Longtime Vineyard pastor Dianne Leman grew up in a strict religious faith that she describes as “Amish with cars.” As a result, by the time she got to college, she wanted nothing to do with God or church.
The truth that transformed her, she says, is the one she continues to share today: that the God of the universe lives in us through the Holy Spirit.
“The surprising secret to true transformation is the secret that Paul revealed in Colossians 1:27: Christ in you,” she tells Dr. Steve Greene on a recent episode of the Greenelines podcast on the Charisma Podcast network. She devotes her new book, Wrecked for God, to sharing lessons of “how I’ve learned to live moment by moment in union with Christ, with Christ inside of me.”
One of those lessons, she says, is that “Jesus has gotten bigger, better and more beautiful than I ever imagined. And at the same time, He’s shown me that I’m actually better and more beautiful than I ever imagined.”
Leman says that back in her religious days, “I used to be more self-focused, or sin-focused or even Satan-focused. Once I got totally wrecked for God, I am now Son-focused or Spirit-focused. It makes a huge difference. Jesus doesn’t like religion.”
“We preach a gospel of grace, which is just as scandalous as it comes, that Jesus has already forgiven your past, your present and your future sins. That’s taken care of. Now, it’s glorious. It’s almost too good to be true. … The only ‘rule’ is that you receive all that He’s done and then His empowering to live as His righteous son or daughter.
So I put the focus on Jesus,” she says. “Sure, we teach people to obviously read the Word and hear what is the best way to live, God’s guidelines for all of life. But our focus is always on His empowering presence.”
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