More Than Words

Peace is more than a mindset.

Joy is more than an emotion.

Love is more than a feeling.

Faith is more than belief.

Knowledge is more than intellectual thought.

Grace is more than redemption.

Be My Lord

Forget all the religion.

Jesus, just be my Lord!

Our New Grace-Sovereign Country

So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means. When we are lowered into the water, it is like the burial of Jesus; when we are raised up out of the water, it is like the resurrection of Jesus. Each of us is raised into a light-filled world by our Father so that we can see where we’re going in our new grace-sovereign country. Could it be any clearer? Our old way of life was nailed to the cross with Christ, a decisive end to that sin-miserable life—no longer at sin’s every beck and call! What we believe is this: If we get included in Christ’s sin-conquering death, we also get included in his life-saving resurrection. We know that when Jesus was raised from the dead it was a signal of the end of death-as-the-end. Never again will death have the last word. When Jesus died, he took sin down with him, but alive he brings God down to us. From now on, think of it this way: Sin speaks a dead language that means nothing to you; God speaks your mother tongue, and you hang on every word. You are dead to sin and alive to God. That’s what Jesus did. (Romans 6:1-11 MSG)

Have a grace filled day! It is the Father’s will. 🙂

A Completely New Creation

A new creation is not just a cleaned up old you, it’s a completely new you. The new me in Christ is a living sacrifice because I am alive, resurrected in Him through the cross, and the old me is dead. A renewed mind is one that is continuously aware of this and lives through the lens of this truth: I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

I refuse to repudiate God’s grace!

What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn’t work. So I quit being a “law man” so that I could be God’s man. Christ’s life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that. Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God’s grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily. (Galatians 2:19-21 MSG)

Come on Message Bible!

Paul was a man of great revelation and his central message was simple: It’s all about the grace we have been given through the cross. You were crucified with Christ and that is our salvation and unity with God, not our performance or futile attempts to earn it.

Beyond Understanding

A big problem I’ve constantly had in my Christian walk is the need for understanding.  As I’ve said many times, I am an analytical person.  It is hard for me to commit to anything if I do not have a very good understanding of it.  This naturally creates a problem for me in turning verses like Proverbs 3:5 into a reality.

“Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

But Lord, you made me an analytical person?

Recently I read through Leviticus and wow, there’s a whole lot I don’t understand in that book.  More like there’s a whole lot that I question, “why is this even in the Bible?”  Yes, I know it was a different culture.  Yes, I know it needs to be read in context and yes I know we read the OT through the lense of the New Testament.  But still I read sections and think, “That’s just not right.”  I don’t need to get into specifics.  I’m sure you’ve come across plenty of Bible bashers who joyfully go straight to certain passages of Leviticus to disprove God by making Him out to be some sort of immoral monster.  Which leads back to my original question of “why is this even in the Bible?”  Why did God allow things like this to be written knowing that it would cause many to speak out against Him in later cultures?

I became so distraught over this I put the Bible down for a while.  I was angry because I didn’t understand.  Many other issues bombarded at the same time.  I ran into a nasty cocktail of spiritual, mental, emotional and financial trouble.  I was in a lot of pain and I was angry.  But something crept up through my anger; something that pushed passed my understanding—or lack thereof.

It was peace.  His peace.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;  and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7

The interesting thing—and probably an obvious truth to many—is that when I was angry and was not talking to God I was a total wreck.  He allowed me to have my pout fest and then I finally gave in and made my requests known to God.   I gave in and asked for help because I certainly wasn’t going to figure it all out on my own.  And what do ya know?  Just like scripture says, as I started asking, peace started reigning.

So today I sit and rest in His peace.  I trust the Lord and take a hard lesson learned to lean not on my own understanding.  There’s many things I don’t understand in this world, but there’s one thing I do:

God is good.

 

Feeling Insufficient?

Myself and many others have often bought into a lie of Satan that we are insufficient of God’s grace.  We believe a lie that giving up is an option and that losing is actually possible.  Out of ignorance and pride we believe that we can single handedly mess up God’s plan.   Well I’ve got good news for you my friends:

You are not insufficient! Giving up and losing are impossible, and you cannot mess up God’s plan!

Do you know why?

Because, “It is finished!”

WE’VE ALREADY WON!

And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” -2 Cor 12:9

The Circle of Disappointment

The circle of life can disappoint. Actually it is guaranteed to. There is no painless life. At some point you are destined to confront pain.

At many points in life you will encounter pain. Pain can be as simple as disappointment or as confusing as loss. It can be depression, anxiety, physical, emotional or psychological. It does not matter.

It all hurts. Pain is pain. So what do we do about it?

Do we ignore it? Pretend it doesn’t exist? Do we sit on the sidelines and watch pain make a home run?

Or do we do something about it? Is there anything we can do about it?

We can acknowledge it…

We can philosophize about it…

We can talk about it…

We can pray about it…

And..

We can experience it.

Actually, we can’t help but experience it. Nobody… well most sane people do not choose to experience pain.

But,

And that’s a big but..

Is life, life without pain?

So I said in my heart, “As it happens to the fool, It also happens to me, And why was I then more wise?” Then I said in my heart, “This also is vanity.” (Ecclesiastes 2:15 NKJV)

Advice to a Seeker from Thomas Jefferson

The following is an excerpt from a letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to his nephew on August 10th, 1787 from Paris.  I found it quite interesting and I like the unbiased approach to religion that he suggests.  But I still wonder if there is such a thing as a truly unbiased approach?   Either way I think he gives good advice here without ever really disclosing his own opinion and worldview of the matter.

Religion. Your reason is now mature enough to examine this object. In the first place, divest yourself of all bias in favor of novelty & singularity of opinion. Indulge them in any other subject rather than that of religion. It is too important, and the consequences of error may be too serious. On the other hand, shake off all the fears & servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear. You will naturally examine first, the religion of your own country. Read the Bible, then as you would read Livy or Tacitus. The facts which are within the ordinary course of nature, you will believe on the authority of the writer, as you do those of the same kind in Livy & Tacitus. The testimony of the writer weighs in their favor, in one scale, and their not being against the laws of nature, does not weigh against them. But those facts in the Bible which contradict the laws of nature, must be examined with more care, and under a variety of faces. Here you must recur to the pretensions of the writer to inspiration from God. Examine upon what evidence his pretensions are founded, and whether that evidence is so strong, as that its falsehood would be more improbable than a change in the laws of nature, in the case he relates. For example, in the book of Joshua, we are told, the sun stood still several hours. Were we to read that fact in Livy or Tacitus, we should class it with their showers of blood, speaking of statues, beasts, &c. But it is said, that the writer of that book was inspired. Examine, therefore, candidly, what evidence there is of his having been inspired. The pretension is entitled to your inquiry, because millions believe it. On the other hand, you are astronomer enough to know how contrary it is to the law of nature that a body revolving on its axis, as the earth does, should have stopped, should not, by that sudden stoppage, have prostrated animals, trees, buildings, and should after a certain time gave resumed its revolution, & that without a second general prostration. Is this arrest of the earth’s motion, or the evidence which affirms it, most within the law of probabilities? You will next read the New Testament. It is the history of a personage called Jesus. Keep in your eye the opposite pretensions: 1, of those who say he was begotten by God, born of a virgin, suspended & reversed the laws of nature at will, & ascended bodily into heaven; and 2, of those who say he was a man of illegitimate birth, of a benevolent heart, enthusiastic mind, who set out without pretensions to divinity, ended in believing them, and was punished capitally for sedition, by being gibbeted, according to the Roman law, which punished the first commission of that offence by whipping, & the second by exile, or death in fureâ. See this law in the Digest Lib. 48. tit. 19. §. 28. 3. & Lipsius Lib 2. de cruce. cap. 2. These questions are examined in the books I have mentioned under the head of religion, & several others. They will assist you in your inquiries, but keep your reason firmly on the watch in reading them all.

    Do not be frightened from this inquiry by any fear of its consequences. If it ends in a belief that there is no God, you will find incitements to virtue in the comfort and pleasantness you feel in its exercise, and the love of others which it will procure you. If you find reason to believe there is a God, a consciousness that you are acting under his eye, & that he approves you, will be a vast additional incitement; if that there be a future state, the hope of a happy existence in that increases the appetite to deserve it; if that Jesus was also a God, you will be comforted by a belief of his aid and love. In fine, I repeat, you must lay aside all prejudice on both sides, and neither believe nor reject anything, because any other persons, or description of persons, have rejected or believed it. Your own reason is the only oracle given you by heaven, and you are answerable, not for the rightness, but uprightness of the decision. I forgot to observe, when speaking of the New Testament, that you should read all the histories of Christ, as well of those whom a council of ecclesiastics have decided for us, to be Pseudo-evangelists, as those they named Evangelists. Because these Pseudo-evangelists pretended to inspiration, as much as the others, and you are to judge their pretensions by your own reason, and not by the reason of those ecclesiastics. Most of these are lost. There are some, however, still extant, collected by Fabricius, which I will endeavor to get & send you.

When will the kingdom of God come?

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

-Luke 17:20-21