relates to the treasures hidden within the people of God. It will undoubtedly be a special treat for fathers on Fathers day! Come and discover the creative ability hidden inside of you. Yes! Come on God! mticenter
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 21:17:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015