A review of Grace, Faith, & Salvation

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?

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

“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

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

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

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

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

Water the Medium

“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

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

“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?

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

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

This guy is great.

I Will Trust in Jesus

“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?

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

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

Violence just isn't the way.

Allow me to re-introduce the Christ

This Girl can preach it!

Things that Happen at Bethel (my Church home)

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

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

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?

“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

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

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

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

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

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.


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Let All Things Be Done. Order Part II

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

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?

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

My Future Funeral Service

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

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

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

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

This is awesome.

Some Broader Thoughts On Pacifism

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

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

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

Check it out

Arminianism vs Calvinism

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

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

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

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

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

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?

“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

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.