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Message of Reconciliation

“…that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them, and he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”
[ 2 Corinthians 5:19]

What is the message of reconciliation?

I don’t think Christians have done a very good job with it.

Trained to Fear

If terrorists hijacked and crashed a passenger plane once every week in America, you would still be 20 times more likely to die in a car accident, but most people would stop flying.

We have been trained to fear.

Truth and Blasphemy

When Jesus was a man, He spoke blasphemy. What He taught contradicted the paradigm of the religious leaders.

When satan tempted Jesus, he used scripture...truth. He was called an angel of light...truth.

When Jesus spoke, it sounded like blasphemy. When satan spoke, it sounded like truth.

The Long Arm of Salvation

A friend of mine, during a discussion about spiritual things, once said that one must be somewhat of a Universalist when approaching faith. I think I agree. Here’s why…

“…that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” [2 Corinthians 5:19-21]

“…and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” [1 John 2:2]

I’m not sure how to put to words what I am thinking about these scriptures, but I’ll try. Jesus didn’t count men’s sins against them. This behavior had nothing to do with whether they accepted Him or not. John explicitly states that Jesus didn’t just die for the sins of believers but for the sins of the whole world. The implications of these passages are profound. They are a direct violation of what nearly every evangelical Christian is taught regarding what is necessary to be forgiven by God. Nothing is required to receive God's forgiveness. I can’t help but think about how good and gracious that makes God look.

Escatological Behavior

Peter said in Acts 2:16-21 that the "last days" began at Pentacost.

No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Since we see here that we are and have been in the "last days" for centuries, we can interpret  Isaiah 2:2-4 correctly.

Now it will come about that In the last days the mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war.

The implications of this verse are astounding. We think that things will get really bad before Jesus returns. This passage contradicts that belief. So we should be contending for a better world despite its current depraved state thus fulfilling Isaiah 60:1. How do we do this? One way is to not do what we've been doing. We must treat people the way Jesus treated them...

...namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. [2 Corinthians 5:19-21]

The Word of God, Christ in Me

Here's 1 Colossians 1:25-27...

"Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit,

so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God,

that is,

the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations,

but has now been manifested to His saints,

to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles,

which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."


…so that I [Paul] might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God.

What is the “word of God” Paul is talking about?

The mystery which has been kept secret until now.

What is the mystery?

Christ in me, the hope of glory.

So how does Paul define the word of God?

It is Christ in me, the hope of glory.

I’m not a Greek scholar, but I know English pretty well. The way this phrase is punctuated implies that I am the hope of [God's] glory. If this text is translated correctly, we’ve been looking at ourselves wrongly for centuries.

Borderline heretical statements aside, Paul clearly implies that the word of God is not a book, but the revealed secret that Christ is already walking the earth…in me.

Ministry of Jesus

I'm bored at work right now, something that is quite common this semester. Therefore I will ramble a bit. I will ramble what is on my mind.

~ It is ironic that prostitutes, thieves, and tax collectors were more at ease around Jesus than religious people. From this I conclude that a ministry that is truly modeled after the ministry of Jesus is one that makes sinners feel at home and the religious people a little more than slightly uncomfortable. A ministry modeled after the ministry of Jesus should also have a wildly successful healing ministry. Hey, I'm just making observations about Jesus. His theology is more than just a little different than the theology of most Chirstians in America, or Western culture for that matter. Healing and other supernatural things were just a normal part of everyday life for Him. Some like to say it was because He was God. Not true! At least not entirely. He was God, but He started the ministry we are to continue. It's a ministry we can carry out because He is God now and He is in us and empowering us with His Spirit. As Jesus  was sent, He sent us. As He is in the world, so are we. It's not complicated really. But our Western mindset has shaped our theology and dissallowed us from experiencing things we cannot explain or understand.

Disease and sin are two sides of the same coin.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases.
~ Psalm 103:2-3

Disease and sin are spoken of as equals in this passage. Sin is to the soul what sickness is to the body. When Jesus died on the cross, He purchased our salvation which includes healing (see Isaiah 53:4-5). There is still a struggle with sin, and there is still a struggle with sickness. Neither one has to be the case. Some say, "If healing is for today, why isn't everyone getting healed?" The proper biblical response would be, "If Jesus has given us a new nature, why do we still sin." The truth is that we don't have to sin if we don't want to because Jesus has made us victorious over sin. The same is true with sickness. We don't have to tolerate it if we don't want to because Jesus purchased our healing. We don't have to be afraid to believe.

The God Who Serves

"Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner." [John 5:19]

This is brilliant. Jesus just gave us a truth here that opens the door to so much needed revelation in the world today. Jesus only did what He saw Father doing. If Jesus did it, Father did it first. If Jesus did not do it, it was because God did not. Thus Jesus is the perfect, unadulterated display of God’s nature. If you want to know something about the Father, look at Jesus.

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." [Mark 10:45]

How is God’s nature revealed in this passage? Jesus did not come to be served. What does this say about the Father? Jesus did come to serve and give His life as a ransom. What does this say about the Father? This is one of those “Selah” passages. If you just sit there and think about what God the Father actually did, it will revolutionize your life. God Himself came to serve humanity and give Himself as a ransom for us. He did this though we are dust. This will take me more than a lifetime to grasp. If this is not enough to wreck you, read the following passage.

"So when He had washed their feet, and taken His garments and reclined at the table again, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.”
[John 13:12-17]

So we have established that Jesus did only what He saw the Father doing. Imagine Jesus getting onto His knees and washing your feet. Now imagine God Himself getting on His knees to wash your feet. Jesus only washed their feet because He saw the Father doing it. I hope the disciples appreciate what they got to experience. I appreciate the Holy Spirit putting this in scripture. What does this mean for me?

"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children..." [Ephesians 5:1]

God has given us the same responsibility to do what Jesus did. Jesus imitated God. Jesus was a perfect reflection of God’s nature. God would not put an exhortation in scripture without giving us the grace to act on it. Therefore we have been enabled by God to imitate God in the same manner Jesus did. We must do what we see the Father doing. So what is God doing? I do not have a comprehensive answer. What I do know is this: Jesus perfectly displayed the Father’s nature. So we look at Jesus. How did He relate to people? How did He relate to the world? As I read the scriptures, I cannot help but notice that the heathen were attracted to Him and most of the religious leaders were enraged by Him. My point is not that we should enrage religious leaders purposely but that there should be something about us that makes the world come alive when we enter the scene.

When Jesus came to serve humanity, He not only revealed God’s nature, but He also revealed the nature of life as a citizen of His Kingdom. What does being a citizen of His Kingdom mean for us? It means we imitate God’s nature, to serve humanity.

Kindness

It's the depth of God's kindness that leads to repentance [changing the way we think], not the depth of His wrath. God's wrath would only confirm the way most people think.

He is...

In scripture, there are numerous names assigned to God. He is Father, Provider, Healer, Peace, Banner, Sanctifier, Captain, Present, Shepherd, Righteousness, King, Mighty, and Love. Conspicuously absent from this list is Punisher. I don't think that was a mistake.

the Author

Imagine you have a lover you have never met. All you know of your lover is his letters. Imagine that while you have never met him face to face, he is always near. Further still, imagine you are content knowing him only through his letters. You don't know what his voice sounds like, what he smells like, the expression on his face, or the beating of his heart in the midst of his embrace. Still you are content with only his letters.

Can you really say you love Him?

God's Thrill

Thanks to facebook, I don't blog much. I usually try not to post the same things at both venues, I think I'll try to post here whatever I post on facebook with a few additional things. Here's one from facebook (with a few differences):

I was at a concert recently and the orchestra played a song that I loved. They played an arrangment of Star of County Down. I love the rhythm and melody of Celtic string pieces and especially this particular arrangment. After hearing it, I had a thought. Think of a song that generates an emotional response in you - something that, when you close your eyes, you feel like you could be flying, driving really fast, watching a sunset over the mountains, wrestling a bear, riding a horse through the prairie, etc. One example that comes to my mind is the Pirates of the Caribbean film score. The emotion that song (whatever it is) generates doesn't come close to the emotional response God feels when He hears your voice or hears the mention of your name. He loves you that much.

Bless

Run! Run like the wind. Release the glory within - the glory from the Divine. They are running toward you - longing for life. Release the life from within – the life from the Divine. The Father of creation has made you His sons. Let Him love them through you. Let Him bless. Let Him grant life to the dead and healing to the broken. Let Him dream. Let His dreams come true. You are the ones He chose. His dreams are coming true. Their fulfillment is you.

What Kind of Person

I recently heard someone complaining about President Obama. He was complaining about the fact that he's been keeping company with some rather totalitarian people lately. He said, "You can know who a person is by the company they keep."

After he said that, the first person that came to my mind was Jesus.

Move Mountains

I was singing the song "Mighty to Save" yesterday. As I sang the line "Savior, He can move mountains...", I thought to myself, "Jesus said we can move the mountains."

Why do we expect to sit around and let Jesus to do what He said we could do?

Forgiving Power

If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained. [John 20:23]

I think this is probably one of the most heretical things Jesus ever said. It was one of the last things He said before He “left.” This leads me to believe that it’s very important. If I forgive the sins of any, their sins are forgiven, and if I hold their sin against them, it is counted against them. Imagine the power of me forgiving Osama bin Laden. It is difficult to measure the impact. Think for a moment about the Apostle Paul. Before His encounter with Jesus, he traveled throughout the Middle East and Mediterranean having believers killed.

When they had driven him out of the city, they began stoning him; and the witnesses laid aside their robes at the feet of a young man named Saul. They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" Then falling on his knees, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them!" Having said this, he fell asleep. [Acts 7:58-60]

Stephen was murdered because he worked miracles and preached a message contrary to the established “church” of his time, and Saul was the one overseeing his execution. Just before Jesus died, He said, “Forgive them for they don’t know what they’re doing.” Stephen said essentially the same thing in the hearing of the main accomplice to his murderer. Later, Saul met Jesus, and eventually became Paul, the idol of American Christians…uh…I mean the most well known of the early believers and one of the greatest encouragers of believers throughout the Common Era.

What if Saul’s conversion happened because of the forgiveness of one believer, Stephen? What would happen if Christians, instead of criticizing EVERYONE, went throughout their communities forgiving people?

In the last days...

Now it will come about that in the last days the Mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths." For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war. [Isaiah 2:2-4]

I think a Jesus-centered eschatology is one that makes His people take responsibility for the state of society. As long as there is pain, poverty, famine, and war, we have work to do. The only way to make disciples OF all nations [rather than IN all nations], is to get them saved. Not saved in the dogmatic Christian make-them-look-just-like-us sense but in the biblical sense. Saved in the New Testament is the Greek word “sozo” which means “to be made whole.” It is also translated, at times, as “cured” or “made well.” Many things have happened in the world that have been foretold in scripture. Isaiah 2:2-4 is not one of them. “Look up for you redemption draws near” has become an excuse to let the world go to hell in a hand basket.

I’ll use San Francisco as an example. The city is a hot bed for sin. Many Christians see it and say to themselves, “It’s just a sign of the times.” They’re just waiting around till it falls into the ocean. We so easily forget that where sin abounds, grace even more abounds. This makes me think that places like San Francisco, Hollywood, and New Orleans are some of God’s favorite places. I think we have been imitating Jonah too much. I think we need to start imitating Jesus and exit our steepled cemeteries and run into the mud pits and rescued God’s most treasured gems. If San Francisco does go under or New York does get blown up, I would rather die there with sinners, sharing God’s burning love for them, than be in an isolated group of “Christians” in cave somewhere crippled by my fears and demonically inspired eschatology.

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. Do not judge and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon and you will be pardoned. [Luke 6:35-37]

If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained. [John 20:23]

What a profound power we have been given – to forgive sins. If we are guilty of anything, let it be that we are too nice to sinners. Let it be that we forgive people that don’t even believe in Jesus. Let it be that we flock to the most sinful places on earth simply because God’s grace abounds there. Let it be that we run to the most economically distressed places because we have the resources of Heaven at our disposal. Let it be that we move to the most dangerous places on earth because we have the Prince of Peace in us. Let it be that we are friends to murderers, child molesters, prostitutes, politicians, dictators, terrorists, widows, orphans, lepers, homosexuals, porn stars, fallen leaders, adulterers, Buddhists, Satanists, Hindus, televangelists, and communists. Let us be guilty of being unrepentant and radical lovers of sinful people…just like Jesus was.

If the world is in bad shape let us be the ones willing to “sozo” it.

Dangerous Thoughts

I'm normally in bed by now, but I can't sleep so I'll share some thoughts.

I think it's very ironic that the ones who found Jesus most offensive were the religious folks, the scribes, pharisees, and saducees. The ones who found Him most appealing were the sinners.1 John 4:17 says, "As He [Jesus] is, so are we in this world." That implies to me that the life of a child of God should be strikingly similar to the ministry of Jesus. I'll let the implication speak for itself.

Jesus was also known for making very bold statements. Sometimes they were implicit in His actions. Forgiving sins is a great example. The pharisees couldn't stand the fact that He went around fogiving peoples' sins as if He was God. If that isn't enough, He then says that His disciples [of which I am one] have that same authority in John 20:23. Another example is when He said one must eat His flesh and drink His blood to have eternal life in John 6:53. This is a direct violation of Old Testament scripture [which is the only "bible" Jesus had]. According to the standards of His day, He is a heretic.

Here's another thought. In the parable of the lost sheep in Luke 15:4-7, Jesus expressed that "there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." He very clearly implied here that the "normal" Christian needs no repentance. That is a direct violation of the way most Christians think.

Here's a final thought. Can I legally say that I am the way, the truth, and the light? Your first reaction is probably that this statement is disgustingly prideful. How can I say such blesphemy? I think to say such a thing is to place great emphasis on what Jesus has done and Who He is in me. I certainly can't say such a thing of my own initiative, but I died. Christ is the One living through me. Christ is being formed within me. As He is, so am I in the world. If He said that to accept Him is to accept the Father, isn't the same true for me if I've died and Christ has taken over. Jesus was known for making bold statements that offended the religious right of His day. I don't think our goal should ever be to offend, but I think offending the rigid religious mindset is a natural effect of true Kingdom pursuit. My main point is that we must understand what it really means to have Christ, the Hope of glory, in us. I'm still learning. As He is, so are we in this world.

Here a final final thought. I believe there is no one but Jesus who could have paid the price for our atonement, but because of what He did, what He's doing, and in whom He's living, everything else He said and did [and is saying and doing] is fair game including John 14:6 and especially John 14:12 and John 20:23.

Midnight Rant

It's almost 1:00 A.M. I'm waiting up for my wife. I had a busy fun day. Now I'm just going to listen to music and type my thoughts. They may make sense or they may not.

I heard someone say last week that the state of the world can be blamed entirely on Christians. I agree, even though that includes me. We have the resources of Heaven in us, at our fingertips, but we'd rather take control of our faith from the Holy Spirit and turn it into a religion and focus on our doctrine. We so easily forget that Jesus is the one living through us. If we were walking in the power and love that Jesus walked in, no one would need health care. They would have us, or rather, Jesus in us, our Healer. Instead we create a cessationist faithless doctrine to justify our fear, and the only people willing to answer the cry of society are Chicago politicians whose policies are akin to Nazism. God bless our president. He is a blessing. He is trying to solve the worlds problems. His solutions will only create more problems, but no one else is doing anything.

That is a little depressing, I'll change the subject.

The world won't have to wait much longer. Radical lovers of Jesus are coming out of their closets and into the battlefield of society. They're not the religious. They are the cold AND the hot. The lukewarm will be their most harsh persecutors. Religion is always the most vicious enemy of God's people. There will be a revolution in the church. Doctrine is not enough. It doesn't teach you how to enjoy God. Nothing does. You just do it. There is no doctrine that will teach you how to seek God. You just do it. There is no doctrine that will teach you how to prophesy. You just get up on Daddy's lap and ask Him if there's anything He wants to say to those around us. It is His Heart. He wants us to know His Heart. He wants the world to know His Heart. He's not mad. He is crazy about humanity. We are His most precious creation. He made us in His image. Just like a parent who holds his/her child for the first time, He looks at us and tears begin to fall from His eyes. This is it. This is where His joy originates. He loves us this much. He loves us more. Our traditions and our doctrines seem so meaningless when the Father is looking into your eyes and feeling a pleasure that no human could ever imagine. Imagine the pleasure it takes to please God. That is a BIG pleasure. That is what He feels when He looks at humanity. That's how He feels when He looks at me.

Look Like a Fool

I was working at a camp last week, and as we were hiking, a couple of the campers behind me were talking. One of them said to the other enthusiastically, "I hope we get to play volleyball." The other replied, "Not me, I suck at volleyball." I immediately thought to myself, "I doubt he doesn't want to play. He just doesn't want to look silly in front of his friends." How unfortunate it is that we live in a society wherein we are are taught, for fear of looking foolish, to avoid what we're not good at. What is even more unfortunate is that this is even more pervasive in Christian culture. Sometimes I'm so overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for who God is I just gotta let it out. Heaven help me if I refrain because I would look like a fool, or even worse...a child. There are countless times I have refrained from praying for a sick or lame person because it would look weird or telling a random stranger how amazing they are in God's eyes. What a travesty! If all of us could just get over it, the world would be a much different place.

Sugarcoating Good News

How can you sugarcoat the Gospel? It's already so sweet!

"God's not mad at you. In fact, He's crazy about you!"

How do you sugarcoat that?

Bearing Fruit Out of Season

Seeing at a distance a fig tree in leaf, He went to see if perhaps He would find anything on it; and when He came to it, He found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. He said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again!” And His disciples were listening.
[Mark 11:13-14]

Jesus cursed the tree because it was bearing no fruit outside of season. Bearing fruit out of season is expected in the Kingdom. We have a clear mandate to call things that are not as though they were. We live in Heaven and on earth. We are citizens of an unseen realm. Bearing fruit means taking that which is in us, the Kingdom of Heaven, and making it a reality here on earth. We are called to take the invisible and demonstrate it visibly, to bear fruit out of season.

Miracles and the Importance of Power

He (Jesus) came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” [Matthew 13:54]

I was reading scripture intently recently, and this (preceding) passage caught my eye. I had done word studies on various verses using the word power, particularly 1 Corinthians 4:20 (For the Kingdom of God does not consist in word but in power). This word is translated from dunamis. In my studies, I noticed that dunamis often appears as miracle, miracles, or miraculous throughout the New Testament. I didn’t really study any farther at this point. When I recently read this passage from Matthew, I remembered this finding. So I looked up the words miracle, miracles, and miraculous in the Strong’s Concordance. What I found was quite remarkable. With only two exceptions, every appearance of these words is translated from dunamis. Here they are:

Matthew 7:22, 11:20, 11:21, 11:23, 13:54, 13:58, 14:2 Mark 6:2, 6:5, 6:14, 9:39, Luke 10:13, 19:37, Acts 2:22, 8:13, 19:11, 1 Corinthians 12:10, 12:28, 12:29, 2 Corinthians 12:12, Galatians 3:5, Hebrews 2:4

The Strong’s definition of dunamis is force (literally or figuratively), specifically miraculous power (usually by implication, a miracle itself), ability, abundance, meaning, might, (worker of) miracle(s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work. This is important because the Kingdom of God is important, and it consists in this miraculous power. Any power derived from dunamis could have easily been translated miraculous power or miracles. I’ll let scripture speak for itself:

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. [Matthew 6:33]

For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power. [1 Corinthians 4:20]

Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us. [Ephesians 3:20]

And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power. [1 Corinthians 2:4]

For God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love, power, and a sound mind. [James 4:7]

This gives me permission to make miracles an expectation in my pursuit of God and in the lives of my fellow believers. In fact, I infer that miracles are just as or more important than words (logos), i.e. our message. Our message without power is just a meaningless argument, but power can change a heart regardless of the message.

The "Great News" of the Kingdom

The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
~ Romans 14:17

The Kingdom does not consist of words (doctrine) but in power (miracles)
~ 1 Corinthians 4:20

The Kingdom of God is within you.
~ Luke 17:21

God's Grace

Grace is like getting pulled over for going 100 miles over the speed limit and the cop giving you $1000. The catch is that God is bigger and better than any cop. So instead of giving you $1000, He gives you EVERYTHING He has. Holy crap!

I am:

A king and a priest (Revelation 1:6; 5:10)

A friend of God (John 15:15)

A son of God (Galatians 4:7)

More than a conqueror (Romans 8:37)

Righteous (Romans 5:19)

The righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21

Hidden in Christ (Colossians 3:3)

The dwelling place of the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 6:19)

Free (2 Corinthians 3:17)

Able to do the works that Jesus did and more (John 14:12)

In possession of the same glory as Jesus (John 17:22)

A totally new creature with a brand new nature (2 Corinthians 5:17)

A partaker of God's divine nature (Acts 17:28-29; 2 Peter 1:4)

Matthew 22:1-14

Here is what I consider one of the most fascinating passages in the bible:

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. "And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. "Again he sent out other slaves saying, `Tell those who have been invited, "Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast."' "But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. "But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. "Then he said to his slaves, `The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. `Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.' "Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. "But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, `Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?' And the man was speechless. "Then the king said to the servants, `Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' "For many are called, but few are chosen."

This takes all the pressure off my shoulders.

"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."

- Galatians 2:20

Repentance

"Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?"
~ Romans 2:4

The word repentance is translated from the Greek word metanoia which mean to change the way one thinks. I like to use the phrase paradigm shift.

Here's why I bring this up. I like to quote this scripture when criticizing Christians who try to condemn or scare people into a relationship with Jesus. People don't need to know how crappy they are. People need to know how good God is and how much He loves and desires us. The bigness of God's love and power make our depravity obsolete. Many Christians like to point to mans depravity rather than God's goodness. Knowing how much we need a "paradigm shift" in the way we relate to God and others, I often feel such intense frustration toward Christians. Yesterday, however, this scripture popped into my head, and I had a paradigm shift. I know that those who don't have a relationship with Jesus are one paradigm shift away from becoming radical Jesus lovers, but I realized that the same is true for Christians.

First of all, I'm not perfect, but I do know that much of the way Christians in the West "do" Christianity is simply contradictory to God's nature and scripture. My cynicism is not the answer. His kindness is. From now on, when I hear or see something that is totally opposite of God's nature yet done in His name, I will remember that God's approach does not change. His kindness is the greatest catalyst of change in the way all people think.

Who's Your Guide?

I get a little annoyed when people say that the bible is their guide. I would like to hear them say,

"The Holy Spirit is my guide and the bible is my map."

I think to call the bible your guide is evidence that it is an idol...only evidence, not proof. I don't want to be too cynical.

Here's another pet peeve of mine. We [Western Christians] put clergy on a platform they should not be on. I'll clarify my point more pithily:

The Holy Spirit is your teacher. Your pastor's job is to teach you how to listen.

"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come."
~ John 16:13

The Holy Spirit is our "spirit guide."

God's dreams are bigger and better.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.
~ Isaiah 55:9

Thoughts is translated from the Hebrew word machashabah. This word means plan or purpose. The expanse of space compared to earth is how much bigger and grander God's plans and ideas are for our lives.

But as it is written: "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him."
~ 1 Corinthians 2:9

Some folks would like to make you think that this passage is referring to when you die and go to heaven. Don't let them fool you. There is no mention of such a thing in the chapter. God has unimaginable things for us now and for eternity. Try to think of the very best things that could happen to you and realize that God's dreams for your life are even more lofty. The best thing is we don't have to rely on ourselves to make it happen. We just enjoy Him and let Him do the rest. There will some obedience involved.

Samuel said, "Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams."
~ 1 Samuel 15:22

God [unlike religion] is not interested in squashing our dreams, desires, and creativity (Psalm 37:4). He is interested in taking them, making them bigger and better, putting a whole bunch of stuff into them that we haven't considered, and bringing them into fruition. I believe that God will never ask us to do anything that's not in our hearts to do, but in order to see them come to pass, He will most certainly lead us to do what we are afraid to do. It forces us to trust Him.

"Do you want to know what you are called to do? What do you want to do? What are you afraid of?"
~ Kris Vallotton

Does God Give people Cancer?

If you ever hear someone say that God brings evil upon anyone and refers to Job in there defense, remember this. Satan is the one who did all the "bad stuff" to Job. God said to satan, "He is in YOUR [satans] power." (Job 2:6) Job's perspective was that God did it, but He was mistaken. The author of Job, the Holy Spirit, doesn't really highlight Job's incorrect theology. Job's character is what the Holy Spirit highlights. God doesn't cause bad things. He allows them so that He can demonstrate His infinite kindness through difficulty. God didn't do the "bad stuff." He did, however, give Job more than He had before.

When "bad things" happen, God is, at most, responsible for allowing it, but He is so big, so good, so gracious, and so powerful that when He turns it around, He makes it look as if He did the "bad stuff" when, in fact, He only allowed it - to make you victorious and demonstrate His goodness.
Now when we find ourselves in difficulty, rather than saying God did it, we can think of the Israelites when they were set free from Egypt. God did not lead them through the way of the Philistines for He knew they would turn back. (Exodus 13:17) He sent them through the Wilderness of the Red Sea. God is able to do anything, but He also knows our frame and our ability to yield to the mind games of satan. (I call them mind games because satan has no power. All authority belongs to Jesus.) My point is that God will only allow a trial if He intends to demonstrate His power and goodness through it. So we can rest in knowing He is good and He sees the end result and it is good. God is good!!! I love that sentence.Trials are opportunities for the beauty of God to be seen.

I don't like it when people say God ordains evil. He's perfectly good. I realize that His ways are higher than ours [in terms of how one defines 'good'] (Isaiah 55:9), but there are some things we know are evil, like illness and sin [These two are spoken of as equals in Psalm 103:3]. Here's a question that demonstrates my point: If God "gives" people cancer, then why did Jesus, who is the perfect reflection of the nature of God (John 14:9), heal everyone [in scripture] who came to Him? What is seen in scripture is different from our experience so scripture is the real truth here. God's nature is to heal. (Psalm 103:3) I am no "prosperity gospel" believer, but there is an experience in scripture that contradicts our current experience in many cases. I'm sticking to what I see in scripture. Suffering is a part of the believers life. It brings fruit, blessing, and victory in Jesus, but there is nothing in scripture that equates this suffering with sickness, quite to the contrary.

God is willing that none should perish but all come to repentance (2 Peter 2:9). Some perish and never come to repentance. This tells me that some things that happen are not in God's will, and some things that don't happen are God's will. I'm perfectly satisfied in knowing He's good in everything and He's so big that He'll cause everything demonstrate His goodness even if it wasn't His will (Romans 8:28). While I really like reformed theology [It emphasizes God's bigness and our inability to get to Him], this is why I don't call myself a Calvinist.

Enjoy!

The three previous posts ( Why Settle?, One thing Is Needed, and The Sacred Religious Box) are actually things I wrote sometime last year. I don't remember when. I just found them on my parents' computer. I figured I'd post them here before I deleted them. The most recent one is incomplete.

Why Settle?

Imagine that it's your birthday. You've been given two options. You can either eat at your favorite restaurant or you can eat at your favorite restaurant, go on a shopping spree at your favorite store, visit every continent for a month each, receive a brand new car, receive a brand new house, and receive a pay raise at work. Which would you choose? It seems obvious.

Unfortunately, most Christians choose the first option. Here's what I mean. The Bible is filled to the brim with promises, guarantees, and precedents for a life far more adventurous than even a job chasing tornadoes. Jesus said that every thing He did we can do. If this is not enough to rock your world, He then said even greater works will we do. Paul said that if the glory of the old covenant under which Moses had to put a veil over his face, how much more glory is available under the new covenant. Moses wasn't even saved [according to traditional evangelical theology] yet he talked to God face to face as a man talks to his friend.

Jesus told us to make disciples of all nations and preach the gospel to every creature.

One Thing Is Needed

And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me." And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her." (Luke 10:39-42)

One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple. (Psalm 27:4)

Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. (Matthew 22:37-38)

"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' (Matthew 7:21-24)

Living for God is very simple. There is only one thing to concern ourselves with. There is only one thing God wants. Living for God means only one thing, nothing more. Living for God consists of cultivating an appetite that drives us. This appetite must drive us. This appetite must consume us. This appetite must find satisfaction in only one thing, God Himself. Mary only wanted to sit at Jesus' feet, listening to His voice. David only desired to gaze upon the beautiful face of the Lord. Jesus did not care about doing the works. Jesus wanted to know. We simply desire to know Him. He simply wants us to let Him in to commune with us. We are His pleasure. We are His Bride.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. (Revelation 3:20)

Jesus was not talking to unbelievers when He said this. He was talking to the Church. I'm tired of churches locking God out of the services because He will disrupt our routine.

The Sacred Religious Box

In the scriptures, there are at least three instances when people whose lives where tranformed by the power of Christ were actually feared because of what their testimonies meant to the status quo, the religious box. The first instance is the demon-possessed man in the country of the Gadarenes (Luke 8:26-39). This man in whom was a legion of demons was delivered by the power of Christ. Prior to Jesus casting "Legion" out of this man, there is no mention of any complaint from anyone in the region about this man. But after his deliverance, fear gripped the people.

Then the whole multitude of the surrounding region of the Gadarenes asked Him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. (Luke 8:37)

Why were they afraid? Were they afraid that this man would now live a normal life? I hardly think so. They would have asked the delivered man to leave. They asked Jesus to leave because He disrupted their comfort zones. They were used to the way things were, and when Jesus came along, He caused comotion. They did not care that an opressed man was just set free. All they knew was that something unusual just happened, and they were afraid of the One who caused it, so they kindly asked Him to leave.

Compared to the following examples, the man of the Garadrenes hardly qualifies as an example of a sacred religious box. The next person is the blind man whom Jesus healed by anointing his eyes with spit and dirt. Immediately after Jesus healed him, the pharisees questioned him.
　
They brought him who formerly was blind to the Pharisees. Now it was a Sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also asked him again how he had received his sight. He said to them, "He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees said, "This Man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." Others said, "How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?" And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, "What do you say about Him because He opened your eyes?" He said, "He is a prophet." But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and received his sight, until they called the parents of him who had received his sight. And they asked them, saying, "Is this your son, who you say was born blind? How then does he now see?" His parents answered them and said, "We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind; but by what means he now sees we do not know, or who opened his eyes we do not know. He is of age; ask him. He will speak for himself." His parents said these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had agreed already that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he would be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, "He is of age; ask him." So they again called the man who was blind, and said to him, "Give God the glory! We know that this Man is a sinner." He answered and said, "Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see." Then they said to him again, "What did He do to you? How did He open your eyes?" He answered them, "I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?" Then they reviled him and said, "You are His disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from." The man answered and said to them, "Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! Now we know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is a worshiper of God and does His will, He hears him. Since the world began it has been unheard of that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this Man were not from God, He could do nothing." They answered and said to him, "You were completely born in sins, and are you teaching us?" And they cast him out. (John 9:13-34)

The third person, surprisingly, is Lazarus. His testimony of being raised from the dead caused many of the Jews to believe in Jesus. This infuriated the Jewish clergy.

Now a great many of the Jews knew that He [Jesus] was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also, because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus. (John 12:9-11)

All of this pales in comparison to the way Jesus infuriated the religious by violating their sacred religious boxes. All throughout the gospels, the pharisees and the saducees are devising how to get rid of Jesus before it's too late. In John is a clear look at what motivated their hatred for Jesus' outrageous behavior.

Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation." (John 11:47-48)

No clever title for this one...

Righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). Ah! This is His Kingdom. It's so blissful. And I'm in it. It's in me. It's everywhere I go. It overwhelms be. I live in this reality.

I've been a little conflicted lately. I am so utterly frustrated with Western Christianity. It's so utterly fruitless. They walk around under the bondage of their religion and fear - their selfrighteous self-abasement (see Colossians 2:18). It makes me sick.

Time to go to work now. More on this later...maybe. Frustration is not from God so I really shouldn't dwell on it.

Saint

"I'm a sinner saved by grace."

I hate that phrase. I was a sinner. Now I'm a saint because of His Grace.

To call yourself a sinner is to look at yourself and what you've done. To call yourself a saint is to see Him and what He did.

Mystic

mysticism ~ belief in or experience of a reality beyond normal human understanding or experience, the use of prayer and meditation in an attempt to achieve direct intuitive experience of the divine

mystic ~ one who practices or believes in mysticism or a given form of mysticism

When I hear the word mystic, I usually conjure up occultic images in my head. Based on these definitions, most believers should fall into the category of mystics. I'm in.

Dear Mr. Religious Man

What you are about to read did not originate from me. It originated from God.

"Seek first the Kingdom of God..."
~ Jesus (Matthew 6:33)

For the kingdom of God does not consist in logos but in dunamis.
~ 1 Corinthians 4:20

logos ~
a word, embodies a conception or idea what someone has said, doctrine, teaching, anything reported in speech

dunamis ~
strength, power, ability, inherent power, power residing in a thing by virtue of its nature, or which a person or thing exerts and puts forth, power for performing miracles

"Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine dunamis has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust."
~ 2 Peter 1:2-4

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the dunamis that works within us..."
~ Ephesians 3:20

Sincerley and somewhat frustrated by you,
j-mart

The Father's Love

Before we love Him, He must love us. We love Him because He first loved us. Before you pour out your praises, bask in His presence and hear Him tell you how wonderful you are in His eyes.

More on the Nature of God

I've heard it said that the first book one should read when reading the bible is John. I think this is a great idea. I think most "Christians" should re-read it!

A few days ago, I wrote about God becoming a human to serve humanity. This is something I've really been meditating on over the past few days. To say that serving humanity is God's nature seems so incredibly sacrilegious and even heretical, but I'm sticking to it.

Therefore Jesus answered and was saying to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.
~ John 5:19

First of all, Jesus admitted that he could do nothing of his own power. From this passage, I believe Jesus was fully God and sinless, but did not draw from his divinity to do miracles and forgive sins. This is profound, but it is another topic for another time. Jesus said that he only did what he saw Daddy doing. Now imagine being with Jesus when he washed the disciples' feet. He only did that because the God of the universe was doing it. Wow! That really changes our perception of the Father. He's a King getting on His knees to wash the feet of His royal subjects. What a humble King! When Paul instructed to imitate God [Ephesians 5:1], he wasn't telling us to sit on a chair and command everyone to bow down and tell us how great we are. This is how we often view our Daddy.

Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, `Show us the Father'?
~ John 14:9

Here Jesus claims that if you've seen him, you've seen the Father. So now we have Jesus only doing what he sees Daddy doing and seeing Jesus is seeing God. Watching Jesus will show you untold volumes of the nature of God. For me, this is life changing...and theology-shattering.

"Jesus is perfect theology."
~ Bill Johnson

This is my political statement.

God is crazy in love with every woman who has had an abortion. He sees their pain and their brokenness and desperately wants to be let into their hearts to heal their shame.

God adores homosexuals. He is running after them without any hesitation. He is not homophobic.

God cherishes illegal immigrants. He knows the rejection they feel and the desperation that drives them. His arms are wide open to give them provision, acceptance, and freedom.

God's love is burning vehemently for every terrorist. He want's His kids back. He want's them to take a seat on Daddy's lap.

If we are to express Daddy's heart to the world, if we are to be Jesus to the unbelieving, we need to know just how intense His love really is.

My Identity

I am a king and a priest to God. Not only that - I'm His son. I know this is true because it's in scripture but I have a hard time wrapping my head around it. It's boggling my mind. I am a king. I am a priest. I am the offspring of the Creator and King of the universe. He's my Daddy. Whoa!

Liberating Theology

The Creator of the universe is so in love with humanity that He became a human and conquered every obstacle that stood in our way of a relationship with Him. Contrary to what most "Christians" think, He didn't do this so we could serve Him better. A father doesn't play candy land with his three-year-old so that child can serve him better. He just wants to connect with his child. God lowered himself to our level to have a relationship, not to have a slave to tell Him how good He is all the time.

Jesus said that if you've seen Him, you've seen the Father. Jesus is the perfect representation of the nature of the Father. Jesus said that He didn't come to be served, but to serve. That means that the Creator of everything came to serve humanity, you, me. That's His nature. He's crazy about humanity. When you realize how much God cherishes us, it's hard to not tell Him how good He is... all the time!

The Word

If knowing the Word of God and knowing this book [the Bible] were synonymous, the Pharisees would have rocked.


- Kris Vallatton

Paradox No. 1

The Pharisees studied scripture more than anyone of their time yet they were the only ones who didn't recognize Jesus for who he was.

Joy

Today has been a strange day. I don't think I've ever been in a better mood. The joy of the Father is so good. I keep thinking to myself, "I am a saint." I didn't have to do anything to be one. I just am one. Jesus just gave me His credentials. Wow. That is so cool. I don't have to please Him [the Father]. He's already pleased with me. I get to simply live in His pleasure. His joy is amazing. I can't really explain it. It's just good...really really good! I don't want it to stop.

Healing

Two weeks ago today, I was with friends praying and having a great time in the Spirit. One of the men had gout. He had not had it very long, but it was causing him a lot of pain. He was also having a lot of pain in his right shoulder. Several of us gathered around him and began to pray, releasing the Kingdom into his foot. Almost instantly the pain in his shoulder disappeared. He was thrilled. We all were. God is so good. We weren't finished. He was not experiencing any breakthrough with his foot. A few minutes later, we stopped praying. Nothing happened with his foot, but we were pretty excited about his shoulder being instantly healed. We continued to have a great time in fellowship with each other and God.

One week ago today, we were all together again having a great time with God, and this man had a great testimony of how God healed his foot. The Tuesday after we were all together, he was hanging out with a friend. Suddenly, he felt a burning in his foot. He knew in that moment that God healed him. There has been no sign of gout since then.

I don't know if our prayers were the reason his foot was healed, but I do know that God did an awesome thing. The healing of his shoulder is equally as amazing. God is amazing!

God is always doing great things. He is always at work. People are always getting saved, healed, encouraged, etc. No follower of Jesus will deny it. I think God wants to do even more, but He is waiting for us to cooperate with Him. I believe it is God's will to heal far more often than we believe. Frankly, I think it is always God's will to heal, but I recognize that many Christians would not agree with this view. My point is that God never said, "If I want someone to be healed, I'll do it. Just don't get people's hopes up." Sometimes we live as if this is what He said. What Jesus did say is this: "These are the signs that will follow those who believe, in My name...they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." I don't know about you, but I believe Jesus. We have no reason to fear laying our hands on people and praying for their healing. It's one of the marks of a believer.

God is so good and does awesome things. He wants to do even more awesome things through His kids (This is certainly not limited to healing). Hopefully this stirs your faith a bit. It stirs mine.

Carpenter!?

Here is a problem with Christians. We still see Jesus as a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth. He quit that job. He's the King of kings now.

Don't beat them. Join them!

I was in an Environmental Economics class where the professor was talking about climate change and instituting a international regulatory entity to solve this problem. Whether or not climate change is a real risk is not the issue. The people running the world believe in it, and they are using it to promote a one-world government.

Kingdom-minded people should not be wallowing in despair and fear. Does a globalized government mean losing freedom? Well...yeah...as long as we just sit around and complain about it. I propose that being a citizen of another world, we have nothing to fear. Beyond that, we should stop groaning and take responsibility for where the world is headed. If we cannot stop it, join it. In other words, we can allow the Holy Spirit to give us favor and place us in positions of influence within the system. If there will someday be a one-world government, I want righteous, Spirit-filled folks running the show. That's us. That's our job. We need to pursue excellence in business, law, government, economics, education, etc. These arenas need the Kingdom. Let's stop holding protest signs and panicking and partner with the nations. God has given them to us to steward. We have their Desire, Jesus. Let's answer the questions they're asking so they can eventually ask questions that will lead them to Jesus.

When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice; But when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
- Proverbs 29:2

Rhema

Paul wrote to Timothy (in 1 Timothy 1) to use the prophecies he received to wage the good warfare. By implication, personal prophesies inspired by the Holy Spirit are weapons against the enemy. This is powerful. Paul wrote in Ephesians 6 that the sword of the Spirit is the word of God. He used the Greek word "rhema." It means "utterance." This is distinct from the word "logos" which is commonly translated into "word." These scriptures carry the same implication. What God says about you and to you are lethal weapons of warfare that tear down thoughts that exalts themselves above the knowledge of God. A prophecy that originated from the Spirit of God is like a sword. The scriptures originated from the Spirit of God. They can be a sword. If there is any thought in your head about yourself that contradicts what God has said about you, don't believe it! The enemy is just trying to get your attention from God and onto him or yourself.

Clergy and Laymen

In religion, we've got lay people and the clergy. Is this modeled in the Bible. Of course! The Pharisees were the clergy and the disciples were the lay people. Jesus really pissed the clergy off... just a thought.

Deception Prevention and Spiritual Growth

Is knowing scripture the key to preventing deception? I think not. The pharisees and Sadducee's knew the scripture better than anyone of their time yet they were Jesus' fiercest opponents spiritually and doctrinally. They also may have prayed more than most as well. It seems, according to scripture, the "just read your Bible and pray every day" method to spiritual growth is insufficient.

I honestly don't think either of these should even be the focal point of life. In fact, I think that if spiritual growth is the primary goal of our faith, we've missed the point. Jesus is the focal point of everything. When spiritual growth becomes the focal point, we end up looking at ourselves instead of Christ. When we're looking at ourselves we end up making Jesus look like us. No matter how hard we try to fix ourselves, this causes us to misrepresent Jesus to the world. When we look at Him, we become transformed into His likeness by His righteousness. Looking at Him causes us to see ourselves in His image, the way we were created.

All Kingdom issues are heart issues. Love the Lord with all your heart, mind, body, and soul. This is a heart issue. You can't make yourself love Him. He can't make you love Him. You can, however, let Him woo you to His heart. Let His kindness lead you to repentance. Let Him love you. Let Him manifest Himself to you. Let Him court you. He's your Father. He's you're Lover. Life is not about spiritual growth. It's about God loving us then us loving Him. This is a heart issue. It's not about getting it right. It's about Jesus. He already got it right. I didn't have to think about growing. It just happened because I was born. We don't have to think about growth, it just happens because we were born into the Kingdom. When we look into His face, we become transformed from glory to glory. There's no 5 step program to spiritual freedom or 12 keys to spiritual success. It's just Jesus. When we look at Him We become like Him. When we look like Him, the world can see who He is because they can see us, and He's in us shining forth.

What happens when we notice carnal or demonic stuff within us? Nothing! Well...sort of. Keep looking at Him. Don't try to fix yourself. That's His job. He's the only one who can do it. You can't. Thank Him that he bore it on the cross and you are not a slave to sin. It's His kindness that leads to repentance. When we look at Him, we realize that what we were seeing died and Jesus took over.

If we're looking at the Father and allowing Him to be our obsession, our Lover, our perfect Father, the object of our affection, deception is not a concern. Not because it's impossible but because this intimacy causes us to know His heart and conform to it. Not only does this keep us from deception, but it also keeps us from being swayed by the fear of man and what others say about us. It's not even an issue because we're not looking at us.

Don't ask?!

We non-cessationists tend to pray for sick people to get healed. Sometimes they get healed. Sometimes they don't. Who in the New Testament asked God to heal someone? Jesus didn't. Peter and John didn't. Paul didn't. No one did. They all simply commanded it. Talk about a headscratching paradigm shift.

Got Milk?

Jesus has a bumper sticker saying, "GOT [your name here]?"

Open Heaven

Jesus said the Kingdom is in us. If there is a "closed heaven," it's because we aren't letting it out.

Freedom's Home

Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. The Spirit of the Lord is in me. Not only am I free, but there is freedom dwelling inside of me. Woohoo!

Economic Blabber

When economics is discussed, money is usually what comes to mind for most. For those with more training, things like utility and social cost may enter conversation. Things like equilibria, marginal costs, and opportunity costs are key concepts. As I was pondering economics in general, I realized something. Economics is generally defined as the efficient use and transfer of scarce goods, or the creation of value through trade. I think economics is simply human exchange and response. This may seem obvious to most, but I'm in the mood to write about it.

Economics is human exchange and response. How do humans respond to external forces? How do humans exchange? We give money to the government in the form of taxes. What do we get in return? We have to get something. Perhaps we get laws that enhance other forms of exchange. Perhaps we get the guarantee not to go to jail for tax evasion. Maybe it is because we don't have a choice. I think not. Whatever our reason is for paying taxes, that is what we get in return.

Why would I befriend a particular person, Fred, for example? I'm giving Fred my time. What do I get in return? Maybe he's a real jerk but likes being my friend. He takes my time and energy and gives me nothing but a hard time back. What if I keep being His friend? Obviously he's giving me a hard time back, but that can't possibly be why I'm his friend. I'm not a fool. I must get something back though. I might get the satisfaction of knowing he has a friend in me. There is still exchange.

I think all humans are rational. It's the definition of rationality that is a farce.

St. Valentine

I did a little research on Valentine. I had suspected that he was a great man of faith. I was right.

Valentine was persecuted for telling people about Jesus. He stood trial for blaspheming the pagan gods, Mercury and Jupiter. Not missing a beat, he prayed for the blind daughter of the judge, and she was healed.

The Family

Last weekend, I had the honor to attend a conference by Leif Hetland. Normally, events like this are exciting and crazy, but this time was different. It was exciting, but hardly as crazy as a typical conference.

I got to see a glimpse of where the body of Christ is headed. It's exciting, but it is incredibly weighty. God is about to entrust His people with the things that are most precious to Him. We are really good at not stewarding things properly. God is about to prepare His people to have His heart. Getting from where we are to where He wants us is not going to be the least bit easy.

"Father, cut me open. Thy will be done." This must be the cry of our heart. Church growth, discipleship programs, and neat praise songs are not really that important to God. What He wants is total surrender. That's it. He wants all of us.

One of the greatest lessons to learn is that the Kingdom is a family. We are made in the image of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. "Let us make man in OUR image." There are no superstars in the Kingdom, only fathers and sons. We were made in the image of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit. God Himself is a family unit.

I think from now on, I will refer to the "Church" as the Family.