FIGHTING BY HIS SIDE-the spear pierced His lungs-blood and water trickled out
‘I am forgotten as a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel. For I have heard the slander of many, Defamation is on every side; …They scheme against me. But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord, I say, “Your are my God. My days are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me…The wicked plots abasing the righteous…The Lord laughs at him, For He sees his day is coming‘(Psalm 31:12-15,37:12-13).
Have you ever been hated, persecuted and subjected to people who think they are The Great Judges of The Earth? You know. You’ve met them, they know everything about everything and declare to everyone “THIS IS THE WAY IT IS”. They don’t care how wrong they may be or how much they may hurt others. Their pomp put them on a self-elevator. Those under them are on the ground floor and subjects of their scepter of right and wrong. Their lives are so impeccable and superior. THEY determine a man’s worth. But redemption always has a play. Accepting humiliation as from God’s hand offers lift. The Lord shall give me more than ‘they’ take away from me.(Jn. 12:24-32/Phil.3:10/Rm.6:6).
Of all things Jesus warns not to do is “Judge not lest ye be judged” (Matthew 7:1ff). He warns that the exact thinking you use to examine and judge another is the same thinking He will use to judge you:”By the measure you measure so shall you be measured “(same). Do you know a man’s heart? Do you know all details, motives, backstory of exactly what took place in every person and unknown corners of an event? So there’s no possibility you could be wrong? Have fun with that under God’s eyes. Quite stupid. God says “Judgement will be merciless to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment” (James 2:13). Who wants to live in this curse of God? Change. Make recompense that God might turn from His wrath.
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(This is a small clip from a larger project my son put together about finding real in a junkyard.)
Preface
Welcome in my friend. There’s one way to escape hard times. It is called repentance: “metanoia” – change of mind. We all deal with varying degrees of hard times. Right? The world hits us with conflicts– from the outside– and from within. Sometimes we find ways to resolve things. Other times we seek distractions to escape them. But what about that pain that we cannot quite identify? That lingering feeling that makes us feel ‘out of it’?
We sink into depression and don’t know why. Usually, we blame a reason or person. But what about accountability? What if going deeper to evaluate things gives you far more than trite regard? The reality is we don’t understand how our own humanity even works. Think about it. How many times have you been stumped? “I just don’t know why I think or do that”.
Such cries of sadness and perplexity echo in the land. The drugs, booze, Internet all offer a false antidote to manage desperation. Usually, it takes us to be hit by a knockout punch, the one that drops us to the mat, for the full ten count, when we bleed with questions we pretend aren’t there: “What do I live for? Does God exist? Am I too far gone? Could He help me? ”
The answer is a resounding yes. If we are willing to dismantle our house built on pride God awaits with tender mercy. We just gotta stop asking ourselves and start asking Him directly. Ask, and you shall receive. We can take more from our failures than it took from us. If we look for His hand, we can rise. We can switch from “I know it all” to “Please God. If you’re there, have mercy on me?”. Tragically, many harden their heart so they don’t know how or what to do to find God. Of anything I might offer you, my friend, this is it: the key to find God is learning to be real.
Walk away from a religious pretense. Dare to be yourself. It is the door to the living God. The Scriptures offer — not codes and laws– or irrelevant black letters on white pages– but a love letter from the Father revealing His heart to and for you.
The question is never if God cares, but if we dare find the heart-stuff of humility to brave faith. Can you get beyond the inner negativity; the backstory of your wounds? No matter how bad things seem, I assure you have the little fight left to get you “there” (Mt.17:20). Do you remember when you were a kid trying to figure out what life was all about? (Beyond chocolate and Christmas.) Was life good or bad? Happy or sad?
Over years, we start to realize how life tries to push us down. Even parents can seem like custodians. Life builds a backstory of hurt, pain and bitterness that causes a bad, cyclical cynicism. It can become you without ever asking. I describe in the video clip (above) how, when I was 14 yrs. old. I was shot in the eye and laid in a hospital bed, patches on both eyes. It took away everything that mattered. Life hit me hard to ruin me.
I was forced to lie still on my back, alone in silence and sadness. For two years, I could do almost nothing. Everything was gone. Yet in that lowest place, with the little fight I had left, I fought. All I had left was my choice to believe God. I grew up a catholic and took enough from it all to know God existed but it just wasn’t personal. I never knew then that learning to be still was the doorway to Him. In that dark place of a wounded self, I discovered a calm that did not come from me. An insecure kid found security in a silent trust in God. This is how we approach God; desperate and real.
God is a faithful and loving Father, beckoning us to allow Him to shape our character. Four years later, He brought Jesus into my life, followed by my salvation. I didn’t understand it then, but I trust that even the saddest chain of events can carry meaning when we surrender to Him in the circumstances. In hindsight, God’s work becomes visible to those who are set on Him, especially in their darkest hours (2 Chronicles 16:9).
The question we must each answer: “Do I settle for the dictates of a miserable life, complaining like everyone else, or will I fight to take away more from my life than it has taken away from me?” My friend, don’t let your mind be passive to this wicked world. Breaking is not understood by an emotional reaction but by an intelligent evaluation in the silence of God’s light. I pray, in reading this blog, that “the perceptions of your mind might be enlightened… so you might know the immeasurable greatness of God’s power” (Eph. 1: 18-19).
Sad to say, the Bible is clear that negativity is the core of our humanity, because we all share and live in the same sinful humanity (Rm.3:10ff). Negativity arises from within us in all forms, imaginations, and times (2 Cor.10:3-5). It creates an identity of a typical grumbler and complainer. It is a dark lens that covers our eyes, assisted by depression as a natural deep sigh (2 Cor. 4:3-4,3:16/Ps.51:5). At times, happiness can seem like a fantasy because pessimism holds us down as a default anchor of dread. The brain remains a passive organ. There is no self-generating principle of positivity. Scientists say that of the 70k thoughts we have each day, most of them are negative.
Dissociation is a psychological response in which the mind temporarily disconnects from your real backstory of sad thoughts, emotions, bodily sensations, or surroundings to cope with past trauma. It is the synopsis of why we develop a phony and trite image. It is not a deliberate effort to be deceptive, but an outcome of not knowing how to process our pain. It requires an assertive attitude to exchange moods and feelings for intelligent and analytical responses, and learn to apply faith in God despite the negativity.
Jesus and Paul reveal that a fight is required to learn against our very self, not to redo our past, but to get beyond it and “forget” ourselves, caught by His Spirit leading us into a destiny of a new you (Mt.16: 24/Jn.12:25/2 Cor.5:17/ Rm.7:15-25/Gal.2:20).
Look around. Listen. We’re not alone; all creation “speaks” in agreement with our conscience (Like the end of that little video clip at the beginning – Rm.1:20,10:18/ Ps.19:1). “Behold! God is good. His living Presence is greater than all negativity. Redemption awaits.” Everything is a choice. What we once decided was impossible can not only become possible, but certain, if we choose the ‘the little fight left’ in us for truth. God yearns to process our pain. By the work of His Son, He can transform old brains paths into an entirely new perspective. Neuroplasticity is a scientific term that describes the brain’s physiological capacity to recover and rewire itself. The process begins by a mere budge against the negative part of ourselves and towards the hope for what God promises to those who believe (Heb.11:1-6/Rm.4).
The Little Fight
Howdy, my friend. I don’t know what brought you to my blog, but I welcome you in and ask for the same objective consideration you might give any stranger. We live in a world where love is rare, people condemn and don’t listen or care much about others. I, too, share this primary nature of selfishness. These days, there are two opposing groups that dominate the cultural scene and somehow sneak into our psyche with a false narrative that we only have two choices. But both ‘the left’ and ‘the right’ are blinded to the 3rd option Jesus offers. The “Right” see themselves as religious and claim morality makes them the ethical elite. The “Left” campaign as a democratic fusion of free thinkers. Neither understands that the “gospel” is neither legalism nor license. It is God’s gift as a practical absolute remedy for all the miseries of the common ‘John Doe’.
Simply put, God offers to send His Spirit to enter our weak, selfish flesh of humanity, regardless of any individual wicked ways. By His supernatural love, God promises to put Christ in us to lead us beyond our conflict into His grace. No matter how bad or how many times we fail and fall, God offers His Spirit for new life. The question is what are we willing to choose REAL over FAKE? The Father knows His ways are not our ways so He offers, not a patent upgrade but an individual process for our deepest pain with “His own love” (Rm.5:8/1 Jn.4). COST? One little fight; a mustard seed of faith (Mt.17:20).
Ever think the Incarnation might hold a “secret” answer for you?
Ever hear of the Incarnation? It was the one-time event when God came to earth as a human in Jesus (Jn.1). Ya. Jesus left the imprint of God. Today, Jesus offers to put His Spirit into our sinful humanity, made possible by His work. In His death, Jesus became our ‘worst nightmare’ (2 Cor.5:21). In His resurrection, Jesus became “the first-born among many brethren (us)” (Rm. 8:29/Rev. 1:5/1 Cor. 15:22). He now offers it directly to us. Not through a group, system, or “church”. From Him to you. No middleman. Jesus promises His Holy Spirit will come into you to give you His love so you can give to others; i.e. “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col.1:27).
That’s why I’ll never belong to any modern group or religion. Today’s “church” is not the true church of the Book of Acts but a one-hour counterfeit of old religious, self-righteous and condemning ways leftover from previous cultures. Jesus says you can’t put fresh wine into old containers or they’ll burst (Mk. 2:22). Those who walk in the living Jesus, walk in the living Incarnation and offer the world fresh new ways learned in the wind of His Spirit (John.3:8/Matt.16:18-19).
So, back to “Hi. My name is Michael Woroniecki and I love my Father God in the truest sense for giving me this gift of abundant life” (Jn.10:10). I ask that you see me, not as ‘somebody’ telling you what you should or shouldn’t do, but as sincere friend, a fellow human caught in the fight of our lives. If it’s cool with you I’d put my arm on your shoulder and just be with you. I’m not, or ever could be, “a hell-fire brimstone preacher” nor a part of any religious system or cultic crap. I am a son, alive with the resurrection of the living Jesus. Paul says, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels”. My body is dying, but my spirit lives forever (Jn.12:25).
People have reason to constantly grumble and complain about all the immense personal problems. I get it. But why not be willing to consider the alternative in the Scriptures if it is real? The whole Adam and Eve thing makes a tons of sense if you think about it. It is not a fantasy or childhood fable that they corrupted the human race by sin. They are our true ancestors. What they were in their humanity is in us today. But what’s so beautiful is that Paul explains, just as the 1st Adam put a thing called “sin” in our humanity, making us selfish, proud, anxious, depressed, hateful etc. etc., so too the 2nd Adam- Christ -offers to put His risen Spirit in our flesh; joy, peace, hope, etc. etc. (Read Rm.5:12-21).
God knows, we don’t even understand what is going on inside us. So He designed this plan to free and inform us by His Spirit in His Word. Knowing the identity as a son or daughter is the ultimate happiness (Jn.18:36/2 Cor.6:14-18). It is in that place of still silence where we hear His voice that is unheard by this busy world.
For the last fifty years, my family and I have enjoyed explaining this “born again” gift of Jesus as we have traveled throughout the U.S. and 60 countries. Whether we are on the streets with one or two or on a stage with many – the gospel works. It is our privilege and divine blessing to share this gospel.
Part of understanding the gospel is to understand the problem. I think you’ll agree that we live in a dark world. You’ve felt it yourself; a kind of dim shadow in the air. A weight in your chest, a gulp of anxiety, a half-smile. It is the reason for depression What is this feeling? A vague sense of badness ‘in the air’ (Eph. 2:2). Jesus defines Himself as “the Light of the world” and sin as this unseen darkness that keeps us negative and miserable. It affects how we think, talk, and act.
God deals with our sin as a “wound”, showing us, not hate or rejection, but His understanding. He knows it was not our fault so God did everything about it. Contrary to false sermons, Jesus came to earth not to condemn us but heal us of a fallen humanity we don’t understand. He offers light. If we fight the little fight we have left in us to admit our sin and seek God’s truth He is waiting to process each problem we face, no matter how evil or complicated (Jn.3:16-17, Jn.8/Mark 2:17/ Mt.9:13/ Jer. 6:14, 8:11, 10:19, 14:17, 30:12-15).
Sin has so many consequences I could never explain them all. Even Jesus didn’t use mere words help us fight. Rather He publicly displayed in living color that He Himself is the process to heal our sin-wound. In being real we find the faith that covers our every pain. By His wounds ours are healed. Every corner where drugs are sold, every subway where murder takes place, every marriage where divorce is threatened, every household where rage or desperation rules, Jesus brings a “Hesed” mercy to our hostile problems. His call to ‘pick up and carry our cross’ is the ‘medicine’ to turn from our self to Him ( Lk.9:23).
OUR FIGHT – WON – IN THE CROSS- (Matthew 16:24-26/1 Cor.1:18/Gal.2:20/Rm.6:6)
The fight Jesus had with that cross long ago was so we could carry ours today. This one event contains the ‘secret formula’ of death for life. His big fight made our fight little. In His climb to Calvary, Jesus fought with every muscle. He fought every thought to stop, to give up. In His heart He was the Champion and knew He was the only One, in time and space, Who could ever process all the dark pain in the wound of our sin. He fought with sin, then became it (2 Cor.5:21). He took on death, then destroyed it. He felt every failure and evil of human nature, of the conspiracy of sin against His Father. Then in 3 days He had the “stuff” to create another plan, another nature; another life; eternal life.
What a Brother. What a Savior. What a King. In the ring of death He believed His Father to switch His crown of thorns for glory.
As Jesus hung He fought His title fight. When a Roman spear pierced His lungs blood and water trickled from side . His “Little Fight Left” got Him to Calvary, then into a tomb, then up from the dead. The essence of His fight of love for His Father, and for us, is ours to tap; sufficient to conquer our every battle on earth. His greatest victory was in His greatest weakness. In Christ, we win every fight before we begin. Our little fight is born of His title fight was from death to resurrection life (Eph.6:12/2 Cor. 10:3-5). His victory is ours when it comes to abide within us.
The Father yearns to come alongside, not by osmosis or a magic wand, but in Jesus to respond to our every need. He appeals to us in the mechanism of conscience, the image of God. Conscience is mentioned over 20x in the Bible. It beckons us, “Defy the darkness-allow light in your heart” (Rm.2:15/9:1). God calls you as an individual. He calls you by name (Is.43). Hear His whisper: “You do not choose Me but I choose you” (Jn.15:16). Awaken your fight to ignite not extinguish the spark within, to free the wind to lift you, to train your fight to win in Him.
The cross is the purge of our pride. It is the boxing ring of real. It is where and how our caterpillar breaks into a butterfly. It is in our death to self that we let Christ live within. Jesus tells us to let go of our natural thinking. In that moment, Jesus says ‘Come to Me…Enter new ways I will show you’ (Mt.11:27/Jn.12:24-25/ 2 Cor.5:17/1 Cor.15:45).
Paul, who lived long after Jesus but centered on, and entered into, life beyond the cross. He saw the fight it would take that was worth his life (Gal.2:20/ Rm.6:6/ Phil.3). Letting go of our first impulse allows God to quicken conversion. We become “born… again” (Jn.3:3). A stream of love takes over our circumstances and leadsus into His “living water” (Jn.7:37). When we touch His love, we touch others. It is not token Bible cliches. Divine Presence is in-the-moment, on-the-spot love, born of the heart, fresh and aromatic for each individua
God’s love is never one-size-fits-all. We are not trying to fix people, but to see them. To be in their moment. To share their pain. This is the process of healing in the living Jesus. Humility comes from realizing nothing is about yourself but about loving others more than yourself. It is our catalyst for connection.
THE LITTLE FIGHT WINS ANY FIGHT – Over five decades I’ve worked to help others understand how Jesus brings His Spirit into our backstory of unprocessed pain. There are various specific things that you’ve gone through that left scars and hurts in your soul. They affect your daily existence to this very day. They impact how you talk and think and what you do. Paul explains how his sin exploits our pain and actually turns us against ourselves (Rm.7:15). We are fighting a battle we cannot win unless we understand how. Instead of shame, the fight of faith rises to believe the size of a mustard seed (Mt.17:20). At the end of his life, Paul says, “I have fought the good fight of faith”. Paul was a lonely man who fought battles we can’t imagine. Yet he knew the secret to process everything alone in Christ. The work of Jesus in His life, death, and resurrection is eternal and sufficient to process every pain, every sin, to heal our backstory and start over again.
Seven billion people worldwide are hurting and don’t understand why. I refuse to turn my back on them when Jesus gave His back for everyone’s sin; “By His wounds we are healed”. These days we work overseas in the 3rd world; on the streets, with the military, troubled high schools, convalescent homes, hospitals, special needs, and with veterans and others. Being fluent in Portuguese, French, and especially Spanish enables us to carry a special burden for our brethren who speak these languages, both overseas and those misplaced immigrants in the States, when we come back to resupply. So far from home, they suffer great isolation and rejection. It is not a fight of politics but compassion. It is the miracle love of Jesus in us.
The picture on the left was our “taxi” to a remote village in Paraguay. ‘Pablo’ drives us in his cattle cart like to a people waiting in anticipation. My friend, the goal of our fight is not to better ourselves. It is to give the life of Jesus to the world. Don’t settle for the self-centered delusion of “America First”. One day we will each give an account to Jesus. All that matters is whether we have eternal life. This life comes from giving not getting; form laying down our lives so others can know Him. You have the potential to fight for others. Jesus says a tiny mustard seed of faith will shrink your problems (Mt.17:20).
In High School, I made All-City as a wrestler and a fullback. I then won a scholarship at CMU. The awards created a brain path in this young man that working hard at my fight ended in fulfillment. Little did I know, but soon began to learn, it trained me for a battle I was about to enter. When I gave my life to Jesus I realized my past life was meant to train me for a greater identity. My fight awakened. God’s image in me was restored. I had a will, a choice, a decision. Can you recall a ‘first fight’ in your life when God tried to awaken your power to fight? Maybe you didn’t respond as you now see you should have but that’s ok. You can re-filter and redefine things in a new light.
The term “broken fighter” does not imply failure but strength and wisdom. The ego is smashed. Real becomes real. In my journey, severe rejection by the football team brought about a season of excruciating humiliation, but it was then that a seed within me broke open. My phony image died. My buddies flipped against me at my identity with one word: the Name – JESUS. I realized the same guys, who only days earlier were my party bro’s, now hated me. It had nothing to do with me- but the Name Jesus. John 15:25 became my cornerstone: “THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A REASON…YOU ARE NOT OF THIS WORLD”. Why would anyone reject someone who stands for Jesus? My choice is to forgive and love them: “they know not what they do”. Jesus says if we don’t forgive, we won’t be forgiven. Holding on to the past prevents a future. The human psyche cannot grasp the illogical hatred launched against Jesus, so I was forced to grasp the mentality of Scriptures. Persecution was the very thing that trained me. It was the speed bag. I learned my rhythm in the wind of the Spirit (John 3:8). Like a raven riding the currents, I learned to dance in the transformation that happens by comprehension Jesus is real.
“I don’t write this blog because I got it all together but because I don’t. I am clay molded by the Potter, and I love you, man.”
We are soon heading to the city of Manila in the Philippines. The amount of orphans is mind blowing. I recall that right before the first time we visited here I had surgery that really broke me down. It took me back to that place as a little boy when I, in a sense, discovered the love of the Father. This is what I cherish to give other children who know no father. I was alone. But not alone. It was there I learned the trust in God as the little fight of faith. These days I sometimes whisper to myself, “I don’t really care about the difficulty of my struggles. Seeing others come to Jesus is everything. I have eternal life to give them. What else matters?” A mere budge, a turn, a lift of our eyes to be real with God changes our thoughts to become new. My son Joshua is holding one of the many orphans we touch.
Anyone can become a father, a brother, a friend to others by believing “It’s not about me. It’s about You Father. Your vision. Your plan. Your love ”. Failure lets us see the nothingness of our life without God’s plan. No matter how bad we fail, any movement forward brings us into a destiny awaiting His fight in us. We rise because He is risen. All the negativity you feel inside has long been crucified with Christ- Not counting our sins against us. (Gal.2:20/2 Cor.5:19).
In our little fight we gain the one thing we all secretly long for: that PERSONAL rescue. To hear God call your name. Right now as you read this, take a deep breath. Say nothing. Feel nothing. Believe. He loves YOU as is.
BELOW: Maybe you see me as your enemy, and I can become your friend.
So I’d like to ask anyone hostile to me: “Why choose evil?”. Ya, I know. It’s easy. But not really. It makes life “hell”. I mean, really. If darkness and hatred is negative – choose light. Cynicism breeds death. Love breeds life. Right? Lies are depressing. Truth is edifying. Evil makes no sense. Righteousness increases intelligence. It’s not about me or this web sight or any issue. It’s about you and hurt, pain, and loneliness.
I understand, feelings can be a downer. One moment you’re up, the next you’re in the Pitts. Sometimes you feel like wearing a shirt that says, “Don’t See Me”. In a world of heartless existence, you just want to be alone. A guy told me once, “Every day it seems something else is against me. Sometimes I feel like if I walk too loud it might awaken another problem?”. I get it, man. It’s tough to put yourself “out there” and live.
But you can never find fulfillment in seclusion. Our entire composition is not created to melt away like wax in a candle or exist in a kind of suspended animation, but to know the life-giving force of God’s love. At first you may ask, “How would I get any of that stuff? I’m wicked.” That’s the first step. Honesty. God really is speaking to you to tap your inner fight and begin to dare to find a new combination of thoughts of hope. There’s another identity than the garbage backstory the world hit you with. The Holy Spirit comes to anyone, anywhere, any time. He knows our dirt and took it all on. He can generate a new stream of brain paths so Christ can eventually be born in you. But be real.
Maybe you don’t have anyone who cares or understands you. Maybe everybody looks down on you. I know. It hurts. (Rm.2:14-16/1 Cor.4:5). It’s why the Incarnation was God’s plan: to bring Christ to you. The living Jesus really offers living revelation beyond your primary self. Forgetting about yourself is not a drag. No matter how little faith you can muster, it only takes a “mustard seed” to become more than we are when we began (Mt.17:20/Rm.8:37). None of us can attain, earn, or deserve God’s mercy, but just a little fight of humble will gets you His great reward.
