Wednesday, January 6, 2016

TRANSFORMING LOVE (PREFACE)


PREFACE
TRANSFORMING LOVE 
“…predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son….” (Romans 8:29).
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The best part of the Christian journey is the relationship I am able to have with the living God.  It took many years to learn I didn’t really have a relationship with God, but was, in fact socialized into Christianity.
THE CHRISTIAN JOURNEY
I knew all the clichés and gestures like the back of my hand. I was a master at imitating the Christian culture. I looked and acted like the real thing, but I wasn’t. I worshipped God with my lips, but my heart was far from him.
That reality was a real eye opener.  I didn’t realize I wasn’t the real thing until I met someone who really was Christ-like.
I was doing Christianity, but I wasn’t really becoming Christ-like. I knew about God, but I didn’t KNOW God.  Being raised in the church made me think learning about God and Jesus, for years and years, made me an expert Christian.
Actually, I was a typical religious person. I was more moral and ethical than holy or righteous.
But when I met someone who was allowing the Christian faith to authentically transform his life I knew I hadn’t truly committed to the relationship with God. I wanted to have an authentic relationship with God too.
I went home and cried. This experience or reality may not be true of everybody, but it was true about me. I had to admit I didn’t “know” God and I didn’t really “love” him. I looked and talked as if I both knew him and loved him, but I didn’t. I was a phony Christian.
I knew all along something was missing in my Christian journey. I had information about God and I had an appropriate amount of understanding, but very, very little relationship application.
WISDOM IS SUPREME
Wisdom is the application of knowledge and understanding. And the bible says Wisdom is supreme. I knew, however, in many areas of my Christian walk I was pretending to be in a relationship with God, when in fact I was not.
I knew I wasn’t authentically Christ-like, but I could imitate Christlikeness so well I ignored or justified any shortcomings. God knew too and when I went to him in prayer to confess my pretense I could have sworn God sighed.
After so many years of doing Christianity where do I start in order to have a genuine relationship with God? This is why I wrote TRANSFORMING LOVE to help others have a genuine YADA relationship with God too and NOT spend years experiencing Christianity as just another religious system. I will explain YADA later, but for now it simply means “KNOW.”
Anyway, an authentic relationship with God is not limited to spiritual leaders, clergy, televangelist, and other well-known Christians. It is for ordinary people like you and me too who can experience personal signs and wonders in our private lives through the relationship with God.
The miraculous life of the Christian believer is not limited to just famous Christian leaders, but God’s promises are yes and amen to the whole body of Christ.
Every brother and sister in Christ is on the same leveling ground, with equal opportunities, when it comes to the Word of God. God is not like man and is not partial to anyone, but treats every child fair, loving, and just. Every believer should have a personal testimony about their relationship with God.
          I pray in the Name of Jesus that this book with lay a foundation for an authentic relationship with God that YOU can build on.  I declare and decree that believers everywhere will read this book and renew, strengthen, or establish a YADA relationship with God through Christ in JESUS NAME!  May God capture every human being reading this book and redirect their hearts toward a deeper “oneness” relationship with God through Christ. AMEN.
God is not far away, but is present, reachable, interactive, and lovingly personable with each of us. God will lead you into the relationship with Him. 
He desires a relationship with you more than you do. I will share with you how it started with me. It has been the opportunity of a lifetime from that time on and is continually wonderful.
 I am not trying to start a pattern or give you a box of tools or a set of steps to a relationship with God. I only hope to point you to the Word of God for yourself in order to enhance that relationship. I am finite just like you, but God is infinite.
God is not limited by our steps, or theories, or doctrines. Man’s theories, writings, and doctrines are stepping stones to help you get started on a particular journey, but God is never limited to man’s knowledge.
 God made you unique and every relationship is special even though we are serving the same Living God of creation. God uses revelation knowledge to further enlighten us when we personally spend time with him.
Therefore, God will help you get started, or renew, or strengthen your own personal relationship with Him. God will also help you to further grow in His grace and knowledge from now on. Now I will answer this question: “How did the YADA relationship finally start with me?”
KNOW GOD, NOT JUST KNOW ABOUT HIM
Like I said, I knew about God’s love for me basically as a collection of facts, but I really did not know, his love, experientially for me.
 In other words, I had the knowledge of the God’s love, understood it, but didn’t have much (relationship) application. Application means to take what you know and understand and correctly apply it to the right situations. Or in simply terms putting what you know and understand in operation or action. Some people may call it wisdom or experience.
That night I went home and cried, the Holy Spirit led me to read the book of Hosea. God used Hosea to give me revelation knowledge of his love for me.
 I was enlightened by his revelation as the Holy Spirit led me further into the truth of his great love for me. I became spiritually, not intellectually aware of his love for me. That’s where the authentic relationship with God started.
I started genuinely loving God because He revealed his love for me. Just like the scripture says, “…we love because he first loved us…” (1 John 4:19).
This is not a pattern, but an example of how my relationship with God began. God may use the same method of revelation with you or he may start his relationship with you in a whole other way.
TRUE CHRISTLIKENESS
From that moment of impact, my life was wonderfully revolutionized through the loving relationship with God. Without having an authentic relationship with God Christianity becomes as common as any other religious system.
Without an authentic relationship with God, the believer is missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. Without an authentic relationship with God, the believer will never know what it’s like to “be” authentically Christ-like.
Without an authentic relationship with God, the believer will never be truly transformed and therefore will not have an impact on society or those around them. You will never transform anyone until you are transformed yourself.
During my dissertation research, statistics revealed that believers who are in a committed relationship with God are much more Christ-like than those who are not.
In addition, out of hundreds of Christians surveyed by one pastor only 1/3 of Christians were in a committed relationship with God through Christ, 1/3 were luke-warm, and another 1/3 admit to believing, but not following the bible teachings at all.
It is my prayer that more believers will seek to have a more authentic relationship with God through Christ. We want Christianity to continue to impact society, the adherents to be truly transformed, and to continually be a relevant living faith.
You become like the company you keep. The relationship with God will change your life forever and for your holy good. You will find out, first hand, about the Transforming Love of God.
Dr. Pensacola H. Jefferson
YADA Counseling Ministry
Colton’s Point, Maryland

THE BOOK
BUY IT HERE! 
TRANSFORMING LOVE
BY DR PENSACOLA H JEFFERSON

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