The Shadow of the Spiritual

By Gordon Brownlee

Got Spirit?
That’s an interesting question, but after two thousand years of Christian history, maybe we should be asking “which spirit?” Though the Christian faith has been provided with a sure foundation in Christ, our propensity to get worldly or even religious has actually pushed us past safe boundaries. There is a quagmire of spiritual alternatives all vying for our attention, yet none of them has anything to do with a true faith in Jesus.
“The Shadow of the Spiritual” is meaty, thought provoking, in-depth look into the rising tide of spiritual pollution within the Church. Its lingering effects remain oppressive and damaging to any believer who desires a pure expression of relationship with the Son of God.
This self help book is a must read for any Christian wanting to understand how improper spiritual connections get formed, fed and how unhealthy spiritual bondage gets passed around. Yet, by embracing a simple biblical truth, we can separate ourselves from all sorts of added spiritual trouble.
The second in a series, the author provides a platform for change and a simple yet powerful way out from the trappings of humanities spiritual confusion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Gordon Brownlee
• Release date: Jun 25, 2012
• ISBN: 9780975447512

Gordon Brownlee

About the Author Gordon has lived in the Pacific Northwest since his early teens and has a deep love for the beauty of this region. An avid recumbent bicyclist he can often be seen riding to his favorite table at a riverside park where most of his books have been written. He spent many years in retail management, maintenance supervision and dabbled in invention, but his real love is ministering to the Church. A believer since early childhood he has served and ministered with devotion in several denominational groups, with a slant towards deliverance ministry. However he came to a crisis of faith in his late thirties that caused him to reevaluate what it means to be genuine before God. Jesus answered to that request with a personal, transforming and powerful understanding of what He had accomplished on the Cross. In his first book “Out from the Shadow of Other God’s”, Gordon shares how he came to understand genuine relationship with the Savior and gives practical insights as to how to set at bay any religious counterfeit. His second work “The Shadow of the Spiritual” addresses the roots of bondage and how we as believers can avoid unnecessary physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual trouble as we make our way through society and the Church. This self help book is a must read for any Christian wanting to understand how improper spiritual connections get formed, fed and how unhealthy spiritual bondage gets passed around. Yet, by embracing a simple biblical truth, we can separate ourselves from all sorts of added trouble.

Book preview

The Shadow of the Spiritual

A Christian guide to understanding spiritual worlds

and the Bible’s way of escape.

Gordon C. Brownlee

with Linda Haarstad

Copyright 2010 Gordon Brownlee

Published by Shadow Free Press at Smashwords

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

The Shadow of the Spiritual, A guide to understanding spiritual worlds and the Bible’s way of escape / Gordon C. Brownlee with Linda Haarstad

ISBN 978-0-9754475-1-2

Acknowledgments

This book would have not been possible without the help of a number of talented people. Among those deserving special thanks are Linda Haarstad, who spent countless hours (again) deliberating with me about the Gospel and still hasn’t tired of it. She also spent much time editing and formatting these pages because she believes in the message and its benefit to the Church. Quite frankly, she made me sound real good; a real miracle worker!

Thanks to all those who assisted in reading the drafts.

Dedication

Dedicated with Love and affection to Dona May Brownlee.

Mom your love and generous nature has shown me the heart of God!

Not intended as Medical Advice

In this book we will be discussing the human condition and how outside influences associated with man’s fall, his interaction with the world, and his exchanges with demonic and spiritual powers can affect his quality of life. We will be presenting this information from a biblical point of view; one which recognizes that man functions as a spiritual being, and depends on this aspect of his person just as much as he does his physical, intellectual, and emotional nature. We will also be talking about how salvation and new life with Christ remains a spiritual journey which has the ability to bring completeness to our whole being; furthermore any references made to professional psychology, psychiatric method, secular counseling techniques, psychological definitions or words etc. or any religious version of the same, should not be construed as an agreement with or validation of their practice. Any mention of a secular approach to defining the problem or offering mankind the solution has no relationship to God’s way of dealing with the mind and heart of man. Thus any perceived agreement with, alignment with, validation of, or condonement of secular medical practice is only coincidental. If there remains any misunderstanding as to which means of dealing with the mind and heart of man is being represented in this book or by the authors, affiliates, or associates (We), then please refer to the following added disclaimer;

Furthermore the information contained herein reflects only the opinion of the authors, affiliates, or associates (We). It is intended for your general knowledge only and is not intended as a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment for specific medical, psychological or physiological conditions. We are not doctors and do not offer medical advice and statements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease;

Furthermore we assume no responsibility for outcomes resulting from the use of information contained in this book, or from any adjoining ministry practice, ministry web site, or from information obtained from any linked web sites. We expressly disclaim (deny or renounce) all liability for injury or damages arising out of the use, reference to, reliance on, or performance of such information and the reader proceeds at their own risk. All rights are reserved.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

CHAPTER 1 Our Way in Covenant

CHAPTER 2 Things to Consider

CHAPTER 3 In the Shadow of the Serpent

CHAPTER 4 The Anatomy of a Contract

CHAPTER 5 Tale of Two Kingdoms

CHAPTER 6 The Shadow of the Spiritual

CHAPTER 7 Spiritual Duality in Faith

CHAPTER 8 Religion of Old Testament Covenants

CHAPTER 9 Spiritual Ministry

CHAPTER 10 The Search for Christian Identity

Preface

What do we know so far?

In my previous work Out from the Shadow of Other Gods I explained my personal journey to freedom after I realized that I was improperly bound to a small religious group. Many of the principles that I had embraced had no apparent anchor in Christ. My involvement and devotion to these concepts had seriously clouded my judgment. I had been diverted away from a true overcoming faith to serve an alternate form of Christian success. Having come to the conclusion that I had failed miserably, I saw the need to start over with God. In the process I began to believe that relationship with God was available simply by believing in God’s simple message of salvation. I found that His plan was laid out quite nicely in the Bible, that which can best be described as God’s contract with mankind. The New Covenant offered true Christian stability and purpose and worked very well without the need for me, or any other man, to add to its message.

In starting over, I learned the following:

• Salvation is very simple: The simplest gospel is the one God first gave.

• A declaration or confession allows us to agree with God’s message of salvation: Living and active change occurs when we agree with God.

• God first sought after us: Truly knowing Christ is only available when God searches for us.

• The Kingdom of God has already been given: Salvation is a complete gift when we enter the life of the only complete God.

• The Kingdom of God is about authority: As Adam was once given a stewardship on the earth, Jesus has now been given a stewardship over God’s entire house (heaven and earth).

• It is by faith alone that we have been brought into all the benefits of relationship with Jesus: We share in His righteousness, peace and joy by believing that He can provide.

• Victory in Jesus is about right choices: We all carry a divine degree of responsibility, but also assignment from God.

• We supernaturally died with Christ: Nothing of this life can hold on to us, simply because we have been supernaturally transformed by a death, burial and resurrection experience; this took place at the Cross of Christ.

• Christianity is all about Jesus: When we died with Christ we were raised up into His life and it is no longer about us.

• The Christian life is a progression into God’s fullness: Though it was offered complete two thousand years ago, it may take us an eternity to explore all the advantages of God’s saving power.

• God provides and answers us by His Spirit: A simple trust in Jesus and a declaration of faith, transforms us by the same power that raised Christ from the dead. God faithfully answers us by replacing our old man’s ways with His new way in Spirit.

Understanding these points allows God to reign in our hearts without restraint and it also enables us to participate in His divine nature. As we ask for Jesus to be our Source of truth we are inviting the Spirit of God to bring healthy change to our lives.

A Transition in Our Declarations

Most of the suggested prayers or declarations from the first book were structured in a way that would help us recognize that we have died with Christ. As Paul once said,

Romans 6:11KJV

Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

By recognizing our death, we were finally able to agree with God that there is a way out of the limitations of this fallen world. We want to continue with this same theme, but also bring new emphasis to what the Cross of Christ means to us. Look for our confession to include the following;

• The Cross tests the thoughts and intents of our hearts

Ephesians 4:22-24

22You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

To put off our old life means we allow the Spirit of God to test where we continue to serve fallen physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual principles. In light of this we will frequently ask God to challenge our perceptions of right by His own standard of righteousness.

God I ask that on my behalf you will test by the cross the thoughts and intentions of my heart

• The Cross will test improper ownership of our person.

We can also become improperly owned in body, soul and spirit by men or organizations. When we naively give away our authority to others or embrace religious concepts that leave the safety of God’s simple salvation.

God I ask that on my behalf you will test by the cross any improper ownership of me in body, soul and spirit.

• The Cross has judged the spiritual realm on our behalf.

Colossians 2:15

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

The cross once judged all fallen spiritual powers so that we can be free of spiritual ownership. We are now asking for God to apply this freedom to us in specific life situations.

"God, on my behalf, judge by the cross the false gods, the powers and authorities, the evil found in the heavens and the demons that have accessed me through my improper choices.

Please be aware that the declarations being offered are not a formula for success or a replacement for how you personally trust Christ and communicate with Him in prayer. By all means speak to God any way you want; these are simply templates to help make you aware of the different facets present in any stronghold.

A declaration is really nothing more than a prayer of agreement, asking God for specific points of freedom, which remain available at the Cross. In many respects we are letting go of the improper ownership surrounding each bad choice we have made in life or in faith. Our hope is that after reading this book you will have a better understanding of how inappropriate bonds are made and how easily they can be broken.

Introduction

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Have you ever wondered, what life is supposed to be like for the Christian? Nearly all of us have. The reason this question arises is simply that many believers don’t have a way to properly gauge the quality of their Christian experience. Certainly we can all find a myriad of religious alternatives all vying for our attention, yet can we be confident that they offer us a proper view of the Savior? The good news is that most of the people that will read this book have already begun a search for spiritual truth. Having initially said yes to Jesus they know that encounters with God are possible, if not proper; but there is a problem.

If God’s perfect Gospel is interrupted, unanswered, or is not actually given its proper place, then we will find ourselves jumping into all sorts of error. Instead of achieving God’s highest, we will only produce results that remain limited to creation. For some that might seem like a worthy cause; this world offers all sorts of imaginative perks; however God does offer a better reward. As we trust Him with the journey we are invited to live a renewed life based on His power to save and our residency is now set in heaven.

Think about it; our highest call is to be brought up into a heavenly reality; one rooted and grounded upon eternal principles. This means everything that guides us can be immersed in the nature, character and Spirit of God. The life we live and the fruit we produce, even while on this earth, can be of a greater quality than that which we have previously known.

The truth is we sometimes miss the way; there are times that we become confused about what actually represents God and His Kingdom. Consequently if the Adam in us (the fallen nature) decides to take charge of the journey, then we will quite often open ourselves up to all sorts of damaging spiritual detours. For some, this is their current predicament. When the journey is all about us it means we are making choices in life and even in faith that fall short of God’s marvelous provision. Subsequently man’s fallen nature has negatively impacted our faith by adding religious ideals and spiritual trouble to our walk.

In the chapters ahead we will seek to define healthy relationship with God from a biblical perspective, as well as offer fresh insights regarding His Kingdom. Our goal is to help believers get back to the basics so that their relationship with God can take precedence. A new life is waiting for us free of the limitations of our old man. This is all made possible because God first gave us His Son and then offered us access to His Holy Spirit. Actually, for the believer the Spirit of God is now the most essential ingredient in maintaining a healthy Christian perspective. Our freedom and maturity is totally dependant on walking by the Spirit.

How do we walk by the Spirit?

Though the Spirit of God has been given to all that ask for salvation, we have not always understood how to be pliable to His continued instruction. In error, we try to add God to our agendas, rather than recognizing the importance of being added to His. When we walk by the Spirit it is simply a matter of allowing the Spirit of God to guide our choices and make changes within us. This is the plan of salvation; God is making us new and inviting us into all the benefits of His life. Where we were once moved by Adam’s rules regarding life, love and commitment, we have now found a better way to live. All of this is made possible by Christ’s work on the Cross.

The most over looked Bible truth

When we refer to the Cross, we are talking about a foundation of Christianity which is based on every benefit delivered to us by Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection. Certainly we should first understand that Jesus was crucified and shed His blood in order to redeem us back to God. This selfless act literally purchased us for God and paved the way for an eternal relationship.

Ephesians 1:7-8

7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.

But, on further inspection we find that there were other advantages that the Cross offered us.

• The Curse

We were freed from the curse once imposed upon Adam.

Galatians 3:13

13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.

• The Serpent

The Serpent has had power over Adam’s race, but he has lost power over those who are now found in Christ.

Colossians 2:15

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

• The Law

The Law of Moses was moved out of the way as our chief standard of performance.

Colossians 2:14

14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.

• The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

The Tree which is synonymous with how fallen man thinks and acts has been moved out of the way. No longer do we have to gauge the meaning of life based on our own standards of good and evil.

Colossians 2:20-21

20Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!?

• Sin nature

The fallen nature of man is always set towards rebellion, but every act of disobedience has been crucified.

Romans 6:1-3

1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Romans 6:6-7

6For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— 7because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

• Sin behavior

Behavior that is unfitting for God’s people is the result of men moving and acting upon their old nature; this is the Adamic nature. Acts that lead to sinful behavior have been removed at the Cross.

2 Corinthians 5:14-15

14For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.15And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.

Romans 7:5-6

5 For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death. 6 But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code.

The above verses make another important point. Unbeknownst to many Christians, it wasn’t only Jesus that died on the Cross; it was also the place of our death. No, we didn’t die physically; instead Jesus supernaturally invited us into His own death so that we could come to know His life. In this way everything that once bound us to the fall or made us improperly relate to the world can get moved out of the way. Even today there is no limit as to how many ways our lives can be changed at the Cross of Christ. This process can be summed up in one simple statement:

Jesus died for your redemption; but you died with Christ to gain transformation.

Once we let the Cross separate us from our former way of life, the resurrection power of God begins to move in our hearts, minds and actions. Jesus raises us up into a new and living way which is empowered by His Spirit.

Colossians 2:12

12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Romans 8:11

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

What a wonderful gift! Our present and future lives can now be free of all sorts of added clutter and the things that have lied to us about life with Christ.

Romans 6:4

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

The power of the Cross and the resurrected life of God’s Son can provide us a perpetual platform for change. It is here that we begin to participate in what the Word calls sanctification or renewing the mind. We set aside all the limits of Adam’s fallen ways and put on all the advantages of Christ’s own nature. This is one reason that the Christian life can be seen as a progressive journey. It is simply that we have yet to realize all the benefits of walking in God’s strength and salvation. Yes, we are eternally saved, but our daily choices and actions may still need a Savior.

The miracle of the Gospel (the good news) has offered us a way out from the trappings of our old man and entrance into abundant life with Christ. This was all given to us right from the start and it now sits before us just waiting for a convert. So how do we believe and properly respond?

Our only true means of making the Gospel work is to agree with the One that provided it without defect.

Romans 10:9-10

That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart a person believes and so is justified, and with the mouth he confesses and confirms salvation.

In the Greek, the word confess is homologeo and is defined as: saying the same thing as another, i.e. agreeing with; conceding to confess, declare; professing to declare openly, speak out freely; praising and celebrating. Other scriptures that bring forth the same truth are: Mat. 10:32, 1 Tim. 6:12, Heb. 13:15, 2 Cor. 4:13. The emphasis on agreement with God is alive throughout the scriptures, and if we want, it can be alive within each one of us.

Paul the Apostle trusted in this very thing; he believed that a new life was available for him by agreeing with God’s work on the Cross. Let Paul’s confession be a precursor to our own declarations of freedom.

Application

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

My old way of thinking was tied to performing for God, rather than letting Him and His gospel change me. This meant that I improperly sought for examples in the Word, or in other men, that I could act upon or imitate, rather than believing that God had provided me with a Spiritual means of transformation. Basically, I was too busy trying to follow a rule book that admonished me to change, yet these actions simply made me religious.

Up to this point Christianity was all about me.

Simply stated, if we don’t allow Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection to resonate within our faith, then there is nothing that can properly carry us on into God’s abundant life.

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Now, please consider that if we haven’t properly separated from Adam’s folly, then the Christian experience has been frustrated along the way. If our natural man (Adam) has been leading with his own brand of reason then he has improperly put his hands on every aspect of Christianity. He not only complicates a simple salvation message, but due to his fallen attitudes he aggressively dominates the scene in physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual ways.

For our study we will define the difference between religion and true faith in this way;

• Religion is a search for God, but subject to man’s own strength and definition of a savior (We are in control).

• In contrast Christianity, or our faith, refers to a pure expression of relationship which has been initiated and delivered to us by God (God is in control).

This is our battle in a nut shell. Will it be Adam’s view point that rules our hearts and minds or is it time to truly trust in the life of our Savior? Fallen activities may not disqualify us for heaven; however dabbling in Adam’s world and his religiosity can certainly divert our course.

The Christian Journey

This brings up another important point; our Christian journey is Spiritual. We call upon a Spiritual God for Spiritual answers and find victory while participating in a Spiritual new life and Kingdom.

1 Corinthians 2:12-13

12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

As we trust Him to be supernatural in our lives we find that transformation leads us into effective service and connection with God. Yet we are not the only spiritual people on the earth. Fallen mankind is also moved to make choices that are spiritual and this tends to alter his quality of life. Yes, even the unsaved depend on spiritual encounters to define their way. Subsequently maintaining freedom in Christ does require that we make right Spiritual choices. In the pages ahead we will be looking for truth in Jesus and His Word, but we will also be considering many of the spiritual pitfalls that currently blanket religious thinking.

(For our study and throughout this book you my also notice that I have capitalized the word Spiritual to coincide with the work of the Holy Spirit and represent a true definition of salvation in God. Likewise I have left a small case s in spiritual to represent a generic understanding of spiritual things as well as describe the fallen works of creation.)

What we want to offer the reader is an invitation to become Spiritually aware and Spiritually awake to a greater victory that is available in Christ. Don’t be overwhelmed by this task; once you understand the importance of the Cross in your daily walk, you will find that Spiritual victory is a breeze, as well as your most perfect security. The Cross of Christ clarifies our physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual connections for us.

1 Peter 1:3

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

By embracing the Bible’s way of transformation at the Cross we can begin to gleefully challenge any spiritual fallacy or misconception that interrupts a pure faith. Here are some key subjects that we will be discussing in the chapters ahead.

Covenant: The right to agree with God is a privilege, but going beyond the fullness of God’s covenant plan can cost us dearly. Added agreements with men, organizations or a demonic realm have put us under serious spiritual obligation, leaving us powerless to show forth a true faith.

The Serpent: Through intrigue and deception the Devil has taken hold of Adam’s world and declared himself a god. This fallen angel also tries to entangle believers in an alternate example of spiritual success.

The Anatomy of a Contract: The Serpent holds mankind captive to a very old contract. If we can recognize how that contract still impacts our lives, then we can escape many of the strongholds that have accompanied our fallen choices.

Tale of Two Kingdoms: If we become spiritually subject to a fallen world it is likely that we won’t reach for heaven and heaven will have a hard time reaching for us. It all depends on where we choose to dwell.

The Shadow of the Spiritual: When religion is central to our faith it means that we are central to our faith. This can make the Church a dangerous spiritual minefield and rob believers of their God given innocence.

Duality in faith: When true faith becomes joined with ideas and concepts that are merely religious in nature they end up supporting a different agenda and invite other gods to speak. The Church and its ministry have taken a turn for the worse under such influences.

The Religion of Old Testament Covenants: An improper dependence on the Old Covenant message by a New Covenant Church can become an unhealthy template for success. Old Testament ritual has fueled many of Adam’s attempts to be good and godly, yet a better Covenant is now available in Christ.

Spiritual Ministry: Ministry that seeks to confront spiritual trouble from a religious perspective can find itself just as vulnerable as the people it is trying to help. By challenging our ideas about Christian practice we can return to a pure expression of ministry guided by the Holy Spirit.

The Search for Christian identity: The question of who we are and what we are made for can never be answered based on human reason and fallen principles. This includes how we seek after God. A lack of clarity on how we gain Christian identity keeps us running around in religious circles. Yet God has made the answer to this question simple as we find transformation in Him.

The chapters ahead will address numerous beliefs rooted in man’s religious search for the divine. This may challenge some of your own connections with religion and make you wonder about various church movements. This author’s own journey followed numerous church groups as well as Charismatic faith; some of it was Jesus and some of it was not. Though we seek to challenge our foundations, please keep in mind that I am not suggesting setting aside a supernatural life. No, just the opposite; I am merely suggesting that we call upon Jesus to be our only example and resource of Spiritual truth, power and success.

The foundation of our faith should remain singular under one God and one Spirit. Every need has been satisfied in Christ, and God remains available as we draw near to Him. In fact the miraculous has happened simply because we started to trust God with the answer. He fulfilled all things long before we existed, so that we could draw from a Source of Life that is always constant and never fading. That is actually the most comforting thing I have ever known, especially as I have begun to walk free of many years of spiritual and religious distraction.

Are you ready to take a journey; a journey that will show you a powerful way to separate from Adam’s spiritual madness? Come along and experience the freedom for which Christ has set you free. The most precious of promises can be realized when you come out from,

The Shadow of the Spiritual

CHAPTER 1

Our Way in Covenant

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The Contract

Welcome Mr. Ross. How can my legal office be of service to you?

I have signed my name to a contract and would like to be released from it.

What is the contract pertaining too?

Well…ah…it’s my salvation contract.

Your salvation contract? That’s very interesting; do you have the document with you? Who presented this contract to you?

Yes, I have it right here. At the time I thought it was God, but the more I think about it I’m convinced now it was the Devil?

What makes you believe this?

After signing this salvation contract I noticed that things started to happen to me that were different than I had ever known. These appeared to be good things like experiencing greater spiritual awareness, feeling powerful and even seeing some signs and wonders.

Go on Mr. Ross.

Well I did experience these things, but there was no personal peace. I thought my salvation was supposed to be about peace. So I’m thinking maybe something is wrong with the contract.

An interesting deduction Mr. Ross; let me look at this contract for a moment.

Hmmm There appears to be the basic personal salvation legalese ------- a salvation god, sinner saved from hell, but then there are about ten pages of miscellaneous provisions.

What?

Miscellaneous provisions.

What are those?

Here is an example; on page six, it says;

Recipient that’s you; promises to sacrifice personal freedom in time and materials in order to serve the interests of the salvation provided. It further states that the recipient is entitled to all the peace that said salvation has to offer once said obligations have been satisfied.

Wait a minute!

I find no wording here that constitutes the guidelines for satisfying this salvation’s expectations.

What does that mean?

It means Mr. Ross that there is no end to sacrificing time and materials and because of that you will never know peace in this salvation contract.

I thought that something was wrong! So how do I get out of it?

Mr. Ross I’m sorry, but this contract remains binding. There appears to be no way for you to separate from its obligation; it appears that you chose the wrong contract. I’m afraid that there is no way for us to help you, unless of course you need one of our other services.

Please, there must be some way out of this! I can’t accept my salvation without peace!

Well, there is one way, but you probably won’t see it as a better solution.

Tell me!

Mr. Ross… It’s another salvation contract.

It will free you from any previous binding obligations, but this new contract violates the basic motive as to why you sought for eternity on your own in the first place; you of course wanted to be in control of your spiritual destiny; Isn’t that right?

I’m afraid that this new salvation contract can’t provide you with the same level of personal power and success that you were hoping to achieve.

No wait, I want to hear more!

OK, here it is.

This contract is different from all others in that it provides you with a salvation of righteousness, peace and joy, but the contract clearly stipulates that if you are to benefit from its reward, it is because you choose to separate from a significant level of personal strength.

How much strength?

……. Mr. Ross… I’m afraid that this is just wasting your time, I’m sure that you can make some other concessions with the salvation you have.

No Wait! Please, I’m desperate!

How much strength must I give up in order to acquire this new salvation?

Mr. Ross the contract requires that you