re·boot | \ ˈrē-ˌbüt \
plural reboots
1: the act or an instance of shutting down and restarting something (such as a computer or program).
2: the act or an instance of starting (something) anew or making a fresh start.
In the beginning God created man in His image to serve His purpose. The implications of the creation narrative are that there is more to life than simply just being – there is purpose and meaning.
God had a blueprint in mind for each of us – but we deviated from it. We chose – and continue to choose – ‘nothingness’ over EVERYTHING.
We fill the God shaped hole in our hearts with sex, with drugs, with technology, with entertainment, with streaming services, even church – these things have become our idols. We live after the flesh and not by faith, chasing visceral (body) experiences instead of the grace and love – the very heart of God.
Peter Rollins explores this idea often, going as far as saying (and I’m just paraphrasing) that churches have become shops, clergy have become sales people and Jesus, in a lot of cases has just become another product we sell.
We keep ourselves fat on milk, chasing spiritual fathers who never teach us how to chew. We chase a temporary high – and we become dependent on the dealer. This has been my experience with many charismatic churches over the years – in many, not all. We exalt the leader instead of the One who appointed him. It was the same problem that Moses encountered when he left the Israelites to meet God on the mountain and came back to find a golden calf.
For the Israelites at that time, Moses was the embodiment of God in their midst – he was the face of God, the voice of God. When he went up the mountain, his people felt like they had been abandoned. Moses, however, knew that this was not how it was supposed to be.
I propose a shift in focus.
Romans 8:15: “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.” (NKJV)
Although I believe in Spiritual Mentorship, and I have had many spiritual fathers who have mentored me, I do feel that we need to realize that in many cases our leaders have failed us. They have made us dependant on them instead of God. The moment we start focusing on the leader, the prophet, the preacher, the PERSON, we are putting our faith in the wrong place.
It says in the book of Corinthians that God is Spirit, and that where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. No preacher, apostle or prophet can give you freedom, no preacher, prophet or apostle can break your chains – but Jesus can – and HE HAS!
We want to strip away the dead works of religion. We want to live according to the Word of God.
I absolutely love the book of Acts, especially the story in chapter 3 – which I like to call, ‘Waiting to Be Beautiful’.
1Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to [a]ask alms from those who entered the temple; 3who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4And fixing his eyes on him, with John, Peter said, “Look at us.” 5So he gave them his attention, expecting to receive something from them. 6Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.” 7And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8So he, leaping up, stood and walked and entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9And all the people saw him walking and praising God. 10Then they knew that it was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
The man sitting at the gate got an instant reboot – not because John was there, not because Peter spoke – but because Jesus had paid for the healing – there was an impartation of grace that took place in that moment through the movement of the Holy Spirit.
The book of Acts continues:
11Now as the lame man who was healed held on to Peter and John, all the people ran together to them in the porch which is called Solomon’s, greatly amazed. 12So when Peter saw it, he responded to the people: “Men of Israel, why do you marvel at this? Or why look so intently at us, as though by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified His Servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let Him go. 14But you denied the Holy One and the Just, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, 15and killed the [b]Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses. 16And His name, through faith in His name, has made this man strong, whom you see and know. Yes, the faith which comes through Him has given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
When those gathered in the temple tried to pat Peter and John on the back, when they tried to attribute the healing of the lame man to the ‘godliness’ of these two apostles, Peter rebuked them saying that it was simply through the Name of Jesus.
Reading this article is not going to bring about any change in your life – even my obedience in writing it is not going to do anything. In my last 20 odd years in prophetic and pastoral ministry I have found that the anointing flows most powerfully when I take myself completely out of the picture. Your life is going to change because YOU are going to lay your burdens before God. YOU are going to lay yourself on the altar, as broken as you are – as dirty as you are – as imperfect as you are – and YOU are going to say, ‘God, here I am – let Your will be done.’
All I can do is pray that God will open your eyes and that there will be a supernatural impartation of grace into your life – but it will depend on your willingness to receive from the hand of God.
We have chosen nothingness over and over again – I know I have – but I have lost my life and found it in Christ – He has rebooted the blueprint He had in mind when He created me.
Romans 8:15: “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.” (NKJV)
When we choose to live according to religion – here being defined as a specific system of worship created and set out by man – when we choose to live according to the teachings of fallible men – we will always be subject to the bondage of fear.
We will do things because we are afraid of the consequences of not doing them. We will refrain from doing things because of what people will say and think.
But when we live according to the Spirit, something beautiful happens – we ourselves are made beautiful.