Redeemed to Return

By Dr. Lisa Bruce

When Adams eyes were opened, he saw an alternative route outside of the will of God.
Some would say, That day, he took a freedom train driven by the human will, making every designated stop outside of Gods presence. Many Christians have gotten on the same train, a
chosen freighter that can only take us but so far, like church and back home again. Yet Jesus is standing at the end of the tracks, encouraging us to go a little bit further because our Heavenly Father is waiting for us with outstretched arms. We were redeemed to return, back to the posture of Adam before the fall, destined never to fall again, unless we desire to lay prostrate before the Lord.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Aug 31, 2009
• ISBN: 9781462821044

Dr. Lisa Bruce

Coming from a background of child abuse, domestic violence, homelessness, alcoholism, and spiritual poverty, Dr. Lisa Bruce experienced the transforming power of the gospel in 1990. Transformed for a purpose, she went back to school to become equipped for her spiritual assignment. Over the next fifteen years, she earned her doctorate degree while studying psychology, biblical theology, Christian counseling, and organizational leadership. During that time, she embarked on a life-changing journey that led her into a deeper level of purpose. Dr. Bruce is an ordained minister and the former copastor of Community International Church. She’s a Christian counselor, author, and the CEO of Spiritual Eye Publications, an online e-book publishing house. As the founder of Common Thread Ministries, she works both inside and outside of the church. CTM is not just a ministry; it’s a global movement that’s transcending culture and accelerating all around the world. Dr. Bruce has authored five books, sharing from her twenty-five years of experience in over twenty denominations and various religious segments (including Catholic and Protestant) worldwide. Her unique style and presentation has given her the ability to cross racial, social, organizational, and denominational barriers to empower and equip the body of Christ.

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Copyright © 2009 by Dr. Lisa Bruce.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

All scripture passages are from the king James version of the Bible, unless otherwise noted. KJV Thomas Nelson (1983) KJV Holman publishers (2000)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 04/12/2016

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Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1   All Aboard

Chapter 2   Run Baby Run

Chapter 3   Fugitives

Chapter 4   The Rebound Train

Chapter 5   Fatal Attachments

Chapter 6   Heading Back To The Station

Chapter 7   Going In Circles

Chapter 8   Fables

Chapter 9   It’s Time To Move In A Different Direction

Chapter 10 Detached

Chapter 11 Back To The Throne Room

Chapter 12 Identity Interlock

The Final Chapter   Adam Returns For His Bride

Special Prayer

About The Author

Available Books

Introduction

Our indiscretions separated us from God. Christ used His body as a bridge to close the gap. Some people have a fear of crossing bridges. Is that why very few Christians ever make it across? The natural man is appalled by the suggestion that he has to do anything other than attend church. In his thinking, he would rather look in the direction of God without having to encounter Him. Many Christians face this dilemma today. We are comfortable with our religious ceremonies as long as they don’t require us to transition. Still, the choice is ours. We can get back on the train (driven by human impulse) or take a courageous walk across the bridge and live each day in the presence of God.

When I think about God’s grace, I can see His hand reaching out to humanity, lifting us out of our present condition. Have you ever lifted your child so he could see through a window that was out of his reach? If so, you gave your child the ability to see what was hidden from his viewpoint or perspective because of his limited stature.

When God saved us, He lifted us out of the ruins of darkness and death to reposition us so we could see everything that had inhibited our lives directly and indirectly. There are forces at work that we never could have imagined, and now they’re in clear view. We were repositioned spiritually so we could see and understand that the deceiver (the god of this world) has utilized the environment to inhibit our way back to God.

Adam was Satan’s first victim. One minute he was in the garden communing with God; the next moment he was taking a midnight train out of Eden (figuratively speaking). Before he boarded the locomotive, God asked him one of the most profound questions that He could ever ask any human being. When He asked, Where art thou? in Genesis 3:9, it had nothing to do with where he was physically; it was a question of the human will. When Adam’s eyes were opened, he saw an alternative route. That day, he took a freedom train driven by human impulse, making every designated stop outside of God’s presence. Many Christians have boarded the same train that can only take them but so far, like to church and back home again. Yet Jesus is standing at the end of the tracks, encouraging us to go a little bit further because our Heavenly Father is waiting on the other side.

Chapter 1

ALL ABOARD

ESCAPE FROM EDEN

As the conductor shouts, All aboard from the pulpit, my mind shifted to a vivid memory. From a young age I started to see the world like it really was. I was reared in chaos. By the time I was a teenager, I realized that I was growing in the midst of two unstable environments. I needed to escape, but how could I? By the age of fourteen, I emerged in sharp contrast by developing my own slang. I didn’t dress according to the norms. I shopped at clothing stores that few people knew about, and I had my clothes tailored with designs that set them apart. Even as a trend breaker, I found it difficult to shake the societal influences to which I was exposed.

At the age of eight or nine my mother sent me to a church at the end of the street. The Sunday school teacher put a big poster on display (with a picture of Jesus) that guided the lesson of the day. Before the class ended, each child was given a small card that looked like the poster. Each week I couldn’t wait to get to church so I could build my card collection. One day, the Savior in the poster caught my attention. My imagination was jolted, and for the first time in my life, I was captivated.

Eight years later, I had a significant encounter with Jesus. When I turned eighteen, I experienced His delivering power. Nine years later, I made an outward confession of faith, but I spent ten years in the church before I found a portal back to God. Why? Well, like most people, I got caught up in the activities and lost sight of Christ.

After I found Jesus, it was hard to stay away. Like a moth to a flame, He drew me into His presence daily. One man said, What I would not pay for someone to show me the way to the Lord, not to religion but to the living God. Have you ever been exposed to the presence of God? One pastor said, There are some things that can’t be taught, but instead they must be caught. See, when you stay around someone who has a cold, you run the risk of catching whatever they have. That’s how I caught the Holy Spirit—by lingering in His presence.

Jesus stayed around people long enough to speak to their dilemmas, ask hard questions, be a role model, recruit disciples, discipline, provide healing, deliverance, etc. Before we speak into the lives of others, we must be equipped to do so. I’m reminded of the story of the woman who was an alcoholic. After she came to Christ, she gave up her addiction. Two years later, she thought she was strong enough to go back to the same bar she was most familiar with to witness to some of her former drinking buddies. In less than a week, she was drunk out of her skull, on stage, backing that thing up, and I’m not talking about the gospel.

Could you imagine what would have happened if Jesus had not equipped the disciples before they went into the world to minister? Well, it would’ve been a disaster, of course. If we’re not prepared before we go into areas/territories that are under enemy control, it could be disastrous. Satan has territory within his control that you and I could never have imagined. His greatest commodity is the human soul. His troops are recruited based on the condition of their hearts. They include people who are bent on human destruction. These individuals make up villages, cities, towns, corporations, businesses, churches, and nations. We don’t have what it takes to deal with these forces unless we’ve been equipped to do so.

When I moved to Dallas, I stayed in a low-budget hotel for two weeks before I moved into my apartment. I knew I was in Satan’s territory. When I went to a church a half a block away a few minutes after I arrived, Satan came strolling in wearing a dress. How could I tell it was Satan? Well, she had a look on her face that was positive for devilish intercourse. Turning toward me, she asked, Where are you reading from? By the end of the service, she had told me that the reason she came to the church was because she saw me going in.

After we left the building, I spoke to her condition and testified about my past indiscretions. I suggested prayer as a form of breakthrough, and then Satan spoke. He said (through the use of her vessel), Why are you here? I responded, I was led here. Satan doesn’t understand spiritual language, so he asked again, Why are you here, and how did you get here? This time it sounded like he/she was frantic. I said, I was led here. She said, Well, I stay in the hotel across the street if you want to stop by. My room number is 21. That was nothing more than an invitation to destroy me. The interaction ended because I was not about to wrestle with a demon. Would you?

If you don’t believe that Satan attires himself with the vessels of men or women, what in the world happened to Judas? And why did Jesus turn to one of His disciples and say, Get thee behind me Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men (Matthew 16:23)? When Jesus told the disciples that one of them would betray Him they couldn’t figure out who it was. John 13:26 and 27 says, Jesus answered, he it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, that thou doest, do quickly.

Have you ever played a key role for the devil? Shakespeare once wrote, Life is like an onstage performance where we are merely cast to play a role. Like ventriloquism, the role that you and I play gives voice to diverse characters. Have you ever stopped to think who appointed some of the people in your life to play the roles that they do? Was it Satan or God? The people who were recruited by Satan were put there to destroy you. The opposite is true when they are used by God.

Ephesians 6:12 says, For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. What does this verse mean? Well, remember when I said I was not about to wrestle with a demon? I don’t mean the flesh-and-blood part of that woman (the external part), rather the internal component (the place where evil dwells). The driving force behind her actions was influenced by the prince of the air (Satan). Every prince is territorial, and that’s why Satan decided to set up a base of operation within the human soul.

When Lucifer said, I will be like the most High (Isaiah 14:14), he wasn’t suggesting that he looked up to God. He was mocking His authority. Satan wanted it all. During the revolt, he tried to take over the throne but God declared, My glory will I not give to another (Isaiah 42:8). In the history of kingdoms, it was not uncommon for an upcoming king to oppose a king who was already in power. They oftentimes went to war, and the losing party took dominion in another territory or region.

After the insurrection, Satan was tossed into another terrain (the earth realm)—a place where God gave him permission to set up his kingdom for a season. Immediately, he went from being one of the angels to the king of darkness. As a king, he has a certain level of influence in the hearts of his citizens. Like a puppet master, Satan uses different people to give voice to his agenda. Who is Satan? Well, he was one of the archangels and a former general of God’s army. He’s a king whose citizens reside in the earth realm. He’s a prince who controls the lives of people through the power of suggestion, which gives him the ability to transfer his activities through the use of atmospheric support.

In the movie Fallen, after a serial killer was executed, the spirit of a fallen angel (named Azazel) left his body and moved from person to person. The demon was said to be cursed to roam the earth without form, which made it easy for him to switch in and out of bodies. Through the simple act of touch, each person gave voice to the demon’s agenda. Satan operates in the same way. How does he touch us? Well, through sensory and perception. One touch of human impulse opens a portal in the soul to manipulate diverse characters. Like a chameleon that blends in every environment, Satan can transform himself into an angel of light or into a son or a daughter, a husband or a wife, and even a man or a woman of God.

Satan is an evil influencer who tries to turn the hearts of mankind against their Creator. He is subtle and strategic warrior in every sense of the word, who uses deception (psychological warfare) to enlist his followers. The Apostle Paul talked about the reality of being in a war in Second Timothy 4:7, which says, I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. Paul was trying to tell us that the war was about the faith, and he had to fight in order to keep it. Why does Satan want to mess with our faith? Well, faith is the glue that holds you and God together. Why has the church reduce the Christian experience to nothing more than a series of religious exercises? Did we forget about the faith or the war?

When we accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior, we enlisted in a war. See, it doesn’t matter what type of background you came from; we all have to fight the good fight of faith. Peter was a fisherman who was said to be a man of war from the very beginning. He was fussing and cutting from the door. Paul was called an intellectual wisdom-endowed Jew of Jews, and a Pharisee who became a great warrior for the kingdom of God. David was a shepherd boy who fought many battles and was later crowned king. While each man came from a totally different background, they all had one thing in common—the battles they fought in preparation to honor the faith.

Eventually, Peter learned how to war in the spirit without the use of carnal weapons. Paul changed sides and became an ambassador for Christ. David consulted God before he went into every battle. Each one of these men was equipped to be a soldier for the faith. Have you fought any battles lately? Have you used the sword of God’s Word to intercede in the lives of others? Have you used the breastplate of righteousness to keep your heart pure?

If you’ve never had to fight for anything, then you may not be too optimistic. I was reared in New York City, and I had to fight every other day