Shaw Time

Devotion in Deuteronomy 4

2011-02-02T18:43:00.000-08:00

“See, I have taught you statues and rules, as the Lord my God commanded me, that you should do them in the land that you are entering to take possession of it. Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? And what great nation is there, that has statues and rules so righteous as all this law that I set before you today?” Deuteronomy 4:5-8

“Keep them and do them, for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples…” I am here reminded of the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:24, “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.” Keeping and doing the word of God by faith is a manifestation of godly wisdom. As far as I can tell, it has been from the very “beginning” that God has desired for man to keep His Word. The man who abides in God’s Word will never be shaken.

“For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him?” The people who make the Word of God their dwelling place will be a city set on a hill that will shine forth the light, love, and wisdom of God to a famished and dying world.

But what really? What religion on earth has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is near to us? Among the world’s religions who can dare ask in faith? Who can dare come before the throne of God with boldness? Who can pray anytime and in anyplace? What religion can offer the indwelling of God’s Spirit. There is no other God who saves, who transforms, who loves, who judges in truth and mercy, who comforts the downcast, who cares for the widow, the orphan, the naked, the thirsty, and the hungry. Who is like our GOD?

Devotion in Deuteronomy 3

2011-02-02T18:42:00.000-08:00

“And I commanded Joshua at that time, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings. So will the Lord do to all the kingdoms into which you are crossing. You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.’” Deuteronomy 3:21-22

Throughout the Biblical history of Israel we have many examples of the Lord fighting for His people in a diversity of ways—and may I say, “God does not fight fair.” I think it is generally understood that some of God’s methods have either changed or been put on hold under the glory and grace of the New Covenant. Therefore, we shouldn’t expect to be hearing God tell us to go kill our flesh and blood enemies. But, much like the Children of Israel traveling from Egypt to the promised land, we too (all born again saints) are traveling from a spiritual Egypt to a promised land. Like the Israelites of that time we also have many enemies along the road.

The Word of Lord, “You shall not fear them, for it is the Lord your God who fights for you.” remains just as true and sure now as it did thousands of years ago. We can count on God fighting for us but only as we walk in faith and obedience with him.

Devotion in Deuteronomy 2

2011-02-02T18:36:00.001-08:00

Then the Lord said to me, “You have been traveling around this mountain country long enough. Turn northward and command the people, ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the people of Esau, who live in Seir; and they will be afraid of you. So be very careful. Do not contend with them, for I will not give you any of their land, no, not so much as for the sole of the foot to tread on, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau as a possession…’” Deuteronomy 2:2-5

Though they were not yet born and had done nothing bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of him who calls—she was told, “The older will serve the younger.” As it is written, “Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.” Romans 9:11-13

I am not going to pretend to know what exactly is meant by the statement, “But Esau I hated.” Nevertheless, I will say that I don’t think we should project a worldly and sinful definition upon God’s hatred of Esau. God’s hatred is pure and undefiled and I don’t believe we can pretend to understand the full scope of it (not that we can’t understand it at least in small part).

Despite whatever hatred God had for Esau, the passage I read in Deuteronomy reveals to me that God’s hatred for Esau is very different from our hatred. For He blessed Esau by giving him and his descendents Mount Seir as a possession and by protecting them from war with the Israelites. What these Scriptures reveal to me, is something that I am seeing over and over again in Deuteronomy, is that there is a complex unity or diversity in God. God is both just and merciful, holy and loving. There is not a single attribute in God that could be fully explored for all eternity.

Devotion in Deuteronomy 1

2011-01-31T12:48:00.000-08:00

“The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you, just as he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness, where you have seen how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, all the way that you went until you came to this place. Yet in spite of this word you did not believe the Lord your God, who went before you in the way to seek you out a place to pitch your tents, in fire by night and in the cloud by day, to show you by what way you should go. And The Lord heard your words and was angered, and he swore, ‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers, except Caleb the Son of Jephunneh.” 1:30-36

“And the Lord said to me, ‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’ So I spoke to you, and you would not listen; but you rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country.” 42-43

Two mistakes are listed here that are still repeated today. The first is unbelief in the Word of God. The second is presumption upon the word of God.

Why look for examples anywhere else then in my own life. I cannot count how many times and in how many ways God has been miraculously good to me. Yet despite how many times I have seen his outstretched arm on my behalf I still waver in unbelief. Knowing the short term memory loss of humanity is probably one of the reasons why God is constantly reminding his people to remember, to return, and to repent.

Unbelief in the Word of God is tragic. We often don’t realize how tragic it really is because we tend to only think about it from our point of view. But because God is “invested” in his Word, to not believe is to reject God. Such is the great tragedy. We are shown in these verses that the God whom they rejected was not an evil and angry master but a loving and compassionate Father. Like a weak son carried by his father so Israel was carried tenderly by God despite their sins. The greater the revelation of God the more tragic is our unbelief.

Now the second sin listed in this chapter may be a little more serious than the first. Presumption of this kind is rooted in deception. To presume that God has spoken when he is silent can get you killed.

‘Say to them, Do not go up or fight, for I am not in your midst, lest you be defeated before your enemies.’ I think we make this same kind of assumption in many different ways both in our homes and in our churches. We assume that the manifested presence of God is in our midst when he really isn’t. Perhaps this is why we experience so much tragedy and defeat in both our homes and churches. We prophecy “Peace, Peace,” over people when God hasn’t spoken. We pull scriptures out of context to tickle peoples’ ears and end up leading them into greater and greater deception.

The Sons of God are led by the Spirit of God

2009-10-10T08:05:00.001-07:00

“So then, brothers, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, for if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. Romans 8:12-14

The sons and daughters of God are to be a people led by the Spirit of God. Unlike the broad way of the flesh that leads to destruction, the “narrow way” of the Spirit leads to life-Christ. The way of the Spirit is the way of Jesus. It was how he walked, totally dependent and reliant upon His Father through the Spirit. And if this was how Jesus walked (the unique Son of God), then how much more should we walk in the same way!

When Jesus came to earth the Scriptures are clear that He laid aside His divine nature, humbled Himself by becoming a man, and became totally dependent upon the leading of the awesome Holy Spirit. That same Spirit who was in and upon Christ now lives in us. “Do we not know that we are the sanctuary of the living God and that His Spirit lives in us?” If we believe this truth to be so then why do we allow our carnal desires (the flesh) to lead us and not the Spirit of God? Perhaps it is because we do not believe God to be better then earthly pleasure and treasure. Or maybe we have not yet learned the language of the Spirit and do not know when He is speaking.

I proclaim it loud and clear, “the way of the Spirit is the better way. It is the way that leads to life.”

In part, to be led by the Spirit means to submit ourselves to the revealed Word and Will of God. But it also means something more specific, it means that we learn to discern and identify His compelling, leadings, whispers, voice, and follow. I love my neighbor simply because the love of God has given me love for them, and because His Word commands it. But I may bake my neighbor some banana bread because I feel the Spirit of God wanting to use that as a tool to open up their heart to the gospel. I promise you that if we are listening, the Holy Spirit will be speaking.

“I say then, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh… Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit.” Galatians 5:16, 24-24

Let us walk by the Spirit, follow the Spirit, for our own joy and for the world to see what a son and daughter of God are really supposed to look like. May we imitate Jesus.

Why I Trust the Scriptures

2009-10-06T15:54:00.000-07:00

In speaking with a young man who called himself a Buddhist and claimed to really admire Jesus but not trust the Bible, he asked me why I trust and believe the Bible. My answer was because through the Bible God revealed Jesus to me. I saw Jesus in and through the Bible and in return this Jesus whom I have both seen and experienced has confirmed the Bible as being not just the work of man but the work of God. The promises that are made in the Bible I have come to enjoy and realize in Jesus.

For example, Romans 10:11-13 says this, “Now the Scripture says, ‘No one who believes on Him will be put to shame, for there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, since the same Lord of all is rich to all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Guess what, I called upon Jesus and He answered me, He richly answered me, He saved me. When I saw Him, I believed in Him. When I believed in Him, I saw Him. The Scriptures say that He will richly answer us when we call upon Him and I can testify of this being true in my own life. I am rich with evidence and confirmation that Jesus is for real.

I cannot see how anyone could possibly say that they believe that the Word of God is truth if they have not experienced it to be true. This is why so many people lose faith in the written Word of God when they pick up a book like “Misquoting Jesus” by Bart Ehrman. Firstly, most people are not biblical scholars and so do not have the resources needed to challenge and resist the claims made by people like Ehrman. Secondly, if they have never experienced the claims and promises of the Bible to be for real then they have nothing left to stand on, and I cannot blame them for questioning and rejecting Scripture.

Not until Christians begin to believe what the Bible says, to live as it tells us, and to walk in its supernatural promises will the world have any reason to take the Bible seriously. The reality is that the modern western Church offers no supernatural confirmation. There is no demonstration of the Spirit and power of God. If there was ever a time that we needed “the Lord working with (us) and confirming the word by the accompanying signs,” it is now.

The battle for the Bible does not simply belong to the scribes and scholars but it belongs to the Church. If by sound, rational, and persuasive arguments we manage to show the Bible to be the Word of God but do not live as if it were the Word of God to us then we have still lost the debate. Most people don’t really believe what they cannot see, and if they do not see us living by the Word of God why should they believe us?

Even though Christianity is a historical religion it is also an experientially supernatural religion. We are rooted in history and presently enjoy it by experience. The Bible introduces us to one Jesus but in two different contexts. In the first context we are exposed to a Jesus who claimed to be the Son of God, come down from heaven, born of a virgin, lived as a Jew in a nation under Roman occupation, and He was betrayed, crucified, and raised on the third day to reconcile all who would believe in him to Father God. The second Jesus context that Bible exposes us to is the Jesus of history in present reality as the risen savior able and desiring to save all who would call on His name. From my own testimony, as I was exposed to this Jewish man who lived two thousand years ago, by the grace of God I believed on Him as my risen Savior.

Meditating on the Word

2009-10-06T15:53:00.000-07:00

“Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and he meditates on it day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Psalm 1:2-3

“So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God.” Colossians 3:1-3

Meditation is the art of seeking, pondering, praying, asking, and repeating. By meditating on the Word of God we are setting our minds on what is above. The discipline of the mind is essential for the follower of Jesus. Like every other human faculty the mind must be trained and transformed by submitting itself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. An untrained mind is a playground for all kinds of demonic and fleshly activity while a renewed mind enjoys the peace and prosperity of God.

Through careful and intentional meditation on the Word of God double-mindedness must eventually pack its bags and leave. I believe this is so because godly meditation doesn’t just think or ponder over the Word of God for pondering sake but it ponders for the sake of doing or acting on the Word of God. While biblical meditation is a spiritual discipline whereby the Holy Spirit brings revelation to us it is not a transcendental one. It is practical and ultimately is meant to help change or transform our praxis.

“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:8

I once heard Pastor Kerry Kirkwood say that, “if you know how to worry then you know how to meditate.” By worrying, he means that ones mind is dwelling in a place of turmoil, poverty, death, materialism. But for the mind trained in the Word of God meditation is dwelling on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, morally excellent, and praise-worthy.

Meditating on the things of God is an act of worship. In “dwelling on these things” we are fellowshipping and experiencing God. “And the God of peace will be with you.” Not the God of politics, anxiety, depression, but the God of peace

One Third Agnostic

2009-09-30T21:53:00.000-07:00

Unbelievers are not the only agnostics out there. Plenty of us Christians are agnostic too. We are one third agnostic. We believe in God the Father, certainly in God the Son, but don’t ask us who God the Holy Spirit is because many of us just don’t know.

We are like the Ephesians in Acts 19:2, when asked about the Holy Spirit, we act as if “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” A Holy Who? The reality is, we are unbelieving Christians.

Out of sight, out of mind, is our unspoken Holy Spirit policy. He is nothing more than a seal or stamp of approval given as a gift from Father. We are like teenagers with Ipods in our ears closed for business and out of touch with the world.

If only we knew. If only we understood what a Gift we have been given. That God has come to dwell not just amongst His people but in His people.

Letter Worship

2009-09-30T21:52:00.000-07:00

We really are worshipers of the letter, with a lust for what is purely literal. We have forgotten that the letter kills; it is only the Spirit who gives life. Thus we study and labor over the letter for hours on end with all our commentaries, systematic theologies, concordances, etc. until we have mastered and harnessed the letter into submission. What we should have learned by the leading of the Holy Spirit we were determined to learn by our own strength and intelligence. But not without consequence, for now our new found biblical truth is only information to be stored in the brain, whereas had we learned to wait upon the Holy Spirit and follow His leading, it would have come as revelation bringing transformation to our lives.

Of course commentaries and systematic theologies are not bad—in many ways they are a much needed resource and blessing to the Church. But we must stop with all our studies done in the flesh and learn to fellowship with the Spirit of God. We do not lead the Holy Spirit He leads us.

Obedience to the Spirit

2009-09-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

I have always known this but not with the weight and revelation I know it now. When the Holy Spirit speaks to me what He is saying is of most importance. I now know that obedience to the Spirit of God is the better wine, the greater pleasure. No matter what I am doing, to obey the Holy Spirit will be better—much better—no matter how much it hurts and offends the flesh.

When walking with/in the Spirit of God there is no wasted time.

To be led by the Spirit of God

2009-09-29T13:57:00.000-07:00

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.” Matthew 4:1

Have you ever thought about what it meant for Jesus to be led by the Spirit? Did the Spirit grab his hand and say, “come now, it is time to go into the wilderness”? Was it a series of signs strategically placed by the Spirit that pointed Jesus into the wilderness? Could He have taken Him to a passage of Scripture and given Jesus revelation about going into the desert? Or did Jesus hear an audible voice from heaven saying, “Son go yonder into the wilderness”?

I believe that all those possibilities are possible but inaccurate. Unlike anybody that has ever lived I believe that Jesus understood the art of fellowshipping with the Spirit of God. Jesus learned to hear, and more specifically, to identify the voice of the Holy Spirit no matter how He spoke, when He spoke, where He spoke, or by what means He spoke.

Even in my own life as Father has been teaching me the ways of His Spirit I have discovered that God doesn’t always speak the same way twice. Therefore, the real art of hearing God is the art of discerning or identifying the “still small voice” of His Spirit.

It is important that we understand that the Holy Spirit doesn’t just speak to us concerning Scripture, though He will never speak against or contrary to Scripture, but He will also speak to us and lead us to do things we would/could never do on our own. You may find yourself about to take a left at the stop light and suddenly (A suddenly moment as in Acts 2) the Holy Spirit tells you to continue driving straight. You’re not sure at first why He told you not to turn but in faith you obey only to find out that He was saving you from a car accident or leading you to share the gospel with somebody that needed to hear it at that very moment in time.

I have heard on occasions Christians mocking other Christians for saying they heard from God. Not that I am unaware of the abuses that abound in this area, but what Christians need isn’t ignorance and mocking but teaching on how to rightly and properly discern and obey the Voice of God. Some Christians live as if they hadn’t received the Spirit of God at all but a deaf and dumb spirit much like the idols worshiped by the pagans. For the sake of Christ, we have the Spirit of God Himself living on the inside of us and to act as if no-one is even there is either because no-one is there or because our minds need to be renewed by the Word of God.

You say that you have the word of God, but do you have the voice of God ringing in your ears? When you read your Bible are you simply reading about God or are you hearing God speak to you, convict you, convince you, challenge you, drawing you, sending you? I dare say that many have the Word of God but they have not heard or do not know the Voice of God. That voice that “shatters the cedars of Lebanon, that flashes flames of fire, that shakes the wilderness, and makes the deer give birth. (Psalm 29:5-9)” It is important that you know that the letter kills, but it is the Spirit who gives life.

Man Shall not Live by Bread Alone

2009-09-28T13:49:00.000-07:00

“If you are the son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” But He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:3-4

Have you ever really stopped to think about this and ask for revelation from the Holy Spirit as to what is going on here? Here we have a dialogue between Satan and the 2nd Adam. How Jesus responds should have been how Adam and Eve responded in the Garden when challenged by the Tempter. It should be the way we all respond against demonic opposition. With the Word of God!

“If you are the son of God then tell these stones to become bread.” Could he have done so? Sure, why not! Whether He could or not is not the point though, for Jesus had not gone out into the desert to simply catch some solo time with God, but He went as He was led by the Spirit who proceeds from the Father. His going and fasting was not His own leading but the leading of God. He heard the Word/will of God and obeyed. But it wasn’t the written Word that He was being obedient to by going into the desert, rather, it was the spoken Word of God communicated by the Spirit of God.

He could have turned the stones into bread but He knew that such was not the will of God. He knew it was contrary to His Father’s words for Him. I don’t think the Devil is going to waste time trying to get us to do things that are not contrary to the Word/will of God for our lives. If he comes to challenge us, it will be to challenge those Words or Seeds planted within our hearts. His “has God really said” challenge hasn’t changed since the time of Eden.

“But He answered, ‘it is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”

Where is this written?—Deuteronomy 8:3. Let’s begin in verse one for contexts sake:

“You must carefully follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase, and may enter and take possession of the land the Lord swore to your fathers. Remember that the Lord your God led you the entire journey these 40 years in the wilderness, so that He might humble you and test you to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep His commands. He humbled you by letting you go hungry; then He gave you manna to eat, which you and your fathers had not known, so that you might learn that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.”

Why must they follow every command? So that they might live and increase, and may enter and take possession of the land the Lord swore to them. Because the Word of God had not been followed or kept we see that God allowed them to wander in the desert and even experience hunger. He disciplined them as any good Father would in an effort to teach them that “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” That is the greater food, the finer wine.

Jesus is for us the perfect example of obedience. As He was a keeper of the Word of God we are shown what “living, increasing, and entering” are really all about. He is the perfect doer of God’s word.

Jesus is the most excellent expression of Gods will/word (I don’t separate the Word of God from the Will of God). John 1 says that He was the Word become flesh. Jesus was the word of God becoming tangible to the five senses. He was also the very Word of God—the Living Word. But even as the Living Word, like us He had to learn to hear the words of His Father. As He heard He obeyed, no hypocrisy could be found in Him. In this way too we could say that the Word of God became flesh. It found perfect residence in human flesh.

“But He said, ‘I have food to eat that you don’t know about.’ The disciples said to one another, ‘Could someone have brought Him something to eat?’ ‘My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work,’ Jesus told them.” John 4:32-34

We have a food of which this world does not understand nor is able to see. This food is found in living by every word of God, in doing the will of God. The word of God is our satisfaction, sustenance, life, and fulfillment.

This eternal food is without an expiration date, it will not perish. So let us live by the word/food of God and grow up into maturity, into Jesus Christ.

Do you Really Want God?

2009-09-23T12:25:00.000-07:00

Do you know what its like to be in love with God? Or does such language scare you? To be so in love with God that He has arrested your thoughts, saturated your speech, and directed all your actions? Do you know what its like to wake up with God on your mind and to go to bed with Him in your heart?

Have you ever panted for God? Have you ever hungered and thirsted for God? Have you ever been love sick for God to the point that nothing else matters? Has your soul ever yearned for God? Or is such language contrary to your theology?

When you sinned against God, did you feel like dying because you knew you had just hurt the heart of God? When it felt as if God had withdrawn, as if His presence had departed, did you weep? Did you call upon God like a child drowning in the ocean? Or did you not even notice?

Have you ever tasted and seen that God is good? That He is better than any earthly treasure or pleasure? Have you ever experienced His fullness of Joy and partaken of His eternal pleasures? Have you ever known that love of God that surpasses all understanding? Or are you waiting till you die and get to heaven to know and enjoy God? Are you to busy enjoying the fleeting pleasures of this world that you don’t even know what it means to enjoy the Creator of all pleasure? Shame on you!

Are you anxious and troubled about many things, not knowing the “one thing” which is needed? Dwelling in the presence of the Lord ought to be a present reality, for eternal life begins on earth in the heart. This eternal life is to be lived out and unpacked now, for as Jesus tells us it is the intimate knowing of God. Have you learned to seek after that One thing, that you might gaze, know, and experience the beauty and glory of the Lord?

If under the old covenant Moses asked God to show him His glory why do we not do so every day in the New? Are we that detached from the reality and presence of God that we do not long to see His glory as new born infants longing for milk? If we do not ask for more of God it may be that we have never tasted any of God.

Lovers of God

2009-09-23T12:24:00.001-07:00

Paul ends his list in 2 timothy 3:1-4 with the statement that in the last days men shall be “lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.”

Can we be honest and admit that our love of pleasure-sports, movies, food, etc-makes our love for God look really small. Never in the history of the world has the mass population had at their disposal so much entertainment and pleasure so easily accessible. Many of us in the US of A live like kings—maybe even better.

I want to be a lover of God. I want my love for God to make every other love in my life look like hatred.

Hate Him of Love Him

2009-09-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

You either love Jesus or you hate him. To say anything else proves you have not encountered Him. Everywhere Jesus went they either loved Him or they hated Him. That is why some left everything to follow Him and others brought weapons to arrest and crucify Him.

This fact continues through church history. In the first acts of the Church we see 5000 men being pierced to the heart as the Holy Spirit convicts them when Peter preached Jesus, the crucified and risen messiah. Only a few chapters later we see Stephen being stoned to death for doing the exact same thing Peter did. Was Peter a success and Stephen a failure? Absolutely not! There job was not to save but to preach the gospel and as they did so with boldness, the Holy Spirit was convicting the hearers of their sins. Only two reactions were possible: turn to God in repentance or throw a stone in anger.

“Reaction” as it was then remains the same today. For when Jesus is clearly and rightly preached and Holy Spirit brings illumination we see that people’s reaction to Him really hasn’t changed. Humanity is more consistent then we think.

Why must this be you say? Because the message of Jesus demands our personal attention. By it we are confronted with the claim that we are guilty sinners in need of a savior. Jesus is the Savior and we are the sinners.

Only two legitimate responses: you either admit to being a sinner who needs a savior and thus receive the message of Jesus (the person of Jesus) with joy, or you are enraged by the fact that someone would question your integrity, goodness, or morality and you reject the message (Jesus) in anger.

If you are under the impression that a third response exists that is simply because you are confusing ignorance with honesty. There are only two honest responses, the third is illegitimate. To claim neutrality is what Scripture first refers to as double-mindedness and ultimately as enmity.

Is Discipleship an Option?

2009-09-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

There must be repentance of sins. We cannot expect a person to be saved by simply praying a 50 second prayer with them. We cannot repent for them and repentance cannot happen by means of repetition. Do you see what has happened? We don’t even give the Holy Spirit time to create genuine contrition and then we don’t even let the person repent and believe in Jesus as Lord for themselves. So we take both the place of the Holy Spirit and the place of the lost.

I say this loud and clear, “I do not believe that saving faith in Jesus is mere intellectual assent or agreement with a Conclusion.” It is not less then that but certainly much more. We do not work our way intellectually into God but we are Saved by God. It is not a spiritual education into God but Conversion. Saving faith in Jesus Christ is stirred up within us ONLY by the Spirit of God.

There are teachers, doctrines, and churches that would teach that in order to be saved all one has to do is “believe.” Let me explain. When people say that saving faith/belief in Jesus is of the exact same nature as faith/belief in gravity they are making a categorical mistake.

When we look at the psalms it is more than obvious that the psalmist had genuine belief and faith in God. Different words are used though—Trust/Refuge.

“The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord, their refuge in a time of distress. The Lord helps and delivers them; He will deliver them from the wicked and will save them because they take refuge (trust) in Him.” Psalm 37:40

“Our Fathers trusted in You; they trusted, and You rescued them. They cried to You and were set free; they trusted in You and were not disgraced.” Psalm 22:4-5

Believing in Jesus cannot be whatever we want it to be. I believe thousands of different things about the world but only a few of those beliefs demand commitment and trust. To separate belief and faith from trust, refuge, and commitment is to do a disservice to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Moreover, if saving faith was of the same nature as faith that the sun is hot then the Holy Spirit is not needed.

Theologians that believe this kind of stuff tell me that where the Holy Spirit comes into play is in the opening of our eyes to see that He is the only way to be saved. They are only half right. He opens our eyes to see and then gives us courage to believe or Trust in Jesus. He doesn’t only open our eyes, but He awakens a faith not of this world. A faith that only comes from God and goes to God.

What I feel has happened is that we have churches filled with people who only believe in Jesus from a distance but disbelieve in him from up close. They trust him for the “then and there” but not for the “here and now.” Jesus is not divided. One cannot come to him for salvation now and then only if they feel like it decide to come to Him for discipleship later. There are not two Jesus: Jesus the Lord & Jesus our Salvation. Jesus is our salvation precisely because He is Lord. We come to the Lord Jesus and it is He alone that Saves us.
If faith in Jesus is a trusting in Jesus then commitment and devotion to Jesus come into play. Now we know that we cannot serve to masters, so we either follow Jesus or we follow the world (which as James tells us is enmity with God). To trust Jesus for real means to no longer trust in the spirit of this world. It means to turn away from self, sin, the world, and satan and turn to Jesus. To trust in Jesus is at the same time to repent of our sins.

Let us be done with a painless, comfortable, and cross-less Christianity and become followers of Jesus for real.

“There is no part time service, leave everything and follow me.” Leonard Ravenhill.

The Kingdom of God Both Far & Near

2009-09-16T14:50:00.000-07:00

“Then the scribe said to Him, ‘You are right, Teacher! You have correctly said that He is One, and there is no one else except Him. And to love Him with all your heart, with all your understanding, and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is far more important than all the burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he answered intelligently, He said to him, ‘you are not far from the kingdom of God.’ And no one dared to question Him any longer.” Mark 12:34

“So then, remember that at one time you were Gentiles in the flesh—called ‘the uncircumcised’ by those called ‘the circumcised’ done by hand in the flesh. At that time you were without the Messiah, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, with no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus, you who were far away have been brought near by the blood of the Messiah. ….”(17) “When Christ came, He proclaimed the good news of peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near.” Ephesians 2:11-13, 17

There are people to whom the Kingdom of God is closer than others but whether close or far the only way into the Kingdom is through Jesus. “Unless someone is born again he cannot see/enter the Kingdom of God.”

In the Gospel of Mark we see that it is the “circumcised” who has grown up with an understanding of God’s covenants and Law who is not far from the kingdom. I have experienced this nearness amongst Muslim friends who say they love God and who in many ways are more devout then many Christians. They have a desire to please God and thus find themselves not all that far from the Kingdom of God. Not in but not far—Jesus is the way.

The opposite was true for the Gentiles to whom Paul was writing. These were a people who lived as “foreigners to the covenants of the promise, with no hope and without God in the world.”

If you Love Then you Will Keep

2009-09-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

“The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.” “If anyone loves Me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.” John 14:21,23-24

Through the Word of God the Holy Spirit has broken up the very depths of my heart. Soil that needed plowing has been plowed by means of this passage above. I have read this passage a 100 times but not until Sunday night has it ever arrested me in this way. A light was turned on and truth has been revealed.

For over a year now I have been asking God for greater illumination and revelation of the greatness of His love. Praying according to the example given by the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 3:14-19, that I “may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you (I) may be filled with all the fullness of God.” This prayer is birthed in the revelation that “Love is not that I first loved God but that He first loved me (us).” I love God because He first loved me. His love fans into flame my love. Therefore when I encounter the love of God, when Holy Spirit opens my eyes afresh to the Father’s love, I can’t help to love him more. As I behold the God of Love I become more like love-Himself. And it is in this context, with the love of God in mind that 1st John tells us that the commandments of God are not burdensome (1 John 5:3).

Soon after, I began praying for a greater revelation of the Father’s love I began to ask Holy Spirit to help me become a better hearer and doer of the Word of God. The result of such a prayer is that Holy Spirit took me to John chapters 14-15, and Matthew 7:13-29. What He showed me would take days to unpack but in a nut shell He began to teach me what it really means to Abide in the Vine. I use the word “really” because He didn’t just show me in theory what that means but in practice. I came into the good of that truth not just intellectually but spiritually and physically.

Hearing and doing the Word, Commands, and Law of God is all connected to the love of God. Outside a really big revelation of God’s love (Jesus on the Cross for Me) it is an impossible thing to keep his commandments from the heart—which is the very means by which our love for God is measured. (For my theologically savvy readers, without the Holy Spirit Christianity is simply impossible.)

If when I was a child you would have asked me why I chose to love my parents, or when did I make the decision to love them, I would have not been able to give an answer. To ask when, why, how I chose to love my parents is mere nonsense. My love for them had less to do with me and a lot more to do with them. In the same way that a bullet in motion has more to do with the finger that squeezed it then it has to do with the bullet itself. Love was all I had ever been shown and given, thus my decision to love them was less of a decision and more of a reaction enabled by their loving action.

Consider with me the phrase to “fall in love.” Love is less of something that you choose and more of something you simply find yourself in—fallen into. I did not choose to be in love with my wife I simply found myself in love with her. True, the context and ingredients had to be there for it to happen but I did not just wake up one morning and say “I am going to love Andrea today.” No it was more like, “I’m in love with Andrea today.”

Now, while finding myself in “Love” did not involve the exercise of my will-per say. Staying, remaining, abiding in “Love” certainly does. Like Salvation, we don’t work our way to love but from love.

The two parties, persons in love must both work to keep that love alive. Otherwise, if one works, while the other plays, rests, sleeps and simply does not respond, then disappointment and bitterness soon step in. The whole thing goes sour. This needs to be understood loud and clear: God is the better lover and will always, always out-love us. In James 4:7 the Scriptures tell us to draw near to God and He will draw near to us. As I understand the Scriptures, this drawing near to God happens as we become doers of His Word. God draws near to us, we experience God even in the very doing of His Word.

When we the Body, Bride keep the Words of Christ—work to abide in Love, in Him—we can expect with all confidence that He will show up, that He will reveal Himself in the “here and now” not just the “then and there.” This is not a one way relationship.

“The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”

Have you ever found yourself wanting and waiting to experience more of God? Wondering why you feel as if you have fallen out of love? Perhaps God is waiting on you to respond to what He has already revealed of himself. Perhaps you have drawn away from God by not keeping your end of the deal, not keeping his commandments. The Scriptures say, “to him who knows to do good and doesn’t do it is sin.” While asking God to reveal more of Himself and His love to you don’t sit around just waiting for revelation to fall out of the sky. Get up and keep his commandments for they will be life to your soul and in the very keeping of His Word you will experience Christ.

A Generation That Will Shake the Earth

2009-09-05T18:38:00.000-07:00

“After three days, they found Him in the temple complex sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all those who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. When His parents saw Him, they were astonished, and His mother said to Him, ‘Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.’ ‘Why were you searching for me?’ He asked them. ‘Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house?’ But they did not understand what He said to them. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and with people.” Luke 2:46-52

Powerfully distinctive to Christianity is God’s relation to us a Father. Jesus lived in and understood this truth better than anyone. Everything He did and said He connected to His Father. The Father revealed His heart through His Son.

Through Jesus we have now received adoption. We are now sons and daughters of the Father.

I just know that the generation that will shake the earth is the generation that understands what it means to be Sons and Daughters of God. The generation that lives this reality—hearing and doing only what they have first heard and seen their Father do, is the generation that will shake the very foundations of this earth and usher in the 2nd coming of Jesus.

It is an understanding that goes so much further than mere head knowledge. This reality/revelation changes everything. It changes the way we pray, talk, preach, live, eat and die.

I once heard my brother Dean Davis pray that the Word of God would become flesh in Him. Meaning that the word of God would incarnate him, be perfectly executed through him. When in John 1:1 it says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” the Greek definition for Word (Logos) carries with it both Reason(or thought) and Word(the sound or sign). Logos = Word/Thought. Without giving it much thought we tend to often think of our thoughts and our words as separate realities but for the Greek philosopher they can’t be separated. Thought can’t develop without words and words can’t be articulated without thought. It is these two (or this one thing) that reveals who people are. From the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Thought expresses itself through words, actions etc, and also develops through these. So, our words/thoughts reveal who we are. And it was the Living Incarnate Word of God that revealed the Father. Jesus was and is the revelation of the Father. Should we not also be?

I have often heard my beloved friend Ryan Couch say that what you behold is what you become. As we behold Jesus, the Incarnate Word through the written Word of God we become more and more like Him. Christ becomes formed in us. “No one has ever seen God. The One and Only Son—the One who is at the Father’s side—He has revealed Him. John 1:18” Jesus is the Way (John 14:6) and the Father is the Destination. The Father is our Destiny. John 15 speaks of a double abiding, us abiding in Jesus and Jesus abiding in us and this abiding in Jesus happens when we abide in His words (John 15:7, Matt 7:24). As we abide in His words, in Him, Christ expresses Himself or lives His life through us. In this way the Word of God incarnates us—becomes flesh in us. When people see us they see Jesus and thus see the Father. The Sons always lead back to the Father.

What does it mean for the Word of God to become flesh?

When Jesus came down from heaven by taking on human flesh, He was God living amongst his people. But Jesus came not to testify of Himself, He came to testify of His Father (Father God). “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” It was perfect revelation, God the Son revealing God the Father as God the Holy Spirit Revealed the Son. Revelation, revelation, revelation, what a beautiful relationship!

In Jesus there was no separation between hearing the word and doing the word. There was no division of thought in him, no double-mindedness. He was the most excellent hearer and the most supreme doer. He was the Wise master builder (Thinking of Matt 7:24). It is my conviction that as the Word becomes flesh in us, the manifestation of Christ in us, through us, around us, that hearing and doing the Word join together in beautiful matrimony.

Consider this, in Matt 7:21 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to Me, Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father in heaven.” Just how do we discover the Will of the Father—I dare say through the Word of God. The two cannot be separated. The will of the Father is that we would be hearers and doers of His Word. “As He was saying these things, a woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “The womb that bore You and the one who nursed You are blessed!” He said, ‘Even more, those who hear the word of God and keep it are blessed!’ (Luke 11:27-28)”

Do you remember how when Jesus taught his disciples to pray in this way He taught them, “Our Father in heaven, Your name be honored as holy. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven….” First, he was teaching them to come to God as sons coming to their father. And second he teaches them to pray that His Kingdom come His will be done. The kingdom of God is central in the teachings of Jesus, but how does it come? It comes, manifests itself, when His will is done. Thus when His Word is done, His will is done, and When His will is done, His Kingdom will come, and when His Kingdom Comes, Christ will Come.

I repeat my first conviction, that the generation that comes to understand and live in the reality of God as Father and they as Sons and Daughters will be the generation that shakes the earth and prepares the way for the coming of the King. Let us learn from our Elder Brother how to see and hear the deeds and words of our Father in Heaven. This is our inheritance.

Disciples of John or Jesus?

2009-08-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

“Again the next day, John was standing with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Look! The Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this and followed Jesus. When Jesus turned and noticed them following Him, He asked them, “What are you looking for?” They said to Him, “Rabbi,” “Where are you staying?”

John 1:35-38

This short passage of Scripture reveals some good truth about discipleship. Notice that Mr. JTB didn’t try to keep his disciples from leaving him. John understood that the one who would come after him would be greater than him. He had been creating within them an expectancy and longing for Jesus. Thus, when he shouts out, “Look, check it out! It is Jesus the lamb of God—the one I have been telling you about.” He has no reason to fear competition. Actually, how could he even think of competing with the King of the world?

Yes, they were John’s disciples, but first and ultimately they were to be disciples of Jesus. This is what discipleship is all about. It’s all about teaching people how to follow Jesus. To walk with Jesus.

A discipleship that would restrain its disciples from seeing and following Jesus is nothing more than a cult established for selfish gain.

A review of Grace, Faith, & Salvation

2008-11-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

Earlier this year a friend of mine told me to visit a website called “The Voice of one Crying in the Wilderness.” I did just that and stumbled across an article titled “Grace, Faith and Salvation” which I would like to review here. Actually, I just want to discuss a few main points that the author brings forth.

Aside from the author saying a few things that just don’t make sense there are some things he says that I believe are worth discussing in this series on Salvation.

One of the first verses he begins with is Ephesians 2:8-10 which says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

What he points to in this verse is the relationship between grace, faith, and salvation. How grace alone is not what saves us but simply what makes us savable. As I read and re-read the article my interpretation of the author’s intention is that he is unsatisfied with the way eternal life is often presented to society. He mistakenly believes that most Protestant Theology teaches that grace alone is all that we need for salvation. Therefore, the intent of his article is (seems to be) to unpack the meaning of faith and show how it brings us into the grace of God.

Now, most of us are familiar with the “Solo” cries of the Reformation—more specifically “Solo Fide” (faith alone). Wherever salvation by solo fide is taught, it is done in such a way that we look not at our own works but upon the work of Christ for our salvation. We are taught (and rightly so) that none of our works will save us and nothing we do will cause us to earn it. The author takes a slightly different approach and though some may be quick to place him under a works theology I will take a rain check on it for now.

Grace is what puts us in a position to be saved and that position he says is what is undeserved. Without God’s grace we would have no hope of salvation. Here is the crux. But just because we do nothing to deserve God’s grace (none of our works have earned it) does not mean we do nothing for our salvation. Faith for him, is much more than just a transaction of thoughts in the mind and heart.

In the author’s rather aggressive opinion, faith can be divided into three parts: hearing, submitting, and obeying. Read how he explains it:

“First and most importantly, they (faith & Believe) require revelation from God. You cannot exercise faith or truly believe anything from a Biblical perspective unless you receive revelation from God. You have to learn to recognize His still, small voice. That’s a real problem for all those religious types who don’t think that God is able to communicate with men today, or that He chooses not to. The second thing involved in the meaning of faith and believe involves surrender. We have to submit to what He says. It’s proof that we agree with Him. And the third aspect of these two words is obedience. We have to do what He says. So, faith includes all of these. We have to hear God, submit or agree with Him, and then we have to be obedient and do what He says.”

My immediate thought was that this definition for faith and belief that he has given sounded a bit cumbersome. And the more I have thought about it the more uneasy I am becoming with it. For several reasons.

The excerpt I quoted from him is what he believes to be an “amplified” translation of faith (pistis) and belief (peitho) from the Greek Language. And my opinion is that he has taken the liberty to elaborate and collaborate his own feelings into the Biblical notion of faith.

I am in complete agreement with him when he says that biblical faith cannot occur without revelation. As I understand Scripture, Biblical faith can only happen in reaction to a revelation of Jesus Christ—God always makes the first move.

Where I become uneasy with his definition is when he begins to say that surrender and obedience are parts of its meaning. Recall with me Romans 10:9-10 where Paul states “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Paul isn’t teaching that if a person doesn’t confess with their mouth that they believe in Jesus that they won’t be saved. I believe that what the Scripture is getting at there is that what one believes in their heart will be made sure/confirmed by the words they speak (as well as their actions). It is a truth that Jesus taught us when He said that “from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Saving faith begins in the heart, and the heart is what God looks at when He looks upon us.

When we hear the gospel and decide to place our faith (trust) in Christ we are responding not to a “submit and obey” call but to the good news of God (to the wooing of Love). We are not responding to a slave master who is looking down from heaven with a stick in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other, but we are responding to the desperate call of God’s Love. When one falls “in Love” what once looked and felt like works of slavery becomes the works of pleasure. When we experience the Love of God, work’s definition changes. It isn’t that the acts of submitting and obeying aren’t happening as we place our faith in Him but it is that to bring such loaded terms into the definition of saving faith brings a lot of confusion.

Imagine telling a friend about the gospel, and you say “to be saved all you must do is place your faith in Jesus, and believe…..” Then your friend’s following question is “so what is faith?” Now here is where I want you to really use your imagination. Imagine telling him/her that to have faith he/her must receive revelation, submit to God, and obey.” Now it seems to me that what you would have done by giving him that definition is contradicted by what you said in the first place—that all you must do is place your faith in Jesus.

In my opinion, when the Bible talks about faith and belief it talks about them as if everybody reading knows what they mean. The reality is, most people do have some kind of understanding. Perhaps this is so because most everybody has a concept (be it weak or strong) of what it means to love and be loved. It is “in love” with other people that we exercise faith (trust) in some form or fashion.

When the revelation of the incarnation of God’s Love for man occurs we choose to either respond by faith in love or to reject Him. By speaking of saving faith in the manner the author has done will eventually confuse people and lead them into the works of slavery. The better way is love. Yes, it is true that submission and obeying are happening when we respond in faith to the Gospel but it is so much more than that. When the love of God grips our heart, submitting and obeying become our pleasure and delight.

Were the Rulers Saved?

2008-11-17T18:12:00.000-08:00

Romans 10:9-10 says this “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Having the verse above in mind let us read John 12:42-43, “Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.”

As I stated in one of my previous posts, I am reading through a book that was given to me by a friend in hope of engaging us in some theological dialogue. In the near future I will begin to post an “exhaustive” review of the book but for now I would like to challenge the position the author puts forth concerning John 12:42-43. He argues from this text that Scripture is teaching us that believing in Jesus and thereby receiving eternal life is a separate act from deciding to become His disciple. Such rulers he says could have kept their belief hidden until their deaths, continued to live and do what they had always done and still be completely certain of their salvation.

It is difficult for me to believe that the belief these rulers had was genuine. Though, I will resist the urge to be dogmatic about it due to the fact that I won’t be judging the heart of any man on that great and awesome Day. It is difficult for me to accept for several reasons. Allow me to explain.

Jesus said that from the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Paul says that your belief must come from your heart.
Therefore, what you believe in your heart should come out of your mouth.

Those men believed in Him.
But did not confess Him.
Because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Therefore, their belief did not come from their heart, and they were not truly saved.

Also, I think it is important to take note (in the third premise) that scripture is pointing to the fact that they were living in sin by having broken the first commandment—Thou shall not have any other Gods before Me.

The second issue I have with Robert Wilkin’s interpretation of this scripture is that he does not consider their silence and love of praise to be a kind of denying—“whoever denies Me before men, him I also will deny before My Father who is in heaven (Matt 10:33)” “If we deny Him, He also will deny us (2 Tim 2:12).”

Jesus is Life

2008-11-16T20:51:00.000-08:00

“And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:11-12).

Following the thread of the last post I want to say a little more on what I feel the Lord has shown me concerning the sufficiency of Christ concerning my salvation. As is revealed in the scripture above, God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son. It is in the person of Jesus. Not in a scripture about Jesus.

Now this truth is something that the Holy Spirit began revealing to me after my good friend Daniel Sparks shared with me some good thoughts concerning it. As I have been reviewing a book given to me by a friend titled Confident in Christ by Robert Wilkin I have begun to see more then ever the importance of it. What the theology in that book teaches is that we can receive eternal life apart from receiving the person of Christ. All you have to do (and I quote) is “believe that Jesus is the guarantor of eternal/everlasting life and you will be forever eternally secure for heaven.” Believe it or not but a church right up the road from my apartment, teaches the exact same thing.

To promise life without the Son is to promise death. John 5:39-40 I believe speaks perfectly to such delusion, “you search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.”

THE GIFT AND THE GIVER ARE ONE

2008-11-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

In agreement with Moses I say “Soul, be still, and SEE the SALVATION of the LORD.” For the Lord Himself has fought for me and given me His peace (Exodus 14:113-14). I want to encourage the weary soul that may be trying to work for salvation by saying, only as you set your eyes on Jesus (who is both our savior and salvation) shall you rest and walk in peace. Consider the old man Simeon who when he took the baby Jesus in His arms blessed God and said, “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; For my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples (Luke 2:29-31).”

To avoid confusion and the deception of the enemy it is crucial that we not separate the gift of salvation from the Son of the Father. I say this because I have heard of a good many people speak of being saved while confessing to not being current followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus did not come to give sinners salvation in the form of neatly wrapped packages just for the fun of it. He was sent IN the Love (John 3:16), Will (Galatians 1:4), and Good Pleasure (Ephesians 1:5) of the Father to give us eternal intimacy with Himself and the Father (John 17:3) thus saving us from the wrath to come.

“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life (1 Tim 1:15-16).” “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have Eternal life (John 3:16).” As I understand the scriptures, Jesus does not save sinners and then give them eternal life but He saves sinners as they believe in Him for eternal life. We were saved from wrath unto intimacy. Therefore, to claim salvation in conjunction with eternal security while admitting to not being His follower is very dangerous position to be in.

Let us not ever think of salvation without thinking of Jesus. May we never separate the two. As we saw above, Jesus is the embodiment of our salvation and eternal life is intimacy with Himself. If we think we can have the gift without the giver then perhaps we should examine our hearts to see whether or not we have either.

The Lord has caused me to see that our eternal assurance should never be thought of apart from Himself. For it is in Him that we have believed, in Him that we have been saved, in Him that we have died, been buried, and raised again, and in Him that we now sit at the right hand of the Father. Our life and assurance of it is certain in Him.

I have heard preachers preach sermons that give theological propositions for eternal security/assurance as if all someone needs to do is believe a scripture to be true and then you shall never have any doubts. I believe that the revelation of eternal security can only come by the revelation of what eternal life (intimacy with God) is all about. In my own life eternal security has come as a deeply personal revelation as I have sought the Lord intimately. For a preacher to deliver a theology of eternal security without a theology of intimacy with God, can be, and has been, a dangerous thing.

Mi Delicia

2008-10-27T06:15:00.000-07:00

Bienaventurado el varón que no anduvo en consejo de malos, ni estuvo en camino de pecadores, ni en silla de escarnecedores se ha sentado, sino que en la ley de Jehová está su delicia y en su Ley medita de día y de noche. Será como árbol plantado junto a corrientes de aguas, que da su fruto en su tiempo y su hoja no cae, y todo lo que hace prosperará. No así los malos, que son como el tamo que arrebata el viento. Por tanto, no se levantarán los malos en el juicio ni los pecadores en la congregación de los justos, porque Jehová conoce el camino de los justos, mas la senda de los malos perecerá.
Salmos 1:1-6

Una pregunta que todos Cristianos se deben de preguntar es, “¿es Dios mi delicia (o placer)?” Porque para él hemos sido creados. Si Cristo no es el placer de nuestros corazones, entonces estamos en gran necesidad de ir a nuestro Papi en oración y adoración pidiéndole que quite de nuestras vidas todo que a él no le agrada—todos otros placeres que compitan con Cristo Jesús.

Cuando Cristo Jesús y su palabra son nuestra delicia, entonces seremos como un árbol plantado junto a corrientes de aguas, y daremos fruto del Espíritu cada día de nuestras vidas. El corriente de agua es Dios mismo quien se dice ser el Agua Viva. Cuando él es nuestra delicia jamás tendremos ser para algún otra agua. El es el Agua Viva.

Deléitate asimismo en Jehová y él te concederá las peticiones de tu corazón.
Salmos 37:4

Confianza en Dios

2008-10-25T07:37:00.000-07:00

Confía en Jehová con todo tu corazón
y no te apoyes en tu propia prudencia.
Reconócelo en todos tus caminos
y él hará derechas tus veredas.
No seas sabio en tu propia opinión,
sino teme a Jehová y apártate del mal,
porque esto será medicina para tus músculos
y refrigerio para tus huesos. Proverbios 3:5-8 (Versión Reina Valera)

Confía en el SEÑOR de todo corazón,
y no en tu propia inteligencia.
Reconócelo en todos tus caminos,
y él allanará tus sendas.
No seas sabio en tu propia opinión;
más bien, teme al SEÑOR y huye del mal.
Esto infundirá salud a tu cuerpo
y fortalecerá tu ser. Proverbios 3:5-8 (Nueva Versión Internacional)

Aunque la palabra “Fe” solo se puede encontrar una o dos veces en el Antiguo Testamento lo que encontramos en su lugar es la idea de poner nuestra confianza en Dios. Si cambiamos la palabra “fe” por la palabra “confianza” y estudiamos los pasajes (partes) en Salmos y Proverbios que usan la palabra “confiar” podremos llegar a un mejor entendimiento en lo que es tener fe en Dios. Hebreos 11:6 dice que “sin fe es imposible agradar a dios, ya que cualquiera que se acerca a Dios tiene que creer que él existe y que recompensa a quienes lo buscan.” Si nuestra fe en Dios es lo mismo que confianza este verso nos revela algo increíble. Si yo voy a poner mi confianza en una persona, primero tengo que llegar a tener una relación con él/ella, y solo a-través de cultivar esa amistad y conocer su corazón podré llegar a poner mi confianza en/ella. Dios quiere que nosotros lo conozcamos, que lleguemos a conocer su corazón y deseos para con nosotros. Él quiere que nosotros vengamos a él con confianza (fe).

A saber que Dios del universo quiere tener un relación con migo me da un gozo increíble. Si en confianza es la única manera de acercarse a Dios, entonces no hay lugar para religión bacía, “buenas” obras, tradiciones de hombre, o cualquiera otra cosa cual la humanidad siempre ha usado en su intento de llegar a Dios. Si vamos a acercarnos a nuestro Papi tenemos que hacerlo en confianza—cuyo solo es creado en relación con él.

The Piranha Boys

2008-06-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a video that Alex and Holly Compton sent me from Lima Peru. It is worth checking out.

Water the Medium

2008-05-28T20:53:00.000-07:00

“All organisms familiar to us are made mostly of water and live in an environment dominated by water. Water is the biological medium here on Earth, and possibly on other planets as well. Life on Earth began in water and evolved there for three billion years before spreading onto land. Modern life, even terrestrial (land dwelling) life, remains tied to water. All living organisms require water more than any other substance.” Biology Seventh Edition—Campbell & Reece.

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. 6 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 Then God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear”; and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:1-10

It sounds to me that in the very beginning, water was not just central to the creation but was the first thing and only thing that existed until God made a “firmament in the midst of the waters and divided the waters from the waters.”

I once heard a preacher named Yan Venter say that all of space and planet Earth inside space were created as a bubble was made when God “divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament.” Personally, I am not sure what to think about that, but it is fun idea to think about as it is. I don’t believe in macro evolution but I do believe that water was and is central to the creation of life.

Before a child is even born it lives in water (embryonic fluid) within its mother’s belly. When the water breaks it is time for the child to leave. Nevertheless, he or she will always be dependent upon water to continue existing.

Love the Sinner & Hate the Sin

2008-05-20T17:08:00.001-07:00

Many, like myself, will testify to loving the sinner but do we really hate the sin? Of course the phrase “love the sinner and hate the sin” is not found in Scripture but the idea behind it is. While some of us feel that we are pretty decent at loving the sinner, have we any idea what it means to hate the sin? I am not sure we do.

I feel that the consequence of not knowing how to hate the sin results as a defect in the genuineness of our love for the sinner. Opposites—love & hate—must operate in a kind of unity through our activity in this world. We are to love what God loves and hate what He hates. If there is anything that God hates, it is sin. And if there is anything that God loves, it is the sinner.

The love and hate of God for the sinner and his sin is beyond my ability to comprehend. God does work in mysterious paradoxes.

If I only love the sinner and have no hate for her sin then what motivation or hurry has my love to want to see her changed? Or what if I only hate the sin but have no love for the sinner? Without love my hate would turn its eyes from the sin to the sinner. All would be lost.

God is love. And I am inclined to think that godly hatred is really just another expression of love. Nevertheless, we must ask the Holy Spirit to help us hate sin as He hates it and love the sinner as He loves him/her.

The Correction of the Father

2008-05-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

“My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.” Proverbs 3:11-12

When I read this several nights back my heart was so filled with joy, for the revelation of God as my Father speaks to me in many different ways. It is the simplicity and honesty of this verse that moved me and continues to stir my thoughts.

In all truthfulness, there have been times that I have despised the chastening of my Father. Not really knowing or understanding the beauty of its meaning. I say that the chastening of the Lord is beautiful and good, because in it, much is revealed.

First, the fact that I partake in the chastening and correction of God tells me that I am His son. There is a double movement that takes place. Because, as God corrects me He also confirms me. Correction belongs to the children. I am now no longer under the wrath of God but under the correction of God. His correction is sweet because in it He confirms the greatest desire of my heart.

Second, Father corrects me because He loves me. I believe that for Christians, the reason it is a “fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God (Hebrews 10:31)” is because of his love. For His children it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a loving God. I have a friend who once said that “it is not the wrath of God that I fear, but it is the love of God which I fear.” I agree with this, for in Christ I have been removed from the wrath of the Father (Romans 5:9). Love is the essence of every action that He makes towards me.

Thirdly, Father corrects me because He loves me, and because He also delights in me. “For whom the Lord loves He corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights.” The Father delights in me! He delights in me! Wow! God Himself delights in me! And if He delights in me should I not also delight in Him and declare that His correction is good and sweet?

Read and hear as it is revealed in Hebrews 12:7-11

“If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Praise the Father.

Who is the King of Glory?

2008-05-14T21:33:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Psalms 24:7-10.

Lift up your heads, O you gates!
And be lifted up, you everlasting doors!
For the King of glory shall come to His estates.

Lift up your heads, O you Bride!
And be lifted up, you everlasting hearts!
For the King of glory has come and made His abide.

Christ, our Hope of glory!
Has made His home within our hearts.
And we now partake of a different story.

Who is this King of glory?
It is Jesus the Christ!
He is the King of glory!

The glory, which the Father has given the Son,
The Son has given to those who believe.
That we also may be one!

From Glory to Glory!
Forever we will romance,
In God’s eternal story.

Only One Word

2008-05-08T21:26:00.000-07:00

Only one word.
From a million I can choose,
But only one I can use
Which will be heard?

Will it be idle?
Perhaps even witty?
Or is my tongue still in need of bridle?
Lest I speak just to be pretty.

One word is all I got,
Perhaps I should ponder?
For I want it to be a deep thought,
Lest it haunt me in the yonder.

Only one Word is worthy.
Jesus!
He who was sold for thirty,
The man named Jesus.

What need have I of more than one word?
None whatsoever!
For in me dwells the eternal Word.
Forever!

No other words I need,
For only one Word can save.
To it I heed,
And I am made brave.

Jesus!!

A Place Called "ONO"- 16 yr old preacher Reggie Sharpe

2008-04-20T15:04:00.000-07:00

This guy is great.

I Will Trust in Jesus

2008-04-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

“The Lord redeems the soul of His servants, and none of those who trust in Him shall be condemned.” Psalm 34:22

If one reads carefully one will find the word “trust” to be divinely scattered everywhere in the Psalms. Those who trust in the Lord shall be saved (Psalm 7:1,17:7), shall be preserved (Psalm 16:1), shall be shielded (Psalm 18:30), shall not be ashamed (Psalm 31:1), and shall abide forever (Psalm 125:1), etc.

The picture we are given in the Psalms is that trust is something that we put into God.

“In You O Lord, I put my trust; let me never be put to shame.” Or “Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” Psalm 71:1, 2:12

Trust is what faith is all about. Faith is trust. And those who’s faith is in the Lord shall not be condemned.

“Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.” Psalm 2:12

Is there nothing new under the sun?

2008-04-13T17:53:00.000-07:00

There might not be anything new under the sun as Ecclesiastes tells us, but there sure is something new under the One who sits above the sun. “Newity” is dependent upon which light one stands under—the light of the sun or the light of the Son.

Plus, what in the world do we mean when we say “there is nothing new under the sun.” There might not be any new matter being created, but surely there are new things being created with that matter.

Do we mean that the nature of man, with all of its cyclical behaviors, habits, attitudes, sins, desires, needs, and wants is unchangingly consistent, and therefore is never new but always old news? Could that be what is meant when the Scriptures say that “there is nothing new under the sun?”

Or could it be that the fact of there being “nothing new” is subject to a specific context—specifically, the context of an un-regenerate heart?

Forgive me if none of this makes any sense.

A Primer on the Christian Understanding of Capital Punishment

2008-04-09T09:13:00.000-07:00

Most who read my blog probably already know that i am a pacifist and do not believe that the death penalty is an acceptable practice for Christians to participate in. I would like to encourage everybody to take an active role in studying both sides of the argument. Here is a brief post by Michael Patton on why he believes D.P. is legit. He tries to be fair and present the other side of the argument but fails miserably at doing so.

Enjoy

Peas and Carrots

2008-03-31T08:23:00.001-07:00

Violence just isn't the way.

Allow me to re-introduce the Christ

2008-03-31T08:11:00.001-07:00

This Girl can preach it!

Things that Happen at Bethel (my Church home)

2008-03-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

One the benefits of belonging to a Charismatic congregation is the practice and working of the charismata (spiritual gifts). Despite some of its abuses and silliness, it sure is great being in a community of believers who believe for practically just about anything and everything (nothing is off limits).

Three days ago Andrea and I made what I consider to be a big decision that I had really only shared with a handful of people. I can’t say that I was in fear of the decision but only a little nervous. Well, while at Bethel last night, I went to the front for prayer and this evangelist who previously didn’t know me, knew more than what he was supposed to know. As he was prophesying over me he talked about the areas of the decision I had made that were making me nervous and basically said that I had no reason to worry—God has it all under control.

If that sounds like an isolated incident, I will have to disagree (at least not at Bethel) for it happens every week. God is so good, and He has given us means by which we can edify, encourage, and unite the Body of Christ. I could share with you dozens upon dozens of prophetic testimonies but will have to settle with only one (which was given to someone else yesternight).

Last night there was a certain member of the congregation present who is a doctor by profession. This man is awesome, loves Jesus with all his heart, and loves to take the gospel across the world (specifically Nigeria). He also went up to the front last night for prayer and when the prophet/evangelist came up to him he began to talk about his hands (The hands of the doctor!) and began to say that God has used his hands to help people, to save lives, etc, etc. And then he began to say how God was going to use his hands to heal the sick in new ways. That he would lay his hands on the sick and they would be healed.

Much more was said that I can’t recall but I simply love to see how God affirms and encourages his children. God actually knows us. He knows what we do, where we work, and He knows the desires of our hearts.

A Mini Participation With God

2008-03-16T11:53:00.000-07:00

There are three different “mini-sters” of God in the Bible: Angels, Governments, and Christians, and each has a different “mini-stry.” The reason for the “mini” is simply because both the “ster” and the “stry” are such a mini little tiny part of what mighty God is doing. In his own twisted way the devil also has a mini-weenie-stry.

Each agent has an authority, or a spoon, given to them by God that allows them to “ster” into the physical and spiritual things of this world that God be cooking.

The funny thing about some of us Christians though, is that at times we like to try and stick our spoon in the pot of the government or maybe the pot of the angels and help them stir. Silly Christians. By now we should know that we were never meant to stick our spoon in the pot of the government—it is just not our “stry.” Our ministry is of a different kind.

Sometimes the angels wish they could look into our pot to see what we are stirring (1 Peter 1:12) but they know better then to be sticking their spoon where no authority has been given to them. Perhaps we should learn from their example.

“Then the devil left Him and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.” Matthew 4:11

“Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God……..For he is God’s minister to you for good. But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil. Therefore you must be subject, not only because of wrath but also for conscience sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for they are God’s ministers attending continually to this very thing.” Romans 13:1,4-6

“Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart.” 2 Cor. 4:1

“Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation.” 2 Cor. 5:18

As Christians we need to resist, even as Jesus wisely did, the temptation of Satan to go sticking our spoon where no authority or mandate has been granted to us. Let us learn from Luke 4:5-8

“So he took Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. The devil said to Him, ‘I will give you their splendor and all this authority, because it has been given over to me, and I can give it to anyone I want. If You, then, will worship me, all will be Yours.’ And Jesus answered him, ‘It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’”

If we want an answer as to “why do the nations rage, and the people plot in vain,” it is simply because the nations or kingdoms of this world are under the authority of Satan (the prince and power of the air). If we wish to change that fact, we must not think that the authority given to us by Jesus in Matthew 28:18-20 is something that is meant to be exercised from a position of worldly government.

“Then Jesus came near and said to them, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

Jesus clearly stated that his “kingdom is not of this world” because if it were, his “servants would fight.” If we are going to teach the people of the nations to observe everything that Jesus has commanded then we must teach them the simple truth that our fighting and wrestling is not with the physical principalities but with the spiritual. The spiritual existed long before the physical and something at me hints that it might be the more real of the two realities.

No matter how seductive the pot of government control might appear, let us stir our spoon where Christ has taught us to stir. For we have been given the ministry of love, peace, reconciliation, and much more.

A Mormon Experience

2008-03-15T16:05:00.000-07:00

While walking home from work yesterday, and singing the song “How Great is Our God” I was stopped by two Mormon missionaries. Elder Tucker from Arizona, and Elder Higgins from Utah (both are left handed). The irony about my little encounter with them yesterday was that the place at which we stopped to talk to each other was just about the exact same place that I met Mormon missionaries for the first time ever (which was only last semester). My first two Mormon missionary friends were Elder White (from Jamaica) and Elder Arguile (from Utah) who I was so excited to have met and to have come over to the apartment for conversation. Before they came, I had spent all day in prayer asking God to reveal to them the fullness of His Son, and was more than ready to contribute to that revelation in whatever way I could. But when they came, it was very clear that they also had an agenda. Thus we had a battle of agendas.

After my first meeting with Elders White and Arguile, I met with two other eager couples who were more than ready to convert me (and I them). But after the last couple, I knew that I wasn’t getting anywhere and decided to just chill for awhile and not meet with any of them. I needed to hear from God on how I should further communicate.

Not until yesterday, do I believe I heard from the Lord.

When Elder Tucker asked me if I had ever met some missionaries like them before, my answer was yes. He said that he didn’t believe it was irony that they had met me (he believed rightly), especially, since both of them are naturally non-confrontational and shy people (meaning they hadn’t had much luck talking to people). While he was telling me about everything they had been doing, my heart was moved with compassion to pray for them.

Before we said our goodbyes I asked if they would allow me to pray for/with them and they gladly accepted. Rather than praying that Christ would show them the truth, and wipe away all error from their lives, I simply prayed that He would bless, protect, and reveal to them every day the greatness of His love. I prayed the love of the Father and Son over their lives. I prayed that the revelation of God’s love would be so great upon their lives that they would be ruined for everything else. I prayed in love. And as I prayed in love I felt the Lord tell me that “this is right.”

Love will travel places where the intellect may not be able to go. Love is the better way to showing people who Jesus really is.

How Important is Forgivness?

2008-03-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

“If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained. John 20:23

It is very foolish to fear or resent the authority of the Church, for that authority is the basis on which she forgives our sins.

When he was asked why he became a Catholic, G. K. Chesterton, the great English writer, replied: “To get my sins forgiven.” Jesus came to earth for that purpose. “You shall call his name Jesus (Savior), for he will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1:21). And the Church, since she is his Body, continues his work. Therefore the Church’s purpose on earth is to extend through time and space this kingdom of forgiveness.

Not merely forgiveness, but Christ’s forgiveness. Forgiveness, like the Church herself, is wholly Christocentric.

How important is forgiveness? Eternally important! “Were there no forgiveness of sins in the Church, there would be no hope of life to come or eternal liberation. Let us thank God who has given his Church such a gift.” Catholic Christianity, Peter Kreeft

Catholicism has always interested me with all of its rituals, traditions, practices, mysteries, stories, and scandals. I thought that I knew all there was to know about Catholicism when growing up in Mexico but as I have been discovering over the past few years, I knew so little. The Catholicism that I grew up around is almost a completely different kind of Catholicism taught in America’s religious textbooks.

In my opinion, from my readings, Catholicism says a lot of things right, some things I am not sure about, and some/many things I believe they have gotten wrong. Protestants do the same thing.

Catholicism is religion practiced to perfection.

I have always disagreed with the practice of certified priests forgiving the sins of its people, and people feeling that that is the only way to be forgiven. But if they are not interpreting John 20:23 right, then how should we interpret it. I don’t really here much said about this verse and the practice of the Church forgiving sins within the Protestant movement.

We know that we do have personal access to Christ’s forgiveness, but can we take it as far as the Catholic Church has taken it? Is there a balance somewhere? It is the last paragraph of the quote that I really have beef with. What do you think?

Solo Love

2008-03-08T20:00:00.000-08:00

For some time now, Holy Spirit has been filling my heart and mind with the revelations of God’s irresistible great love. And everything in my life is being turned upside down with the understanding that God loves me. That He really, really, really loves me. I can tell you about it, but for you to truly know what I mean you must experience it. Even now, His love fills my heart and all I can do is smile. I am loved—deeply loved. And I feel His love. I know His love. How great it is to be accepted, to be loved, and to be held in the beloved.

A great passion of my life is to write, and though, I don’t get to spend anywhere near the amount of time writing that I would like I am beginning to do it more and more. My reason for sharing this is because I want to write books. And I feel that this desire within me is right. I feel and I know that I must write. With that said, I say the following.

I want to write a book, essay, something, about the great love of my God and the role that love plays within our lives.

The title that has been coming to me over and over again (for several months) is something along the lines of Solo Love, which is a play on the cry of the protestant reformation “solo fide” (only faith).

I have often felt that what is sometimes lost in the great debate of works vs. faith is love. I am of the opinion that faith outside of love is fake and false, and works done not in love are illegitimate.

1 Corinthians 13:2-3 says it best, “And though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow (works) all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.”

True saving faith cannot grow but in the love of Christ. If we interpret faith as a kind of trust then surely we would all agree that trust is only nurtured in relationship—specifically in a relationship/friendship of love. Our relationship/friendship with God is one that rests on Him having made the first move. That first move was and is always a move of love whereby our faith is given ground upon which to stand. As I see it, true faith must stand upon the love of Christ.

Concerning works, Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”

Only in Christ do “good works” become a living possibility.

I am convinced that our modern concept of “work” is hugely redefined in the light of God’s love. Love has a way of turning concepts upon their heads. Take for example what happens when a man falls in love with a woman (or vice versa), and because his heart is filled with love, what would normally be a task or difficult becomes easy, even pleasurable.

As originally intended, work was never meant to be a task or painful, (that happened with the fall) but work was meant to be good and something we take pleasure in. And I am convinced that this is what happens in Christ—who becomes our Peace.

Something that I have heard my brother Ryan Couch say is that “lovers will always outwork slaves.” How very true.

In a debate over faith and works I heard it said that “real faith works.” I think that more specifically, “real faith works in love.”

Now, one of the great things about the Love of God is that it is simply not a pretty little metaphysical concept floating around in the world but it is a historical fact. Love incarnated human flesh and dwelt among us. If we want to know what love is, it is found and seen in the life of Christ. Christ is our definition of love. Oh, what great and awesome love.

In Christ the definition for love is taken out of the shadows and embodies a tangible and empirical reality. To define love outside of Christ is to speak in relative terms without any possibility of finding an absolute. Outside of Christ love becomes like the wind whereby its affects are surely felt but its real source and substance are never truly obtained.

When a Christian speaks of love he speaks of a very different kind of love then that of which modern cultures and subsequent religions speak. For the love of which scripture speaks is a love that is defined in Christ, and Christ alone.

Love is the better way because Christ is the best way-the only way.

The Story of a Homeless Man

2008-03-06T09:42:00.000-08:00

John Lubanski, Robert Reynoso, and my beautiful wife and I had the privilege of hosting this Wednesday a service on the corner of Montrose and Westheimer in Houston. It is a place where a bunch of homeless people, prostitutes, gang members, etc. all come out to be fed both the physical and spiritual bread of life. It was great being out there and getting to pray with, talk to, and hug some of the people that came.

It was a real treat getting to see Brett whom I had met on my last visit to the outreach. He remembered who I was and said that I had been the first to ever tell him that supernatural/existential visitations with the spiritual world were even possible. The first time I met Brett was during an altar call back in November. I probably spent about an hour and a half talking and listening to him share with me his life story, including how he ended up on the streets.

Brett had been an art graduate from a university up in New York where he met and married the love of his life who graduated from NYU with a doctorate. To make a long story short, they ended up moving down to Houston and during they’re time there things got rocky in their marriage. And thus they divorced against his will. The divorce sent him to drinking and for a whole year he said he was drunk every day. Sometime, during that first year of drinking he said that he began to see things while wide awake. I am not sure how awake you can be while drunk but I will take his word for it. These so called “things” he said he was seeing were sings, banners, and angles that would tell him that Jesus was Savior, King, etc. The most interesting, in my opinion, were the banners that had written across them something to the affect of “Jesus is Savior” and the banners would also sing it.

During his period of drinking he ended up moving in with his grandmother (because he had quit his job and couldn’t pay the bills) and when he told her and the rest of his family about the visions they all thought he was crazy. He said that he was raised agnostic and thus all the vision stuff was totally foreign to both him and his family. And so with a heart drowning in grief, his body full of alcohol, a boat-load of debt, and his family calling him crazy for having all these visions and him not know what it all meant, he ended up moving to the streets where he has continued his drinking but is now finding answers to his visions.

Brett is not your typical homeless guy. He is smart, witty, funny, and usually knows what he is talking about. Brett now understands that there is a God who loves him and who loves him so much that He sent His only son (Jesus Christ) to save his life. He knows that Jesus is the way, but as he told me last night, he has just not been able to give up the bottle and choose that way—at least not yet. For all who may read this I ask you to please pray for Brett. Perhaps the streets of Houston will be his sycamore tree where, like Zacchaeus, he will be able to see Jesus and respond to His invitation. Pray that he will find his home in Christ.

May Our Eyes be Enlightened

2008-03-02T17:23:00.000-08:00

Read Carefully

Ephesians 1:15-23

15 Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding[a] being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20 which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. 22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

“may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.”

Why is it important for us to have wisdom and revelation? Because the natural mind does not receive the truths of God “naturally.” We need divine wisdom and divine revelation in order to receive the truth of God’s Word.

Information must undergo a process of revelation in order for there to be a holy transformation. What do I mean? Having tons of information: facts, events, dates, numbers, names, locations, philosophies, and theologies, etc doesn’t compel us or move us to the things of God. It is only when the Holy Spirit takes that information and reveals the truth behind it to our hearts and minds that we are able to respond to it. Thus what we need is not more information but greater amounts of revelation for us to truly begin to see transformation. Lord, give to us the spirit of revelation.

If we want the “true” knowledge of Jesus let us begin to pray for wisdom and revelation. There is no other knowledge more important to us than this-the knowledge of Christ. It will not be obtained by the reading of many books or the hearing of many sermons, but only through the revelation of the Holy Spirit—who was sent to lead and guide us into all truth. I might also add that wisdom and revelation don’t come through wishful thinking but through wrestling with God in prayer, meditation, and the reading of the Holy Scriptures.

“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know..”

What is being said here cannot be said enough. It is of extreme importance that we stop, read carefully, and listen intently. If you can hear, feel, taste, see, and touch what Paul is saying in these verses you are going to be revolutionized from the inside out. Paul is praying that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened, so that they may know. We might be Christians, but yet still be as blind as a bat concerning the truths of God. Spiritual blindness is the will of the devil. If he can’t undo what Christ did on the Cross for us then he will put all of hell’s legions to work in trying to keep you from being able to see what it was He did. And not only will satan work at keeping us blind, but our spiritual apathy and laziness will likewise blind us. For if we choose not to feed off of the Bread of life through prayer and the reading of the Word then we will soon discover that our spiritual senses begin to starve, weaken, and fatigue.

Paul is praying that the eyes of their understanding might be enlightened so that they may know.

Know What?

The hope of His calling.
The riches of the glory of His inheritance for the saints (that is us).
The exceeding greatness of His power.

What Paul is praying here is for the eyes of the Ephesians to be enlightened toward three things: The hope, the riches, and the power of Christ.

I am of the opinion that if the early Church in Ephesus needed the revelation of these three things back in their time, then how much more do we need this revelation today. Brothers and sisters, we need it like never before. It will mess us up for the glory of God.

And the same power that Paul was praying for them to know, he says, is also the same power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places.

“which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”

Christ, our King of kings has been seated at the right hand of the Father (catch the Trinitarian language) in the heavenly places. The same heavenly places of which Paul speaks about in Ephesians 1:3—“who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”

And in these heavenly places Christ has been seated “Far Above” allll…

All What?

“All principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.”

Do you see what this is saying! Christ has been seated above every single power, force, and authority there is. He has been seated over every name that is named. Just trust me when I say this “there are a lot of names out there.” And Christ is seated above them all. He is seated above death, sin, cancer, aids, racism, war, hurt—all of it. All of it must answer and bow down before the King of kings.

He is seated above the big and the small. You name it, and He is seated above it.

“And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

And all things were put under His feet.

How many things? All things!

Where? Under His FEET.

“and gave Him to be head over all things to the church. Which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

So if “all things” were put under the feet of Christ and if we are the body of Christ then does that mean that all things were put under the feet of the body of Christ? I dare say yes.

“Which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

Christ fills His body with his presence and power!!

We, the Body of Christ must “walk out” the will, power, and authority of Christ. On the cross Christ maid the decision/sacrificial act to conquer sin, death, sickness, depression, etc. And we the Church need to have the eyes of our understanding opened so that we might know the hope, inheritance, and power of Christ—to know all that was accomplished on the cross for us—to know all the privileges and blessings given to us on the cross. And only after having our eyes opened to this new knowledge will we be able to walk in it and walk it out.

When thinking about the body, we typically think of the head as being the place where decisions to will, act, and respond are made. Christ our Head made some pretty powerful decisions on the cross that He is desiring to work out, or walk out through His Body. But, because of our impoverished vision, most of us in the Body, have no real genuine knowledge of what Christ did on the cross and thus have contributed to a paralyzing of the Body. We all need a greater vision.

I end here but the revelation continues forever.

A Natural Kind of Order. Order Part III

2008-02-28T22:00:00.000-08:00

For all of you who have been reading this little series on Order and thought that I was going to write about balance next, I still plan on doing so. I actually did post something about balance but didn't like it so I took it down. Here are some further thoughts on order.

I am all about natural order over planned order. The way that I am thinking of it is similar to the creation of city roads. When you look at a place like the city of Houston that has been around for awhile you will find that all the roads criss-cross, zig-zag, and are all over the place. Now if you were to go visit a city like Omaha Nebraska and you look at a map of it you will see that all the roads are neatly and perfectly set up like a grid. The difference between these two places is that in one city (Houston) the roads were created in conjunction with the growth of the city. As the road was needed so the road was created. In Omaha, the roads were prepared and planned ahead of time before the growth ever happened. Rather than the people deciding which way they should take, with the roads prior creation, their ways had already been prepared for them. A kind of predetermined direction.

It is true that the planned roads would be the most economic and convenient way to go, but they just aren’t authentic. They’re not genuine roads.

Both of these kinds of roads have an order to them but the order of the natural roads unfold through the needs, wants, and growth of the city, and the order of the planned roads post-date the needs, wants, and growth of the city. In actuality the planned order tells the city in what way and in which direction to grow.

What kind of order should we have in our services: A natural order that develops and unfolds through the service, or a planned order that develops and unfolds the service? Surely we have all seen these two orders.

One could say that when the Church gathers together they are like a city (on a hill), and the order of the service is/are the roads on which the Church is traveling. The Church has direction in which it is going. Yes, it has a destination place. But, I am of the opinion that the Holy Spirit doesn’t want the same order for every service. But that He wants to take us into new truths, new dimensions, and into new revelations in Christ Jesus through different orders.

What I am getting at here is that I believe our services should be Spirit led rather than order led. I need to make it clear though that this does not mean order is unimportant, for it is, because God is a God of order (a discussion for a later post). What I mean is that the Holy Spirit should be the order maker.

I once heard that the definition of insanity was doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. If this is true need I say what has happened to some of our congregations?

When I say that I am all about natural order rather than planned order I am not saying that I don’t believe things shouldn’t be planned but that things should not be planned shut. Things should be planned from an open-ended perspective. What happens is that plans are for some like children are to parents. To separate them from their plans would be to separate them from their very blood and life. When we have a scheduled service let us not be so disappointed when the scheduled plans get suspended by a schedule much larger and demanding than ours. You never know when a “Suddenly” might happen (And the Lord you seek, will suddenly come to His temple Mal 3:1).

Any thoughts from the readers? I am only developing here not constructing anything-at least not yet.

The artist with no eyes

2008-02-27T12:41:00.000-08:00

Wow!! Everybody has got to watch this video. There is more to vision then just seeing through the eyes. This could make for some interesting conversation.

http://

Let All Things Be Done. Order Part II

2008-02-21T21:08:00.001-08:00

Let all things be done.
How?
Decently and in order.

I am not sure when it happened or why it happened but I am for sure that it did happen. What happened? The second part of I Corinthians 14:40 happened.

Someone, somewhere, in real time, got a little too passionate about decency and orderliness and forgot to let all things be done.

The context in which decency and orderliness is to be exercised in, is one of liberty. Genuine liberty has order and genuine order must have a sense of liberty. To exercise order without liberty leads to manipulation and control. In turn, to exercise liberty without order leads to chaos.

Let all things be done. What things? All the gift things. This was the context—still is today.

Some church bodies don’t see all the gifts. Perhaps, too much order and not enough liberty? Most likely.

Some church bodies abuse all the gifts. Most likely, too much liberty and not enough order.

Balance is important. But what is balance? I have some thoughts but plan on saving them for another post.

What is ORDER? Part I

2008-02-18T12:37:00.001-08:00

Paul, in speaking of the charismata (spiritual gifts) said "let all things be done decently and in order." What I am wondering is "did Paul have the same definition of order that we have today." Think about it. Two thousand years have passed since Paul penned those words under the inspiration and authority of Holy Spirit. Don't you think that the order in Corinth may have been a little different than the order in present day United States?

Believe it or not but order does have a kind of relativity to it that hinges upon the context of the situation. Things such as geography, culture, language, time limits, etc. all have an influence on how we define order. Practically speaking, all one has to do is join a bunch of different families of different cultures for dinner and just watch how they interact. What for one family may be chaos for another family may be the normal order of interaction.

“Order” is not fixed, but is dependent upon a given situation. To discover the proper order in any situation one must first have an intimate understanding of it. If I were to walk “cold turkey” into a business meeting with my job and presume to start setting things in order (according to my predetermined assumptions) by telling people what to do and how to do them I would most certainly be mocked, and a few people would probably get angry with me.

This is why I find it somewhat troublesome and comical when non-charismatics visit a charismatic church. They often have a different experience of order. One that is usually very unfamiliar with the Charismatic position. Without even knowing it, some dismiss the entire experience at the expense of wanting to preserve the order they have always known. It is an easy thing to judge that with which we are unfamiliar.

In asking what order is some may be tempted to just use whatever definitions the dictionary gives. I advise against it for the moment because even dictionaries are the products of cultural constructions. Meaning that dictionaries weren’t created in vacuums but were created by people like you and I who are in culture.

If anybody is interested in dialoging, I ask “what you think Order really is?” What is your experience of Order and how should the Church exercise order? In my opinion the Church has abused the word/practice. What is your opinion?

How do I find forgiveness?

2008-02-18T08:48:00.000-08:00

How can a murderer find forgivenes? All the old man wants is a straight answer. From the TV show "ER."

My Future Funeral Service

2008-02-16T23:23:00.002-08:00

I have never been a fan of funerals. Especially, when they are the epitome of gloom and doom. Having gone to my fair share this is what I have to say—it is meant to be purposeful to those who are of the Christian faith.

Before I say too much though, I invite you to come into the kind of funeral that I have in mind. Take a seat, and experience the atmosphere with me.

It is 6:00 P.M. and cars are beginning to spill into the cemetery from the freeway. Most of the people are on time except for a few who probably weren’t too close to the deceased. Once parked, and people begin to unfold themselves from their seats and step out of the vehicles the message is clear enough. People are grieving. Some are just sad.

Everybody knows they are to keep their voices hushed. And all of the children have already been threatened that if they don’t behave they may end up being the next one in the casket. Furthermore, beginning with the children and ending with the elderly, everybody is donned in blackness. The message is clear. Death is in the air.

The funeral home is divided in two parts: the first is what I call the preparatory room, where everybody really prefers to hang out in. It is the preferred room because it is where all the old friends and family that haven’t seen each other in a long time get to do some catching up, and figure out where they should all go eat for dinner. The second part of the home is (in my mind) the room of death. Yes, it is hear that everybody is confronted with the cold-hard fact of death. Much less is said in this room for fear of maybe waking up the dead. People cry but not too loudly so that they don’t make those who aren’t crying feel too uncomfortable. The message is clear. Some people are sad.

Now the ceremony begins. To be sure, most of what is done is deeply rooted in a traditional fashion, not to much unlike some of our modern church services. ORDER! Everything that is done is done in such a timely order. One or two songs are sung. A witty solemn prayer is published. Words of comfort are given and then the preacher presents the substance of what he had been rehearsing the night before. A simple, eloquent, and waxy message to give the crowd a pat on the back for still being alive.

The following is my favorite part. This is the part that the crowd is allowed to get involved in. Those who are going to share have probably been thinking about it all day. What to say and how to present it. And as you listen to them stumble across their broken and saddened thoughts you can’t help but feel that for some of them their pain is profoundly rooted in regret. All that they are saying now they wish they would have said before. The message is clear. Some are grieving. Others are sad. And some have regrets.

Once the service reaches its paid time limit, the hand picked casket carriers carry the box from the home to the car and then we all make a pilgrimage from the home to the grave. A hole has been dug. It is here that I need you stop with me for a brief “second.” The Box. I have never been able to understand the need to spend so much money on a box. Dude! There is absolutely no reason to lavish so much on a dead person. Think of all the living that could use such money to help keep from dying. “Second” over. The whole experience is brought to a conclusion with dirt. The hole is covered.

So let me explain to you why I have disagreement with this traditional way of remembering and honoring our dead brothers and sisters. Let me do so first by defining the manner in which I would want my death to be honored. Perhaps a list shall serve my purpose here.

When I die this is how I would like it to be:

1. Everybody wears white or Hawaiian shirts. For goodness sake, I am going to be leaving this dark and dim world and entering into a greater light. Don’t glorify the moment in blackness but celebrate the light.
2. No gloomy-doomy music. I want the best live tunes that can be found. I want it to be an occasion to worship Jesus—and radically so.
3. Invite as many lost people as you can to my funeral and preach the uncompromising truth of the Gospel.
4. If you are going to cry then cry for everybody to hear. If you are going to laugh then don’t hold back-let it roar. Don’t compromise on your emotions-be real.
5. If my body happens to be available after death, then I want to be buried in a cardboard box. And if there is some silly law out there that says you can’t be buried in a box, then use the next cheapest thing. Maybe someone could nail together some two-by-fours. Be creative.
6. If the moment is going to be sad then let it be the most joyful and fun sad moment you have ever had. May Christ be celebrated and worshiped.
7. I want nothing to do with all the structure and formality that dictates the atmosphere in funerals. I know I won’t be around to voice my opinion about this but all who read and happen to be alive once I die are personally responsible for making sure my desire is fulfilled.
8. Lastly, have a good time and don’t worry about waking me up. Talk as loud as you want.

Simply put, I don’t want people to be fake. No pretending at my funeral. If you want to say something about me then talk about Jesus. If you want to honor me then worship Jesus. Let everything that is done be done in the freedom and liberty of Christ. And please, don’t let the service be dictated by a time schedule. 30 minute to 1 hour long services speak more about the western capitalistic way then anything else. What an amazing thing it would be if everyone just lost track of time while worshiping the eternal God who is not bound by time. Time loses its meaning the closer it gets to eternity. Thus the closer we get to Jesus the less we will care about being bound to our religious time schedules.

If I could decide on how I would like my funeral to look it would be as I have loosely defined above.

I think all funerals of every Pilgrim should be unique, genuine, and real. It should never be the case that reality is suppressed for the sake of wanting to keep a silly tradition. And trust me, I have seen and heard a lot of silly things at funerals. May Christ Jesus be magnified ever so abundantly in the falling asleep of His bride.

To be completely honest my main beef with the modern funeral is that they just aren’t very Christ-like and Christ centered. They should be one of our greatest evangelistic tools for communicating the faith, hope, and love of Christianity.

Done.

This is what I want

2008-02-15T18:22:00.000-08:00

With all that is within me I want to shout. In the same way a lion roars I want to create a noise from the depths of my belly that is so load it makes the earth tremble and causes the deaf to hear. Then, when I am done I wish…..

To cry like I have never cried before. To drench my shirt in all the tears society and culture has always told me to suppress. How wonderful it would be to cry in the presence of my God and to weep uncontrollably upon His feet. How amazing it would be to not care what anybody thought and to simply let myself cry in places that the public has said is wrong to cry in. How liberating it would be to see their awkward and uncomfortable faces while I cried and to have no care for what they would think. They would all desire to do likewise but none would ever admit it. Once drained of all my tears…

I would laugh. Yes!! I would laugh uncontrollably and nobody would be able to quench it. It would be untamable and all who felt its vibrations would be drawn into its influence. Yes! To laugh like a man without a care in the world because his only care is found in heaven. Yes, that is the laughter I desire. How freeing it would be.

Oh, what a beauty it would be to sing. I love to sing despite all the criticism to do contrary. I so desire to fill my lungs with the songs of heaven and to sing in unity, beauty, and harmony. I will sing, I must sing, and no one will rob me of my God given right to sing. How freeing it would be to raise my God-given voice in the grocery store and to siiinnnngggg.

And when all the noise is done and over I wish to take a vow of silence. And in such a silence to hear the roar, the cries, the laughter, and the song of my God. Yes, this is my desire—to hear the Groom speak to His Bride.

The New Atheism And The Endgame Of Secularism

2008-02-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

If you have time this is a really good series of lectures (W. H. Griffith Thomas Memorial Lectureship)by Dr. Albert Mohler Jr. on the New Atheism.

here

My New Blog

2008-02-10T18:45:00.000-08:00

So I have created a new blog site specifically for a devotional purpose. The idea is to try and post daily on there. Check out My PAD Time at www.padtime.blogspot.com

I will also continue to try and post here weekly.

Woman at the Well

2008-02-08T09:38:00.000-08:00

This is awesome.

Some Broader Thoughts On Pacifism

2008-02-01T14:03:00.000-08:00

For some time now I have been posting some of my thoughts regarding the relationship of the Christian to war, self-defense, death penalty, etc. For all who may take these issues seriously here are some articles you should read. The first four (which are very good) are from Gregory Boyd and the last two are from Albert Mohler and the Weekly Standard. They do a much better job of articulating the issues then what I can do at the moment.

1. God, Government and Christian Anarchy

2. The Insignificance of Governments and Armies

3. Satan, Government and Christian Anarchy

4. Where do you find your security?

5. God, Moral Judgment, and the Death Penalty

6. Religion And The Death Penalty

A Season of Peace

2008-02-01T13:38:00.000-08:00

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; A time to plant, and a time to pluck what is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; A time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; A time to gain, and a time to lose; A time to keep, and a time to throw away; A time to tear, and a time to sew; A time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; A time of war, and a time of PEACE.”

It is my conviction that the time we are living in as Sons/Daughters of God is a time of Peace. (Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Matt 5:9)

Micah 5:2-5 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Therefore He shall give them up, until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; then the remnant of His brethren shall return to the children of Israel. And He shall stand and feed His flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great to the ends of the earth; And this One shall be Peace.”

Ephesians says it this way: “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation.”

Colossians 1:19-20 “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”

Man’s original coexistence with God was one of perfect peace. The entire earth was at peace. But when man sinned against his maker the peace of God that held all things in perfect unity and harmony was thrown off balance.

It was Aristotle that once said “man is a political animal.” And I think Aristotle was right but only because politics became the substitute for peace when humanity sinned. When God gave Adam and Eve his authority he gave them authority and dominion over the earth and animals only, not over other people. Humanity’s sinful nature will always corrupt authority. Because peace was lost, death, sickness, and war were introduced to the history of the world.

Just as Ecclesiastes states that there is a season and time for all things—a time for war, and time for peace—I believe that the time we are living in now is a time of peace.

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

Just because war and death is all around us doesn’t mean we can’t have peace, for the peace that Christ gives is not like the peace the world gives (John 14:27). The peace of Christ is stronger than any worldly peace. Jesus Christ has already overcome the world and he has told us that we are in the world but not of the world. Therefore, taking all of this into account, how is it that the Church has become so violent? How is it that the Church can possibly believe that peace can come through worldly politics? The peace of humanity can only come in having peace with God.

As Christians we have a responsibility to be peacemakers—not through violence but through the life of Jesus Christ.

It is the way of the world to make peace through war, it should be the way of the Christian to make peace through the life of Christ.

I have read dozens of different arguments as to why Christians should have the right take arms and go to war. And it is a strange thing how almost everyone of the arguments I have heard/read never articulates its theory by using the gospels. It is as if they find no support for their logic in the teachings and life of Christ. To argue for the just war they must go elsewhere.

I know this is a very controversial subject and may make many angry when reading my thoughts, but it is a subject that I feel must be talked about—in love.

A Public Proclamation

2008-01-29T19:34:00.000-08:00

May I share what is on my heart?

On Sunday, during the service the guest speaker asked for all who would desire to place their faith in Christ to please raise their hands. Of course this raising of hands was being done in conjunction with the request that everybody in the room keep their heads bowed and eyes closed. As soon as all the hands had been found, the speaker then asked that we all pray the sinners’ prayer. Okay, maybe that wasn’t exactly how it went but it was similar and I have seen many alter calls where it was just that quick and simple.

Just to be clear, I am not hating on the speaker, but simply desiring to bring to light what I believe to be a really bad doctrinal practice.

The sinners’ prayer confuses me. Actually, it embarrasses me.

Why? Well, for just so many reasons.

For starters allow me to just say this: Jesus did not die in private for a few people. He died publicly for the world. He was bruised, battered, beaten, and torn to shreds so that we might be brought near to God. His death was a public declaration, demonstration, and proclamation. It was public—not private.

With this truth being clearly abundant within the scriptures, how can we who preach the gospel tell a person that salvation is only one little 30 second private prayer away? This is why I am embarrassed—because God is watching.

My second reason for having disagreements with this approach in evangelism is not because I don’t believe God saves people through it—of course he does. But because I feel that it is the product of skinny theology, or a skinny presentation of the gospel.

What I mean is that if this method is going to be used then the speaker should make it plenty clear that salvation is not found in a prayer but only in Jesus Christ. We don’t get saved. Rather, we are saved. Saved, not by our own works and righteousness, but by the grace of God through faith.

How can our death be so private when Jesus’ was so public?

A third reason I have beef with this module is because after it is done nobody except for the preacher knows who just made the greatest decision of their life—that is a decision to follow Christ. It is true that in some churches they will have the people stand up and maybe wave their hand so everybody can see them once they have done the prayer. Other churches are so bold that they will have the people walk forward after the decision, so that the speaker can pray over them. But, unfortunately the trend seems to gravitate much more toward the super-seeker-sensitive-side.

It needs to be made more clear that the sinners prayer is not a pill that one can simply consume and then be saved, but that it is meant to be the beginning of a conscious decision to follow our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. And that decision (if made in the context of a church service) should be in every sense of the way a public decision.

I have so many more reasons but for now I rest my case.

Perhaps some of my readers may have a better/different understanding then myself. If so I would love to hear your thoughts on this matter.

Putting Sin to Death

2008-01-17T15:09:00.000-08:00

Check it out

Arminianism vs Calvinism

2008-01-16T12:03:00.000-08:00

Just in case any of you like to read about or maybe just want to know more about Arminianism and Calvinism these are some blogs that I frequent where you can read up about them. I believe the Arminianism/Calvinism conversation to be one of the most important conversations in Christian theology. So, if you have the opportunity, you should take some time and read up. Don’t stop at the blogs though. Go to the scriptures and to prayer when your done.

Arminianism

http://benwitherington.blogspot.com/

http://gregboyd.blogspot.com/

http://www.twtministries.com/articles/1_cal_arm/index.html

http://episcopius.blogspot.com/

http://classicalarminianism.blogspot.com/

http://www.arminiantoday.blogspot.com/

Calvinism

http://theologica.blogspot.com/

http://www.challies.com/

http://purechurch.blogspot.com/

http://albertmohler.com/

http://www.standtoreason.org/

http://adrianwarnock.com/

The Identity Trap by David Brooks

2008-01-16T11:11:00.000-08:00

As some of you may have observed the language games and word battles are constantly being taking to their extremes amongst our candidates. David Brooks does an excellent job in this article in describing the identity trap that both Clinton and Obama have gotten themselves into as a result of it.

Constitution Mending

2008-01-16T10:31:00.000-08:00

An interesting read by Gregory Boyd about Huckabee wanting to Mend the Consition: http://gregboyd.blogspot.com/2008/01/huckabee-on-amending-constitution.html

The Debate is on for the Semester

2008-01-16T10:28:00.000-08:00

Class has just started back up this week and I can already tell that it is going to be a heated semester. Two of my classes are designed in such a way to engage the students in conversation and debate, and by the looks of what we are going to be studying I can already feel the temperatures rising. It has got me both tense and excited.

Today was the second day to go to my World Literature class and the professor decided to take the liberty (of just about the entire period) to rail against the belief of objective reality, truth, and transcendental literature. Even though he did bring up the need to read a text in context (which is true) he went so much further then that. He is all about subjectivity and relativity. Thus he stated for the second time today that one of his main purposes in class is to educate us against the belief that literature can possibly contain some kind of objective authority. This being one of his main motivations, it was no surprise to me to see that the Bible is going to be our second reading for the class. Surely, the decision to read the Bible in a world literature class is no mistake. Especially, in a class where the professor has already been taking cheap shots at the idea of inspired literature.

I am confident that the class will probably be one of my favorites for the semester. It is in these kinds of classes that I grow the most in what I believe. Not because they cause me to retreat to blind isolationist faith but because they force me to search deeper into what I believe to already be true.

About Me & My Job

2008-01-13T21:28:00.000-08:00

For quite some time I had been very unhappy with my job. It was to the point that I was ready to quit upon the first opportunity I got and even at the risk of making less money. I didn’t quit though, I couldn’t. I prayed about it and felt that it was God’s will that I should stay. No matter how much I talked about wanting to quit and how I was going to get another job at such and such a place, I knew that I was acting in opposition to what God had spoken to me.

Everything has changed. I have changed. I knew that for some time my work ethic was not of the type that glorified Christ. And everyday I left my job I felt convicted about it, but instead of making a commitment to improve and change I only tried to ignore it in hope that I would get a knew job soon where all would be better. The change began to happen after my buddy Daniel Sparks called me from California and we both confessed our unhappiness with our jobs and how such unhappiness had affected our work ethic. We wanted to change, to glorify God in all we do, and to be the best where God has called us to be without complaining and grumbling. In conclusion, we confessed our sins and surrendered our jobs to God in prayer. And that is where my heart and attitude began to change.

A few months ago I happened to be sitting at Starbucks (where Andrea works) on a Thursday night after Pillar (my church’s young adult ministry) just talking with some friends, when suddenly, a fellow named Bobby walked up an introduced himself. It turned out that when Andrea was taking his order at the line that she discovered Bobby spoke Spanish and thus she got all excited and told him that her husband spoke Spanish also. And Bobby, being the outgoing people person that he is decided he should introduce himself. That is when Bobby and I first met. To be honest, I knew that our encounter had not been an accident or just a random event. It wasn’t.

The day after Bobby and I met I arrived to work as usual (not really wanting to be there) and to my surprise Bobby was in the manager’s office. I didn’t remember ever having told him where I worked—I never did. I couldn’t believe it. When I asked what he was doing in there they told me that he was interviewing for a job. Guess what? He got the job.

Bobby became the next major factor that brought a shift to my attitude at work. Since his being there I have been challenged to work differently. It is an amazing thing what working with other people who are serious about following Jesus can do. Whereas just a month ago I adamantly wanted to quit my job, now I want to work my best.

Finally, but certainly not least, the way I talk about where I work has probably made the biggest difference in my attitude. As I have cancelled the habit of complaining about it, I have been working to establish a new habit—one of thanksgiving and of speaking blessings. Unless God changes my plans I have now decided to stay with International Bank of Commerce until I graduate from A&M in the summer.

Sometimes the change that is needed is not a change of location but a change of mind and heart.

Why I Should Have a Blue Tooth For When I Drive

2008-01-09T22:43:00.000-08:00

I just arrived from The Woodlands back at my apartment here in College Station and I thought I might share a couple things that happened while driving and talking on my cell phone.

The first incident happened as I pulled up to the stop light at 1488 and 1774 while talking to my buddy Nigel on the phone. And as I was coming up to the light there was absolutely no traffic around except for me and a cop car (go figure). I saw the cop but didn’t really think too much of him. I should have though, because I was the only other person out there which meant that there was no other competition for his attention. Moreover, because there was no other traffic at the light I just assumed that I didn’t need to make a full stop at the light when turning right. So instead of stopping and then turning I just slowed down and turned. Well, the cop didn’t so much appreciate my logic and decided to turn his shinys on and pull me over. I prayed. We talked. And in the end God spoke to his heart and he didn’t write me a ticket. He just told me to obey the law next time. Whoop.

So, the cop and I, after what felt like a ten minute encounter ended up going our separate ways. Again, I got back on my cell phone and began chit-chatting it up. After about ten minutes of driving, engulfed in conversation, I see this possum making a mad dash to get to the other side of the road. And while the possum is just being plain stupid about running out in front of me I do nothing about it. It was just a weird moment. I see the possum, I am talking on the phone, and all I am thinking is “Oh, I am about to hit a opossum.” In a blink of an eye that opossum was road kill. I mean, he was a big opossum and I hit him straight on. It took me a few seconds to really realize what had happened, and then it dawned on me that I had just done my first hard core road kill. Though, I guess that is what happens when possums play with death.

Lesson learned is that I should probably buy a blue tooth so that I may pay more attention while driving at night.

Whatever Happened to Loving Our Enemies?

2008-01-08T08:24:00.001-08:00

“You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Matthew 5:43-48

Believe it or not but it is a temptation of human nature to want to complicate things—especially when they are disagreeable. The above passage of scripture is no exception.

Before we can talk directly about loving our enemies I think it necessary to first know how to define an enemy. To give the definition found in the New American Webster Dictionary an enemy is: “One who opposes or seeks to inflict injury on another. An opposing military force; a hostile foreign country, or a national of such a country. Anything injurious or antagonistic.” When we look at the word “enemy” (echthros) from a Greek vista we find that it likewise describes a hostile and hateful relationship between two people. Simply put, an enemy is not an easy person to love.

Scripturally speaking, there are only two kinds of people: neighbors and enemies. Thus, to all the followers of Christ has been given the mandate to love and pray for them both. We have no business picking and choosing whom we should love, for we have been called to love all people, no matter what the circumstances.

In this day and age I am convinced that many of us do not know how to love our enemies. I hate making generalizations and judgments on this generation, but I can’t help but speak what I see is true. To see how seriously we have taken the mandate to love our enemies every one of us must ask ourselves “what enemies have I been loving and praying for lately?” Possibly I am missing it, but I rarely here people talk about praying for their enemies. If we are going to follow Christ with our lives then it is time we begin to actively and passionately love and pray for those at enmity with us. Sadly, we have created so many exceptions to loving our enemies that we have worked our way out of it without even knowing. I want to challenge all who may read this to put down the exceptions and to just begin to love with all that you are—with your life.

Whether it be a short term traffic jam enemy or a long term family enemy we need to be a people that release an atmosphere of peace. This requires that we spend time in the presence of Christ and that He would reveal to us the greatness of His love. I would not expect a person that has not had a revelation of God’s love to know how to love their enemy. For that kind of love is not of the kind that modern entertainment and education speak of. To love your enemy is foolishness to this world.

When 9/11 happened, I was attending a Christian school and to this day I still can’t get over the comments of many of the students. “Nuke em.” “Let’s join the military and kill those bastards.” “We should just blow up the whole country.” Comments like that seemed to be everywhere and to be said without hesitation. Someone had just become the nation’s enemy and because many Christians did not have a practice of loving their personal enemies they certainly did not know how to respond to a national enemy. We should have practiced forgiveness. Christian leaders should have stood up all over America and been the first to say “we forgive, now let us pray for you.” We didn’t do that—we couldn’t do that because we did not have a practice of doing it here in this country. It is not an American practice. That needs to change.

If you ONLY love those who love you, what reward will you get? You see, the world only knows how to love those who reciprocate back. Modern sociology teaches that gifts that aren’t reciprocated breed discomfort and disbelief. But this should not be the case for the Christian. It is not our inheritance to love just as the world loves. Revelation not reciprocation should be our enduring motivation to love.

I close with this quote from Transforming Violence: “We get no closer to God than we get to our enemy—that is, to any person regarded as ‘different’ and ‘a threat.’” Perhaps we should think about that.

A Missionary Vision

2008-01-07T15:38:00.000-08:00

Most that know me know that I grew up on the mission field in Mexico. At the age of two my parents decided to move to Platon Sanches Veracruz where they spent 9 years working with the local town’s people and the Náhuatl (Aztec) Indians. From Platon Sanchez we moved to El Higo which was another small town only about an hour away. In El Higo we spent 5 years and at age 16 we moved back to the U.S. The 14 years I spent in Mexico will forever leave their impression upon my life. There is a part of my heart that will always be Mexican. I will always love the food, the language, and especially the Mexican people.

Growing up in Mexico taught me many things for which I will always be thankful. One such thing it taught me was what it means to be a foreigner, to not be a citizen, to be a white American. As you would probably guess, there weren’t too many other Americans hanging around. Most people had never seen the “white man” before (except on TV) and so we were a brand new experience for many. To be honest, I hated the fact that everywhere I went I was obvious. I stuck out like a soar thumb. I was the gringo/wedo/bolillo. I could not hide. There was no escaping from the color of my skin

In a town of ten thousand everybody knows who the gringos are and most everybody knows what they are there for. Everybody knew that I was a Christian brother, thus I wasn’t just the gringo but I was the hermano gringo. I say all this to paint a picture of what accountability looked like for me. Everything I did went public. Nothing remained a secret.

Had Christ not rescued me from my own pride I probably would have chosen a path of rebellion. Whereby, I would have brought not only disgrace to my parents but to the cause of Christ. At age 12, just as I was starting to lust after the things of this world, Jesus completely turned my life around. I was forever changed through an encounter with God, and my life hasn’t been the same since.

Had it not been for that encounter with God, I don’t think I would have ever caught on to the vision of being a missionary. I don’t think I would have ever seen the importance of my actions and words.

When my parents moved from Platon to El Higo, the move was really hard on my brother and I for the first couple of years. For me, it seemed like it was every day that I had to be the one to walk away from conflict. No matter how much I wanted to spit back at the other kid, to kick back, to curse back, and to fight back, I knew that to much was at stake. To have responded with spit for spit, or with kick for kick would only have continued the cycle of violence.

It wasn’t until after my encounter with God that I discovered I could do more than just walk away—I could pray and love my opponent. Almost immediately this kind of behavior brought different kinds of results. Let me share with you just one such result.

Israel was about 3 years older than me and for some unknown reason (to me it was unknown) he hated my guts. We had never met, but I guess he didn’t need to know me in order to hate me. Whenever Israel saw me walking or riding my bike out in the streets he was always sure to try and chase me or throw rocks at me (thankfully he never caught me nor was successful at stoning me). But every time he acted in such manner, rather than feeling scared or hatred toward him, I would feel incredibly moved with compassion. As a result my reaction would be one of prayer. I would ask God to please forgive him and to save him from his sins. And this interaction of hate vs. love went on for some time until God in His power and humor changed the situation.

On Sundays while on our way to church my parents would stop by different houses and pick up the people who wanted to go with us. So, on the Sunday that everything changed between Israel and I, my parents were told to stop by this certain house to pick up a new family that we hadn’t met before. While I was sitting in the back seat, waiting to see who this new family was, all of a sudden Israel, plus his mother and sister come walking out of the house. I couldn’t help but smile knowing that this had been the result of my prayers. Guess where Israel had to sit? Right between me and his mother. To make a long story short, I was given the opportunity to lead Israel in a prayer of confession/salvation. From then on our relationship was forever changed. Glory be to God for his great mercy.

The point in sharing all this is simple. Every one of us has been called to be a missionary to the people around us. Whether we agree with the principles of pacifism or not we must all know that we have been called to be peace makers and to share the love of Christ. We cannot pretend that our actions and words are meaningless for we are here representing the King of Kings. We are ambassadors of Christ Jesus.

As an American in Mexico, I understood that though I was in Mexico I was not of Mexico. As a Christian in the world I understand that I am in the world but not of the world. The missionary vision needs to be restored in our lives. This is where we come to understand that we are dead to this world and alive in Christ Jesus.

The Death of a Pilgrim

2008-01-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

There is a simple little biblical fact that I think most of us know as a matter of information but have little revelation about. It is the reality that we are pilgrims simply passing by.

“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.” Psalm 84:5

A pilgrim is defined as being a person on a journey. Until the pilgrim has reached his destination he knows that wherever he stops he cannot get too permanent. The pilgrim knows that no matter how strong the temptation he cannot risk becoming too comfortable. A pilgrim must constantly live with his eyes fixed on his destiny.

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” Hebrews 11:13

I ask this not only to you but to myself also, “where has our confession of being strangers and pilgrims on this earth gone.” We say that we know we are pilgrims, but do we really confess it and embrace its reality? I think not. We have become too permanent and comfortable in our living. We have killed the pilgrim spirit.

Rather than confessing that “we are strangers and pilgrims on this earth” we have been confessing that “we are citizens and permanent residents.” I believe that one of the reasons it is so hard for us to discuss pacifism and non-retaliation is because we have been (for some time now) too permanent in our thinking and living. The spirit of pilgrimage needs to be renewed in our minds and hearts.

A pilgrim will only take what he can carry on his journey. He really doesn’t have time for a greedy and lustful lifestyle for his eyes are set on the prize of his destiny. To live as a pilgrim would set many of us free to live as God has called us. It would deliver us from the seduction of stuff, money, and greed (at least I think it would).

To live on this earth as a pilgrim on one’s way to be with Christ is to live in a contrary spirit to the powers of this world.

Why Did Jesus Tell the Disciples to Buy Swords?

2008-01-06T09:00:00.000-08:00

There is a great post over at Gregory Boyd’s blog (http://gregboyd.blogspot.com/) where he talks about the reason why Jesus asked his disciples to buy swords. Here is the meat of what he said:

Whatever Jesus was up to in telling his followers to buy swords, it's clear he didn't intend them to use them! In fact, had he intended his disciples to use violence to defend themselves it would have contradicted every single teaching Jesus had previously given them about loving enemies, doing good to them, never retaliating, turning the other cheek, etc...

A close look at the passage reveals Jesus' purpose. Immediately after telling his disciples to buy swords (Lk 22:36) Jesus says, "It is written: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors’; and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”(vs. 37, emphasis added). So the reason Jesus wanted his disciples to possess swords was not to use them, but to fulfill prophecy (Isa 53:12) by appearing to be a law breaker to the Jewish authorities.

This is why, in the next verse, when the disciples say they have two swords, Jesus says "That is enough." (vs. 38). Obviously, if Jesus ever intended the disciples to actually use swords in self defense, two wouldn't be nearly enough. But it was enough to fulfill the prophecy and justify the Jewish authorities accusing him of being a rebel leader. (My thanks to my friend Tony Bartlett, author of Cross Purposes, for giving me this insight at a recent Atonement conference).

Thoughts About Turning the Cheek by Paul Copan

2008-01-03T21:10:00.000-08:00

Here are some thoughts written by Paul Copan about a Christian turning the other cheek. As you will see, we have different views on how much turning the other cheek means. It is a good argument though.

Contrary to what many believe, Jesus’ words about “turning the other cheek” after someone hits you on the right cheek are dealing with personal insults, not with acts of violence or force. Rather, Jesus said, “When insulted, be willing to take another insult.” Assuming that persons in Jesus’ time were generally right-handed, a hit on the right cheek is a back-handed slap, which even today in the Middle East expresses a gross insult. This idea of a slap as an insult is seen in Lamentations 3:30: “Let him give his cheek to the smiter and be filled with insults.” This slap would be roughly equivalent to spitting in someone's face in our society.

Jesus is not saying, “Don’t defend yourself when you are attacked” or “Don’t help a woman who is being raped” or “Don’t defend your country when it is being attacked.” He is not negating the judicial principle of an “eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”; he speaks against the abuse of that judicial principle to justify personal retaliation or vengeance.[7]

Paul Copan Jesus, Religions, and Just War - CDC Panel Discussion
http://www.rzim.org/resources/essay_arttext.php?id=8

Self Defense or God Defense?

2008-01-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

On far too many occasions I have heard grown American Christian men talk about the violence they would do if somebody were to jump them in the street or break into their house while they were there. Many people, at least the people that I have been around, have no moral hesitation when it comes to fighting and killing in the name of self defense. I want to challenge that absent hesitation.

I don’t really think I can count the number of times that I have heard somebody say “Well, once I turn the other cheek that’s it. It’s my turn to punch.” Please! Jesus commandments deserve a little more respect and intellect then that.

To a degree I want to make the point that self defense is exactly as self centered as it sounds. It is the exaltation of self over God. When it comes to the issue of defense this is where the rubber meets the road, or where the Christian should be meeting God.

Many of my Christian brothers have shared with me how they keep pistols in their houses for a just in case situation. Others carry guns on their body at all times. I can’t help but wonder whether they have already made up their minds as to who/what will be their defender in the day of trouble. It appears to me that they have already prepared their hearts for murder. How is this situation any different then predetermined murder? How is there any faith in the course of action that they have already for-planned?

The Christian life is to be a life of faith, love, and hope. Thus, to have a fixed plan of defense that charges violence upon the head of any future enemy has nothing to do with those three virtues. Rather than constructing a philosophy of self defense we should be preparing our hearts and minds to trust God even in the most uncertain moments.

Unless God defends us, we defend ourselves in vain. When our enemy is most untrustworthy let us not trust ourselves for the answer but may we learn to trust God.

In a culture of individualism, naturalism, and mucho machoism, it has become really hard for us to discuss this idea of non-retaliation. I wish not to make people angry with me but to cause people to converse with me at least about the possibility of non-retaliation. That we may do so from a biblical perspective. This really is an argument that can be so well argued on both sides that at times I just don’t know what I believe concerning it. Though I am more biased to non-resistance I cannot say for sure what my heart would choose in the day of trial. I do hope though, that if the day does come when I am faced with the threat of danger that I would be sensitive enough to hear Holy Spirit speak to me.

What C.S. Lewis thought about the enemy

2008-01-02T15:32:00.000-08:00

Just to be fair to the other side of thought I decided to post this C.S. Lewis quote. Given time, I will respond to all Lewis’ arguments here. This is one area of his writing that in my opinion proves to not have been one of his strengths. Though, it is an understandable position for Lewis to have held, due to his time as a soldier in WWI. Whether I believe there are weak or strong arguments in the quote below does not prove they are illegitimate. They ask questions that need to be answered.

Does loving your enemy mean not punishing him? No, for loving myself does not mean that I ought not to subject myself to punishment—even to death. If one had committed a murder, the right Christian thing to do would be to give yourself up to the police and be hanged. It is, therefore, in my opinion, perfectly right for a Christian judge to sentence a man to death or a Christian soldier to kill an enemy. I always have thought so, ever since I became a Christian, and long before the war, and I still think so now that we are at peace. It is no good quoting “thou shalt not kill.” There are two Greek words: the ordinary word to kill and the word to murder. And when Christ quotes that commandment He uses the murder one in all three accounts, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And I am told there is the same distinction in Hebrew. All killing is not murder any more than all sexual intercourse is adultery. When soldiers came to St John the Baptist asking what to do, he never remotely suggested that they ought to leave the army: nor did Christ when He met a Roman sergeant-major—what they called a centurion.
…..We may kill if necessary, but we must not hate and enjoy it.

The above passage was taken from C.S. Lewis' in Mere Christianity

Should a Christian = anti-war allways?

2008-01-02T14:56:00.000-08:00

The excerpt below is taken from David Bercot’s book; The Kingdom That Turned The World Upside Down. The central theme of the book pertains to Christians being utterly different from this world. One of Bercot’s biggest criticisms is the relationship that the Church in America has with politics. I happen to agree with most of the points Bercot makes and I especially agree with his argument that Christians have not been given the right to fight in war. What do you think about this?

“Aside from religious persecution, Caesar’s laws and Christ’s laws probably most often conflict in the area of nonresistance. For example, an earthly government often tells a young man that he must be enrolled in the armed forces, take up arms, and kill others who are enemies of his country. However, our King has already commanded us to love our enemies, not to hate them. Whether they are Buddhists, Muslims, or atheists, we can hardly slaughter them and yet claim that we love them. So we cannot obey both Christ and Caesar.
If Christ’s laws do not allow us to kill unbelievers, how much more so do they prohibit us from killing our fellow Christians. Yet, in nearly every war fought by Americans or Europeans in the past 1700 years, there have been professing Christians on both sides. If a foreign government ordered an American to fight against and kill his fellow Americans, most Americans would refuse to do so. However, if an earthly government orders a Christian to fight against and kill his fellow Christians, most professing Christians will do so.
Our ultimate allegiance cannot belong to two different kings. When a Christian kills a fellow citizen of God’s kingdom simply because some earthly ruler has ordered him to, he’s acknowledging that his ultimate allegiance belongs to his earthly ruler. He will put his country’s welfare above the welfare of the kingdom of God and the brotherhood of Christ.”

Kingdom Triangle

2007-12-29T18:09:00.000-08:00

As a Christmas gift my parents bought me the book Kingdom Triangle, by J.P. Moreland. It is the book that Moreland is calling his manifesto, and for good reason too. In it he is urgently trying to awaken the Church to a three-fold vision: The recovery of Knowledge, the Renovation of the Soul, and the Restoration of the Kingdom’s Miraculous Power.

The following is a quote from the book:

A major factor in the current revival in the Third World—by some estimates, up to 70 percent of it—is intimately connected to signs and wonders as expressions of the love of the Christian Father-God, the lordship of his Son, and the power of his Spirit and His Kingdom. A manifestation of the supernatural power of God through healings, demonic deliverances, and the prophetic are central to what is going on today. Jenkins goes so far as to say that for Third World Christians and the explosive growth of the church in their communities, the heart of the matter is “the critical idea that God intervenes daily in everyday life,” an intervention that is an expression of the power of God’s Kingdom.

I have often wondered when the Western Church is going to catch on to this overwhelming reality. And I believe that books like Kingdom Triangle are evidence that the catch is coming soon, or has already begun.

You can visit the book's website at www.kingdomtriangle.com

Sickness

2007-12-27T16:19:00.000-08:00

At about 8:30 P.M. last night (12/26/07) I started getting sick-real sick. It all began with a common cold and cough but quickly escalated to a hellish fever with intense pain all over my body. I tossed and turned all night, only to wake up to the urgency of having to vomit. I then went back to bed only to feel miserable for the rest of the morning. My amazing wife was ever so attentive to all my needs, and gave me all kinds of medicine in an attempt to break my fever. But, nothing really seemed to work. And all that kept running through my mind was how this would be a really good moment for God to exercise His love and heal me.

When I say that my body hurt what I mean was that it felt as if I had been hit by a truck—plus, I had a head ache. At 12:30 P.M. (12/27/07) I had made up my mind that I would not tolerate it any more. The Scriptures teach that if you ask you will receive and that we can have confidence in God and thus come boldly before His throne. I am “sick” and tired of just compromising with illness. Why should I accept sickness? I can hardly see God scolding me during the judgment saying “Shame on you William, for you took my power to heal you too literally. You shouldn’t have believed in Me to do so much.” Hebrews teaches that “he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” So, in a contrary spirit to the logic of this world I got out of bed and began to read the word of God aloud, to pray, and sing praises to my King. It is 6:14 P.M. at the moment and thus far I have not received my complete healing, but I am walking toward it. I know that God will restore my body entirely.

Two Ages of History

2007-12-25T21:18:00.000-08:00

Paul loudly declares in his letter to the Galatians that Christ gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver us from this present evil age. The ministry of Jesus Christ is one of deliverance whereby He saves sinners, heals the broken hearted, sets at liberty the captives, gives sight to the blind, and delivers the oppressed. Christ came to deliver us from the “god of this age” and redeem us to the one true and living God. This is His business and should be the ministry in which all those who call themselves by His name are in active participation. To us has been entrusted the ministry of reconciliation, the gospel of hope, and the authority of heaven and earth. Let us awaken.

There is a division of two different ages spoken of in Scripture: The first could be said to be “this present evil age” where the god of this age has blinded the hearts and minds of men. And the second is “the age to come” where Jesus Christ returns to establish his kingdom fully and wholly on this earth. Notice how Paul speaks of the first age in Galatians 1:3-4 “Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father.” I dare say, that the days in which we live are evil and the deliverance of man kind can only be found in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The will of the Father is that man might be delivered through the life of His Son. But if Christ came to deliver us from an age of wickedness then He must be delivering us into a holy, pure, and awesome age.

The deliverance from “this present evil age” unto “the age to come” of which the scriptures speak have an interesting dynamic. Though the present evil age has not yet passed away, and though the age which is to come has not fully come, we might choose to say that the two ages are running parallel to each other. Through Jesus Christ we are delivered from the dominion of the old age and brought to life into the dominion of a new age.

I agree with the Word of God that this present age is evil, and I rejoice with the Word that Christ came to deliver us from it. I rejoice that the deliverance is not in an age which is far away but is in Jesus Christ. Can you feel the power of this verse (Galatians 1:4)? Can you see that what Christ is all about is establishing His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven? In Him all things in heaven and earth are being gathered together as one-in Christ (Ephesians 1:10). This is powerful. If we have been delivered from the power of Satan and unto the power of Christ then why do we walk as a people who are powerless? And I am not speaking of political power but of a supernatural kind. One might object and say that I have gone to far about having power. And my response is that I cannot even begin to wonder how a person who believes that Jesus lives on the inside of them would not also feel power-filled. Jesus did not send Holy Spirit to live in our hearts to take a vacation but that we might walk just as He walked-in love and in power. Beloved, it is high time to redeem the age. “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Ephesians 5:15-16