Slow cooker or Microwave?

Alan Knox over at The Assembling of the Church posted an article yesterday that really resonates with me. In "Slow cooker or Microwave?" he quotes from an article by Wayne Jacobsen. It essentially has to do with growing in maturity and bearing fruit over the long haul and not overnight. This really has a lot to do with what "Grace Roots" means to me, at least at this point in life. Digging our roots deep into Jesus, drawing up nutrition from Him, gazing into God's eyes, and being His workmanship, in His timing, as He's faithful to do the work He wants to do in and through us. How many times do we needlessly worry or fret, or become frustrated with ourselves or even with God because we don't see the fruit or the results we expect? No need to fret or worry when the God of all creation is at the helm!

I've posted similar or related articles in the past, even recently. Here are a few examples if you're interested:

Slow-cooking together
Microwave Christianity
The Fertile Soil of Grace
The Right Place (a personal favorite)

Boasting

Phil 2:12-13
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; 13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

We seem to stop with verse 12, but verse 12 is impossible without verse 13. Could we even say that verse 12 hangs on verse 13?

This salvation that we have - this wonderful, marvelous, eternal, splendiferous salvation that we have received solely as a gift of God's wonderful, marvelous, eternal, slendiferous grace, through His glorious gospel - is something that we "work out" in fear (awe, reverence) and trembling. Why fear? Why trembling? Because it is GOD HIMSELF - the Almighty, the Alpha and the Omega, the Creator of everything, the Great I Am, the Ancient of Days, the Eternal Living God - who has joined Himself with us and is at work in us in powerful and mighty ways. It's not "me" who's pulling this thing off. HE is at work in us to will and to do for His good pleasure!

If we are to boast about anything, it is in our weakness. In our weakness, He is strong. His strength is made perfect in weakness. "Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Cor 12:9)

What reader do y'all use?

I have an 'off topic' question for those who read many different blogs. Which "feed reader" do you use, or in what way do you keep updated on all the blogs you read? I currently use the Firefox browser, and it makes it easy to subscribe to feeds. My feeds appear right there on the "Bookmarks Toolbar" near the top of the browser. I just move my mouse across the toolbar and I can quickly see which blogs have new feeds. However, my problem is that even though I've edited each feed by abbreviating the feed's name (for example, Grace Roots = GR), I only have room on the toolbar for about 20 feeds.

I'm just wondering if anyone uses a specific feed reader that makes it convenient to browse all your feeds? I'm sure your answers might be helpful to others as well.

The question has been answered

The people who asked Jesus the question, "What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?" (John 6:28) received an answer they weren't expecting.

Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent." (John 6:29).


Since the question has been answered, why do we keep asking the question?

It's just so ridiculous

God's Ridiculous Agape Captivating Everyone

(I heard this from Paul Anderson-Walsh, describing his "Grace Commission.")

"Let me be clear... God's love is absurd, it is irrational, it is irresponsible, it is downright stupid if you ask me."




Isn't it though?

I Am

Ginny Owens - I Am



No Lord, he said, you've got the wrong guy
Simple conversation gets me tongue-tied
And you're telling me to speak with a maniac king
Or could it be I've lost my mind

Besides, I am weak, don't you want someone strong
To lead them out of Egypt when they've been there so long
And anyway, they won’t believe You ever spoke to me
It's not your problem, God replied
And the rest is history

There's a bigger picture you can't see
You don't have to change the world, just trust in Me
'Cause I am your creator, I am working out my plan
And through you I will show them I Am

Now Lord, are you sure? He's just a shepherd boy
Too small for battle gear with a giant to destroy
What on earth can he do with five stones and a sling
It's not your problem, God replied
'Cause I can do anything

There's a bigger picture you can't see
You don't have to change the world, just trust in me
'Cause I am your creator, I am working out my plan
And through you, I will show them

I am the first, I am the last
I am the present and the past
I am tomorrow and today
I am the only way

Great Lord, she said, I'm just a simple girl
You say that I will bring your Son into the world
How can I understand this thing You're gonna do
It's not your problem, God replied

'Cause, there's a bigger picture
And you don't have to change the world
I'm your creator, I am working out my plan
And through you, I will show them
There's a bigger picture, you can't see
You don't have to change the world, just trust in me
I'm your creator, I am working out my plan
And through you, I will show them I Am
I Am

Zerox Machine

I know something about you! I may not even know you personally but I know that I know at least one thing about you.

You are unique.

Nobody else is you and you are nobody else. And that's good.

What I have to say really isn't all that deep or complex. It's just something that I know I need a reminder of now and then, and I would think most of us do too.

I am who I am. I don't need to try to be anybody else. I can sure glean a lot from others, and I can learn a lot from others, but my personality, my character, my talents and abilities, my gifts, my looks, my thoughts, my learning curve, my experiences, my ways, my tastes, my likes and dislikes, my prayer life, my Bible reading, my way of assembling with other saints, my... whatever... is uniquely mine and I don't have to be like anyone else! Sure, I want to get along with as many people as I can and I want to work well with others, and I can most certainly be flexible. But my uniqueness doesn't have to be breakable.

--------------------

The following video may or may not be your taste of music, and the lyrics may not strike you in the way they have struck me, but it's really the main reason I started this blog entry. There's so much I could say about my thoughts of Adam Ant being a musical and lyrical genius. And while I'll use the same disclaimer as I used for the Extreme video I posted the other day (that is, I definitely wouldn't look to Adam and the Ants as a source of great spiritual enlightenment!), I can truly say that once in a while I find a "message" that I can relate to in the lyrics.

There's so much I draw out of this one song. I'll just say that there have always been "copycats" in the music industry. Artists copying other styles, etc. Just think, when you turn on your radio you instantly know the "era" of the very song you are listening to, whether or not you know that particular song. Some examples, of countless many: You know if it's a song from the 50's. You have your 80's pop music and "hair metal." You have the "boy band" era. You get the point. Each song from each era is different, but yet has many of the same elements. Adam Ant didn't seem to want to ever conform to the styles of his day and he was very vocal about all of this through the use of clever sarcasm and brilliant imagery in his art

Well, the song "Zerox" (funny how it's spelled "Xerox" in the video) is right to the point throughout the whole song. Executives in the music business - you might as well "lock up your brain" because we'll just get together and collect up the ideas and simply duplicate whatever else may be hot right now. Make sure you "keep your ears to the ground" to make sure you've got the next hit record. We'll steal the chords from another hit song and make sure this song is equally as successful.

You get the idea. And you perhaps know where I'm going with this. Many in the church today seem to be more focused on having the best programs and having the sermons and worship services that attract the most people. Let's see what's "working" in other churches and start applying it in our church. It's often about "church growth. Unfortunately, it's about how the people can make the church grow, rather than how the people can help the other people grow, if you know what I mean. It's about making sure the people's brains are locked into "our" vision. The pastor and other leaders sure do have huge smiles and they sure do give "inspiring" and "convicting" sermons. But are they being real, or are they simply putting on a show to try to attract people, or even to manipulate them into conforming to their program or into being just like them?

Which leads me to my favorite line from the song:

"I may look happy, healthy and clean
A dark brown voice and a suit pristine
But behind the smile there is a Zerox Machine..."

Can't anyone just be real anymore? Can't we just meet together with no false pretenses and with no hierarchies. Can't we just be who we are, and not try to be what that other church down the street is? Can't we simply base our identities upon who we are in Christ rather than being concerned about how we appear to each other and to the community? Can't we stop trying to reproduce people to be just like us, conforming into our image, and instead work to help them walk in their own uniqueness and for the purposes for which they were created?

adam and the ants :zerox machine

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A different version of the video with better audio quality is here. (It wouldn't allow embedding).

Lock up your brain
'Cause I'm here again
I'm never bored, I steal your chords
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine

Give me a line
Or a middle eight
I've got the best so I want the rest
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine
ooh-ooh Zerox Machine

Let's get together before its too late
Collect up the ideas, and duplicate
Filling out the forms, send them off tonight
And you'll be the owner of the copyright
Of the copyright, of the copyright

Time's of the essence get your ears to the ground
However else can the hits be found?

I may look happy, healthy and clean
A dark brown voice and suit pristine
But behind the smile there is a Zerox Machine

I'm a Zerox Machine...

A focus on sin, or righteousness?

I commented on a post on Alan Knox's "The Assembling of the Church" blog. The post is titled, "In the arms of your mercy I find rest." Alan asks a couple of great questions. "What does it mean to you to rest in God's mercy? Do you ever find yourself trying to work to earn God's mercy instead of resting in God's mercy?"

After I commented there were a few more comments from others. I was going to comment some more but I realized that my comment would basically amount to a full blog post or more! My thoughts were springing into all sorts of chutes and ladders (gee, that never happens!), so I thought I'd just post my own blog.

My question is this: Is God disappointed in us when we sin? In order for anyone to be disappointed, he must 1) have expectations and 2) those expectations must remain unfulfilled. So another question is, did God ever expect anything from us in the first place? Didn't He know that "all we like sheep have gone astray" and that "there is no one who does good, no not one?" I'm sure He knew that, as I'm sure that He's the one who inspired those words in the Old Testament. He knew all along that there was a problem with the Old Covenant. The problem wasn't that He wouldn't keep His part of the covenant. But God knew that man would not keep his part. "For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: 'Behold the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah...'" (Heb 8:7-8).

So the problem with the first covenant was "them." The people. The problem with the people was "they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord" (Heb 8:9). This was no surprise to the Lord. He did not expect that they would keep the covenant. He knew they wouldn't. Man's default position (those who are still in Adam) is to fall short of the glory of God, although it's most certainly possible for those who are in Adam to perform the best of the best of the good deeds. But the fact remains that even with all kinds of laws, ordinances, stipulations, rules, regulations, and so on, man's condition remained the same. Astray. Falling short. Not seeking God. Sinning. Going their own way. And most of all: dead to God. You don't have to search too far in this blog to know that I often point out that the law's job is not actually to help man to stop sinning. In fact, the law made sin increase and abound (Rom 5:20) and it did nothing more than to make the whole world guilty. Again, it aided no one in right living. We were born dead in Adam, and by trying to live right by our own efforts or by trying to keep the law, we'll be no more alive than if a person painted a dead, brown blade of grass green in order to make it appear alive.

And so God set out, not to change the behavior of dead people, but to make dead people alive! He sent His Son Jesus to die for us and to forgive sin. But much more than that, He also raised us together into Life with Himself! We tend to end the story with God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness of sin is a wonderful, wonderful thing, but it's only the beginning of the story of our lives in Christ! The rest of the story - that so often gets ignored or overlooked - is, "He has made us alive together with Christ!" The fact that we've been joined together with God (1 Cor 6:17) and that we now have LIFE seems to be just a sideline or an incidental note. Christians remain in this mindset that we're simply mere sinners and whenever we sin we lose our right standing with God and we need to go once again and confess our sins and ask for forgiveness. And we somehow get this ridiculous idea that there must be some sort of "cooling off" period before God will fully accept us again. Believe me, I've been there plenty of times.

NOT that God wants us to sin so that grace may abound! If you are worried that the preaching of grace will cause people to just want to go out and sin all the more, then the grace of God hasn't been preached enough! Or at least it hasn't been preached completely. For whatever reason, the fullness of the gospel of grace hasn't gotten into your heart. Indeed grace is the power of God that forgives us and saves us. But if we think we're merely "saved sinners" then we're missing a huge chunk of the good news! Living a life of not only being forgiven of sin, but of overcoming sin, is only possible by God's grace alone! I think that too many Christians fear that the preaching of grace may cause people to lapse into sin. And therefore there's a lot of preaching and teaching that says that introspective thinking and a deeper sorrow for sin is what we need. We've taken words such as "let a man examine himself" (in the context of being worthy of the body and blood of the Lord - see 1 Cor 11:27-29) to mean "let a man determine whether or not there's sin in his life."

Brothers and sisters in Christ... I don't care who you are or how deeply you've searched your innermost being to see whether or not you've sinned or how badly you've sinned, there is only one thing that makes you worthy of the body and blood of Jesus Christ... and that is grace, which you've received by faith. I'd like to ask this question. Looking back on your life, has your deep searching of yourself truly helped you to overcome sin, or has it simply left you feeling guilty, and therefore feeling as if there's something that needs to be done to get you right with God? Let me share with you what will hopefully be good news for you, as I believe it's the truth of the gospel: The former way - deep searching leading to guilt for sin - might certainly give an appearance of holiness and piety, but it's nothing more than a flesh-based focus on self and not on Christ! Please think about this. If we beat ourselves up over our sin, aren't we forgetting that JESUS was already beat up and crucified for our sin??? Does our self-inflicted guilt and punishment really fit in with the finished work of Christ? Isn't it an INSULT to the Spirit of grace and to the broken body and shed blood of Jesus when we take any of this upon ourselves?

Having been there and done that, I can understand why people who truly, sincerely want to please God through righteous living resort to this type of fleshly thinking as a means of overcoming sin and living righteously. But again, even though I understand it, that doesn't change the fact that it's fleshly thinking! I fully believe that our focus in this life in Christ is not to be SIN. Our focus is to be the righteousness of God, which we've become in Him! (2 Cor 5:21)

If you've not thought about it or looked at it this way before, or if you have and you simply want encouragement in the good news, I'd like to suggest a few biblical truths as things worth focusing upon.

1. "Christ became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21). We are not sinners. We are the righteousness of God in Christ! We are righteous people who sometimes sin.

2. We sometimes sin, not because we are sinners, but because we take our eyes off of the reality of who we truly are (the righteousness of God). And in fact even though it's a reality that we're righteous, we have a lot of growing in grace to do, and a lot of growing in our knowledge and understanding of who God truly is and who we truly are! Therefore sometimes we will stumble. We will sometimes commit obvious sins and sometimes commit sins we don't even realize. But there is something that is equally as important to consider, that I think we either ignore or give far too little emphasis to in the church today. Sometimes we will trust that our own good deeds and accomplishments have kept us in God's favor. If we beat ourselves up over our evil deeds, then shouldn't we also beat ourselves up over these dead works??? But praise be to God! We don't need to beat ourselves up over anything. We can take the focus off of ourselves when it comes to both good and evil, and instead of worrying about how well or poorly we're performing, we can "rest in God's mercy."

3. God's grace is sufficient. I sometimes say ""fully sufficient" or "completely sufficient," but that's redundant!

4. We focus far too much on principles, methods, steps, rules, ways, programs, etc, to help us overcome sin. The only thing that overcomes sin is grace. I believe that God is not expecting "us" to overcome sin, but rather He wants us to get rid of this fleshly focus on our selves and to keep our eyes on Him and on the truth of who we are in Him. The yearly sacrifices of bulls and goats provided "a reminder of sins every year" (Heb 10:2). But what the blood of bulls and goats could not do, Jesus did in the shedding of His blood... He took away sins! I don't believe that we are to live with the mindset of guilt over our sins. Rather, we are to live with a heart of thanksgiving that Jesus took away our sins!

Indeed... what I am saying is that when we sin, instead of going through a period of guilt and self-condemnation for our sins, we immediately turn to the Lord in gratefulness and praise, thankful to Him for the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus that took our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west, burying them deep in the sea, never to be brought up again! Resting in God's mercy and grace, and focusing on the truth of the righteous people that we are in Him, will not lead to more sin. Rather, it will lead to a deeper love and commitment to Him that yields peace and righteousness, love and joy, and all the wonderful fruit of the Spirit!

How the quiet guy in the corner got into radio (Part 4)

I can see that, as I previously said, this testimony of mine could easily go off in all kinds of directions. I have been very encouraged as I've looked back and thought about all that's happened in the past 10 to 15 years, and I think I'll wrap this up for now by getting to my main point, or my main reason for writing this.

I never expected to end up in radio, never mind for eleven years! In fact, during most of those eleven years, I "fought" the Lord about it. I mean, I prayed over and over again that He would lead me out of it. "I just can't do this." "I don't feel like I was made for this."

My thinking was like Moses. "I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since you have spoken to Your servant, but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue." (Ex 4:10)

And I thought, "Since I can't seem to be content here, does that perhaps mean that I didn't really hear You right?"

Over the years I came up with all kinds of excuses to leave and I prayed all kinds of prayers. Now, I do have to say that there actually was quite a lot that I enjoyed about the whole radio thing... mostly the "behind the scenes" work. After volunteering as a DJ for a year or two, I was put on staff and I wound up doing a whole lot of work - mainly computer work - that I really enjoyed. Again, my mind is filling with all kinds of things that I could share about the things I really did enjoy about working at the radio station.

However, throughout the whole experience, I always felt very inadequate when it came to talking on the radio. I struggled with the phrase "on-air talent." :) I just didn't feel "natural" on the air, and I struggled in trying to sound like a professional disc jockey. Over the years I improved in many ways, and I'm thankful for that, but I never really settled down in the sense of thinking that radio was "my thing" in life.

Well, I could go on and on about all that but what I really want to say in all this is that the Lord was faithful throughout the whole experience to encourage me in Himself and to keep me where He wanted me to be. Several times I came to the "end" of it all, and I was ready to pack up and leave, but then the Lord would speak to me and encourage me in ways that only He can. I don't mean that He would encourage me in any of the skills I was developing as a DJ. As I said, I improved over the years but that's never the reason I stayed. Rather, God would encourage me in such ways that I knew that I knew that I knew that He was leading and guiding me and living through me... not in the form of a perfect, wonderful on-air personality, but in the form of a loving God who remains faithful even through times of discomfort and uncertainty.

In fact, it was my uncertainty and my sense of inadequacy about myself and my own skills and personality that drove me deeper into His arms of rest and sufficiency. Ever since coming into a deeper revelation of walking by faith and not by sight, I've continually asked the Lord to show me who I am. He has been faithful to teach me who I am in many ways, and one huge way has been through my weaknesses and inadequacies. Through these things, He has shown me that who I am is not based at all upon what I can or cannot do. It's based simply on the fact the He is "I am" and that He loves me and dwells in me and that my life is not my own, but He is my life. He has shown me that a focus on myself will either lead a person to self-sufficiency and pride or to a sense of inadequacy and helplessness. Neither way is the Christ-life. The Christ-life is lived fully in the sufficiency of Christ!

(Whole series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4)

How the quiet guy in the corner got into radio (Part 3)

Some people dream of being in radio or on TV. Some people thrive on the idea of being in the public spotlight. Not me. I've never purposely pursued anything like that. Prior to July, 1994, that would have been the furthest thing from my mind, and if anyone would have ever told me that I'd be on the radio, I would have laughed and I would have defiantly told them it would never happen!

But suddenly there I was, visiting a radio station, not for the purpose of trying to get into radio, but yet being asked if I wanted to volunteer as a part-time DJ. As I said in the previous post, I did pray about it but I really thought that would be the end of the idea. However, as much as I resisted the idea, and detested the idea, and laughed at the idea, and resisted the idea some more, I just couldn't shake it. Sure, I can admit that I entertained the idea of the "fame" aspect of it all, if only ever so slightly, but really that aspect could have never been enough to draw me into wanting to do this. If I was going to do this, it had to be the Lord leading me to do it, and nothing else.

I think I prayed about it and weighed things out for a few days. Most of the time my thoughts leaned very heavily towards not doing it. But again, I just couldn't shake it. I couldn't bring myself to say "no." This was not a legalistic type of nagging in my spirit. I really felt as if I was "free" to not do this, but yet the Lord really pressed it into my heart as if it was something He was leading me to do. Finally, because of the ongoing feeling that this was of the Lord (I knew it wasn't of "me"!), I decided to do it.

My friend Rob had another friend here in town who was also interested in doing this, and it helped me to know that I wouldn't be going alone into this. The two of us went up to the station and met with the Program Director, a man by the name of Mike Kapler.  Having had no prior training or experience, we set up a time to start training with Kap. This was a small AM station that was on the air from sunrise to sunset, so the training would be in the evenings after the station had gone off the air. Kap was about ready to go on a week-long vacation, so we had to wait another week to begin training. All the more time to become anxious and nervous about this and to question if it was the right thing to do! Yet I didn't change my mind.

Well, the week passed but my other friend ended up having a bicycle accident that hospitalized him (fortunately no permanent injuries)... so I was left doing this on my own! Aaaghh! So there I was, on the evening of Monday, August 1, 1994, sitting in front of the mic, looking at all the equipment and being as nervous as I could possibly be! Kap showed me what all the stuff did, and we began the training. Back in those days, we had a few songs that we played on CD's, but we still also played vinyl records, if anyone knows what those are. ;) We played certain programs on cassette tapes, and we also played spots and promos using the old audio carts (somewhat like 8-track tapes).

I quickly caught on to all the technical aspects of running all of this. It was easy for me to transition from a CD to a cart to a record to another CD, etc, and to press all the right buttons and move all the right knobs and switches. I wished that's all there was to it! I could handle all the "behind the scenes" stuff! But yet for some reason on radio they want you to do this thing called talking! That was definitely the hardest part for me. I started with the basics, such as, "That was DC Talk, now here's DeGarmo and Key..." But I felt very timid and shy. I still have some of my old practice tapes and I cringe when I hear them!

Of course, fortunately I wasn't "live." I spent two hours that first evening in training. Mostly what I did was to begin playing songs, then fast-forwarding to near the end (or moving the needle on the record), and then turning on the mic and practicing speaking. I would start playing the next song while I was talking, learning how to talk over the ramps of songs, and I simply kept repeating all of this. Tuesday evening was two more hours of the same, and Kap asked me if I wanted to come back Wednesday evening and practice some more. So I practiced off-air for two more hours on Wednesday.

But then Kap pulled a fast one on me! He asked me if I wanted to come back and do the same on Thursday. I was essentially under the impression that I'd be in training for at least two weeks, and probably much longer than that. I could use all the practice I could get! I was FAR from even close to being ready to actually be on the air. So I said I'd come back on Thursday. But then Kap looked at me, kind of slyly, and said, "Actually... what I was thinking... is that I'd put you live on the air during the last hour tomorrow."

Just two and a half years prior I had overcome panic attacks, but I almost came close again! I think I wasn't sure if he was serious. I mean, I had mumbled and fumbled through only six hours of training, and I was to go live the next day?!?! But he was dead serious and I made my "live" debut on Thursday evening, August 4th, 1994.

(Whole series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4)

How the quiet guy in the corner got into radio (Part 2)

I've been trying to think of ways to share about the work the Lord has done in my life in regards to His leading this introvert to "get out," and I've simply been overwhelmed with thoughts and memories that would probably take a book to fully express! There are soooo many little things. There are so many tiny but crucial pieces to the puzzle that if any individual piece had been missing, the whole picture would be completely different!

In the summer of 1994 I found myself on the way to a Kansas City Royals game with two girls (they were sisters) from K.C. and a male friend of theirs from Florida. They had all recently graduated from a Christian college there in K.C. (it was geared towards youth leaders/pastors). My friend Rob, who is from Iowa and who had played a big part in my coming to the Lord had also attended this college. I had gone down to visit him from time to time and he had introduced me to these friends of his.

On the way to the game, we were talking about the lack Christian radio that was geared towards young people in the K.C. area at the time. After a lot of talk, we prayed about it right there in the car. We had been thinking, "what can we do about this?" Well I'll just tell you right now, nothing ever came out of our thoughts about starting a station in K.C. But here's the thing. If not for that conversation on the way to the Royals game, none of the rest of this story would have happened.  So much of what has come together over the last decade-plus would never have happened!

In fact, let me back up for a second and mention a few more of those crucial puzzle pieces that led up to this particular point. My friend Rob, before going to this school in K.C., was working at a youth camp here in Iowa. He wanted to go to the school but he didn't have enough money. I think he was short by $100 or $300 or something like that, which to us was big money. At the last minute, someone he didn't even know stepped in and gave him the money he needed and he was able to go.

Also... my wife and I had dated on and off from 1993 until 1995, when we got engaged. This trip to K.C. happened to be during one of the times we had broken up. I really didn't think we would ever get back together, and at that stage in my life I was taking a lot of trips to see my K.C. friends. Had Tracey and I been together, I wouldn't have taken this trip. So many little things... so many things that "I" couldn't have planned or purposely worked out... all playing a part in what was to come.

One thing I had mentioned in our car conversation in K.C. was that I knew of this small Christian Hit radio station back home. I said that perhaps I could ask someone there if they could give me any information about starting a radio station. So when I got back home to Iowa, I called the station and talked to one of the DJ's. He invited me to come on up, and I ended up talking to the G.M. Well, I never did get the info I was looking for. The Lord had me there for other reasons, and this is where a lot of the craziness began for me. In the course of our short conversation, the G.M. told me that they were looking for a couple of part time volunteer DJ's and he wondered if I was interested. I don't remember for sure, but I think I may have "acted" sort of interested, but on the inside I was scoffing at the idea! Remember my list of things I might want to do in life? "Behind the scenes" was the name of my game. Out of view. Off in a corner somewhere, quietly doing my work. Definitely NOT in front of a microphone!

I told him I would pray about it, but I really didn't think I'd ever be back. I left, and I did pray about it. I really thought that after praying about it, that would be the end of it. I'm "too shy" to do radio. I'm an introvert. I'm not good at public speaking. I had all kinds of very reasonable reasons why this was not for me. Amen. Hallelujah. The end.

Not!

(Whole series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4)

How the quiet guy in the corner got into radio (Part 1)

When my wife (Tracey) and I met in 1992, we quickly realized that we had actually met briefly on a previous occasion. When she told me where she lived, I remembered that I had been in her house before. I recalled the summer of 1990, when my girlfriend at the time had taken me to a party at Tracey's house. Who woulda knew at the time that I'd end up marrying Tracey! The reason I bring all this up is because of the way Tracey remembered me at that party. She said, "you were that quiet guy with the long hair sitting in the corner drinking your beer!"

Yep, that was me. Well... I did get rowdy with my close friends and I wasn't a complete recluse, but for the most part I was "soft-spoken" (as someone else once called me) and I've generally shied away from the spotlight. In 1993, about a year after beginning my walk with the Lord, I had no clue what I wanted to do with my life but I made a short list of some things that I might want to do. True to form, my list included things that would keep me out of the spotlight. One of the things I wrote was "behind-the-scenes work in TV or radio" (camera man, etc). It NEVER, EVER, NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, NEVER would have crossed my mind to actually be in front of the camera or the mic.

I absolutely hated Speech class in high school. I dreaded getting up there and speaking in front of the whole class. I also had to take a Speech class in college, and I remember shaking terribly because I was so nervous! Being in the public eye in any way never appealed to me.

But the Lord has changed that. I believe He's called me to be a writer and a speaker. Speaking in public, that is. In front of real live people! In my early Christian days I never could have pictured this. It would have sounded absolutely crazy to me. So, just how did the Lord take this quiet beer drinking guy in the corner, who had panic attacks and who dreaded a crowd of more than five people... and give him dreams to speak about Christ in front of any given amount of people?

He did it one step at a time. And He did it solely by grace. I haven't quite formulated how I'm going to share my story, but I do hope God's powerful and all-sufficient grace will be fully evident as I share the various stages I've been through and as I share my hopes for the future that have not yet been realized!

(Whole series: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4)

Clarification on last post...

I posted a video from the band Extreme in my last post. I know most of you "get" me on this, as it's been discussed here and on some of your blogs at various other times, but since there may be people new to this blog who don't know where I'm coming from, I just wanted to make it clear that I'm not lifting up the band Extreme as a source of great spiritual enlightenment or truth. :) I like the type of music that they had on their albums, and I listen to some of their old stuff occasionally but I definitely would not recommend their music to anyone looking for solid truth in the lyrics. God happened to use one song in particular (Hole Hearted) in my life, and despite the rest of the lyrical content in their other songs, this song really shines.

Hole Hearted

This is a song that undoubtedly played a huge part in my crying out to God several years ago, as I longed for a relationship with Him. As I look back, I think this song probably helped me and hurt me at the same time! I don't know how well I can explain it, but I'll try. I think that the thoughts conveyed in the lyrics did truly cause me to cry out to God, helping me to draw near to Him. But at the same time I think it also served to fortify the faulty notion that I had to change my life before I could ever truly be "at peace" with God.

A little background: The band Extreme had issues of Christ and Christianity woven throughout much of their music, but often in a cynical ways that seemed to lean towards doubt rather than trust and faith. I'm not judging the members of the band; I'm just trying to describe the content of the lyrics. If you think of the rants of Solomon in the book of Ecclesiastes, you might get some sort of an idea of a few of their songs. Other songs were just plain raunchy and other songs were quite beautiful love songs! I will say this: I think their music was probably an honest reflection of where they were at in life.

I think the song Hole Hearted is a very honest song, coming from the heart of someone who knows that their empty heart can never be filled by doing the things they do. But here's the thing. The reason I wanted to post this is because of the one HUGE difference between how I used to view the lyrics and how I view them now.

The chorus says, "There's a hole in my heart that can only be filled by you. And this hole in my heart can't be filled with the things I do." (Later on in the song, the chorus is changed to, "Should have known from the start I'd fall short with the things I do").

I used to look at this only from the perspective of the "bad" things I do. You know, how I won't find peace of mind and how my empty heart won't be filled if I keep doing "bad" things. The "bad" things I do cause me to fall short in my relationship with God.

But nowadays I see things from a completely different angle. Not only do my "bad" things fall short, but my own attempts at "good" things fall short as well. My empty heart can only be filled in one way... and it's not through what I DO, whether good or bad. My heart can only be filled through God's gift of His Son Jesus, who lives in me. This Person, Jesus, is where all fullness and completeness and sufficiency is found. Good deeds that please God are the result, or overflow, of this fullness - not the cause of it!

Anyway, musically this is a great song, and when the lyrics are taken in the context of grace and the New Covenant, I believe it's a solid song all the way around!



Life's ambition occupies my time
Priorities confuse the mind
Happiness, one step behind
This inner peace I've yet to find

Rivers flow into the sea
Yet even the sea is not so full of me
If I'm not blind why can't I see
That a circle can't fit
Where a square should be

There's a hole in my heart
That can only be filled by you
And this hole in my heart
Can't be filled with the things I do

Hole hearted
Hole hearted

This heart of stone is where I hide
These feet of clay kept warm inside
Day by day less satisfied
Not fade away before I die

Rivers flow into the sea
Yet even the sea is not so full of me
If I'm not blind why can't I see
That a circle can't fit
Where a square should be

There's a hole in my heart
That can only be filled by you
And this hole in my heart
Can't be filled with the things I do

There's a hole in my heart
That can only be filled by you
Should have known from the start
I'd fall short with the things I do

Hole hearted
Hole hearted
Hole hearted
Hole hearted

To be quite Frank...

Ok, ok, that's a cheesy title for a quote from Frank Friedman... :)

This quote is from his "Be on Guard" message on Movement of Grace New Covenant Web TV.

"The goal of the Christian life is not that you and I would try to act like God, but that God would act like Himself in and through our own lives by faith."

Slow-cooking together

I try to be at least somewhat vulnerable on this blog. I mean, while not getting into the nitty gritty of my deepest and darkest fears, weaknesses, problems, etc, I've tried to be open in a way that I hope others can relate to in one way or another. I've shared about everything from my past marriage problems to my current and ongoing apprehension when it comes to talking on the phone! In sharing stuff like this, I know it's easy to give the impression that I live life in the curled up fetal position, sucking my thumb, afraid to do anything! But of course you know that's not true at all, and I know that that's not the case for anyone else who has shared their experiences here. Whenever I expose any of my weaknesses, it's always for the purpose of pointing to the overcoming God who lives in me!

I lived a good chunk of my life wearing masks and putting up walls. Essentially, being fake. But during the past 10 to 15 years I've been taking off the masks and breaking down the walls and just wanting to be real. There were times in my early Christian life in which I lied about what God was doing in my life because I wanted people to believe in the power of God! Isn't that just plain silly? I hadn't experienced some of the great and miraculous things that I'd heard some of my pentecostal friends talk about, and I thought that perhaps my faith just wasn't big enough. I didn't want others to think less of me. I wanted to impress them by making them think I had great faith! On top of that, I thought that unless I had some great and miraculous testimonies to share, I wouldn't be able to help other people believe in this great God of mine. So from time to time I would greatly exaggerate stories and even make up stories about what God had done in my life.

But over the years I've grown. I've truly seen God at work in my life, and it's generally not been in the form of great fireworks displays, at least not in a way that would make great headlines. It's been mostly slow, steady growth. Not a fast boil, but a nice slow cook. And it's not been because of my "great" faith. It's been because of my great God. Now, there have truly been occasions in which I've quickly overcome various problems and obstacles, such as the story I've shared about suddenly overcoming panic attacks. I'm glad that I can share stories like that without exaggerating. But most of my sins and weaknesses have not been overcome suddenly like that. Some of them have been overcome and put to death over the long haul, and some of them I still haven't overcome yet.

The point here, though, is not to focus on the things I need to overcome. I've found that when I gaze steadily at my weaknesses, there is no power to overcome them! But when I gaze steadily at the Person who lives inside me, the Holy Spirit, then "there is power, power, wonder working power." And again, the thing I've found out, at least in my own life, is that the wonder working power of the Holy Spirit does not generally provide for quick fixes!

Another reason for sometimes being vulnerable here is because I've come to find out that I'm not the only one dealing with various issues in life. When I keep quiet about some of these things, it's very easy for me to think I'm the only one who's ever dealt with certain things. And on the other side of the coin, it's very easy for someone else to think that they're the only one who deals with certain things. But by being open I've found that other people truly do relate, even if the specific issues aren't always exactly the same.

I hope for this to be the type of blog in which people can feel free to just "be." If you're a 'lurker' who simply reads the posts and the comments, but who doesn't participate, I hope you will be greatly encouraged by the things that are said here. And if you do participate, whether often or occasionally, I hope that you feel free to be yourself as you share what's on your heart. I know that that's the case on the blogs of the people who comment here, as well as with the other blogs and websites that I've linked to on the right.

Overall, this blog is for those who are tired of religion and legalism and who simply want to grow in their relationship with Jesus, not based upon the performance-based rules, methods, principles and laws of the church that have only served to leave people hungrier and thirstier (the opposite of what is intended), but rather based upon hunger-and-thirst-quenching intimacy with the Holy Spirit as He teaches us and assures us of the unconditional love and grace of God through the scriptures, through direct revelation to us and through each other! This blog is for those who want to "let your roots grow down into (Jesus) and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught..." (from Col. 2:7 NLT).

We're all in this together!

Fun with my missspppellled name

It's no wonder that one commonly misspelled words is "misspelled." :) Another word that always gets me is "occasionally." My mom used to call me her walking dictionary because I was pretty good at spelling, but there are just certain words that trip me up every time.

One word that always trips other people up is my last name. Brueseke. You should see some of the mail we get at our house and you should hear some of the telemarketing calls we get! We're talking misspellings and mispronunciations galore. (You can listen to any of our podcasts to hear the actual pronunciation).

My call to the Kim Komando show yesterday had to do with the misspelling of my name. I use Google Analytics for both my website and my blog, and I love it! It gives you all kinds of stats about the usage of your website. One thing it does, is it tells you the various search terms, or keywords, that people are using that land them on your site.

For example, some of the top keywords that have led people to this blog include "grace," "movement of grace tv," "identity in christ," "exchanged life," etc. For the purpose of this post, I won't get into all the helpful ways that this information can be used, but along with all the other Google Analytics info and stats, I'll just say that it's very useful.

Well, one particular search term that has led people to both my blog and my website is my name, "Joel Brueseke." But with all the ways that my name gets misspelled, I began to think about the possibility that some people may be unsuccessful (ooh, another word that's easy to misspell!) at finding me due to misspelling my name. So... I emailed Kim Komando, asking her what I could do to help others find my sites without actually placing all the misspellings of my name right on the home page, and of course I ended asking this question on the air. Believe me, this isn't an ego thing. I just want to be able to be found by those who are trying to find me.

I've figured out a lot of things on my own in regards to blogs and websites, but one thing I've never messed with is meta tags, so I'll be taking Kim's advice and putting some keywords, including misspellings of my name, in the meta tags on my website. I'm also going to try a few things on this blog.

And here is one of those things. I actually came up with this idea on my own this morning, just as kind of a silly way that might actually partially help solve my problem! Right here, out in the open on this blog post, I'm putting a bunch of misspellings of my name! Who knows, maybe someone will accidentally misspell my name and come across this very post. It's worth a try, isn't it?!

I'll start off with nicknames. During my school years I was known as both Breeze and Brewski. The latter wasn't just because that's how my name appears. ;) My license plate said JBreez. (JBreeze was already taken). During my time on the radio, I was nicknamed The Breezeman. Oh yeah, and my actual radio name was Joel Sommers, which itself was often misspelled Somers, Summers or Sumers! (I think now I'll have to explain why I was able to be on the radio for 11 years, but yet I have a hard time actually calling into a radio show! My reasons aren't as ridiculous as you might think).

Let's see, what else. Oh, a couple of weeks ago I ordered a glass pane to replace a broken window. The invoice said Joel Bresky. One very common misspelling is Brueske. (The "e" is missing between the s and k). I tried this search the other day, and there is actually a Joel Brueske out there! So in a big sense, it's not really a misspelling, just an alternate spelling. The German way of spelling the name is Brüske, and of course here in the States the umlaut (the two dots above the u) is removed, making it simply Bruske. I'm going to have to research all the ways the name has been Americanized! A distant relative organized a huge family reunion earlier this year and also published a family history book that should give me all that info.

Maybe someone has heard my name but has never seen the spelling. How would they spell it?
Breezuhkee, Breezakee, Breezuhkey, Breezakey, Breezekee, Breezekey, Breesakee, Breesakey, Breesuhkee, Breesuhkey.

It is u before e or e before u? Breuseke, Breuske, Breuskey, Breuskee, Breuzakee, Breuzuhkee, Breuzakey, Breuzakey, Breusakey, Breusuhkee, Breusuhkey.

How about these. Brezinsky, Breezicky, Brewseke, Brewske, Bruiseekee, Bruisuhkey, Bruisahkey, Bruisakee, Bruisuhkee.

I'm getting worn out with this! And I'd guess I'm not even a quarter of the way there. But I mostly did this for the sake of silliness and it's been fun! I'll have to check with my relatives and find out the fun they've had with the name. I'll probably keep adding misspellings for a long time to come! By the way, the name means "Windy Corner."

I overcame a fear today!

One "phobia" I've had throughout all my years is... talking on the phone! At this point in my life, I've probably had thousands of phone conversations, so I should be over it by now, but yet it's something I still often try to avoid if I can. Really, it's based upon the fear that I'll have a hard time coming up with the right words or that there will be awkward "dead air," etc. This fear doesn't just involve phone conversations, but really just about any one-on-one conversation and many types of social settings. I dread the idea of feeling pressure to have to come up with the right words to say.

Well, I overcame this in a HUGE way today. Well, really it was no big deal. There were only a few million people involved! No big deal at all!

See, just a couple of days ago, I emailed Kim Komando with a question.



The Kim Komando show is a national radio program that discusses "all things digital." The program is one of the top ten most listened-to programs in the U.S., and it's the most listened-to weekend program. Kim says she reads all her email, but obviously can't reply to all of it. Well, I received a reply today from "Listener Relations" saying that Kim had forwarded my email to them so they could send an invitation to me to call the show today, as "Kim feels that the answer to your question can be beneficial to all our listeners."

Knowing my introverted self, I said, "Yeah, right... me calling a national program and actually trying to have a phone conversation in front of millions of people!" I don't think so!

However, the fact that I had received an "invitation" to call the show kept bugging me all morning. How could I pass up this opportunity to speak with "America's Digital Goddess"?!! But yet I couldn't overcome my fear. Well, about two thirds of the way into the three hour program this morning, I somehow got the courage to go ahead and give it a try. I called the number and got a busy signal. I tried again, at least 3 or 4 more times. I felt relieved that I couldn't get through. Well, a little later I tried again and this time it actually began ringing! My heart started pounding, and in my panic I almost hung up!

It rang for probably 45 seconds to a minute, and during that time I was able to talk myself into the fact that it's simply another person who I would be talking to, and that I could just "shut out" the fact that there were millions of people listening! On top of that, she is a radio pro who knows how to deal with mumbling and bumbling callers, so if I would have a hard time on the air, she would be able to make lemonade out of it. The call screener finally answered. I explained the email and the reply, and I explained my question. When I was done, all he said was, "hold on."

While you're on hold, you simply hear the radio program. I didn't know if he was setting me up in a queue of listeners who were waiting to talk, or if he'd give me a warning when it was close to my time on the air. I just drove (I was on the job today) and waited and listened. There was a block of commercials, and then Kim came back on and said something like, "before we get back into your calls...", and she went on to talk about something. All the more time for me to get anxious! But I was surprised at how calm I was. Again, I kept telling myself, "it's just a person, it's just a person." :)

She got done with what she was talking about, and then suddenly I hear, "Joel from Waterloo, Iowa..." And, folks, I did it! I actually talked live on the air with Kim Komando! And I want to tell you... While I mean no disrespect AT ALL to Kim, because I respect her computer advice and her success in radio and all that, the big thing for me today was not talking with her or getting my question answered by her. The big thing is that I did something today that "I" cannot do. As I shared on Daelon's blog the other day, it might surprise people, but I have often felt shy, timid, disabled, trapped... when it comes to being "outward" with who I am on the inside. Social settings have often been difficult for me, or uncomfortable at the very least. But I want to "get out." That is, I want what's on the inside of me to get out into the open. I don't want to fear people! There's just no need for it. I took a step today, by the grace of God alone, in the direction that I want to go!

Own personal hell ;)

This has been a fun evening... :)

Daelon has posted some clips from two of my three all time favorite movies.

Beetlejuice Clip 1
Beetlejuice Clip 2
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure clip

(He also posted a clip from my other favorite movie, Grease, not too long ago!)

All of this brought back a lot of memories for me!

I found this clip from the second Bill & Ted movie, "Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey."

The evil Bill & Ted robots have come from the future and have killed the real Bill & Ted.

"We're dead, dude."

Bill & Ted end up in "their own personal hell." In other words, today's modern church. ;) Hahaha Just kidding!!! (maybe... !!!) Well anyway, the only way to get back to "the other side" is to challenge Death ("the Grim Reaper, dude"). And, just like in the modern church when you think you've achieved victory and they tell you that you have to do more, Death doesn't accept their victory over him in a game of Battleship. And, well, more comedy follows...

Questions for you about grace

I've been meaning to post something like this for a while. It's pretty obvious that the "theme" of the various things I do, such as my website, blog, video program, Grace Walk Radio program/podcast - can pretty much be boiled down to "growing in grace." I don't think of myself as narrow-minded, but I do know that my focus tends to remain on this specific target when it comes to what my heart longs to grow in and share and discuss with others. Lord willing, there will be a book someday. He's planted that in my heart, and I would bet there are probably several books in me that are waiting to get out.

This "theme" is woven throughout the Bible, and some of the cornerstone verses that I love to share include Hebrews 13:9 ("it is good that the heart be established by grace"), 2 Peter 3:18 ("grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ") and Colossians 2:7 ("let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him").

My questions are very simple, but I know that the "answers" vary and can take many directions beyond the way that I've grown to understand things, so I think it would be great to hear what you have to say to these questions:

What does "grace" mean? What does it mean to have your heart established in grace? What does it mean to grow in grace? Basically, what comes to mind when you think of these things?

I'm not looking for any specific "correct" answer(s), although of course I don't want to stray away from biblical truth. But in your walk with Jesus and in your study of the Bible, what have you learned? What are your thoughts, experiences, etc? Also, do you have any questions that perhaps others could provide some help with? Feel free to be as short or as lengthy as you want in the comments section here. Perhaps even write about it on your own blog and share your link here.

Cast your cares on Him

1 Peter 5:7

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

In the past I've shared how I overcame panic attacks almost 16 years ago through the truth of these words of Peter. This was truly an amazing time in my life.

But of course these words of Peter don't just apply to those dealing with panic/anxiety attacks. They are great words of encouragement to anyone dealing with any sort of worry, care, anxiety, depression, burden, weakness... you name it. In my testimony that can be found by clicking the above link, I shared how I mentally pictured myself laying my anxiety at the feet of Jesus, handing it over to Him. At the time that is truly what changed everything for me. It really did "jump-start" a life of trust in Him that I had never lived with before.

Since that time, I've definitely dealt with various other cares and worries, and I've found that casting our cares on the Lord is not always quite as simple as picturing it in this way. I still do this at times, and I've even been led by the Lord to lead others in small group settings in an "exercise" in which we close our eyes and picture ourselves handing our burdens and cares over to the Lord. What a release of burdens, guilt, worries, etc, that I've seen come out of these times!

But yet I am interested to hear from others, the ways in which you've been able to cast your cares upon Him. I often tell people that I pretty much live a stress-free life these days. It's not because I don't have problems or because all my circumstances in life are exactly the way I want them to be. Rather, I attribute much of this simply to the fact that there is an ongoing conversation between me and my Father. There's nothing that He doesn't know about me and there's nothing I can say that will ever surprise Him, so I'm just honest with Him! In this way, my burdens and cares seem to be 'released' to Him through simple conversation. Through that "jump-start" 16 years ago, a life of trust began, and I guess it's simply evolved into what it is today through a growing process.

I've come to understand that my life is always in Him, 100% of the time! There are never two sets of footprints in the sand and there never will be. He is carrying me all the time.

Another cool thing is that from time to time the Lord plans a much larger giving over of my burdens to Him when I'm not even expecting it! He knows me better than I know myself, that's for certain! I'll read something or I'll hear something and it will seem just as if a cork pops open or a pressure valve is released that I didn't even know was stopping the flow of the abundant life! He's so very faithful.

What experiences have you had, what words of wisdom do you have, what Bible verses would you like to share... that speak to the giving over of our cares, burdens, worries, etc, to the Lord?

Alive (better audio quality)

Same video as yesterday. I didn't think the audio quality was that great, so I found the same video on youtube with with better audio.

P.O.D. - Alive

Alive

I love the lyrics to this song by P.O.D.

It's basically a song about the freshness and the great feelings that come with being alive in Christ!

The music gives so much more "life" to the lyrics, so here's the video too, although it may not be everyone's taste of music.

P.O.D. - Alive


Everyday is a new day
I'm thankful for every breath I take
I won't take you for granted
So I learn from my mistakes
It's beyond my control
Sometimes it's best to let go
Whatever happens in this lifetime
So I trust in love
You have given me peace of mind

Chorus:
I, I feel so alive
For the very first time
I can't deny you
I feel so alive
I, I feel so alive
For the very first time
And I think I can fly

Sunshine upon my face
A new song for me to sing
Tell the world how I feel inside
Even though it might cost me everything
Now that I know it's all beyond my control
I can never turn my back away
Now that I've seen you
I can never look away

I, I feel so alive..

Now that I know you
I could never turn my back away
Now that I see you
I could never look away
Now that I know you
I could never turn my back away
Now that I see you
I believe no matter what they say!

Religion

RoG (former fellow-blogger) sent me this via email.

With many Christians and Christian workers, if you touch their work, their organization, their system of things, their religious thing of which they are part, then you meet awful resistance. Prejudices and suspicions and all those things rise out of this weddedness to things rather than to the Lord. If only people were wedded to the Lord and He was their only quest, you would get rid of 95 percent of all the prejudice and suspicion that exists. It is things that produce it. We need to drop our things and be found only concerned with the Lord. Our one question, governing every situation, should be, Does that contribute in any way to a larger measure of Christ? If it does, then in my heart I am with it; it does not matter what it does to existing institutions. If that can lead on to a knowledge of Christ beyond what we have, then that is the thing that matters. It is Christ, not OUR Church, not OUR fellowship, not OUR mission, not OUR organization, not OUR tradition, but Christ. He is a tremendously enlarging and emancipating factor. It is these things that have cramped us down and made us small, mean, petty and peevish. Christ delivers, Christ enlarges; oh, to see Him! Oh, that we could be brought by the Spirit as the Queen of Sheba was brought and shown the kingdom of Solomon, his glory, his table, his servants, until there was no more spirit left in her and she said, "I heard... of thine acts and thy wisdom. Howbeit I believed not... until I came and mine eyes had seen it: and behold, the half was not told me" (I Kings 10:7). And a greater than Solomon is here! What you and I need is that enlargement which comes by a Holy Spirit inward revelation of Christ and we shall be emancipated. These other things will fall into their own place as we see Him more fully.

(T. Austin Sparks from The Centrality and Universality of the Cross p. 32-33)

Reformation

Yesterday, October 31, was Reformation Day. It's the day people put on masks and costumes and re-form themselves into something they're not! Haha!

But seriously, through what we've come to know as "The Reformation," God did some great things through people such as Martin Luther (and other "reformers" such as Calvin, Wycliffe, Tyndale and many, many others) that began to take Christianity out of the darkness of legalistic and unbiblical religious practices and back into the gospel of grace. Not that things are perfect these days! (I'll get to that below). But the truths that Luther's eyes were opened to (as he studied epistles such as Romans and Galatians) were finally brought out into the public arena, when they had previously been kept hidden by the religious leaders of the day who had agendas other than teaching the true freedom of the gospel of Christ.

I've never studied the Reformation deeply, but I always perk up when I read about it or hear discussions about it, and I'd love to delve into a deeper study of it. Nevertheless, I remain an amateur on this subject and so I simply want to share a couple of things that have stuck out to me during the past couple of days as I listened to Christian radio and read a little bit on the internet.

Terry Rayburn of Grace For Life has an excellent article called "Celebrating Halloween with Abraham, Martin & John." This is actually the transcript for his weekly Grace Walk Internet Radio program. This week's program (as with all his programs) can also be heard via his blog. I think the whole of it is well worth reading (and/or listening to), but if you scroll down to the section on "Martin," there is a paragraph that goes right along with some interesting things that I also heard on the radio yesterday.

"But no matter how he (Martin Luther) worked and strived and prayed and worked and strived and prayed, he had no peace. And the reason was that he understood how righteous and holy God was, and that man’s works can never gain favor from such a perfect and righteous and holy God."

I've always known this to be true about Martin Luther, but the words here pinpoint something specifically that I wish the world - especially those in the Christian church - would wake up to! Luther "understood how righteous and holy God was." There are two basic ways a person can go when he understands the perfect righteousness and holiness of God. Luther started off in one direction, but fortunately ended up going completely the other way. At first, he dedicated his life to try to live up to this righteousness. He struggled, strived, worked, prayed, and he even entered the monastery. But in all of this, he found he just couldn't live up to it and he did not find the peace of God.

Through his struggle, he finally came to understand that his striving and his works could never gain him favor with such a perfect and righteous and holy God. The more he tried, the more he understood just how righteous and holy and perfect God is and how far he fell short of it. Understanding the perfection of God should lead a person to understand that it's impossible for man to live up to it! Fortunately, all of this eventually led Luther to the grace of God.

One other comforting and reassuring thing I heard on the radio yesterday has to do with how God used various "reformers" in ways in which they didn't set out to be used by Him. One radio commentator, who was speaking specifically of Luther, said that he didn't set out to start a mass reformation of the church. In my own words, he didn't set out to change to world as we know it. But through his actions and the actions of the other reformers, the world was changed. The church began to take on another shape. The reformers themselves didn't call themselves the "Reformers" and they were not involved in some huge plot to "reform" the worldwide church. In simple terms, they simply spoke and wrote about what they believed. (Not that they didn't face huge obstacles and opposition). Another radio commentator, who was also talking about how the reformers didn't set out to change the world, put it this way (and I don't recall whether he was talking about Luther or another reformer): "It's as if he stumbled in the dark and grabbed a hold of a rope... and didn't realize there was a bell attached to it!"

May that bell sound loud and clear and for a long, long time to come!

Revival

The church wants a revival... of sin. Well, at least that's how many in the church act! However, I think that many or most of those who are supporting a sin revival don't realize that that's what they're doing... and therefore I should try to be fair and say that I realize where they're coming from, because I once thought the same way.

What I'm talking about is the preaching of the Law in the Christian church. I've talked a lot on this blog about the purpose of the Law so I won't go into great detail right now, but I'll just give a brief overview of New Covenant revelation about the Law. When the Law came, several things happened: The Law became a curse for everyone who did not keep it (see Gal 3:10-14) - and no one has kept it; the world was confined under sin (Gal 3:21-23); the world was condemned (2 Cor 3:9); sin abounded (Rom 5:20); sin was made exceedingly sinful (Rom 7:13); sinful passions were aroused, bearing fruit to death (Rom 7:5); the Law aided in the revival of sin (Rom 7:9-11); the Law acted as a tutor that would show people the true depths of their sin and condemned state, leading them to the Savior, Jesus (Gal 3:24-25).

The New Covenant teaches us that all of these things (and more) are the true purpose of the Law.  The Law doesn't aid us in Christian living. In fact, it's just the opposite! The Law won't help a person who is indwelled by the Holy Spirit any more than the Law will help a person who doesn't have the Holy Spirit. That was never meant to be the Law's purpose. All of this said, remember that the Law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good! (Rom 7:12) I'm not putting down the Law. I'm not saying that the Law itself is not good. In fact, the Law is so holy and just and good that the only thing it can do in a relationship with sinful man is to condemn and to do all that the New Covenant reveals about it, as summarized in the above paragraph.

But yet the church continues to teach and preach the ministry of death and condemnation as valid ways to aid in holy Christian living. That makes no sense! New Covenant scripture has given us revelation and enlightenment about the true nature and purpose of the Law, and yet we seem to skim right over it, and make the absolutely-new-and-fresh New Covenant out to be nothing more than Old Covenant Part 2. And that's sad, because the Law can do the same thing in the mind and life of a person indwelled by the Spirit that it was meant to do only in the life of an unbeliever. It can bring about feelings condemnation and fear. It can still aid in the arousal and revival of sin. In Christ, there is no condemnation. Christ has set us free from sin. So why do we teach and preach the very thing that is meant to bring these things on?

You may think that since a Christian is indwelled by the Holy Spirit, then something as holy and just and good as the Law should be viewed as a gift from God that goes right along with His Spirit in us, helping us walk in all holiness and goodness. But it doesn't, and it won't! Any one of us who has been a Christian for any length of time knows that we still sin, right? So, as Christians who have the Holy Spirit living in us, we're still able to operate independently of the Holy Spirit, right? If we were co-operating with the Holy Spirit at all times, we would never sin, right? And so even though we're no longer "in the flesh," as Paul plainly states in Romans 8, we can still behave as if we were walking according to the flesh. We can still make choices that are not in accord with our true nature of righteousness and holiness.

So what brings this on? What leads us to sin? One obvious reason is that we're tempted by our own fleshly desires (our desires that we have apart from our union with God) and we don't put to death the deeds of the flesh by the Holy Spirit, as per Col 3:5. But one HUGE thing that gives rise to independent living - living as if we were still in the flesh, apart from God - would be the teaching and preaching of the Law! If we look at what the Law's purpose is (see again the second paragraph above), why would we EVER want to preach this to people who have come to know Christ and have escaped the fleshly lifestyle of living by the Law?