CJ Penn's Online Writing Hangout

The reason I write: To promote Christian truth and help Jesus get His Christianity back.

Tag Archives: God


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Church for the Dechurched

Dechurched

Are you a dechurched Christian? I am. Survey’s show that there are millions of us American adults who once were active in a church, but attend no more. We are called the “dechurched.”

Yet there is a church for us. Though I don’t attend church on Sundays, every day can be a church day. Every day can be a day with God.

Jesus founded the church and then passed it onto the apostles. The apostle Paul defined the new church as follows: referring to Jesus, Paul declared, “And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Ephesians 1:22-23, emphasis added)

The church is the collection of believers in which the Holy Spirit of Jesus lives… the body of Jesus Christ. As Paul also said, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? … for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

Church is not a building or manmade organization. Intimate and quiet time with the Spirit of God within you is what real church is about. As long as we look to the Spirit within us, we are not “dechurched.” We ARE the church.


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The Spirit Speaks – of Walking With You

Walking with God

My life was short. I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, walked this earth as a human for only a brief span of years. You might think my life was a bit tragic, having died so young.

But I can walk the earth again, today, on your two feet. Please let me in, let me share your life with you, and I will walk with you on your journey of life.

My promise is as certain today as it was 2000 years ago… “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) As you walk through your day today, look inside yourself and see me there, walking with you. You don’t need to walk alone.


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The Spirit Speaks – of Friendship

Friendship

As you walk along this journey of life and follow the path before you, what markers on your trail shine brightest as the most meaningful times of your life? For me, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, though my journey on this earth was short, the most meaningful moments were the intimate times with my friends.

Though I no longer walk the paths of earth on my own two feet, I’m still here, as Spirit, traveling through life with God’s children. And my most meaningful times are still spending intimate moments with my friends… with you.

Are friendships important to you too? Then please, look within yourself to me, dear friend. Let’s hang out together as much as we can. And you may find that your friendship with me will help you nurture your friendships with other people. I so enjoy spreading love through my friends.

“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.” (John 15:13-14) … “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)


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The Spirit Speaks – of the Wall of Lies, and the Truth That Will Bring it Down

wall of lies

Yesterday I spoke with you about the wall – the wall of false ideas that stands between you and me. I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, see this wall clearly. I can bring down this wall. But first you need to see it for yourself; you need to experience its reality. Then you will be able to feel the true magnitude of my love as I bring the wall to ruin.

How can you see a spiritual wall? Well, first you need to see each stone for what it truly is. Everything you’ve ever heard about me and the church I built, that is false – it’s these lies which are the stones in the wall, blocking your view of the truth. To see the stones of lies, you need to first know the truth.

You will find the truth in my written word… the Bible. And in prayer, for prayer is where you will find me. I will open your mind to the truth, for I am the Spirit of truth. And my truth will set you free from imprisonment behind the wall of lies.

“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth.” (John 14:16-17)

“When he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13)


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The Spirit Speaks – of the Wall

prison wall 2

There may be a wall between you and me. I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, see this wall, and I patiently wait for you to see it too. This wall is built of man-made stone. You’ve placed some of the stones in this wall – stones of doubt, stones of fear, stones of your self-sufficient ego. Other people have also placed stones in your wall: false messages coming from the pulpit, deceived friends, or the media – stones of deception and lies, about my church and me. Anything that gets in the way of your view of the truth of my presence within you is a stone in this wall.

Can you yet see the wall? Can you reach out and feel it standing there in the midst of your mind, blocking your view of me?

Yet this wall is weak. You have the power within you to bring it down. You can look right through the wall, to me. And as I come more into focus within your mind and heart, as my presence becomes more real to you, I will crash over this wall as a wave of love. And my love will flood into you, overflowing you and spilling out through tears of joy and love. And the wall will be no more.

Please, look through the wall of false ideas, to the truth of me, within you.


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The Spirit Speaks – of the Church

One true church

What is the one true Church? What is the Church that I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ created? The Church of which I am the cornerstone, is not an organization run by people. The Church is not a collection of buildings.

My true Church is the collection of God’s children who let me live through them. Look inside yourself; look for me there. I am within you. The Church is within you.

Do you believe this? If you do, then YOU are the Church, the one true Church of Jesus Christ. For the Church is the body in which I live, and if you believe, then I live within you too.

 

“And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” (Ephesians 1:22-23)

“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you? … for God’s temple is sacred, and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

“And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.” (Ephesians 2:22)

“For we are the temple of the living God.” (2 Corinthians 6:16)


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The Spirit Speaks – of Today

meadow path

A new day begins. What lies ahead on the path you will wander today? Does stress prowl around that bend up ahead, waiting to pounce and devour? Or will you stroll through a meadow of peace and solitude, daydreaming your way along the flower-lined path? Or, will the trail lead along a cliff of despair, with a solid rock wall to your right, and the shear drop on your left? Will you have to cling to the wall with an aching heart, trying not to fall into absolute misery?

Wherever your path leads you today, please take me, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, with you.

Alone, stress can indeed devour you. But together, we both can fight it off.

And including me in your moments of peace makes those daydreams so much sweeter. You will find the meadow of peace more refreshing when you share it with me.

And you may find that isolation may actually lead you to the cliff of despair. But with me living within you, we can find an easier route around that cliff, together.

Please, look inside yourself today, for me. I’m waiting for you there. And together we can march into the adventure of this day.


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The Spirit Speaks – of Your Love for Jesus

hugging Jesus

I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, know your love for me is real. But do you ever feel confused about how to show me your love? How do you show love to other people in your life? In some way, you give them your attention; you give them your time.

Every time you think of me, I feel your love. You’re showing your love right now. Be at peace and know that, even in the midst of your distraction-filled day, I know your love. And with me, cherish those moments when we can be alone together. Those are the sweetest.

Now, as I live here within your heart, I want to show you my love by giving you a hug, a hug from the inside – out. Close your eyes, look within, and feel my arms around you. Now let’s go have a great day, together.


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The Spirit Speaks – of Solitude

solitude

Today, please, find some quiet time in a solitary place to free you mind and be with me, the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

Yet even as you sit quietly with me, the things of this world will pop up in your mind. Chores on your to-do list, tasks at work, your plans for this weekend, relationships, and of course worries – these things are like walls that rise up between you and me. Yet all you need do is look through the wall, to me, and that wall will come crashing down, for now. Find a quiet place, knock down the walls of worldly distractions, and focus your minds eye on me, within you.

We are living together within your self. Try not to let the world come between us. For together, we can face the world. Together, we can conquer life’s problems and challenges. And besides, it’s more fun living together, than alone.


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The Spirit Speaks – of Freedom from the Past

Past

Some of God’s children carry around a heavy burden… their past. I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, weep over the children who cannot let go of painful memories. They believe God will not forgive their past. So their memories become a barrier between them and me. They cannot let me in because they believe they are just not good enough… because of their past.

Is your past a burden for you? Please, open your mind and hear this truth: your past is no longer real. It’s like a vapor, blown away by the winds of time. It’s gone. The only time that is real is now. That’s the time that matters.

And please accept that God’s love is not conditional; He does not judge His children as being “good enough” for His love. There is no favoritism with Him. He’s not that kind of parent. God loves all His children equally because your behavior cannot influence His love. God’s love forgives, and God’s love forgets… your past.

Please, if your past weighs heavy on your heart, let go of it. And as it turns to vapor and drifts away, I can enter in.

“For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

“He who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” (Ephesians 6:9)


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The Spirit Speaks – of Seeking and Finding

seek and find

Do you believe that I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, can live within you, sharing your life with you? Do you believe this, yet not feel my presence? If you seek me, you will find me when you seek me with all of your heart. But what does this mean to you, to seek me with your heart?

You will find my story in the Bible. Read the Bible and you will know something about me. But you can only truly know ME, as a presence within you, as a person living with you, when you seek me inside yourself.

Yet the world, always in your face, blinds you to me. You must first shut out the world before you can see and feel me. As you close your eyes and mind to the world, you will begin to see me more clearly. Look inside yourself for me in your prayers. Reach within to me, with all your heart and all your love. Practice seeking me as often as you can. And you will find me within your heart, for that’s where I live.

 

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)


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Book Challenge Day #65 – The Writing is Fun… but the Marketing?

book marketing

I love writing. Every time I sit down to work on the book I’m trying to write in three months, I have fun. Mainly because I’m not writing alone. I’m writing with the Holy Spirit.

But in working on this book, the message that’s coming into my mind and then onto the paper is really touching my heart. I believe this message can touch the hearts of other people too. So now I have a growing desire to make this book available to a lot of people. That’s where marketing comes in.

Marketing. This doesn’t sound as much fun as writing. But it could be, as long as I don’t do it alone. In fact, while praying about it on my drive to work yesterday, an idea came into my mind that seems fun to me.

It goes like this: I’m planning to self-publish this book on Amazon Kindle. I’ve always wanted to initially offer the book for free, mainly for all of you who have periodically checked in on the progress with my book challenge. As a way to thank you, I want to give you the book. I had then intended to later put some random price on it. After all, I could use the money.

But here’s the new fun idea: while the book is on Amazon for free, I will ask all of you who download and read it to leave a review. It’s a short book, so it won’t take long to read. Then, after there’s a good collection of reviews, I’ll see what the consensus is. If people perceive the book as poor, with little value, then it will not be worth putting a price on it. If people see value in the book, then I’ll basically set the price based on how may stars it gets – more stars equals higher price. In this way, those who first read and review the book, will set the price for the book. After all, it’s the readers opinion that counts, not mine.

What do you think of this idea? Does it sound fun to you?

 

(September 19, 2015: day 64 down, 29 more to go, of The Challenge… to write a book, from concept to self-publish, in 3 months.)


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The Spirit Speaks – and says, “Trust me, please”

[Look, something brought you to this blog post. If it was a mistake—sorry. But if you’d like to see something that is probably more worth your time, please check out the blurb about my soon-to-be-published novel on my new website. It’s basically about seeing a different perspective of Jesus, through the eyes of some background characters in the Bible. New website: cjpenn.com]

trust - let God

What does it mean to you to trust me, the Spirit of Jesus Christ living within you? Please, take some time right now and think about trust. How does it look? If you completely trusted me, what would today look like? What would be your experience as you go through this day?

To me, trusting is relying on me to guide you, help you, and protect you. Trusting is believing that I will gently steer your life to where I want it to be, which might be exactly where you are right now. Trusting is offering control of your life to me; trusting is surrender.

Do you feel you can trust me, the Son of the creator of all that exists, to direct your life to what’s best for you? Or do you think you can do a better job? Please, trust me. And by that trust, you will experience the peace that goes beyond human understanding.

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5)

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.” (Romans 12:1)


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The Spirit Speaks – of Your Holiness

holiness

What does it mean to you to be holy? To me, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and to my Father God, by believing in me you are holy, now. For by your faith, your sins are no more.

You cannot become holy by anything you do. You are holy because of what I already did for you. I took upon myself the penalty for your sins, and I paid the price. Now, in God’s sight your sins are no more. Your sins are forgotten, as if they never happened. This is holiness: you are clean and pure, in God’s eyes. It is done; it is finished. All you need do is believe in my sacrifice for you and accept my gift of holiness. That’s faith.

Please, accept my gift, so painfully given to you. And be free of the burden of your past sins.

 

“We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” (Hebrews 10:10)

“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.” (Colossians 1:21-23)


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The Spirit Speaks – of Trust

trust God

Do you trust me? I am the Spirit of Jesus Christ. I am the Spirit of God, living within you. Yet even if you believe in my presence, do you trust me? You may think this is a silly question. “Of course I trust you. You’re God,” you might say. Yes, it seems that belief and trust will naturally go together, when thinking of me. So it’s easy to assume there is trust when your belief has blossomed.

But I ask you today to think about trust. Think about what it means to truly and completely trust. Imagine what it feels like to completely trust in the presence of the very Spirit of Jesus Christ, living within you. What would it feel like to trust me to guide you, counsel you, and give you strength when in need, forever and always to be here with you, within you?

For most of my children, their growing trust completely changes their life – their worries disappear. Please, trust in God; trust also in me. And you will find a peace that goes far beyond your human understanding. The gift of trust is peace, my peace, an enduring peace, unaffected by the things of this world.

Do you trust me? If you’re not sure, that’s okay. If you feel you want to trust me, yet your trust feels weak, then just get to know me better. Trust comes from a close relationship; you know this from other people in your life. In knowing me, you will trust me. The more time we spend together, the more your trust will grow. And the more your peace will grow.

 

“Do not let our hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1)

 

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)


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The Spirit Speaks – of Courage

courage

It takes courage to let go of the familiar and pursue the unknown. I know it takes courage to let go of the world, and look inside to me, the Spirit of Jesus Christ living within you. To you, the world, though hard and sometimes filled with pain, is real and familiar. It’s comfortable.

I ask you to have the courage to get up off that couch of comfortable familiarity and step off on a journey of adventure. And more than adventure; I offer you love, joy, peace, and the heavenly traits you need to truly live life. I just ask you to gather up enough courage to take that first step and look inside yourself, to me. And I will give you the strength and courage you need for the rest of the adventure.

 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)


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The Spirit Speaks – of Himself

Holy Spirit inside

I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, exist for you. I promised my Spirit to you before I was crucified. But what does this mean, to have my Spirit available to you? What does it mean to have me inside you?

Is this a tough question? I know it’s difficult to understand; the spiritual is foreign to your mind that has its roots deeply planted in the material. But please know that I’m more than a thought, more than a dream, more than imagination, and more than a wish. I am real and I am here, within you.

To have me inside you is to have my real and tangible Spirit actually living within you, sharing your body with you. Please, don’t over-think it… just believe it, and accept my presence within you. And seek me as often as you can, for when you seek me with all your heart, you will find me there. And I will truly be real to you.


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The Spirit Speaks – of Joy

Joy & Holy Spirit

Happiness – it’s seems so elusive, and temporary, doesn’t it? This is because it comes from the world, and all things of the world are temporary. The happiness I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, offer you is eternal and permanent, for it does not come from material things or worldly experience; it comes from God. I call this joy.

True joy starts growing when you look inside yourself, looking for me. I’m there, always waiting for you. When you believe in my presence, joy begins. As you empty yourself of the temporary things, as you empty yourself of your self, and make more room for me, then I will fill you up. As I become more within you, so does joy. And I can fill you to overflowing with joy. I’m already here, within you – please let go of your grasp on the material, and grab a hold of me, and the joy will begin to flow within you.


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The Spirit Speaks – of Sharing

Holy Spirit inside

As you go about your day, as you go to work, or school, take care of your children, do chores around your home, please let me share these times with you. I am the Spirit of Jesus Christ, and I long to share your day with you.

Just because you’re not sitting on a pew in a church does not mean I’m not there, it doesn’t mean I don’t want to be there. I want to be with you every moment of your day, wherever you are.

I know there may be times and places that are very private for you. And you may feel that they are too human, too worldly, and maybe too crude, for me to share. But please remember, I understand humanity, I know humanity, for I too was human once. I’ve experienced all of what it is like to be human.

So please, look for me in everything you do. I’m there, within you, just waiting for you to look my way.

Thank you.


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The Spirit Speaks – of Living Through Hardship

cross 9-11

I, the Spirit of Jesus Christ, know that life is hard. After all, I lived my own life. I lived a human life, with all the pain, and the emotional trauma, and coming face-to-face with evil, and anger, and hypocrisy, and even friends who turn against you. I’ve faced hardships similar to what you’re facing. So I know how difficult life is.

And I’m here to say that you don’t have to go through this alone. I am with you. I am within you. All you need to do is believe this, and look within yourself and find me there. Faith will open the eyes of your heart to see me, within you. And you will realize that you are not alone on this journey through this valley of the shadow of death.

I am walking with you on this journey, sharing it all with you. And sharing myself with you.