A Relationship with Jesus

Christianity is not a religion it's a relationship!

This quote, or similar versions of it, has been used so often that it has become cliche, but there is still truth in it. In my post Is True Christianity a Religion? I wrote about a misconception caused by this statement. Namely that religion in itself is not the problem; the problem is when we forget the purpose of the religion. We all have religious traditions that we follow and these traditions can actually help us deepen our relationship with Jesus as long as we keep our focus on Jesus and not on the tradition. 

Where is your focus?

Can you remember when you first started a true relationship with Jesus? Not when you prayed a prayer at the altar or with a friend or family member but when you first recognized that you had a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. The prayer is a great place to start and if you have never prayed that prayer, or feel that you need to pray it again for any reason, then I encourage you to visit What is the Gospel and pray through the prayer I have written on that page, then contact me and let me know that you did. However the prayer is just the start; it is a point of entry into the relationship, but the real relationship is built on spending time with Him each day. Jesus said:

Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

John 15:4

Abide means to live, it denotes a continual presence. We are to live continuously in Jesus Christ, in a continuous relationship with Him. 

I do remember when my relationship with Jesus began. I grew up in a "Christian" home but the very person that would force me to read the Bible and to memorize scripture one day would beat me the next and lock me in my room with a padlock. At one point my stepfather had my brothers and I locked in an empty room with black tarp around the windows and no light in the room. It was literally so dark in that room that I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. I remember feeling around on the floor to find the bowl of water that was left in there so I could have a drink. 

It was in this place of literal total darkness that I began a relationship with the Light!

Jesus met me in that place of tragedy and I learned first hand who He is and how much He cares about me. It is because of that experience that I can confidently state that Deuteronomy 31:6 is true:

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

If you haven't experienced a relationship with Him like I am discussing then I strongly encourage you to start now.  As mentioned above you can start here but remember that is just the start. It is just a little direction to get you started but even more important than praying the prayer that I wrote down would be praying a prayer of honesty from your heart. 

Cry out to God, ask Him to reveal Himself to you, and feel free to tell Him what it is that makes it hard for you to come to Him.

If you're open for Him then He will answer!

Todd White: Modern Day Street Preacher

"Heaven is not my mission, heaven is my destination, destroying hell is my mission."

Todd White

Todd White is the founder of Lifestyle Christianity Ministries. He believes that we all should be walking in the power of the Holy Spirit and destroying the works of the devil as Jesus did when He was on this earth. Jesus said, 

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father."  

John 14:12

 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Mark 16:17-18

Todd White is a man that is living those verses every day. He's a former drug addict and atheist who was on the brink of suicide and God took a hold of his life radically. Listen to his testimony and be encouraged and motivated to seek out the same.

It is Finished!

It is finished!

These were the last words of Jesus on the cross. With His last breath He made known that the work of the cross was already finished. There is nothing more to be done. But what was the work of the cross? We can see a good description in Isaiah:

Surely He has borne our griefs (sicknesses, weaknesses, and distresses) and carried our sorrows and pains [of punishment], yet we [ignorantly] considered Him stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God [as if with leprosy].

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our guilt and iniquities; the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him, and with the stripes [that wounded] Him we are healed and made whole.

All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has made to light upon Him the guilt and iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:4-6 

(Amplified Bible - emphasis added)

Notice the words I put in bold; these are the things that Jesus took from us or gave to us when He went to the cross. Let's look at it another way:

Jesus took from us:
Grief
Sickness
Weakness
Distress
Sorrow
Pain
Transgression
Guilt
Iniquity


Jesus added to us:
Peace
Well-being
Healing
Wholeness

 

So why are so many of God's children living in guilt and shame? 

Why are so many Christians afflicted by sickness and disease?

Why is so much of the church bound by emotional hurts and stress?

Why are so many of God's servants held back by personal weakness and faults?

So many are waiting on God when God is waiting on us!

Jesus said His part is finished which means it is now up to us. We need to realize what it is that He did for us and make it real in our lives. We need to confess the truth over our lives rather than the facts and we need to speak that truth into existence. We need to learn how to change our life in order to match with the Word and not try to twist the Word to match our experience.

Set Your Mind...

 

Notice the correlation between living and thinking. If we our living according to the flesh then that means we have already set our minds in that direction, however if we are living by the Spirit than we have set our minds that direction.

Where we set our minds is where we will be!

Our actions will follow our thinking!

What are you thinking about most of the time? Recently I've written about utilizing the extra time that we have in the day but as much idle time as we have in our actions we have even more in our minds. Think about how much of our time is spent doing meaningless, mundane tasks. Showering, shaving, brushing our teeth, eating alone, cleaning, doing the dishes, etc. All of this time is time that our mind does not need to be focused on what we are doing because the task is so repetitious. Where is our mind in those times? 

We could spend those times dwelling on the people that hurt us, worrying about difficulties in our life, or dreading our upcoming work day, but all of these things will hold us back not push us forward. 

What could you think about in these times that will push you forward?

You could use this time to build your faith by meditating on the Word.

You could use this time to commune with God through prayer.

You could use this time make plans for your day to better utilize your time. (Then write it down later)

You could use this time to simply meditate on the goodness of God and His glorious creation.

Paul gives us guidelines on what we should be thinking about:

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things

Philippians 4:8

Use this checklist to determine whether what you are thinking about is beneficial or harmful to you.

What other ways could you use your idle thinking time to benefit you?

Lay Hold of Your Purpose!

Christ has laid hold of you for a purpose!

It is our job to find out what that purpose is and to lay hold of it. This takes perseverance, hard work, and utilizing your time. We must constantly be working towards this goal of discovering our purpose and living it out.

Paul told Timothy: "Study to show thyself approved..." (2 Timothy 2:15). We should continually be studying, learning, and growing ourselves spiritually, mentally, and physically.

"For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come."

1 Timothy 4:8

There is a benefit to physical exercise but of course our personal growth should be focused on godliness. Godliness is what will help us to find and achieve God's purpose on our lives. Our goal should always be that at the end of our life we can say with Paul:

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

2 Timothy 4:7

 

Here are some ways to grow yourself so that you will be ready to complete the race God has laid out before you:

 

1) Prayer: Be in constant communion with God. Who better to direct you in your race than the one who created the race?

 

2) The Word of God: Paul said "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17) Constantly get in the Word of God for equipping and correction.

 

3) Learn from the Wise: In Walking With the Wise I discussed the importance of who you spend your time with, but learning from the wise can also be done through reading, listening to sermons and podcasts, or even studying biographies. 

 

4) Use your gifts: Constantly seek out opportunities to use and expand your gifts. If a gift lays dormant it goes to waste but your gifts are direct evidence of your purpose. For more on using your gifts you can go here.

 

I believe that if you are faithful in these four things you will be amazed at where God brings you. He will open up doors that you never even imagined!

Get Up and Cut It Off!

Get up, sanctify the people, and say, ‘Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the Lord God of Israel: “There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you."

Joshua 7:13

Did you just lose where you thought you were supposed to win?

Did God make a promise to you that seems to have just fell through?

Have you been praying for something and feel like no answer is coming? 

In the above verse Joshua and the people of Israel had just started their campaign to take the promised land. They had been hearing about this land for more than 40 years in the desert and they knew that God had promised it to them! There first battle in Jericho was a major success and they were reveling in that victory ready to take on the next town. (Joshua 6)

As they prepared to face Ai the people seem to have forgotten to seek God, instead they rely on spies assessment of the situation. Coming off their most recent victory the spies are a bit overconfident and tell Joshua to only send a small group of the men and Joshua listens. Of course this ends in a brutal defeat that sends Joshua to his knees crying out to God. (Joshua 7:2-9)

Generally on your face before God is a good place to be in this type of situation but it is interesting to see God's response in verse 10:

So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face?

There is a time to get on your face before God and there is a time for action!

If you've been praying about something for a long time and you haven't seemed to receive an answer, it may be because you already received the answer. God may have already called you to action to take care of the situation and you ignored it. 

Is there an accursed thing in your midst?

An accursed thing would be anything that God either told you to not touch or to get rid of but you are still holding onto it. Do you have something in your life? It will hold you back from your blessing.

I do want to make one disclaimer. Sometimes we just have to persevere in our prayers even if there is not an accursed thing in our midst. I do not want to send you on a "wild goose chase" looking for whatever sin or rebellion is in your life. If you have it then it will be obvious to you. God has been speaking to you about it for some time now and you have been pushing it to the back of your mind.

That thing is keeping you from what God has for your life!

It's time to get up and cut it off!

Walking With the Wise

"He who walks with wise men will be wise, 

But the companion of fools will be destroyed."

Proverbs 13:20

Your success is dependent on who you surround yourself with!

Think about the five people you spend the most time with, are they helping you move forward or are they holding you back? Do you make a conscious effort to spend time with people who have more experience or more knowledge than you do? I am a firm believer that we should always have a mentor and be a mentor at all times in our life, but what's really important to our success is who we call our friends. 

Who do you spend time with just to spend time with them? 

Who do you hang out with?

Who do you talk with, have discussion with?

These are the people who will shape your future. Are you surrounding yourself with wise men and women or with fools? Are you heading for success or destruction? 

If you don't like the way your life is headed find someone who is already where you want to be and spend time with them!

Allow God to use that person to speak into your life, to encourage you, challenge you, and strengthen you. Of course in order to do that you have to be willing to take correction. Solomon also said:

"Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge,

But he who hates correction is stupid."

Proverbs 12:1

According to this verse the definition of stupidity is not a lack of knowledge but an unwillingness to be corrected. So it is not enough to simply surround ourselves with wise people, we must also allow those wise people to give us correction, to teach us, and to show us a better way of doing things. Otherwise we will stay stupid.

Who are you surrounding yourself with? 

Is there someone you should be surrounding yourself with?

Utilizing Your Time

"pray without ceasing"

1 Thess. 5:17

"But his delight is in the law of the Lord

And in His law he meditates day and night."

Psalm 1:2

I don't have time.

I'm too busy.

Do you know my work schedule? 

I'm a working student, I barely have time to sleep.

I have kids so there's no way.

 

When asked about your prayer and devotional life have you ever made one of the above excuses? Maybe you didn't vocalize it but you were thinking it in your mind. You know that you should pray and read the Bible but you feel there will never be enough time. You know you should be feeding your spirit but when can you do that?

The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

Stephen Covey

 

Have you scheduled time for devotions? The Bible, especially Psalms, constantly talks about seeking Him in the morning so that is a good place to start. You might have to stop hitting the snooze button or set your alarm for a little bit earlier but it's worth it! 

 

However, as simple as getting up earlier is, I think there is an even simpler solution that may be even more important of a change. Just learn to utilize the time that you have!

 

What are you doing on your commute to work? 

 

How do you use your breaks and your lunch?

 

What are you doing while you wait in the doctor's office? 

So much of our day is time spent waiting, doing nothing. Think about your commute to work for example. According to census.gov the average commute time for Americans in 2009 was 25 minutes. That's almost an hour of time that most Americans are probably wasting just driving to and from work. However you could utilize that time!

Think about the change to your spiritual health if you prayed an extra 50 minutes a day.

That's an easy 50 minutes of seeking God right there, time that you normally spend listening to music, worrying about your work, or yelling at other drivers. You could also use that time to listen to the Bible on CD, or books on tape. There are many ways that you could utilize the time in your commute to help you seek God. 

Next step would be to take a look at your work. Often we have time at our work that we don't even realize. This time could be spent reading, praying or even listening to sermons. My brother has a job where he often ends up doing mindless data entry and he realized that while he's doing that he can listen to sermons with his headphones and strengthen his spirit. 

Another idea is to write down a scripture on an index card and keep it in your pocket throughout the day. Then when you have those breather moments just pull it out and read it and then ask God to speak to you through that scripture. 

Lastly, re-prioritize your time off. I always find it interesting how we complain about never having time and then we talk about the latest movie that we watched. Think about how long a movie is, even a short movie is about 1.5 hours. Think of what you could do in that time. I've heard people talk about needing their 'movie time' to 'unwind' from a stressful day, but wouldn't it be better for us to 'unwind' by getting in the presence of God or by meditating on His Word? I am not saying that watching movies is a sin but I think we need to start recognizing that 'movie time' is not a requirement. If you don't have time for devotionals, or for family time, or for pursuing the gifts that God has placed in you, maybe it's time to cut out 'movie time'.

Prosperity Preacher or Poverty Preacher?

Even so the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:14

 Reporter: Would you consider yourself a prosperity preacher?

Lester Sumrall: Well, I'm definitely not a poverty preacher!

Since when is being a prosperity preacher a bad thing?

The Bible is filled with verses about us prospering, being successful, even being rich and yet if a preacher talks about those things they are just a "prosperity preacher". People talk bad about them and accuse them of not being saved or even of being used of the enemy. In fact it seems that for most people there is only one thing that a preacher can do which is worse than talking about prospering and that is for them to actually prosper.

Why is it so wrong for a pastor to be wealthy?

I specifically keep hearing people complain about Joel Osteen. People say that he shouldn't live in such a large house, that he shouldn't be rich, and that he shouldn't live a fancy lifestyle. However they completely ignore the fact that he pastors the largest church in America for free! He refuses to take a salary from his church because he recognizes that he gets more than enough from his book sales. In fact seeing that He believes in tithing he actually pays the church in order to work for them. How many of you would pay your job to keep working there? 

People generally say that the money could be used for more worthy causes, however the complaint is never made about David Green, the founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, who has a sizable house himself. So basically if someone earns their wealth in a 'secular' business it is okay for them to live like they are wealthy but if someone earns their wealth in the ministry they are supposed to give it all away and live in poverty? 

The Bible says that Jesus became poor so that we could become rich! (2 Corinthians 8:9)

Paul said that God would meet all our needs in His riches! (Philippians 4:19)

Solomon tells us that if we honor the Lord with our firstfruits then our storehouses would be filled with plenty! (Proverbs 3:9-10)

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 says that if we sow bountifully we will also reap bountifully!

And these are just a few of the promises regarding prosperity in the Bible, if you want more you can find them in this article. 

There is a consistent principle that we have to be generous with our giving and honor the Lord with our finances in order to receive full prosperity, but why should we be mad at someone who has been prosperous? I would remind you of the warning from the Psalmist:

"Do not touch my anointed ones,

And do my prophets no harm."

Psalm 105:15

Are You a Threat to the Enemy's Kingdom?

The devil will not attack you if you are not a threat to his kingdom.

Bishop TD Jakes

Jesus said, "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." - John 10:10

He referred to the devil as the thief and a thief only steals from someone who has something of value. If you have nothing of value he will not attack you. Often when we start to get our focus back on God we find that everything in life seems to turn against us and sometimes it can be discouraging. We are discouraged because at some point we got the idea that when our life is right with God everything will immediately get on track but that is not always the case. 

Once you start to get your life on track with God the enemy will do anything he can to derail you, because that is when you are a threat to his kingdom.

We tend to think of this world in the physical realm where there are multiple kingdoms and nations, some at peace and others at war, but ultimately there are only two kingdoms in this world. There is the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness and everyone belongs to one or the other whether they realize it or not.

Are you a part of the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of darkness?

If you have accepted Christ into your life and received His salvation then you are a part of the Kingdom of God. However until you have a revelation of the unseen world and give yourself wholly to God's will you will not be a threat to the enemy. He may have lost you from his kingdom but he doesn't have to fight you because you are not fighting. 

It's only when you start fighting that the enemy begins to truly fight back. It is in this time that you can be assured that you are on track and it is in this time that Paul is telling us:

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Ephesians 6:13

We must stand strong when the fiery darts of the enemy come our way using our faith to defuse his attacks and the Word to advance the Kingdom of God. And in these attacks we can be confident that we are on the right track with God because that is the only reason for the attacks to come.

Are you suddenly having family and friends turn against you for no fault of your own?

Are you approaching sudden, unexpected financial difficulty?

Is your health being attacked like never before?

Remember Job? God revered him as "a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil" (Job 1:8). The devil then attacked every area of his life in order to attempt to turn him away from God. But we see that as Job was patient through his trials he came out better than he was before.

¹² Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. ¹³ He also had seven sons and three daughters. ¹⁴ And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. ¹⁵ In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers.

¹⁶ After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. ¹⁷ So Job died, old and full of days.

Job 42:12-17 

So hold on, Stand, and you will find the blessing of the Lord!

When the enemy comes in like a flood,
The Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him.

Isaiah 59:19

How to Change the World! - Re-Post

 When most want to change the world, we think global outreach and actually envision changing the entire world...but imagine your next door neighbor suffering from depression from job loss, or the family across the street from you dealing with foreclosure...if its your heart to change the world, start with the folks nearest to you... and help change their world!

One of my wife's friend's posted this as their status on facebook. It is interesting, because I also had a conversation with a friend just a couple days before on this subject. The underlying question is: How do we change the world?

So how do we change the world?

When we think of world changers we usually think of the people that make the news, or the history books. We think of politicians like Abraham Lincoln or Nelson Mandela, or church founders like Martin Luther or John Wesley; possibly we think of people like Mother Theresa who did the little things so much that she became famous. The common denominator is we think of people who are famous, or in the public eye. We think of someone that has done something huge for the whole world. But these are not the things that Jesus talked about when he told us to be lights for the world and the salt of the earth. These people all did great things that changed the world but it's not the end result of their lives that made these people great, it's the things that they began with. It's what happened before they were famous.

Mother Theresa cared for people and served people long before she was noticed by anyone, Nelson Mandela learned to forgive people before he was ever president of South Africa, and Martin Luther began by simply studying God's Word thoroughly and then deciding to stick to what it said even if the entire church did not. Even when he began translating the Bible he probably had no idea how that would spread to the entire world. They began with their initial surroundings and their work multiplied itself.

This is the same idea we see in the Bible. Jesus did not focus on the multitude. true he did preach to the multitude when they presented themselves, but he never looked for the multitude, he looked for the individual! We see him over and over again seeking out the needy and the sinner and helping them. Even in his overall strategy he focused on twelve guys and even more on three. Then in Acts he tells his disciples to start in Jerusalem, where they were at, and then to work there way out, which is exactly what they did. In fact the first time we hear about any sort of foreign missions is in the eleventh chapter:

¹⁹ Now those who had been scattered by the persecution that broke out when Stephen was killed traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, spreading the word only among Jews. ²⁰ Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus. ²¹ The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord. 

The interesting thing about this is that the first instance of foreign missions is simply an extension of how they started. They found themselves in a new country, for completely different reasons than mission, and thought 'well we might as well continue talking to these people about Jesus.' They simply focused on their new surroundings. There was no big project or mission trip or program. It was simply, 'these are the people around me so how can I tell them about Jesus?'

This is what we need to do. These are the questions we need to ask.

 

How can I serve my neighbor? 

How can I show my co-worker God's love? 

What will it take to convince my classmate that God is real? 

 

This is how we will change the world! 

 

Hollywood communicated this idea through the movie 'Pay It Forward' and Michael Jackson communicated a message of changing ourselves first in 'Man in the Mirror'. So why does it sometimes take us, the Body of Christ, so long to figure out and adapt this strategy of changing the world? It is time that we as the church stop focusing on the big glory moments and begin focusing on the individuals around us. It's time we start focusing more on loving our neighbor than complaining about the bad decisions our politicians are making. 

 

New politicians are not we need to change our country, what we need is individuals to step out and begin living the Gospel wherever they are!

Let's change the world!

Reading: Exercise for the Mind

"Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body"

Joseph Addison

For the last four months I have been working a job that has given me plenty of free time. God taught me through this job that I should learn to use the time I have to be as productive as possible so I began to use this time at my job in prayer and also in reading. As a result I have read seven books and started three more in the last four months. Most of these books have been instrumental in returning my focus to Him and building my faith in who I am in Christ.

Recently I have received a promotion that will cause me to not have quite as much time on my hands but I am thankful for what God has taught me through the books that I have read in the last four months and would like to share some of those books with you:

1) The Triumphant Church - Dr. Kenneth Hagin

This was actually a reread for me. I read this back when I was in high school but I felt I needed a reminder on the authority that I have in Christ. This is a great description of who the enemy is and how we, as the church, are triumphant with Christ. If you have felt beaten down by the enemy and need a reminder of the victory that you have in Christ then I strongly suggest this book. One post of mine that was inspired by this book was Knowing Your Enemy.

2) Bruchko - Bruce Olson

An amazing story of the missionary life that Bruce Olson has had with the Motilone Indians in South America. God sent him as a 19 year old to South America with no supports or contacts and directed him to completely revolutionize tribal missions all over the world. It is amazing to read the stories of how God worked through Bruce and through the Motilone, at times using gifts of the Spirit to help spread the Gospel when they didn't even know those before hand. I wrote about one quote from the book in my post I gave in to God.

3) How Faith Works - Dr. Fred Price

I'll admit, I had to push through a little bit to get into this one. In my opinion Dr. Price is a little overly repetitive and harps on issues that are not all that important at times. However if you do push through and read for the meat you will find a book that encourages you to walk in faith and realize that with God nothing is impossible! I also appreciate how Dr. Price addresses some practical issues with faith. For example, he has an entire chapter discussing the foolishness of believing for your healing when you are not taking care of your body.

4) The Purpose Driven Life - Rick Warren

I know, I'm several years late in reading this one. However if you have not read this book, or you read it back when it first came out and became the craze of the nation, then you need to read it. This is the best description of the purposes for which we are made that I have ever heard and Rick Warren doesn't pull any punches. If you would like a quick summary of the book in my own words you can read The Five Purposes of Life.

5) The Pursuit of God - AW Tozer

This is a short book but one of the best descriptions of how to seek after God I have ever read. AW Tozer describes the need for Christians who are truly hungry after the presence of God and then shows how to be that way. If you want your hunger for God to increase then I strongly suggest reading this book. If you have a kindle app then you can own it for free through their classics library.

6) John G. Lake: His life, his sermons, his boldness of faith - Compiled by Copeland Ministries

I am not even halfway through this one and it has already changed my entire view of the Christian life. John G. Lake had an astounding revelation of the fact that God Himself lives in us as believers and this revelation caused him to walk in mighty, miraculous power. If you want to be encouraged and strengthened in faith in order to see miracles worked through your life then read this book.

7) The Normal Christian Life - Watchman Nee

This is another one that I have only begun so far but I can already tell that it is a good one. So far Watchman Nee has described in great detail what the blood and the cross means to our everyday life and to our sinful nature. He brings the revelation that our sinful nature already died on the cross with Jesus and that we already have new life through his resurrection. There is no work that we have to do in order to crucify our own flesh because our flesh was already crucified with Christ. We just need to receive the revelation that it was already done.