Created - Formed - Made

“Even every one that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory, I have formed him; yes, I have made him” (Isaiah 43:7)

The plan of God centers around people – men and women who have chosen and are chosen to be part of His finished creation. These select persons go through a special process of development. In the text of Isaiah, they are “called”, then “created… formed… made.”
God’s whole plan centers around the developing and perfecting of these select individuals. In Isaiah 43, the prophet (under the inspiration of God) makes a remarkable declaration of God’s ongoing eternal purpose. Whom is God selecting? God replies, “Every one that is called by My name.” God may have been speaking to a nation, but at this point His Divine spotlight focuses on the individual. Here is the first step in bringing the human creation into the Divine plan: being called.
Then the next step follows quickly, a special aspect of development: “I have created him.” These select persons do not come about by chance, nor are they left to the blind forces of nature. They are “created”.
What is the purpose in this special creation? “I have created him for My glory.” God plans that His finished new creation will glorify Him, that is, enhance or increase His old creation.
“I have created… I have formed… I have made.” The Hebrew words behind these three terms show distinct emphasis and significance. First, “I have created.” This term refers to an entirely new beginning. We may apply it to God’s action in making a person with faith in Christ as Savior and Lord into a new creation. We Christians become totally new (in God’s eyes) when Jesus Christ comes to live in our human spirit (Galatians 2:20) – a total change of spirit nature from the independent nature inherited from the Fall of Adam into the Divine nature of God (2 Peter 1:4). It is, as far as each one is concerned, a radical departure from an earthly birth into a totally new birth – being born again. And it applies totally to the human spirit part of us.
The second step is that of being “formed”. This word indicates a process. It is a word which is used of the potter working at the wheel. He is using what now exists to make it into something better, something new. The potter takes his basic material, clay, and shapes and molds it into his design. But say a flaw develops in the product as he shapes it. Does he throw away the clay and say that the clay was no good? No, he just collects the clay into a new glob and begins again to reshape.
When a Christian becomes “flawed” by sin, does God throw us out as unworkable? No. He just collects us (by correcting us) into a new “glob” and works on us again.
This shaping, molding, reshaping, remolding takes place in the human soul, the intellect, emotions and will. The soul is like a mass of clay that has been shaped by the world previous to our new birth and now must be shaped and reshaped into the lifestyle of God. But always remember that the Master Potter does not throw out a “flawed soul” but rather takes steps of correction to the same “clay” in order to shape it the way He wants it.
The third word, “made” is a word which indicates the final result. It is accomplished. I have made; I have finished, and it is done. The prophet Isaiah looked into the future when the plan of God for all individuals would be complete. He looked also to the end of the forming he himself was experiencing, to the time when he would be “created… formed… made.” He was looking to the time when he would eventually stand as the finished work of God.
Of course, the potter and clay example breaks down in the aspect that regular clay must conform to the shaping of the potter – but we, as clay, can CHOOSE to conform. There is a sense in which we do the forming ourselves. And though we must do all in our power to cooperate with the Master Potter and submit to Him, all the parts of the process – the purpose, the life, and the ongoing success – are God’s.
There is something here which should startle and awaken us, something that should catch our attention and change the direction of our lives. It is the realization of the new birth – that Christ works on this clay of ours from the INSIDE OUT. The Master Potter has come INTO the clay, is actually in union with the clay, and will never leave or separate from the clay.
This whole process of forming is not a work God does alone, nor can we do it without cooperating with God in Christ. But rest assured, the shaping of the Christian WILL GET DONE by whatever means necessary. Sometimes that clay has to take a real “pounding” – but the finished product is guaranteed to be pleasing to God.

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Curious Things Jesus Said

Have you ever wondered why Jesus said some of the things He said?

For example, Mark 11:22-24 suggests that if, in faith, we want to tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea, it can happen. However, why would I want to tell a mountain to throw itself into the sea? What would it accomplish other than making me feel more than a little powerful, creating a blot on the landscape, and upsetting conservationists? Did Jesus really mean that we should use faith whimsically, to accomplish whatever takes our fancy?

Sometimes I think Jesus used ideas for their shock value in order to get the attention of His listeners. Remember when He said that if your right hand offends you, you should cut if off? Or if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out? If these passages were to be taken literally, there would be a lot of one-eyed, one-handed Christians walking around. Christ was making a point through exaggeration. The point was that we should deal decisively with our sin before it takes over our life.

Jesus compared prayer to a child asking his father for something and believing that the father would respond. So great is our heavenly Father’s desire to give to us that He knows the things we have need of before we ask Him (Matthew 6:8).

So what is Mark 11:22-24 all about? There is a context. There are powerful lessons to do with faith and prayer. The day before, Jesus, by His divine power, had caused a leafy but fruitless fig tree to wither. This was to teach His disciples that it is possible to seem spiritual and yet to not produce the fruit God seeks from us. He had also cleansed the temple of those who exploited the house of prayer for personal profit.

In remembering the fig tree, Jesus tells His followers to "have faith in God." Was He saying to them that they too, if only they really believed, could curse fig trees? I don’t think so. Or was He stressing that the religious life without faith is of no use to God and that it may as well wither up and die?

The context also shows in verses 25 and 26 that prayer made without forgiving those who may have wronged us, just as we want God to forgive us, will not be heard and fulfilled. Therefore this passage explains that we don’t automatically get everything we request in prayer—there are conditions of faith toward God, of bearing the fruit He requires of us, and of mercy shown to others.

It is not wise to let one passage of Scripture dictate the totality of doctrine on a particular subject. Mark 11:22-24 is one of many references to praying in faith. A prayer of faith reaffirms God’s sovereignty, not ours—that His will be done, not our own will (Matthew 6:10).

This touches on one of the problems with the "name it and claim it" prayer styles—the implication that faith gives us the ability to coerce God to give us what we demand. Such thinking implies wrongly that God’s sovereignty is subservient to ours.

Matthew 7:7-11 says that we can ask the Father, and He will give us "good things." Does that mean that God gives us what is good for our long-term development, just as a parent gives a child what the parent thinks is best? If we desire something in prayer that is not for our good, should God honor that request?

James, the brother of Jesus, exhorted Christians to "ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind" (James 1:3). Don’t suppose, he says, that you will receive any answer from prayer if you are double-minded and uncommitted in your own request.

We need to be convinced about the value of prayer. The reference Jesus made to believing we can move mountains affirms this. It is impossible to make an impression on God without faith that God is who He says He is, and also that He rewards those who seek Him diligently (Hebrews 11:6).
A major problem that the readers of James’ epistle had was that they let their own selfish desires dominate their prayer life. "You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures" (James 4:3).

What did they want God to give them? Various ideas are suggested—success by the world’s standards (4:4); God to be on their side and to win their battles for them (4:1-2); their self-seeking positions to be realized (3:14). Righteousness, argues James, is about faith. Faith is believing that God will do what He says He will do (2:23). A life of faith involves making peace with others (3:18), not causing dissention by pushing our own cause or point of view. The effective prayer of the righteous person, which avails much, is a prayer for others, for those who are sick, for those in distress, not a prayer that is overcome by selfishness (4:16).
Faithful prayer does not always play out according to our plans. Prayer is about trusting God and leaving situations in His hands. It is about showing love by petitioning God on behalf of others.

Sometimes, when we pray, we present both the problem and our favorite solution to God, instead of leaving Him to choose an answer for us. Not that it is wrong to think things through and offer ideas in prayer, but do we limit God’s answers in our mind to only what we think should happen? We need to open our minds to the infinite wonder of God—"to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20).

We all need and value the intervention of God. In His sovereignty God can and does choose to supply what is good for us according to the abundance of His grace. He seeks to give us gifts and blessings. However, those blessings are not provided on demand. We share in suffering as we are part of humanity.

Jesus taught that prayer is more about what we can give than about what we can receive. God is not a lucky charm or a winning lottery ticket. From the viewpoint of Jesus, prayer is a special relationship to be cherished, a relationship that brings us comfort and hope that the great God of the universe has taken a special interest in each of us. May He express through us that same interest toward others.

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In Jesus' Name

"Whatever you ask in My name," Jesus said, "I will do it" (John 14:13). Some people seem to think that Jesus is giving us a blank check—we can ask for anything at all, and He will sign His name to it and pass it along to the Father, and it will be done—guaranteed.

We all know that this doesn’t work—and it’s a good thing it doesn’t! Some people pray for rain at the same time as their neighbors pray for sunshine. The home seller prays for a high price, the home buyer prays for a low one.

If God had to answer every request He was given in the name of Jesus, the world would be chaotic, driven by the whims of well-meaning but foolish people. Even if humans could all agree, we simply don’t have the wisdom to be telling God how to run the universe.

So what did Jesus mean - “Whatever we ask”?

"I tell you the truth," Jesus said, "My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name…. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete" (John 16:23-24). Does this mean that we fill out the request form, and Jesus signs it and sends it to His dad? "Hey, Dad, I’ve got a buddy here who wants a million dollars. How about doing it as a favor for Me?"

No, that is not the way it works. Jesus is not a middleman who stamps His signature on our request, pretending that our request is really His. He says: "I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you" (verses 26-27). We have permission to go to the Father directly, because God loves us just as much as He loves His own Son. (Does that thought astonish you as much as it does me?)
Hebrews tells us that Jesus gives us permission to go to God directly. We do not need a middleman.

So what does it mean to ask in the name of Jesus?

Let’s imagine that we are in an ancient palace. The king is sitting on his throne, his prince at his right hand, dozens of guards at attention, hundreds of loyal servants waiting for orders so that every decree will be carried out immediately.

And now imagine that we go into the palace, and the guards immediately make way for us, knowing that we have permission to approach the king. They swing aside, snap to attention and give us the royal treatment. We walk into the throne room, bow before the king, bow before the prince, and then tell the king: "In the name of the prince, I ask you for a better job and a nicer home."

Maybe my palace protocol is a little rusty, but it seems a little odd for me to speak "in the name of the prince" when the prince is sitting right there. Maybe this is not what it means to ask "in the name of Jesus."

Some people think that Jesus was talking about pronouncing His name in a certain way. They believe we have to get His name right—like a secret password—before the request will get through the heavenly filters. But when ancient peoples talked about someone’s "name," they were not worried about the right pronunciation—they were referring to a person’s status or importance.

We can see that in the book of Hebrews. It begins by telling us that Jesus has inherited a better name than the angels have. The name in that context seems to be "Son," but the precise word isn’t really important—the point being made is that Jesus is superior to the angels. He has a higher status, a greater glory.

When we talk about the superior name of Jesus, we are really talking about His superior importance. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we are not dealing with a special word—we are dealing with a special person. When we pray in His name, we are praying according to the way that He is—according to His nature. Our praise and requests should be something that fits His character.

Let’s use another analogy. Suppose that a police officer says, "Stop in the name of the law"—it means that the officer has the force of law behind the command. But suppose that same officer asks for a bribe: "Give me $20,000 cash in the name of the law." Using the words "in the name of the law" does not automatically give the officer legal support, does it? When the officer says "in the name of the law," he is supposed to be acting within the rules of the law.

In the same way, when we use Jesus’ name, we are not obligating Him to support our own whims and desires. Rather, we are saying that we are already in accord with what He wants. We are saying something that He has authorized us to say.

Rather than forcing Him to conform to our wishes, "in His name" means exactly the opposite: We are conforming to His wishes, we are acting within His will. When we speak on His behalf, we need to make sure that we are saying something that He would agree with.

When we say "in Jesus’ name," we are conforming to the words of the Lord’s prayer: Let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Let it be done in my life. If my request is not according to your will, then feel free to change it to what it needs to be. "In Jesus’ name" is our affirmation that, as best we know, our request is within His will.

However, if we have to pray according to God’s will, what’s the point of praying? Isn’t He going to do His will whether we ask for it or not? Doesn’t it go without saying that if we ask God to do what He already wants to, that He will do it?

But God is the one who is telling us to pray. In His wisdom, God has decided to do certain things only in answer to prayer. Sometimes this is so that we will learn, in the process of prayer, what His will is, and whether our request is for selfish purposes. We don’t always understand what God’s will is, and praying can sometimes help us come to a better understanding.

But I suspect that on many things, God’s will is not set in stone. God may not have decided, for example, which person we should marry—but He has already decided how we should treat the person we marry. He requires that we choose the person, and choose each day how we will interact with that person. Prayer can help us here, too.

Prayer changes us—but it also affects what God does. Since He has decided to do certain things only in answer to prayer, He decides what to do based in part on what we do, on what we need in the situations we have chosen, and on what we ask Him to do. He has the power to carry it out, the compassion to help us in our needs, and the wisdom to know what is really best for us.

"In everything," Paul says, "by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God" (Philippians 4:6). Whatever is on your heart, whatever it is that you want, ask God for it.

Jesus has given us the authority to ask—but it is a request, not a command. We can trust God to answer in the best possible way, at the best possible time. But whatever we do (prayer included), we are to do it for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31). When we do that, we can be confident that we are praying in Jesus’ name.

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What We Need In Movies

When Mel Gibson’s movie, “The Passion of The Christ” opened, I wrote an article entitled, “Let’s Accentuate Birth - Not Death!”. In it, I said that as moving as the story of Christ’s crucifixion is, I would like to see some producer make a movie about the importance of the Resurrection.
A new book has just been published by one of my favorite Christian writers, Gene Edwards, entitled, “The Day I Was Crucified”. It is written as Jesus Christ speaking in the first person. I find that the section on the Resurrection is wonderfully tailored to what I had in mind to accentuate a new birth.
I will henceforth quote from Gene’s new book, taking up where Jesus is about to die on the cross.

“I lived before you ever existed,” I said to Death as he squeezed me in his clutches. “Poor Death, there are things that took place before you existed of which you know nothing.”
“It matters not,” Death vaunted.
“It matters all,” I replied.
In that final moment I commanded those who were present from the unseen realm: “Lucifer, principalities and powers, and all whom you head, come into me.”
“Step forth, World System. Come into my very being. You, World, shall die with me!”
“Law, you have been fulfilled, now come into my bosom.”
“Adam’s race, all that was touched by the Fall, and creation itself, come into me and be one with me!”
“Death, be my servant: Put to death all that is now one with me.”
“Come religion! That which strives to be good but is ever failing, come.”
“Death, take religion, the old man, and the self nature and make them your prey.”
“Die upon my Cross. Come, all of you, die in me! You have now encountered the most destructive power in creation - my Cross!”
“Put me to death, I command you. Death, look at me: I am become the Fall. All that is created is crucified with me.”
“Oh, but there is one left - Death, as you take the last breath from me, I have a surprise for you. Death, YOU are now mine!” I cried out triumphantly.
As Death wrapped himself about me, to snuff out the last ember of my life, I whispered to Death, “You are not death, Is there not one greater than you?”
“None,” frothed Death.
“Is there not one who can put Death to death?”
“There is no such a one!” screamed Death.
“Not true,” I replied. “You have for so long called yourself Death, but I was here long before you. I tell you now what you did not know then. I am disguised. You, Death, are but a shadow. You are not death at all. You are but a picture of me. No, Death, you are not death at all. I am life, it is true, but I also am the one who is true death. And at this last moment, I am death to you.”
“Oh, Death, be now surprised. One is greater than all your vaunted claims. The one who can kill Death is death indeed. Today I kill you, Death. You thought you came for me, but it is I who came for you! Then when Death be dead, then shall Sin also be dead, along with the principalities, the world, Adam’s race, and the law. As Death dies, the law will be forever dead. When Death is dead, then who shall hold the graves? There will be life for all who were once your prey.”
“Death, hear me, there will be only one who inhabits the domain of the dead! That shall be YOU.”
Death began to feel his power draining away. His eyes blazed in horror.
“I have crucified the world, I have crucified Sin, I have crucified Law, I have crucified the race of Adam, and I have crucified all else that has this hour entered into me.”
Death cried, “I take comfort in this: I am also killing the Galilean. That is satisfaction enough for me. Let me end, here and now, but Carpenter, you shall lie in the grave beside me.”
Death screamed and then screamed again as he sank into his grave. His last desperate utterance: “If I can hold you for three days, Carpenter, then will I hold you forever.”
When everything I am that was not sin had fled from me, I cried out - Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani. A bystander thought I was calling for Elijah. “Hold, let us see if Elijah will come and save him.”
Then I heard the voice of my Father, “Well done, my dear and faithful Son.” Hearing my Father’s words, I cried out - It…is…finished!
In the last second of life, I released my divinity to the Father.
Father, into your hands I entrust my spirit.

The curtain to the entrance of the Holy of Holies ripped open while splintering wood crashed upon the floor below. Instantly the great and foreboding cloud that had gathered around Golgotha disappeared. For the first time the Passover was spent in chaos. Terrified priests attempted to find some way to cover the entrance into the Holy of Holies, yelling all the while, “Do not look upon the Holy of Holies!” When told the door between man and the holiest place on earth was visible to ordinary people, Caiaphas tried to hide his panic.
At that same moment in heavenly places, the fierce cherubim with their ever-circling swords of fire (which had guarded the door between the two realms since the Fall) fled in terror because the door suddenly disappeared.
Not since Adam of earth and God of heaven walked in the garden had there been commerce between these two worlds. Angels, as terrified as the cherubim, fled that empty place where once had been the guarded door. Finally, when curiosity overcame them, the angels cautiously crept back to that place which had so long been sealed.

It was three o’clock in the afternoon. I had been on the Cross for six hours. Those executed by the cross never died in so short a time, as the point of crucifixion was to exhibit a long, merciless death.
Unsure that one could be dead so soon, the soldier raised a spear and pierced my side. I was pierced in the same place where I long ago had opened Adam’s side to bring forth his bride. The second man to be the head of a new race also had a woman inside him. In a few days, divine woman would come forth out of me.
As the soldier removed the spear from my side, first water flowed out of my side, then blood - thus fulfilling what I had told Zechariah.
At last it was all over, but who would come for my body? As far as the Romans cared, my body was now meat for vultures. But someone from the Sanhedrin, with newfound courage, and faith, was about to lay claim to my body.
Although the Passover was approaching, one of the men of the Sanhedrin had come to the hill to inquire about my body. It was Joseph from the nearby town of Arimathea. He dared not come too close to the dead, but he did ask the soldiers how he could go about removing my remains.
“Only Pilate can do that,” replied one of the guards defiantly.
Joseph, a good and kind man, not present at my trial, nerved himself, went to see Pilate, and asked for my body. When Pilate heard that I was already dead, he did not believe it. “No man has ever died that quickly on the cross.” One of the guards replied, “Sir, his side was pierced; he is dead. I was there.” With that word, Pilate gave Joseph permission to remove my body.
Soon another member of the Sanhedrin, a man named Nicodemus, joined Joseph and his servants. With time running out, they rushed to Golgotha to claim my body. Meekly and remorsefully, Nicodemus and Joseph, along with their servants, placed my naked body upon a long, white, linen sheath that covered my entire body.
Some years, earlier, Joseph had purchased a tomb for himself and his family, one never before used. The tomb was near both Gethsemane and the place where I was crucified. With the Passover only moments away, the servants rushed to Joseph’s tomb and there left my body, along with seventy-five pound of aloes and spices.
Just a short distance behind these men was my mother, wanting to be certain that she would know where I was laid. With my mother were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joseph.
Before departing, Joseph of Arimathea had his servants roll a huge stone across the entrance to my tomb. No one in the entire universe could have grasped what lay in that tomb that evening.
Creation itself was in that tomb awaiting the birth of a new creation. That new creation would not take seven days, but rather just three, and its beginning would be from this very tomb. That new creation would be born instantly in a burst of light and power.
All the power of darkness, World, Sin, and Law were in that tomb. So also the Jewish race, the Gentiles, all the race of mankind. But most important of all, Death lay there, still and silent. All were awaiting - awaiting their triumph or mine.
Would it be the powers of darkness which would arise? Or perhaps the all-consuming victory of Death, with the end of life forevermore? Or?? Was it possible that nothing at all would come forth?

“It has only been seconds as men count time, and already so much is changing.” “I cannot but wonder,” mused one of the angels, “does the disappearance of the door mean that we will be able to go back and forth to earth as we once did with Adam?”
“Or more,” asked another, “shall we see mortal beings setting foot in the realm of the spirituals?”
“I could not so imagine,” replied one of the angels.
“Perhaps you are correct,” agreed another.
There was a pause. All the angels looked toward the missing door and on to earth. One startled angel blinked and asked, “Pray tell what is that I see? Whatever it is, it seems to have only this moment appeared. It seems to be coming this way.”
“Forbid that fallen man should gain entrance to the habitat of the heavenlies!” exclaimed a rather concerned angel. “But what is that?”
“I have no idea,” responded another angel.
“Could it be an angel of some kind we have never known?”
“No, it is far, far too bright to be an angel.”
“Perhaps one of the vanished cherubim?”
“No, too bright even for that. Besides, cherubim are fierce. This appears to be trying to express some kind of overwhelming joy. It is not a cherub.”
“It cannot be a human, can it?”
“Of course not! Fallen men are not allowed in the realm of things spiritual under any conditions. Well, whatever it is, it is coming this way.”
“He stumbles, runs, and stumbles again. Look, now he is jumping. He is definitely…coming in…here!”
“I have never seen such conduct,” mused another of the angels.
“Look, he is transparent,” called one of the angels. “I think that he can see both realms.”
“I think he belongs to both realms.”
“That is not possible.”
“No, at least it was not previously possible.”
“There is no doubt the one coming this way thinks he has a right to be here.”
“I believe he can see us!”
“Is that possible? After all, we are invisible.”
“I thought something like this would happen if the wall between the two realms disappeared - and it has.”
“I miss having that door,” said one very troubled angel.
“I do not like this vast, unguarded space,” agreed another.
“Should not at least one of us draw a sword?”
“I doubt what good that would do,” declared another as they all began shielding their eyes.

“Are all of you angels?” he asked.
“It is speaking to us!” exclaimed one of the angels.
“Am I an angel?” asked the approaching creature as he paused and slowly looked around. “No, I guess I am not an angel. I think I used to be a human being. But oh, look at me!”
“I have never seen such innocence, purity, and perfection,” whispered one of the angels. “He does not seem to be aware of how beautiful he is or how bright his light is.”
“Where am I? What am I doing here? Who are you? Please, pray tell, what am I? You have never seen anything like me, have you?”
“You are the first,” stammered one of the angels finally, “but…I have an idea you will not be the last. As to who you are…I would be pleased to tell you, but I do not know who or what you are.”
He told me that I would be here today. Is this today?”
The mouths of the angels fell open. One said, “At last we know who you are!” Another said, “That is not possible. After all, remember what he was: He was an old thief. That old, cheating, lying thief.”
“Now I remember!” exclaimed the thief. “And, oh, oh, oh! HE remembered me! I am a thief. Or was. What am I now?”
“You are the first of the redeemed. You are the handiwork of Christ’s redemption.”
“That is what I am!” exclaimed the former thief. “I have another question. Am I as beautiful as I think I am?”
“Even more so,” replied the angels as one.
“Am I as bright as you are?” he inquired again.
“No. More so. Much more! We have never been that bright.”
“Never before have I been able to see places which cannot be seen,” observed the thief in wonderment. “Are you sure I am the only one of my kind?”
“You are the first of your species,” another angel informed him.
“I think I died,” said the thief. “I was on a cross just a few moments ago. Now look at me! Am I in…in…paradise?”
“This is at least paradise,” replied the angel, “and perhaps it will be even more. We will know in three days. In fact, with your arrival, we are sure this will be much more than paradise then.”
At those words, this child of God grabbed one of the terrified angels, embraced him, and began to dance.
“I do not know who I am. I know not where I am. I do not know what I am, but I sense I am not what I used to be - and I am wonderful and beautiful,” he shouted.
Suddenly he paused. “The one dying next to me said that I would be with him in paradise, but he also mentioned something too about a book. A Book of Life. Is there something called the Book of Life? Oh, also, there was something about being known even as I am known.”
With that the angels rushed to the Book of Life. Just as they had expected, the very first name written in the Book was that of the thief. As the angels began to shout praises, the thief asked, “I am the first of what?”
“You are the first of those for whom we have waited throughout the ages. We have long waited for this day to arrive.”
“One last question: You are called angels. What am I called?” he asked.
“You are called a holy one.”

Is that the sun coming up? It is just now breaking over the ridge of the mountains. I feel the tremors of an earthquake. This must be Sunday morning!
My mother, Mary, had spent a terrible night filled with images of my last moments of life, of my hasty burial, and of the huge stone that had been rolled in front of the entrance to my tomb.
“Saturday was the strangest of days,” she observed to her friends. Mary Magdalene had described it best: “It is as though the universe has come to a halt, with everything in creation waiting for something to happen.”
Saturday night would be as fitful as Friday. Sadness and helplessness had engulfed all my followers. But for Mary, for the Magdalene, and for the other women, all their thoughts centered around the huge stone. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea had warned the women, “By no means should you come back to the tomb, not until Sunday.” Yet for Mary Magdalene, to return to that tomb was the only purpose she still had in life. Like the other women who had witnessed my body being laid into the grave, who had watched as a large group of very strong men rolled the circular stone into place. The women had seen the stone fall into a hewn notch, depriving anyone of access, and thereby hopelessly sealing his body. All agreed, “The rock is now unmovable.” It would take a multitude of men to budge that stone. And so they waited, watched, and wondered.
And there was another problem. The Jewish leaders had gone to Pilate and asked the Romans to post soldiers in front of the tomb to guard it day and night. The Roman soldiers enjoyed frightening people by brandishing their swords, and should anyone venture to approach the tomb, the soldiers would give no quarter to the curious. Until these guards departed, it was a certainty no one would dare approach my tomb. Nor would a guard ever dare fall asleep during his watch. To do that would mean certain death.
An unmovable stone and a platoon of well-trained soldiers had removed all hope for a brokenhearted woman to tend to my lifeless body. The night’s wait proved too much for Mary Magdalene. She determined that, regardless of the risk, she would go to my tomb and there keep her vigil. She passed Gethsemane, the place of the crucifixion, and from there ran quickly on to Joseph’s tomb. There she waited for a morning that seemed to refuse to come.
While the soldiers stood guard - and while Mary Magdalene made her way through the streets of Jerusalem - none could have imagined what was beginning to take place beneath the surface of my tomb, far below in the netherworld.
Death was dead, but its clutch upon me was unbreakable. It would take a power the likes of which has never been known to free me of death’s cold hand. Not even the power which I unleashed at creation could triumph over this enemy of God.
Others had been raised from the dead, only to die again. If I, the Son of Man, was to be raised from the dead, it would be a resurrection once and forevermore. Then would all the work of death be doomed - and doomed forever.
There were things which had once been reckoned as lasting forever but were not everlasting because they were now in my tomb. Sin was once forever, but now it was forever in its grave. The Hebrews had thought that the sacred law had been established forever, yet the law lay quietly in its coffin, never to hold sway on men again. Then there was the World System, which had been born at the time of the Fall and had grown to encompass the planet. But that system died when I died. Also in my tomb, the entire race of Adam lay cold and dead. Things within the unseen realm had assumed the fallen human race would go on until the last child was born.
As to the prince of darkness, he, like the others, had everlasting life, but my Cross had stolen such life from him.
In the eyes of God, all these which men had reckoned as everlasting were now everlastingly dead. Men may not comprehend the death of death, the end of sin, the destruction of the world system, the annihilation of the entire race of mankind, or the nullification of the kingdom of darkness, but in the eyes of God - and His view is the only view that counts - all of these were now in the tomb with me. Only one question remained.
Could the Son of Man be raised from the dead? Could an entire species vanish and a new species come forth in its place. Did such power exist?
That was, of course, impossible. Creation had been completed in seven days. God would not create again. But the Father knew something no others knew. God had reserved the right to bring forth that which was not created - rather, that which was uncreated - His own divine life! He would bring forth life that was not created!
So it was, in the darkest hour of Saturday, there gathered beneath me a power greater than that which had been released by me when I created the galaxies, the earth, and man. The gathering together into one place of such power caused the very earth to tremble. From the smallest atom to the grandest galaxy, things both seen and unseen began to lose their established ways. In the throes of such a cataclysm, creation itself began to groan while terror spread its wings across the very ends of the universe.

During all this tempest I lay cold and breathless, dead as any creature who had ever died. Nor was death’s furious grip likely to release its prey. Was death’s power as great as the power of the Eternal Spirit?
And so began the duel. Death versus life. Life over death.
Eventually the heavenly host realized there was no particular direction in which to take flight, for from molecules to galaxies all things were in uncertain turmoil. “The conflict is somewhere beneath the earth, near Jerusalem,” announced one of the angels.
As one, they now understood. “It is almost the third day.” With that the entire angelic host moved - as it had three days earlier - to the hills of Jerusalem. There the anxious messengers of God took up an uneasy watch, knowing that the outcome of the ensuing battle would decide the fate not only of creation, but also of eternity. Could the Eternal Spirit break death’s vice? Could the Eternal Spirit win over death? Does that mean that eternal life - even the very life that God lives by, divine life - could become the life-source of man?
And there was more.
The Spirit was striving to impart eternal life to a new species of mankind, and that same Spirit was extinguishing the old creation. A new species could now live in utter freedom in a new creation.
The earthquake intensified, and some of the graves in Jerusalem ripped open. Places long forgotten, even the burial place of Adam and Eve, shook in grand relief as all the descendants of the first family came to an everlasting end.
Still death’s hold would not relent.
“Not since the Fall has creation known such throes,” murmured an awe-stricken angel. “Shall God now annihilate this fallen realm? Or is something even more profound being done?”
Jerusalem’s hills began heaving stones into the air, fissures formed in the earth, buildings reeled. And in all of the world graves were being denied their peace.
“Is it something of death?” whispered one of the angels.
“Or perhaps something of life,” responded another.
As earth’s spasms grew, so also the brightness grew. This was not the light of stars, nor of suns, nor of fire, but rather a brightness no angel had ever known nor beheld.
“This is God before He ever created us! This is God before there was anything. This is what God was like when He was the all!” exclaimed one of the angels breathlessly. “Our eyes are seeing something that no created thing has ever before beheld.”
“Can the power of death be as great as the power of life? We are witnessing the ultimate duel. No war ever fought can compare with this battle.”
The brightness of the light finally forced the angels to turn away. The entire heavenly host, with faces shielded in awe-smitten reverence, dropped to their knees. Quietly they began to weep. The light which had been emitting from beneath that tomb was now radiating through the angels. The light of the glory of the power had so enveloped everything that there was no room for anything save glory.

And so, swallowed up in the life of my Father, Death’s hold at last began to weaken.
Deep within the tomb something moved.
For a moment there was a burst of light such as no man, nor angel, nor pen could ever describe. For one brief, glorious moment the entire universe was enveloped in God.
Death was dissolving in the presence of glory.
In that same moment, Magdalene was moving toward the tomb, struggling to walk, as the earth continued to tremble. As she was thrown to the ground, she dropped her vases of precious ointments she had planned to use to embalm my body. They spilled on the ground and their oils sank into the troubled earth.
“Oh, my Lord!” cried the Magdalene, “You once delivered me from such bondage as womankind has ever known. If this be my hour, then I praise you for releasing me from the pain which is in my heart, for I have lost you, my Lord, my everything.”
While I was lost in the sleep of death, I suddenly felt! It was my hand that moved. Then my feet, with the wounds they bore. I had begun to move out of the deep tunnels of the netherworld.
My Spirit began to glow.
Then came a cry, a shout of triumph, a shout so great that even the discerning ears of angels could not comprehend its origin. As the cry beamed its way across the worlds, it finally came to be understood. “It is HIS voice,” they cried as one, “but the words, what are his words?”
I AM RISEN!
I stood up. With a joy that no man nor angel (but God alone) would ever know, I passed through my grave clothes. I folded the cloth from my head and laid it in the corner of the tomb. I raised my hands to the everlasting God, my Father, who was now proven to be Lord of All.
I threw back my head and cried out again.
I have risen! I have risen! I have risen from the dead!
“The enemies of man, the enemies of God are vanquished!” I exclaimed. “At last it is safe for the new species to come forth. There is nothing to hinder the new race.”
The next moment was the most joyous moment I had ever lived! I touched my side! I cried out excitedly, “She is no longer inside me! I am no longer alone. Oh, Father! You who have made me Lord of heaven and earth have given to me one who is spirit of my Spirit. Here is my grandest hour.”
“I am no longer alone because she lives. Father, you have loosed her to the earth. She has no enemies, nor does she even know of their existence, for she walks in the new creation. She cannot see that which once was, for she is born after they have passed away. Just as my Father is not created, nor I, neither is she, for she is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh, spirit of my spirit, eternal life of my eternal life. Father, you have brought her forth, the female of me.”
Lest the very tomb itself should melt from my radiance, I walked to the entrance and passed through the stone door. There I was greeted by such shouts and cries of excitement as have never heretofore been heard. (And never will be again until the hour of my wedding.)
“She has come forth!” I cried. “This day I have fashioned neither stars, nor planets, nor orbs, but I have fashioned her out of my divine matter. My new creation is nothing less than my own species. As I am so is she. Like me she is divine, yet human. She is my divinity, she is my humanity. She is my match. She is my substance. The shadow of oneness has passed away; the reality of oneness is here. This woman is of my own kind.”
Having understood, the angelic host burst into what could only be described as delirium!

The earthquake ended.
As she rose to her feet, Mary Magdalene looked around. There in the east she saw the first ray of the sun breaking over the hills.
“My Lord has been three days in the grave. Three days…has my Lord…been dead.” This very thought turned her face into a river of tears. She looked up with a start. “What was that? Some kind of shout?” she asked herself. “Some call of triumph? Was it a trumpet, perhaps? Never have I heard anything like it. Or did I not hear it at all? It seemed to…come from…within me. Whatever it was, it was beautiful, like the cry of thousands of angels.”
She stared at the broken vases and her failed attempt to preserve her Lord’s body.
“I cannot even tend to your body. The oils are gone. Oh, dear God, I beg you, bring forth some miraculous way to preserve his body. Man cannot, but I know that you can.”
Mary began making her way to what she did not know was empty at that moment - a very empty tomb. He thoughts turned toward the soldiers. She was certain they would draw their swords and then order her away. She felt certain she would hear one of them call out, “So you are the one who comes to steal away the body of the carpenter?” She could even hear their scorn, “You are welcome to the body. All you have to do is roll away the stone.”
Little did they know that the stone was in fact removed! And it had been moved for her. With joy two archangels had stepped forth and effortlessly rolled back the stone. It was now for the universe to see that the tomb was indeed empty.
Lucifer and his charges did not see this hour, for it was not theirs to see.
Law did not see this hour, for it was not for law to see.
Neither sin nor death saw this hour, for it was not theirs.
Neither was it for the race of Adam, for their hour had passed.
As Mary Magdalene approached the tomb, she was overwhelmed by sorrow and brokenheartedness. She fell once more upon her knees and wept. Then she looked toward the tomb and saw the stone had been rolled away! She rushed into the grave. “They have stolen his body! Now I will never find him.”
As she stepped out of the tomb, it was then she heard a sound. “The caretaker of the garden! Perhaps he knows…perhaps he has seen something.” “Oh gardener, Please tell me, what have they done with the body of my Lord?”
With joy I smiled at one who had learned the simplest, yet greatest truth. It was out of this simple heart, out of this maiden, there had come the greatest, highest desire of God. That was, simply to be loved. With all gentleness, I spoke one word. “Mary.”
She whirled around. “Lord, oh my Lord!”
“Mary,” I said, “you must let me go. It is time for me to ascend into the heavens. I am going there in triumph. The angels await me. But most of all, my Father awaits me.”
I knelt down beside her and whispered, “And now Mary, I want you to do something for me. I want you to go and tell my many brothers.” I looked into Mary’s startled face. She exclaimed, “Your many brothers! You have many followers but only four brothers.”
“Mary, there is a new race on the earth. The old race of man is gone. You may not understand this, and you may not see it. But my Father sees it and so do I, and that is all that is important.”
“Mary, you are now my sister. You are kin of my kin. You are kind of my kind. There is no difference now in our bloodline. I was once divine and became human. No creature such as that existed before I came here to earth. I was a totally new but singular species. Now all that has changed. Now my species has increased and will continue to increase. As surely as I am the Son of God and the Son of Man, you are my sister, a child of God. There now dwells within you that which is redeemed humanity, and there also now dwells in you my divinity. Yes, Mary, go tell those who are now my brothers. Tell them three words:
I HAVE RISEN!
“Go quickly, Mary, I shall now ascend to my Father and YOUR Father. But do not be troubled, for before the sun sets on this glorious day…
I shall SEE my brothers…
I shall BE WITH my brothers…
I shall BE IN my brothers!”


So what do you think? Couldn’t some Hollywood producer, with all the special effects available, make a great movie out of this script by Gene Edwards? The Bible tells me that my “old man” died with Christ on the Cross. And the really important part is that my “new man” came up with Christ in the Resurrection and He now lives in me.
I am crucified with Christ - nevertheless I live - yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.
(Galatians 2:20)

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Infallible Church? Infallible Bible? Or INFALLIBLE CHRIST?

In-fal-li-ble:
1 incapable of error
2 sure, certain
Webster's Dictionarry
Some people trust in an infallible church in which the will of God is interpreted by others. They say that the church was founded by Jesus Christ, therefore its doctrine must be His will. There are many Christians who know about Christ and try to live their lives under their "infallible" church rules. The yoke is not easy and the burden is not light but they give it their best shot. Many suffer guilt and condemnation and feel like spiritual "cripples". They may begin to wonder: Is this the right church? Is this the only church? Do I really agree that every doctrine is infallible?
Then there are those who trust in the infallible Book, the Bible, and try to live by it. These Christians sincerely believe in God's Word and its inspiration and infallibility. But the specific solutions to many day to day situations and circumstances are not given in the Bible. And so many doctrines which conflict with each other are proven by Bible verses. The result can be hair-splitting debate, contrary interpretation and a kind of pharasaical approach to God's will.
What is really God's way to a TRULY INFALLIBLE Christian life? It is THE Life, the Person of Jesus Christ, living within you by your conversion, your new birth. It is eternal Life NOW, and it is infallible! If you have called on God for forgiveness, accepted Christ's death for your sins, and made Jesus the Lord of your life, you are now in an eternal living union with an INFALLIBLE Christ.
Does this make your human life "incapable of error", "sure", "certain"? YES and NO! It all depends. What?? Let's explain.
Because of Jesus Christ coming to dwell in your human spirit, God sees YOU as righteous (which is just another word for "infallible") because Jesus in you is righteous. In your core, in the real you, you are infallible. It is just that simple.
But hold it! You may say, "I'm a Christian. I accepted Christ. But you don't know me if you think that I'm infallible! I make wrong choices, at times. I sin! And about the time I think I have overcome a problem, I sin again! What do you make of that?"
I still say that you are infallible! But either you just never became AWARE of Christ's righteousness living in union with you, or you temporarily lost that AWARENESS of Christ due to pressure from worldly influences.
The infallible Christian life (the Life of Christ within you) has become an eternal feature of your existence. This is what we term "salvation". But your soul (mind, emotions and will) must first come into this knowledge as truth, as fact. The Holy Spirit is the Teacher of the soul sent by God to reveal Christ in you. Secondly, as you daily grow in this knowledge and AWARENESS of your infallibility in Christ, you TRUST CHRIST TO LIVE INFALLIBLY FOR YOU. You know from experience that your human mind is prone to error. And your body follows your mind.
SO THE KEY TO BEING INFALLIBLE IS CONSTANT AWARENESS THAT, IN UNION WITH CHRIST, YOU ARE INFALLIBLE!
The Bible says that, as a Christian, you "have the mind of Christ". But your soul mind must TRUST in or turn over control to the mind of Christ. This is what the term "spiritual growth" means. You don't really grow stronger spiritually because your spiritual union is full and complete at conversion. You receive total Christ, total Christ's righteousness, TOTAL CHRIST'S INFALLIBILITY at the new birth. But you grow in AWARENESS and TRUST in who you are!
Okay, so you still have a human mind and the world gets to you sometimes. You slip into the illusion of independent-self once in a while and try to do your own thing. Your brain is still wired to accept external influences. At conversion, God doesn't do a re-wiring job in your brain so that you can only hear from your spirit. You still live in the world and hear its messages. And, on occasion, SIN! (For a Christian, sin is nothing more than trying to do your own thing separate from Christ in you.)
But Christ doesn't leave. And He soon draws you back into awareness and trust in His Life, His eternal life, YOUR eternal Life, His righteous Life, YOUR INFALLIBLE LIFE! The sin will hurt you in some way, sometimes in an extensive way, but Jesus will use the experience to actually INCREASE YOUR AWARENESS AND TRUST IN HIM.
God corrects His children when they slip up and do wrong in an attempt at independence, but He does not disown them. They have been made "partakers of the divine nature" and are forever IN God's Family. We don't lose Christ in us when we slip and sin. We are "saved".
All of the promises for God's children in the Bible are infallible! Therefore YOU, as one of God's children in Christ, ARE INFALLIBLE! You just must LEARN about Christ in you, ACCEPT the truth of Christ in you, and TRUST in the guidance and power of Christ in you.
"You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free" John 8:32
It could be stated that you shall know the truth of Christ's infallible living power within you, and the AWARENESS of this truth shall make YOU infallible!
Then you can begin just to live; to do the things at hand; to know the Life rising up and spreading out into so many areas. The more our eyes are opened to it, the more it happens. Even when the environments are grim and pressuring – there is no fallibility. It is HE!
Life becomes a steady, dawning AWARENESS that you are not merely a struggling patchwork of body, soul and spirit, but a unity, AN INFALLIBLE UNITY, expressing the universal Life of God. Surely that is what "wholeness" (holiness) really means – a conscious, inner, INFALLIBLE unity with the Life of God through Christ.
GOODBYE TO FEAR,
TO GUILT,
TO CONDEMNATION,
AND TO FALLIBILITY!

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"When I See God, I'm Going To Ask Him About..."

I have become a confirmed “fence-sitter” about many things, and even about a number of Christian issues. AND THAT’S OK!
I have been blessed by God with an inquisitive and curious mind. I have always wanted to discover how things worked. And there’s nothing wrong with that – it’s good. But after 74 years of seeking definitive answers to every question that pops into my mind, I have arrived at a conclusion: God doesn’t require me to take definitive stands on one side of the fence or the other. I CAN sit on the fence and survey both sides of the fence on many issues. In fact, the more I have used my mind the more I see that I am not able to jump down off the fence to land on solid ground on either side. I admit that at times I have leaned down on one side or the other hanging by my toes from the fence. But when I do, I don't touch the ground.
What are you saying, Lou? That you can be wishee-washee about everything and that is OK? That you don’t have to step forward and make decisions?
Not at all. God gave us free-choice and decision-making for a definite purpose – so that we would choose HIM. We have free-choice to choose Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of our life. We have free-choice to continue in spiritual growth by the power of Christ within us.
But we also have free-choice to “sit on the fence” about Christian issues that don’t involve the basics of faith in God and morality.
Throughout my life, I have jumped off the fence to the ground on one side or another of many issues of life, including Christian issues. On some things, I have jumped back up to sit on the fence again; on others, I have jumped over the fence to the ground on the other side. My inquisitive mind kept me searching for the “right” position.
But the “right” position is always God’s position – and God does not always reveal His position definitively!
A friend of mine used to always say, “I’m not sure and when I see God, I’m going to ask Him about it.” This is THE answer that we must give in a number of Christian inquiries, because, let’s face it, the Bible does not cover every facet of every issue.
You know what? I have learned to love the view from my perch on the fence. I can see farther and better from up there than I can down on the ground on one side or the other.
Let me talk about some specific issues that I am on the fence with, and then on those issues where my free-choice from God were really meant to apply.

Young Earth – Old Earth

Through most of my life, I believed that creation was 6,000 years ago give or take a few thousand. That the “days” of Genesis One were literal 24 hour days. That dinosaurs and man were contemporary. That the Flood of Noah was approximately 2350BC. I chose to be on the ground on that side of the fence.
Later in life, as I became more science oriented, I concluded that there are enough proofs of an “old” Earth and an “old” creation and that Genesis One concerned “ages” and not “days”. And on old creation did not require evolution of man from lower primates – God could have done His creating in stages or “ages”.
So I leaped right over the fence to the other side. But both sides put forth some pretty persuasive arguments for their side. Which is right? Thankfully, I don’t have to be down on the ground, I can sit on the fence, survey both sides, and wait until I can ask God. Because this is not a basic issue of Christian salvation, faith and morality.

Universalism

Throughout most of my life, I was right down on the ground on the side that you were either saved to heaven or condemned to hell by your responses to God in this life.
But some put forth a persuasive argument that all will ultimately be saved somewhere out there in the future – and they have scripture texts that certainly seem to suggest it.
How God will accomplish salvation and how many humans will make it is up to God and His plan. The Bible gives hints about it both ways but we won’t know for sure until we see and ask God about it.
I know this from the Bible: God wants us to spread the word about salvation NOW and He has persuaded me personally to accept Jesus Christ for MY salvation and Lordship. I can sit on the fence about the rest.

What Is Hell?

In my younger years, I was scared to death of “burning in hell”. I was firmly on the ground on that side of what hell was. And that certainly was a factor in the back of my mind as I came to accept Christ for salvation.
But after my new birth in Christ, my inquisitive mind discovered about three concepts of “hell punishment”. 1 – eternal torment by fire 2 – eternal separation from a loving God 3 – eternal annihilation.
I am on the fence here concerning what I have been saved from. But the key here is that I have chosen and jumped to the ground on the side that Jesus has saved me – a basic of faith that required me to jump to the ground and not sit on the fence.

Prophecy and The Book of Revelation

Here again, in my early years I was firmly on the ground about prophecy. It seemed like Jesus Christ was coming again to Earth in my lifetime. I put possible dates on everything. The Book of Revelation was practically all future for me.
But here in my later Christian years, I have discovered other Christian views that most if not all prophecy was fulfilled with the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70AD. This is called a “preterist” viewpoint. And believe me, they have some powerful arguments and proofs from the Bible to back it up.
Thankfully, God has allowed me to jump up and sit on the fence and survey both sides. I don’t have to ground myself on either side of the fence because, in all practicality, only God knows and it doesn’t matter definitively to me right now.
The important and basic doctrinal issue is that God has called me now, God is saving people now, Jesus Christ comes to live by a new birth in Christians now. Did Jesus come back to be with His people in 70AD, or is He coming physically at some future date? The necessary understanding is that HE IS HERE NOW LIVING IN GOD’S CHILDREN!

Where We Can’t Fence-sit

We can’t sit on the fence about our personal salvation. We must choose to jump to the ground and accept by faith that Jesus took the punishment for our sins on the Cross; that we are risen with Him to a new nature and life; that by making Him the Lord and leader of our life, we can and will grow into the lifestyle that God wants for His children.
We can’t sit on the fence about whether we choose to live our lives dependently on God or independently from Him. He has made it clear that there is only one right side of the fence and we must be grounded there.
Too many people try to make black and white issues out of things that are not definitively revealed to us by God.
One of the great joys of heaven will be sitting around the throne of God getting the answers that our inquisitive minds have wondered about. There our All-knowing, All-loving Father God and Son, Jesus Christ, will also take pleasure in seeing our inquisitive minds receive some fabulous information.
We think we live in a computerized information age now – wait until then!

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Where Was God?

In what may be America’s worst natural disaster, nearly a million people have been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Tens of thousands were stranded in New Orleans without power, without food, without drinkable water, without sanitation, without medical services, without police. New Orleans grabbed the headlines because it involved the most people, but the destruction was severe in southern Mississippi and Alabama, too.
One tragedy piled on top of another to make them all worse. If only the city had been built in a better place. If only the people had built better levees. If only they had evacuated before the hurricane hit. If only the government had acted quicker to bring food and water, and to transport the refugees. If only…

Where was God?

All sorts of human decisions contributed to the tragedy, but it was nevertheless a natural disaster - nature gone awry - called an "act of God", (actually caused by an act of man at the Fall). Where was God when the hurricane hit land? Where was He when the 140-mph winds hit Mississippi? Where was He when the levee broke? Where was He when the people were trapped inside their attics when the water rose too high?
God was there, on the ground, in His people, suffering along with them. When one part of the body suffers, Paul said, every part suffers with it (1 Corinthians 12:26) - and that includes the head of the body, Jesus Christ. He suffers with us - He has proven His willingness to do it before, and He does it time and time again. God loves His people - he loves even the people who do not believe in Him - He loves them enough to send his Son to die for them. When we grieve, He grieves, too. When we suffer, He suffers, too.
God is big enough and powerful enough to do something about it. Sometimes He intervenes, and we hear stories of miraculous intervention - but often we do not. Maybe the hurricane could have hit harder and stronger than it did, but still, it killed thousands of people. God could have stopped it entirely, so that it didn’t kill any people at all, didn’t cause any property damage at all, and yet He did not.
Whether the disasters are small or large, why does God let them happen? Frankly, we do not know the complete answer. The Bible does tell us that when sin entered the world, God said that nature itself would work against the people. "Cursed is the ground because of you…. It will produce thorns and thistles…until you return to the ground" (Genesis 3:17-19). When the first people sinned, nature itself went awry - and nature will win over every person, and every person will return to the dust from which they came (v. 19). Old age will strike - unless something else does first - and nature will have its say.
Paul says that creation itself "was subjected to frustration" (Romans 8:20), and it waits for the day when it "will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom" (v. 21). Frankly, we do not know how physics would function without "decay" of some sort, and we do not know how God will fix the problem. But we do know that there is something wrong with nature, caused by sin, and God had chosen to allow that - even with the difficulties it causes, even though those "difficulties" are sometimes huge disasters that kill thousands of innocent people. Sin often affects innocent people, and sin has somehow affected nature itself.
We may pray for the day when "the times comes for God to restore everything" (Acts 3:21), but we still have to live in the world gone awry.

Looking to Jesus

Jesus saved His disciples from a natural disaster - the storm on the sea of Galilee. He saved Paul and his companions on a storm-caused shipwreck near Malta. But nature still had its way, for they all eventually died. Many were killed by evil people, others by disease (another example of nature gone awry), some by old age. God allows nature to take its toll. Not forever, not permanently, but God still lets it happen. Someday, I suppose, we will see how magnificent the plan is, but for now it seems quite messy.
Jesus talked about a natural disaster in one man’s life. Who sinned, the disciples asked: this man, or his parents? Neither one, said Jesus (John 9:1-3). Not all problems can be pinpointed to a particular sin. It’s just that nature doesn’t always work the way it is supposed to, and for this particular man, the result was a disaster in his own life. Jesus fixed that particular problem, but most of the time, He allows His people to suffer the consequences of a world messed up by sin, where even the forces of nature work against us.
Jesus talked about another disaster in Jerusalem: the tower of Siloam fell and killed 18 people. It was not a natural disaster, of course, but a disaster nonetheless, a tragedy that killed innocent people. Jesus did not spend time blaming the engineers or the builders. Instead, He turned to the audience and said, "Unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:4-5). Take that disaster, and instead of blaming somebody, examine yourself. Get your priorities in order, and the chief priority is your relationship with God.
Bad things happen to good people as well as to the bad. The disaster that hit someone else could have just as easily hit us. God could allow it to hit us just as well as He could allow it to hit them - that’s the lesson we need to consider from these tragedies. We need to turn to God, to trust Him even when the so-called "acts of God" strike close to home.
During his tremendous trial, Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15). We need a similar kind of trust - knowing that the God who did not spare His own Son will never cut us off, though we walk into the valley of the shadow of death, though we enter death itself. The God who spared not His own Son also rescued His Son after He went through that valley, and He promises to rescue us, too. He will give us life again, but to do it, we live in a world that takes life away.
If Jesus were talking to the families of the 18 people killed by the tower collapse, He no doubt would have been as compassionate as He was with the man born blind. When we are dealing with the victims of Hurricane Katrina or any other disaster, we need compassion, too - compassion that motivates us to help. Many of you have given generously, and no doubt will continue to help during the long recovery period. But we also need to examine ourselves. When tragedy strikes someone else, we do not need to ask where God is - we need to ask where we are, and whether we can do something about it. The only thing worse than nature gone awry is a heart gone cold.
Can we trust God even when nature strikes us dead? Yes, we should, for one way or another, nature will strike every one of us dead. We have nowhere else to turn, for God has the only solution to the problem. But we need to trust Him.
When disaster strikes, God is there, suffering in His people, and working in His people. Therefore, when disaster strikes, God’s people can be found standing with Him, not casting blame, but helping out, making a positive difference, loving as Jesus loves.

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The God Of The Living

Some have found the following verses of the Bible hard to understand:
“Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. ’Teacher,’ they said, ‘Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and have children for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. The second and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally the woman died too. Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?’
Jesus replied, ‘The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. But in the account of the bush, Even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.” (Luke 20:27-38)
In order to get the picture of this dialogue, we need to understand the Sadducees. They believed in God. But they believed in a God for this life only. To them, God rewarded obedience only with rewards for this human life. Jesus taught the resurrection, and they did not believe in a resurrection.
They believed that when you die, you die forever, and the only thing that carries on is your good family name. And so they practiced levirate marriage (the practice of marrying the widow of one’s brother) to ensure descendants to carry on the family name. The Sadducees placed all their faith in the here and now. Their God was only the God of this life.
The Sadducees were always trying to trap Jesus with a question He could not answer. To make Jesus’ teaching about the resurrection seem ridiculous, they presented Him with a scenario where one woman outlived seven husbands who were brothers, then died. Then came their stinging question, “In the resurrection, whose wife does she become?”
The fear of death has forever plagued humankind. Humans have invented all kinds of means to attempt to evade its finality, with no success.
But Jesus had the answer. His response to the Sadducees says that one does not need an heir to thwart death. One needs only to be “counted worthy” by God. Each of the “worthy” ones will experience a resurrection – God will bring them back to life, and more – they will never die! They will be made “equal to the angels” in that they will have eternal life.
To further refute the Sadducees’ misconception, Jesus recalled the words of Moses at the burning bush. Jesus affirmed Moses’ confidence that even though sleeping, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not erased from God’s memory. The covenant relationship of God with these godly ones was not a temporary bond “till death do us part.” We may lose our friends in death, but not God. Even though they sleep for a time, God will awaken them at their resurrection and give them their inheritance, a place in His Kingdom of Heaven.
Contrary to the belief of the Sadducees, death is for us the “last enemy,” and it will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 15:26). God will not allow this enemy to separate any of His children from His love (Romans 8:38). He will give to those who seek Him a place in His everlasting Kingdom (Daniel 7:27).
God is not the Sadducees’ God of human existence only, of dying bodies and fading memories. Those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be given “glory, honor, and immortality…eternal life” (Romans 2:7).

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"I'm Only Human!"

How many times have you heard, “He’s only human!” or “She’s only human!”? Or more importantly, how many times have you said about yourself, “I’m only human!”?
Well, all these statements are just plain wrong!
An animal is just an animal. A fish is just a fish. A tree is just a tree. The Earth is just the Earth. The Sun is just the Sun. The galaxy is just the galaxy. All the elements of the universe are just material creation.
BUT – we humans are more than just material humans. We have something that nothing else in creation has: “the image of God” (Genesis 1:26-27). In other words, we have been given something from the spirit world that animals and other lower forms of creation don’t have which the Bible calls the “human spirit”.
This human spirit is the core of WHO WE ARE. And we are created to be controlled by this human spirit.
Before our new birth as Christians, because of the Fall, our human spirit contained the nature of Satan (John 8:44). After our new birth, our human spirit contains and is joined to the nature of God through the indwelling Jesus Christ.
God has said that he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him (1 Corinthians 6:17). He has also said that He is the divine treasure and we, the believers, are the vessels that contain Him. He is the vine and believers are the branches. He is their owner, and believers are His bondslaves. He is the deity placed in the human temple to manifest and display Him. He is the husband furnishing the seed to the productive wife.
The vessel, the branch, the temple, the wife – are all dependent. The vessel is dependent upon the contents, the branch upon the vine, the temple upon the deity, and the wife upon the husband for the seed.
With this in mind, if you have been seeing yourself as an “independent” person and have acted from that belief, realize that you have gone for Satan’s lie about the believer. You have gone for Satan’s lie about yourself.
When God sees you, He only sees union with Himself through Christ. Satan sees and sponsors this divided outlook. The worst sin you will ever find out you have committed is the sin of wrong believing about yourself.
For more on this subject, click here for a previous article.

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Working and Resting

We have a popular restaurant chain in the St. Louis area called Steak & Shake. Their TV commercials are very creative. One of them is as follows:
The narrator says that when you go in to eat, you look at a menu on the wall, walk up and order at a counter, carry your food to a table, eat, and then clean up your trash and carry it to a disposal. All the while, the TV shows the hustle and bustle of a typical fast-food establishment. Then a curtain descends on the scene and you see the inside of a Steak & Shake. Everyone is seated at tables and is being waited on by serving attendants. Everyone is happy and relaxed. The narrator says over this happy scene, “Steak & Shake is a RESTaurant, not a WORKaurant!”
God says that there is a type of working that IS resting. The writer to the Hebrews (probably Paul) declares that this life has rest, not strain as its basis (Heb. 4:1-11). It is the rest God has had since He rested on the seventh day after completing the creation. It is also that of Israel entering into the land of Canaan. But he goes on to say that the true rest is what we have in Christ, our Joshua.
That rest is by no means a folding of the hands, but a fully active life that is a thrill to live because it has adequacy at its center, not inadequacy. Living life without what it takes to live it causes strain; living life with what it takes to live it produces rest. The resting life he describes this way: “He that has entered into His rest, he has also ceased from his own works, as God did from His” (4:10).
Living by my own works was when I was the worker. The rest-life will have even more works, for He is the worker. BUT THAT TYPE OF WORKING IS RESTING.
He defined rest as being a ceasing from our own works. Not from work, of course – that is an impossibility – but from works proceeding from self-effort. In other words sharing God’s rest doesn’t mean ceasing from work, any more than our ever-active God ceases, but resting in our work. If our activities are dependent on our own resources, we work from strain; if upon His, we work from rest.
That is also the “second rest” Jesus spoke of in Matthew 11:28-30. He worked from rest, and He was so evidently relaxed. Why? Because in humbleness He thoroughly knew His human incompetence, and therefore could also know His indwelling Father’s allness. And being meek of heart, He knew how to abide in His Father in times of stress, rather than rushing off to handle situations His own way.
The key to entering into God’s rest and continuing in it is by a revelation nowhere else so clearly stated in the Bible. The Hebrew writer distinctly connects the experience of this rest with ability to discern between soul and spirit (4:12). And my experience is that a great many of God’s people are confused and frustrated, and live in a great deal of false condemnation, because they have not learned this distinction.
Modern psychology has invented its own vocabulary for what it considers are the subdivisions of the human personality, such as the subconscious, the super-ego, and so on. But God gave us His own definition and analysis centuries ago, and that will never be bettered.
Man, the Bible says, is tripartite – spirit, soul and body – and in that order of importance (1 Thes. 5:23). In the Hebrew passage, it stresses that the difference between soul and spirit is very subtle, and indeed can only be recognized by inner revelation. Only the Word of God, it says, applied as the sharp sword of the Spirit to the human consciousness, can pierce “even” to that depth, sever between the two, and give soul and spirit their proper evaluation – so we can recognize the proper function of each without mistaking the one for the other, and thus enable the human personality to move forward in gear and remain there.
The first essential is a clear recognition of the human spirit as the real self, the nature and ego within us. Soul and body are the clothing or means of expression of the spirit. The human spirit is that “image of God” spoken of in the Genesis creation. When I say, “I myself,” the I is the spirit, the inborn nature which can look out from within, as it were, and knows the myself, the rest of me (soul and body). The human spirit is love – self-love through the Satanic nature in the Fall, and when joined to Christ by grace, God’s selfless love expressed through the human love-faculty.
Now we reach the important point: In what does the soul differ from the spirit? It is the means by which the invisible spirit can express itself. The soul is the reasoning mind, the emotions and feelings, and the chooser of action.
Now unless we have a clear differentiation between the properties of these two, we can get into a great deal of trouble, because the soul is the intermediary between ourselves and the world. And it not only channels the spirit to the world, but has the reflex activity of channeling the world back into the soul’s decisions. Reason and emotion are wide open, not only to our spirits, but to the world around. Therefore our soul can be very variable. We may like this, or dislike that. This may appeal to us, that repel us – either things or people. We may feel exalted at one moment or lowly at another; dry at one time, fresh at another; fervent or apathetic; bold or fearful; compassionate or indifferent.
If, therefore, we confuse soul with spirit, we quickly fall into false condemnation. Why are my feelings so variable? Why do I feel cold, dry, far from God? Something is wrong. Why do I dislike this person, or resent this happening? I am wrong with God somewhere.
But I am beating myself in vain. Soul is variable, spirit invariable. In my spirit joined to Christ’s Spirit, I live with an unchanging and unchangeable Christ, and am myself equally unchanging by faith. I am not my soul feelings. I AM spirit. But if we didn’t have sensitive souls, we could not be affected by the cross current of human living; we wouldn’t be humans. We are to be affected by them, but not governed by them, just as He was “touched with the feeling of our infirmities.”
But we so often allow our souls to be influenced by the world’s input of external appearances. They would lead our emotions to “feel” spiritually cold, dead, apathetic, hard, dry. We feel that we are a disappointment to God. We feel out of touch with God. NO WE AREN’T! All we need is not to be fooled by our souls! The well of living water has not stopped springing up within us, the living bread in our spirits has not gone stale, the fire of the Spirit has not burned low.
Look within where you and He really are, spirit with Spirit. There is no change. Don’t be fooled by the color of your clothing – you soul feelings. You and Christ in you have not changed. Indeed we will have those kinds of feelings, and God intends that we should have, to stabilize us in the walk of faith. They are useful in driving us back to Him in our spirits. As we learn to walk more steadily in Him, we will find ourselves less and less bothered by that type of soul-feeling. A whole lot of the hunger people say they have, or need of spiritual refreshment, is at the core because they are mistaking soul-reactions for spirit-facts. The Reviver is already and always within! There would be much less talk of revival among Christians, if we had learned to walk in “vival” – in the fact of the unchanging life which is the real we, Christ in us.
In our spirits we are undifferentiated. That is where we are all one person in Christ. In our souls we all vary, and are meant to. That is why the salvation of our souls is an ongoing necessity, because it is through the infinite variety of our souls that all the glories of Christ will be seen, each of us manifesting some different facet of His unsearchable riches.
It is not wrong for the reasoning faculty of the soul to question and doubt, any more than it is wrong for the emotions to have their varied reactions. The Bible says that we have the mind and the faith of Christ joined to our human spirit (Galatians 2:20). When we understand the balance between the spirit of faith and the uncertainties of reason, and how the reasoning faculty is given us to face squarely all the various possibilities that confront us in life, then we enter with zest into life’s dialogues. Is a thing this? Is it that? We are not afraid of the cold winds of skepticism. We are not shaken by questions that seem to disturb our faith. We weigh things up and admit our ignorances and inabilities to produce our proofs. But we don’t live in the reasonings of our souls. We move back to where we really are – in our spirits. There is the place where eternal directions come from. We affirm what we know and are – by faith. Where reason has helped to clarify and confirm, we are strengthened and thankful, and are more ready to share those reasons with others. Where reason raises questions, we are always willing to consider and learn and adjust; but we never permit it to cross the bridge which is forbidden to it, the bridge of revelation from God which has become the bridge of faith, the bridge which has nothing to do with rational concepts, but is a Living Person, Jesus Christ.
So how can we be a RESTaurant and a WORKaurant at the same time? By resting in Christ within our spirit from attempting to do things in our own strength AND doing the work out to others in the strength of Christ.

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When Spiritual Disciplines Become "Commandments"

It’s 4:00 in the morning when the alarm goes off. You hate getting up at 4:00, but you do it. You are measuring spiritual growth by a strong quiet time with God – and that quiet time has to be disciplined. Discipline, it seems to you, is the ticket to true spirituality. And you are determined to be truly spiritual.
You are up, bleary eyed, reading (or attempting to read) your Bible, praying (sometimes incoherently, which is how you do most things at 4:00 a.m.), meditating (which looks occasionally like snoozing), attempting to memorize Scripture and being silent before God.
Every morning you consider yourself either a success or a failure depending on whether or not you showed up for work (spiritually speaking).
Eventually, all this may cease to be meaningful – and your deep dark secret is that you don’t know why and, in fact, are beginning to resent the spiritual disciplines.
What are the “Spiritual Disciplines”? Christians have long considered certain behaviors to be the product of Jesus living His life within believers. When we are saved by grace, not by works, God begins to produce His works in our lives (Ephesians 2:8-10). Historically, some of the habitual routines that were considered as products of being in Christ came to be called “disciplines.” Biblical evidence for spiritual disciplines includes: Prayer (Col. 4:2; 1 Thes. 5:17), Bible study (2 Tim. 2:15, 3:16), meditation (Joshua 1:8), silence before God (Psalm 46:10), worship (Psalm 29:2) and fasting (Luke 5:33-35).
God can use such spiritual disciplines in our lives, not only producing them in the first place, but using them as His tools to help us grow in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18).
HOWEVER, if we’re not careful, we can allow the practice of disciplines to become legalism or “commandments” toward self-denial for self-denial’s sake, where we seek to earn God’s favor through rigorous self-denial.
Ironically, as a new Christian before you knew about any spiritual disciplines, you may have read your Bible every night. You may have prayed throughout the day. It seemed so natural – a passion – not a duty.
It was later that things began to get a little unnatural. Slowly the joy seeped out of your quiet times, while ironically, pride seeped in. You became proud of your ability to deny yourself and felt a cut above, spiritually. You were doing God a tremendous favor!
All throughout the Old Testament God continually railed against His people for doing the right things (sacrifices, festivals, etc.) with the wrong motivation. You can see how that happens. Gradually, a seismic spiritual shift can take place where you find yourself spending time with God, not in order to know Him better, but in order to fulfill a spiritual duty or obligation or commandment. It is discipline, but not for the purpose of godliness.
You may begin to see God as a demanding school teacher, checking your homework every morning. If you don’t turn it in, you get a zero for the day and go throughout the day wallowing in guilt. But when you do show up, you get your gold star and are sent to the head of the class. And sadly, you even feel that God likes this arrangement.
If we’re not careful, we can begin to see the disciplines as a way to demonstrate to God (and others) that we’re “on track”. The disciplines can become little more than a measuring stick by which we attempt to measure our spirituality.
The danger is that you can assume that you really are spiritually on track. Yet, if you read the Scriptures but don’t truly seek to listen to God, if you pray in simply a mechanical and passionless way, you can deteriorate spiritually, all the while thinking you’re making great progress.
When we view the disciplines as spiritual measuring sticks, rather than products of God’s grace that enable us to grow closer to and more like Christ, we miss the point. It’s like dating your wife or husband because you know you’re supposed to. But on you date all you do is stare into space, make small talk and glance continually at your watch wondering how long it will be until this drudgery is over. Your spouse would be neither flattered, not fooled. Sadly, God is often on the receiving end of this kind of “spiritual date.”

A Disciplined Life In Christ

The spiritual disciplines aren’t rigid rules we must follow like some complicated tax code, but the natural moving of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we seek Him. And the Spirit in turn leads us to the awareness of our union with Christ so that we can replace our old desires with a desire to seek God and serve Him first and foremost. The spiritual disciplines are designed to help us do just that. However, they are more than a scheduled spiritual pit stop with God.
Here is how I have come to view the spiritual disciplines.
I give God the best of my time (which isn’t at 4:00 a.m.). When I am thoroughly awake and ready to face the day, I sit down and read the Bible. I have read it many times, but I read it for one purpose only now: to hear my Heavenly Father speak to me. The only thing that has changed is my attitude, but that changed everything. Sometimes I read a chapter a day, sometimes two or three. Sometimes I spend two weeks on a Proverb. Sometimes what God is saying takes time for me to understand, so I wait. There is no hurry.
Instead of plowing mechanically through a laundry list of prayer requests, I begin to pray about what Jesus wants, and it gradually becomes a conversation with my Lord, something it was always supposed to be. Jesus raises a topic with me, something for me to consider from the Bible or from the latest news of the world or from my relationships with people. Prayer becomes instinctive and natural, like two people speaking with each other, both intensely involved in the conversation. I then follow up on the topic either by writing an article about it or by taking steps to correct a problem pointed out to me.
It is hard not to get legalistic about the spiritual disciplines. We tend to ask, “Have I done them?” but not “HOW have I done them?” We are used to asking whether or not we did “it” rather than did I HEAR Him? We are used to settling for “mission accomplished” rather than “relationship strengthened.”
God gives us no brownie points for mechanically going through spiritual motions. If He did, He would have praised the Pharisees instead of criticizing them – because that was their modus operandi.
The spiritual disciplines have great value when approached with a passion to grow closer to the great subject of our discipline, Christ Himself. They become empty “commandments” and even counter-productive when we look upon them as spiritual busywork for which we receive great spiritual credit.

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What's New About a Christian?

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a NEW creature - old things are passed away; behold, all things have become NEW.”
(2 Corinthians 5:17 King James Version)
“When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand NEW person inside. He is not the same anymore. A NEW life has begun!”
(Same verse, Living Bible Version)

There are often people who hear this glorious and liberating message of salvation and ask the question, “Why doesn’t the salvation which Christ brings really SEEM to wash away the sins of the past, and why doesn’t it really SEEM to make us new people?” The answer to this is two-sided.
The first side of that is, of course, Jesus Christ did die to remove the punishment due us for our sins and to bring salvation in Himself. And we are a new creation - the old has gone; the new has come. Definitely, this is what the verse states.
However, on the other side, there is nothing in this verse, or for that matter any other verse I know of in the Scriptures, that obligates God to remove instantly everything that we don’t like about our past or about ourselves. In fact, there are three things which may NOT be permanently removed.
The first of these is EMOTIONAL PAIN FROM OUR PAST. While coming to Christ in the new birth takes all of the fire and the hurt out of our past that had to do with our sin, it does not necessarily take away the emotional pain and stress that comes from past happenings. The one thing we know for sure about being in union with Christ is that there is no guilt or condemnation (Romans 8:1). Being free of the guilt and condemnation takes much of the hurt and pain out of our past experiences. However it is a fact that none of these things that have ever been in our past are erased from our mind and very often can be triggered by events and issues of the moment. This makes many people think that God has not fully delivered them. But of course the apostle Paul saw it a different way. He saw that these things were a necessary contrast in our lives: 1. To not let us forget that from which we have been delivered, and 2. so that we would not forget who we are in Christ and our ultimate need of trusting our union with Christ as our only hope.
Would we be better off without these emotional scars from the past? Would their removal at conversion be a true blessing? God obviously feels that it would not because He assures us He wants the best life for His children and yet He does not see fit to wipe them away at our new birth as a new creation.
The second thing we see that God is not obligated to remove instantly is THE FRUIT OF OUR PAST SINS. You cannot live a sinful life separated from God and not bear the fruit of this. This does not mean we bear the penalty of the sin, for that is done at the Cross, and no man can pay for his own sin. However it does not mean that the things we have done are erased from our physical bodies; nor would we cease bearing the fruit of them. If a person is an alcoholic, has an automobile accident, and is injured, coming to Christ may not take away the wounds, and the broken parts of the body may be permanently damaged for a lifetime. If a person contracts AIDS through promiscuous sex, the fruits, that is the symptoms and pains of AIDS, may last a lifetime and result in premature death.
God by His grace gives us peace through Christ who is our new life. This means that in Him who is perfect, we stand perfect, but within our humanity we may still have present the fruit of our past sins.
A third thing that God is not obligated to do by 2 Corinthians 5:17 is TO MAKE US DIFFERENT PEOPLE THAN WE WERE BEFORE. God does not rewire our unique DNA material or instantly change our unique talents and abilities - our strengths and weaknesses. In our mother’s womb, every human being was created by God and gifted by God to be something of importance to themselves and of praise and glory to Him. The purpose of our life on this earth is to come to that understanding. We are a new people, a new creation in Christ, but we are not a different people according to our creation purpose.
Let us now go to three important facts of what IS OURS through 2 Corinthians 5:17.
First, we have A NEW CAPACITY TO RELATE TO GOD. Most human beings have never completely related to God because they have been spoiled by Satan’s nature which was their motivating and driving force of life. But now in Christ they have a whole new motivation and drive, Christ living through them. Trusting in Christ gives them a new capacity to relate to God. We are offspring of God, members of His Family containing His divine nature. And regardless of what might happen in our life, we remain His offspring.
A second thing that we have as a fulfillment of the verse is A NEW DESTINY. Most people would think that our new destiny was heaven, and that is so and that is important…and is the greatest destiny of all. But until we die, we can experience a new destiny on this earth. We can now wake up every morning knowing that our jobs, our families, our words, and our very thoughts and intentions have to do with Christ - that we are never in a separated state from Him. This gives us a destiny which we never had as sinful creatures or unknowing believers.
Then there is a third fulfillment of the verse - A NEW SOURCE OF POWER AND LIFE.
This is where the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit work in our life. God never intended for a human being to live a powerless, haphazard, weak, and insignificant life on this earth. We were purposed to live locked in His love and His power and by that fulfillment enjoy life and be free to live as God intended. We will have the same abilities, same background and the same DNA that God “proposed” in our creation. His “wiring” has not changed. This new power and life in Christ is so that Christ within can work through our unique characteristics and wiring and thus deal in a “Christian” way to those around us. What God has planned for every human being by the power of Christ is far greater than anything we could develop on our own or could reach out for on our own in this life.
Very often 2 Corinthians 5:17 seems to be a “mysterious” verse to translate - to bring forth its depth of meaning. Discerning the difference between soul and spirit is the key.
At our new birth in Christ, EVERYTHING is changed about our human spirit - Satan’s nature is out totally, and God’s nature in Christ becomes indwelling totally.
But in our soul, that unique wiring within our minds where our talents and weaknesses are located, NOTHING is changed at our new birth in Christ except possibly a little increase in tenderness toward the things of God. Our day to day Christian living is a renewing of the mind, a gradual transformation to trust in Christ (Romans 12:1-2).
Before our new creation, we did not have a MOTIVE to want to please God - we wanted to please ourselves, and if this happened to please God, so much the better. We did some “good” but our desire was always to please ourselves.
But after our new creation, we have a new built-in MOTIVE (Christ’s motive) to want to please God. We slip up in our weakness and do some “bad” things but our true desire is now to please God.
A new Life has begun!
And we are growing!

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The Testimony Of a Man Of Science

Some say that the creation account in the Book of Genesis and the scientific claim of a “big bang” and billions of years of the universe cannot be harmonized.
Here is the testimony of Hugh Ross, PhD. Taken from his book Creation and Time, pages 143-154.


I was seventeen years old when I began to study the Bible. I had heard some portions of it read aloud in my public elementary and junior high classrooms in British Columbia, and I had caught tidbits of it from my parents at home and at a United Church of Canada congregation that my family attended for several months during my childhood. But I had never studied it for myself. I had been studying science instead, which was my main interest from the time I was seven.
I started my Bible reading with the Genesis creation account. After all, it appears on the first page. I had another reason, though, for starting there. In my study of the history of astronomy, I had read dozens of creation stories from the world’s religions, and I wondered if this one would be like the rest. The others were good for a few laughs, with their ludicrous descriptions and inventive disordering of events. I half anticipated that the Bible’s story might be just as strange and unscientific.
What immediately caught my attention was that God established the point of view (on the surface of Earth’s oceans) for the passage right at the outset, before outlining the sequence of events. This anticipated my first concern – the perspective from which the account unfolds.
Then I made another startling observation: Along with identifying the viewpoint, Genesis 1:2 also stated Earth’s initial conditions, again clarifying the context of what followed.
To be sure, not everyone would recognize these two features of the text as complementary with the scientific method. But any careful reader couldn’t help but notice that they colorfully and dramatically set the scene.
With the point of view and initial conditions identified, I could proceed in my reading without relying on guesswork. In fact, in only a few minutes I understood what the text said about the order of events.
Now I was even more stunned. As far as I could tell from my limited knowledge, everything in Genesis 1, from the initial conditions to the identification and sequencing of major events made sense not only as a story abut also scientifically. Never had I seen anything remotely like this in other creation accounts.
I realized that the Bible had a perfect batting record on the ten creation events plus the initial conditions. I realized such a record required supernatural assistance. The human author could not have been guessing or presenting his own or his culture’s ideas.
The discovery that Genesis might be a divinely inspired book challenged me to dig deeper into the text. I recognized that the Bible could not be taken lightly or frivolously.
Because Genesis 1 proved so accurate on the description and order of creation events, it seemed entirely possible to me that it might also prove true on the creation time scale. Why? Because I, like many other citizens of this century, was aware that modern astronomy has confirmed the first verse of the Bible, that the whole of the cosmos had a definite beginning, a beginning not in the infinitely distant past but only about 14 billion years ago. Thus, when I encountered the six creation days of Genesis, it seemed possible that the word day could refer to longer periods than twenty-four hours. But I wasn’t sure.
My first clue to some flexibility of usage for day was the reference to the beginning of day and night. Obviously, the word day here had at least two meanings.
My second clue was the use of the word heaven on the second creation day. The firmament called heaven in verse 8 was distinct from the heavens of verse 1. Here again was a word taking on more than one definition. At this point I was beginning to discern that the original language of the Old Testament (Hebrew) had fewer nouns than English. Then I remembered my high school English teacher proudly pointing out that the vocabulary of English is much larger than that of most other languages.
My third clue was the lack of an evening and a morning for the seventh day. The only reason I could imagine for the author’s breach of parallelism, his failure to mention the evening and morning of the seventh day, was that the day might not yet be over. When I saw that the seventh day was a day of rest for God, I recognized a possible answer to the enigma of the fossil record.
Throughout the fossil era, new species appeared one after another after another, and species went extinct too one after another after another. But throughout the history of the human race, only the extinction rate is high. The speciation rate is negligible.
During my teenage years I had been mystified by this fact. Now I found an answer where I did not expect it – for six days God created, repeatedly and miraculously introducing new species of life on earth, but on the seventh day He ceased from His work of creating new life.
A final clue came from Genesis 2:4. There the day refers to the entire creation week. It was one more piece of evidence that the Hebrew word for “day” could indeed refer to a time period other than twenty-four hours.
That first night of serious Bible study absorbed many hours, and I made my way through only the first 35 verses. But by the time it had ended, I felt a remarkable exhilaration. Though not yet completely convinced that the words I was reading and all that followed were indeed the Word of God, I knew that I could not discount the possibility. Nor could I ignore the challenge to study the rest of the Bible, testing whether or not it proved similarly plausible.
I invested nearly two more years in the testing process, but that fist night was a turning point. Before that night I strongly doubted that the Bible could be the error-free Word of God. After that night, I became more and more convinced that it was.
My experience was not unique. I have since learned that it characterizes the approach of many with a scientific or analytical bent. If such an individual gets through the first chapter of Genesis, unless he or she has personal (or moral) barriers to belief, that person will become a believer. If someone stumbles in that first chapter, his or her unbelief may never be overcome.
A widely held conviction that persists to this day is that the words of the biblical account and the facts of science are irreconcilably at odds. Some reject the reliability of the Bible. Others reject the reliability of secular science. Still others assert that Genesis 1 and science address different kinds of truth, truth on different planes of reality, and the twain need never meet. All three groups of people make the claim that since it appears impossible to accord the description and order of creation events in Genesis 1 with the established scientific record, one might as well concede that the biblical and scientific dates for creation are at odds.
Ironically – perhaps I should add, unwittingly – in my first night of Bible study, I picked up and used an oft-overlooked key to reconciling the text with science. Years ago I mentioned that key while conversing with a renowned seminary professor. He struck his head in amazement at something so simple, wondering how he could have missed it. He encouraged me to share it as widely as possible.
The seeming futility of the attempt to integrate Genesis with the scientific record arises from an error in applying Galileo’s rule: “Begin by establishing (not assuming) the point of view.” Most Bible commentators assume the point of view to be out in the heavens looking down on the earth. As a result, they present an order for creation that is absurd next to established science.
Ironically, Genesis 1 precisely and clearly identifies the point of view for the creation account:
Darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. (verse 2)
This simple statement suggests that the reader interpret the events of creation from the perspective of an observer on the surface of the earth. The view looking upward and around from this vantage point makes a huge difference in understanding the sequence of creation events. From misplacing the perspective in the heavens, it appears that light was created after the earth. The creation of the sun, moon, and stars seems to take place after the creation of plant life and after the establishing of the water cycle. But with the point of view on the surface of the earth, looking up at the atmosphere of the earth, we recognize that God’s miracles are taking place in the atmosphere of the earth, not beyond it in the galaxy and the solar system. Light was not created on the first creation day. On that day the light already created “in the beginning” suddenly broke through to the earth’s surface. This breakthrough required the transformation of the atmosphere (plus the interplanetary medium) from opaque to translucent. On the fourth creation day we see yet another atmospheric transformation, this time from translucent to transparent. Through that transformation, the sun, moon, and stars became visible for the first time on Earth’s surface. It’s not that God made (or created) them on the fourth day; He simply made them visible and distinguishable on that day.
With the point of view fixed on the earth’s surface, the “dark,” “formless,” and “empty” initial conditions make sense. It is dark in spite of the already existing heavens and earth because the earth’s primordial atmosphere and the solar system’s primordial interplanetary debris prevent the light of the sun, moon, and stars from reaching the surface of the earth. The earth’s surface is empty of life and unfit for life, because without light photosynthesis is impossible.
With the point of view and initial conditions correctly identified, the sequence of Genesis creation events no longer seems difficult to harmonize with the record of astronomy, paleontology, geology and biology. The few purported conflicts with the fossil record stem from inaccurate interpretations of some Hebrew nouns for various plant and animal species.
For example, some have ridiculed Genesis for declaring that insects appear late in the record of life on earth, after the birds and sea mammals and just before human beings. The problem reference is to the creatures “that creep upon the earth” (Gen. 1:25-26). The Hebrew word in question is remes, and its broad definition encompasses rapidly moving vertebrates, such as rodents, hares, and lizards. But remes in verse 24 has a more restricted usage. The creatures under discussion are the nephesh (verses 20-25) – soulish creatures, creatures that can relate to humans; creatures with qualities of mind, will and emotion. These can only be birds and mammals. So the remes of verse 24 cannot be insects or even reptiles. They must be soulish and able to relate with the human species.
Another point of ridicule is the mention of land mammals (Gen. 1:25) as part of the sixth creation day, while sea mammals (1:21) show up on the fifth creation day. The fossil record clearly shows that the first sea mammals came on the scene after the first land mammals. The answer to this ridicule comes from again identifying the specific classes of land mammals in verse 1:25. They are soulish, that is, apparently these particular land mammals were designed to coexist with human beings. The fossil record confirms that such land mammals do not show up until after the initial appearance of birds and sea mammals.
Events of the third creation day have also been challenged. The Hebrew phrase translated as “seeds, trees, and fruit” (Gen 1:11-12) has been taken by some as a reference to deciduous plants. However, the respective Hebrew nouns, zera, ets, and periy are generic terms that easily can be applied to plant species as primitive as those that appeared at the beginning of the Cambrian era (about 500,000,000 years ago). Their early mention in the Genesis creation account poses no scientific problem.
Scientific evidence for ocean life predating land life poses no threat either. The Spirit of God “brooded” over the face of the waters (Gen. 1:2), possibly creating life in the oceans before the events of the six creation days begin.
Here is a general order of Genesis 1 creation events:
1. Creation by God’s miracle of the entire physical universe (length, width, height, time, matter, energy, galaxies, stars, planets. etc.). Note: Planet Earth is empty of life and unfit for life; Earth’s primordial atmosphere and the solar system’s interplanetary debris prevent the light of the sun, moon, and stars from reaching the surface of the earth’s ocean.
2. Clearing of the interplanetary debris and partial transformation of the earth’s atmosphere so that light from the heavenly bodies now penetrates to the surface of the earth’s ocean.
3. Formation of water vapor in the troposphere under conditions that establish a stable water cycle.
4. Formation of continental land masses together with ocean basins.
5. roduction of plants on the continental land masses.
6. Transformation of the atmosphere from a translucent condition to one that is at least occasionally transparent.
7. Production of swarms of small sea animals.
8. Creation by God’s miracle of sea mammals and birds.
9. Creation by God of land mammals capable of interacting with the future human race.
10. Creation by God’s miracle of the human species.
Obviously, no author writing more than 3,400 years ago, as Moses did, could have so accurately described and sequenced these events, plus the initial conditions, without divine assistance. And if God could guide the words of Moses to scientific and historical precision in this most complex report of divine activity, we have reason to believe we can trust Him to communicate with perfection through all the other Bible writers as well.

[See previous article by Hugh Ross, "A Scientific Approach To the Genesis Creation".]

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The "SEED"

There is one theme that weaves its way throughout the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation — it is the prophecy that one day all people will be involved in some kind of a “seed” process.
In nature, seeds are the most important part of a life-containing organism. Everything that exists in the organism comes back to the function of its seeds. Within the seed itself is all the DNA which is necessary to produce the complex and mature organism.
The Bible begins and ends with the idea of a “seed” being necessary for the proper development of the human race. This is certainly true of the egg and sperm “seed” development of the physical human. But Scripture puts forth the all importance of another “Seed” — a spiritual “Seed” which God will use to form a new human people, a new Spirit race of His children. This “Seed” is Jesus Christ.
The theme began with a vague promise to Eve that, through her seed, mankind would ultimately be recovered from the power of Satan — the author of sin and death. God, speaking to Satan, said, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; it [her seed] shall bruise your [Satan’s] head, and you [Satan] shall bruise his [the Seed’s] heel” (Gen. 3:15). Here is just a glimmer of hope that a promised seed, a Messiah would one day deal a fatal blow to the head of Satan, thereby ending the struggle between good and evil.
Adam and Eve may have expected that one of their sons would be that promised seed. Their son Abel was a faithful man of God, but when Cain killed his brother Abel, in jealous anger, the hopes of Adam and Eve surely waned. In one devastating act, they lost two of their sons — one in death and the other in spiritual wickedness. No, the prophecy was yet for an appointed time, as hinted at by the faithful Enoch: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of this, saying, ‘Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints...” (Jude 14).
Time and generations passed and all those with faith waited expectantly for the realization of the promised seed. And as all of humankind became thoroughly corrupted, only the family of Noah survived the great Flood. But the prophetic promise of a seed continued through the line of Noah.
Noah’s son, Shem, was faithful to the Lord and became the line through which the seed of promise would pass. No doubt, Abraham learned of the prophecy through the patriarch Shem who lived contemporaneously with Abraham for 150 years.
Abraham was unique in his generation because of his strong faith in God. Because of this, God swore an oath to Abraham: “...I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore. . . in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 22:17-18). This was a two-fold seed promise covering both a physical seed down through the nation of Israel to be blessed, but also a spiritual Seed, Jesus Christ, would be of the lineage of Abraham.
Inheritance of this seed and Seed passed to Isaac and then to Jacob. Upon Jacob’s deathbed, God pronounced them a nation of twelve tribes, indicating that, now, to them as a nation, descended the Abrahamic promise — “in your seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.”
To protect the lineage from which the promised Seed would come, God specially protected Israel as His chosen people. “You only have I known of all the families of the earth...” (Amos 3:2). But in fact, during the period from Jacob’s death to the birth of Christ, only a remnant of Jews remained loyal and obedient to God and appreciated the privilege of the inheritance.
At the chosen time, God did send His son Jesus to be the Messiah — the physical seed of the lineage from Abraham, and the spiritual Seed to all the human race. And to many of the nation of Israel the prophecy to Abraham seemed to be fulfilled through this miracle worker from Nazareth! But Jesus was put to death as a common sinner upon the cross, and all seemed lost. Indeed, Satan thought he had broken the thread of the original prophecy, and that therefore the seed of the woman, Jesus, could no longer deal him that fatal blow.
But, contrary to Satan’s evil plan, within three days, Christ was raised from the grave “to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory and blessing” (Rev. 5:12). Yes, it was not until the sacrificial life and death of Christ that the scriptures began to open up more clearly on the plan of redemption which God has provided through His obedient Son — the Seed.
And how was this Seed to function in the lives of humanity? Basically it was to function in the same way that physical seed does in material organisms. The Seed was “planted in the ground” — Jesus died and was buried — but the Seed sprouted forth after three days — the Resurrection of Jesus. Jesus Christ was the Firstfruit of many forthcoming Seeded believers.
The nature of an organism is in the seed. Human beings after Adam were born and are being born with the seed or nature of Satan. Their spiritual DNA comprising their nature is that of Satan. They are seeded with Satan.
But the process of redemption by the death, burial and resurrection of Christ now allows for a new Seeding! Each individual who chooses to accept his redemption and make Jesus Christ the Lord of his life gets a new Seeding. The old basic DNA of Satan is removed from the core structure of the human spirit and the spirit is
reSeeded with the Godly DNA, the nature of Jesus Christ, the SEED.
Until all Christians come to the reality that this reSeeding has taken place in their lives — that they are totally new people inside, a newly seeded race, then the answer for the trials and frustrations of daily life will never be understood.
First, it must be understood that this new Godly Seeding is permanent. Romans 8:35-39 in the Message version makes that abundantly clear: “Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture...none of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing — nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable — absolutely NOTHING can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”
And how has He embraced us? Not just externally by a hug, but rather internally — by becoming the new Seed, the new nature within our human spirit.
The crowning feature of God’s marvelous plan is not only that of developing and blessing the seed of physical Israel, but that the Seed will extend this blessing to all the remainder of mankind.
We are now in the age of the Church, the composite Seed of Jesus Christ. All people, not just Israel, can be blessed. And it is so simple when you understand it. All that is required for reSeeding is to humbly accept the SEED “and you shall be changed!”

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The Osama Bin Laden of Christianity?

[Commentary by Greg Albrecht - Plain Truth Ministries]

On the "700 Club" television program last week Pat Robertson said that Hugo Chavez, the president of Venezuela, should be assassinated before he turns his nation into a safe haven for Communists and Muslim extremists. Robertson said that removing Chavez would be "a whole lot cheaper than starting a war…and I don’t think any oil shipments will stop."
Reaction from virtually all quarters has been overwhelmingly negative to Robertson’s latest outburst, though a few ministries have remained silent. According to the latest reports spokespersons for ministries that are politically active to the point of resembling political action committees have said that they were too busy to comment. Robertson did back into an apology by saying that he also said that the United States should "take out" Chavez, and that "taking out" did not necessarily mean murder (he explained that kidnapping might be part of what he meant by "taking out").
The vast majority of the Christian world expressed shock, and distanced itself from Mr. Robertson’s comments. Some are concerned about the safety of Christian missionaries (as well as Americans in general) in Venezuela.
Many have asked how a Christian leader can apparently have little regard for the teachings of Jesus. As Newsweek columnist Patti Davis asks, "Shouldn’t people like Pat Robertson just go start their own religion and leave Jesus out of it?" It’s another black eye for Christianity – as those of us who believe in the Jesus of the Bible and the authentic Christianity he preached must again explain what we do not believe before we are allowed to express what we do.
It’s another field day for those who lampoon Christians in general and for those who look for any reason to excuse themselves from the moral imperatives of New Testament Christianity. One political cartoonist depicted Pat Robertson’s car with a "WWJA" bumper sticker – Who Would Jesus Assassinate?
One of the lessons we can learn from this sad episode is that not only should we thank God that religion is protected from the state, but we can be thankful that the state is protected from religion. For several decades an increasing number of leaders within Christendom have seen themselves in a role somewhat like Old Testament prophets. That was Old Testament Judaism – that was then, Christianity is now. For almost 2,000 years Christian attempts to convert the state have generally left Christianity besmirched and sullied by the process (the book of Revelation offers commentary in this regard).
Christian leaders are not elected or selected for their foreign policy expertise. Christian leaders should avoid the trap of offering political commentary – they possess neither training nor information to render wise judgment about geo-political matters (the track record makes this point abundantly clear). We search in vain for any commission from Jesus telling his followers to be as politically outspoken and polarized that some Christians seem to believe they must be.
PTM believes that Jesus is being left out of many parts of Christendom. The authentic, fundamental Christ-centered faith taught by Jesus seems to have been minimized, ignored, or perhaps even overwhelmed by religion – indeed, Bad News Religion is a reality within Christendom. The last thing Christianity needs is a counterpart to Osama bin Laden – the world is troubled enough with the suffering and misery instigated by the original Osama and his followers. We need more Jesus and less religion.

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Small Church

We find many large Christian churches today, some institutionally connected and some individual non-denominational churches. People tend to equate a large size with success. But, in actuality, a large size congregation of God’s children presents a unique problem.
The common meeting place for the early Christians was none other than the home. Anything else would have been the exception. Note the following passages about “church in the house”: Acts 2:46; Acts 8:3; Acts 20:20; Romans 16:3,5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philemon 2; 2 John 10.
The above Scriptures amply demonstrate that the early church had its meetings in the simple, ordinary, hospitable homes of its members. But does this suggest that it is not appropriate for a church to gather in any other location? No, it does not.
On occasions when it was necessary for “the whole church” to gather together, the church in Jerusalem met in large settings such as the open courts of the temple and Solomon’s porch (Acts 2:46; 5:12).
But such large group gatherings did not rival the small home location for church meeting, which was the house. The large group settings simply accommodated the “whole church” to bring it together for a particular purpose.
In the beginning days of the church’s existence, the apostles used such locations to hold special ministry meetings for the vast number of believers and unbelievers in Jerusalem (Acts 3:11-26; 5:20,21,25,42).
The concept that we see here is that there were two kinds of church meetings. There were large evangelistic meetings designed to preach the gospel to unsaved Jews for their salvation.
But the primary function of the church meeting is for the mutual edification of believers. This function can be somewhat accomplished in large meetings but the small group environment is the best for the edification and growth among fellow Christians.
Large church meetings serve the functions of 1) corporate worship, 2) evangelism, 3) sermons on the faith and 4) overall fellowship. As strange as it may seem, the New Testament never envisions these reasons as being the primary purpose of the church meeting.
There is a place for corporate worship, evangelism, sermonizing, and large group fellowship. But according to Scripture, the governing purpose of the church meeting is mutual edification — that is, one on one, face to face contact among believers. This can only be achieved in small groups.
1 Corinthians 14:26 puts it plainly: “When you come together...let all things be done for edification.” Hebrews 10:24-25 also states: “And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together but encouraging one another...”
The meeting of the church envisioned in Scripture allowed for every member to participate in the building up of the Body (Eph. 4:16). Mutual encouragement was the hallmark of the gathering. “Every one of you” was its most outstanding characteristic.
Each believer who possessed a word from the Lord had the liberty to supply it through his or her unique gift. As Paul pulls back the curtain of the first-century gathering in 1 Corinthians 11-14, we see a meeting where every member is actively involved. Freshness, openness, and spontaneity are the chief marks of this meeting. Mutual edification is its primary goal. Again, this can only be achieved in a small group setting.
Christ was fully preeminent in the early small church meeting. He set the agenda through the Spirit leading of the group. His invisible Spirit directed what took place and how it took place.

The Lord Jesus was free to speak through whomever He chose. And in whatever capacity He saw fit.
The New Testament small home church was based upon the “round-table” principle. That is, every member was encouraged to function. This would be chaos in a large church meeting where the congregation is divided into the active few and the passive many.
In the large church meeting, the sermon and the preacher are the center — and this is good for the function desired. But the small home group of Christians reflects a flexible spontaneity where the Spirit of God is in utter control. Each member of the early church came to the meeting knowing he or she had the privilege and the responsibility to contribute something of Christ. An open freedom and informality marked the gathering.
Note that the idea of mutual ministry envisioned in the New Testament is a far cry from the pinched definition of “lay-ministry” that is offered in the modem church. Most churches offer a surplus of volunteer positions for the brethren to fill - positions like ushering, parking lot attendants, greeters at the door, singing in the choir, leading the worship team, etc. And these are all good service functions needed and encouraged.
But these restricted positions are light years away from the free-and-open exercise of spiritual gifts that is afforded to every believer in the small group setting.
So why did the early church meet in this way? Was it just a passing cultural tradition? Did it, as some say, represent the early church’s infancy, ignorance, and immaturity? Not at all! The early small church meeting is deeply rooted in biblical theology. It made real and practical the New Testament doctrine of the priesthood of all believers — a doctrine that all evangelicals affirm with their lips. In Paul’s language, it is the idea that all Christians are functioning members of the Body of Christ.
From a pragmatic standpoint, the small group meeting is the biblical dynamic that produces spiritual growth - both corporately and individually (Eph. 4:1-16).
Granted, believers can and should function outside the small group meetings. But the gatherings of small groups are especially designed for every Christian to express Christ through his or her gift.
For this reason, churches where there are few or none of the small groups are essentially a nursery for overgrown spiritual babes. It habituates God’s people into being passive receivers. It stunts their spiritual development and keeps them in spiritual infancy.
The Reformation recovered the truth of the priesthood of all believers. But it failed to restore the necessary practices that embody this teaching. Hierarchy control of church services continued. Free and spontaneous small group meetings were not encouraged. In the typical institutional church the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers is no more than a sterile truth. The truth of the priesthood of the individual Christian continues to beg for practical application and implementation in the life of the Lord’s people.
God’s eternal purpose centers on forming Christ in a company of people. Significantly, there is nothing more conducive to the culture of spiritual life than the open small group meeting that is depicted in the New Testament.
While multitudes of clergy have made common use of Hebrews 10:24-25 quoted above to stress the importance of “attending church,” verse 26 indicates that mutual, every member, encouragement (not hearing a pulpit sermon) is a deterrent for willful sin.
Does your church break up into small groups?
Do you take part in a close knit, interacting,
Spirit-spontaneous, loving, and encouraging
small church group?
WE NEED EACH OTHER! Small church groups are designed by God.

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Enjoy Being Yourself

The religion I practiced for my first 40 years told people what they ought to become. Everyone in authority told me I've "got to become," so that’s what I tried to do.
Do you know what that kind of religion is like? It's like a bunch of us who all bought new shoes which were too tight for us. We paid so much for them, we thought we had to smile. But all the time we were smiling, our feet were killing us.
You know what? I got tired of people telling me what I "ought" to do. I really did try to smile, because Jesus was supposed to be so good. But it was painful. I came to the place where I began to think that God wasn't a God of love. He was a tyrant. Do you know why I thought He was a tyrant? Because every time I got a little close to Him, He seemed to pull back a little bit. I'd get near, and He'd draw back and say, "Now you've got to work a little harder to get this next step." And about the time I'd get there, He'd point to the next step and say, "Now you got to work a little harder if you want to get there." And I could never get to Him. I could never reach Him. The Bible says, "Draw close to God and He will draw close to you." But it never seemed to happen.
I'd scratch my head sometimes and say, "What's going on? We're worshiping a God of love, so why can't you ever get to Him?" I always longed to hear that "Well done, good and faithful servant"; but I never did hear it. While I sat in the pew at church I heard: "You ought to confess your sins. You ought to try harder. You've got to work hard to become a saint!" But it looked as though the prize was always just out of my grasp.
There are so many things that popular church teaching, such as I received all those years, pushes on into the future. People talk about, "Oh when I get to that place in heaven, I'll have peace!" But you need it now! "When I get to heaven, I'll have continual joy!" When you need joy is now! Right now is when we need peace, joy and all of the other fruit of the Spirit.
Of course, this message left me in a quandary. I was still as self-centered as ever after all these years of trying to follow Jesus. I was terribly sin-conscious. "Is that the right thing to do, or is this the right thing to do?" "Should I have said this, or should I have said that?" "Lord, forgive me for this, and forgive me for that." And I would repeat the process over and over again, trying to make the right decision, making the wrong one, and then asking forgiveness for my sins.
Every morning I would say something like: "Now, Lord, I want to be a good Christian today. I want my language to be clean, my thoughts to be pure, and to live a good life." Then when night came I'd say, "Lord, forgive me for not doing it." If I could get today into the past, I could get it forgiven because the blood had cleansed my sins. But this kept me on a treadmill, and the attention was always on me. How am I doing? Am I succeeding? Am I failing? Am I really imitating Christ? Is He really my Lord? Am I in His will?
I decided if I couldn't make religion work, I'd drop-out of religion. I was outwardly and inwardly "bothered". I praise God for that time. That's the way he got my attention. He used that to reach me.
It was during this period that I met a man who knew Galatians 2:20 as a living reality. What he had to say had an enlightening effect. It became real to me. I saw it for the first time as a possibility now. "Paul isn't talking about an ideal situation," I said to myself. "He isn't talking about something I'm going to get when I die." Galatians 2:20 became a theme verse in my life.
As I listened to this man unfolding the mystery of "Christ in you, the hope of glory," it was so clear that it was real to him. "That's what the gospel is all about," he said. In my spiritual life, all that had really grabbed me up to this point was the fact that Christ died for me, and I could trust Jesus for the forgiveness of my sins. This was the basic message I had heard in church outside of some special sermon for Mother's Day, or a sermon on giving, or on other topics. But regardless of what the subject was, it always seemed to get back to the blood side of the cross.
Then I discovered that we don't really get moving on with God until we can just forget ourselves. Because as long as we are preoccupied with ourselves we really see ourselves as a liability to God. As long as you still have the attention on yourself, imagining that there's still something that needs to be done to improve yourself, you see yourself as God's liability. "Oh, I can't really do that, because I haven't conquered this yet." "I can't do this because I don’t have enough love." "I can't do this because I don't have enough faith." I think we would all agree that this kind of living doesn't measure up to the biographies of the great believers of God in the Bible.
It wasn't until I got hold of the reality of Galatians 2:20 that I could take old Lou, put him on the shelf, and forget him. Only then could I begin to say, "I'm not God's liability – I'm God's asset."
I'm not bragging, but the truth is God has got to have Lou! Why? To reach Lou's world. You can't reach my world, and I can't reach your world. God has to have me to reach the world that I come in contact with. So I'm His asset. He has to have a vessel, and He needs the kind of vessel that sees himself as O.K.
If I end up acting like you, then I've lost contact with the world God wants me to reach. He wants my warts – the things that look like my failures – so that His strength can come through. We are all ministers, in all our different walks of life, and that's the way God means it to be.
Why do I stress that we need to get the attention off ourselves? Because there is so much emphasis on the self in our churches. Crucifying the self, for instance, rather than enjoying the uniqueness of myself. We are all meant to be used by God through our individual soul-personalities.
The key is recognizing that God has actually put His nature into us. I think one of the difficulties Christians have in believing that Christ already lives in them as a present reality lies in the difficulty they had believing that Satan's nature ever lived in them. Most of us at one time thought of Satan as "out there," so that he just had an influence on us. We really thought we were independent people, but that Satan could have an influence on us and God could also have an influence on us. But we never really knew that from the time of our human birth – from the dawn of the human race when our first parents took the wrong fruit – we were born with Satan's nature. You don't find many people who believe that the nature of Mr. Sin, Mr. Phony God, Mr. False Way, Mr. Self indwelt them before their conversion. No, we weren't merely under the external influence of evil – Jesus rightly said that we were of our father the devil and fulfilled his lusts from within (John 8:44).
I didn't like to hear that at first, because there were some days when unbelievers didn't seem so bad. But then it dawned on me that whether they were good or bad, everything they did was from unbelief. Everything was based on self. Finally I saw the folly of the "good and evil" game. You can be just as good as you want to be, but if you're indwelt by the wrong nature you are lost! The "good and evil" game still amounts to evil.
We're talking about Christ having replaced the nature of Mr. Sin in us so that He now lives His holy, blameless, unreprovable, perfect life through us. This is a replaced life. It's not Christ and me, or Christ with me, but Christ in union as one with me. Not that Christ is Lou or that Lou is Christ, you understand, because I'm just the vessel to contain Him. But, as I allow Him, He is evidencing His love life, His concerned life for the world – my world – through me.
This is what Paul saw. He was an extension of Christ. It wasn't Paul living. It looked like Paul – people called him Paul. But it was Christ, the hidden One, living out His concerned life for the world as Paul.
When this dawned on me, when God told me I had died, I stopped disagreeing with Him. When God said that He had buried me, I agreed with Him. And when He said that He had raised me, I said, "Yup, You raised me!"
I see myself in so many biblical characters. Take the woman at the well. She asked where to worship – in Samaria, or in Jerusalem. Which is the right outer place? Which is the right religion? What is the right thing to do? "Well I'll tell you, "Jesus said to her. "The day is coming when you won't worship here and you won't worship down there. You'll worship in here, inside you, in your spirit! Because you don't have to worry whether God is out there toward the north, east, south or west – He will be in you!" This account in John 4 really helped me to get the spotlight off the outer me.
Until that light breaks in on us through the Holy Spirit, we still want Him to be a "me" lover. So we run to services looking for blessings. We still say, "Bless me, bless me." But when you see the truth of Christ living your life, the bless-me days are over. The blessing will come "naturally" as you see your life poured out for others. Because that's the world-lover in you. He's not a "me" lover. He loves you because He's got you – and He's got you because you chose to be "gotten". God's basic formula worked for you, and now He's got you, and as He lives in you, you forget about yourself.
From this point on you don't live from need, from shortage, trying to get a blessing. You have total Sufficiency in you. There's no shortage in Him. You quit saying, "Lord, give me, give me, give me." No wonder some of your prayers don't seem to be answered. God gets tired of body-fussers. You begin to look for God in every situation. As Jesus said, if your eye is single your whole body is full of light. You are full of light because you see only One person operating in all of life's situations. But as long as you are asking, "Is this good? Is this bad?" you are in darkness. To call it God if it looks good, and to say it isn't God if it looks bad, is darkness. "It looks like this," we say, "but wait a minute (or maybe longer), because God is coming."
"Christ in you, the hope of glory." Yes, glory now, just as they saw the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God intends for others to see the glory of Christ in us. Don't you look for it. It isn't yours to see. It's for someone else to see, and those God means to see it as they cross your path will see it. They'll by drawn to the One who is in you, thinking they have been drawn to you. But you know it isn't you, it's Him in union with you – two, yet one – probably the greatest mystery of God for our finite human minds to understand.
Don't short-change yourself or they couldn't be drawn to you. Don't call yourself a liability, because you are God's beautiful asset. And don't be so concerned about sin-consciousness; instead be consumed with Christ consciousness. Get on with the glory of life because Paul said that He has not only justified you, He has glorified you.

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A Scientific Approach To the Genesis Creation

I have been trying to figure out the first chapter of Genesis all of my life. I believe that a Creator God did the creating. But the structure of the chapter into creation “days” was hard to understand.
Were they real 24 hour days? Was Adam’s creation therefore about 6,000 years ago? Where did the dinosaurs fit in? How about the process of evolution of species as taught so prevalently?
For a good section of my life, I did believe that Adam was created 6,000 years ago, and that Noah’s Flood had to have been about 2,350 BC. What about the dinosaurs? I just wasn’t sure - were they before Adam or after Adam?
I tried to harmonize all the geological strata with the Flood. I even tried to say that God must have created the universe with the “appearance” of age - that is, trails of light from distant stars and galaxies were not really that old. After all, God created Adam, not as a baby, but with adult maturity so why not the whole universe the same way?
But in the last few years, I have changed my approach to Creation completely. I have been greatly influenced by Dr. Hugh Ross who is a Christian astrophysicist. He firmly believes in the Creator God, in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior of the world. And he also firmly believes in the “Big Bang” event about 14 billion years ago. He has written a number of books showing how the whole universe is anthropomorphic - that is, it has been designed and structured specifically for the benefit of the human race. He has a list of 150 things that had to be fine-tuned just right in the universe so that man could live on the Earth. If any one of these factors were just a percentage point or two different one way or the other, there could be no mankind on the Earth.
I want to present to you now Hugh Ross’ concepts about the Genesis Creation which I have come to accept as my own.
The Hebrew word yom translated “day” in Genesis One can have three meanings: 1. The daylight hours (roughly 12) 2. A whole 24 hour day or 3. An extended but finite time period. Here is a model for the “days” being an extended time period as proposed by scientist Hugh Ross.
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth [the whole universe] (Gen. 1:1)

14 billion years ago - the “big bang” creation of the entire physical universe.
13.5 to 5 billion - star and galaxy formation (a necessary foundation for the formation of the Earth's heavier elements which formed from star formation and disintegration).
4.75 billion - the Earth is formed.
4.5 billion - the moon is formed from collision of unknown planet with Earth.

And the Earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Gen. 1:2)

DAY ONE: And God said, Let there be light and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. (Gen. 1:3-5)

4.5 to 4 billion years ago - clearing of the interplanetary debris and partial transformation of the Earth’s atmosphere so that LIGHT from the heavenly bodies now penetrates to the surface of the Earth’s ocean.
4.5 to 4 billion - heavy bombardment of Earth by asteroids.
4 billion - the Earth’s crust in ruin until then.

DAY TWO: And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And 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. And God called the firmament heaven. (Gen. 1:6-8)

4 to 3.8 billion years ago - formation of water vapor in the atmosphere under conditions that establish a stable water cycle.

DAY THREE: And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear, and it was so. And God called the dry land earth; and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas; and God saw that it was good. And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth, and it was so. Gen. 1:9-11)

3.8 to 3.5 billion years ago - formation of continental land masses together with ocean basins.
3.5 billion - production of plants and the oldest fossils appear.

DAY FOUR: And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament to divide the day from the night and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years… and God made [appointed - they had already been made in DAY ONE] two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night…and God saw that it was good. (Gen. 1:14-18)

3.5 to 1 billion years ago - lights in the sky when the sun, moon and stars become visible by a transformation of the atmosphere from a translucent condition to one that is at least occasionally transparent.

DAY FIVE: And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that has life and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And God created great whales and every living creature which the waters brought forth abundantly after their kind, and the winged fowl after their kind. And God blessed them saying, Be fruitful and multiply… (Gen. 1:20-22)

1 billion to 1 million years ago - lower vertebrates and swarms of small sea animals formed.
500 million - Cambrian explosion of vast numbers of species as found in fossils.
250 million - prairies emerged from ancient seas.
250 to 65 million - Dinosaur period.
50 million - sea mammals and birds appeared.

DAY SIX: And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beast of the earth after his kind; and it was so…And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish, the fowl, the cattle, and over every creeping thing upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, male and female he created them. And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it… (Gen. 1:24-28)

1 million to 35,000 years ago - specialized land mammals capable of interacting with the future human race appeared.
150,000 to 40,000 years - the age of sub-human Neanderthals.
50,000 to 35,000 years - somewhere in this range, THE CREATION OF MAN.

DAY SEVEN: And on the seventh day God rested from all His work which He had made. (Gen. 2:2)

35,000 years ago to the present and out into the future (The “Sabbath” of God will never end.)

30,000 to 25,000 years - European cave art and Australian aborigines.
25,000 to 20,000 years - Somewhere in this range, Noah’s Flood.
20,000 to 14,000 years - somewhere in this range, the scattering of nations from Babel.
14,000 years - passable land bridges between East and West.
9,000 to 8,000 years - organized agriculture in Mesopotamia.
8,000 to 6,000 years - cultures developed in Persia, Nile delta, India and Greece.
6,000 to 5,000 years - central Europe, the rest of Egypt, southern Russia and Arabia developed.
2015 BC - the birth of Abraham - after this follows the biblical dating of years accurately.

You may say that this sounds a lot like evolution to you. But notice that God created the “kinds” or species of the creatures - there is no evolution of species. The time element based on the geological scale is the same as evolution uses, but there is a radical difference in that there is a supernatural intervention by God all along the way.
Again, I say that everything that science is discovering on a day to day basis shows that man is God’s supreme creation. The universe and man’s location in it is all set up for the life and survival of man. God has a precious love for us. He purposes us to be children in His supernatural Family.
WHAT A GLORIOUS CREATION!


Dr. Hugh Ross’ website is:
http://www.reasons.org

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Eulogy For My Best Friend

You have been hearing from Jim’s family.
Well, I am Jim’s brother.
I am Jim’s brother in Christ.

I just want to say a few words about Jim and I.

Jim was my best friend outside of my family. I met Jim 15 years ago at Grace Church – St. Louis, and we hit it off great from the start. We had a common commitment to Bible study and liked to exchange back and forth over the meaning of particular scriptural verses. We liked to speculate about things outside of the basic Christian doctrines which we both agreed upon.

Jim was the kind of guy that made you happy just to talk to him. His sense of humor always livened up conversations.

My wife, Joyce, who I shared 50 years of marriage with, died 4 months ago in much the same way as Jim – of lung cancer.

You know – I can just see Jim and Joyce up there looking
down on us now and smiling.

Jim used to always say that when he got to heaven, he was going to ask God about this thing – or that thing. Now they both have all the answers.

As I celebrated my wife’s passing to be with the Lord, I am also celebrating my best friend Jim’s arrival to be with her and Jesus.

I miss you Jim, but one day we will compare notes about God again.

Thank you, Lord – for Jim Drainer.

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The Grand Inquisitor

In The Brothers Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881) tells the story of The Grand Inquisitor.
In the story, Jesus Christ returns to earth at the time of the Inquisitions in Spain, healing the sick and comforting those who mourn. Dostoevsky pictures Jesus coming to the people of Spain who were afflicted and encumbered with man-controlled religion as much as the Jews to whom Jesus came in the first century.
The story relates how Jesus was received by organized religion, whether it was first century Judaism or 16th century religion posing as Christianity. It’s a parable of the ongoing battle between man-made religion and God’s true Christianity of grace.
The day after nearly a hundred heretics have been burned alive in the town square, Jesus is walking by the cathedral in Seville just as a funeral procession is leaving, bringing with it a little white coffin. The mother of the child who has just died appeals to Jesus to raise her little girl from the dead. Jesus does so.
Just at that moment the Grand Inquisitor passes through the crowd, coming to the doors of the cathedral. Dostoevsky describes him: “He is an old man, almost ninety, tall and erect, with a withered face and sunken eyes, in which there is still a gleam of light. He is not dressed in his gorgeous cardinal’s robes, as he was the day before, when he was burning the enemies of the Roman Catholic Church – at this moment he is wearing his coarse, old, monk’s cassock.”
The Grand Inquisitor orders his guards to take Jesus and throw him into the prison of the Holy Inquisition. Dostoevsky paints a picture of the war between hierarchy-power religion and Jesus. In so doing he sets the stage for a confrontation between the Grand Inquisitor, representing visible religion, and Jesus, who is the head of the visible and invisible body of Christ on earth.
The Grand Inquisitor visits Jesus in prison, and in a monologue explains how he once believed in the glorious grace of the gospel, but eventually came to see that the only way to control humans is to take away the freedom of God’s grace. He tells Jesus that the Roman Catholic Church rules over the people in Jesus’ name, and that it is a good thing that they do.
The Grand Inquisitor admits that he tried to follow Jesus in his youth, but as the years went by he concluded that Jesus’ gospel was impractical. The masses will never follow Jesus’ ways, he says.
The Grand Inquisitor concludes that Jesus’ return to earth is getting in the way of the mission of the church that bears his name, and that he will have to be burned as a heretic in order to control the people. Jesus does not audibly respond, but instead kisses the old man, who is so moved that he releases Jesus from the prison. Grace responds to grace.
The big issue for legalism is control. Religion has its grand inquisitors today who seek to control you and your life. Legalism is so successful in keeping people under its thumb that many do not want to leave the “earn your way to heaven” in which they exist. Dostoevsky has his Grand Inquisitor explaining to Jesus that humans are anxious to hand over their freedom and are easily persuaded into believing that true freedom comes through submission to human religious authority. He tells Jesus that the masses long to obey, and will sell their freedom for bread. For the Grand Inquisitor, the humans he rules are his slaves.
Grand inquisitors still roam this earth and continue, in Christ’s name, to deceive and seduce the masses who gullibly believe their corruption of the gospel. The masses want to believe that they must earn God’s favor – some try as hard as they can and become frustrated with themselves, and others refuse to even try to please God because it interferes with their own lifestyle.
Some people are so beguiled and mesmerized by performance-based religion that they simply cannot leave. They are comfortable. They like their status quo. They don’t know any other world, other than the narrow and restricted performance of the ideology that controls them.
I am thankful for God’s grace and the fact that He has not appointed any special private religious investigators or grand inquisitors to help Him. God’s grace is sufficient. God’s grace is all we need.
Because human beings have made such a mess out of misrepresenting God, should we all head for our own subjectively determined theological hills and find a cave where we can get away from all of the sin in the world? Should we all subjectively determine what we need by picking and choosing elements we like from a variety of religious traditions?
Don’t let bad experiences sour you on God. Don’t let human beings who have given God a bad name (and that can include all of us, at one time or another) cause you to decide that everything in God’s name is corrupt and perverted. Don’t give up on God because someone did a less than adequate job of representing Him. There are church congregations out there where you will hear lots of sermons about grace. Listen and look for grace. You will even witness and enjoy some gracious behavior there. You will see and hear Jesus, not “earn your way to heaven by trying to please God” type of religion. The health of a church is directly related to its emphasis and insistence on God’s grace.

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What Is "From God"?

Most people aren’t really looking for truth. They are looking for quick and easy fixes – based on four or five points that they can see and remember - soundbites that will give them a “breakthrough” or even a justification to enable them to do whatever it is they want to do. The big problem comes when people apply the same ideas to spiritual enlightenment. They don’t want to study and ponder for years. They want enlightenment now. A breakthrough. A shortcut. Perhaps a quick, repetitive prayer that promises to “enlarge their boundaries.”

Many people don’t want to read slowly and study through the Bible. They want it pre-digested and spoon-fed to them. And so they run out and buy every book that comes along that offers them oversimplified “solutions” in their spiritual growth – and then they buy the next one and the next one.

In other words, many Christians often don’t want to take the time to do the serious work required to confront serious issues. Or - another way of stating it - we don’t have the patience to let Christ do His work of growth in us.

The New Testament does not reduce our relationship with God to a few easy points. Instead it points us to the person of Christ so that we may come to know Him. He is, of course, of infinite depth. It takes time - years and decades - for us to come to fully know comprehend, apprehend and appreciate Him. And because we are not infinite, in our flesh we can never completely or perfectly know Him. That’s why our salvation is based on Christ knowing us (see Galatians 4:9). But we might say that our spiritual maturity is based on us knowing Him.

Here’s a scriptural case in point. The book of 1 John tells us how to know what spirits are from God. How can you tell a “false prophet” from a “true prophet?” Is there a list of questions you can ask? Is there a stack of doctrines for which you can test? Is there statement of beliefs you can request? Can the question be reduced to a simple series of points?“

Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world” 1John 4:1.

I must confess that this passage has baffled me a little. Is this really the only question you can ask? Shouldn’t the criteria be more extensive? Shouldn’t there be a formula or checklist? In fact, just the opposite is true. If John had reduced this major question to an easy-to-remember series of points, he would have oversimplified it. In fact, John tells us, the one big question to ask for spiritual truth is - has Jesus come in the flesh? In other words - Is Jesus God? Did He come to earth? Did He live among us? Was that Him who died on a cross? Did He rise again and does He live His life in us today? That’s the criteria for spiritual truth. It’s not an easy criteria. It’s not a shortcut. It’s not an easy, simple, 1 – 2 – 3 thing.

It’s the person of Jesus. And the person of Jesus is by no means a simple thing. The person of Jesus is the road to understanding the complex issues of spiritual maturity.

Remember the words to that old Christian hymn:

In Christ alone, I place my trust.
I find my glory in the power of the Cross.
In every victory, let it be said of me:
My source of strength, my source of hope,
Is Christ alone.

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Equipped For High-tech Society

By Hugh Ross, Ph.D

Human beings seem vastly “over-endowed” for hunter-gatherer or agrarian existence. For tens of thousands of years humanity carried intellectual capacities that offered no discernible advantage. From a Darwinian evolutionary perspective, such capacities would be unlikely to arise and, even if they had randomly emerged, they would likely have been eliminated or minimized by natural selection. From a Creation perspective, however, these special capacities make sense. They serve the highly specialized needs of a technological society, benefiting the life quality and longevity of all humanity.
Three anticipatory endowments – among others – equip humanity for peak performance in a high technology environment.
First, the dexterity of the human hand certainly gave the human race an early survival advantage. Humans could craft more elegant tools and weapons than other bipedal primate species. However, the ability to type faster than a hundred words per minute seems to have offered no particular survival advantage until the twentieth century. Likewise, the remarkable ability to play a Liszt piano concerto had no utility until the invention of the piano.
Secondly, the intelligence quotient of the human brain gave the human species a huge survival advantage in that they could invent new implements for hunting, farming, cooking, building, and even governing. But, again, not until the twentieth century was any use found for the phenomenal capacity of the human brain to perform such higher mathematical functions as nonlinear tensor calculus, relativistic quantum theory, and higher dimensional geometry. These abilities come at a cost however: 35% of the entire blood flow in the human body services the brain. Moreover, to make room for the brain lobes that support mathematics, logic, analysis, and communication, the lobes that support some of our senses (smell and sound in particular) and of our muscles were reduced. Thus the human brain comes equipped for higher functions beyond the demands of mere survival.
Third, many biologist have pointed out that when humans are compared to other mammals, they are dramatically over-sexed. The human sex drive is unusually strong and is virtually continuous. Whereas the females of other mammal species are sexually receptive for only a few days out of the year, human females are ready to mate throughout the year. This tremendous capacity for sex explains how the human race was able to multiply to six billion individuals in a relatively short time period. This rapid reproduction of humanity was God’s specific goal and is explicitly laid out in Genesis 1 and 9.
Extraordinary capacity and drive for sex is particularly critical in a high-tech society. Both affluence and technology work against human reproduction by providing humans with powerful diversions. If it were not for exceptional sexual capacity, the human species could not survive a high-tech environment.
In conclusion, humans, unlike any other species of life, appear to have been equipped in advance for a life far different from the one they experienced when they first appeared. Such equipping of humanity, while puzzling from a Darwinian evolutionary view, points to a Creator God with foresight and a special plan for the creatures who bear His image.

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Personal Persuasion

How do you answer the following question: “If there are strong arguments in support of Christianity’s actually being true, then why aren’t more people, particularly intelligent, well-educated people, persuaded as to its truth?”
Here is my answer.
It is true that some highly educated people are not persuaded of the truth of historic Christianity. However, many leading intellectuals in the world from various academic and professional fields do embrace historic Christianity as a rational and viable world-and-life view.
Early twentieth century Christian writer G. K. Chesterton makes this comment about those who reject Christianity: “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and left untried.”
When it comes to the “ultimate issues of life,” persuasion involves more than exposure to rational arguments typically presented via the public educational system, even higher education. It is important to distinguish between arguments on one hand and personal persuasion on the other.
People come to their beliefs about reality and truth based upon various factors, some rational and some nonrational. A good argument provides reasonable and truthful support for its claim. Just because a person is not persuaded by a given argument doesn’t necessarily mean that the argument is somehow logically defective. Nonrational factors such as ignorance, bias, self-interest, fear, or pride may stand in the way of a person genuinely understanding and feeling the full force of a powerful argument and this being persuaded by it.
A person’s belief-forming faculties are seldom as neutral, detached, and coolly objective as many people – including especially “intellectuals” – would like to think. This predicament of self-interest or egocentricity is shared by all people, regardless of educational level.
The apostle Paul knew about this and shared it with the Romans in his epistle to them:
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools.”
(Rom.1:18-22 NIV)
“But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of His divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat Him like God, refusing to worship Him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life.” (Same verses in the Message Bible.)
Persuasion, then, seems to be “person-relative,” and no single argument will likely persuade everyone – especially when it comes to the big issues. And simply because some questions are hotly contested does not mean that all positions on them are equally valid and none superior; so the importance of the biblical argument to put beliefs to the test (1 Thes. 5:21; 1 John 4:1; 2 Tim. 3:16).
It would be fair to say that few people accept or reject Christianity based purely upon rational factors. After all, human beings are far from purely rational creatures. Scripture indicates that a person’s coming to (or conversion to) faith in Christ is never a solely intellectual decision (Acts 13:48; 1 Cor. 12:3). God’s saving grace works in remarkable ways to draw people to Himself (John 6:44, 65).
So in conversation with unbelievers, one might ask why they reject specific Christian truth-claims. Is their unbelief based upon rational or nonrational factors? Instead of a reasonable faith, it may be that unbelievers have, in effect, AN UNREASONABLE LACK OF FAITH.

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Petroleum - God's Well-timed Gift To Mankind

By Hugh Ross Ph.D.

I am old enough to remember the days when gasoline sold for $.26 a gallon. But, even at today’s high prices, gasoline is a bargain compared to what it could cost if it were not so easily and abundantly accessible. Recent research by geologists and physicists reveals that humans are living at the best possible time in Earth’s history for harvesting petroleum – a resource that helped launch and sustain advanced civilization.
Without a series of just-right geophysical events and conditions, there would be no complaining about pump prices, because there would be little or no fossil fuel to complain about.
To appreciate this miracle of fuel’s availability to humanity one needs to understand how petroleum forms and is stored in the earth. First, sedimentation and plate tectonics bury organic material. This buried organic matter is transformed by heat, pressure, and time into kerogen (thick tars). With yet more time and heat a significant portion of the kerogen is converted into petroleum. Through still more time, however, microbial activity works to degrade petroleum into methane (natural gas).
Certain kinds of organic matter are much more likely upon death and burial to be transformed into kerogen than others. The most efficient kerogen producers were the swarms of small-body-size animals that inhabited large shallow seas soon after the Cambrian explosion (so named because 50-80% of all animal phyla “exploded” onto the scene 543 million years ago). If the Creator God’s goal is to provide humanity with the richest possible reserves of fossil hydrocarbons, a fixed period of time must transpire between the time when efficient kerogen producers were dominant on Earth (about 500 million years ago) and the appearance of human beings (some tens of thousands of years ago). With too little time, not enough petroleum will be produced. With too much time, too much of the petroleum will be degraded into methane.
But there is more to the production of fossil hydrocarbon reserves than just the burial of particular organisms and their progressive conversion into kerogens and petroleum. Certain sedimentation processes are needed to lay down the porous rocks that will become reservoirs. Later, these rocks must be overlaid with fine-grained rock with low permeability (sealer rocks). Finally, certain tectonic forces cause appropriate caps under which fossil hydrocarbons can collect.
Long years of specific sedimentary and tectonic processes are required to produce appropriate reservoir structures for collecting and storing fossil fuels. And yet too much time will lead to the destruction of the reservoirs. Additional tectonic and erosion processes eventually cause the reservoirs to leak.
If too much time had transpired before humans came on the scene the fossil hydrocarbon reservoirs would have emptied, and the resources with which human beings were able to launch an industrial and scientific revolution would have been missing or insufficient.
Both methane and kerogen play significant roles in sustaining modern civilization and technology, but their importance pales in comparison to petroleum, particularly in the plastics industries. While human technology is now sufficiently advanced to consider and develop ways to get by without petroleum it seems doubtful that such technology would have arisen without access to large amounts of petroleum to begin with.
Human beings indeed arrived at the optimal “fossil-hydrocarbon moment.” Such optimized timing raises reasonable doubt about any naturalistic model for life and humanity, but aligns perfectly with what a biblical creation model would predict.

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Is the Good News Performance Based?

The Catholic pastor pounded the pulpit: “It’s not a cake walk you know. Some of you think that all you have to do is accept Jesus, attend church when you feel like it, and give a few dollars in the offering basket. But you need to do more than that. Do you think Jesus died on the cross just so you can be a couch potato Christian?”
He paused, and surveyed the flock, before continuing, “And I hear that some of you are thinking of leaving our church to go to the big mega-church out in the suburbs. You think that going to church in casual clothing, listening to rock music, and hearing a short message spiced up with footage from Holly-weird movies is better than coming to our church where you receive the sacraments and are guided in well-established doctrines of the faith. You go right ahead and attend that church with its Las Vegas style productions, but let me warn you – that’s nothing more than easy-believism. It isn’t real Christianity. Christianity involves more than just entertainment.”
The pastor is frustrated – he has lost many families to the mega-church, and he feels he has to protect his dwindling flock. The pastor isn’t alone. A number of other churches in town are feeling the pinch as members are being gobbled up by the big mega-church with its smiling personable, tanned, joke-telling, casually dressed young pastor. The Catholic pastor and several of the other pastors are convinced that easy-believism is to blame.
In part, it is. Some permissive churches entice us with ideas that we can do whatever we want to do whenever we want to do it, and in the American competitive religious market this means giving the people what they want. Authentic Christianity most certainly is not a case of a pastor determining what his people want and then getting out in front of them to lead them to their subjectively determined Promised Land.
There is no doubt that permissiveness is a major problem in the North American religious landscape. It is a heresy, a ditch into which many fall, an attractive alternative to real Christianity. It is the ditch of permissiveness and compromise. Permissiveness misuses the grace of God. No question.
But there is an equal and opposite ditch, and legalism is its name. And legalism, in actuality, often condemns God’s amazing grace as well. Grace is so often characterized as permissiveness. There are pastors, priests and ministers who object to easy-believism on legalistic grounds – fearing that their big stick of hierarchy will be taken away from them, and they will no longer be able to control their congregations. We do have much to fear from permissiveness. We also have much to fear from legalistic, hierarchy religion. We have nothing to fear from God’s grace.
You might hear the question, “Okay. All I hear about is grace. So explain this. Since Christ’s work on the cross is sufficient for my salvation, and since God loves me unconditionally, why should I even bother trying to obey Him?”
It’s a good question. Why try? Why obey? If it’s all done for you, why be good? Is God’s grace a license to sin? If God saves us by His grace, unmerited favor, then what is for us to do?
What is difficult for us to accept is that Christianity is based on a relationship, not on rules. When human beings try to improve on Christianity and make it into a set of rules and regulations, legalism contaminates the authentic and pure gospel of Jesus Christ.
Let’s clarify. By definition, Christians want to obey God. We want to make Him happy. We want to do the things with which He will be pleased. The Bible makes it clear that the children of God want to obey Him, but that God’s grace is the reason they want to obey Him. Christians obey because they have been saved.
But why do we, and should we, strive to obey God if He has already saved us by grace? Jesus Christ did what He did without any guarantee that we would respond favorably. He loved us first, and we therefore love, honor, and desire to obey Him.
Anyone who believes that any part of their salvation is due to the things they do or don’t do in their own strength will inevitably wind up boasting. We will strut and swagger. We will get puffed up if we believe our truth, our doctrines, our dogmas, our ceremonies, and our rituals are better than someone else’s. We will brag that our sacraments, our hymns, and our times or seasons in which we worship God are the best, if not the only way to worship God.
If our brand of religion is threatened by the implications of freedom in Christ, we will often attack. Legalism and institutionalism protects itself at all costs. The first priority is to protect the institution and organization, not to feed and nurture and protect the sheep of God’s pasture.
So, in conclusion, what am I saying? How is a Christian to choose their church? We don’t want the legalistic – “earn your way to heaven” – church. And we don’t want the permissive – “I’ll do what’s right in my own eyes” – church.
The church we should look for is the “saved by unmerited grace” church. Total GRACE!
God’s salvation is a three part deal. And it’s all GRACE!
When we see out sin for what it is, see our need of a Savior, and commit our life to Christ, we are born again with a new divine nature. No human works involved. This is called justification. All GRACE.
Then we have a lifetime of growing in awareness of who we are in Christ, and day by day turning what we do over to Him. Again, no human works involved. This is called sanctification. All GRACE.
Then at our death, we receive a total spirit body in the presence of God. Again, we are not judged on our human works, we are rewarded by what Christ did through us. This is called glorification. All GRACE.
Look for a GRACE CHURCH!

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Human Curiosity As Evidence For God - (by Hugh Ross, Ph.D.)

Why do human beings ask “Why?” Does this driving curiosity simply reflect humans’ intellectual superiority? According to evolutionary theory, the distinctions between humans and other species are matters of degree, not of kind. But what does careful observation reveal?
Even the most curious of animals are prone to explore their immediate environments, including nearby objects (or animals) roughly similar to their own body size. Humans, by contrast, explore and analyze the full range of physical reality from the very smallest part (such as subatomic particles) to the very largest (such as clusters of superclusters of galaxies), not to mention every living thing and every part of every living thing they encounter.
Other animals’ curiosity extends little, if any, past the immediate moment. Even when creatures “store up” for the season or “prepare” for a coming event, such as a birth, they function in patterned ways according to their survival instinct. Humans, on the other hand, want to know about the earliest moments of life, of cosmic existence, and of the furthest reaches of the future. Particle physicists today spend billions of dollars to learn about cosmic conditions when the universe was only a fraction of a second old; other astronomers spend billions to learn more about what the universe will be like in a trillion trillion trillion years. Human curiosity extends even to a realm beyond time.
While animals attempt to explore and understand things and creatures in their habitat that can keep them and their offspring alive, human beings seek out the most desolate and even dangerour places on and in Earth – or beyond Earth – for the sheer adventure and pleasure of exploration, or as part of their undying quest to unlock the mysteries of their existence. While cats may be content to play with string and stones and bouncing crickets, humans want to understand everything there is to know about the string, stones, and crickets. Birds look to the star patterns in the night sky to guide them in their life-essential migrations, but humans seek to make sense of the patterns and understand starlight itself.
If the difference between human and other animals’ curiosity were simply a matter of higher intelligence (a presumed survival benefit), one would expect to see this higher curiosity emerging gradually in the most intelligent and communicative animal species. Instead we observe only modest increases in the degree of curiosity among such animals. Dolphins learn tricks and solve puzzles. Chimps take simple things apart and put them back together.
Humans ask, “What is the nature of the universe? What is our place in it? Where did the universe and its life forms come from? Why is everything the way it is?” Humans are the only creatures to ask such questions, and some individuals invest (or risk) their lives to gain answers. The evolutionist must explain what feature in any other animal gave rise to such curiosity.
The willingness to risk all for the sake of curiosity would seem to contradict the evolutionary principle of survival of the fittest. From a biblical (creation model) perspective, however, human curiosity makes sense. God made people so intensely curious that in their drive to study all aspects of the cosmos, including their own minds and hearts, they would discover clues pointing unmistakably to Him.

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Watch Out For "Religion"

Is “religion” good or bad? Is true Christianity a “religion”?
Both the Reader’s Digest Great Encyclopedic Dictionary and Webster’s New World Dictionary Third College Edition give as the etymology of the word religion: re=back plus ligare=bind, hence to bind back or re-connect.
You might ask, “Isn’t humankind suffering the consequences of not being bound (connected) to our creator? Isn’t the break (breach) produced by sin in the Garden of Eden precisely what the work of Christianity is intended to repair? (Isaiah. 58:12).
The word ligament has the same root source and no part of the body which moves to accomplish work can do so without being connected (bound) to the source of power, the muscle. Humankind has no greater need than to be re-connected to spiritual muscle. For this reason you might say, “The church does not need to be without religion. The church needs the religion of Christ, pure and undefiled (James 1:27). By this definition we don’t need Christianity without religion. We need Christianity that accomplishes religion.”
But Jesus did not save and rescue us by refining and modifying religion. Jesus did not die on the cross for a religious cause. It was religion that put Him on the cross – Jesus died to save us from religion.
Religion, from the day of Jesus’ birth to the day of His resurrection, was hostile to Jesus. Religion killed Jesus then, and it continues to war against Christianity today (John 15:18-19; 16:2). From the birth of the body of Christ, religion has attempted to eliminate Christianity by either killing believers or by misrepresenting and counterfeiting the teachings of Jesus Christ.
All religion, in any form, including religion that clothes itself with God’s name, asserts the fundamental importance of human deeds, works and performance.
Religion is any system of belief and practice that assures us that our performance can gain us a higher standing with God than we would have otherwise enjoyed. That hypothesis is the polar opposite of the gospel and the enemy of the cross of Christ.
Religion is a pre-Christian innovation, a system of behaviors and practices that promises divine blessing in return for human obedience and fidelity.
Religion existed long before the birth of our Lord and was in large part the reason He came. He came to signal the end of religion and the beginning of a new life, a life He brings to all of us, without cost. Christianity is thus not a religion at all, but a way of life that is opposed to religion and all of its potions and prescriptions.
The history of religion is filled with egocentric appeals persuading us that we are the center of reality. Religion, at its core, is humanistic. Religion is attractive because it places humans in the driver’s seat, seemingly able to control their destiny, able to determine what God will think of them.
Religion, under any label or banner, enslaves its followers, addicting them to the idea that what they do can please and appease God. Religion, in the name of Jesus Christ, offers to improve upon what Jesus has done, to modify and even counterfeit Him and thereby offering a false gospel and a bogus salvation.
An improved and modified Jesus is no Jesus at all. As C.S. Lewis once said, “No clever arrangement of bad eggs will make a good omelet.”
True Christianity comes from Jesus’ victory by the cross and His resurrection – and it is given to us.
Religion that exists and even thrives within Christianity diminishes the importance of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, as opposed to authentic Christianity which insists that Jesus Christ is the ground zero of our lives.
Religion serves an intoxicating and heady brew that bewitches humans (Galatians 3:1) into believing that human effort, performance and works are in the spotlight, at center stage of our relationship with God. True Christianity points to the work of Jesus Christ alone as the only source of our salvation. Jesus alone, the Light of the world, is worthy to occupy the spotlight. Faith alone, grace alone, Christ alone. It’s all about Him, not about us!
Jesus rescues us from a world that is groaning under the heavy burden of oppressive religion. Jesus’ glorious resurrection from the dead is also our glory, by God’s grace. Jesus’ victory is our own, by God’s grace. By grace, Jesus’ life is the life we now live (Galatians 2:20). He is the center of our lives. We belong to Him by God’s grace, not on the basis of our goodness, but on the basis of God’s goodness.
So as you look around you at Christianity, you will see many forms of working to please God to obtain salvation.
When you see a church that says:
a) Christianity is simple
b) You can’t earn your salvation by working to please God
c) Salvation is totally a one time gift which you just have to accept
d) When salvation is accepted, you have a change of nature right within your human spirit to the nature of Jesus Christ who comes to dwell within you in a living union
e) The life of a Christian after salvation becomes a life of growing in understanding of who you are in Christ, developing a personal relationship with Him, learning to trust Him for guidance and leadership, and demonstrating Him to others around you
f) As this growth occurs, you receive correction when you slip backwards and sin in different areas. But you learn from your mistakes and gradually eliminate human self-centeredness and daily become more Christ-centered.
When you find such a church without all the imposed ritualism and imposed human works, grab on to that church because THAT IS TRUE CHRISTIANITY AND IS NOT “RELIGION”!

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Did the Apostles Paul and James Contradict?

When Paul talked about salvation by faith alone, and when James said that we are justified by faith plus works, do they contradict? There seems to be a contradiction, and we know that there is no contradiction in the scriptures. I don't hear many sermons on this subject. I know that there is no way that we can earn salvation, or deserve it, or work hard enough for it, only by what Jesus has already done on the cross. It seems that Catholics believe that James is teaching salvation by faith and works, and Protestants teach salvation by Christ alone.
There is no contradiction. Paul says that grace is the manner in which, the currency by which, the energy and means, the vehicle of our salvation. We are saved by God's grace because that's the only way we can be. We are justified by the cross of Christ, because of God's grace, for only such a power and sacrifice can deliver and save us.
When James said that we are justified by our works, he meant that if we are saved by grace then works will follow. We are saved, as Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, in order to become God's workmanship, so that he can make of us what he desires, so that he can work in us, to produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5). We do not produce God's fruit in our lives by our efforts - only God can produce his fruit in us - so only by being saved first may Jesus, who lives in us once we are saved (Gal. 2:20), produce his work in us, and so we become his workmanship. This is what James was saying. He was saying that if we are truly saved, if we have been saved, then there will be evidence, and that evidence will be "works" - but here's where people often misunderstand. The works that James is talking about are not the works that humans do, but rather the works that God does in and through humans who are already saved. No works of God are produced in someone who has not accepted Jesus Christ. No human effort can produce the fruit of God's Spirit. People may be loving, joyful, peaceful, etc - as humans go, as humans can be those things - but the love, joy and peace of God will not ever be produced on human merit and character alone. Only God can make a tree, and only God can produce a Christian. The "acid proof" that James was not speaking of some kind of justification by works, is found in Romans 4 - where Paul explains that even Abraham, long before the cross, was justified by faith - Abraham was justified, not because he was good but because God was good. The entire chapter - Romans 4, might be a good study for you in this regard - and if you are going to read Romans 4, then take some extra time and do it right, start in Romans 1, and once you finish chapter four, keep going for at least a few more chapters. That should clear this issue up. Paul spends the first half of the Roman epistle stressing that God’s grace alone saves.
The James epistle was the first epistle written probably before 50AD. It was sent to the scattered Jewish brethren who, though Christian, were enmeshed in the legalism of the Mosaic law. Paul’s gospel, as put forth so distinctly in Romans, had not been widely disseminated.
James knew that the works of a Christian were important and he stressed Christian works as proof of salvation. But James just did not fully understand Paul’s revealed concept that people are saved once and forever in their human spirit by faith alone – but that the salvation growth of the soul is an ongoing, day by day, sanctification process by which we allow the works OF GOD to be expressed through us more and more.
No contradiction! Just a difference in emphasis!

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Three In One

Have you ever noticed how often the things of God seem to work by THREES?
Examples:

The Godhead – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Man, as the highest expression of God’s creation, reflects his Creator’s trinity nature. Man is created to know three worlds – the spiritual world, the psychological world, and the material world.

These three worlds are related to the three parts of our human person – spirit, soul and body.

When a man is properly related to the spiritual world with his spirit, he is HOLY.
When a man is properly related to the psychological world with his soul, he is HAPPY.
When a man is properly related to the material world with his body, he is HEALTHY.

As Christians, our salvation itself is a three part process –
We have a past, one time forever, salvation of the spirit by which we are JUSTIFIED and made right with God.
We have a present, ongoing every day, salvation of the soul by which we are being SANCTIFIED and brought into the lifestyle of God.
We have a future, at death, salvation of the body by which we are to be GLORIFIED and given new spiritual bodies in heaven.

A Christian contains three functions of the Godhead –
He has the Father as his NATURE.
He has the Son as his LIFE.
He has the Holy Spirit as his TEACHER.
The Father’s NATURAL intention for man is that he be joined to Christ in man’s human spirit as his LIFE. Then the Holy Spirit joins to man’s soul as his TEACHER. The Holy Spirit directs us to the Life of Christ and communicates God’s divine will to our soul (mind, emotion and will), and the soul is to motivate the body to navigate out into the world. These three then, working together, serve to make you what we can rightly call a man or woman of God.

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THAT NEW KIND OF MARRIAGE - An Allegory of Salvation

My name is “Child”. My full name is “Child Sinner”. My parents are “Adam and Eve Sinner”.
I lived a pretty natural and ordinary life until I met “Christopher”. I had always been looking for the man of my dreams. The he came along.
With Christopher and me, right from the start it was one of those stormy romances, on again, off again, on again, off again. So when I first began hearing about this new scientific marriage technique that’s been discovered for merging two people into one, we just made up our minds one night, he and I, to throw caution to the winds and give it a try. I guess it just seemed high time for us to take some kind of permanent, irreversible step, and we thought – well, why not? Why not go all the way?
After all, people around us are always hopping into bed together these days, and it’s nothing today for couples to shack up. So when this new science of total fusion of two people became available and we began seeing it advertised all over the place, it just seemed like the natural thing for Christopher and me to do.
Of course, I realize that it must strike many people as shockingly grotesque, the very idea of two separate people being literally melted down into one. But if you stop and think about it, it’s really no more peculiar a thing than shaking hands, say, or kissing – to say nothing of making love! I mean, who thinks up such things? No matter how common they may become, there remains a perpetual kind of strangeness to the most ordinary gestures of intimacy. And ultimately don’t they all point in the same direction, towards a deeper and deeper union?
Naturally Christopher and I had a big church ceremony, and I won’t go into all the details of that. But the moment itself, that moment when the two of us were standing there hand-in-hand before the altar and were suddenly, physically, melded together – how can I describe that? Well, one thing I can say is that instead of being inside myself and looking out at Christopher, suddenly I felt that I was inside Christopher, looking out at myself! One moment I was minding my own business, more or less, and the next moment I was minding business for Christopher Saint – that was his full name.
Looking back on it I can see that before then, in spite of having a lover and all, really I was still behaving pretty much like my own person: single, autonomous, marching to a private drum – and expecting Christopher just to tag along! It was almost as though I was the only person on earth lost in my own little dream world. But ever since that mysterious transaction at the altar, like it or not, I’ve found myself living not my own life but Christopher’s.
Now I’m doing Christopher’s work, thinking Christopher’s thoughts, getting used to Christopher’s body as being my own body, and trying however clumsily to do all things just the way Christopher wants them done. And since there is legally only one living person now in place of the two, I even took his full name, first and last, as my own: Christopher Saint.
My parents, predictably, were outraged. They’d been dead against the thing all along, refusing even to come to the ceremony. And you should have seen them the day Christopher and I walked into their home as one person! I mean, on top of everything else, Christopher has this thick foreign accent, which to my ears sounds adorable, but which I know turns a lot of people off. So even before we got in the door my parents heard my familiar voice all mixed up with that strange voice. And as soon as they laid eyes on the face of their dear daughter pressed shamelessly into the face of this foreigner, and saw my lips moving with his in a kind of perpetual osculation – well, they freaked right out. They had no idea who I was anymore, they said, and merely to look at me, all wrapped up in that man, sent shivers up and down their spines.
From the way they carried on, you’d have thought I’d been lost to them forever! You’d have thought that getting joined and fused together with a strange man was something unutterably disgusting, even perverted, for a decent woman to do. Well, if it had been anyone else besides Christopher Saint, I’m sure I’d agree with them. But Christopher just happens to be the soul of decency, the ultimate paragon of purity and goodness. How can you argue with true love? And besides, being called “Child Saint” sounds pretty good.
I don’t mean to imply that it’s all been smooth sailing for Christopher and me. We’ve had our ups and downs, believe me, and I can’t honestly say I don’t ever miss myself the way I used to be. The fact is, I do get frustrated not being able to run my own show. I know it’s silly, since there’s no going back now. But it’s one thing to BE one with another person, and it’s another thing altogether to FUNCTION as one.
In the beginning, especially, the two of us weren’t coordinated at all, and I’m sure that’s partly what put my family off. It was as though I and a perfect stranger had thrown a horse blanket over us, with him wearing the horse’s head and me being the horse’s you know what. And we were pretending to be a dancing horse. We kept tripping over each other’s legs, stepping on toes, getting in each other’s way. What a sight!
And so we were constantly having these long discussions about how to work things out. My feeling was that the only sane way to operate was on a fifty-fifty basis: half of the time we’d be me, and the other half we’d be him. What could be fairer than that? But Christopher, being from the Old Country, wouldn’t hear of it, and seemed determined not just to share my life but to take it over completely!
Even now, there’s hardly a day goes by when we don’t have to talk this issue through, and sort out what it all means. And again and again Christopher has to explain patiently to me that what actually happened, that moment before the altar when I got joined to him, was that I DIED to my old existence, and a brand-new person was formed. Can’t I see how preposterous it is, he’ll argue, for me to keep on trying to revert to my old independent self, when that self is now nothing but a dead shell? When I don’t even have a living body to call my own anymore?
“So what about you?” I’ll pout. “It’s a two-way street, you know. How come you get off scot-free?”
“Oh, but I don’t, “he answers simply. Don’t you remember that I died too?”
And at that, the very shadow that crosses his face will steal across mine, and I’ll feel my lips begin to tremble just as his do. And in my eyes, - which are really our eyes – the tears will spring. And then in our heart I’ll know that he is right. Then I’ll know that fifty-fifty is impossible, and that nothing makes any sense anymore but for the two of us to become totally and unconditionally identified, immolated and fused into one another.
So it hasn’t always been easy, living in Christopher Saint, or having him living in me. He can be so difficult to figure out sometimes, so full of inconsistencies. I mean, first he’ll say one thing, and then he’ll say something else that sounds to me exactly the opposite. Like we’ll be on our way to the supper table, for example – and I’ll be starving – and suddenly he’ll remember that he has to make this important phone call, and the next minute we’ll be throwing on our coat and heading out the door to some dire emergency. And right in the middle of that he’s liable to stop and spend some time playing around with the neighborhood kids! That’s just the kind of a man he is.
You never quite know what he’s going to do next. And yet somehow he expects me to be able to keep up with all of this, and even to read his mind. Because he’s doing it all, remember – inside of me – right inside my mind and body, - even though meanwhile what I want sometimes is to get on with a few harmless and quite legitimate plans of my own. Like fooling around with some of my old friends, or maybe sleeping in on Sunday morning, and so on. I tell you, it can be mighty painful, always being yanked in two directions at once.
But then, I guess the truth of it is that I felt much more like a schizophrenic BEFORE meeting Christopher than after. For somehow, in spite of everything, I’m more myself now than I’ve ever been. And the better I get to know Christopher on the inside, the more his odd behavior on the outside seems not so crazy or inconsistent anymore, but makes perfect sense to me. You really have to walk around in a person’s shoes before you start seeing things their way.
So that’s why I can so heartily recommend this new scientific technique of fusing people together, whatever little problems it might create. Mind you, I’d never dream of doing it with anyone except Christopher Saint! I mean, getting hooked up like this with the wrong person would be sheer hell!

On that day you will realize that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.
John 14:20

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The Entitlement Culture

The American constitution defines certain “inalienable rights”, while our government sets out to deliver them. We live in an age of entitlement. We demand and expect a certain standard of living: a good house, a decent education, an above-inflation salary, streets free of crime and grime, must have appliances, designer décor, fashionable clothes, great vacations … and why not? We're American! We deserve it!
Psychologists and sociologists are linking this sense of entitlement to the rise in violent crime and inappropriate social behavior. If we don't get what we think we deserve – materially and emotionally – we are easily overcome by a sense of injustice. And this can bubble over into rage: date rage, road rage, sports rage, shopping rage, parking rage … spiritual rage?
Is it possible that this spirit of entitlement, and I use the word “spirit” intentionally, has spilled over into the Church? I certainly think it has. And why not? We're Christians! We deserve it! It's not just the prosperity gospel we're talking about here, nor just the upwardly mobile who measure spiritual growth by material success. Fortunately the deception of this kind of Christianity has been unmasked, and most of us, in theory at least, don't subscribe to it. But the spirit of entitlement is subtler than that – and more resilient. We try our best to sweep it out of our homes and churches, but fail to remove it from our hearts. And it's in our hearts that it's most dangerous.
The apostle Paul asks, “Who has ever given to God that God should repay him?” (Rom. 11:35). It's a rhetorical question. None of us have a right to expect anything from God. And yet, by his grace, he chooses to lavish blessings upon us.
But surely we must have some rights? Something God tells us we're entitled to? Yes, we do – the Bible tells us that “To him who overcomes I will give the right to eat from the tree of life” (Rev. 2:7) and we are reminded that “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” (1 John 3:1).
These are the only two “rights” the Bible alludes to, but it is much more forthcoming in telling us what we “deserve”! For example: “What has happened to us is a result of our evil deeds and our great guilt, and yet, our God, you have punished us less than our sins have deserved” (Ezra 9:13). So if we've already been granted our rights, and, by his grace, not got what we deserve, surely we should be satisfied. After all, godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim. 6:6). And yet, how many of us are truly content?
Through our saving relationship with Jesus Christ we gain the status of a beloved child. What it means to be that child is open to interpretation, skewed as it is through our earthly experience of parenting, but one thing we can be sure of: however the Father chooses to raise us will be in our own best interest. Unlike some legislation that protects the rights of children, God's expression of discipline and love is not reduced to a set of rules.
If you're anything like me, this leaves us a little insecure. How do we know how God will treat us? What can we expect of him? God promises to act consistently with his character: “I am the Lord who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight, declares the Lord” (Jer. 9:24). God is kind. God is just. God is righteous. But what form will his righteousness take? Will he forgive us lavishly like he so often did with David, or will he choose to treat us more like Ananias and Sapphira who were struck down for a “mere” lie?
Who can know the mind of God? Who can know how it applies to us? That's why we want to know our rights, what we're entitled to, so we can “hold God to it”. We would like to believe that God only has good things in store for us, but we may not like the way he wants to deliver them.
The root of all this is fear – not Godly fear, but fear born out of separation from the Father. No matter what assurances the Holy Spirit whispers to us, when things aren't going to plan – our plan – we fear that we may be separated again. We need God to prove himself to us and we secretly begin to doubt him, his love for us and our merit in being loved.
We set check-lists in our heart: “If God heals me from this illness, answers my prayer, gives me the breakthrough I've desired for so long, then I'll know he loves me.” We rejoice, only in part, when our brothers and sisters testify to answered prayer. We're encouraged, yes, but secretly jealous that God hasn't done the same thing for us: “Why did God answer her prayer and not mine? What makes her more entitled than me?”
But God does not work to specifications. He is not tied to our agenda. He is not constrained by our limited understanding. God's way of salvation was so unexpected that many Jews refused to accept it. That was not who the Messiah was supposed to be: a suffering servant, beaten and hung on a cross. Where is the glory in that?
And where is the glory in our sufferings? When the prayers we have poured out are not answered in the way we expect when the blessings which we believe are our “rights” as children of God do not arrive, are we going to doubt the existence of the Father? Possibly not, but like American citizens who expect a certain standard of living, we are going to grow ever more resentful when we don't get it. If you look into your heart, you may be shocked to see anger at God. It may take a long time to recognize it, but it's there. You may be angry that God has not answered certain prayers. It might have started out as disappointment, but now it's turned into anger. Ah, but what freedom this brings!
Like Job you can tell God exactly how you feel, and he understands. Like Job, we need to be freed from the spirit of entitlement. Job expected, quite understandably, that it was his right to be protected from too much suffering. If you can stomach it, read through the Book of Job, and the disasters God deliberately – yes, deliberately – allowed to take place. First his business was devastated: his livestock was stolen and his employees were killed. Then his ten children died in a freak storm. His health took a turn for the worse after this, and he broke out in sores from head to toe. His friends stuck around for a while, but eventually they, and his wife, got sick of waiting for things to get better and left. Surely a child of God should not have to go through what he went through? Surely he was entitled to more? After all, God himself declared Job to be the most blameless and upright man on earth (Job 1:8). But no, God had other plans – plans to purify him, then to bless him abundantly (Job 42:12-16).
Now I'm not saying we should resign ourselves to the sufferings of Job. Thank God, by his mercy, most of us will not have to go through that. But we only have to look at the plight of persecuted Christians around the world to know that our comfort is a blessing and not a right. And until we realize that we will never truly be free. Godliness with contentment is indeed great gain.

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"Where He Always Is!"

There has for centuries been a debate about God. Does God “predestinate” certain ones to be saved OR does man choose his salvation? Does God determine all events in advance OR does man have free will to determine events? Calvinism OR Armenianism?
The opposing views seem to be absolutely contradictory. But are they?
I have just read a newly published book by Gene Edwards entitled “Christ Before Creation”. Get ready to expand your thinking into eternity as I give you excerpts from Edwards’ book:

Before creation, nothing existed except the Godhead. The only thing there was the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. The Godhead colluded together and decided to do something that one might say was a terrible gamble. Having made this awesome decision (which included the gamble), they worked out a plan, a purpose, which guaranteed that the gamble would be no gamble at all. The Godhead decided that there would be portions of the Son that would be chosen for some marvelous destiny. These portions of Christ were predestined, predetermined to a glorious destiny. Those portions of Christ awaited their purpose somewhere out there in the future appearance of the space-time continuum. But these glorious portions could only have their destiny fulfilled if a creation appeared. Then the great drama of those marked-off portions would begin.
After the destined ones were chosen, and just before creation, there appeared a book. This book listed the names of all the “marked-off” ones and was called The Book of Life. These are the very ones who would receive God’s own Life, eternal life. It was a record of those who would have Christ IN them. Out there in the distant future, it was also ordained that one day all those portions would come together. Or should we say come together again? They would once more be utterly one, just as they were all originally one – part of Christ and one with Christ.
Having written all those names in the Book of Life, the Son closed the book and sealed it. He sealed the book with the understanding that nothing could change God’s selection of those chosen ones. All would be there, as part of Him, at the very end and into the forevermore.
So now would this be the moment when there would be other than God? No, there was till more for Him to do before the actual act of creating. Remember that terrible gamble (which will turn out to be no gamble at all)? Once creation came into existence, God would allow all things to take their course, so things might not work out as God planned; hence, the gamble. But God did awesome things before creation to guarantee that all would work out as He planned, even though creation’s inhabitants were free to plot their own destiny.
Just before the act of creation, the Father slew His only Son. He slew the Lamb. The Father did this before creation. Christ truly died before creation, before space-time. And at the moment of the slaying of the Lamb, all those portions of Christ also died. What happened to Christ happened to them. His death was their death. Those marked off portions of Christ were of Him, from Him, through Him, but most of all…IN Him, when He died. And also when He rose! This dying and rising happened before time, before dimension, before creation.
Certainly, you and I, as fellow Christians, must say that we were in that creation and we are part of that creation…or so we think. But this is not entirely correct. No, you cannot be of this creation because part of you precedes creation! After all, you were in Christ…before. (Part of you may be a great deal older than you realize. A part of you has been around a very long time – even before time!) That is not all…there was the choosing of portions, the slaying of the Lamb, the creation of man, the fall of man, the cross in Jerusalem, Christ’s death, His resurrection, your redemption, and the close of creation. All this happened before He created anything. The answer has to do with Christ dwelling outside the passing of time.
Creating creation, giving man free will, and risking the Fall really did appear to be a staggering gamble on God’s part, but it was not so. Christ meant to accomplish everything first before creation, to see that His will was carried out in creation. Redemption was there before the Fall, before creation. There were things done before creation that took care of crises that would happen after creation. This is all inexplicable, of course. Things occurred in dimensions beyond our understanding. We really need to know only one thing: in realms of timelessness, your Lord resolved all the crises that would later occur in creation.
We now come to that moment when the triumphant resurrected Lord created. But if in that primordial age God was all, then where did Christ place creation? There was no “out there” because God was all. Creation had to be created in Christ! If you can see that creation in Christ, you can also see the resolution of much of the paradoxes, mysteries, and enigmas of our faith. After all, words like predestined, chosen, preordained, and foreknown could very easily raise a number of questions, especially when you add the words free will. If we see the greatness of Christ before creation, through the creation and after the creation, the paradoxes vanish.
The dawn of creation starts at the beginning. On and on the story unfolds. He who is Alpha and Omega (both the beginning and the end of creation are in Christ) watches the drama. The drama reveals to us Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and David. Then the Cross and the tomb appear. Then there is Peter and there is Paul. And as the drama continues to move forward, someone who looks a lot like you appears. All this drama is in Him.
Do you get this? Right now Christ is at the beginning and at the end of time, at the beginning and end of this creation. Both, right now. There is where He IS. THERE IS WHERE HE ALWAYS IS!
Can we understand this? Of course not! We are shackled to three dimensions of space plus time. Christ at the beginning and the end simultaneously, was not something that John Calvin understood. He was caught in space-time too. Calvin had a God who was trapped in the present. Armenius who preached free will had the same problem. One of those men said “eternal security”; that is, once saved always saved! The other man said, “free will”; that is, you can lose your salvation. Armenius said your name could be taken out of the Book of Life; Calvin said, “No it cannot.” Neither man grasped a revelation of Christ before creation, nor did they understand that creation is in Christ.
Christ is also at the end, and at the end there is the great throng of the redeemed, the gathering of all the redeemed in one place. They are all saved. On this point Calvin and Armenius agree! But Calvin would explain: “These were chosen before creation; none fell away. They are all here at the end, but were chosen at the beginning; and nothing can change that.” Armenius, looking at the same throng, would declare: “Oh, no, God chose many more than these; but they exercised their free will, rejected the Lord, and/or some fell into grievous sin. Those who did not make it had their names taken out of the Book of Life.”
Neither man fully grasped “in”. But we need not look down on these two men; we do not understand “in” either. The paradox: man does exercise free will. Total free will. God does not interfere. However, a sovereign Christ preordained us and knows the name of everyone in that great throng of the redeemed. Predestination AND free will? How so? Is that not impossible? Not if you see that creation is IN Christ and that Christ is at the beginning…WHERE HE ALWAYS IS, and Christ is at the end…WHERE HE ALWAYS IS.
May I now present to you the free will of man and the security of the believer, reconciled: The redeemed were chosen at the beginning, based on the fact that they had already been seen at the end! In that glorious moment at the end – WHERE CHRIST ALWAYS IS – your Lord sees the redeemed ones and He moves backwards through time until He comes to the beginning…WHERE HE ALWAYS IS. Then He writes the redeemed in the Book of Life based on those who made it to the end, based on the names of those who are in the great throng of the redeemed. Can He do that? Yes, because He is at the beginning and at the end…WHERE HE ALWAYS IS.
This should make both Calvinists and Armenians happy! Are you wondering how it will all turn out at the end? Who will be saved to the very end? Will YOU make it there to the very end? Let us do what Christ did. While Christ was moving from the beginning to the end, He passed all places and all times, where He is, WHERE HE ALWAYS IS, Christ also came to you in your time…WHERE HE ALWAYS IS. He said, “Look! One of the ones who is in Me, who was in Me at the beginning and was in Me before the beginning…where I am, WHERE I ALWAYS AM.” So Christ went back to the beginning, where He is, WHERE HE ALWAYS IS, and He opened the Book of Life to see if your name was written there. Lo and behold, there was your name written there. Your name was in the Book of Life because you were at the end…where you are, WHERE YOU ALWAYS ARE.
Then Christ did a double check on you. He came at last to the very end, where He is, WHERE HE ALWAYS IS, and lo and behold, He saw you again. He saw you there in the great throng of the redeemed, singing and rejoicing. Having seen you in the great gathering of the redeemed, was He surprised? Did He call out, “Oh, you made it! You made it to the end. Oh that is wonderful!” Not likely. Perhaps He said, “I am now going to choose, select, and predestine you. I will return to that time before time, before creation, before all things, WHERE I ALWAYS AM, and there I will decide that you will be saved.” Then He went to the place where you were calling out to Him to be saved. And he answered your call. Why not? After all, He found you at the end, and He saw your name in the Book of Life before the beginning. At that “non-time” He elected you chose you, justified you, sanctified you and glorified you.
You definitely are one of those who “made it” to the end. But can we be certain of that? Yes, because you KNOW you have chosen Christ, you KNOW you are in Christ, and you KNOW you have the mind of Christ. AND YOU KNOW THAT WHERE HE ALWAYS IS, YOU ALWAYS ARE.

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The Golden Rule? - Or the Platinum Principle!

In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets
(Matt. 7:12)

The Golden Rule is the one moral maxim that is supposed to sum up all ethical behavior, that appears in one form or another in practically all religions, and is thought to be universally and invariably applicable.
It has been said that if people everywhere obeyed literally this rule, we would have heaven on earth. But although virtually all are willing to assent to the validity of the rule in theory, they are convinced that it will not work in practice in every situation. In some respects it is utterly impracticable. They say that if we were to try to take it literally, matters would be made much worse.
AND THIS CONTENTION IS QUITE TRUE! For example, suppose you were a judge in a criminal court, and a prisoner should be brought before you. Would you, if you were in the place of that criminal, want to be sentenced to twenty years in the penitentiary? You are confident that what you would have that man do to you (were conditions reversed), and what that prisoner wants you to tell him, is to go in peace and sin no more. If you literally obey the Golden Rule you must do just that. But all people of mature judgment know that we dare not do to the evil-minded as we know they would have us do.
What then is the answer? When we discover that this saying from the lips of Jesus seems impracticable, we may be sure that the difficulty is with ourselves. We do not understand it.
To begin with, it is not necessarily a rule at all. Jesus never called it a rule. Jesus made many statements which were in themselves excellent advice, but not necessarily rules.
It has been said that the difference between a rule and a principle is: A rule is a regulation of life; a principle is the source of life itself. One forms the banks which direct the channel of the stream; the other is the basic spring from which the stream flows.
People usually prefer a list of rules, a book of regulations. It is always easier for a person to regulate his life by a list of rules outside himself than by a principle inside.
The Bible does not attempt to spell out the exact Christian behavior for every situation that may arise. It is for this reason that we are admonished to have our “senses exercised” so as to be able always to “discern between good and evil,” that whatever we do all may be done to God’s glory (Heb. 5:14; 1 Cor. 10:31).

The Platinum Principle

Rather than living by a “Golden Rule”, or even any other system of rules and regulations, or even a golden principle, God would have us live by what can be called the PLATINUM PRINCIPLE. Platinum is more precious even than gold. Whatever places deep within our being, in our mind and conscience, the power to guide and control human conduct is priceless in comparison with something external.
And what is the basis or the source of this Platinum Principle? What is the source of the “river” which flows between the shores?
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).
People instinctively think of themselves as quite self-sufficient. They are quite able to order their own lives, and plot their own course down the river of life (avoiding the rocky banks of the river, of course), until some unexpected emergency interrupts the carefully plotted course of their lives.
Our reaction to the unexpected is an important part of our developing that special virtue of “trust” in the Lord. In fact, “trust” is a virtue which can flourish most in an atmosphere of tension and concern.
God unfolds the future to us as we travel, ONE STEP AT A TIME. But we in our finiteness and weakness need to remember that we are in danger of jumping to conclusions and mapping out the future days and weeks when He has given us instructions for only one STEP. Just where that one step in the midst of the swirling waters of life is leading may be quite different than we think. But we must trust. The whole of the Christian’s life is in the hands of the Lord Jesus. And He comes at our new birth to live within us and take control as we are aware and allow Him to do so. His one purpose is to bring each to full maturity as a child of the Father.
This does not mean that it is wrong for us to have a schedule, to plan ahead, to put down engagements in a notebook, to make reservations ahead of time, to project what should or should not be done. Not at all. However, we are warned that we are not to be positive in stating what we will and will not be doing, but that we must always preface our plans, at least in our minds if not our words, with: “The Lord willing I will..”.
James 4:13-17 in the Message Bible states: “And now I have a word for you who brashly announce, ‘Today – at the latest, tomorrow – we’re off to such and such a city for the year. We’re going to start a business and make a lot of money.’ You don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. You’re nothing but a wisp of fog, catching a brief bit of sun before disappearing. Instead, make it a habit to say, ‘If the Lord wills it and we’re still alive, we’ll do this or that!’ As it is, you are full of your grandiose selves. All such vaunting self-importance is evil. In fact, if you know the right thing to do and don’t do it, that, for you, IS evil.”
But how do we acknowledge His will on a continual basis, in “all” our ways? How do we make the Platinum Principle work? Isn’t it an attitude of humble submission to His leading in confidence that you know Him well enough to receive His message, hinging our plans on His by the day, the month and the year? And when the unexpected where no rule applies (and perhaps the unwanted) comes, then we have a practical opportunity to live the “Lord willing” clause we might so easily say at times.
We may be shocked to learn how contrary God’s will is to our own, and will even overrule the “Golden Rule” at times - and how worldly influences can get a hold on us at times making us unwilling to ‘follow”.
Now let’s apply this Platinum Principle” in place of the Golden Rule to the case already mentioned. The judge on the bench has a prisoner before him. As a Christian judge, the Golden Rule dictates his course of action by Jesus’ words: “In everything do to others what you would have them do to you…” The Platinum Principle would lead him to take into consideration all the circumstances, surroundings and ameliorating conditions. And at the same time, the judge must put himself in the place of those others the judge represents – the great mass of honest society which is to be protected – and act with justice and mercy toward all concerned.
My earlier definition of a rule and a principle bears repeating: A rule is the banks that keep the stream in its channel; a principle is the spring or the source from which the stream gets its birth.
The effects of every good deed, every good thought, every good attitude we manifest by our trust in Christ is continually being formed into habit. We become more and more pre-programed into right habits. This is the Platinum Principle in operation. Seeing that we have been in the habit of trusting Christ, we continue to do so in critical times. It becomes, as they say, “second nature” – which, for Christians, is really their true nature!

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Christianity became...?

CHRISTIANITY came to Rome and became an institution.

CHRISTIANITY came to Greece and became a philosophy.

CHRISTIANITY came to Europe and became a culture.

CHRISTIANITY came to Asia and became a concept.

CHRISTIANITY came to America and became a business.

CHRISTIANITY came to a true Christian and became a personal relationship with Jesus Christ!

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Grace Doesn't Make Sense

Many surveys have found that a majority of church-going Christians believe that “God helps those who help themselves” is a verse in the Bible. More importantly, most believe the principle of God helping those who help themselves defines who and what God is and the relationship He offers us. The truth is just the opposite. Those who realize that they cannot help themselves and cannot earn their own salvation accept Jesus Christ as sufficient to do what they can never do.
Every salvation comes from the grace of God. BUT GRACE DOESN’T MAKE SENSE. Grace doesn’t add up. Why would Jesus come to be one of us, to pay a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay? Why would He pay for our sins in advance, before we were even alive to commit them? Why would He do that? Free? No strings? What was in it for Him? What if we take advantage of His willingness to forgive us every time we sin? What if we take advantage of God’s unconditional love? Surely there is some point when God’s patience and grace ends, and when we become toast and chopped liver.
Remember the parable of the unforgiving debtor in Matthew 18:21-35? Jesus gave this parable to explain the magnitude of God’s grace, and that His grace has no limitations or conditions.
Act one of the parable paints the story of a financial manager who finds that he owes his employer a staggering amount of money, perhaps a much as the annual revenue of a small nation or city-state.
Jesus does not tell us why the manager had come to owe this prodigious sum of money. Perhaps Jesus didn’t want us to get lost in obsessing over the sleazy sins that resulted in the manager’s debt. How the debt added up is not the point of this parable. The point is that the manager’s debt is far beyond his resources or that of his family ever to repay. When he stood before his employer for an accounting, the manager heard the verdict that his entire family and all of his possessions would have to be sold to begin the repay the debt.
The financial manager threw himself on the mercy of his employer, begging for time so that he could repay his debt. His employer responded with something the indebted manager would never have dreamed of, and certainly would not have asked for. His debt was being canceled. All of it! No strings. No conditions.
*** The debt that we owe God is so enormous that there is no human way we can settle the account. Our situation is hopeless. We are powerless to repay our debt. There is no human act or combination of actions – deeds, virtues, efforts, good works – that can pay the bill. When the debtor throws himself upon the mercy of the employer, and not before, he is forgiven. Only when we accept our inability to save ourselves and express our complete faith and belief in Jesus Christ to do for us what neither we nor religion can ever do, then our debt is paid. However, as long as religion convinces us that we can stumble along somehow taking care of our own bills, our debt remains unpaid. And there are a lot of religions in the world that do this.
But now the parable gets ugly and personal – after grace, then what? After grace, how should we live? Act two of the parable depicts the manager who was forgiven, redeemed, and reconciled – the same man who was rescued, saved, and freed from his debt – going out and refusing to forgive one of his debtors.
Fresh from the riches of mercy and grace just given to him, he goes out and meets a peer. His contemporary owes him a meager amount compared to the staggering debt the manager had just been forgiven. According to the parable, the newly forgiven man grabs that person by the neck and screams at him, “Pay me what you owe me.” And as we read this part of the parable, we protest, “Oh no, that can’t be! How can this man act that way?”
And that’s one of the morals of this parable – if we realize we have been forgiven, we will be forgiving, even if it takes some painful experiences to help us understand that we cannot be anything but forgiving.
Who are we, the forgiven, to do anything but forgive? Our mission is to tell others about God’s amazing grace. Our calling is to share the unbelievably good news that God’s grace is good enough and sufficient for our salvation. We have the precious opportunity of telling others that God (the ultimate employer) is looking for them and that God will forgive them once they fall at His feet and ask for His grace.
God’s grace leads us to display and reflect (not produce, for we cannot produce enough to repay) grace to others so that others may see Jesus through what He is doing in our lives.

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The Church Sign

There was a large sign on the front door of a church:

Attention! Behind these doors we worship regularly with liars, thieves, gossips, backbiters, people with troubled marriages, alcoholics, and drug takers. We welcome hypocritical, jealous, envious, coveting, materialistic sinners of all sizes, shapes and colors.

You had to walk up to the door to read the next part of the message which was in smaller type:

But the good news is that we all have something in common. We believe that the church, the body of Christ, is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. The Lord, who is our rest, reaches out to save us and brings us together as a community of the saints. We gather here to worship Him, to plan how we might be better agents and ambassadors of change in a darkened world that needs good news. You are welcome to join us, but be warned that we take Christianity seriously.

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What's So Special About Earth?

With the implosion and destruction of Busch Stadium in St. Louis scheduled for after the baseball season in the Fall of 2005, I thought I would republish an article I wrote many years ago. Here it is.
The latest news from science is that astronomers have discovered what appear to be planets around stars that are comparatively close to earth. No telescopes have actually spotted these planets, of course. They are too small to be seen with present magnifications. But scientists assume that they are there because the gravitational actions between them and the parent stars can be calculated. Are these really planets and could they really be livable by creatures like us – or very much NOT like us?
This announcement of other apparent planets renews the old question of whether there is life out there in the universe besides us. It also gets us thinking about comparative sizes in the universe. Is the earth really special in God’s plan? Why was man put on THIS insignificant planet instead of some other place? What about the SIZE of everything? Isn’t the earth pretty puny in size compared to our solar system? To our galaxy? To the KNOWN universe? What about the SIZE of man? Couldn’t God have made us a little larger? Wouldn’t it have been a lot easier to obey God’s orders to “subdue” the earth if He had just made us a little larger than the trees and mountains around us?
Aren’t you glad you don’t live in the time of the dinosaurs? “Subduing” so many creatures larger by far than man is a real problem.
AND SO I ASK: WHAT ABOUT THE PHYSICAL SIZE OF MAN AND THE EARTH IN RELATION TO THE UNIVERSE?
“It is the glory of God to CONCEAL a thing [how great the universe is in size]; but the honor of kings is to SEARCH OUT A MATTER [inquire, look, observe, find out]. The heaven for HEIGHT [how high is up?], and the earth for DEPTH [how far is down?],…(Proverbs 25:2-3). This indicates that man is to SEARCH OUTWARD away from himself and INWARD within his make-up.
Modern man has invented two tools of science for examining the world around him: the telescope and the microscope. Crude forms of magnifying glasses existed in man’s early cultures, but not until 1600AD were the compound lens type telescopes and microscopes invented. Man has steadily improved the magnification and focus on detail in both instruments.
I have visited the world’s largest sun telescope in Tucson, Arizona atop Kitt Peak National Observatory. The main body of the telescope is 500 feet long and 40 feet in diameter. It is used primarily for studies of our sun, but it also probes the planets of our solar system. If there were no curvature of the earth between Tucson and New York City, this telescope could easily make out a man on top of the Empire State Building. With the power of instruments like this, man has established that the universe is at least 20 billion light years in diameter.
You may have heard many times the mind boggling comparisons of size and distance in the heavens. You have probably less often considered sizes as man looks inward by means of the microscope, on what might be called inner space as opposed to outer space. The present practical limit for an optical microscope is 2,500 times magnification. This is like taking a half dollar and spreading it out the size of Busch Stadium in St. Louis and walking over it to check every detail. But this is just a start toward magnification. Scientists now have electron microscopes which can magnify two million times!
A good way to think about this is what could that same half dollar cover at this magnification. Well…if you laid the eastern edge of the coin at Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis, where would the opposite edge lay? You would have to get in your car, travel west on interstate 44, head on out toward the city limits – but keep going – go past Kirkwood, past Valley Park, past Eureka, past Six-Flags Amusement Park – oh don’t stop yet! Past Pacific, past Union, past St. Clair and stop at Sullivan, Missouri. This would be the opposite rim of the coin … 63 miles in diameter!! Imagine what detail you could discover on THIS COIN! And how long it would take to really explore it.
This allows us now to start distinguishing between individual molecules and atoms. As we explore molecules and atoms, it appears that ALL matter is internally constructed of miniature galaxies and solar systems. In God’s material creation whether it is a giant solar system of sun and planets or a single atom of hydrogen or oxygen, the basic overall plan of God seems to be NUCLEAR CORE WITH ORBITING PARTICLES! God seems to have made everything in the material creation, large or small, out of a nuclear core with orbiting particles. This has even required us to invent new units of measurement for length and time. A FIRMI is a measurement of length equal to the diameter of the nucleus of the hydrogen atom! A JIFFY is the length of time for light to travel the distance of one firmi!
Revelation 5:10 says that man is to reign on the earth. But what IS so special about the earth? Revelation 21:2 says that God actually brings His seat of government TO the earth. It sounds like there is SOMETHING special about the earth, doesn’t it? Isaiah 51:16 states that we are to “plant” the heavens; to establish worlds under God’s government “out there”.
Is it possible that in choosing the dwelling place for man and the size assigned to man who is to “inherit all things”, God selected the planet at the point of division which is the MEAN or middle size between the greatest and the smallest in creation? Think about it! From the earth as his abode and vantage point, man can look in EITHER direction. Through the telescope peering into the heavens, he beholds the INFINITY OF GREATNESS. Through the microscope, he inspects the INFINITY OF SMALLNESS. But in either direction, man has never yet been able to view the farthest reaches of space!
There was a science fiction movie in the 70’s called the “Fantastic Voyage”. In the movie an important and highly intelligent scientist is discovered to have an inoperable brain tumor. With a machine able to reduce the size of anything, a submarine with a crew of scientists is reduced small enough to enter the blood stream in order to flow to the brain where they can use laser rays to destroy the tumor from the inside. The picture had fantastic special effects of what it looks like inside different areas of the body.
“God has put ALL [outer and inner space] things in subjection under man’s feet…God left nothing that is not put under him. But we do not see yet all things put under him [we don’t yet have a body capable of traveling into outer and inner space].” (Hebrews 2:8). Man’s destiny in the God family is to control or govern the whole universe. We have all probably meditated on what it would be like to travel and deal with what can be seen in a telescope, but we need also to expand our thinking in the other direction. If man is a MEAN or average size, then there is a whole universe which can be seen in a microscope and beyond which is also to be included in the government of God. In other words, when we think of the material universe, we really should think not only of the “outer space” of solar systems and galaxies; but also of “inner space’ with its molecules and atoms.
So now, if we are destined to “plant” or establish worlds under God’s government in outer space, are we also going to “plant’ the reaches of “inner space”? This is part of the universe too. Who knows? Speculation? Sure. But a speculation built on man’s steady progression of discovery of the universe. This business of inner and outer space is a tough concept. But if we correlate our knowledge of God’s plan that mankind is destined to rule the whole universe with Him, then we gain God’s understanding with our science and its instruments.
In our present mixed up world, a rich man has paid 20 million dollars to the Russians so that he could orbit the earth in a space vehicle for a few days. His desire not to be earth-bound was so great that he just had to do this. Upon his return to earth, he stated that his journey was even more spectacular than he had expected.
You and I as members of God’s family are going to travel in ways that will make his earth orbit seem insignificant. In our total spirit existence after death, you and I will almost instantly be able to go from one end of the universe to the other. The speed of light will have no meaning to us. We will travel out within the hugeness of the universe and also to “inner space” down within the molecules and atoms. What a thrilling existence!
So when you see Busch Stadium implode and the 96 arches in rotation tumble to the ground, think about how I have used the stadium in my size comparisons. Speculate about God’s universe.
Some speculations are provable now. Others must wait to the proven when we are total spirit members of the family of God. But speculation serves a purpose. It EXPANDS our minds into thinking about the afterlife will be like. This is not day-dreaming! This is not escapism! This is not wasting your time. We should think about God’s ultimate goal for us. Let’s give our worldly thoughts some real competition for a change. Then when our real test of faith comes, whatever it may be, we’ll KNOW where our loyalties and desires really lie: WITH GOD AND HIS AWESOME UNIVERSE.

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Jesus of Nazareth - Man?? God?? Or SON OF GOD!

At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you (John 14:20).
In John 10:30 Jesus of Nazareth made the claim, "I and My Father are one." The Jews understood Jesus to be saying that He WAS God. In fact, they were so sure of the meaning of Jesus' claim that they even tried to stone Him "for blasphemy, and because you, being a man, make yourself God." However Jesus did not say "I have BECOME God," nor did He claim that He, by any of His virtues or goodness, WAS God. He simply stated the truth, "I and My Father are ONE."
Religions outside of Christianity, if they accept the existence of Jesus at all, claim that He was only a MAN, possibly a holy and great teacher, but only a man.
It is often taught in Christianity that Jesus of Nazareth WAS GOD, and John 10:30 above is the scripture most often used to prove it. But many fail to understand that Jesus did not live such a perfect life that He qualified Himself to become God or one with God. Rather, God the Father gave birth to Jesus Christ! If Jesus had not been birthed of God, but lived the very same life, it would not have made Him one with the Father. God the Father made Jesus one with Himself at conception in the womb of Mary. This is why Jesus lived the life that He lived – because He already was one with the Father, because of the life within Him.
Did you ever realize that Jesus of Nazareth never said, "I am God!" But He often declared Himself to be the "Son of God". Am I just splitting hairs here or is this an important concept to understand? I believe that it is an all-important understanding to proceed to maturity in the Christian life!
We all know that Jesus Christ declared Himself to be the Son of God. But at what point in time did He become the Son of God? I believe the understanding of this issue is important to a person's grasp of the marvelous purpose of God in the creation of mankind.
Let's go back to the very beginning, in prehistory.
If you were asked where in the Bible to find the very earliest description of God in point of the time of His existence, you probably would say, "Why, in the very first verse in the Bible, Genesis 1:1, of course." Right? Wrong!
In time order the earliest revelation of WHO and WHAT God is is found in the New Testament: John 1:1.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men" (John 1:1-4).
"The Word" in this passage is translated from the Greek logos, which means "spokesman" or "revelatory thought". It is the name there used for an individual Personage. But who or what is this Logos? Notice the explanation in verse 14:
"And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
When the Word was born as Jesus Christ, He was flesh and blood, materialistic and could be seen, touched and felt. But what was He? As God – as the Logos? That is answered in John 4:24, "God is a Spirit", and spirit is invisible.
The Word, then, is a spirit Personage who was made flesh -–fathered by God, thus having another spirit Personage as His "Father". Yet at that prehistoric time of the first verse of John 1, THE WORD WAS NOT (YET) THE SON OF GOD. He divested Himself of His glory as a Spirit divinity to be fathered as a human person. He was made God's Son, through being sired by God and born of the virgin Mary.
So here we find two Personages mentioned – one is God (in verse 14 called the "Father"). And with God in that prehistoric time was another Personage who also was God – one who later was sired and born as Jesus Christ.
We later in the Gospels of the New Testament are introduced to a third Personage – the Holy Spirit. But at this point in John 1, we are only told of God and the Word. The "Word" was a separate Personage from "God", but was also a part of "God", the divine God Family. The Word, at the time of John 1:1, was not, yet, the Son of God. But He was with God, and He also was God.
They were not yet Father and Son – but they WERE members of the GOD FAMILY.
That Family – as revealed further in the New Testament – is composed, now, of God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit, along with many born again humans who already, NOW, are true SONS OF GOD (Romans 8:14,16; 1 John 3:2), forming the Church of God.
That FAMILY aspect – the GOD FAMILY – is vitally important in God's creative purpose for humanity.
After our understanding of the first chapter of John, THEN we go to Genesis 1 – the material creation. God (the Personage called the Father) is Creator. But He "created all things by the Word (the Personage to later become the Son of God, Jesus Christ). It is written, "He spoke, and it was done" (Psalm 33:9). God tells the Word what to do. The Word then speaks, as the workman, and the Holy Spirit is the power that responds and does what the Word commands.
But the Bible tells us that this God Personage called the Word gave up His status AS God and became a MAN – Jesus of Nazareth.
"For by Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by Him and for Him" (Colossians 1:16).
The second Person of the Trinity was the "Word". When He was doing the creating, He was NOT the "Son of God". The "Word" BECAME Jesus Christ at the human conception and birth in Bethlehem. The "Word" BECAME the Son of God in the human person of Jesus Christ. And what made Jesus Christ the "Son of God"? Jesus' human spirit part contained the divine nature of the God Family! Jesus was born to Mary that way – the only human ever, in the past, present or future, to come from his mother's womb that way.
The Word, a member of the God Family, became Jesus, a human member of the God Family, and thus BECAME A Son of God – one of many Sons of God to be formed in the human race.
Jesus was the first Son of God with many to follow upon belief and acceptance of Him as Lord and Savior. Jesus came to start a new human race – a new race of God Family members born over again with the divine nature of the God Family.
Jesus Christ came into the world containing this nature of the God Family right from conception. But He was the "firstborn of many brethren" – each of us Christians who have to be born again by faith in Christ.
Jesus drew all of His power from total dependence on His union with the Father.
We brothers and sisters of Jesus must learn to follow His example by drawing on the power of Christ and the Holy Spirit in living union with us.
So what can we truly call Jesus of Nazareth? God? Man? JESUS CHRIST WAS A NEW MAN – THE FIRST OF MANY "SONS OF GOD". Jesus was the first man to contain the nature of God. All men before Him contained the nature of Satan inherited from that evil event in the Garden. And until this new man in Christ, no man could shed this fallen nature.
It is very important the believer understand the principle of living life according to a nature. Why? It is important because, from the outset, God intended each creature live by the nature within. This is also true of each of the members of the Godhead – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – for they live life by their nature.
It is very interesting to note that the word "nature" or "natural" is used only once in the Old Testament and is found in Deuteronomy 34:7. It should be very obvious that very little or nothing was known about the nature of creatures in Old Testament times.
Except for Jesus, the apostle Paul was the first to understand that God had a nature, and that His nature, was, is and shall forever be a Father-nature. John and Peter picked up on this understanding later than Paul.
It is my understanding that prior to creation God intended to have a nature-to-nature relationship with His offspring. Hebrews 1:1-5 talks about this and verse 5 says "I will be to him a Father and he shall be to Me a Son." God is well pleased with a nature-to-nature relationship, and at this time Jesus was the only one who had a nature-to-nature relationship with God, which is also known as the Father-Son relationship. "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:17). Jesus was the first human being that ever had God as truly a Father to Him. Pleasing God is achieved by a nature not by what can be done or performed.
Just as Jesus of Nazareth was NOT God but a man having the nature of God making Him a Son of God, so also we born-again Christians are NOT God but have the nature of God making us sons of God in God's Family. The difference between Jesus of Nazareth and us is that He was perfect as a container of the divine nature and we are imperfect containers of that nature.
Some might say, "But Jesus had to be more than just the ideal, perfect man – He was God and He knew it, otherwise He couldn't have performed all the miracles He did!" Jesus was the perfect Son of God, a perfectly mature Son of God thus giving Him all the supernatural powers available to perfect sons of God. Remember that Paul, Peter and John worked miracles too because they had a maturity beyond most men. But they were still MEN. All the true sons of God from Jesus on down to us today are given supernatural powers in relation to their maturity. As a growing Christian, little miracles occur in your life every day of which you may be unaware. And these will increase as you mature spiritually.
Others might say, "But Jesus had to be God because the Bible shows that He remembered things about Himself in past ages and even before the foundation of the world." We, as Christians, remember things from our life with the nature of Satan before conversion. Much of this is garbage which we draw on influencing us temporarily away from awareness of our living union with Christ and awareness of our present divine nature. But Jesus of Nazareth did not have any such past mental garbage. He was never confused mentally. He always knew to turn to the Father's nature within Him for His wisdom and understanding. This perfection of mind thus allowed Him to tread the corridors of time and eternity as He – as a Man/Son of God – used the wisdom of the Father. Jesus remembered who He used to be – the WORD.
What gem of truth can we draw from all that I have attempted to explain? JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS THE FIRST MAN/SON OF GOD AND THE PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHAT THE TRINITY OF GOD HAS IN MIND FOR THOSE HUMAN CREATURES WHO CHOOSE TO FOLLOW CHRIST.
JESUS OF NAZARETH GAVE UP HIS PERSONAGE OF THE "WORD" AND BECAME A MAN/SON OF GOD, THE FIRSTBORN OF MANY SONS OF GOD.
JESUS OF NAZARETH WAS A MAN IN LIVING UNION WITH HIS HEAVENLY FATHER AND HE LIVED IN TOTAL DEPENDENCE ON THE FATHER WORKING FROM WITHIN HIM. THIS IS THE EXAMPLE OF MATURITY WHICH WE AS FOLLOWING SONS OF GOD SHOULD AIM FOR.
AS JESUS LIVED FROM HIS FATHER WITHIN, WE ARE TO LIVE FROM THE RESURRECTED JESUS CHRIST WITHIN US (see Galatians 2:20, my favorite Bible verse.)
WWJD. What would Jesus do? We can never really understand the specifics of everything that Jesus would do in the situations of life which we face. But what we CAN understand is the METHOD. "I can, of my own self, do nothing!" "The Father in Me, He does the works!" The method is dependence! When we understand our weakness and dependence on our union with Christ within us, THEN we are living out WWJD!
The bottom line is that the "Word" had to become the Son of God – in Jesus Christ. And each human being is being given the opportunity to become another Child of God by choice – by faith and trust.
This is the knowledge that "surpasses all understanding." We, as Christians, are BIRTHED of God. We are children of God. We have the nature of God.
We will never BE God, the Trinity, but we are the next best thing – children in the Family of God.
This knowledge will bring us to more rapid maturity in our day to day Christian living.

What could be better than this ??

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Going To Church

Going To Church – (by Mart De Haan, RBC Ministries)

If I’ve learned anything about going to church, it’s that there are plenty of reasons not to go. I’ve visited enough churches all over the world to know that human nature is the same in Kuala Lumpur as it is in Kalamazoo. Since there are no perfect churches, see if you share my thoughts when I say:

1…I DON’T GO TO CHURCH EXPECTING to see a group of people consistently reflecting the attitudes and values of Christ.
I’ve seen enough of myself in church sanctuaries, meeting halls, and boardrooms to know that we all are at varying degrees of spiritual growth or regression. Some of us are like noisy newborns. Others are showing signs of spiritual senility. Most are somewhere in between, trying to figure out why we are acting like mere men and women rather than mature members of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:3).
All of this would be disillusioning to me if I didn’t find that the New Testament depicts the first-century church in the same condition of imperfection (Revelation 2-3).

2…I DON’T GO TO CHURCH EXPECTING to hear music that will lift everyone to the same level of worship.
In theory, church music is a shared language of the soul rooted in the theology and anthems of heaven (Colossians 3:16; Revelation 5:11-14; Isaiah 51:11). In reality, however, the songs of the church are the down-to-earth sounds of changing generations that are united by Christ but divided by preferences as varied as bluegrass, country, or Bach. Because music is an art that resonates differently in all of us, we can’t all feel the same way about our songs of worship.
The idea of “worship wars” is probably a contradiction in terms. But from the first century until now, the music of the church has been an opportunity for the Lord’s people to show whether they are submitted to the Spirit of Christ and to one another in the process (Ephesians 5:18-21).

3…I DON’T GO THE CHURCH EXPECTING to see men and women consistently giving one another the mutual honor and consideration they deserve. The curse of Genesis 3 describes our reality. Just as we still work to get weeds out of our yards, and just as we do what we can to reduce the pain of childbirth, so our challenge is to see the misuse of gender-based power and influence as a problem to be solved rather than as a right to be defended (Genesis 3:16-19).
We need to remember that the One who calls us together gave women more love and respect than they received in their own culture, not less (John 4:25-27).

4…I DON’T GO TO CHURCH TO FEEL morally superior to those who wouldn’t be caught dead in a house of worship.
The apostle Paul thought of himself as “the chief of sinners” years after he “saw the light” on the road to Damascus. Long after he discovered that there is no life outside of Christ, he urged those who joined him to remember where they had come from. He reminded them what they were still made of (Galatians 5:16-17), and how far they all had to go (Philippians 3:12-13).
The self-righteousness of church people was a concern, but no surprise, to the authors of the Bible. They wrote with transparency not only about the failures of the church (1 Corinthians 11:17), but also about its tendency to be morally proud (Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:3-5).

5…I DON’T GO TO CHURCH LOOKING for a perfect sermon with no errors in content or delivery. I’ve walked with enough pastors along the way to know that no matter how thoroughly they prepare their messages, they almost always fall short of their own expectations, let alone the needs of their people. Many wake up Monday morning knowing they’re being measured by memories of the past and compared with the pastor of a bigger church on the other side of town.
The shortcomings we see in our church leaders can be a reminder to us that a pastor’s performance is not nearly as important as the perfection of the Savior and His Word that together we are called to honor.
Because unrealistic expectations are a formula for disillusionment, I’m convinced that we do far better when our motives are more in keeping with the original purpose of the church.

Why I want to go to church:

1…I WANT TO GO TO CHURCH NOT BECAUSE I’m good, but because I’m not. I need to meet with others who realize that we all are like addicts in need of reminders that life is not found in another drink, another television program, or another hour at work. Life is found by seeing every circumstance as an opportunity to discover that God’s ways are better than our own.

2…I WANT TO GO TO CHURCH TO BE counter-cultural in the best sense of the word. Because everyone is important in the eyes of Christ, there is no better place to go to reverse the short-sighted values of a materialistic culture. There is no place on the face of the earth that gives us more reason to affirm the value of every person than a body of people “called out” by the Lord of the universe to regard everyone as someone for whom Christ died (James 2:1-9).

3…I WANT TO GO TO CHURCH TO CONFESS with others the life-changing truth that meeting together is not just about us. From the beginning, the church was established to be a place where the words of God are contemplated, where the Spirit of God is heard, where the goodness of God is confessed, and where the wisdom, power, and love of God are praised.

Father in heaven, thank You for the countless ways You have used men and women if Your church to enrich our faith. Forgive us for focusing only on our disappointments. Renew in us a willingness to hear Your servant who, for our good, wrote, “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

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Life As a "Truster"

Of all the mental disorders, hearing voices is perhaps the most unsettling. Yet it seems that our lives are rendered dysfunctional by all the real voices we hear trying to direct, counsel, and control life. From the time we were kids we have heard voices telling us to do this and to do that, to go here and not to go there, this is important and that is not. Growing up doesn't solve the problem – it only makes it worse. During adolescence, the voices of our peers often conflict with the parental voices heard at home. Then there are the religious voices, professor's voices, voices from the media and entertainment, and even voices from within that leave us dizzy with an attack of contradictory input and advice.
Life is a search for a voice we can trust - a single voice that puts all other voices into quiet perspective, a voice that settles the loudness around us and speaks peacefully yet clearly and confidently. A voice of leadership that we can trust.
Jesus Christ is the Voice. He affirmed, "My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me" (John 10:27).
Those who have set their hearts to hear His voice and trust in His leadership have been liberated from the din and frustration of the seductive voices that threaten their destinies.
Unfortunately, to look at most of us who call ourselves by His name, it would be hard to tell that we hear His voice alone and trust to follow it. Our lives are more often than not dictated by our soul and body functional voices within and by the most pressing and influential voices around us.
Freeing ourselves from the voices that haunt us and which are not from God is the primary pursuit and the most privileged identity of the Christian life. It is about becoming what God intended us to be as His children. It is about experiencing Life – the Life of Christ – the way it was meant to be.
Christians are to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, and relating successfully begins by trusting in His leadership. He doesn't relate to us on any other level than trusting on His strength in our weakness.
Yet in sermons, we may hear little about trust. Oh, we hear about trusting that Christ paid the penalty for our sins on the Cross. But day to day trust in Christ is another message. For most of us, Christianity has been formed as a system in which earthly leadership is paramount. We are led to believe that if we relate successfully to the structure, we are doing well in our Christianity – especially if we serve well enough to become leaders. If we have heard about trusting in leadership at all, it is usually in terms of earthly persons, codes, and institutions. Christianity has become more of a ritual and less of a relationship, more of a system and less of a Savior who like a shepherd, LEADS US!
Those who trust in Christ know that Christianity is different. They know that it is Christ and Christ alone. And those who grow into a good awareness of and trust in the leadership of Christ within them experience the liberating joy of simplifying their lives by simply following Christ.
We are never to say to ourselves, "I think I'll make something of my life – and, oh yes, I'll try to trust Him as well." Instead, we are to embrace the reality that Jesus said, "Follow Me and let ME make something of your life."
Those who rise to the Voice and set their minds on non-negotiated, uncompromised trust in Christ's leadership will also get, as a side-effect, His glorious PEACE.
Something significant has happened since Christ issued the challenge nearly two thousand years ago. We have become quite happy to call ourselves Christians with little or no thought of trust in His leadership. As a result, we are paying dearly through a loss of fulfillment, personal satisfaction, and our impact on the world.
It is not that we have denied Christ or even that we have done seriously wrong things. In fact, most of us have mastered the codes of conduct and rituals of our religion. The problem is, we have masqueraded Christ to our own little world with our own little ways. When non-Christians see us, they see more of our distorted portrayal of Christianity than they do a clear reflection of the character and quality of Christ. And they often conclude, "If this is what Christ means in a person's life, then forget it!"
Living in a metropolitan area, I am aware of what graffiti can do to an otherwise attractive façade. Throughout history, vandals have destroyed masterpieces of art by wanton strokes of a brush, adding glasses, a mustache, a sinister smile, a beard, or a distorted nose.
Too often we have graffitied the face of Christ. His image becomes clouded by our prejudices and preferences. Apart from our activities on Sunday and our conformity to external codes of dos and don'ts, the world doesn't notice much difference between us and people who don't claim to be Christian. All they see in Christianity is the loss of a day of leisure on the weekend and the denial of common pleasures. Nor does it go unnoticed that many professing Christians manifest as much greed, self-centeredness, materialism, anger, aggressiveness, and physical appetites as the average pagan on the street.
Few will be drawn to Christianity as a system, especially in its graffitied form. Yet those who find their way through the distortion discover Christ as a compelling leader who can be trusted. Christianity is a relationship, an adventure, a passionate pursuit of trust in Christ. This trust then escapes the boredom and drudgery of a system of rituals and regulations in the discovery of this intriguing Person.
As children of God through Christ, we are liberated from all that does not reflect the perspective, character, and conduct of Christ. Although we may hear a multiplicity of voices from both within and outside the church, we really focus on only one. It is the voice of Christ, who simply said, "Trust ME!" In our modern world, any other voice that says, "Trust me" should be met with a good solid dose of skepticism. But Christ knows what He is talking about, and He means it. No conditions. No negotiations. No particulars. No contractual exceptions. Just trust! It was the first and last thing Jesus required of Peter (Mark 1:17; John 21:19,22). It is the beginning and the end of what it means to be a Christian. Everything in between is measured by it.
Unfortunately when we identify ourselves, our terms of identification don't readily indicate our trust in Chris's daily leadership. To say, "I am a Christian," may focus our attention on our privileges and entitlements. Or, perhaps it is simply a way to differentiate ourselves from other kind of people. For some it means little more than not being a Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist. The title itself does little to forge a sense of calling to trust action.
Some of us have understood the vagueness of the title "Christian" and have opted for "believer". But this only focuses on a time or season when we confirmed the fact that we had chosen to believe in Christ and His gospel. Again, this fails to define or delineate what it actually means to live as a believer. What does a believer DO apart from giving mental assent to a system of belief?
Then there is the identity of "brother" or "sister". The problem here is that these terms focus our attention horizontally, in terms of relationship to one another, not primarily on our relationship in union with Christ.
Others of us think of our relationship with Christ in terms of "I am a Catholic" or Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist, or some other denominational or group label.
As good and important as these identities may be, at some point we have to get beyond these labels to a self-perception that will demand the right stuff of our lifestyle.
"In God we trust." Our money says it. We are TRUSTERS – and Jesus Christ is the great TRUSTEE! As strange as the word sounds, identifying ourselves as "TRUSTERS", even though the word is not in the dictionary, captures the essence of what it means to be in union with Christ. Think of the difference it would make if we answered questions about who we are by saying, "I am a TRUSTER OF CHRIST." Calling one another "TRUSTER" would draw out encouragement and accountability. Thinking of ourselves as trusting in Christ keeps our focus on Christ and holds us accountable for how we live.
Yet, in a strange, twisted sort of way, many of us live out our faith in Christ as though He exists to trust us in our demands – to satisfy our wishes. Distorted perceptions of Christianity present the power of faith and prayer as instruments designed to get Christ to serve our impulses for peace and prosperity. This disguised form of self-serving religion sets Christ up as just one more commodity in life that will enhance and empower our dreams and destinations.
An informed perspective of a TRUSTER cancels that notion. Of course, Christ wishes to grant good things to us because He IS generous. But He gives us good things out of His pleasure, in His time and His way, not out of any authority that we supposedly have over Him.
We must not forget that all of life suffers when we fail to trust in Christ's leadership. WE WERE CREATED TO TRUST. In the very beginning, God created us so that we could connect with Him as our transcendent guide who would lead us to the reality of the life He desires for us.
It is not that we have not heard that intriguing call, "Trust Me!" It is not even that we don't believe in and admire the One who calls. Our struggle is that it is just plain difficult to be a TRUSTER. In a world consumed with leadership, independence, and self-led living, it is tough to find volunteers who will even admit that they want to be TRUSTERS. We get and give the impression that TRUSTERS are limp, vulnerable, weak, controlled by others, and lacking in initiative.
Kids used to play "Follow the leader". I don't know whether kids still do, but I know that I always wanted to be the leader. In fact, so did just about everyone else. The reason? The leader was always right, never caught off guard, and never embarrassed by having to imitate others. The leader always looks good, and the followers are the ones who stumble and can't quite keep up.
Growing up hasn't changed our perception of the difference between leading and following – only now it's not a game, and the stakes are high. All of life and its outcomes rise and fall on whether or not we will choose to be the leader of our own destiny or a TRUSTER of someone wiser and better fit to lead. Unfortunately, when it comes to the life choices that matter most, we resist yielding control. We don't want to give the impression that we are unable to figure out life for ourselves.
In the face of our resistance to being vulnerable, Christ calls us to TRUST Him. He calls us to count ourselves wholly, and without compromise, fully devoted TRUSTERS in the great TRUSTEE. And He wants it not as a part-time expression of, or add-on to, our Christianity, but as the all-consuming center point of our existence – THE LIFE AS A
TRUSTER

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The Prodigal Son - (like you've never read it before!)

A faithful father’s forgiveness . . . (paraphrased)

Feeling footloose and frisky, a featherbrained fellow forced his fond father to fork over the farthings. He flew far to foreign fields and frittered his fortune feasting fabulously with faithless friends.
Finally, facing famine and fleecing by his fellows in folly, he found himself a feed flinger in a filthy farmyard. Fairly famishing, he fain would have filled his frame with foraged food from the fallen fodder fragments.
"Fooey! My father's flunkies fair far fancier," the frazzled fugitive fumed feverishly . . . frankly facing facts.
Falling at his father's feet, he floundered forlornly, "Father, I have flunked and fruitlessly forfeited family favor."
But the faithful father, forestalling further flenching, frantically flagged the flunkies to fetch forth the finest fatling and fix a feast.
The fugitive's fault finding fraternal foe frowned on the fickle forgiveness of former falderal. His fury flashed, but fussing was futile.
The farsighted father figured, "Such filial fidelity is fine, but what forbids fervent festivity? For the fugitive is found! Unfurl the flags! With fanfares flaring, let fun and frolic freely flow. Former failure is forgotten; folly forsaken. Forgiveness forms the foundation of future fortitude."

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Will God Eventually Lose His Patience?

I am no fan of the alternative worldview fostered by the Left Behind of Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. In terms of ability, I realize that I am not fit to sit at the same computer keyboard with either, given their success as authors – but their ability is not my real concern. And, I have no reason to doubt their commitment to God, and again, they stand on all before Jesus, not me – or you (Romans 14:4).
However, based on biblically-based, Christ-centered teaching, the Left Behind series leaves much to be desired. It is but the most recent example of reading the Bible in one hand, and the newspaper in the other. I am intimately acquainted with the product of prophecy-intense study. I lived it. The fictional premises of Left Behind and all of its genetic forefathers feed its followers an unending speculative diet of events that promise the time of the end to be near. Many followers and devotees of “prophecy teaching” respond to each new speculative salvo like sharks in a feeding frenzy. They can’t get enough of it. This end-times stuff is devoured by those caught in its clutches, until by God’s grace, one day some wake up and smell the roses of the full implications of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is my experience that those who once relied on speculative prophetic teaching find that hype and fear is not the stuff of the gospel – and often they find it difficult to move from a diet of frantic warnings that “the end is near” to the authentic gospel of Jesus Christ. When people find out that the Left Behind gospel is flawed, they often blame God for the fact that he was misrepresented. Sadly, in terms of the gospel of Jesus Christ, many then do get left behind.
I know many people, many of them dear friends, who have already been left behind, because of the same kind of teachings popularized by the Left Behind series. Some bow out of Christianity altogether, many becoming ambivalent in terms of faith and belief – with some winding up as agnostics and atheists.
I know – I spent 15 years thinking that “the end” could come at virtually any moment. My transition to authentic Christianity was like a walk through the valley of the shadow of death. How could I have been so wrong? How could I have been so mistaken -- and misled? Why didn’t I see how shallow and silly some of the teachings I held so near and dear actually were? How could I have once believed what I did?
Several weeks ago I found myself channel surfing, and there, before my eyes, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins were being interviewed on NBC’s Dateline. The setting and script was all too familiar: 1) Secular interviewer entices Christian prophecy teacher to tell the world about his or her insights, 2) Prophecy teacher jumps at the opportunity to “reach the world” via secular media, 3) Secular media sees this as great television – a chance to yet again let a Christian demonstrate how unreasonable and preposterous the claims of his or her faith really are, 4) And once again, the world at large is given a stereotype of Christianity, evidenced by one minority view of how some view Bible prophecy.
The interviewer wanted to know why God would rapture believers in such a way so that mass chaos and incalculable suffering would result. After all, Rapture teaching (the pre-suppositional ground- zero of the Left Behind series) posits that believers will suddenly evaporate into thin air, without warning, even while they are engaged in critically important professional capacities such as bus drivers, airline pilots, surgeons and law-enforcement officers. Why would God sponsor such a disaster, resulting in such mayhem for those who, for some reason, are not ready, prepared or qualified for the Rapture? I could not believe the answer offered by the authorship team, the creative genius behind the blockbuster Left Behind series – “there will come a time when God will run out of patience.”
God is going to run out of patience??? That’s not my God. That’s not the God of authentic Christianity. The God who loved us so much that he gave us his Son, so that by believing in him we would not perish but have everlasting life, does not “lose his patience.”God is not sitting (or standing) in heaven, looking out of his huge control room picture-window down at our earth, shaking his head, slowly losing his cool. There will not be some time in the future when God is having a bad day, when his medication can no longer keep his blood pressure in check, when he blows all his fuses, and announces to the heavenly hosts – “All right. That’s it. I’ve had all that I can take. They have finally done it. Now it’s time to go down there and kick some serious ___.”Nothing in the Bible gives us any such idea.
Yes, God was grieved when the children of Israel were worshipping a calf while he was giving Moses the law on Mt. Sinai. But we fail to understand that the only way that the Bible can reveal God to us is through human language and reality. When we read of God’s anger, it is not one and the same as our anger. When we read of God’s wrath, it is not human wrath. When we read of God’s vengeance, it is not human vengeance.
In order for God to reveal himself to us, he condescends to our level, he accommodates his language to our reality, and uses “earth-speak” to reveal himself to us. The mere fact that God uses human language, speaking to us in our reality through our limited and earthbound linguistic symbols, is proof that we do not perfectly understand the nature and attributes of God.
God is not a God who is just like us. His thoughts and ways are not one and the same as ours (Isaiah 55:8). The psalmist quotes God as rebuking us, for “you thought I was altogether like you” (Psalm 50:21). We can give thanks that God is not just like us – upon reflection, which of us would really want him to be just like we are? Isn’t that why he is God and we are not?
Further, the God of the old covenant had an entirely different relationship with Israel, under the terms of the old covenant, than he does with Christians, who experience the new covenant through God’s grace and because of the cross of Christ. God does not lose his cool with us. He is not like us. God’s love is beyond our comprehension, beyond our measurement, beyond our capacity to grasp (Ephesians 3:18-21).
The Bible does speak of God’s love and his anger, but what a huge mistake it is for us to presume that his love and anger is understood, experienced and expressed as human love and anger is. The God of the Bible is not a God who is angry and needs to be appeased. The Cross does not appease an angry Father. That’s paganism – bad theology – even though you hear this in churches . . . Their idea is that the Father created, then we messed up the creation, and now the Father is just really mad, and somebody has to die. He won’t be happy until the Son dies. But hey, the Son’s alright with that. He says, "Well, to deflect the Father’s anger I’ll die for you." So the Son dies, then the Father says, "I’ve got enough blood, now I’m happy." That’s not Christianity. That’s absolute paganism.
Will God eventually lose his patience with you? Regardless of the implied teachings of the fictionalized Left Behind series, the truth is that you need not live in fear that one day God will lose his cool with you. He loves you with a perfect love, a love that is beyond anything we have ever or will ever experience. God is love. Yes, Jesus Christ will judge the world. But exactly how all of that will come about, and what will happen, to whom, when, where and why -- those details are not revealed to us. We do know that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Will God eventually lose his patience with other people – people who do not accept Jesus Christ – people who are really bad sinners (not just plain old ordinary sinners like you and me)? No, God is not like us. He doesn’t experience road rage when the freeway commute in heaven is bumper to bumper and he is late for a meeting with the “four living creatures and the twenty-four elders” (Revelation 5:8). God will not lose his patience. Be assured that God doesn’t “lose it” as we humans can and do. After all, if it were possible for God to eventually lose his patience, my history books tell me that there would have been many times when that would have already happened.
Spend some time in prayer and thought considering God’s love for you – and for everyone else. Consider how God will continue to demonstrate his tender mercies to his creation. There is much suffering in our world today, and the pages of history are soaked with bloodshed. The future will bring more of the same. The future is not based, according to my Bible, on God’s losing his patience. The foundation and motivation of God’s Church in this age of grace is the love of God. God’s purpose of love is to save humanity from itself and from all of our lust, greed, envy, intolerance – and yes, lack of patience.

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Our Motive For Living

Last night, I attended a home Bible study on the book of Proverbs, and one theme seemed to predominate. A number of the men had problems understanding the will of God in how they conducted their business practices and relationships – about how much time was allowable away from their families, about how insistent they should be about their “rights” and “privileges” in business, about what is the “right” amount of material desires.
In my early years, I thought that certain actions were “good” when you could see “good” effects, and other actions were “bad” when you could see “bad” effects. But this is a wrong simplification of sin.
But I grew to understand what the world does not understand – that “good” has the MOTIVE of depending on God’s strength and that “evil” or “sin” has the MOTIVE of depending on our own strength.
My early definition of “sin” was that “sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). But this definition can be deceiving because it does not take into consideration the MOTIVE behind the action.
Some actions of sin are well-defined in the Bible such as adultery in marriage, premeditated murder, etc. There is a black and white understanding of sin here. But other actions are less defined and depend much on the MOTIVE of the person.
A rich man can give a million dollars to a hospital which seems to be a good action of love of neighbor. But if the MOTIVE for giving is to aggrandize himself to others and receive public acknowledgment, then the action, for him, is the SIN of pride.
Our MOTIVE for Christian living, and thus all of the choices stemming from that living, can be one of only two. Our MOTIVE can be to depend on or trust in God to lead and empower our life – and then our choice of action will follow that motive. Or our MOTIVE can be our own independent strength and leadership – we might call this a motive of independence – and then our choice of action will follow that independent motive.
MOTIVES have to do with faith. Galatians 2:20, my favorite verse in the Bible, has a little two-letter word which I overlooked for years. And I am really just now coming into an understanding of its application in daily living. The verse says that “…I live by the faith OF the Son of God…”. Notice it does not say that I live by faith IN Christ. I thought that this must be a mis-translation; those old “King-Jamers” were at it again. But the original Greek reinforces and even emphasizes that it is Christ’s faith that is meant.
The Bible does say that we are to grow in faith. What does all this mean? It sounds like double-talk to say that I am to grow in MY faith in CHRIST’S faith. But a little study and teaching by the Holy Spirit clears up the matter.
Before conversion, our motive for our faith in how we live is an independent motivation to live by our own resources. We inherited this independence from Adam and Eve as carried down through history. Finally, one day, we recognize that this motive just does not work. We’ve failed miserably. The Bible says that at this point God gives us a “measure of faith”. We get a sampling of “spiritual dependent faith”, just enough to get us to call out for a Savior. And when we do, God does what He promised. He recreates us into a new species, a MEMBER of His Family. Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit come to live IN US.
I always thought that this “measure of faith” had to grow spiritually and get stronger and stronger in ME. But I have come to see that the measure of faith was only for the “old man”. And he is dead! The TOTAL UNLIMITED FAITH OF CHRIST is what I have now. I am a “new man”. Christ living in my human spirit now makes me so.
But there is still a ME involved in this union of spirits. My human soul must still line up with the faith of Christ in my spirit. How does this work? By AWARENESS! My awareness of who I am in the Family of God is the key. Paul said “Pray always”. I see this to mean that in everything that I see and do, keep in my soul-mind at a level in the high subconscious that awareness. And this awareness is the MOTIVATION to live by the FAITH OF CHRIST.
I can’t “work up faith and motivation”. I can’t “grow in faith and motivation”. I can only keep awareness of who I am in the forefront.
How does this understanding help my friends make proper business decisions? They must not allow themselves to slip into independent thought and desire in their businesses. They must keep a constant awareness of their human weakness and Christ’s strengthening faith and motivation. Give and take expression of prayer will provide confidence in the guidance and leadership of the Spirit of God.

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Sleeping After Death

My wife, Joyce, my partner in 50 years of marriage, died last month. The point was made throughout her memorial service that she is now with God. I believe this wholeheartedly. But there is some question about what happens to a believer when he or she dies.
Many Christians preach that you go directly to heaven while others have said that you will be sleeping until Christ returns. Which, according to the Bible, is correct? The majority view, throughout the history of Christianity, is that the spirits (or souls as some prefer) who are dead in Christ are with God, in a conscious state. They are with God, and therefore, "in" heaven. Because God is omnipresent (everywhere at once, not subject to the limitations of time and space) he is not geographically defined.
So, heaven is best described as being with God rather than in some universal, spatial "place.”Of course, the body of the deceased decomposes — this we can know empirically, by observation. The Scriptures speak of the resurrection of the body of those who are dead in Christ (1 Corinthians 15) — and the glorification of our bodies to immortality, so that our bodies are not subject to decay and aging, as they are now. In this regard we will be "like him" (1 John 3:2) — his resurrection is therefore our hope, our victory and our eternal gift from God.
While the body of the deceased decomposes, the spirit (or soul as some prefer) goes to be with God. Some believe that the spirit (or soul) goes to sleep, to be awakened at the Second Coming, reunited with their body at the time their body is given a resurrection body. Two problems. Scriptures speak of being "with" God, present with him, at home with him (2 Corinthians 5:8). While one could try to explain that the spirit could be at home, present and with God while asleep, one is still left with "why." Why would God want to have — (or does he, presently have) a huge warehouse-like hospital ward in heaven filled with sleeping spirits? Why not enjoy them -- why not be with them?
Here’s the second big problem with “sleeping after death”. The Bible uses the term sleep to describe death, but it uses it as a metaphor, rather than a precise clinical description. Thus, when we read that "David slept with his fathers" we read it as a metaphor, rather than assuming that David's spirit was literally placed in a big heavenly bed where he snored with his fathers. This takes a metaphor and attempts to twist it into a precise description of the state of the spirit during the intermediate state.
Having said all of that — we still don't know for sure, do we? No one has gone to the intermediate state and come back with a full report — not even Geraldo Rivera (yet, anyway). So how vital is this belief to our salvation? It isn't — but that doesn't mean that it isn't worth discussing.

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Doing What You Want?

The idea that God's grace leaves us in a position of being able to "do anything we want without any accountability" is a human reaction, first expounded to us by Paul in Romans (see, for example, Romans 6:1-2). The idea that we humans may either gain our salvation, or that we may in some way improve our standing on the basis of our deeds and works is anathema to the gospel of Jesus Christ, as explained by Paul in Romans, as well as Galatians. However, when we humans hear that only God can make us holy, we are often scandalized, for such a proposition says that we are unable to produce any righteous product on our own. It is that very weakness, in our human nature, that religion takes advantage of, and tells us that God's grace just doesn't make sense, and that in the end it will lead us to permissiveness and licentiousness. There is no way that Christians have any permission to behave immorally. It is OK to poke fun at our human attempts to make ourselves righteous, for in so doing we can help to explain the profound love of God, which makes our pitiful religious self-righteous antics look like what they are. But in the end, it is all about God's grace…Christianity without the religious stuff that many believe is a substitute for Jesus. There is no substitute for Jesus - there is no religious ritual or regulation that helps us to earn God's approval. God loves us because he is good. When we accept that, and realize that all of our attempts to make ourselves righteous are without validity, and when we repent of them and surrender to God who alone can justify and save us, then Jesus lives his risen life in us and he will produce the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5) - and the fruit of the Spirit that Jesus produces in us has nothing at all to do with doing "anything we want."
Bob George in his book “Classic Christianity” says, “To many people, all this emphasis on total forgiveness and Christ living in you seems threatening because they fear that it will lead people to become complacent about their Christian lives…But let me share an illustration. Let’s imagine that a king made a decree in his land that there would be a blanket pardon extended to all prostitutes. Would that be good news to you if you were a prostitute? Of course it would. No longer would you have to live in hiding, fearing the sheriff. No longer would you have a criminal record, all past offenses are wiped off the books. So the pardon would definitely be good news. But would it be any motivation at all for you to change your lifestyle? No, not a bit.
“But lets go a little further with our illustration. Let’s say that not only is a blanket pardon extended to all who have practiced prostitution, but the king has asked you, in particular, to become his bride. What happens when a prostitute marries a king? She becomes a queen. Now would you have a reason for a change of lifestyle? Absolutely. It doesn’t take a genius to realize that the lifestyle of a queen is several levels superior to that of a prostitute. No woman in her right mind would go back to her previous life.
“As long as a half-gospel continues to be taught, we are going to continue producing Christians who are very thankful that they will not be judged for their sins, but who have no significant self-motivation to change their behavior. That’s why so many leaders have to use the hammer of the law and suffocating peer pressure to keep their people in line.
“But what is the church called in the New Testament? The Bride of Christ! The gospel message is in effect a marriage proposal. And just as the prostitute became a queen by marrying the king, guilty sinners have become sons of God by becoming identified with Christ. It is that relationship and our new identity that becomes our motivation, and it is motivation that comes from within.” (End of quote)

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Highways In the Sky

Another example of design in God’s glorious creation has been discovered. Newspapers reported this month that scientific research now understands how the monarch butterfly migrates.
Monarch butterflies making their annual migration from the eastern United States to winter residences in Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountain range find their way by following a three-dimensional map made of rays of polarized ultraviolet light, according to a new study.
Though UV light is invisible to humans, to butterflies it appears as a grid or highway in the sky that emanates from the sun, the researchers reported in the journal Neuron.
But as the sun travels across the sky, so does the highway. To compensate, the butterflies use an internal clock that recalibrates the highway throughout the day so they can travel in a straight line.
Scientists had long thought that the butterflies used polarized light to navigate, but they weren’t sure it was from the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum. Their suspicions were confirmed when they put the insects in a barrel-sized flight simulator and used a plastic filter to block UV light. The butterflies could still see but they just flew around in circles. Without UV, they get very confused and lose their sense of direction.
The scientists discovered that the part of the butterfly visual system that detects polarized light is dominated by photoreceptors for UV. They also found that those receptors are linked to neural fibers that contain a key protein used to regulate the butterfly’s internal clock.
Why did God design the migration process? Unlike most other insects in temperate climates, monarch butterflies cannot survive a long cold winter. Instead, they spend the winter in roosting spots. Monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains travel to small groves of trees along the California coast. Those east of the Rocky Mountains fly farther south to the forests high in the mountains of Mexico. The monarch’s migration is driven by seasonal changes of day length and temperature.
In all the world, no butterflies migrate like the Monarchs of North America. They travel much farther than all other tropical butterflies, up to three thousand miles. They are the only butterflies to make such a long, two way migration every year. Amazingly, they fly in masses to the same winter roosts, often to the exact same trees. Their migration is more the type we expect from whales or birds. However, unlike birds and whales, individuals only make the round-trip once. It is their children’s grandchildren that return south the following fall.
Let’s face it folks, this has to be a God thing! This UV highway grid system in the sky and the constant recalibration by the means of an internal clock is just too far-fetched a design to have developed “randomly through natural selection”.
We have here just another great example of why Romans chapter one states in substance that there are no true atheists. The Message Bible states in verses 18-20: “People try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of His divine being. SO NOBODY HAS A GOOD EXCUSE!”

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The "Education" Of a Christian

In this graduation season, we Christians must come to the realization that our life on this earth is a "schoolhouse". We must all be educated in the lifestyle which is purposed for us by a loving and patient Father God.
Man, through "the fall", has put himself in the front of his own thinking with the illusion that he has to work through his problems and care for and develop himself in a lonely world.
With the remnant of this outlook carried over, the converted Christian feels that he has to struggle to reach certain standards. This brings him almost to despair, as he is unable to really be "like" Christ, even though he constantly calls for divine aid. He cannot truly love himself because, despite all his efforts, he is unable to meet the standard. Conflict is created as he loves God but rejects himself because of his inadequacy – the self whom God has loved and accepted!
So God starts a period of education in which He weans man from his self-dependence through sometimes painful experiences. Self-dependence is really an illusion – a carry-over from the primal downfall of the human spirit. What has to happen is that the Christian's false concept of himself must drastically change. He has received Life and Love at conversion, but he can no longer make life work through self effort – the keeping of laws and meeting of standards. The reason for the conflict is far from a lack of desire for the ways of God, for the most dedicated and consecrated are frequently the ones who suffer most until the newness of life in union with God by Christ living in them permeates and reshapes their thinking.
The process of conversion into the service of God can be a devastating affair, as many can testify, if carried on from the viewpoint of "my work for God." Has God gone out of business? Is He still not the Worker? Jesus said, "My Father works, and I work," meaning that God is the Worker and we are His manifesters. But we can mistakenly look upon ourselves as the ones independently doing this for God.
While God accepts man at conversion, He does not accept man's self-dependence. This has to be changed. WE MUST ENTER AN EDUCATIONAL PROCESS IN WHICH GOD LIVES IN MAN, NOT ASSISTS HIM FROM SOME REMOTE REGION.
The dreadful condition caused by the fall of man has been removed by the experience of redemption and new birth. The nature of Satan, our father, has been removed. And we have been reborn with a new Father. Union with Christ and God the Father is a fact, not an earnestly desired objective. It is Another living through me. "For me to live is Christ living," says Paul. Only God living in man is Christianity; anything else is name only.
But we must not be confused by the delay or the conflicts which arise as God puts us through this educational process. We finally learn who we are and how we function, but more often than not it requires us to pass through a long and painful period of life. But the end result is such that we cannot but ask God to hasten in us the destruction of the illusion of the independent-self.
The individual who has come to a clear realization of this new relationship and for whom the yoke has become easy and the burden light will not easily move back into a life of self-effort. A new level has been gained, the focus of life in union with Christ understood. However, a word must be said about the slips into self-trust, self-love, anger, resentment, and many other things that tend to bring us low and into the bondage of temporary remorse and guilt. Thank God, we do not live in these distortions of the true relationship. They are temporary and short-lived because we are sensitized by the Spirit so that we quickly recognize them. Our awareness of the sin quickly becomes a recognition that it is finished and powerless through Christ. The illusory independent-self is recognized again as false. No time is allowed to indulge in remorse for this independent and sinful action. Renewal is immediate upon recognition and acknowledgment of the wrong, whether thought, word or deed. The grace of God's acceptance is an immediate healing.
Should you find yourself going down a wrong street in an unguided and self-chosen excursion, remember that GOD IS NOT INACTIVE IN ALL THIS! He does not stand at the street corner where you departed and wave goodbye to you as if He could not go on the trip with you. He goes with you for the express purpose of KNOCKING YOUR FOOLISH HEAD against the wall at the end of that dead-end street. And the quicker the better, so as to get some spiritual sense into your outlook. God doesn't stand aloof and leave us to our own devices. He is the INVOLVED God, the "Hound of Heaven," as Francis Thompson depicts Him in his marvelous poem. He hurries you along to the end of your self-centered side trip, and you find that correction you need.
You are therefore educated by God to live unafraid of yourself, for God is well able to take care of your deviations. He will not and cannot gloss over them, but He is with you to bring you through in a sometimes severe, but always spiritually educating experience.
We are to live freely in the assurance that "we are His workmanship" and that "he that has begun a good work in you will perform it." We can rest assured that it is God living in us. We don't have to "find Him" or invite Him to be with us. We AFFIRM His presence – we don't wonder if He is there. As someone else has said, "I awake in the green light of His assured presence and go in that, only stopping to consider what should be done when I see that the red light has appeared." We live in the green; the red is there in case we go off beam at any point. But to live in constant apprehension of the red is a dreadful distraction and frustration. We are intended to live a full, spontaneous, and restful life, regarding the next step to be God 's will, unless He checks us. Surely God is great enough to check you effectively!
A flood of light comes to us from the words "Work out your own salvation…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13). My working, therefore, is His working in me, both in the realm of willing and acting! There is nothing in life outside these two realms. Willing and doing is the ALL of life. Therefore we can live boldly in this restful assurance. There will always be a willingness to recognize when we have gotten in the way, with some attempt to help ourselves or to help God out. But we don't live in the over shadowing fear that this self-dependency is going to express itself. Some suffer from this sort of self-consciousness, thinking it is true spirituality. But it is an over-concern with our own perfection, instead of the perfection of God.
Now, at last, God has educated us in His truth. You know that you are complete in union with Christ; that you cannot, but He can; that you are weak, but He is strong; and that while you decrease daily, He increases. He will conquer though you, in your self-effort, can never conquer. In reality, all things have already been perfected through Christ's death and resurrection. All you have to do is recognize that as a fact. God has placed HIS desires in your heart. Your problems arise when you demand, rather than receive, from the Giver. You MUST be weak, and He will be strong. If you are weak, not as a dependent cry-baby, but in a vulnerable way, you will submit your life to His will and trust His love.
At last, when your education is complete, you are free but at the same time vulnerable in your world. On occasion, to trust God is difficult, but the love, protection and direction you receive when you do is worth it. It builds you up for the next time of weakness. That is the education of it all. And there is joy in knowing that the true desires of your heart have been placed there by God, and that you can act on them, depending on Him in all that you do and say.
As Saint Augustine said, "Love God! And do as you please!" It sounds like a wild idea until we understand that Christ is in us to direct our desires. He lives in our spirit which is the spiritual guidance system of our being. The only thing that can mess us up after our conversion and new birth is when we are swayed by the world, the flesh or the devil to temporarily ignore who we are in spirit. BUT CHRIST DOES NOT LEAVE! He draws us back quickly to Him.
The Christian life is not a process of getting stronger WITHIN OURSELVES TO DO THE WILL OF GOD.
Yes, the Christian life is a process of education and growth and getting stronger within our soul. But the education is only in the area of recognition and acceptance and trust in God's control of our life; trust in the power of God. We can trust our lives into God's hands every day because, by our new birth, we have already entered into intimate union with God. We are who we are in our spirit: Christ in our form. Following those desires that we recognize from our spirit will eventually lead us to the fulfillment of God's plan for our lives.
So the bottom line of the education and the graduation of a Christian is to teach us to rest in Him. THE CONFUSION OF A MIXED UP INDEPENDENCE GIVES WAY TO THE CLEAR UNDERSTANDING THAT IT IS CHRIST WHO LIVES IN, AS AND THROUGH A WHOLLY UNITED HUMAN BEING!

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Memorial Message For My Wife Joyce

Thanks to you all for coming here to remember Joyce. Many of you knew her well, some of you hardly knew her, and some did not know her at all but came to pay respects to me and my family. I so appreciate your care and concern.

I want to tell you – I knew her the best. We celebrated 50 years together as husband and wife last year. In our modern culture, you just don’t see that much anymore.

I knew when I married her that I had a beautiful and loving bride. But as we grew together raising children and I observed her relationships with people, I knew that God had given me a very special treasure of a wife.

I saw that she was a GIVER to others of extreme proportions. God wired this servant heart into her unique personality. While I myself, when called upon to help others, often stopped to consider first what it might cost me, Joyce jumped into every situation to help instantly.

As the Holy Spirit matured us in our spiritual growth, one verse of the Bible caught us and became the theme song in our Christian walk. The apostle Paul in Galatians 2:20, said about himself and, by extension, about all true Christians, – I am crucified with Christ – nevertheless I live – yet not I but Christ lives in me. And the life that I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.
One of the longest single verses in the Bible and one of the most inspiring.

Our discovery of this true inner union with Christ was the milestone of our Christian walk. And especially for Joyce with her servant wiring to begin with, she just leaped forward in her spiritual growth.

In this graduation season, I can see God saying, “There’s my loving child, Joyce. She has passed her tests about my lifestyle and is ready for graduation to come to be with me. My child, Lou, has a few more lessons to learn first, and then he can come to be with Joyce.”

We all in our own way miss Joyce and are sad. And that’s good. That is just part of our human makeup.

But I’m here to tell you right now, let that more important spirit part of you kick in. Celebrate with me that Joyce is with her Lord, Jesus Christ. She was a happy person and she wants us to be happy now too. Remember the song, “If you could see me now.” I’m sure those are Joyce’s words now.

Thank you again, and God bless you all.

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So You Want To "Bet" With God?

Several factors may account for indifference to life’s big questions. Deep and complex, these issues make many people feel inadequate to form opinions about them. Answers have been so hotly disputed over the centuries that people are tempted to believe no genuinely satisfying answers exist. Or some people fail to recognize any practical significance of these questions to their daily lives.
The seventeenth-century Christian thinker Blaise Pascal (1623-1662) came up with a provocative and controversial approach to shake people from their diversions. In his “Wager” argument, Pascal developed a line of practical reasoning with the very purpose of challenging anyone seemingly unconcerned with the perplexing issues of life.
An accomplished scholar in many fields, Pascal is probably best known for his presentation of the Wager. This argument appeals more to prudent and materially existent considerations of the human will than to reason per se.

What is the “Wager”?

Pascal designed the Wager for his skeptical friends who remained simultaneously unconvinced by the claims of atheism and of Christianity. He said that the uncertainties and risks inherent in the human predicament force individuals to make up their minds about God’s existence, and that the truthfulness of God and Christianity cannot be decided by an appeal to reason alone. Therefore people must make a prudent wager about whether God does or does not exist. You can’t get away from it - you must make a bet.
Pascal suggests only two possible choices or bets: 1) Belief in God and the making of a religious commitment (he speaks, of course, about commitment to the Christian God). Two possible outcomes can result from this choice: A person’s belief can be correct or incorrect. If a person believes in God and He actually exists, then according to Pascal the believer stands to gain everything. The payoff, so to speak, for a correct wager would involve infinite gain (eternal life with God in heaven). On the other hand, if a person chooses faith and God does not actually exist, then the believer loses nothing. In terms of a cost-benefit analysis, the person who wagers on God has everything to gain and nothing to lose.
The second recourse is to wager against God by disbelieving in Him and refusing to make a religious commitment. Two possible outcomes can also result from this choice. A person’s disbelief can also be correct or incorrect. If an individual does not believe in God and God does not exist, then the unbeliever gains nothing. On the other hand, if a person does not believe in God but God does actually exist, then the unbeliever stands to lose everything. The loss for wagering incorrectly would involve an infinite loss (eternal exclusion from the life of God). In terms of a cost-benefit analysis, the person who wagers against God has nothing to gain and everything to lose.
In light of these two scenarios, Pascal asserts that the prudent wager is on God. Adopting Christianity over atheism is a judiciously rational decision.
The Wager was never intended to function as a rational proof for God’s existence, nor as a substitute for Christian evidences. Also the Wager targets a specific audience, namely those who have suspended judgment on ultimate issues - as a device to help awaken people who are indifferent to God, death, and immortality.
A number of criticisms have been raised against the Wager through the years by skeptics and Christians alike.
1.) The Wager diminishes love for God, and makes faith into a cold, pragmatic gamble.
Response: It does reach an unbeliever at a realistic starting point. Maybe the Wager should be viewed as a common sense appeal that helps a person mentally prepare for faith (itself a divine gift). Thinking in strongly practical terms about one’s relationship with God isn’t necessarily unspiritual.
2.) Performing a religious task as a bet does not make a person a Christian.
Response: While this is true, it is also true that certain actions are a discipline of grace (reading the Bible, attending church, prayer, etc.). These activities work to change the human heart, and this change is central to developing a day to day trust in God.
3.) The Wager fails to recognize that the believer loses a great deal by wagering on God if He doesn’t actually exist. In fact, the believer loses his autonomy and wastes his life on religious nonsense.
Response: It may be more accurate to say that the person who wagers on God has everything to gain and, in comparison, little to lose. The “pleasure of sin” may appear, for the moment, to be some gain, but in actuality the built-in consequences far outweigh any short-term pleasure.
4.) The Wager provides no guarantee, so why wager at all?
Response: People are forced to choose, but life’s experience provides no absolute guarantees of anything. Every choice made in life is some kind of wager.
5.) The Wager only works if a person bets on the right (or true) religion. What if you gamble on the wrong God?
Response: Pascal recognized other religious alternatives, but he believed that Christianity was the most probably true religion in light of prophecy, miracles, and its unique explanatory power. The Wager emerged within a given historical context that no God other than the Christian God is real. This gamble may not have the same force (or as broad an appeal) in a modern pluralistic age. Today, the Wager may be more appropriately used after a person has conceded the superiority of Christianity’s truth-claims as compared to other religions, in the crucible of objective testing.
6.) The Wager will not convince the hardened or committed atheist.
Response: No argument will convince anyone (apart from the work of God’s grace). The Wager was not intended for a hardened, atheist audience in the first place. Other Christian arguments are available for those who deny God’s existence such as a complexly designed creation, proofs of the Bible, etc.
7.) The Wager promotes intellectual dishonesty. A person can’t pretend to believe when he or she really does not.
Response: The Wager can promote reflective thought about what lies ahead (death), not dishonesty. Skeptics sometimes overestimate the quantity and quality of human intellect. To open one’s mind to being persuaded is not dishonest.
8.) Wouldn’t a just God prefer honest skeptics to purely gambling believers?
Response: Skeptics fail to see, from a biblical perspective, that “hardness of heart” keeps a person from believing in God. Unbelief is rooted in rebellion and arrogance, which essentially is false worship. God has given everyone signs of His existence, but some skeptics ignore and/or repress them.
9.) Why gamble a certain finite good (human independence) for an uncertain infinite good?
Response: All gamblers risk what is certain for what is uncertain, especially when the benefit significantly outweighs the cost. So much good results from belief in God - even in this life (virtue) - that any independence sacrificed seems comparatively insignificant.
10.) Doesn’t the Wager entice people to believe by appealing to a threat or harm (that is, believe so as to avoid hell)?
Response: Some threats are real - the necessary and logical consequences of a person’s actions. If God is in actuality the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, then He legitimately sets the rules. Many material things that we do in human life are done by fear of a threat or harm. The good or harmful consequences of a God or no God decision are just in line with the overall effects of choices.

Conclusion

Pascal’s “Wager”, though open to criticism, is still worthy of careful consideration on the part of believers and unbelievers. In our modern culture where “gambling” has been changed to “gaming” to make it more socially acceptable, there might very well be a place for fence-sitting skeptics to place a bet ON GOD.

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What Is A "Saint"?

Immediately after the death and burial of Pope John Paul II, talk began about making him a saint of the Church. Of course, according to the rules of the Catholic Church, it takes much time and investigation before anyone can be canonized as a saint.
In 2002, the Pope bestowed sainthood on Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, the controversial founder of the conservative Catholic organization Opus Dei. Sainthood for the Spanish priest was bestowed just 27 years after his death – one of the shortest waiting times in the Vatican's history. So swift canonizations are very possible in the Catholic Church.
What is a "saint"? Could I be one? Could you be one? The Greek word for "saint" in the New Testament is hagios and Strong's Concordance says that it means: a sacred, pure, blameless and holy person. Webster's dictionary gives the established church definition of a "saint": 1. one officially recognized as preeminent for holiness through canonization or 2. one of the spirits of the departed in heaven.
The Roman Catholic Church down through the ages has made a special point of recognition of particularly holy persons as "Canonized Saints of the Church". The canonizing process usually requires a long study of the person involved with special church recognized "proofs" of holiness. Catholics have patron saints for their names, for each day of the year, and for particular kinds of activity.
My given name is "Lucian". I am a junior since my father's name is also "Lucian". My paternal grandparents had nine children, and when they could not decide on a name for my father, they went to the Catholic calendar and used the name of "St. Lucian", the saint for January 7th, my father's birthdate.
Patron saints have been designated for many things: St. Christopher for travelers, St. Appolonia for dentistry (my profession), etc. It is believed that we should invoke these patron saints for special help in particular areas.
Recognizing the lives of especially holy people is all well and good. We can learn a lot about living the Christian life from their example.
But the point I want to make here is that ALL CHRISTIANS, by Bible definition, are SAINTS. I am a saint – I don't have to die first and be canonized. If you are a Christian, you are a saint – you don't have to die first and be canonized. When a person living apart from God recognizes his inability within himself to live a right life, repents and accepts Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of his life, God the Father does a miraculous thing – He creates a Christian! He creates a SAINT! God creates a new person to take the place of the old. God places His very nature, His divine nature, right within the Christian SAINT. Jesus Christ comes to dwell in a living union within the human spirit of the Christian. The old "sinner" is dead. The new SAINT is born again. This happens once and forever within the person. The "sinner" is dead forever. The SAINT is alive forever.
"When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!...For God took the sinless Christ and poured into Him our sins. Then, in exchange, He poured God's goodness into us!" (2 Corinthians 5:17,21 Living Bible)
"I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live. Yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life I live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. " (Galatians 2:20)
The newly created SAINT instantly becomes a member of the Family of God. He is a Child of God with God's Family nature. Since the Christian contains Christ in a living union, the Father sees His new child as righteous, not by the child's own doing, but because he contains the righteousness of Christ. He is a human living SAINT. He does not have to die and be canonized as a SAINT through his good and holy works.
Yes, I do not have to be canonized as a saint – nor does Mother Teresa, nor does Billy Graham, nor does John Paul II. It is not necessary to canonize YOU as a saint if you are a Christian. We are all SAINTS because of Christ within sealing our new divine nature forever.
I know that the Christ nature within me is incorruptible. I know that when God looks at me, He sees this incorruptible nature, Christ in me. This means that when God put His nature in me, there was no more He could do for me to make me His child, His SAINT, than by this. Every born again believer can receive or get no more of God than he got the moment he was reborn. The Christian cannot become any more SAINTLY. You cannot add to the nature, you cannot make it more, and neither can you take away from it. It is total. The Christian is a total Child, a total SAINT. Once birthed by God, there is no more a believer can receive.
This must not be confused, however, with the manifestation of that nature. Many believers who have Christ within them are poor at manifesting Him. It must be finally fixed in the Christian's mind that to God he is a SAINT by the new birth, and no more can be given. On the other hand, MUCH MORE CAN BE DONE BY THE CHRISTIAN TO MANIFEST CHRIST'S NATURE WITHIN HIM.
How does this take place? By a growth in awareness. The Holy Spirit comes as a Teacher to point us to Jesus Christ within. The Holy Spirit within your mind takes all of the circumstances and situations of your life and uses them for good to point you to the guidance and power of Christ within. You must come to the knowledge of who you are – a SAINT – and grow in constant awareness of your Family status made secure by the indwelling Christ. Then you will grow in manifestation of who you are.
BUT THE MANIFESTATION OF WHO YOU ARE DOES NOT DETERMINE WHO YOU ARE! Who I am – a SAINT in union with Christ – is by the gift and grace of God. What I manifest is by my awareness, trust and love of this Christ within me.
If you want to talk about manifestations and works of "holy" people on this earth and call them "saints", that is one approach. But I believe that this approach tends to mask the reality and the perspective of our awesome new birth in Christ.
While I am on this earth, I will never manifest Christ perfectly. And neither did Josemaria Escriva de Balaguer, neither did Mother Teresa, neither did John Paul II, neither will Billy Graham, neither will YOU. There are too many influences of the world, the flesh and the devil to cause us to slip up. We don't want to, but we will slip up, we will neglect to trust Christ for guidance and fall on our faces in our own weakness. As long as God allows me to live a human life, I will be an imperfect SAINT! But the correctional consequences of my slips into sin are there to force me to grow in Christ.
Yes, there are more saints around in the world than you may have thought. A sinner can become a saint very simply – by choosing Christ and being born again. A saint can never become a sinner by nature again.

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Damned If You Do!

I once attended a church that was big on the “unpardonable sin”. Doesn’t the Bible talk about it?
“All the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, he is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3:28-29). Verse 30 says that Jesus said this because they accused Him of having an evil spirit.
One person in that church told me, “I think I might have committed the unpardonable sin!”
“Why do you say that?” I asked.
“I did it again,” he moaned. And after I had repented so deeply. I think I’m lost. I feel horrible dread.” This man’s persistent struggle with sin had led him to believe that he was under God’s curse. If his repentance had truly been sincere, he reasoned, then he would never repeat the sin. Therefore, his repentance must not have been sincere, and he must not be capable to true repentance.
Another man in that “unpardonable” focused church said, “I don’t know what to do. I think I’ve committed the unpardonable sin.”
“What did you do?”
He looked at the ground. “I cursed the Holy Spirit.”
“How did you do that?” he was asked.
“I don’t know. I was reading the verse where Jesus said that anyone who blasphemed the Holy Spirit would never be forgiven, and I just felt this crazy compulsion to do it. And I did it. Now I’m scared to death.”
I have heard many strange explanations of the unpardonable sin over the years and have heard of many people who fear that they might have committed it.
But let’s understand something: for those who are born again and trust in Jesus, NO SIN IS UNPARDONABLE.
When Jesus said what He said, He was describing a specific attitude and state of mind that can never be true of those who trust in Him.
Mark explains, “He said this because they were saying ‘He has an evil spirit.’” The teachers of the law had deliberately refused to acknowledge that the works of kindness and mercy that Jesus was displaying among the people were from God. Because of their own jealousy, they had rejected the witness of the Holy Spirit that Jesus was sent from God and was doing the works of God. They willingly blinded their eyes to God’s own testimony through the Spirit that Jesus had come in His name to bind Satan, destroy his evil works and forgive sins.
God sent the Spirit into the world to bear witness to Jesus Christ, the only name under heaven by which humans can be forgiven and saved. To reject that witness, to despise What God has done to bring about forgiveness of sins, is to reject the forgiveness itself. How can a person be forgiven who refuses to accept forgiveness? How can a person’s sins be forgiven if the person rejects the forgiver of sins?
Are you worried that you might have committed the unpardonable sin? The very fact that you are worried about it is proof that you have not committed it. The unpardonable sin is unpardonable only because it is the sin of refusing to come to Jesus to be forgiven.
It is the Holy Spirit who leads us to Jesus Christ. The blasphemy Jesus refers to in His passage is the rejection of the Spirit’s witness to Him as the Son of God and Savior of the world.
Remember this: Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. For those who come to Him, no sin in unpardonable!
What sin are you afraid God might not forgive you for? When you are His child, you are His eternally forgiven child.
That’s that!

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Running For the Rewards

The stray thought flitted across my mind as I was shaving one morning: I wondered if there was any reward for faithfully performing such a mundane task almost every day of my life so that others would not have to look at a stubby growth of whiskers.
The Bible speaks of the Judgment Seat of Christ as a place of rewards and punishments. Speculation as to the specifics of what takes place on that day of reckoning has been rampant in Christianity.
Many feel that the good deeds of each person will be lined up with the sins committed and the scales will be tipped one way or the other.
Those of us who believe that we have become new persons in union with Christ by accepting Him as Savior and Lord see the Judgment Seat of Christ differently. The Bible says that at our new birth and after, any forgiven sins are wiped away and forgotten and separated from us as far as the east is from the west (infinitely, because there is no east or west pole as there are north and south poles). Christ has paid the punishment for all our sins.
Therefore, for true Christian children of God, this Judgment Seat can only be for rewards and not punishment. As accurate as that stance is, it is equally true that there will be recognition for our works.
When we as true Christians in union with Christ do stand before Him, remember sin is not the issue. There will be no forensic punishment meted out. We are perfect and complete in Christ and no sin is going to be laid to our charge on that day. This is not a punitive place for us. This is a time of evaluation – a family matter of the Father with His children. I am told that there used to be a sign in the registrar’s office of Dallas Theological Seminary that read, “Salvation is by grace, graduation is by works.”
On graduation day, our performance will be evaluated entirely on what we have done with what we have been given – the very Life of the resurrected Christ (1 Cor. 3:11). As we listen to the Life within to guide and direct, we will inevitably move to the rhythm of LOVE in all we do.
We have been encoded with the very essence of God (1 John 4:16). If Christ lives in us, God’s love is in us.
I propose that we reckon it as the only fair and equitable measuring stick by which to evaluate our interactions with people, our work performance and our relationship with our God.
We will not be rewarded according to our doctrine or dogma, but according to how we have used the gift of God’s agape love. No matter how we may have failed at many things in our lives, if we have learned in good measure how to love, we have succeeded no matter what kind of other things we do.
Whether wheeling and dealing in the high, heady echelons of the corporate boardroom, teaching a group of wriggly first graders or checking out groceries in the line at the supermarket, the measure is the same. Our culture says that ruthless competition is the key to success. Jesus says ruthless compassion and love is the purpose of our journey.
Endurance is frequently referenced in the scriptural context of rewards as it rightly should be. The example of running the Olympic race with persistence to finish strongly is placed in our memory by Paul.
Yes, there is much to indicate there will be rank in heaven. I would not like to speculate on what that might finally look like, enough to say that if being faithful over little warrants being made ruler over much on earth, then there may well be heavenly parallels (Matt. 25:20-29). Paul Bilheimer writes in “Don’t Waste Your Sorrows” – “Rank in heaven will be determined not by magnetic personality, glittering talents, towering intellect, or other coveted endowments, but by the depth and quality of one’s love.”
We will fully discover that our only hope of glory truly comes to fruition as we stand before our Savior at that Judgment Seat. When we see Him face to face in all His beauty, we will realize totally that Christ IS that glory – the glory that has resided in us from the moment of our new birth.
Then there are those promised crowns. Unlike the Miss Americas I have seen all decked out in full regalia, but clutching on for dear life to the temporal crown on top of her head as she tries to walk down that aisle – the crowns we receive we do not hold on to. We lay them at the Father’s feet, for the praise and honor belong to Him.
And we are glad to be there in heaven regardless of rank or rewards.

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The Marvelous Adventure of Flying

We live in a world of flying objects. Airplanes, rocket missiles, etc. Right here in St. Charles, MO where I live, we have the only company in the nation that is building the JDAM sattelite-controlled guidance system used on the U.S. "smart-bombs". During the war with Iraq, the importance of properly controlled "flying objects" became crucial.
Have you ever sat in a Boeing 747 before take-off and thought, "How will this monster ever get off the ground?' We wonder how four jet engines will ever enable thousands of pounds to fly across the continents or the oceans. Two physical laws are involved: the law of gravity and the law of aerodynamics. When we see a plane fly, we know that the law of aerodynamics has set the plane free from the law of gravity.
The Wright brothers knew they could fly long before they proved it by their successful flight at Kittyhawk. While others continued to say that the law of gravity made flight impossible, Orville and Wilbur had concluded that because of another law, the law of aerodynamics, flight was possible. The law of aerodynamics had not negated the law of gravity, but it had set them free from the law of gravity.
Even more amazing, they had come to understand that the very law that had been the seeming curse – the law of gravity – was actually an important factor in the operation of the over-riding law of aerodynamics. Thrust alone, without the gravity factor, would have made directional flight and landing impossible. The passenger and military jets of today all are continuing proof that we can be free of gravity even though the law is still very much operative.
Since the Wright brothers were not intimidated by the concept of the law of gravity, they could creatively USE the law of gravity as PART OF the greater law of aerodynamics.
Most of us have heard the often used, pathetic excuse, "I'm only human!" Not only is this statement inaccurate, it also reflects the common negative attitude that many Christians have about their humanity. We must come to see that our humanity is really very wonderful!!!
Whether we see our humanity as a draw-back or as wonderful is dependent on our focus. Do you have Paul's negative Romans 7 focus of yourself, or the positive Romans 8 focus that Paul came to see as reality?
Near the close of Romans 7, Paul says, "Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from this body of death?" Then chapter 8 opens with the wonderful statement of Paul as the light of the Holy Spirit comes on in his head, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." How can we account for Paul's move from frustration to freedom?
Most Christians continue to be plagued with negative feelings about their humanity, even though they may have a wonderful sense of peace with God regarding their destiny in the hereafter. So what can we say to ourselves and others to bring a current, NOW sense of wholeness, self-worth and creative freedom? What is it that will trigger good feelings about our personal humanity, even though temptations and negative inclinations continue?
For me, the answer lies in the next verse, in Romans 8:2: "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death."
As in the above analogy of airplane flight, we have two laws. As long as we see the two laws (1 – life in union with Christ and 2 – human inclinations) as being in a continual struggle within us, as long as we assume that the existence of the two laws is proof that we are "stuck" with two competing natures, we will continue to live in the Romans 7 frustration. We will repeat endlessly: "On the one hand, I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin" (Rom. 7:25). When will we see that the temptations and negative desires and inclinations of our humanity are not properly labeled a "nature"? We "WERE by nature children of disobedience" (Eph. 2:3), but now we ARE by nature children of obedience. Yes, obedience is now our very nature, because we have the Spirit of Christ living in us, in union with us, irrespective of some negative human inclinations and tendencies. Do not confuse your true nature with a human tendency. This is why Jesus said, "Do not judge [yourself or others] according to appearances [or human tendencies] but judge righteous judgment [the way things really are at their inner center]" (John 7:24).
We must distinguish between our outer man (mind and body) and our inner man (spirit). We are more than a composite of personality, talents, moods, feelings and physical appearance. These are all outer expressions of the container – the physical brain and body. They are not our real essence, the real "me". We ARE who we contain in union with our human spirit.
These individual human traits are our contact with the world, whether for good or bad. The traits, the personalities themselves, are not "bad" in themselves. THEY are "only human"! THEY are only the human container. THEY are involved in the law of sin and death. But after our new birth, WE are MORE than human – we are a union of human and divine. We become under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus who has come to live within our human spirit – that is, to the extent that we are aware of that new law and allow and trust in that new law to operate our life.
Getting back to the airplane, if you take a 747 up to 30,000 feet and then cut off all power so that the laws of aerodynamics of thrust and airflow do not work, what happens? The law of gravity takes over completely and those many tons drop pretty much like a lead balloon. Crash and burn!
So also, when we as Christians don't make daily use of the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus and trust in its aerodynamics, we gravitate downward, misuse our God-wired human inclinations, and crash and burn – sin!
But when that 747 continually uses all of the physical laws of thrust and airflow trusting in aerodynamics to overcome and control gravity, then the useful qualities of gravity can and must be used to control take-off, direction and landing. That is, overall flight is achieved.
Likewise, when we as Christians become aware and recognize the ability of Christ within to control and overcome our negative traits and to use in daily living our positive traits, then we are "free" from the law of sin and death. The "gravity" of our human characteristics cannot make us crash and burn. In fact, the way God has wired us can in turn be used by God in whatever way He chooses to manifest Himself. He can use the "gravity" to steer us into safe take-offs, proper levels and headings, and smooth landings at our destinations.
The law of sin and death that reigns in the lives of those who have not yet come to a point of repentance is no longer a reigning law in our lives. Now when any negative humanity surfaces, we see it for what it really is - God's way of reminding us of who we really are, His precious assets in union with Christ. Since we have been "joined to another" (Rom. 7:4), we "have been released from the law" (7:6). The law that once condemned us is now just a wonderful reminder of who we are in Christ.
When we finally are no longer intimidated and condemned by our humanity, all the unique qualities of our own personal humanity can be used by God to draw us and those around us into His awareness.
So many people look on their human qualities as downward pulls away from the spiritual. But God created us with these unique human characteristics. They are neutral. They are neither good nor evil in themselves. They have a good or evil usage by who we allow to direct our actions. Are we children of disobedience (Satan's kids) or children of obedience (God's kids)?
And if we are God's kids, do we let Satan externally influence us into an independent attitude to use our human characteristics wrongly? Or do we stay aware of Christ's guidance from within to use our characteristics righteously?
Realize that humanity is NOT a liability, (just as the law of gravity is not a liability for the airplane), but is an asset to be used as we TRUST in Christ to live out through us to our own little world (just as the law of aerodynamics is used in conjunction with the law of gravity for proper flight).
Our own unique qualities, talents, and even gifts from God, can be used as no other person could ever use them. Our approach to the people of the world around us is special to God – can be used in a special way by God. Our humorous approach, our intellectual approach, our carefree approach, our comforting approach to others can be used as needed.
Don't look down on your humanity. God created all of that humanity and said that "it was good!" And after the Fall, the human qualities did not become "evil", but humans just allowed their human qualities to be MISUSED. And after years of misuse, we do not instantly at conversion institute proper use. Life is spiritual growth in awareness of HOW to be able to eliminate misuse.
The next time you see a plane in flight, either actually over your home or on TV over Iraq, stop and contemplate the interaction of the two forces, the two laws. That plane needs the curvature of the airflow over the wings and the power of the engines. BUT it also needs the "curse" of the law of gravity just as much.

IT ALL WORKS TOGETHER FOR
CONTROLLED FLIGHT.

CHRIST AND YOUR HUMANITY
CAN WORK TOGETHER FOR
CONTROLLED RELATIONSHIPS.

ISN'T THAT "UPLIFTING"??

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We've All Played Monopoly

Dwight Moody, one of this country’s most stirring evangelists, was not known as an erudite scholar. Growing up a poor, fatherless farm boy, Moody accepted Christ at age 17 while working in a shoe store in Boston. Unfortunately, he was denied church membership because he was “not sufficiently instructed in Christian doctrine.” Undeterred, Moody moved to Chicago and started up a Sunday School ministry that reached out to the ragamuffins of the city and in turn their parents, growing rapidly until the numbers were in the thousands.
Even with such an obvious pastoral calling, Moody was not a silver-tongued speaker and often received advice from the “learned” imploring him to keep silent; he simply made too many grammatical errors. Once, when Moody was being considered as a speaker for a revival campaign in England, an elderly Anglican pastor protested, ”Why do we need this Mr. Moody? He’s uneducated. He’s inexperienced. Yet listening to some of you talk, you’d think Mr. Moody had a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?”
The room grew silent. Then another pastor spoke. “No, Mr. Moody doesn’t have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit sure has a monopoly on Mr. Moody!”
Does the Spirit have a Monopoly on you? Does He own Park Place and Boardwalk and all four railroads? Does He claim sole possession of every utility, every house, every hotel, right down to that little silver doggie and funny looking shoe?
Painful as it is, I have to admit that I sometimes opt for a fair trade agreement, and find myself buying into the world’s values and priorities. It’s as if I forget that I have Christ living inside me and make ugly, selfish soul choices, say rude things and hustle along with impatience, frustration and self-concern.
CHRIST IS A RESIDENT IN MY LIFE – BUT HE’S NOT ALWAYS THE PRESIDENT!
So I’ve been pondering how I can grow to let Him monopolize me more. Here’s what I’ve discovered so far.
I believe that to see Christ taking over your Monopoly game, you must begin each day in prayer. Don’t worry – I’m not talking big, long prayer here. A “quickee” will do – just some awareness that you are more than just a hunk of flesh joining a bunch of other hunks of flesh in a daily hustle and bustle.
One – you ARE a spirit joined to Christ.
Two – you HAVE a soul with a brain that is being gradually taught by the Holy Spirit about Christ’s power and leadership in you.
Three – that old body that you LIVE IN has another day of jostling relationships in family, business and friendships.
When we choose Christ as our leader, we concede that we can’t put much faith in these earthly bodies and that the mentality of our souls needs revision and correction.
Another way for His Monopoly takeover is that you must be familiar – and I mean cozy, dog-eared, bedside-table familiar – with His instruction book, the Bible. Without the “Book”, it’s easy to get off track. But you can bet your life that if the prompting you are feeling matches what you are reading, you are hearing from your guide. But a guide is no good if we’re couch potatoes. Unless we pick up our feet and walk with our guide, we’re going to get lost.
When you keep your prayers going up and your nose going down in the good book, choices become easier to make. It become clear that there is only one market worth buying into – and Christ holds all those Monopoly deeds.
And, on top of that, you’re even getting a “Get Out Of Jail Free” card!

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The Fig Leaf Dilemma

There is a story of a boy who follows his dad to the dark corners of a carnival, sneaks into a tent for “adults only” and sees what he knows he should not see. He is wracked with guilt and makes an attempt to do something about it:
He took his boots out into the woods, took them off, and filled the bottoms of them with stones and small rocks and then he put them on. He laced them up tight and walked in them through the woods for what he knew to be a mile, until he came to a creek. Then he sat down and took them off and eased his feet in the wet sand. He thought, that ought to satisfy God. Nothing happened. Anything happening he would have taken as a sign – but nothing happened.
After a while he drew his feet out of the sand and let them dry, and then he put the shoes on again with the rocks still in them, and he walked the mile back before he took them off.
The boy, being a human being like all of us, knew by instinct that he had crossed the line. He attempted what he thought should be adequate payment for his wrong. In the end, it just didn’t seem to be enough.
We are all born into this world like that boy – guilt is in our spiritual DNA. The absence of guilt in any person is unnatural; it is normal to sense when we’ve done wrong. And like any human, we intuitively know that some penalty should be paid. We believe we need to do something to take care of the debt that guilt leaves in our hearts. I call this the “Fig Leaf Dilemma”, and it stands in blatant rebellion against the name on the front of my church, “Grace Church”.
Grace is God’s unearned, undeserved goodness alive in me. Grace achieved by my own merit or morality is not grace at all – that’s the dilemma.
Some traditions in the Catholic Church still alive today are self-flagellation – beating yourself with a whip or rod to draw blood in penance for your sin. Or in Mexico, there is the practice of getting on your knees about 200 yards in front of the Cathedral and shuffling over the hard rock street on your knees all the way to the entrance. Leaving your knees bloody is again a practice of penance for your sin.
In the Middle Ages, the doctrine of the “temporal punishment for sin” came to the fore. This is the belief that even though Christ paid the eternal punishment for our sins, we still have to pay a physical hardship price in our human lives – either before our death, or in a place called “purgatory” after our death. This then led to the concept of “indulgences” by which you could remove some of this necessary physical punishment, on earth or in purgatory, by giving some of your hard earned money to the Catholic Church in exchange for the elimination of so many “days” or “months” or “years” of temporal punishment.
Where did we get this? Where did this sense of guilt come from? Where do we get the gnawing need for repayment?
Repayment by us doesn’t do anything to take care of our sin. But that’s not what our minds tell us. Our minds say that we can pay for sin by making up for it, working off the debt.
We can balance out our bad side with our good side, and, as long as the good side wins, even by an edge, it will be enough to get us to heaven and into good standing with God. Carry enough painful rocks in your tight-tied boots for long enough, walk on your bloody knees far enough, whip your own back painfully enough, and God should be satisfied.
The Garden of Eden is an example. Eve contemplated the temptation, weighed the benefits against the risk and decided to eat. She shared the fruit with Adam. Immediately something changed. In that one, fateful instant, the nature of every man and woman born throughout the history of the world was altered.
This is the moment we call “The Fall.” Adam and Eve sinned; they broke the one and only prohibition and brought sin into the world. From then on mankind shared a “sin nature.”
What is a sin nature? Boiled down, it means that because we are all broken and all guilty. We carry a weakness and propensity to sin. We are prone to it, conformed to it, weak against it. We inherit a good/evil economy.
A recognition of right and wrong. (The eyes of both of them were opened.)
A realization of guilt. (They realized they were naked.)
A need to fix the problem for themselves. (They sewed fig leaves together.)
A fear that prompted them to hide from God. (They knew the leaves didn’t really take care of things, so they went off and hid from the Lord.)
Humanity has been caught in the trap every since – the Fig Leaf Dilemma. It’s that inward pressure, produced by the concentration on good and evil inherited from Adam and Eve, calling out for us to pay our sin-debt on our own.
As a Christian child of God, you also face the dilemma when you try in your own strength to obey a bunch or rules and regulations in order to be considered a good player of God’s team.
A Christian friend faces the dilemma when she tries to deal with guilt feelings in the following way: she heard on Christian radio once that refined sugar was “of the devil,” so she ransacked her kitchen, tossing out offending food in order to avoid God’s judgment.
This is the mess that humanity finds itself in. FIG LEAVES NEVER COVER. MAKING UP FOR OUR SIN NEVER WORKS. WE CAN’T FIX THE PROBLEM.
Genesis 3:21 SAYS, “The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them.” This is no small matter. Adam and Eve stood before God already clothed. They had made coverings, sewed fig leaves, for themselves. But it wasn’t sufficient. What they had done by taking initiative to handle their shame was insufficient. They, and the rest of humanity after them, had to learn that their efforts to handle their sin for themselves would never, ever be enough.
In essence, God says, “Let Me do it for you. You’ll have to trust Me on this. What I provide for your shame will be enough, My grace is sufficient. Take the rocks out of your shoes – you’ve got to do this MY WAY.”
God’s way is prefigured in the Old Testament by the taking of animal life and human life in order to cover sin. This was a crude but effective way to demonstrate the seriousness of sin. But this was all directed to the ONLY way for the resolution of sin.
God’s way is through the sacrificial death of Jesus, the son God loved. God’s way is that Jesus gives His life to provide permanent covering for all of our sin. God seeks out the ashamed, the afraid, the guilty. His built-in conscience still embarrasses us, still allows us to sense our nakedness when we come to Him. His desire is for everyone to join Him in His covering of GRACE – (Isn’t that a great name for a Church?)

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Better or Worse

I’ve been thinking recently about two mutually contradictory truths – first, that I’m a whole lot better than I was and, second, I’m a whole lot worse than I was.
I know you’re thinking about now that I’m crazy. I’m not – well, maybe a little bit – but not about this. In fact, if you’ll let me explain, you might identify with what I’m feeling.
The first truth – that I’m a lot better than I was – is a truth about which I must be very careful. I have this tendency to get religious and to pretend that I’m better than I am. But with all of the humility that I can muster, I really am better. I’m not nearly as angry as I once was, and I think less lustful, prideful and bitter thoughts than I once did. Quite frankly, I pray better, live better and serve more faithfully and joyfully than I ever did before.
And that’s the truth. Not only that, my goodness isn’t because I’m old and tired nor is it because I’m cramming for finals. I’m really better…a lot better.
Honest!
Now, the flip side of what I just told you was haunting me even as I wrote what I wrote above. There is stuff in me, in my soul, that is scary bad. I don’t know if I’m more sensitive, or if I’m really worse than I was. It’s probably a bit of both. But, frankly (and, no, I’m not going to get very specific here – I may sin, but I’m not stupid), I blush when I think of the things that I’ve thought, the selfishness that defines me and the ego that drives me. I will go to any ends to protect me. I will even pretend humility, vulnerability and honesty so you will say, “Lou is so honest, vulnerable and humble..”
Paul certainly said it a lot better than I could ever say it: “I don’t understand my own actions. For I don’t do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate [the downside]…for I have the desire to do what is right [the upside]…” (Romans 7:15,18).
What’s the point? Listen and I’m going to tell you:
The point is that it doesn’t matter.
Well, that’s a bit strong. Of course it matters but not in the way you think. My goodness or lack thereof is irrelevant, and my concern with it (sometimes bordering on obsessiveness) is not only fanatic, it is another kind of pride.
I like to say that I measure myself only by my trust in my union with Jesus, but you and I both know that’s a lie. I measure myself by how I’m doing compared to you or someone else.
Self-righteousness and self-condemnation are the flip sides of the same coin. Both are an undue concern with me, my reputation and my godliness.
Jesus always says, “Look at Me! Quit looking at others and at yourself. That’s your problem and it will only make you sicker. I love you…whether you’re good or bad, and that’s the most important thing you need to know.”
Enough yet. I guess what I’m saying is that I give up…and, in the giving up, my goodness and my sin are both irrelevant to His love. And I suppose the mix of genuine good (that He has created in my spirit) and genuine bad (I can do that in my soul by myself, thank you) will still stir up in my soul…and drive my soul closer to Him.
Then I find myself free of my obsessiveness and my self-righteousness and my self-condemnation. They are the twin demons that can’t climb over the walls of Christ’s unconditional love.
Now I think I’ll quit spouting off about me and pray for more awareness of who I am IN HIM.

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"I Thought I Had To Be Perfect"

Has anyone every said to you (or have you yourself said), “When I was young, I thought that if I ever did something wrong, my parents, my teachers, my friends, wouldn’t like me. I thought I had to be perfect in order to be loved.”?
Does that sound like something that might have been said in a moment of ruthless honesty? “I thought I had to be perfect.” A lot of us have that notion etched deeply into our brains.
There are a variety of ways we come by this standard of perfection. Some of it comes from our parents, who wanted us to be good girls and boys, who did everything they could so we would grow up to be mature, responsible, productive adults.
They set standards of behavior for us – keep your room neat, study hard and get good grades, don’t lie, stay away from kids who get into trouble. In setting those standards for us, our parents were doing what good parents do. They taught us the difference between right and wrong.
But along the way, they may have been sending out a message they never wanted to send. Or maybe they weren’t sending it at all; maybe we just seemed to hear it. But whether they intended to send it or whether they didn’t, whether we really heard it or just thought we heard it, the message was this: If you do well, if you are good, if you measure up – then you deserve to be loved. If you do not do well, if you are bad, if you do not measure up – then you DON’T deserve to be loved.
I was blessed with a wonderful father and mother. The older I get, the more I appreciate what they gave me. Like all kids, I sometimes fell short of their expectations for me.
I can still remember times when I was punished for some of those shortcomings, I remember their faces at those times, faces flushed with anger at my wrongdoing. I remember some of the details of the discipline I received, now even after seventy plus years. I remember my dad once saying, just before he administered a rare spanking, “Son, this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you.” (Of course, I didn’t believe a word of it at the time!)
“I thought I had to be perfect.” Maybe that message got implanted into your consciousness by teachers who took for granted everything you did right and concentrated on your mistakes, who highlighted your spelling errors in red ink but seldom offered words of praise or encouragement. I vividly remember one of my teachers, quivering with rage, announcing to our class, “I’ve been teaching for twenty years, and you are the worst group I have ever had.”
“I thought I had to be perfect.” Does that message come to women from movies and fashion ads, featuring actresses and models with faces and figures unattainable by all but a few? Does the message of perfection come to men who are pushed to do more, earn more, who hear the constant emphasis on winning as a judgment on themselves as losers?
Maybe religion has played a part in our need to be perfect. Maybe the message that keeps coming through is that God demands moral perfection, that no matter how hard we try to be good, it is impossible to make ourselves pleasing to God.
Maybe we’ve come to think of God mostly as a divine policeman, constantly on the lookout for wrongdoing. This God is a rigorous record-keeper, who’s making a list and checking it, not just twice, but constantly, to find out all the ways we have messed up. Perhaps God has become the setter of an impossible standard for our behavior so that the predominant religious awareness we have is the awareness of our sinfulness.
This tendency to be so hard on ourselves seems to be a special problem for “good” people. And by “good” I mean the kind of people who are decent, fair and honest. They attend church regularly, give generously to their favorite charities. They often sacrifice their own desires and comforts for the good of their family, their community, their country. They are dependable, trustworthy and compassionate. They are usually much more accepting of faults and frailties in others than in themselves. And that is the great irony – that they have a much harder time loving themselves than they do loving their family members, neighbors or friends.
Despite assurances that they are loved by God, they frequently have a hard time accepting that. If you ask them to tell some good things about themselves, they stop after mentioning only a few admirable qualities.
Scripture gives us a clue to the answer to this deadly trap of perfectionism.
In the Bible there are frequent recitals of people’s sins. Here’s a sample from the book of Hosea: “Hear the word of the Lord, you Israelites, because the Lord has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: ‘There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed’” (Hosea 4:1-2).
With such wickedness in evidence, you would think that God would finally say: “I give up on you. You can no longer be my people.” But instead, we come to the 11th chapter of Hosea and find God saying: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from Me…It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms…How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?...My heart is changed within Me; all My compassion is aroused: (Hosea 11:1-3,8).
These words demonstrate that God is like a compassionate father, like a loving mother, to the people of Israel, even though they have broken the commandments again and again.
This same kind of love radiated from Jesus. Time after time His disciples disappointed Him. They quarreled with each other about who was the most important; they misunderstood His mission; at the moment of crisis, they deserted Him. Yet He never stopped loving them.
Luke’s gospel tells us that when Jesus approached Jerusalem on the last time He would come to that city, He wept over it. Why? Because He loved the city and the people who lived there, and He could foresee the disaster that would come to them under the Roman destruction of 70AD.
God knows we are not perfect. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, but He wishes we could feel His love and trust it.
But what about that verse in Matthew where Jesus says, “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mat. 5:48)? This verse is a summary statement, a review of what Jesus has been talking about in what has been called “the Sermon on the Mount.” Jesus has just told His listeners about some moral virtues. The word usually translated “perfect” is the Greek word teleios, a word meaning mature, fully developed. It doesn’t refer to moral perfection, but to the kind of love that is like God’s love – mature, complete, open-hearted to all, full of blessing. In Luke’s version of this teaching, Jesus says, “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful” (Luke 6:36).
So the words in Matthew: “You must be perfect,” mean we are to love as God loves. Eugene Peterson’s translation of this verse (in The Message) gives us the essential meaning. Jesus says, “Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.”
God knows that the best gift we can receive is the deep-down awareness that we are loved unconditionally. Even though we mess up, even though we hurt others and hurt ourselves, even though we disappoint others and think we disappoint God, THERE IS NOTHING WE CAN DO TO MAKE GOD STOP LOVING US.
Yes, that’s right! And if that isn’t good news, I don’t know what is! It’s news that is so good, we can put an end to whatever harshness we have toward ourselves.
When you have accepted Christ and become a child of God, you can let go of the lie that you’ve been telling yourself – the lie that you have to be perfect to be loved. You can accept the gift of righteousness in Christ – a free gift, no strings attached.
You can accept it just as you are – not perfect as a friend or as a spouse or as a parent or as a child. It’s okay not to be perfect. Not perfect in faith, not perfect in behavior, not perfect in countless ways. But loved…loved immeasurably, loved unconditionally by the One who IS perfect, by the One who gives you life – abundant, joyous, eternal life.

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Are the Ten Commandments God's "Way, Truth and Life"?

There is still an ongoing battle to get the Ten Commandments displayed in public places in our country.
Once upon a time, there was a young man (to whom I’m very close) who kept a plaque of the Ten Commandments on his wall. It was my own personal monument – a constant reminder of how I wanted to live my life. I was sincere. I really wanted to keep those commandments, but somehow not only did I fail, but I failed repeatedly, and I failed grossly, and I failed miserably.
We’re big on monuments in the U.S. of A. Take a trip to Washington D.C., and you’ll see monuments to our great leaders and our great government that are impressive reminders of our rich and varied heritage. You might not have to go that far. You may be able to ride down to the local courthouse and see a representation of the greatest laws ever written – the ones written by the very hand of God – the Ten Commandments.
I once saw a billboard that said something to this effect: “The Ten Commandments Will Save America.” With all due respect, that’s about as likely as “when pigs fly.” In other words, it ain’t gonna happen!

Law & Grace: A Tale of Two Covenants

What I didn’t know was that trying to live the Christian life by focusing on the Ten Commandments is a little like trying to put out a fire with gasoline. Paul said in Romans 7:9: “Once I was alive apart from law; but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.”
What if you were to begin each day with repeating “Keep off the grass” ten times? This would tempt you to walk on grass that you had hardly noticed before. Hammering away with oughts and ought nots is not God’s plan for stimulating Christians to do good works today.
But it WAS God’s plan back then under the Old Covenant when He gave the Ten Commandments PLUS over 600 other requirements of the law. His purpose, as we look back in hindsight, was to show humanity that focusing on keeping law in our own human strength was IMPOSSIBLE!
So, what exactly is the purpose of the law if it is not to be the focus of the Christian life today? The law can be harsh, demanding and intimidating for us flawed human beings. It’s no wonder – it represents the fullness of God’s demands for righteousness! This is why some of the sayings of Jesus of Nazareth are so very, very hard.
Jesus’ preaching was meant to bring the people of His time to the end of themselves – to leave them desperately looking for another way to be saved other than by keeping the law.
And then, at just the right time, the gospel of the New Covenant was preached, and people began to be saved by it. Jesus did all the work, and Peter and Paul and John got all the credit.
Jesus’ preaching took place under the Old Covenant – under the law. The New Covenant was instituted by the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and not a minute before. Jesus said, “Don’t think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17).
He fulfilled the law in two ways – in His preaching and in His life. In His preaching He raised the bar so high that there could be no mistaking that God’s salvation would be by grace alone. As defined by Jesus’ preaching, there would be no chance of attaining eternal life by works. He would make it as impossible as a camel going through the eye of a needle.
He also fulfilled the law in His life. He lived a perfectly righteous, self-controlled life. He spoke nothing and did no actions of His own – He always followed the will of His Father dwelling within Him. He was the unblemished, precious lamb of God.
If you’ve ever wondered why some of Jesus’ sayings seem so harsh and Paul’s, on the other side of the cross, seem so full of grace, this is the answer.

Exit Law, Enter Grace

The Old Covenant law, including the Ten Commandments, was fulfilled and ended at the cross (Colossians 2:14; Hebrews 8:13). (Although there continued to be a mixture of law and grace for about 40 years from the cross to the destruction of the Jerusalem and the Jewish temple in 70AD.)
So if the Ten Commandments are not supposed to be the focus of the Christian life, what then? In a word, it’s JESUS. Jesus is the only one who ever kept the law perfectly. He put His Spirit into you when you were saved so that you can keep HIS commandments. This requires a fundamental shift in your thinking, which by the way, is the nature of repentance.
In the book of Galatians, Paul delivers a blistering rebuke to the churches in Galatia, but mostly, his harsh words are directed toward the legalistic teachers who were leading Paul’s precious flock astray. These new Christians had abandoned living by grace and had made the focus of their Christian life the law. Paul was livid. And, by the way, those words in Galatians aren’t just Paul’s words; they are the words of God.
The Christian life is to be lived by walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). It is a moment-by-moment dependence on Christ within to live the Christian life through us. It is not an easy thing to get your arms around sometimes. I’ll admit a system of dos and don’ts is at least a little easier for me to understand (infinitely harder for me to live under, though).
My attempt to lead the Christian life by keeping the Ten Commandments was a monumental failure. How’s your progress? Ready to try a different approach? There is one true test of the system that I just described to you. Does it work? Will it bring victory over sin in my life? Will it help me to face each day of my life with a sense of peace and joy? My answer to these questions is a resounding, whole-hearted “Yes!”
Needless to say, I don’t have a plaque of the Ten Commandments on my wall anymore. My new understanding of the New Covenant was a godsend to this recovering legalist. If you have a warped view of God and Jesus from religion and legalism, it will be to you too.
You see folks, the Ten Commandments are indeed the greatest laws ever written. They represent moral virtues that are excellent and praiseworthy. But they were for a time when God wanted to expose humanity’s weakness for sin.
Bit that is all they are, they are not a SAVIOR! We are now in the age of grace, in the age of the New Covenant where we have the strength of God in Christ right within us in a living union. Jesus is the only Savior, for America, for the world……forever.
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life – not the Old Covenant including the Ten Commandments.

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Believe There's Something More

A commentary article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch March 24, 2005 by Charles E. Bouchard, a Catholic Dominican friar.

For Christians, the Easter season is an ironic mix. The stark solemnity of Good Friday and its bare wooden cross contrast with the light, music and full-throated “Alleluia” of Easter Sunday. Like no other season of the year, it reminds us of both the pain of human existence and its glorious possibility.
Easter may be a Christian feast, but it is also a reflection of the human condition. It expresses the human longing for a full view of the spiritual fulfillment we usually only glimpse.
Generations of Catholics who studied the Baltimore Catechism recall question No. 6: “Why did God make me?” The answer, as every grade-school child knew: “To know Him, love Him and serve Him in this world, and to be happy with Him forever in the next.” This makes two important points:

To know, love and serve in this world

The first point is that physical life is the means by which we know and love God (and our neighbor). This life is lived out in relationship with those we love. In other words, our ability to relate with others is central to the purpose of life.

And be happy in the next

The second point is that, as important as this physical life is, it’s not the ultimate reason for which we were created. Christians believe that in the last analysis, we were created to be with God. Our physical lives are a prelude, a confused and clumsy dress rehearsal, a reception that prepares us for the ultimate banquet. This means that death is not to be feared as the end, but rather embraced as the final step in a process of life.
For most of us, the transition from this life to the next will be relatively peaceful and quick. We used to call this “a happy death,” a moment of equanimity when we knew we had completed our earthly tasks and were now about to see them brought to perfection. For others, that passage is painful, traumatic and prolonged. This is especially true when we – or those around us – refuse to acknowledge the real purpose of life and instead cling desperately to physical life as though there were nothing else.
In his book “The Troubled Dream of Life: In Search of Peaceful Death,” ethicist Daniel Callahan says there is an alternative view: “it is our capacity to learn how to accept what life puts before us, to be open to that which we cannot control, and to embrace the virtues of courage and endurance in the face of evil.” The problem with a life dedicated to control and fear, he says, “is that no degree of vigilance can ever be sufficient to assure its success.”
Is it possible that removal of Terri Schiavo’s feeding tube is euthanasia? Yes, but it is more likely that it is the legitimate withdrawal of a medical intervention that no longer serves her spiritual or medical good.
Is it possible that Congress acted in her best interests when it permitted yet another legal review - this time, in the federal courts – of the case? Yes, but it is more likely that they are really fighting another battle or, worse, just trying to get re-elected.
Is it possible that Schiavo would want to be maintained in this medical and spiritual limbo for more than 15 years? Yes, but it is more likely that as a Christian she would forgo the very limited benefits of tube feeding and embrace God’s promise of eternal life with hope.
For Christians, Easter is an invitation to walk through death, to embrace it, to meditate upon it and then, finally, to emerge on the other side, triumphant. Christian or not, all of us must take the same journey, over and over again. We must feel the real pain of human existence, indulge the hope of consolation and dare to believe there is something more. My hope is that Terri Schiavo, her family and her friends will make that journey, too.

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The One Prayer God Always Answers - Your Way, and Right On Time

Prayers to God sometimes don't seem to get answers. For a variety of reasons that we do not know, God's ways in any given situation can be very different from our human understanding. God has the big picture and we don't. God knows what is good for a particular person and we often don't. God may not respond because of our wrong motives. God may respond to our request positively but in a way that we would not expect. God may use our seemingly negative situation as a positive influence in the life of someone around us.
But there is one prayer which God always answers YOUR way – it is the prayer of SALVATION.
Every human being born into the world is being dealt with in their mind by the Holy Spirit of God. Many seem to reject this influence completely. Others take many years of trials before they come to the understanding of their need for Jesus Christ. Some may accept Christ early-on in their youth and continue to grow in their Christian life. Whatever the unique circumstances of each person are, God is drawing each human being to salvation in Jesus Christ.
How can you be used by God as an influence toward salvation on a person who is genuinely looking for answers and hope – a "seeker"? They need to near the "good news", the gospel of salvation, in some understandable form.
I believe that the following scene is an effective exposition of salvation.
You observe that Jack has been downcast over something and he finally expresses to you that he is up against the wall about some situation or situations in his life. He feels insecure and inferior and without any confidence in his ability to overcome the problem. He feels that there is something wrong with him.
You might say to him, "Do you know, Jack, that there has never been anything wrong with you?"
Jack may reply, "But how can that be true? Why right now, I am a mess!"
"You see, Jack, when God created us in His likeness and image, He did a perfect work, with one exception. That exception was, the human being He created was not complete. What He created was good, but it was not intended to function by itself. In fact, God so created the human being that He Himself would have to be the life of the human if it were to function properly.
"Our forefather, Adam, didn't know all this, but what he did know was there was something missing in him. That's the reason why he ate the forbidden fruit, hoping to fill the need he had. He could have obeyed God and, in time, he would have eaten of the tree of life and become a completed person. But when he believed what Satan said, he filled that void God had left for Himself with Satan's nature.
"Now Adam had a sin nature in him that was contrary to his God creation and he could never function properly. What God wanted and needed was for Adam to love Him so much he would obey Him. As a result of Adam's disobedience he took on an erroneous nature and as Adam's seed proceeded down the line into every human being, each and every one took on this wrong nature.
"So you, and everyone of us, came into the world with a nature in us that was contrary to the way God created us. Our trouble has been a Satan nature trying to operate through our God creation and we have never reached the level of life that God planned for us. But, Jack, maybe I am way over your head with this kind of talk."
Jack replied, "No, I've heard some of this before, but the way you put it fascinates me. Go on."
"You see from the beginning, Jack, all God ever wanted was someone to love Him, love Him more than themselves. Well, there was never any real hope for humans until God sent His Son to this earth. The first message His Son gave when He came was very strange. In fact, the greatest religious folk of that day didn't understand the message. The message Jesus brought from the Father was, 'You must be born again.' This, of course, was really confusing. God knew that most humans wouldn't understand it, so God sent the Holy Spirit to explain it directly to as many as wanted to know the truth.
"What was necessary for humans to become what God created them to be was to have a new birth, with a new Father and all. While most people didn't understand this, there were some that were so disgusted with their lives they trusted God to take out the old Satan nature that Adam had erroneously chosen, and trust God for a new nature.
"The Bible says that new nature IS Christ and God has fixed it so that Christ in the human completes the human creation. This event is what Jesus called being born-again."
"What you are saying," Jack says, "is that I need to get religion?"
"No, Jack, it is not religion you need but a relationship of union with Christ dwelling within you. I am saying that when you accept Christ as your Savior and life, everything becomes new and you're able to be the person you were created to be."
"All this is new to me. It sounds great but how will it help my problem?"
"When you are born again, everything becomes new. Let's look at one of the problems you mentioned. You said that you felt insecure and inferior. Now when you give your life to Jesus with the prayer of salvation and you are born again, everything in your past is over, a new life is begun. You are a new creature, just like a newborn babe, you have a whole new life in front of you. You can forget the past, and forget that you've always felt that you are inferior. You become a whole new creature in Christ."
Very quietly Jack asked, "But what do I have to do to have all this happen? I've lived all my life one way. I don't know if I can live another way."
"Jack, that's a good question and the answer is in whether you love God enough to take the first step. The important thing is whether you feel your need of a Savior. To do this you simply tell God you're in trouble and can't save yourself, you need a savior."
"But how is all of this going to help me? I've been weak so often in my life when I should have been strong. The obstacles in my life have made me see myself as incapable. What can Christ do about all of this?"
"When you accept Christ as your Savior, He wants to become your life from within. That means He takes charge of your creation, the way God originally created you, and causes you to become the true person you really are. You will function as you were created because Christ in you fits your creation. It will still be you, but it will be Christ as you by your trust in Him. This means you will be operating with His knowledge available to you, you will have His strength and you will be in His care. You can go on as the real you because you're free of the old you."
"Oh," Jack replies, "if that could happen I'd be the happiest person in the world. What must I do to have Christ as my life?"
As you see that the time is ripe and the Jack is ready to accept Christ as Savior and Lord of his life, you might take his hand and pray this prayer of salvation with him.

Heavenly Father, I need help. I know that I cannot save myself, so I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior. I call on Your forgiveness with my desire to make Jesus the Lord of my life. I thank You and I love You."

When you finish, Jack might say, "What a feeling. I've never felt like this before. Do you really believe God heard us? Do you really think anything happened?"
"Of course! THIS IS THE ONE PRAYER GOD ALWAYS ANSWERS – YOUR WAY AND RIGHT ON TIME! In this instant you are born again, you are a new creature and all things will become new to you."
"But what do I do now? I know nothing about God or my new life. How can I make it all work? "
"You are not the one who makes it work. If you try, you will fail. It is Christ in you who will spontaneously come out of you. This spontaneity will grow as you learn of Christ and read His words. Get a Bible and start reading in John's gospel and in Paul's and John's epistles in the New Testament. It is here that you will find out about the new life that is in you. As you read of your new life, as you learn to dialogue with Christ within, as you grow to trust and accept His strength in your weakness, His life will flow out of you without effort on your part. The key to the new life is that it is Christ that lives, not you.
"You can be assured that salvation, in the person of Christ, has come to you. There is truly another person, Jesus Christ, living in you and this joy is yours throughout eternity. You probably realize you may not have the same emotions or feelings always, as you do now. But the reason you feel this way now is because Christ is in you and that will never change. He will never leave you, regardless of your thoughts, feelings and actions.
"Your human life from this point on will be a learning process by which God draws you into greater and greater awareness of the life of Christ in you. You will falter and fall many times, but Christ will stay with you and pick you back up. You will learn the characteristics of a child in God's Family."

Yes, God answers prayer in many ways, and at unexpected times –
But He never fails to respond instantly to the PRAYER OF SALVATION.

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Health, Wealth and Faith

What is the "Word of Faith" or "Prosperity Gospel" all about? From what I've managed to gather so far, it teaches that people can achieve wealth, health and all their other needs simply through faith in God. If that's the case, why is it considered wrong and unscriptural? 3 John 2 (Amplified Version) states "Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers." This scripture seems to support prosperity of those who are in Christ, don't you think?
How about when Jesus said that we shouldn't worry about what to eat or drink but to seek first the kingdom of God? He then went on to say that our Heavenly Father knows that we need these things. Wasn't He talking about prosperity? How about Abraham, Job, Solomon and many other servants of God who were abundantly rich?
We know that there are Christians who are poor, as in Jesus story of Lazarus and the rich man. It is also clear that prosperity can’t be used as a measure of faith or Christianity. But having said this, questions on prosperity still stand.
The Word of Faith and Prosperity Gospel are slightly different, but exhibit similarities. Word of Faith is the general idea that a person can speak or pray something into existence, the idea that God responds to us when we say a magical prayer (as opposed to an unmagical prayer), when we use a mantra or pray a prayer of "positive confession." According to Word of Faith teaching, God is obligated, once we say and/or do the correct thing, to give us what we want. Word of Faith teachers cite biblical passages, but cite them out of context, and abuse them in an effort to prove their teaching, which is, at its foundation, superstition. Word of Faith suggests that our prayers are not answered because we don't have "enough" faith. That teaching leads to oppressive religious legalism when people are convinced that their prayers will be answered if they acquire more faith. The acquisition of faith, of course, involves endless rites, rituals, ceremonies and performance of religious deeds.
The Prosperity Gospel teaches that God's will is for us to be healthy and wealthy. It amounts to selling religious lottery tickets to the weak, sick and poverty stricken, who are the ones who are most easily misled by this teaching. Health and wealth churches are extremely popular in inner city areas of the United States and in disadvantaged, economically challenged areas around the world.
3 John 2 is not a promise that all Christians will be healthy and wealthy, but rather it was a normal salutation to a letter at the time John wrote. We might say today, as we write a friend, "I hope you are doing well," or "I pray that all things are going well for you." That's the reason the passage should not be used as a promise of health and wealth - when those who quote it in such a way are hopefully unaware of how they are twisting Scripture.
John 10:10: “. . . I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full,” is another Prosperity Gospel proof text favorite that falls apart on logical examination. First of all - none of us will be healthy forever. Sooner or later each of us will die of disease, accident or old age. Many devoted Christians are sick. They have horrible health, confined to their beds in hospitals and nursing homes. Have they done something wrong? The Prosperity Gospel says so. Have they not repented of some secret sin, and when they do will they be delivered from their illness? The health and gospel says so. But logic and experience (not to mention the Bible) tell us otherwise.
What about poverty? Is there any biblical promise that Christians will all live lives of luxury on this earth? No - but there are statements about the riches of God's grace. There is a promise that we, by God's grace, become rich because we are the heirs of his kingdom - but all of these statements are about spiritual riches. Once again, the health and wealth gospel twists such statements, and tries to assure poor people that God wants them to be rich - and of course, coincidentally, one of the best ways for poor people to get rich quick is to give their money to health and wealth preachers. Health and wealth preachers often dress well, drive fancy cars, wear flashy watches and rings - because, among other things, if the preacher of health and wealth is himself not healthy and wealthy, then why should others follow him (or her)?

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Are You Legitimate?

"Call no man your father upon the earth, for one is your father who is in heaven. Matthew 23:9
This verse always bothered me somewhat because, all of my life, I loved and respected my human father. I knew about my Father in heaven alright, but I certainly thought that I had a right to call my human father, "Dad!" He was a person that I looked up to and was thankful to have as a father. Couldn't I look to two fathers, a human one and a divine One? I just didn't get what Jesus was trying to say in the verse above.
I also didn't understand why, in the light of Jesus' words, we called all the priests in the church "father". What was going on here?
I grew up in my early years in a society that was very disapproving of a child born "out of wedlock". In this day and age, it is hard to imagine how severe the judgment was then by people on "bastard" children – those children born outside of marriage. It can be understood how people could look down on a mother who had an illegitimate child. But why such a stigma on the innocent child? The child was often branded as not much better than a side-show freak, looked down on with indifference, or worse. God's Word leads us to believe that we should hate the sin, but love the sinner, and certainly should love the child who is a product of a sinful act!
I shall never forget back then when a young girl in my neighborhood returned from the east and brought with her a baby. Six months later they found her dead in her home -–the doctor could find no apparent cause for her death.
She had been stoned to death – pelted with judgment, rejection, pity, and downright murderous thoughts which she didn't know how to escape. She apparently became sick to death of the hateful, judgmental society around her.
It came out right after her death that she had been married secretly and the father had died in the war. It is reported that half a hundred wonderful people then came forward and offered to see that the little baby had a good home. But where were they when she needed them?
Gossiping about a scandal such as illegitimacy was almost a full time job for many in those days. In World War II, there was a phrase promoted by the government: "Loose lips sink ships!" It doesn't seem possible, when you think of a huge battleship with all the men and engines, etc., that it could be sunk by a few careless words – to say nothing of the malicious words which are often issued intentionally. But it has happened.
This was a directive toward people not to talk about military matters and troop movements. But it could just as well apply to any form of gossiping. In the case of the girl, she was "sunk" by loose lips!
It is recorded that prostitutes, thieves, murderers, liars, etc., all go into the kingdom of heaven before the gossiper. I would guess that is because it is easier to justify any of those crimes than it is the crime of gossip and scandal.
SO – what DOES it mean: "Call no man your father"? Let's go back to God's beginning purpose for mankind. It is desired by God that every person born into the world become a true child in the Family of God having the very divine nature of God through Christ dwelling within. BUT NO ONE IS BORN HUMANLY THAT WAY! Each one must choose by a process of conversion and new birth to, as Peter said, "partake of the divine nature."
Now whether we are born legitimate or illegitimate according to a marriage contract, WE ARE ALL BORN ILLEGITIMATE SPIRITUALLY!
The Bible says that all of us have an illegitimate father, Satan, until we suddenly claim the Father than Jesus had. "Call no man your father." Why? Because if you do, you have all the damning inheritance of the illegitimate child. Jesus was not putting down human fathers when He made that statement. He was just accentuating God's purpose for humanity – to actually be birthed sons and daughters in the divine Family of God.
If you are one of these "Christians", you begin to see how everything that is not born of God is illegitimate and must come under the condemnation of the illegitimate. No wonder that so many things you try to do go wrong – you are stoned, too, in one way or another because of this illegitimacy.
But the whole picture changes with the new birth, for in that case you have ceased the inheritance of the Adam affair and have begun to call upon God, to look up to Him, and to ask of Him. As surely as your material father would supply you with good gifts, God can much more supply you with the good things of the kingdom of heaven.
"Call no man your father." We then begin to see and sense what it is to be born again into God's Family – it means we are experiencing in a degree the "immaculate conception"! We are beginning to "call no man our father," and to look – actually and practically – to God as the source of life and everything necessary for life through the indwelling Christ.
Yes, legitimacy has to do with the kind of UNION that is involved. A union of man and woman outside of marriage produces a human illegitimate child.
The spiritual union with Satan's nature that we are born with by inheritance from our first parents produces a spiritually illegitimate child.
But a converted Christian has done something spiritually that you can't do humanly – he has changed fathers! Satan is out, God the Father is in.
You are a son of the living God NOW because you have dropped off the nature of your old spiritual father, the evil one.
You have been given the righteousness of the indwelling Jesus Christ.
God has given you righteousness.
GOD HAS MADE YOU – LEGITIMATE!

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Homosexuality - a Christ-centered Perspective

How should we as Christians respond to homosexuals? Christian churches have split over the gay issue. Few issues in our generation have polarized Christians as does homosexuality. This topic has become a battlefield, with Christians from two extreme positions lobbing theological grenades and demeaning, judgmental insults at each other from opposing perspectives:

Extreme Liberal View

Homosexuals are born as homo- sexuals. God made them, and therefore any biblical references that seem to prohibit loving homosexual practice are archaic and culturally biased. Why would God create a homosexual and then accuse him/her of sinning if they express their love with another homosexual in a monogamous relationship? Homosexuals in loving and faithful relationships are simply demonstrating their love. Those who take any other position are homophobic, bigots and hatemongers.

Extreme Conservative View

The practice of homosexuality is condemned in the Bible. Homosexuals are not born – they are made. Nature does not produce homosexuals – they are produced by dysfunctional relationships and a corrupt world. Homosexuals are deviates and perverts – they are skilled at using politics and the media, attempting to move homosexuality into the mainstream of society. The truth is that homosexuality is absolutely the worst kind of sin.

A Balanced, Christ-centered Perspective

There is a third alternative increasingly favored by many Christians. These Christians reject both extremes and advocate a balanced and biblical, Christ-centered viewpoint that doesn’t answer all the questions or solve every ambiguity, but comes closer to authentic Christianity than the two extremes.
This third, balanced perspective acknowledges that no one definitively knows whether homosexuals are born or whether they become that way. The jury is still out, with conflicting studies and research, much of which unfortunately seems to be self-serving and subjectively skewed.
The Bible condemns homosexual practice, along with many other sins, including hatred, pride and self-righteousness. On the one hand, no human has the capability of declaring some of the Bible to be true and accurate, with other portions being myth and opinion. Such “scholarship” attempting to justify homosexual practice is self-serving abuse of the Bible.
On the other hand, the Bible does not indicate that homosexuality is the worst of all sins, nor does it give such a ranking to any sin. The gospel of Jesus Christ makes it clear that we are all sinners to start and that we all need Jesus Christ.
Above all, the Bible clearly defines Christians as those who have love. Christians are identified by this love – God’s love. This love is not a word or concept that humans can subjectively use to justify their behavior. Love is not expressed through lying, stealing, hating, pride, envy, drunkenness, gluttony or homosexuality. Love is not expressed by condemning others, shouting insults at them from picket lines or ostracizing them.
Unfortunately, many have taken unbiblical views that are either self-serving and self-justifying on one hand, or judgmental and hateful on the other. Sadly, many Christians have become known as bigots who have no time for homosexuals. All Christians are humanly born sinners, and even continue to sin after their new birth in Christ.
Christians have proclivities and weaknesses of all kinds, including homosexuality. However, Christians who are homosexuals, who have homosexual desires, including those who have once been practicing homosexuals will not, by definition, practice homosexuality. They will not parade their pride in the practice of homosexuality and insist that the church or society at large accept them in same sex marriage. Marriage is one man and one woman according to the Bible.
Therefore, a Christian homosexual will be a celibate homosexual, much as a recovering alcoholic will not drink any alcohol, and they will avoid situations where they may be tempted.
Other Christians who happen to have differing weaknesses and sins will reach out to celibate homosexual Christians rather than condemn them. Christians are known by God’s love that lives in us through Jesus Christ.
Christ lives His life within us and reforms us in God’s image, transforming us from all human culture, including the culture of homosexuality.
We claim to love the sinner and hate the sin, but the problem of homosexuality and its destructive effects within our society has surely made it a challenge. Still, it can’t be right for Christianity to be pitted against homosexuality as though it were the worst sin on parade.
I recently heard of a pastor who resigned his position and filed for divorce to marry the church secretary with whom he had been sexually active. His main complaint: his wife was too fat. Is his sin less than one of homosexuality? Such hypocrisy makes our very specific outrage over homosexuality difficult for those in darkness to understand.
According to the Bible, God intended marriage to be a lifelong, committed relationship between a man and a woman. Divorce, spousal abuse and extramarital affairs all dishonor marriage, as does homosexuality. Yet as restrictive and unpopular as this message is for many people, it can only be heard if it is accompanied by love.
For Christians, the real issue surrounding homosexuality isn’t genetics or religious freedom or even a constitutional amendment. We’ve focused on these enough. The real issue is the call of Jesus Christ. Let us be the first to heed it. We may be surprised to see who follows!

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Do You Have a "Heart"?

Sure you do! But where is it? What does it contain? How does the Bible use the word "heart"?
I have become increasingly aware that the use of the word "heart" can be confusing to Christians who are trying to sort out the meaning of their salvation – what really happens at salvation, and how it affects our human lives. We hear sermons and read about a NEW heart, a CHANGED heart, a REPENTANT heart, a BROKEN heart, etc., and without the proper differentiation in meaning, there can be misconception and confusion.
Before we can start on the usages of the word "heart", it is well to consider the basic composition of man.
The apostle Paul seems to be the first person (except Jesus Christ) in the Bible who really recognized the actual structure of this organism we call a human being. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, he states, "…I pray God that your whole SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." You ARE a spirit, you HAVE a soul and you LIVE IN a body. We are tripartite beings – three interrelated parts functioning as a whole. The SPIRIT is the part from the spirit realm of God which makes us into a created "image of God" as stated in Genesis. The SOUL is the intellect, emotions and will contained in the brain by which we choose the path we will follow. And the BODY is all the rest of the material parts of us with which we make our life in this world.
So how does all this apply to concepts of the heart? Writers have always found it difficult to express in words things concerning our internal nature and characteristics. Since the organ of the heart is the core of the physical body, they have used the term "heart" to speak of many varying concepts of both spirit and soul also. They have given us a spirit "heart" and a soul "heart" to go along with our body heart.
The problem is that there is seldom any differentiation made between the "heart" of the spirit and the "heart" of the soul. They use the term "heart" interchangeably between the two without distinction. This tends to blur the understanding of distinctions between the soul and spirit which must be made for spiritual maturity in Christ.
For instance, when the Bible speaks of giving us a NEW heart, this means the one time conversion process by which Christ comes to indwell the Christian. This is the so-called "heart" of the spirit. This is once and forever.
When the Bible says we must have a CHANGED heart, or a BROKEN heart, or a REPENTANT heart, or a LOVING heart, this is referring to the soul. We must choose daily with our soul "heart" to follow Christ and to allow Him to guide us into the "fruits" of the Spirit which are nothing more than the supernatural attributes of Christ within the Christian. When these things slip away from us by the influences of the world, we are drawn back by whatever means God chooses to use to a greater understanding of our salvation.
I find that many sincere Christians have never made the distinction between soul and spirit. In fact, this distinction has seldom been made at all down through the ages of the church. And the confusion about "heart" just tends to prolong the misunderstanding.
I would like to see the term "heart" applied only to the physical heart of the body.
At conversion and new birth, we don't get a new "heart", we get a NEW SPIRIT NATURE.
As we grow in spiritual maturity in union with Christ, we don't get a changed or a repentant "heart", we get a TRANSFORMED SOUL!
You have a blood-pumping HEART –
But you also have a spirit and a soul!

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You Say You Want To Be Free From Sin ?

It seems to me that the subject of freedom from sin is one of the most distorted of all Biblical truths being taught today.
The usual line preached goes something like this: "Brother, if you want to be free from sin, then you had better consecrate yourself to the Lord and walk after all of His laws. God's Law is our boundary to protect us from falling into sin." Have you ever heard this approach before? You probably have in one way or another, and the really sad thing is that most people who hear this type of reasoning usually nod their heads in fervent agreement.
Let's get right to the heart of it by looking at Scripture. God's Law won't keep you from sin. The startling truth is this: God's Law keeps you bound up in sin! How can I say this? Well, it's not me saying it. The