Final Paper for Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray

Shaloma Gray

     This book was a crucial part of my success with this course.  The first change that took place in me was visualizing my self as a vessel.  I visualized my body in the air, clear, and empty.  Through my body ran this warm orange colored liquid. It ran fast and consistently.  My body stood still while like clock work this fluid went in the same direction.  This vision marked the beginning of my life changing experience. 

     I then developed an understanding of the word vessel.  A vessel is an empty tube that can be filled with any substance.  The substance affects the will, actions, and direction of the vessel.  The vessel can be completely taken over by whatever it contains.  This understanding marked the second change in my life. 

     I recognized what the book meant by displaying the fact that I could no longer live.  The Holy Spirit led me to the question who am I.  Once again, I used vision to see myself floating in the air.  I was filled with the fluid.  I looked at myself and could not give myself a name.  I could not identify with the person in front of me.  I realized that I was nothing without the fluid.  The fluid was living, vibrant, and had much life.  Without the fluid the vessel would perish.  It would sink into nothing and would not exist.  I had to get to know the fluid that lives inside of me.  I had to become one with this fluid.  This led me to my second change. 

     Getting to know the fluid that ran through my vessel was not going to be easy. It appeared that there was something in the way.  I did not know what it was until I realized the voice that came out of my thoughts.  It appeared to be a powerful voice, one with direction, and strength.  It appeared to be all knowing and self fulfilling.  I knew an understanding of this part of the vessel was an important step in getting to touch the fluid that ran throughout me. 

     I used vision to imagine the brain.  The fluid ran through my body starting from the neck down.  It never went to my brain.  This vision was difficult for me.  The Holy Spirit explained to me that my free will is powerful.  It has a direction of its own.  In the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve had the choice to abide in God and eat of the tree of life, or ignore him and eat the fruit of knowledge and evil.  My free will comes from the forbidden tree of knowledge and evil.  God instructed me that one cannot make choices unless he knows what is on the other side.  What is there to choose from if everything I understand is the same?       

     I was extremely moved by this vision.  I could see my free will sitting at the top of my body.  I could see all the choices I made in spite of the fluids that moved through the rest of my body.  When I did things that were wrong the fluid slowed down.  When I abided in the directions of the fluid it flowed fast and consistently.  The only break in the flow was when I attempted to make decisions.  This vision led to the fourth change. 

     The book shouted out the words "Christ is Life!"  I came to the conclusion through a vision that the fluid was the life of my vessel.  It controlled my vessel continuously.  Without the fluid I was uncertain of my existence.  I had no direction only choices.  I had no control over anything. How could I control anything successfully when I cannot make any decisions only choices?  I can say that I choose to go left, but, the enemy could make it impossible for me to get to the left, so I will end up in another direction without any means of control.  This led to my decision to accept Christ as my life.  I desired to give his spirit the right to control everything within my vessel.  My thoughts and feelings would all come from one source.  The fluid that flowed through me would now flow to my brain.  It would extend its power over my free will.  I wanted this to happen with all of my heart; however, 

     I had one more obstacle that stood in my way.  I could not figure it out, so I asked God to help me see it through vision.  I saw myself in mid air and the fluid was flowing throughout my body.  It was going to my brain but, every time it went to the brain a thought would bounce it back down to the level of my eyes.  It would continue to flow up and down.  Whatever this thing was that kept bouncing the fluid away, it was not of my abiding spirit.  It was an intruder.  This thing was an enemy.  I then visualized waves coming from the air into my ears.  Theses waves went to my brain.  I noticed that every time the wave got to my brain it blocked the fluid.  This vision led me to my fifth change. 

     The waves that came from the outside of my vessel were words from Satan and his demons.  They made it an effort to remind me that I was unworthy of Christ.  The words reminded me that I had sin too dark to cover.  I had stains in my life that could not be washed away.  They informed me that God remembers all sins.  They chanted that I was against the word of God.  I could never follow Gods Holy bible completely so I was doomed for hell.  They welcomed me to the world of giving up and given in. 

     The next vision I saw was the intuitive flow pushing the thoughts back up to the brain.  The thoughts would never go away completely, but the fluid would never stay down.  It continued to go up and up.  Then I saw the conclusion of the vision.  My eyes became focused on the fluid within the vessel.  I focused my eyes directly on the fluid.  I meditated and began to hear the flow of the fluid.  The fluid had a voice that was clear and loving.  It spoke words of wisdom, direction, and forgiveness.  This led to my final change from the book by Murray.  I learned that abiding in Christ is not just reading the bible, going to church, and following the directions of the preacher, church group, are my self.  Abiding in Christ means to die and allow Christ to live through me.  It means that I no longer live but the fluid, which stands for Christ lives through me.  I live through and by the power of The Father, His Son, and His Holy Spirit.  Isaiah said it best; Gods spirit is living fire running through my bones.  Amen! 

You can experience exactly what Shaloma has experienced, and live the way she is currently living every day. The following books will teach you step-by-step how to abide in Christ: Sense Your Spirit, The Great Mystery and Naturally Supernatural

These books, as well as Abide In Christ by Andrew Murray, are also part of two distance learning college courses from Christian leadership University: REN204 Naturally Supernatural and REN206 Increasing the Anointing. Committing to this level of discipleship will allow you to fully integrate these principles at the level that Shaloma describes.

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How to Deal Effectively with Your Sexuality eBook

by Six Contributing Authors | 80 Pages

Question: How do I handle my sexuality? It is such an intense, persistent and driving force. I battle with pornography. How do I tame this monster within me? I see so many people and even Christian leaders fall, and I don't want to fall. I want this to work! I feel trapped and no-one is preaching a sermon on how to handle this. So I grit my teeth, try my hardest, and fail over and over again, and then get consumed with shame. Can you help me? Have you found any answers that work?

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How to Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit eBook

How to Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 44 Pages | Published 2002

This brief booklet walks a person through the main obstacles to speaking in tongues, and shows how each one can be successfully overcome. It is down-to-earth, practical and biblical, and in it Mark Virkler shares the struggles he went through before he was able to speak in tongues. Some were theological issues and some simply practical issues, like the fact that if I am going to speak in tongues, I will need to speak. Otherwise, nothing happens.

Price: $2.66
How to Walk by the Spirit eBook

How to Walk by the Spirit eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 136 Pages

Are you like many western Christians who have been taught little about how to sense their spirits? Do you have trouble even defining what spirit sensations feel like within you, much less recognizing them? This training was birthed from Mark’s passion to live out of his spirit, and thus release the anointing of God. The problem he faced was lack of clear biblical definition as to what his spirit felt like. So Mark looked up every verse in the Bible on heart and spirit.

Price: $13.95
Imagine That eBook

Imagine That eBook

by Rev. Jimmy D. Smith | 85 Pages

Beginning sometime around my 72nd year, my imagination really started to wake up again.  I was reading Dialogue with God, by Mark and Patti Virkler, when wheels began to turn.  In the weeks that followed I decided that this was a “do” book, not just a “read to learn” book. I began to do what the book suggested. Somewhere along the line I felt that the Lord gave me permission to experience the freedom of using my imagination to worship Him, to talk to Him, and more importantly to hear from Him.

Price: $7.95

Intimacy With God Through Journaling [Kindle Edition]

by Janet Gilham

It is a joy to celebrate the release of another new ebook of two-way journaling by one of our students, Janet Gilham! It was an honor to write the forward to this book, which contains 28 days of journaling. This makes it ideal to use for a month of your daily devotions. Each journal entry reveals the heart of God toward you and thus brings warmth and healing to our wounded hearts.

Price: $3.99
Intimacy with the Holy Spirit eBook

Intimacy with the Holy Spirit eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 223 Pages

This book leads you in meditating on and journaling about several hundred verses that discuss the Holy Spirit. You will grow in intimacy with the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the anointing within you will increase! You will exclaim as the disciples did on the Emmaus Road: “Did not our heart burn within us…while He opened to us the Scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)! In addition to being led to journal through these verses, you will read numerous two-way journal entries from Mark Virkler, as well as a powerful five-page prayer at the conclusion of the book.

Price: $10.95

Journaling Questions e-booklet

100's of journaling questions arranged in categories

Jumpstart your two-way journaling! People often ask me, do you have good journaling questions I can use in my dialogue with Jesus? The answer is yes! Predicting the date of His return is not going to work out well. So how about hundreds of GREAT two-way journaling questions you can ask the Lord!

Price: $6.95
Lamad Faculty Handbook eBook

Lamad Faculty Handbook eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 78 pages

This book presents lamad (revelation-based learning) standards  for teachers and curriculum writers. Lamad is a Hebrew word found in the Old Testament and it is translated "to teach" or "to learn."  It is a kind of learning that involves the Holy Spirit granting divine revelation to the heart of man. Thus it goes beyond western rationalism as a learning methodology.

Price: $7.96

Meditation: How to Study the Bible in the Presence of God ebook

Click here for Kindle version.

This book is our more academic version of this topic, designed more for the theologian.

Our practical, hands-on, user-friendly version for personal or group use is Hearing God Through Biblical Meditation.

Price: $2.99
Naturally Supernatural eBook

Naturally Supernatural eBook

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 161 Pages

A step-by-step guide on “abiding in Christ” or how to let go and let God live naturally and powerfully out through you. Disarmingly simple. Mind-blowingly powerful.

Price: $14.95

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