This site, In Christ Victorious, is and always will be a Christ centered ministry through personal expression and art. My “Christ Confession” explains both my conviction and passion for his message and his sacrifice that made his life so very extraordinary. The enemy Jesus confronted in his day is still the same enemy of anyone who refuses to conform to the denominational or spiritual authorities and their demands of submission and works built upon creeds and confessions. Self righteousness, fear and control are the servants of that enemy and they still serve their master very proficiently. The enemy I speak of was once described as "Die Religion ... ist das Opium des Volkes" or "Religion is the opiate of the masses.”

“Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of a spiritless situation. It is the opium of the people.” K. Marx

Although religion can provide a sanctuary for those who seek shelter from the effects of a cruel and calloused world on the other hand, it is the drug of choice when the sickness you’ve been diagnosed with is “sinner” and torment and hell awaits you when you die. This drug called religion is usually accompanied by such side effects as judgment, hatred , self righteousness and condemnation which is a deadly combination that can only destroy the soul.  Since the time of the cross, orthodoxy has been hijacked by creeds and confessions and the present kingdom of Gods presence within us that Jesus revealed through his teachings, has suffered violently by those still refusing to acknowledge it.  

“The abolition of religion as the illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness. The demand to give up the illusion about its condition is the demand to give up a condition which needs illusions.” K. Marx

Karl Marx may not be the best example I could use but his words here cut to the heart of what I’m trying articulate concerning religion and its grip upon mankind. Jesus came to teach the world a message that in essence was a divine rehabilitation.  Jesus’ purpose was never to replace one system, Judaism, with another system, Christianity, but to teach us how to rise above any system that lessens the human experience. His message was centered upon victory and overcoming the obstacles that make us less than who we are and what we can be. Spiritual beings transcending the human experience through compassion, grace and love.  
    
                                  
“Yea, Though I walk through the Valley……..”

Psa 23:4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Life is full of peaks and valley’s. God promises us that when we experience these moments He will always be with us to comfort and guide us through them. The journey for each individual is unique and costumed to what you are willing to let go of and most importantly, what you are willing to accept through what is being revealed to you along the way.  My life and beliefs were fashioned through all the different doctrines and theology that was programmed into me since I was eight years old. So the older I become the more I realize that some of those valley experiences were actually “religious” experiences as well.

The other day Psalms twenty three verse four came to me and I started thinking, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of ….my formal Baptist experience, my former Church of Christ experience, my former Pentecostal experience, my former Charismatic experience, my former Reformed experience and finally my former eschatological experience called Preterism. It seems these experiences were essential in my Christian journey because I discovered and experienced God uniquely in all of them. They all held bits and pieces of truth for me because they all had Jesus Christ as their main focus.


Now I look back upon those experiences and realize that I progressively died a little through each of them so that I could become more fully alive to God in where I find myself today. Jesus Christ is my personal savior but not in the terms that religion has defined him. I believe Jesus taught the truth about the Kingdom of God that is found living inside us and in discovering this about ourselves, we discover God and how His presence permeates everything and everyone and that all of creation is reconciled in Him alone.

The dynamic of Jesus’ life is that he lived it peaceably but he gave up his life violently to unveil this great secret of Gods eternal Kingdom present in us and he had to transcend his own religious boundaries to do so. He stepped out of the box called Judaism and unlocked the ancient mysteries of God for love’s sake.

Psa 23:3 “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.”

The divine beauty and poetic imagery found in my “journey” and those who search out God beyond religious definitions is that there is a “rod and a staff” that has guided and protected us each step along the way.  That still small voice whispering on a subconscious, spirit level which direction the paths are that would ultimately led me and continues to light my way home. Home meaning back to our creator, our God. And at times along the way, God manifests His love by confirming our steps even while we sleep.

                                                                 
 
A Vision in the Night:

2Cr 6:7 "By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,” (NKJV)

Several years ago my wife had a vision. She has experience several of these visions over the years and they have proven beneficial to the ones who were part of them. This particular vision I’m about to share is very personal because it had to do with me. As we were sleeping, she was awakened in the middle of the night by a presence in our bedroom. She saw standing over me, a man who was wearing a suit of armor. Strangely she was not afraid of this vision and she heard him speaking over me these words,“You are the righteousness of God.” She just fell back to sleep and she shared this vision with me the next morning.

The odd thing is that she usually never remembers her dreams but she didn’t see this vision in a dream but in the moment she briefly was awakened. To be the recipient of such a vision is a little unsettling when you first hear it but there was also a great sense of peace that accommped her words when she spoke of her vision.  Looking back on this incident years later, I can now see and understand a little better of why this moment took place and how God was preparing her for a journey with me that would ease her mind in times of doubt and uncertainty.  

I believe this vision was for her to simply confirm that no matter what the valleys we were about to walk through in search of truth, God was the one who has proclaimed our righteousness and will provide the protection through them. It is our faith that is the power source that connects our “breastplate of righteousness” with God's infinite power and grace.

Psa 103:17 “But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children,”

Finally, wisdom born of all my experiences has shown me there is a divine key that unlocks our full potential. Surrender is a hard thing for the flesh to accept. Truth demands the surrender of ingrained doctrines and beliefs that steals and quashes the spirit into submission. God’s righteousness is that infinite, eternal and unchangeable quality about His character closely related to His ethical holiness. My world is daily being turned upside down and ego is in a constant battle with humility in trying to let go of my religious past. It’s a battle that God desires and has provided for us to win even though I suspect He has already seen us overcoming and victorious. So from my heart and with a humbled spirit, I will write and Illustrate the truths that are presented before me in that moment and have the faith to believe it is God alone that directs my path along the way.

Faith is the key in obtaining Gods trust. I judge no man concerning their faith and the things they believe. Yet I feel faith is better served outside the confines of religious laws and sacraments. Religion is a box that comes in many shapes and sizes. In each of those boxes a piece or truth of God can be found. Yet as human beings made in the image of God we need to disregard any box that limits knowing almighty God beyond its man made structures. Structures based upon fear and control and diminishes the value of any life that submits itself to its unforgiving attitude of self righteousness and piety.

Personally for me, Jesus is the way to a better life because through his message my confession is God and God alone. Man has fashioned gods out of extraordinary men and in the process have spilled innocent blood in trying to make God in man’s image when God has made man in His image. This distinction is of vital importance. Jesus Christ’s message was a life affirming one and he spoke it as others had done both before him and after him as well. Jesus was not a Christian just as Budda was not a Buddhist or Muhammad was a Muslim as so many would naively believe. They, these prophets of God, transcended their culture so that all cultures might benefit from their knowledge that could have only come from God.

It’s a high price to pay as these God warriors discovered but it’s a price that never goes unrewarded in the relationship it opens us with our creator. It is impossible for God to let you down if life is honestly pursued in search of Him. He rewards those who like Pilate are always asking, “What is Truth,” no matter what the cost may be. Jesus and countless others like him have paid that cost with their lives but it was in harmony with the message they proclaimed of a love so great that dying for it was worth the price in bettering the lives of those around you.  

John 15:13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends.”

They understood that to live free one must die not only to self but sometimes literally for others in standing firm in what you believe.  No one is truly confess to be free until they accept these things to be true. Death is not your  enemy because it is part of the life experience.  It’s your choice, learning not to love freely and living abundantly is your true enemy, not religion.  

I am the righteousness of God. You are the righteousness of God. God has placed before you many opportunities to discover what I’m saying is true. He has placed dreams upon your heart, he has made Himself known through others and He has carved out a purpose and destiny by which you can find the own path  that will ultimately lead you home.  

Home to where He resides and home in discovering it was your own heart and spirit all along. Gods own divine comedy where every path was one that he forged the way for you to discover. “Yea, though I walk through the valley “ was always the palms of an almighty God whose hand was with you every step of the way. That’s what I want this site to be about. A light that helps brighten the path of our human experience and leads us to our rest in discovering our spiritual destiny.

In Christ Victorious,



James Robert Kessler
Because of Him Art ministry 2009