Cheryl Scanlan is the founder and president of Promised Land Living. She has been involved with coaching and ministry during the last 20 plus years. It is a true honor and joy for her to see people set free while going through the Promised Land Living journey. She is a master certified coach (MCC, CMCC, CPLC, BCC) with 7000 hours of coaching experience and has trained almost 1000 coaches.
Cheryl and I chat about understanding and living the life God intends for us. We talk about her ministry Promised Land Living, the 7-step shift, contending vs. cooperating with God, and 100% responsibility.
5:33: Cheryl begins sharing her faith journey with us and how that intersects with Promised Land Living
Loving God by Chuck Colson
10:32 “I went on a quest to not only understand this way of life that God intended for me in the promised land, but to actually live it and that’s what gave birth to Promised Land Living.”
10:50 Cheryl describes a the 7-step shift, which is foundational to Promised Land Living.
“The 7-step shift is a tool we introduce at the very beginning of the journey. It is a method of repentance. You know, the modern day church, we don’t do a lot of active contrition type work….Repentance is a glorious thing. It actually reflects what God wants for us more than anything is to repent and turn back to Him. And so this is what we are doing through 7-step shift. We are practicing, we are training in righteousness, by making a 180 degree turn away from a behavior, away from a thought, anything that is out of alignment with God, with what God says to be true and life-giving. And by the time you get to the 7th step, as you practice it, you are back on track with God. You’re back in alignment with God.”
7-step shift mechanics are born out of:
“We see God is saying to transform our mind. How? Through taking the thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ and immediately. And if we continue in His Word, which begins the transformation in our mind, we are truly free. The 7-step shift is simply a tool that combines both.”
13:46 “We sacrifice sinful desires for the righteous living and pattern of Christ in our life, one small sanctifying step at a time.”
“It’s a training tool that protects us from letting runaway thoughts turn into runaway trains that lead to train wrecks in our lives.”
16:16 Cheryl begins discussing the contrast of contending with God (desert living) vs. cooperating with God (promised land living).
The model of Promised Land Living is rooted in the book of Galatians. It culminates in Galatians 3:3.
“We contend with God anytime we say that what He did on the cross was not enough and I have to add to Jesus’ death and resurrection to buy my way into Heaven. What were Jesus’ last words on the cross? It is finished. Let’s just think about that word finished for a moment. What was finished? It was the payment for sins. I can’t pay anymore. I can’t pay anymore through my good works. I can’t pay anymore to try to earn my way. He paid it all, so when I start to doubt and I try to earn my way to Heaven through my modern day circumcisions (which is what Paul was getting on Peter about in Galatians) I am on shaky ground….And when I am contending, I am no longer a fruit bearer.”
Hebrews 3:4-6 is also writing about the cooperating model. The model of rest.
18:44 “It is the model that begs us to abide in Christ. And as we abide in Christ we begin to follow these prompts of the Holy Spirit, which in and of itself bears fruit. We don’t bear fruit by our good works. We bear fruit by abiding. As that fruit is born, out of that fruit comes the good works that God prepared in advance for us to do. These are simply a response to the love of Christ working in us, rather than a reaction of trying to earn His love.”
19:38 Cheryl speaks about the meaning of 100% responsibility
“When you’ve been hurt, how do you dare allow yourself to be vulnerable again? But I want to challenge them [Grace Enough listeners], when you allow God’s story to overpower your story, incredible things happen. God taught me through His Word, through prayer, and community how to begin taking responsibility for two things. I’m not talking about taking responsibility for other peoples actions and other peoples junk. I am simply talking about MY thought life and MY behaviors.”
22:13 Cheryl shares a personal example of taking 100% responsibility in her marriage.
25:27 “Even though it feels like we are being so vulnerable by letting God’s story overpower our story and we’re so afraid we are going to be hurt. The reality is when we allow God’s story to overpower our story we become empowered with His authority. We’re actually in a better place, a safer place, a more secure place, a foundation that doesn’t shift, because it is not dependent on the person in front of us whose raising their voice or their hand to us.”
28:37 Cheryl shares how to get involved with Promised Land Living
I don’t typically share my end of show questions in the show notes, but Cheryl’s answer to “If you had opportunity to sit down with your great grandchildren, what is some wisdom you would like to pass on to them?” can not be left out.
Cheryl’s letter to her great-grandchildren:
God’s Word will provide healing for literally anything that ails your soul if you would be willing
to read, study and know God. You don’t have to be afraid of His word. Even should you not
understand, overtime, insight and wisdom will come. The process cannot be rushed nor the
desired outcomes demanded.
Some famous modern-day preachers and pastors are beginning to back away from the Old Testament and the full counsel of God. This is so dangerous! For how can we know the grace you asked me about without understanding the depth of our sin and the magnitude of His holiness? From the beginning of Genesis through to Revelation, those scriptures speak of life
Himself. Jesus. And overtime, they will speak life to your soul. They help you see whatever is
happening in your life in the context of the bigger historical narrative. Your story becomes part of this History. So many of the things we see – cruelty, betrayal, violence for violence sake, are in there! What we are experiencing now is not new. But you will also see how God continues to be faithful, continues to pursue, continues to love, continues to provide a way forward through heaps of rubble all around us and in us and continues to provide a hope that is sure and steadfast – through it all!
My child, you may have to go on many seeking quests for some type of religion or god that suits
your temperament, your culture, your belief system and frankly your fancy and whim, but in all
of your efforts you will find only One Who is seeking after you. The one true Living God, who
unlike every other “religion” known and available to man is the only one that died for you and
now lives to intercede for you. I pray you come to find Him who has already known you and
that you will learn how to live unto Him. He loves you with an everlasting love and will never
stop loving you but will not force His hand with you – it’s your decision. My faith cannot be your
faith. But I want you to know that I have prayed for you even before you were born that you
would know the One who knew you even before you were an idea in your parent’s hearts, you
were already on God’s heart.
No matter the dark shadows that lurk around you or the death you feel in you, Jesus is life and
he brings light to you. Light brings life! Light scares the shadows away. Life overcomes death because of His light. His can overcome any darkness you are experiencing and bring you life. I promise you that, because God promises you that.