Faith Marie Baczko: 'It's Time to Awaken Love!'

Faith Marie Baczko: 'It's Time to Awaken Love!



Isn't interesting that the most simple of commands is the most difficult to practice???



Raise His Standard!

A MAN OF GOD

Monday, December 05, 2011

A Man of God

Today would have been my dad's (Wayne P. Chelette) 76th birthday. It is hard to believe he has been in the presence of God for just over four years now. I think of him often and as much I'd like to be able to have a conversation with him from time-to-time, I wouldn't want him to have to leave the place of peace he is now experiencing.

Dad was a "Man's Man", larger than life in some ways. A man of humble beginnings; raised in the pine woods of central Louisiana, called of God to be a preacher, a pastor, a servant of the Kingdom of God.

Dad was bright and insightful as to the motives of men. He never really was motivated or influenced by power, prestige or position, though he had opportunities to pursue those things. His desire was to be an honorable Man of God  that walked with integrity and character.   

Dad was a paradox, passionate but not emotional, charismatic and personable, but a little aloof, strong in his attitudes, beliefs and commitments but chose to communicate them by his actions more than his words.

During dad's lifetime the world was already in short supply of men with strong Godly character, integrity, and honor. Even more so today. When did it get to be so hard for a "yes" to be "yes" and a "no" to be "no"?  Is the Word and Character of Christ really that hard or complicated of a standard to aspire to, or has the enemy just twisted and deceived us into thinking that it is? 

Dad wasn't perfect and fell short of this standard from time-to-time as we all do. But, he was always quick to take those failures to the Father and nail them to the cross. He was always quick to get up after being knocked down and keep moving forward, step-by-step, mile-by-mile, year-by-year.

Even in his last few days, as cancer filled his body with pain I often heard him softly say, "I'm almost there, just keep moving forward". He never lost sight of where he was going and to Whom he was going to. He truly was a Mighty Man of God because he did love the Lord his God with all his heart, mind and strength and loved his neighbor as himself...even more so.

So today I remember my dad and wish to honor him by sharing the testimony of his life with you. My prayer is that God would raise up millions of men and women with a heart like Wayne P. Chelette whose only desire and title in life was Man of God. Thanks dad, for the example that you gave us. Happy birthday! I love you. - Steve

Raise His Standard!

Getting Real

Friday, November 25, 2011

I find myself in a strange place. Yesterday I documented a few of the things I am thankful for and yet something else is going on inside of me. I find that no matter how much I've grown or progressed in the Lord, I am never satisfied. I often, if not always feel like I am falling short of the mark. I tend to think more about my weaknesses than I do my strengths. Even though I am a pretty optimistic person and believe and hope for the best, I find my thoughts focused on my failures rather than my victories. I'm not sure why that is.

I also feel like there is a fairly wide gap between where I am in my faith and where the rest of my family is. It's like we share the same basic values but have substantially different commitments to those values. I'm not trying to be judgmental, I just know the time and effort I put into my development of relationship with the Lord and I don't see them willing to make the same effort. It frustrates me because I know that it is a key to unity in our family and it makes it more difficult for me to communicate to them what the Lord is speaking to me.

I have a great sense of urgency! I know God is moving in a way that few if anyone has seen before. The Church has become so contaminated with the concerns and behavior of the world that it reflects very little of Christ. It is for this reason that God is raising up a remnant of believers who will walk as Kingdom Citizens. People who are 100% sold out to God and will obey His voice completely and without question. 

Maybe that is why I'm not satisfied with my relationship with Him. On the one hand I know I am more mature and have a healthier experience in Christ than I ever have, but on the other hand I know I/we have some significant areas of disobedience to the Lord. Areas of life that are unrepentant and resists the will of God. The hard truth is that I/we have some behaviors and decisions in our life that we want to control and not surrender to Him.

This is a difficult place to be when God is in the process of raising up His Kingdom people to clearly meet a higher standard than what we see in the mainstream church today. No wonder I am experiencing so much conflict both internally and with those I love and are closest to me. I believe this stronghold must be broken for God to fully release His blessing upon me/us so we can move into His good and perfect will. 

The challenges we have experienced over the years have been God's process of extracting us out of the world and its distorted mindsets, even in the church, in order to bring us into a place of His truth and clarity. It creates a conflict between what we think we know and His truth because so much false doctrine and teaching has found its way into our seminaries and churches.

People often say the truth will make you free but that is a misquote of the Bible, it actually says, we must KNOW the TRUTH and that is what sets us free. We live in a time when our minds are literally bombarded with information and messages nearly every waking moment.  TV, radio, web enabled mobile devices, computers, ipods, etc. With all of these input/output devices pumping information and demanding our attention, how do we ever find a quiet peaceful place to spend time with our Heavenly Father? Why do we consider prayer and the reading of His word a chore?

Consider this thought? We have a REAL heavenly Father, who loved us enough to send His only Son to die on a cross to give us freedom from our sinful nature and Satan's control or influence in our life. He has also given us the Holy Spirit to be our coach, comforter, and guide to teach and train us in how to use the power and authority that we have been given. And because we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we can boldly come before the throne of God to ask for His purpose and instructions for our life to be realized. We can and are having direct relationship with the creator of all that is in the universe and has put His breath and Spirit within us, but we act like and think like it is a chore or work to spend time with Him.

Why? Because it may interfere with the TV show we want to watch, or the game we want to play, or some other form of entertainment that we want to engage. We would rather give our focus and energy to some synthetic form of pleasure or personal pursuit than spend quality time with the Father of the universe who has loved and sacrificed so much just so He could restore relationship with us, the creation that He loves so much. Isn't that idolatry? Isn't this the same trend and behavior that we see over and over in the Bible that led to the enslavement and adversity on the children of Israel?

Yet we will quote our scriptures, make our declarations and proclaim His authority as though we have it all together, but like Samson after his haircut we wake up to find that our power has left us. We have been deceived by a relationship that brought us sensual pleasure whose only motive was to take away our power and put us in chains. Samson was blind before they ever took his eyes and so are many of us.

That is why He has given us this word;   Ephesians 5:14  The Message (MSG)

 ^11-16Don't waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It's a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

   Wake up from your sleep,
   Climb out of your coffins;
   Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!

My translation is to stop deluding ourselves into thinking that the efforts we make to do  busy church work has any value in the Kingdom of God when our hearts and attentions are so far from His. When will we recognize that He first wants all of our heart, mind and strength to be focused on and in Him and those closest to us before we can effectively and powerfully deliver the Gospel to the world around us. We are commanded to seek first His Kingdom and Righteousness and then all of these things will be added unto us.

May God place His hand on this word and it be a blessing of truth being spoken into your soul.
Steve

Freedom from the Spirit of Regret and Discouragement

Freedom From The Spirit of Regret and Disappointment

This year I have been asking the Holy Spirit to shine His light on anything and everything that is a hindrance to my relationship with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It has been a painful process. He has been showing me demonic strategies and strongholds in my soul and flesh that restrict His power from flowing through me and having complete victory. He is teaching us, the remnant body, spiritual warfare at a high level by exposing the strategies and tactics of the enemy.

Over the years the Lord has taught me how to recognize the demonic assignment or influence of generational patterns of behavior, illness and other manifestations. Some of the most common and hardest to break are spirits of anger, unforgiveness, resentment, and bitterness. Think of them as viruses or malware on your computer. The effects of which can slow you down or crash you completely. I have also experienced the Kingdom power of love, acceptance and forgiveness!  This is the process that gets everything cleaned up, optimized and running as God designed us.  

I am blessed to be part of a 3 man group we call the Three Stranded Cord. These are mature men of God who He has brought together to be in close transparent fellowship to help each other grow stronger in our walk with Him. Recently we were discussing a demonic strategy and stronghold that was a revelation to me. This area has been a place of torture and torment for most of my life but I haven't recognized it as a demonic spirit or stronghold.

It can do the same damage as unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment and illness but we don't put it in the same context or recognize it as the same kind of threat to our peace and joy, much less freedom, authority and power. In some ways I think it is more dangerous because the church doesn't seem to be recognizing or dealing with it as a demonic spirit that is stealing, killing and destroying God's people.  I think it may even be a principality that sits over spirits of unforgiveness, bitterness, resentment, offense, and alike.  It is The Spirit of Regret and Disappointment! 

Have you ever thought of Regret and Disappointment as a demonic spirit? Ask most Christians if they have any regrets and they will gladly confess, "Yes". They don't realize they are confessing that they have a spiritual influence that is hindering their Christian experience and yet wonder why they don't see more victory in their lives.  I'm not talking about the obvious kind of regret where we beat ourselves up about past sin and things that God has forgiven us for, although that applies.

I'm talking about the subtle, "If only I had made different choices in my life it would have taken a different direction." Translation, my life would be better than what it is right now, meaning I would have a better spouse, career, kids, or quality of life. "If mom or dad or (insert name here) had spent more time with me, encouraged me, loved me, or supported me then my life would be better."  This spirit of regret is the false belief that doing things differently would have a better result today and the star of the show is ME! 

As we discussed this what hit me like a kick to the gut, and it really felt like that, was the Holy Spirit revealing to me that looking back with regret or disappointment on how things might have turned out differently based on a "what if" is a sin of coveting, pride or vanity. As such it gives demons leverage to stimulate negative emotions, torment, divisions, illness, and steals our peace, joy and the victory we are supposed to have in Him. In that "Ah-ha" moment Christ said, "I paid for that on the cross and I want you to release that to me. You can't embrace your future while hanging on to past regrets and disappointments." Let me say that again only differently.  You cannot embrace your true authority or victory in Christ while indulging the thoughts and ideas of regrets. It opens too many doors to the enemy. 

Taken another step, you can't fully experience the Great Commandment, receive the fullness of the fruits and gifts of the Spirit while holding on to any form of regret. It is a spiritual oppression hindering our relationship with Christ and it must be put under His Blood just like everything else. This is a key Great Commandment principle to loving yourself and others.  

One of the revelations was that at this stage in my life I didn't believe I harbored any unforgiveness, resentment or bitterness toward anyone. But I have been eaten up with regrets of all kinds and the enemy has exploited that in the forms of anger, discontent, depression, alcohol, lust, and the list goes on and on. All of this has manifested while being a blood bought, born again, Spirit filled, renegade follower of Jesus Christ for the past 23 years! What my regrets revealed to me was that I was holding on to offenses such as unforgiveness, resentment, bitterness and more, but I was holding it against myself. I was releasing everyone accept me.

Why? Because we have bought into the lie that it is impossible to live life without regret and we as Christians have accepted it as being okay and not put it in the same bucket as bitterness, unforgiveness and resentment. Regret grieves the Holy Spirit and rejects the redemptive power of the Blood of Jesus Christ and the love or the Father. As such it gives the enemy a legal right to torture us and is manifests with destructive behaviors and illnesses. They use it to accuse and condemn us and it robs us of a victorious life in Him and His Kingdom!

I believe regret feeds other spirits of dysfunctional behavior, illness and other disorders. How many times have I punished myself and others because of regret that in turn made me feel unworthy (insecure and inferior) and as a result put me in bondage to destructive behavior patterns that my will can never conquer until I surrender my regrets to Jesus? Even worse, how often have I/we used guilt, regret and disappointment as a weapon to punish others that we love like our spouse or kids? That just gives more power to the enemy to harm the people we love.

I believe this is partly what Paul is addressing in Romans chapters 5 thru 8. I also see it in Hebrews 10. God will always convict our hearts when we are out of alignment with Him but Regrets invites condemnation. Regret is a sin, like any other and as such requires repentance so it can be covered in the Blood. Somewhere along the way we (Christians) stopped recognizing that and made it acceptable. How many Christians are struggling with the bondage of addiction, eating disorders, pornography, anger, depression, illness. infidelity, and the list could go on and on simply because we have been blinded to this Truth? 

I believe when Christians receive this revelation and repent, that the Holy Spirit will rush in like a flood and destroy the works of the enemy!  I've already experienced that in myself. I am thankful and give praise to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost for helping us clearly identify and name this demonic spirit that has caused so much destruction in our lives. Holy Spirit I ask that you keep revealing the strategies and tactics of the enemy so that your people can walk in freedom.  Amen!

Many of us crucify ourselves between two thieves - regret for the past and fear of the future.

Psalm 16:5,6 -⁵ LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. ⁶ The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. 

Philippians 4:10-13  ¹⁰ I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. ¹¹ I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. ¹² I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. ¹³ I can do everything through him who gives me strength. 

Job 42:1-3 ¹ Then Job replied to the LORD:  ² “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted. ³ You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my counsel without knowledge?’   Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.