There were many trees in the Garden of Eden. In the midst of the garden were two trees. The first one was the Tree of Life. Adam and Eve were to enjoy the food from that tree. The tree that Adam and Eve were never meant to eat from was the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. There is a difference between "life" and "the knowledge of good and evil."
Adam and Eve ate from the wrong tree, and that day they "died" spiritually (not physically), as God had promised. And they were booted out of the Garden, away from the Tree of Life. The tree of life had been a truly free source of sustenance and enjoyment, but in ignoring it, and opting instead for the knowledge of good and evil (Eve saw that it was "a tree desirable to make one wise"), death came.
In Christ we've been restored (spiritually) to the Tree of Life. Why then, in living this Life in Christ, do we keep going back to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil! And it's not simply the tree of the knowledge of evil. It's the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The knowledge of good and evil is what brought death. We need LIFE. Life isn't found is right vs. wrong, or good vs. evil. Real life is only found in Jesus Himself (in God alone). It's true that as Christians we were "created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them" (Eph 2:10). It's also true that as Christians we are called to put "evil" behind us and practice what is good. But... the source of all this, once we're in Christ, is not the knowledge of good and evil. The source of all this is the Life of Christ in us. We are His workmanship (it's His work in us). He works in us when we "glory (boast) in our weakness"(2 Cor. 12:9) as opposed to glorying in and depending upon our knowledge of good and evil. By embracing the wrong tree we deceive ourselves into thinking we're walking in wisdom when we're really walking by the very thing that killed Adam and Eve!
Grace Roots Blog
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Sunday, July 16, 2006
Glory
I heard a very good description of 'glory' recently. This was while I watching TV at a time that I never would have otherwise been watching! The day before, we had flown back to St. Louis after a week in San Diego, so we were used to time being 2 hours earlier, and we spent the night at a motel so we'd be fresh for the drive back to Iowa. I woke up in the motel at 5:30am (which was 3:30am San Diego time)! I could not sleep. I was up for the day. It was weird.
I don't normally watch TV in the morning, but after a Sudoku puzzle or two, and going down for the continental breakfast, I decided to turn it on while waiting for my family to get up. On one of the Christian stations a man was talking about God's glory. He had some great things to say and he said it so much better than I could. I'll just try to use my own words to describe it.
This man spoke of a rose in full bloom and compared it to a rose still in its 'bud' stage. When a rose is in full bloom we say "there's a rose in all its glory!" In the bud stage, we don't say that about a rose, but yet it's the same plant! It is a rose, but the beauty (glory) hasn't yet been revealed. As I listened I also thought of the story of the ugly duckling, which didn't appear to have much 'glory,' and I thought of a caterpillar being glorified as a butterfly.
Just before going to the cross Jesus said, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified . Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." (John 12:23-24) The 'glory' comes after death, where new life begins.
A bit later, while talking to His disciples, Jesus said, "By this My Father is glorified , that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." (John 15:8) He just said that the way to bear much fruit is to abide in Him and His word in us... just as He had abided in the Father and the Father in Him.
As Christians, we have died and have been resurrected. Jesus spoke of it as being born again (John 3:3,7) and Peter furthered the explanation by saying that we have "been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." (1 Peter 1:23) Paul said that we have died to the law so we can be married to another, Christ Jesus. There is much talk of death and resurrection in the life of the Christian.
So to get back to 'glory,' what I'm fascinated with is that God is glorified in us bearing much fruit. I used to think this meant that God would be glorified if I worked hard for Him and got a lot of things done for the Kingdom. But I began to see that if it's MY work, then it's MY glory, not His! The Father is glorified in me when HE works in and through me, a weak vessel. I bear much fruit by God's work in me, when I lay down my life and trust in Him to produce fruit through me. I bear the fruit, just as a branch bears the fruit that the VINE has produced!
When you see a wonderful work being done in the life of a Christian, God is gloried, not because that Christian has struggled and strived to produce something great for God. It is because God Himself has done a work through a weak vessel! "Glory to God!" If you want God to be gloried in your life... if you want to be seen in full glory... stop trying so hard and LET HIM! :)
I don't normally watch TV in the morning, but after a Sudoku puzzle or two, and going down for the continental breakfast, I decided to turn it on while waiting for my family to get up. On one of the Christian stations a man was talking about God's glory. He had some great things to say and he said it so much better than I could. I'll just try to use my own words to describe it.
This man spoke of a rose in full bloom and compared it to a rose still in its 'bud' stage. When a rose is in full bloom we say "there's a rose in all its glory!" In the bud stage, we don't say that about a rose, but yet it's the same plant! It is a rose, but the beauty (glory) hasn't yet been revealed. As I listened I also thought of the story of the ugly duckling, which didn't appear to have much 'glory,' and I thought of a caterpillar being glorified as a butterfly.
Just before going to the cross Jesus said, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified . Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain." (John 12:23-24) The 'glory' comes after death, where new life begins.
A bit later, while talking to His disciples, Jesus said, "By this My Father is glorified , that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples." (John 15:8) He just said that the way to bear much fruit is to abide in Him and His word in us... just as He had abided in the Father and the Father in Him.
As Christians, we have died and have been resurrected. Jesus spoke of it as being born again (John 3:3,7) and Peter furthered the explanation by saying that we have "been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever." (1 Peter 1:23) Paul said that we have died to the law so we can be married to another, Christ Jesus. There is much talk of death and resurrection in the life of the Christian.
So to get back to 'glory,' what I'm fascinated with is that God is glorified in us bearing much fruit. I used to think this meant that God would be glorified if I worked hard for Him and got a lot of things done for the Kingdom. But I began to see that if it's MY work, then it's MY glory, not His! The Father is glorified in me when HE works in and through me, a weak vessel. I bear much fruit by God's work in me, when I lay down my life and trust in Him to produce fruit through me. I bear the fruit, just as a branch bears the fruit that the VINE has produced!
When you see a wonderful work being done in the life of a Christian, God is gloried, not because that Christian has struggled and strived to produce something great for God. It is because God Himself has done a work through a weak vessel! "Glory to God!" If you want God to be gloried in your life... if you want to be seen in full glory... stop trying so hard and LET HIM! :)
Friday, July 14, 2006
The Purpose of the Law
When I made a "decision" to follow Christ, at the time I thought that what I was really doing was making a commitment to follow the various rules and regulations that you find throughout the Bible. In fact, for years I had put off my "decision" because I knew that I wasn't in a place where I could (or wanted to) keep all the commandments. On January 7, 1992, at the age of 22, something changed in me (I'll have to give the full story another time), and I basically thought I was finally ready to start "living right." This time in my life was truly a time when God did some very noticeable things in my life, and my life truly changed forever. However, my perspective of all that was happening to me was a bit skewed, and I quickly copped a 'holier than thou' attitude and I was down on everybody who I thought wasn't living right and I started being down on myself whenever I thought I was falling short, even just a little!
Trusting solely in Jesus was basically set aside so that trusting in my own right living could take over! And since the reality is that I cannot maintain my own righteousess, even for a minute, I was down on myself quite a bit! I'm thankful that God has given me grace to understand who I am and what His purposes were in giving the law. It's actually RIGHT THERE IN THE BIBLE!
Gal 3:11-12 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them."
Gal 3:19, 24-25 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator... Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Rom 3:19-20 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another — to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
(All verses NKJV, emphasis mine)
The Law was given, not for righteous people, but for sinners. The Old Testament declared God's word that "there is no one righteous, no not one." So the law was put in place to charge the world with guilt... and that's ALL it can do! Paul calls the law "the ministry of death" and "the ministry of condemnation" because that is really what the law's purpose is! The law's purpose was to charge the sinner with sin, and ultimately to bring a sinner to faith in Christ. Once a person has been brought to faith, the law's job is DONE in that person's life! It had led them to the realization that they are guilty of sin and that they cannot make it without the Savior. Once they turn to the Savior in faith, they become "saints" and "new creations" and they no longer need the law to point them to Christ. The law is no longer needed because they have moved onto LIFE!
One thing the ministry of death and condemnation cannot do is give LIFE! And one thing the ministry of LIFE in Jesus Christ will never do is condemn.
But what about Jesus teaching the law? How can we reconcile that the law is not for the believer at the same time that we see Jesus having taught the Law?
Indeed, Jesus is the best Law Teacher there ever was! You will find a lot of Law teaching by Jesus. But considering what the Bible says about the purpose of the Law makes it easier for us to understand why Jesus taught Law. The Bible says that the law is the ministry of condemnation, and yet Jesus said He came not to condemn, but to save. How does all this make sense?
The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ. God's plan was for the law to condemn us (for the sin we were born into) and then to lead us to the Savior. Jesus taught the Law to lead people to faith in Himself. Once a person is in faith, the Law's job is done in their life. Paul said we had to DIE to the law in order to be 'married' to Christ. "Through the law I died to the law that I may be married to another." The law's job is definitely finished when we come to Christ! In fact, we become DEAD to it! But it was necessary in leading us TO Christ.
Trusting solely in Jesus was basically set aside so that trusting in my own right living could take over! And since the reality is that I cannot maintain my own righteousess, even for a minute, I was down on myself quite a bit! I'm thankful that God has given me grace to understand who I am and what His purposes were in giving the law. It's actually RIGHT THERE IN THE BIBLE!
Gal 3:11-12 But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for "the just shall live by faith." Yet the law is not of faith, but "the man who does them shall live by them."
Gal 3:19, 24-25 What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator... Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.
Rom 3:19-20 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.
Rom 7:4 Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another — to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God.
(All verses NKJV, emphasis mine)
The Law was given, not for righteous people, but for sinners. The Old Testament declared God's word that "there is no one righteous, no not one." So the law was put in place to charge the world with guilt... and that's ALL it can do! Paul calls the law "the ministry of death" and "the ministry of condemnation" because that is really what the law's purpose is! The law's purpose was to charge the sinner with sin, and ultimately to bring a sinner to faith in Christ. Once a person has been brought to faith, the law's job is DONE in that person's life! It had led them to the realization that they are guilty of sin and that they cannot make it without the Savior. Once they turn to the Savior in faith, they become "saints" and "new creations" and they no longer need the law to point them to Christ. The law is no longer needed because they have moved onto LIFE!
One thing the ministry of death and condemnation cannot do is give LIFE! And one thing the ministry of LIFE in Jesus Christ will never do is condemn.
But what about Jesus teaching the law? How can we reconcile that the law is not for the believer at the same time that we see Jesus having taught the Law?
Indeed, Jesus is the best Law Teacher there ever was! You will find a lot of Law teaching by Jesus. But considering what the Bible says about the purpose of the Law makes it easier for us to understand why Jesus taught Law. The Bible says that the law is the ministry of condemnation, and yet Jesus said He came not to condemn, but to save. How does all this make sense?
The law was our tutor to bring us to Christ. God's plan was for the law to condemn us (for the sin we were born into) and then to lead us to the Savior. Jesus taught the Law to lead people to faith in Himself. Once a person is in faith, the Law's job is done in their life. Paul said we had to DIE to the law in order to be 'married' to Christ. "Through the law I died to the law that I may be married to another." The law's job is definitely finished when we come to Christ! In fact, we become DEAD to it! But it was necessary in leading us TO Christ.
Sunday, July 09, 2006
A focus on Jesus rather than Biblical instructions
Trust God to use Steve McVey in another confirmation of things I've been thinking of. :) When I got back from vacation I was wanting to catch up on the Grace Walk Forum so I went there and saw that Steve had mentioned that he had updated his blog. So I went to the main site to view his blog and saw that the whole Grace Walk website was new, and there is now a section with past devotions. I browsed through the various devotion titles and found one entitled "Withdrawal from Flesh Sermons." If you read some of my previous posts here and also read this article, you will see that this article truly expresses where I'm coming from these days! It also goes along well with the first couple of chapters of Grace Rules that I've recently read.
There is plenty of "instruction" in the Bible, teaching Christians what it is like to live by the Spirit of Jesus, rather than by the flesh (and the flesh doesn't only mean doing "bad" things, it also means self-effort in trying to please God). This instruction is important! But we seem (in my opinion) to have an unholy, or perhaps better said, exaggerated focus on the instructions rather than simply on the Person of Jesus, and who we are in Him apart from anything we do and apart from any instructions we follow. We want to take any and all Bible verses and find some way to apply it all to what we do, rather than understanding that much of it applies simply to who we are because of what Christ has done! We can't seem to simply rest in who we are. It's as if we're never satisfied unless we are doing something (for God) all the time!
There is so much good news to dwell upon in the following short passage:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. Eph 1:3-12 NKJV
All of this is true about us, apart from anything we've done or will ever do:
- We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
- God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world!
- We are holy and without blame.
- We have been adopted as children... we are part of the family of God, with all its benefits!
- BY HIS GRACE... we are ACCEPTED in the Beloved, Jesus Christ!
- We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins... according to the RICHES of His GRACE!
- The mystery of His will, which was once hidden... has now been REVEALED to us.
- We have obtained an inheritance (remember, we're now part of God's family!).
There is so much more for us to learn and grow in, besides "doing." I don't want to ever come across as saying that "doing" isn't part of the Christian life. But can't we just teach and preach Jesus, and trust that God will work in and through us by His life in us, rather than through such a huge focus on instruction?
There is plenty of "instruction" in the Bible, teaching Christians what it is like to live by the Spirit of Jesus, rather than by the flesh (and the flesh doesn't only mean doing "bad" things, it also means self-effort in trying to please God). This instruction is important! But we seem (in my opinion) to have an unholy, or perhaps better said, exaggerated focus on the instructions rather than simply on the Person of Jesus, and who we are in Him apart from anything we do and apart from any instructions we follow. We want to take any and all Bible verses and find some way to apply it all to what we do, rather than understanding that much of it applies simply to who we are because of what Christ has done! We can't seem to simply rest in who we are. It's as if we're never satisfied unless we are doing something (for God) all the time!
There is so much good news to dwell upon in the following short passage:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth — in Him. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. Eph 1:3-12 NKJV
All of this is true about us, apart from anything we've done or will ever do:
- We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.
- God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world!
- We are holy and without blame.
- We have been adopted as children... we are part of the family of God, with all its benefits!
- BY HIS GRACE... we are ACCEPTED in the Beloved, Jesus Christ!
- We have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins... according to the RICHES of His GRACE!
- The mystery of His will, which was once hidden... has now been REVEALED to us.
- We have obtained an inheritance (remember, we're now part of God's family!).
There is so much more for us to learn and grow in, besides "doing." I don't want to ever come across as saying that "doing" isn't part of the Christian life. But can't we just teach and preach Jesus, and trust that God will work in and through us by His life in us, rather than through such a huge focus on instruction?
A God experience while on vacation
While on vacation I had a pretty cool experience (at least I think it was cool) :). I had planned on taking one certain book to read while on vacation, but I couldn't find it. I ended up grabbing some other books that I hadn't read for a while instead. One of them was Grace Rules by Steve McVey. I also brought along Grace Land (nowadays entitled Grace Amazing). One morning I picked up Grace Land, but decided to put it down to read Grace Rules instead. That little decision, along with not being able to find the other book, is part of this amazing experience. My thoughts over the past few months, some of which I have shared on this blog and in articles I've written for my church and in other places where I've written, and some of which have simply been going around inside my little skull, were almost perfectly matched by what I read as I started into chapter 1 of Grace Rules!
I don't know about you, but sometimes I wonder/worry about my thoughts and beliefs, especially when I don't see them being expressed or lauded by many other people, and when I even see them opposed by others. I'm still growing in my beliefs, and it can be rocky at times, but when God confirms things to me in ways like this, it's a breath of fresh air! It's not just that Steve's words in his book agree with the thoughts that have been formulating in my mind separately. But my thoughts and questions to God, and His answers to me over a long period of time, were confirmed as I read someone else's words that matched what I believe the Spirit has taught me.
I hadn't planned on bringing this book. I hadn't even planned on reading it at that moment. But all I can say is that God made it happen by His grace. :)
I don't know about you, but sometimes I wonder/worry about my thoughts and beliefs, especially when I don't see them being expressed or lauded by many other people, and when I even see them opposed by others. I'm still growing in my beliefs, and it can be rocky at times, but when God confirms things to me in ways like this, it's a breath of fresh air! It's not just that Steve's words in his book agree with the thoughts that have been formulating in my mind separately. But my thoughts and questions to God, and His answers to me over a long period of time, were confirmed as I read someone else's words that matched what I believe the Spirit has taught me.
I hadn't planned on bringing this book. I hadn't even planned on reading it at that moment. But all I can say is that God made it happen by His grace. :)
Pics from our San Diego Vacation
We took almost 400 pics on our vacation, so the above slide show is only a small representation!
1. A view of a lake in the mountains as I drive my immediate family to a restaurant in Julian, CA, for a dinner with my larger family (Mom, Dad, Brother, Sisters, and their families.
2, 3, 4. My parents stayed in a mountain cabin that is part of a Presbyterian retreat center that my brother's San Diego church uses. Just down from their cabin is a park and some hiking paths. That's where these pics were taken. You can see how we were just on the edge of the desert. This is my family on a rock.
5, 6, 7. Wedding pics, July 3, 2006. My brother's son was married near a harbor in San Diego. My mom gave the "sermon" and my dad performed the ceremony (they are grandparents of the groom). While the official wedding pics were being taken, I got my siblings together for a shot with our camera. That's me, my sister Amie, my brother Barry and my sister Becky.
8, 9. Our last day together was July 5th at my parents' cabin, as we celebrated the new marriage along with my parents' 50th anniversary, as well as celebrating the Brueseke family!
Friday, July 07, 2006
Back from vaca!
Gotta say I've had a pretty fun week and a half! Haven't posted here lately because my family and I took a trip to San Diego. My nephew got married and my parents celebrated their 50th Anniversary! My brother and his wife live in San Diego, and my two sisters and their families live in other parts of the country, as do my parents, so we all got together in San Diego for these special events. We stayed in some cabins in Mt. Laguna (about an hour east of San Diego).
The wedding was spectacular, on a grassy lawn just steps from a small harbor in Mission Bay, at a venue called Marina Village. My dad (my nephew's grandpa) performed the ceremony and my mom (my nephew's grandma) gave the "sermon," passing down some great Grandmotherly wisdom for the new couple. In addition to the wedding and all its activities, we spent some time at my brother's house and in his pool, we went to the Wild Animal Park, spent a morning at La Jolla beach, and my family spent a lot of time catching up with each other, since we don't all see each other all that often. I hope to post a few pics soon!
The wedding was spectacular, on a grassy lawn just steps from a small harbor in Mission Bay, at a venue called Marina Village. My dad (my nephew's grandpa) performed the ceremony and my mom (my nephew's grandma) gave the "sermon," passing down some great Grandmotherly wisdom for the new couple. In addition to the wedding and all its activities, we spent some time at my brother's house and in his pool, we went to the Wild Animal Park, spent a morning at La Jolla beach, and my family spent a lot of time catching up with each other, since we don't all see each other all that often. I hope to post a few pics soon!
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