Tag: identity

459. The Dark Cloud 1 | Why Would God Hide From Us?

Mike Parsons – 

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Where do we get our value from? Where do we get our identity from?

What I discovered on this journey of restored first love and identity was that I had been getting my value, worth and identity from what I was doing. And therefore, if I was not doing those things, I struggled with how I felt about myself.

Lessons from Hebrew Marriage

We have been exploring the restoration of first love through the lens of the six aspects of Hebrew marriage found in the Old Testament. God revealed to Israel that He desired a marriage relationship with them. However, they failed to accept that invitation. Instead, they set up their own system of Hebrew marriage, based on what they believed God had done—but something was missing: relationship.

It became a relationship based on contract, not covenant.

We looked at:

  • The Garden (Lakah) – God drawing us into intimacy and revealing His love
  • The Dance Floor (Segullah) – where He entwines with us, revealing our identity and destiny
  • The Mikveh – the soaking room of preparation and transformation, where He prepares us to come into His presence
  • The Ketubah – the covenant of relationship (which, in my case, I initially misunderstood and approached from the soul)
  • The Kiddushin – the betrothal, the dark cloud of surrender
  • The Huppah – the bridal chamber, the consummation of deeper union

False Identity

I was on a journey to have my first love identity revealed, which meant my false soul identity had to be exposed. I did not know who I truly was, and therefore, I was operating in the power of the soul. The soaking room began that process; the dark cloud completed it.

Today, I want to talk about that dark cloud experience—what led to it, how it unfolded, and how it changed everything. The Father’s goal was intimacy and union—symbolised by marriage and consummation in the bridal chamber—which would lead to a face-to-face experience of God’s person, far beyond experiencing His presence.

Into the Dark Cloud

I reached a point on my journey where the soaking and fire of preparation were drawing me towards the bridal chamber—to that consummation, to deeper intimacy, truth and knowledge than I had ever imagined. But first came the dark cloud of separation and reintegration of soul and spirit, which brought about total surrender of the soul. That was, without doubt, one of the hardest things I have ever gone through in my life—but also the most beneficial.

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Exposing the Thoughts and Intentions

This transformation revealed the need for that separation and reintegration. It exposed the thoughts and intentions of my heart, which were so soulish that I was shocked by my own reactions when God tested me. But He did it for my good, knowing that it was the only way to bring me into my true identity and reveal His true nature to me.

It was incredibly hard. The motives of my heart were mixed. Some of my intentions were shaped by the programming of wrong religious belief systems. Those flawed intentions were exposed when I attempted to make a ketubah—a marriage contract—with God, instead of entering into the new covenant that had already been prepared for me to be included in. The whole process had been flawed from the beginning, and it brought to light the root of my soulish motivations.

The Father used those stages to help me see the false perspective of the soul, in contrast with my true identity—created in His image and likeness, as a son. The flaws in my thoughts and intentions became apparent when I tried to make demands of God—rather than surrendering to relationship and trusting Him.

Contract vs Covenant

That is the problem with a contract—it does not rest on trust. A contract says, “If you do this, I will do that.” These are your demands; these are mine. And if one party fails to meet those conditions, that is seen as marital unfaithfulness and could bring the relationship to an end—because it was never based on trust.

That is what I discovered. I might have claimed I trusted God, and believed I did, but the truth was my relationship with Him was not built on trust. It was built on reward: being rewarded for what I was doing and drawing my identity from my works for God.

Now, none of the things I was doing were wrong in themselves—but I was doing them from the wrong motivation. I was driven by a need for self-validation. I found that I could trust God only when I understood what He was doing. If I did not understand, I could not trust. I did not realise that until He revealed it to me—and when He did, it absolutely shocked me.

Some of my intentions were definitely performance-driven, not pure.

The Nature of the Dark Cloud

My dark cloud experience will be different from yours. You might not go through the same darkness and inability to see that I did. Others have shared different stories of how God brought them to deeper relationship. But I do believe we all must experience a separation and reintegration of soul and spirit.

We are all born into this world with our souls shaped from the outside in. Everything we learned about ourselves, the world and even God came through our physical senses. Our soul interpreted that data and built a worldview, a belief system, based on upbringing, experience and, often, religious or educational systems.

God wanted to bring me—and wants to bring each of us—into the bridal chamber for consummation, into a face-to-face encounter with the Father’s person. For that to happen, He must reorient our inner being so that our relationship is led by the spirit and not the soul. It must move from spirit to soul, not the other way round—so that we can be joined to the Lord and become one spirit with Him.

The Season of Preparation

After a period of soaking and fire around August 2011, in which I had some profound soaking room experiences, then between August and October 2011, in times of corporate worship, I began to experience what felt like a thick, dark cloud. I did not understand what it was. I was not afraid—but I was confused and disoriented. What was going on? Why was I having these experiences? What was happening? I asked a lot of questions.

Why Would God Hide?

So I began to look into it—what are dark clouds all about? I started exploring the significance of dark clouds in Scripture, and what I found was that God hides within a dark cloud to protect us from the intensity of His presence before we are fully prepared and ready to meet Him face to face.

This is not God keeping us away—this is God protecting us, but also preparing us. He draws us into His presence by leading us through a dark cloud of trust. The question becomes: will I trust Him enough to go through that dark cloud to enter into His presence—or will I back off, be afraid, and run from the experience?

Israel’s Encounter

In Deuteronomy 4:11, we read about Israel’s experience:

“You came forward and stood at the foot of the mountain. The mountain was burning with fire to the heart of the heavens—darkness, cloud and thick gloom.”

Of course they were afraid. They had spent 400 years in Egypt, in bondage, with little to no real relationship with God. And when they came out of that, they carried so much of Egypt with them—control, manipulation and fear. So, when God invited them up the mountain to meet Him, they were afraid. They drew back, and they failed to accept that invitation.

The Glory in the Cloud

In 2 Samuel 22:12, it says:

He made darkness canopies around Him, massive waters, thick clouds of the sky.

And in 1 Kings 8:10,

When the priests came out of the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house.

Now, when we think of the glory of the Lord, we usually think of light—but actually, God had to protect them from the fullness of His glory, from the intensity of His essence, from the blinding light of His presence. Solomon understood this. In verse 12, he said,

“The Lord has said that He would dwell in the thick darkness.”

So Solomon recognised that this thick cloud was not hiding God out of reluctance, but protecting the people. Even in that cloud, they could not stand—the weight of God’s presence was too great. But within that dark cloud, when God came to occupy the Holy of Holies, He was actually shielding them from the light of His presence—until Jesus came to reveal the light as the Light of the World, to reveal the true nature of God.

All Mike’s books, including Into the Dark Cloud and Unconditional Love, are available to order from online and local booksellers; or you can buy the ebooks and download them instantly from our website.
More info at eg.freedomarc.org/books

Hidden in Mystery

Psalm 18:11 says, He made darkness His hiding place, His canopy around Him, darkness of waters, thick clouds.

The Passion Translation renders it this way:

Wrapped in thick cloud-darkness, His thunder-tabernacle surrounded Him. He hid Himself in mystery-darkness. The dense rain clouds were His garments.

This is an invitation. God is calling us into that mystery—to see whether we will trust Him. Are we willing to go through the dark cloud in order to encounter His person?

Psalm 97:2: Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

So why does God hide in a dark cloud? Because without it, He is unapproachable light. But He desires to prepare us so that we can approach Him in that light.

From Cloud to Light

Eventually, when I went into that light—having been prepared and having passed through the dark cloud—I could not remain there for even a fraction of a second. It was far too intense for me at that time, because the process of deconstruction and the renewal of my mind was still ongoing.

But I returned—and now I dwell in that approachable light. I dwell in the realm of light, in perfection. I abide there. It is my home, constantly, continually. And that was only possible because I went through the dark cloud. My soul and spirit were separated, then reintegrated. I was reconnected. And now, I can dwell in the realms of heaven continually.

Hidden Until We Are Ready

Interestingly, the Hebrew word for thick and dark is the same. It means that God is unseen or hidden from our direct sight—until we are ready, until we are prepared to meet Him face to face. And that is our destiny. That is the purpose of restoring first love. God does not want to keep us at a distance—but He wants us to be safe and secure in His presence. And that requires transformation.

Activation: Guided Meditation

I encourage you to just close your eyes.
Get relaxed.

You may want to lie down.
Just begin to relax your body.

You may want to start focusing on your breathing.
Breathe in slowly… and hold it…
Then breathe it out slowly.

And as you are breathing in and breathing out,
Begin to focus your thinking on God,
The Father, who is love.

As you begin to breathe in,
You are breathing in unconditional love—
The love of the Father for you
As a son, as a daughter, as a child.

Breathe it in…
And as you breathe it in,
That unconditional love begins to flow through your whole being—
Touching every cell of your body:
Your mind,
Your emotions,
The whole of your soul, spirit and body.

So you can be still…
And let God love on you.
Let Him show you how much He loves you.

As His love fills you,
Let joy and peace come and overwhelm you—
Cocoon you.
Let all of His being begin to flow in you.
An atmosphere forms around you—
A cocoon of love, joy and peace
That you are just resting in,
Relaxing in.

Be still.
Wait.
Just rest.
Just wait—expectantly—
For whatever God wants to do with you right now.

This is a safe place.
You can get out of that boat—figuratively.
You can choose to abandon yourself:
Sink into that vast ocean of unconditional love,
Where God’s love is so strong, so powerful,
That you can trust Him—
That He is a good God—
That He wants the best for you.

Just go deeper and deeper into that love,
As He restores that first love to you.

You can sink deeper…
And deeper…
There may be things around you that you sense or feel.
Be willing to go deeper and deeper into love.

336. Get out of the boat… and SINK!

274. Separating and reintegrating soul and spirit (1)

275. Separating and reintegrating soul and spirit (2)

 

 

455. Scroll of Life | Understanding your heavenly purpose

Mike Parsons

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Two Scrolls: Destiny and Life

From my perspective, it is like there are two scrolls. One is the scroll written of me by the Father—it is the scroll of my destiny, of my identity. The other is the scroll that is the record of my life—how I have actually lived.

Some of my life has been aligned with that identity and destiny, and some of it has not. When I engaged the judgment seat of Christ and the fire of God’s presence, I took the scroll of my life. Literally, of course, it is me stepping into that place—but the scroll is a way of relating to the process.

The Bible describes scrolls being written front and back, and that was my experience too. I brought that scroll before the Father. All I saw was a consuming fire—His eyes—and the scroll was opened.

Understanding Our Destiny

On the front side of the scroll, I saw wood, hay and straw—and also gold, silver and precious stones. These represented the things I had done as a believer. This was not about my life before I knew Christ—because everything from that time, every action rooted in lost identity, has already been forgiven and dealt with at the cross.

What I was seeing was my life in Christ—how I had lived in relationship with God. Some things had mixed motives. I was doing certain things to affirm my identity, to validate myself through activity. They were not necessarily wrong, but the motive was not pure.

And He consumed all of those things—everything described as wood, hay and straw. But the gold, silver and precious stones remained. My scroll—my life—was refined. Everything contradictory was removed. There was no guilt, no shame, no condemnation—just love.

Unconditional Love – new book out now
Mike Parsons’ new book, Unconditional Love, is out now. Order it from your favourite local or online bookseller today, or get the ebook instantly from our website. More details at eg.freedomarc.org/books.

Reflecting on Life Choices

On the reverse side of the scroll, I saw more gold, silver and precious stones—and more wood, hay and straw. This represented the things I had done in alignment with the Father’s heart, and also the things I had missed—things I could have done, but did not.

Some of those omissions came because I was not paying attention, or I was too busy, or simply unaware of what the Father was doing. As I began to feel sorrow and regret for missing those things, He just lovingly consumed it all—no condemnation, no guilt—just love.

That love removed all potential for the enemy to accuse me, or for me to condemn myself. He purified my scroll—my life—completely, so that nothing could hold me back.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

The judgment seat of Christ is not about punishment. It is about purification. It is about bringing our lives into alignment with who the Father says we are—not who we have been shaped to be by the world, our culture, our upbringing or religious systems.

Religion warps our identity. But God wants to reveal our true identity as sons. He wants us to operate from the truth of who we are in Him—not the false version formed by lost identity.

He has continued to speak to me—to reveal the vast sum of His thoughts about me, so I can come into deeper understanding of who I really am. I do not know everything yet—He is still revealing. But that is relationship. Sonship is discovered through relationship.

God’s Love and Forgiveness

In that relationship, He continues to purify and refine my life—removing anything that might hinder me from progressively knowing who I truly am and living from that reality. I know there were many times I acted from mixed motives—trying to earn or prove my identity.

But He has removed that mixture. The pure in heart will see God, and I did not want anything impure clouding that. In His kindness and generosity, He purified not only the record of my life, but also my memory of it.

There are things I can no longer recall—literally gone—wiped clean by His love and grace. And that is just His mercy and His wonderful, overwhelming love.

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281. Scroll of Destiny: Just Being

434. God’s Fiery Love

417. Awakening to Love | Finding Your Place in God’s Heart

422. From Rejection to Acceptance | Understanding Your Identity in Christ

448. The Truth of Who We Are

Mike Parsons

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The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord led me to a waterfall so high that I could not see the bottom. I felt it was an invitation to go deeper. So, I stepped off. I took a step of faith and ended up gently floating down that waterfall. It was a wonderful experience, because I was again being soaked in love and in God’s voice—speaking words of affirmation over me—until I came down into a pool in the Father’s garden.

I entered that pool, and on the surface, it was very turbulent because of the waterfall pouring into it. I sank into the pool. I did not stop to think about it—I just sank. As I went down, I reached a point where I was suspended in the water, and it was as if grace and truth were swirling all around me, enveloping me. It felt as though something deep was happening in my life, although I was not fully aware of what it was.

Then I sank deeper. Again, I stopped—suspended—and other truths came around me and enveloped me. I went deeper and deeper, and each of these suspensions at different depths were stages I would later come to understand as steps of ascension into maturity. I was going through them, being prepared for the future. This was part of the process of coming into mature sonship.

It was an amazing experience. I can vividly remember it—the swirling energy, the life, wrapping round me and enveloping me—until I sank even deeper. Not to the very bottom exactly, but then I drifted off in a current that took me into a tunnel, right into the eternal perichoresis, the eternal now. That was the first time I had ever been there. A totally overwhelming experience. I could not stay there—my mind simply could not adapt to it—but it was wonderful. Again, it was preparation for what was to come.

So, God brought about such a transformation and such preparation for the future. It was wonderful.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “We are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” This is God’s desire—that he would transform us, change us, and bring us out of the wrong ways we may have thought about ourselves, so that we would carry the weight of the glory of our true identity.

And it is step by step by step. For me, it was a long process of change in order to display my glory. For all of us, there will be a process. I do not know how long it will take for you—as long as it takes. But we are to display our glory, because creation will be set free from its corruption and bondage into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

So, it is absolutely vital that we display our glory—not to puff ourselves up or become proud, but to simply be ourselves. Our glorious identity is the manifest presence of God on earth, as it is in heaven. In us, as his ambassadors, God displays himself. We are living epistles—living letters—representing him, demonstrating his love on earth as we have received it in heaven.

We can choose to embrace and pursue this process of change and become mature, or we can stay as babies, toddlers or infants—depending on what stage we are in—for as long as we choose. But I would encourage each of you: embrace the fire. Embrace the process. Do not hide from it—pursue it. Ask God to take you through whatever journey you need to be on, to bring you to the place where you really know the truth of who you are.

The truth of who we are

Our identity has been shaped by the realm we have lived in, and from the understanding we have received in the realm of our soul. That needs to be transformed so that the truth of who we are in the spirit can be revealed. This whole process gets us ready for the separation of soul and spirit, and their reintegration.

Hebrews 4:12–13 says, “For the Word of God—Jesus—is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”

God sees it all. Are we willing to see it as well? Are we willing to embrace this process, so that he can be living and active in our lives—dividing, judging the thoughts and intentions of our hearts?

The Mirror Bible puts it this way:

“The message God spoke to us in Christ is the most life-giving and dynamic influence in us, cutting like a surgeon’s scalpel, sharper than a soldier’s sword, piercing to the deepest core of human conscience.”

That is where it needs to go—to the dividing of soul and spirit—ending the dominance of the sense realm and its neutralising effect upon the human spirit, which suppresses our true identity.

In this way, a person’s spirit is freed to become the ruling influence again in the thoughts and intentions of their heart. So, we begin to take on our identity as sons, ruling in love—our thoughts and intentions motivated and directed by love.

The scrutiny of this Word detects every possible disease, discerning the body’s deepest secrets where joint and marrow meet. This is talking about going deep into our lives—to those hidden places—to reveal the truth of those places.

The moment we cease from our own efforts to justify ourselves—by yielding to the integrity of the message that announces the success of the cross—God’s Word is triggered into action. And that is what happens when we come to that point of surrender.

Unconditional Love – new book out now
Mike Parsons’ new book, Unconditional Love, is out on 20 June 2025. Order it from your favourite local or online bookseller today, or get the ebook instantly from our website. More details at eg.freedomarc.org/books.

Ask yourself the question: are you living in, and have you experienced, the unconditional love of God? Has it transformed how you think about yourself and how you view God?

If it has not, embrace it again. Engage with it again. Ask God to reveal it to you, unveil it to you, show you the truth of who he really is. Because God wants to show you who he really is—so that you can really know who you really are.

Activation: Immersed in Unconditional Love

So I encourage you just to close your eyes.
Seek to come to a place of rest.

You may start to breathe more deeply, more slowly…
Think, and fix your heart and eyes and desires
upon experiencing God’s love— engaging first love.

Begin to breathe in…
deeply… and slowly…
And as you do, breathe in the love of God.
And hold that breath…
Let that breath—
and the love within it—
touch you deep within.

And breathe out slowly…

Breathe in…
and breathe out…

Breathe in deeply…
the unconditional love of the Father.

As you breathe it in,
just like oxygen gets absorbed by the lungs into the bloodstream,
let the unconditional love of God
begin to fill every part of your whole being…

Flowing through you…

And just be still
as God loves you
and loves on you.

This is a safe place,
cocooned within love.
You can make that choice
to abandon yourself to unconditional love…
sinking in the vast ocean of God’s love for you…

Deeper and deeper into love…
experiencing new levels of restored first love…

Sinking deeper and deeper into the truth
of who God is…
his unconditional love…
and who you are as his children…

Birthed in love,
created in love…

Vast sums of thoughts of love about you.

Feel free to stay in that place
as long as you want
Enjoying the joy of his presence—
and his unconditional love.

258. The Glory of the Children of God

398. Embrace Transformation and Renewal

274. Separating and reintegrating soul and spirit (1)

275. Separating and reintegrating soul and spirit (2)

446. Embrace Love’s Fire

Mike Parsons

“To discover truth, we must be willing to  put pleasant illusions and traditional preconceptions on the back burner for the sake of truth. We have to position ourselves to let truth declare itself to us – the whole truth  and nothing but the truth.” – Don Keathley.

If we are going to receive that truth, know that truth, the truth that will totally set us free, then we must be willing for it to challenge some of the things we currently or previously have believed. Do not hold on to doctrine and theology so strongly that they keep you from the truth and keep you in bondage. On this journey, you will often have to leave what you know in order to walk through the door of what you do not know. Few are willing to do that. It is a risk. It is a challenge—to leave the comfort of what you believe and what you think you know to go through a door into something unknown.

The first time I started to engage in heaven, I did not know where I was. I did not know what I was doing. I did not know anything, other than the fact that the experience was so real, so life-changing, and I was so challenged, encouraged and overwhelmed by it that I wanted more. I pursued with all my heart more of that type of encounter with God because it was so powerful. But I had to be willing to leave behind what I thought I knew in order to continue having those experiences.

So God took me through a process to make me ready to live that way—not just to have one encounter. A couple of years later, I entered into deeper encounters.

Restoring First Love

I have been sharing about restoring first love—what it means to be restored back to our origin in God, who has loved us from the beginning and wants to restore us to our original identity in him—our true identity as sons of God, in relationship with him, within the perichoresis of God’s Father, Son and Spirit relationship.

So I have been sharing what happened to me on this journey. It began around 2010 to 2012, in this particular aspect of it. In 2008, I first encountered heaven, and God began to prepare me, even then, for what was coming. But I knew so little back then—when I think about what I know now. And that was a good thing, because it meant I could not try to help God out. I did not know what I was doing. I did not understand much of what I was experiencing. So I just went with it and let the experiences change me.

I have shared how God used that process to restore me to first love, to reveal my true origin—my true self, my authentic self. People call these things different names—in him, in eternity, before I was ever here.

And I thought I had gone as far as I could. I thought, Yes, this is it. How could there be anything more than this wonderful love that I am experiencing, this wonderful relationship that I am in? But there were always greater depths—more to go beyond into. And God challenged me never to be content with where I was, because there was always a beyond, and a beyond beyond beyond that beyond. God is able to do more—exceedingly, abundantly more—than I could ever ask or imagine.

So there were many areas where I entered in, but God always took me further. And I am so grateful for that, because if I had settled and been content with the wonderful things I had then, I would have missed out on the amazing things I have experienced since. But I had to go through a process to enable me to go beyond and into those depths. I surrendered all.

Mike’s latest book, Unconditional Love, is out now as an ebook on our website and available to order in paperback from your local or online bookseller.

More details at eg.freedomarc.org/books

I Surrender All

I do not know if you have ever sung that song—I Surrender All. I have sung it many, many times. I have said to God, I surrender all. I want you to be Lord of my life. I want you to be Lord of everything. And I meant it. But I found there was always more to surrender. There was always more that I did not know, but God did. And God was never going to leave me in that place, because he wants me to fully embrace who I really am—who he made me to be.

So God took me through this process—the marriage, the wooing of the garden, the lakah, when he looked into my eyes; the revealing of the dance floor, segullah; the preparation of the mikvah, the soaking room. And then comes the ketubah, the huppah, the covering of the betrothal, and finally, the consummation huppah, in the bridal chamber. And when I entered that place, so much into the very person of God—nothing was ever the same again.

But this was a journey. It did not happen overnight. I did not understand it all at the time. But now I realise what God was doing. And I am so grateful for the refiner’s fire I went through to prepare me to enter into the dark cloud. I had experienced God’s presence. I had engaged with Jesus. I had engaged with the Holy Spirit. I had engaged with the Father. But this was to go into a place—in the light of God’s person—face to face. I had no idea what that meant. But the preparation eventually took me there.

The Father continually led me to encounter various places of fire to prepare me: the fire stones, the river of fire, the altar of fire, the judgment seat of fire. They were all experiences like being in a crucible.

Refiner’s Fire

Now, a crucible is where precious metals are purified and refined. In the soaking room, the fire of love judges us to life—testing the quality of our identity and revealing our true destiny. Our soul is purified of the wood, hay and straw of dead works, revealing gold, silver and precious stones—our true sonship identity. It is a purification process of love.

Hebrews 12:29 says, Our God is a consuming fire. Relationship with love always transforms us—if we stay in the place of heat and do not try to escape the crucible.

Refining with fire is one of the oldest methods of refining metals. In ancient times, this involved a craftsman sitting next to a hot fire with molten gold in a crucible, being stirred and skimmed to remove impurities—the dross that rose to the top of the molten metal. Flames would reach temperatures exceeding 1,000°C. It is hot. And it was hot. And what comes to the surface? All the dross. As it heats up, more and more impurities rise to the surface.

If you want to be nine-carat gold, then you get out of the crucible after a while. If you want to be eighteen-carat gold, you can stop the process a bit later. Or if you want to be pure gold—when that surface becomes like a mirror that totally reflects what the craftsman is looking for—then you stay. Pure gold.

Are we willing to be refined and purified? Are we willing to be metamorphosed into our true identity as sons of God? It will require heat. And that may be restrictive. It may be difficult for the soul to experience. The refiner’s fire works through the crucible. The more the wind blows—the wind of the Spirit—the hotter the flames burn. To enter glory, we must go through the fire of transformation.

Are we willing to look into the fire in his eyes? Are we willing to embrace the fiery sword of judgment in his mouth? Not judgment to death, but to life. To engage with the fiery words that pass loving verdict on the dross in our lives, so it can be removed—so we can be free, whole.

Are we willing to be living sacrifices? Are we willing to embrace the altar? It can be really difficult. But the fire from the altar can touch our lives and change us. When Isaiah describes his experience, he says, I am a man of unclean lips among a people of unclean lips. But the coal purged his lips. And what did he say in the end? Here am I. Send me.

That is what God desires—to bring us to a place where we are so in love with him that we are willing to say, Here am I. Send me. Our focus and purpose shift, so that we become an expression of sonship for God’s glory, led by the Spirit—not driven by the soul. Not putting ourselves first, but embracing the reality of who we truly are. Embracing first love. Embracing the true reality of our true identity.

So I surrendered.

Embrace Love’s Fire

 

Spend just a couple of minutes thinking about this, because it is not an insignificant thing. You cannot go into it half-heartedly—because who knows what the fire might do? Ultimately, it is going to purify and refine, and it will be good. But it might be difficult when we have to face the reality
of the things that have been hidden in our lives, things that need to come to the surface, things that need to be purified and refined.

So I just encourage you to close your eyes, come to a place of rest,
where you begin to focus your thinking on God’s love, on the fire of God’s love—that God’s unconditional love is his purifying, consuming fire.

Now if you are willing to be that living sacrifice, to embrace the fire, then just tell the Father. Tell him that you are willing to be a living sacrifice, that you want him to place you on the altar, put you in the crucible, that you are willing for the fire of his love to transform you, change you.

He is love.
You are surrounded by his love right now.
It is a safe place.
You can choose to embrace the fire.

Father, I would just ask right now
that you would take each of us by the hand and lead us,
lead us into the realms of heaven that are open,
lead us to a place of engaging your fire.
Lead us to the river of fire where we can be baptised in fire.
Lead us to the altar where we can be a living sacrifice.
Lead us to the judgment seat
where our scroll can be opened
and we can look into the fire of your eyes.

Father, just lead us to the place that we need to be.

Put us in the crucible and let the fire increase —
the heat of your presence.
Let the Spirit, the wind of the Spirit, would blow,
that it heat up as bellows would heat up a furnace,
that everything in our lives that is not of you
would be consumed by this fire.
That things would begin to be released
from the very deepest depths of our soul.

Father, we surrender and embrace the fire.
Let your fire consume us,
consume everything of self in our soul.

Prepare us to enter that dark cloud of your presence.
Purify our hearts, O God.

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434. God’s Fiery Love

421. Belief to Reality | Living in the Truth

212. Who We Really Are

Into the Dark Cloud

434. God’s Fiery Love

Mike Parsons

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The cross was a powerful point where God dealt with every accusation made against us, reconciled us to himself and didn’t count anything we may have previously done against us. So why do we—and why does religion—keep bringing it up? Because religion keeps reinforcing the need to maintain a certain standard of behaviour. You have to do this, and do that, and if you don’t, you feel guilty. Christianity has its own set of laws now—which is a mixture of covenants. Read your Bible, pray every day, witness, go to church—these become the Evangelical law. Catholics might have communion, confession, sacraments. It’s all performance-based.

But God’s fire is God’s love. People talk about God’s fire as punishment, especially in political rhetoric—like “they’re gonna pay the price now!”—but really, God is a consuming fire, and that fire is always for purification, never punishment. He has no punishment to give. We’ve made God out to be a judge who must punish sin, but that’s a misunderstanding. Fire, like a refiner’s fire, is about removing impurities—transforming, not destroying. He wants us to be pure gold, purely who he created us to be.

Mike’s latest book, Unconditional Love, is out now as an ebook on our website and will soon be available to order in paperback from your local or online bookseller.

More details at eg.freedomarc.org/books

We’ve been conditioned to think God punishes those who reject him. But what loving father does that? Instead, God makes every opportunity—even after death—for people to accept him. At the point of death, Jesus comes as light and invites people into that light. Some accept. Others, conditioned by other beliefs or guilt, reject it. They go into the fire of God’s love, which continues working until every hindrance is gone. The fire doesn’t destroy—it transforms. Even if someone knows God, they’ll still pass through that fire because he loves us too much to leave us incomplete.

Whether it’s the altar of sacrifice, or going through the river of fire, or the fiery furnace of Daniel’s friends, the fire never destroys. Even the Lake of Fire, when you examine the original Greek, is about testing, not torment. The word “brimstone” (theos) is connected to God’s presence. God’s wrath (orgē) means passion—passion against what harms us, not passion to punish.

For me, going through the fire has always meant transformation. Never punishment. Always love. Sometimes challenging, but always an invitation to change, not condemnation. When someone dies, if they’re a believer, their spirit and soul go into the realms and become part of the cloud of witnesses. If they’re not a believer, Jesus appears to them as light and invites them into relationship. Many accept. Angels take them, and train them. Others don’t—some feel unworthy due to guilt or religious conditioning. They feel they’re being punished, but it’s their own shame. God isn’t punishing them—they’re punishing themselves.

We can minister to those in that place—preaching good news even there. Some don’t believe they’re worthy of love because of their lives, but God never stops loving. Religion has turned the message of love into fear. “You’d better be sorry enough so God will forgive you.” But love is what transforms, not fear.

Religion has made “sin” a verb—wrong actions. But in the Greek, “sin” is a noun. It’s not about behaviour; it’s about lost identity. “The wages of sin is death” means the consequence of lost identity is a life less than what God intended. Jesus dealt with sin—our lost identity—on the cross. He reconciled all of us. God’s not holding anything against anyone. Christianity often says, “You’re saved by grace through faith,” but turns that into a requirement for your own faith to save you. Yet even that faith is a gift. There are no works involved. Repentance (metanoia) doesn’t mean “be sorry.” It means change your mind—agree with God’s perspective.

God has forgiven everyone already. Jesus took our death, gave us his life, and came to dwell in us. Many just don’t know it yet. Religion doesn’t lead people to freedom—it creates another set of rules, conditions and guilt. Every stream has its own standards, and if you don’t meet them, you’re condemned. But God has made us righteous. He sees us as we truly are. If we can see ourselves as he sees us, our lives will be transformed.

Even fallen angels lost their identity. I’ve heard of angels missing others—missing Lucifer and those who fell. I believe God will restore all things. Colossians 1 says all things were created by and for him and will be reconciled. Some fallen angels don’t believe restoration is possible because they’ve been told otherwise. But when we minister to them with love, it can stir their memory. Those who haven’t fallen probably know restoration is possible—thousands have already been restored.

Sometimes we hear only the reflection of our own voice when we ask God things. It’s easy to hear what we want to hear. That’s why we need to measure everything against love. If what you hear doesn’t align with love, it’s not God.

When I ask him about choices, like whether to go somewhere or do something, God often says, “Do what you want.” He wants us to mature into sons who can choose based on alignment with his heart, not just wait for orders.

Related posts

243. Not Counting Their Trespasses

406. Recognise the Finished Work of Jesus

316. The Purpose of the Fire

245. What Jesus Did

265. Love’s Good News

 

430. Being You | The Heart of Your Relationship With God

Mike Parsons

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God isn’t commending you, endorsing you or recommending you based on what you’ve done—but on who you are, and who he created you to be. Your destiny isn’t a long checklist of things you have to accomplish in order to be good enough. It’s about being you. That’s really the heart of it—discovering and becoming your true self in relationship with him.

So God’s not looking at your performance and saying, “Well, I can’t work with them, they’ve not done a good enough job.” He’s looking at you as his son, as his beloved creation. You’re the apple of his eye, the treasure of his heart. His desire is for you to be you. And as you live out of that true identity, you’ll naturally express things through creative sonship that reflect who you are—and that’s what’s truly worthy.

So when he says, “Well done, my son,” it’s not because you ticked off a list of achievements. It’s more like, “You had a go. You used your creativity. I’m pleased with you.” Think about Jesus—God spoke over him and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I’m well pleased” before he even began his ministry. God’s approval wasn’t based on what Jesus had done. It was based on who he was. And that’s the same for us. God wants us to rest in who we are. That rest then becomes the source of everything that flows out of our lives. Just being, without striving or doing, releases the doing in a natural and authentic way.

Now, when it comes to things like creating wealth, we don’t need to strive for it. God is our provider. If we’re in tune with him—moving with his heart, doing what we sense he’s doing—then everything we need will be provided. He’s already promised that we have more than enough for all our needs, and abundance for every good deed. And those good deeds aren’t random acts—they’re connected to who we are. They’re expressions of our true self in a world that needs it.

If I’m striving to make money or create wealth in my own strength, it’s probably because I’ve moved out of that place of trust and into anxiety. But when we’re at rest—when we’re not worried or fearful—we draw provision to us. We’re not grasping, we’re receiving. There are people out there—Joe Dispenza, Sadhguru and others—who’ve tapped into some of the principles that God operates by. Things like sowing and reaping, or what some might call “heavenly technology.” They may be working with these principles, but not necessarily in relationship with God. So while they might be doing generally good things, it can have a kind of humanistic flavour—because it’s often built on information, not revelation. It’s not flowing from intimacy with the Father.

And look, I’m not heavily into any of that stuff—I’m just aware of it because people talk about it, and I have friends who are really into those ideas. And in many ways, there’s nothing inherently wrong with what’s being said. But the problem is, without relationship, it becomes a formula or a technique. And that’s not what God wants from us. He wants union—a living relationship with him as our Creator.

That’s totally different from working a technique to get a healing, or meet a financial need. Being in relationship with him draws all that we need to us. We don’t have to chase after it. When we live from rest, we don’t fall into striving or performance to try and earn his blessing or approval. He already wants to bless us because we’re his children. And he wants us to relax into that identity; to be at peace with who we are. From there, everything else flows.

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Mike’s latest book, Unconditional Love, is out now as an ebook on our website and will soon be available to order in paperback from your local or online bookseller.

More details at eg.freedomarc.org/books

Related posts

400. Living in Union with God: Embracing Our Original Design

377. Living in Rest

374. Aligning with God’s Heart in Co-creating

333. Unveiling Our Divine Identity

281. Scroll of Destiny: Just Being

416. Reconnecting Your Spirit | Finding Wholeness in God

Mike Parsons

True identity

Our spirit itself is not damaged or impure; it is simply not connected. Our spirit has never truly been disconnected from God, but our soul has been. When we realise that God is within us and we open that first love gate in our spirit, we allow God to flow into us, engaging spirit, soul and body. This marks the start of a relational engagement with God, helping us find our true identity.

Most people derive their identity from what they do in the world or from past experiences, rather than from who God says they are. Our spirit already knows who we are because our origin has always been in God. The spirit existed before our body and soul; it pre-existed before coming into the body, but entered into a state of disconnection when it did.

Into union

God desires to reveal himself in a way that reconnects us, making us whole and bringing us into union with him—spirit, soul and body. When this union occurs, life flows like rivers of living water, an abundant life from the inside out. Instead of allowing external experiences to shape our inner life, our inner life should shape our external experience. This is God’s intention for us.

We can cultivate our spirit and increase our spiritual capacity by focusing on our spiritual senses rather than our physical and soul senses. This is a meditative practice—meditating on the spirit, its abilities and senses. As we do this, our spiritual senses grow and develop, allowing us to operate intuitively in the spirit rather than relying solely on cognitive processing.

Through practice

Some may believe that the spirit can be damaged, but I do not. I believe the spirit has never been damaged or occupied by anything other than God. However, this does not mean we automatically function through the spirit, as we often lack the training and understanding to do so. Hebrews teaches us that through practice, we can train our senses to discern. This applies to both our physical and soul senses, aligning them with our spiritual senses and prioritising spiritual understanding over cognitive processes.

When we engage in the spirit, it acts as a filter for external influences, offering insight before the soul interprets them. Our goal is to discern through the spirit rather than relying solely on memory, logic, reason or cognitive understanding. Developing this spiritual discernment takes time, as we have often lived with the soul as the dominant force in determining how we act, think and feel.

To shift this, we must cultivate a new framework of thinking and acting from our spiritual senses rather than allowing our physical and soul senses to take the lead. This process requires patience and practice, but the transformation is profound, enabling us to live in abundance and alignment with God’s purpose for us.

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Mike’s latest book, Unconditional Love, is out now as an ebook on our website and will soon be available to order in paperback from your local or online bookseller.

More details at eg.freedomarc.org/books

Related blog posts

392. Training Your Spirit | Practical Steps to Engage with God
302. Practice, practice, practice…
274. Separating and reintegrating soul and spirit (1)
275. Separating and reintegrating soul and spirit (2)
133. From The Inside Out
128. Building A Strong Spirit

408. The Truth About Healing (Part 1): A Shift in Mindset and Identity

Mike Parsons – 

 

A state of living

Many people view healing as something to receive from God rather than a state of living in health (and ultimately, immortality). I believe this is where a mindset shift is needed.

A lot of people believe that God heals. Some believe that the Kingdom of God is ‘now and not yet,’ so they can give themselves an excuse—“Well, it’s not yet, so it might not happen.” Others believe healing is included in the atonement—that Jesus died for our sickness just as He did for our sin and death, because they are all interconnected. The wages of sin is death, and sickness is what leads to death, so these things are linked to our lost identity.

Identity and inheritance

Sin is a loss of identity, so if the wages of lost identity is death, then knowing who we truly are brings life. But we have to know who we are. Many people have a general Christian sense of what the Bible says, but do they truly know their identity? Do they know that health, wholeness, and even immortality are part of their inheritance? As children of God, our inheritance includes the fullness of abundant life—health, wholeness, and all the blessings God desires for us.

Many people struggle to love their bodies. Some have bought into the belief that since their body will die one day, it’s inevitable that it will deteriorate. If everyone dies, then surely the body must break down at some point. This is a deeply ingrained way of thinking. But I believe this perspective needs to change.

The body as an equal

Recognising our identity also means recognising that our body is just as important as our spirit and soul. It’s not a lesser part of us—it’s not something temporary that will simply wear out before we receive a new one. Spirit, soul and body are meant to function in union, without contradiction or competition. When we understand this, we can begin to see that within the core of our innermost being, we have the capacity to generate health. The River of Life flows within us, supplying the energy needed to renew and replenish the cells of our physical bodies.

Unfortunately, much of evangelical teaching has treated the body as secondary—something to be discarded one day, so the focus is on the soul and spirit. But we need to honour our body just as much as our spirit and soul. This means loving our body, cooperating with it, treating it with respect, honour and blessing.

A healthy lifestyle

You cannot abuse your body and expect it to remain whole. If we truly love and value our body as much as our spirit and soul, we will care for it accordingly. This includes how we eat, how we rest, and how we maintain our overall health. Some assume, “Well, God will take care of it,” but we are also responsible for working together with Him—spirit, soul, and body together. There are practical things we can do to support our health, such as ensuring we get proper nutrition, taking necessary vitamins, and maintaining a balanced diet. It’s not about extreme diets or fads, but about balance—avoiding excessive sugar and salt, understanding what it means to nourish ourselves properly.

It’s also about maintaining a healthy lifestyle—getting enough sleep, exercising, and having a mindset of love and care towards our body. When we truly value our body, we will look after it. We cannot expect to live in health if we consistently abuse our body.

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Related posts by Mike Parsons

405. Angels Explained | Embracing Our Royal Identity in God

Mike Parsons

Angels

Where you get the terminology often comes from how angels are described in Hebrew. They’re usually called angels, or they might be called seraphim or cherubim, but some of the others aren’t named—they’re just described as angels as a general term— but in reality, they are different orders of angels that people don’t commonly connect with. For instance, there are references to ophanim, chayoth, and others.

The Merkabah

There is an external perspective related to the Throne of God and the Merkabah (divine chariot); however, there’s also an internal aspect which operates within us. The Merkabah represents the core of our being and embodies God’s identity within us. It brings about the focus of spirit, soul and body in union with Father, Son, and Spirit at the core of who we are. And actually, it’s probably more important to grasp that than it is to understand the canopy of angels around the throne of God, the four living creatures and all of those fascinating things, mentioned in Revelation and elsewhere. There is a canopy of angels, and they do have functions, rising up from the throne of God all the way to some of the more unusual ones—the chayoth, which are living creatures that aren’t necessarily humanoid but are living nonetheless. It gets pretty weird. And some of it, does it really matter what all that is about?

God will give us insight when we need it, when we encounter it. Do we need to understand it all? When I first started hearing about the canopy of angels, the ten thousand times ten thousand angels, the myriad of angels, I thought, “What are they all about?” It seemed overwhelming—like, whoa, this is a little more than I can take in. And actually, that’s what God is like in his majesty, the throne of God, and all of that—it’s supposed to be awesome. It’s supposed to be somewhat of a mystery. It’s meant to inspire awe at the amazing things around the throne of God. But it’s also meant to help us engage with the angelic realm ourselves, in our own sonship. When I get to the throne of God, I just want to fall on my face. I want to honour him, to be in awe of him, to totally yield and surrender.

Order of Melchizedek

There are so many different levels of revelation towards each one. Take the four living creatures, for example. They’re connected with what Ezekiel describes as a four-headed being with the cherubic nature of man—reflecting the four living creatures, which, in turn, reflect the order of Melchizedek.

Now, do I literally have the head of an ox, an eagle, and a man? No, I don’t. I have the face of a man. But do I have a cherubic nature, which is how God designed us to function in the order of Melchizedek as a priest, king, oracle and legislator? Yes. There are aspects of who I am that are eagle-like, figuratively speaking. I don’t soar around in the sky, but I carry legislative, governmental authority in terms of my identity. I am an oracle, so I have characteristics of the ox, reflected in being a voice of God—speaking his oracles from his heart. There’s the king, the government, and the priest. So, my nature as a royal priest and an oracle and a legislator is connected to the four living creatures, the cherubic nature, and the cherubim themselves, which carry those characteristics.

I don’t totally need to understand all the symbolism, because some of it is quite weird. I embrace it as part of my identity within the order of Melchizedek. I’ve engaged with the four faces of God, stood in each face, and stood within the name of God. That represents my authority and power of attorney—to use my identity as a son to speak his heart, his intentions, and his purposes, creating reality around my life.

I sort of understand how it relates to those aspects. But do we really need to fully understand how it all relates to the throne of God and the glory and majesty of God? No, because that’s supposed to be an awe-inspiring mystery.

In relation to our sonship

What’s important is how we engage with the angelic realm and the canopy of angels in relation to our sonship. I’ve engaged with the different angelic canopies to see if there was something I need to know to help me in my sonship. That’s how I relate to the angelic canopy—not in terms of their function for God, but their function for me.

If I’m seated on a throne, as we all are in heavenly places, then that canopy comes around me when I’m in that position of identity. They’re designed to help me in my sonship identity, in ruling and reigning from that position. So I engaged with the different angelic beings, to see if there was anything I need to know to help me in my sonship. I have also engaged with the court of angels, participating and sharing there. That drew angels to support, encourage and help, because ‘they are ministering spirits for those who are inheritors of salvation’.

Do I understand all the terminology and functions associated with God’s throne and glory? No, but I do have some insight into how they relate to us, our throne, our position of authority, and our identity. Our glory is our identity, and creation itself will one day be liberated into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. This refers to us, living fully in our identity as sons and daughters of God. There are aspects of these heavenly realities that help us grow into that identity.

Names and functions

Do angelic beings have multiple functions and titles? Perhaps. Some people may relate to them in different ways or use varying names depending on their functions. This is likely where some confusion arises. For instance, who are the twelve ambassadors of the ages? What order of angels are they from, or are they from separate orders? Who are the court of judges or the 24 elders? There are so many questions one could ask that it might seem overwhelming, as though a great deal of knowledge is required. However, I don’t believe such knowledge is essential for day-to-day life. There’s certainly more to discover, but people often describe these realities differently based on their own experiences and where they are in their journey. Just because someone describes it differently doesn’t mean their perspective is definitive or universal—it simply reflects their personal engagement.

For example, have I engaged with cherubim? Yes. Seraphim? Yes. Ophanim, Elohim, and Ben Elohim? To some degree, yes. Each of these has different names in different positions, or functions, and their roles vary. Take the twelve chancellors, for instance—some refer to them as high chancellors, as there are many other chancellors, and we can also function as chancellors ourselves. Wisdom once gave me a seal and staff representing a chancellor’s authority, and I’ve engaged the Chancellors’ Court. I’ve functioned at the bench there to facilitate scrolls and mandates being released and accepted, and other heavenly matters. That said, I’m not someone who pays much attention to details, so I couldn’t describe exactly what the others looked like. My focus was more on their functions and what I could learn to do in cooperation with them. For all I know, each chancellor could be from a different order of angels, and my interactions with them might differ in another type of experience.

Not for intellectual curiosity

It’s not set in stone, a fixed or rigid concept—it’s a dynamic, fluid reality in the heavenly realms. Their roles might vary depending on the situation. For example, the angel who sits behind my throne—though I suspect it might be one of the Ben Elohim—I don’t know for certain, and I haven’t been especially curious to find out. The point is not to engage with these realities for intellectual curiosity or the sake of knowledge but to discern how they relate to our journey, so we can cooperate with them as they help us grow into greater maturity. That’s how I approach these things. They’re about my growth and ascension into deeper levels of maturity, not about creating rigid definitions that apply to everyone universally.

My engagement with cherubim or seraphim has been deeply personal. I’ve encountered seraphim when I was on the altar. I’ve also engaged the seven spirits of God. Are they separate beings? From my perspective, they are. They seem entirely distinct from any other heavenly beings I’ve encountered. To me, they are seven created beings that reflect the fullness of God’s Spirit. Some people might argue they are simply aspects of one Spirit, and while they may reflect aspects of the Spirit, when I engaged them, they were individual personalities—beings embodying specific aspects like wisdom, knowledge, understanding… all seven.

The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord, for example, engaged with my scroll and led me to the Judgment Seat. Each spirit revealed an aspect of my growth in sonship, guiding me in my journey. For me, these encounters aren’t about intellectual pursuits or acquiring knowledge but about learning to cooperate with these heavenly beings in my journey toward maturity.

I agree—it can be confusing to try to understand all the different names, titles and roles of these beings, especially if we attempt to fit them into a fixed, rigid framework—I don’t believe they’re meant to be understood in that way.

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Related posts by Mike Parsons

400. Living in Union with God: Embracing Our Original Design

Mike Parsons

God wants to take it deeper

As individuals and as humanity as a whole, all we, like sheep, have gone astray, following our own path of independence. But God proactively came to seek and save that which was lost. The Good Shepherd sought out the lost sheep—and still does. He is continually seeking those who are living in lost identity. And a lot of Christians are still living in lost identity, even though they have a relationship with God at a certain level. Whatever level of relationship we have, God wants to take it deeper. He doesn’t want us to remain in the same place.

Mankind may have turned away from God to live in that lost identity and independence, but God never turned away from us. God, as Father, has always seen us as His children through the lens of love. He has always desired that we all return to our first love—our origin. This is the key, and there are a number of Bible verses that speak about this love and its depth. , For example,

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, neither things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing [including ourselves] will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:38-39).

That’s quite a statement, but it’s based in God and not in us. It’s not based on our ability to maintain a certain standard. It’s purely a statement of God’s grace, mercy and love. The Mirror Bible puts it like this:

This is my conviction: no threat—whether it be in death or life, be it angelic beings, demon powers, or political principalities, nothing known to us at this time or even in the unknown future, no dimension of any calculation in time or space, nor any device yet to be invented—has what it takes to separate us from the love of God demonstrated in Christ Jesus, our ultimate authority (Romans 8:38-39 Mirror).

Relationship

When we go back through Romans 8, we see there are a number of things that lead up to that passage which are talking about our relationship with God. Romans 8:14 says:

For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons and daughters of God.

As we come into union with Him, joined to God—not separated from Him in our own understanding—we become one spirit with Him. This union enables our spirit to mature, to grow, and to develop into who we were always intended to be. It helps us discover who we were before we came here.

For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again… (Romans 8:15a).

Yet how many people became Christians and, through the church or religion, ended up back in fear—living in works of appeasement to an angry God? But God is a loving Father. He wants us to know the truth: we are sons and daughters.

… but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons and daughters, by which we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ (Romans 8:15b).

This was impossible under the old covenant. Crying out “Abba, Father” is a new covenant reality. Jesus came to reveal His relationship with His Father so that it could become our relationship with our Father too.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God (Romans 8:16).

This is what happens in this union: the Spirit testifies to our innermost being, confirming that we are children of God. Not only that, but we always have been; we always will be—we will never, ever not be children of God.

And if children, heirs also—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. (Romans 8:17).

Now, this is where the way this is written may challenge some people because it uses the word ‘if.’ However, this ‘if’ is not conditional, as though we need to do something to make it happen. Instead, it is a declarative statement, affirming that something has already taken place: because we are children, we are heirs. Heirs of what? Heirs of God Himself and fellow heirs, co-heirs with Christ in the whole of creation. And “if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him,” is not suggesting that we must endure suffering to earn glory. Instead, it means that we identify with His sufferings because He went through them for us. We don’t have to go through it, other than by identifying with Him.

We originate in God

So if we go back again and read those verses in the Mirror Bible:

The original life of the Father revealed in His Son is the life the Spirit now conducts within us.

So the spirit is now looking, with the Father and the Son, to reveal our original origin and identity, the original life that He intended us to
have as children of God in relationship.

Slavery is such a poor substitute for sonship. They are opposites. The one leads forcibly through fear, while sonship responds fondly to Abba, Father.

This is what God desires: for us to engage with Him as Abba, Father, Daddy, without fear—resting instead in wonderful peace and intimacy.

Verse 16:
His Spirit resonates within our spirit to confirm the fact that we originate in God.

Through this process, God is showing us our origin—who we really are, from the beginning, so that who we are now will be in alignment with who we were in the beginning, not as a product of our lives up to this point.

Because we are His offspring, we qualify to be heirs. This isn’t something we earn—it’s purely by grace. God Himself is our portion. We co-inherit with Christ, since we were represented and included in His suffering. This is very different than us going through suffering. We were already included in His suffering, and we equally participate in the glory of His resurrection. This isn’t something that happens in ‘Glory’ (as they used to call heaven); this is something that can happen now—because as He has been resurrected, so also we died with Him and we are now alive with Him, to fully embrace the glory of that resurrection power that reveals who we really are. You could say that ‘who we really are’ is our glory. It is our true identity, the clothing of that glorious nature we have as children of God.

This video blog is an excerpt from Mike's current teaching series, Restoring First Love. Get the full length videos every month, only at eg.freedomarc.org/first-love

Activation

Close your eyes,
come to a place of rest.
Begin to think of living loved,
being loved in that first love way.

Again, start to focus your breathing,
just begin to slow down, relax,
focus your thinking as you
breathe slowly,
and breathe deeply,
thinking about God,
who is love,
who loves you.

As you breathe in slowly,
you breathe in that unconditional love of the Father.
You’re breathing it into your very being.
Every breath that you take
is a life-giving force of energy,
of love.

That unconditional love,
as you breathe it in,
flows through your being.
Start to feel it flowing through you.
Breathe deeply.
Be still,
as God releases that love
in you,
on you,
through you.

You are cocooned in unconditional love,
filled to overflowing.
Unconditional love flowing through you
as God demonstrates to you how much He loves you,
how valuable you are to Him.

You are the apple of His eye,
the treasure of His heart,
the object of His desire.
He calls you into union and oneness.
He’s calling you
into this union of relationship.
Be filled with love.

Stay in that place of intimacy and love.
Just embrace it.

The music in this activation is by Samuel Lane. 
Stream or download more of his soundscapes at linktr.ee/SMLMusic