"Believing all the lies to keep the dream alive"

I spend so much time
Believing all the lies
To keep the dream alive

Those are lyrics from a song from the 80's by Billy Idol, Eyes Without A Face. I'm intentionally ripping those lyrics out of the context of the song because they speak to me in another context that others will probably relate to in one way or another.

In this case the lies I'm thinking about are those of legalism and religion and the 'dream' I'm referring to, whether consciously realized or not, is the delusional and fruitless fantasy of self-preservation. I'm thinking of the lies that are preached and taught - and believed - to keep the dream alive of having people remain allegiant to any given church or ministry. Those who preach these lies end up believing them themselves, and it's all rooted in the protection and preservation of "their" ministry, "their" church, "their" institution, "their" cause. Manipulative lies are taught about "tithing, "hierarchy," "covering," "church membership," "behavior modification" (performance-based acceptance), etc, in order to keep the masses loyal to a certain leader or ministry.

Two thousand years ago, the Pharisees were a prime example of this, being hard nosed about keeping people strictly under God's law, and even adding myriads of additional rules, laws, interpretations and traditions on top of it all. And of course during the past 20 centuries, this has moved into the church setting. I fully understand that sometimes these legalistic lies are taught because the teachers and preachers honestly don't know any better, and are simply teaching what they themselves have been taught. But I'm talking about those who are caught in the very tangled web of self-interest and self-preservation, who purposely teach manipulative lies in order to "keep the dream alive," with the dream being the success and growth of whatever system or institution they've created and built.

This is also true in many other areas of life, such as in household situations and other family matters and relationships, finances, jobs and vocations, social activities and so on. Whatever the case, the pursuit of self-preservation is very often the root of the legalistic and religious lies that keep people in bondage and keep them from experiencing the freedom for which Christ has set them free.

Not one to remain stuck only on criticism of the system, I offer up a solution or two to all of this, and I look for input from others as well! My main focus would be to keep on remembering that we were bought with a price, and that we are not "our own." Our "ministries" are not our ministries. They are the work that God Himself is doing in and through us for the good of everyone, not for our own individual self-preservation and self-centered success and prosperity. God didn't "purchase" us so that He could keep us in chains but so that we'd be free! This is also our "ministry" to one another. It's not about building "a ministry." It's not about coming up with ways (lies and manipulation) to keep people faithful to US so that OUR dreams stay alive. It's about building one another up (edifying) and ministering to (serving) one another!

Any thoughts? (including additional criticisms, solutions)?





:)

I'm so thankful for His grace

I was just sitting here thinking about the many, many conversations I've had with people over the years that have revolved around God and our relationship with Him. I was thinking about all the ways in which I've been taught by others and the ways in which I've taught. I was thinking of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, James and all the other writers in the Bible. All the words that have been shared by them and me and others.

I was thinking about how I've got a lot of doctrine about God. So much of it is really great! I'm very thankful that I have a doctrinal understanding of God and His grace, and that I'm still learning and growing. I was thinking about this, and I was overwhelmed for a few seconds with the wonderful sensation that even with all that I know about God, and even with the way that I've come to know Him personally and relationally, I DON'T HAVE HIM PEGGED, not even for a minute! I don't have Him figured out at all! And that's a good thing.

The truth is that we've been made new creations, and we have a brand new identity in Him, and we are one Spirit with Him. We have a communicative relationship with Him, in which He speaks to us, and us to Him, and He interacts with us, and we can know Him intimately... and it's ALL good!

But yet with all that I know, and with all that you know, and with all that all of humanity knows about God, and with the ways in which people know God intimately... and with all our doctrinal understanding, no matter how true or accurate it is... there is soooo much about God that we either think we know that isn't really so, or that we just plain don't know at all, and we hypothesize and we extrapolate and we articulate and we dialog and we share and we proclaim and we lecture and we listen and we infer and we establish doctrines and so on and so on - you get the point. And all the while, even in the midst of all our God-knowledge and all our God-ignorance, He loves us unconditionally and is full of grace toward us, every single second of our lives!

By all means let's keep up the dialog! Let's keep on sharing and learning and extrapolating and all that good stuff! We can most certainly be bold with what we believe, even with the understanding that we really hardly know a thing about God! He's revealed Himself to us in many ways, and I believe He wants us to communicate all of that with one another. I think what I'm saying is simply that I'm humbled that this wonderful God, who has a billion true and false things said about Him every single day, even from the likes of you and me, continues to love and adore us, and keep us in His limitless grace!

This also gives me humility in sharing truth with others. Holy cow... anything that I know that is true isn't a result of my wonderful thinking powers! He's GRACIOUSLY revealed it to me, and I want to be very gracious and loving in my sharing with others. I want to speak with clarity and boldness, and with great patience, kindness and love... and always with my heart and mind open to what God has to say to me through others, even if that means it penetrates and cracks open my own preconceived ways of seeing and understanding things.

Believe the truth

Just over a week ago in my post called There's no 'Space In Between Us' I talked about how there is a deficient "gospel" out there, which is really no gospel at all, in which people feel as if there is some space or distance between them and God. They feel as if they've perhaps not performed well enough, or they've sinned too much, or for whatever reason they feel that there is some gulf that needs to be bridged between them and God - when in reality God has brought us near to Himself by the blood of Jesus, as an act of His loving-kindness and grace. It's not up to us to make ourselves 'right' with Him. He's done it all.

I've had various thoughts about all this since I posted that, but one thing has remained prevalent in my mind. It's simply this: If you don't feel close to God, or if you think that there is some gap or distance between you and God, your thoughts and feelings are betraying the truth. What we need is not to rely upon our thoughts and emotions when they don't line up with the truth, but rather what we need is to believe the truth. God's not withholding Himself from you. Didn't He say, "I will never leave you nor forsake you?" But it gets even better than Him simply not leaving or forsaking us. It's much more deep and personal than Him simply being there and not going away. The Bible says that He has become our very Life, joined together with us, interactive with us, faithful to the end. Even if we don't feel it, or our emotions tell us differently, the truth remains true!

Look for the good news

As you know, the word "gospel" means "good news." The New Covenant is part of the good news. Christ in us is part of the good news. Eternal life is part of the good news. Sufficient grace is part of the good news. God working in and through us is part of the good news. Forgiveness of sin - in fact, sin taken away, is part of the good news. Love, joy, peace... and so on... is part of the good news.

There is so much BAD NEWS today. I'm not talking about the news that you see or hear on the TV or radio. I'm talking about stuff that comes from the pulpit! Sure, there's some grace taught, but it's all nullified with talk of shame, condemnation, guilt, etc. My purpose here isn't to put anyone down, but rather to point out that there is so much junk out there that has the potential to keep us from renewing our minds daily in the good news of Christ!

And so as I think about this, my encouragement is to focus on the good news! When you read your Bible, intentionally look for the good news. When you listen to people teaching or preaching, focus on the good news. It seems that for a long time I skipped past verses that say that I'm the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus and that I'm holy and accepted in the Beloved, because for various reasons I thought those things couldn't possibly be true of me, because my life didn't seem to show it very well!

But a closer look at all of it shows that it's ALL the work of God in me. It's not anything I've achieved, but it's what He has done on my behalf. It's His GIFT - and it's GOOD NEWS! So when you read your Bible and you come across something that seems too good to be true, don't pass it up. It IS true! It's good news! It's the Gospel!

My vote: On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand

63+ million people waking up today enthused and refreshed. 55+ Million people waking up depressed and perplexed. So many hopes and fears hanging on the results of an election that just happened to take place during the short time they lived on this earth.

Don't get me wrong... I understand it all! I'm in no way naive about or oblivious to the issues or the candidates. I've paid close attention for several years now. And I don't think it's wrong to work hard for what you believe in, even in the political realm - if and when the Lord leads through His life in you. And so... this post isn't about what you should or shouldn't do, politically speaking, according to what you see going on in this world.

Rather, I'm simply hoping to draw the focus away from trusting in politics or the systems that are in place in this world... to trusting in One Person. The three in one. The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit. There's been a lot of talk about hope and change. There's been a lot of talk about fear as well. What is your hope really in? What do you fear and why are you afraid?

Perhaps let me put it this way. Lets to go the extremes. The President-elect of the United States of America is Barack Obama. On the one hand you have people who believe this country is now on a path that leads from the frying pan into eternal fire and destruction. On the other hand you have people who believe this country is now saved and is on a clear path to healing. Again, I'm talking 'extremes' here, so please bear with me on that for the sake of discussion. Indeed, people have all kinds of hopes, fears, expectations, feelings of disappointment, etc, in regards to this election.

So... what if one of those scenarios turns out to be absolutely true? What if the election of Barack Obama leads to the absolute worst conditions the people of this country has ever seen? Or what if everything is restored and we see the best possible conditions come about?

Is our hope and/or fear to be in these kinds of things? Again, I'm not trying to make a case for sitting still and saying "C'est la vie" or "Que sera sera," and burying your head in the sand until Jesus returns. "Action" (no matter how you define it in a political sense) is not what this post is about.

I'm really trying to point out that ever since the eternal God (Father, Son and Spirit) created man, God has always remained God. He has always remained sovereign. He has always been Lord of all. The world and everything in it belongs to Him. He has never missed a beat. There has never been a king, a president, a leader or an authority of any sort, who has been above Him or has been able to usurp His power or thwart His plans. The fate of the world, on the one hand, has been influenced negatively by every living person since Adam ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but on the other hand has never really been in our hands because God has made redemption and restoration to Life His mission and joy - and His mission cannot and will not fail... no matter WHAT!

God was still in control when Herod had all the children under two years old killed. When the king sent Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego into the fiery furnace. When Daniel was thrown into the den of lions. When the crowd yelled for Barabbas to be released instead of Jesus. When Stephen was stoned to death. When Jerusalem was destroyed.

God was in control when the children of Israel were mighty in battle. God was in control when they escaped Pharaoh's army as the Red Sea was parted. When David triumphed over Goliath. When people sought to kill the Apostle Paul and yet the disciples let him down through the wall in a large basket. When Jerusalem was rebuilt.

There are so many billions (and billions and billions) of examples throughout history that testify to the sovereignty of God and His commitment to His purposes, and His ability to carry them out no matter what!

Say what you will about what I'm saying here, but I'm convinced that our lives have never been in the hands of politics, governments and political leaders, but have always, without fail, been in the hands of the Loving and Grace-ful God who created us and works endlessly to restore people to true Life, which is found only in one place, in one way, in one Person - Jesus the true and only Messiah. And this has always been true no matter what the circumstances have been.

Is the U.S. government system something that God set up? I won't answer that question directly, because I honestly don't know (no matter what the founders said), but I want to point out one huge difference between the Kingdom of God and the "kingdom" of the United States and its government. The U.S. government is (supposedly) "of the people, by the people, for the people." Can God work in and through the people of that system? Certainly. BUT... when it comes to our ultimate hope and trust, we are part of a Kingdom that is of God, by God and for God.

If you're happy today because of the election, then please enjoy your happiness! If you're sad, please remember that there is One who comforts. However, I will say that if our emotions go up and down all our lives, based upon our hopes and fears in MAN, then I believe we have somehow misplaced our trust. No matter what, please remember that Christ Himself is the solid rock on which we stand. ALL other ground is sinking sand! That's the point of this.

I'm just being honest with the way I see things after having come to this point in my grace journey. If you're happy today because of the winner, that's all fine and dandy but quite honestly my hope with this post is to DEFLATE your euphoria that has come a result of a leader who will govern for a BLIP in comparison to all of eternity. And if you're sad today, my hope is to bring you back around to TRUSTING in the only one who can give you - and the world - true hope and salvation. Imagine if you laid down all these fears and hopes that were based upon the promises of mere human beings, and instead your true hope, joy and peace was in the One who created you and loves you and has the ENTIRETY of your life in his more than capable hands!

Mind's Eye

In my mind I can see Your face
Your love pours down in a shower of grace
Some people tell me that You're just a dream
My faith is the evidence of things unseen...

DC Talk - Mind's Eye

He hasn't changed

There is a fun song that some of my friends and I used to sing to remind us of God's faithfulness and continuous presence in our lives. Sadly I really can't remember any of the verses, or even the tune, but the simple chorus remains with me, and it goes something like, "He's Still Here, He's Still Here..."

It reminds me of Psalm 46:1-7.

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within her, she will not fall;
God will help her at break of day.
Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord Almighty is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Of course, the advantage we have over the people who would speak or sing the words of that Psalm is that God actually indwells us! He is truly ever-present in a deeper and more meaningful way - in fact He has become our very LIFE and He has joined Himself together with us forever in our spirits.

In my life, I've been shaken at times because of various people, circumstances, problems, thoughts, doctrines, etc. I'm essentially talking not about a physical shaking, but a shaking of the heart and mind (which, of course, often manifests itself in the physical realm). Sometimes the "shaking" has turned out to be a good thing, and at other times not. (I know I've also been the source of the shaking of other people during my lifetime, again, sometimes for the good and sometimes not). But no matter what, there has always been one constant. God remains the same! He remains a refuge and strength, an ever-present help. He hasn't changed.

At the age of 23, several months after I had begun a deeper walk with the Lord in 1992, I got a knock at my door that some of you may be familiar with. A man in his 40's and a boy, perhaps 12 or 13, stood there and asked if I was interested in talking about God. I let these two Jehovah's Witnesses in and we had a chat that, well, shook me up a little - or a LOT! They (mostly just the man) shared some things with me, right out of the Bible, and the way it was spun was pretty darn convincing! Well, I shared a few things that I knew from the scriptures, and they responded to every single thing I said with their own 'version' of the truth, again pretty convincingly. All I know is, if this was a debate, I certainly hadn't "won."

Probably perceiving that some of what he was saying might have a chance of getting through to me, the man asked if I minded if they came back again the next week. At the time I thought to myself what a great opportunity it would be for me to look up some scriptures to counteract what they were saying. So I did my homework - I mean I really dug into the scriptures with my Strong's Concordance coming heavily into play - and I prayed a lot, and in the end I was satisfied that I was "prepared," although nervous, for the next visit.

This time around the twelve year old boy was absent, and in his place was another man. This man was actually someone I already knew. He had once been a member at my dad's church, but had converted to the Jehovah's Witness religion. Again we chatted about the scriptures, and I brought out all my "research," thinking I had all my bases covered. But again, everything I said was immediately counteracted with their well-prepared, time-tested false doctrines, and again as they left I was shaken, and not just a little scared as well.

But you see, here I am today, 16 years later, and as you can tell I'm not under the influence of any of that junk. During that time I prayed a lot! I searched the scriptures. I asked God for wisdom and truth, and for understanding. I did not get my answers right away, but over time I grew and I learned more and more of the truth. In fact, as I look back, I see how my understanding and perception of God and of who I am in Him has changed over the years. As I look back to just a year ago, or five years ago, or fifteen years ago, and even to 30+ years ago in my boyhood, I see how my understanding and perception has changed.

I'm saying all of this for a couple of reasons. First off, to point out how God is faithful and true, and will not leave us hanging but will lead and guide us, and teach us, even if we don't "get" it all. But secondly, and really what I was intending to lead up to here: Although my understanding and perceptions have changed, GOD hasn't changed. I've been through tugs-of-war in my heart and mind because of issues of doctrine, circumstances, problems, etc, but I can rest assured that in all of this God hasn't flinched, and His TRUTH hasn't changed a bit! People, including me, have all kinds of things to say about what is truth and what isn't truth, and I think it's true that He speaks His truth to us through each other, and it's natural for us to keep sharing the things we've learned with each other. I think it's also true that we can be totally wrong about things! But in the end, I know that HE knows the truth, because He IS the truth, and even when foreign doctrines come my way, or circumstances look way out of my control, or I'm uncertain about things, I can still rest in Him, and be at peace.

God is eternal, and a strong tower. We, in and of ourselves, are clay jars. My hope is not in being able to get everyone to accept my doctrines and my hope is not in dissuading others from believing falsehoods. Yes, I'll continue to share what I believe and I'll spend time trying to dissuade others from believing false doctrines! But my hope is the unchanging Christ in me, not the doctrines that I believe.

Heb 13:8-9
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace..."

Any thoughts?

Be strong in the Lord

Eph 6:10-18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

How do we take our stand against the devil's schemes (or "wiles of the devil" - KJV)?

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

All of this is worth spending some time with and meditating upon. Not religiously, of course, but as part of our full-on relationship with the one who supplies us with the power in all this! Some people call this "spiritual warfare," I think mostly because of the imagery of armor and battle gear that Paul uses. But when it's all boiled down, it's simply a matter of a few basic truths that will help us overcome the evil one - who, as Peter says, is an adversary "who walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Peter 5:8). Peter goes on to say "resist him, steadfast in the faith..." And the "armor" Paul talks about in verses 14-17 of the above passage includes:

• Truth
• Righteousness
• The Gospel of Peace
• Faith
• Salvation
• The Word of God

Earlier this year, I broke some of this down in three separate posts, if you're interested in checking any of it out.

The Full Armor of God
God's armor 1-3
God's armor 4-6

And don't forget that in our relationship with God we have the wonderful privilege to "pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests" and we can "be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints." :)

The Heart and The Scriptures

I have really been enjoying hearing what others have had to say about "the heart" lately. For example, understanding that in Christ we have been given a new heart. In the Old Testament, it was said that "the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." (Jer 17:9). But God's promise for the New Covenant was, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." We have a new heart that is indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and that is not deceitful. Aida recently linked to a website that talks about the heart, and while I've yet to fully look it over I've at least found a few neat things on it. One thing is this post.

On that post, something very key stood out to me:

Contrary to popular culture’s view, the heart is not the emotional or feeling side of us. Popular culture tends to think of the heart as the sentimental part of us. (Think of Hallmark cards.) Biblically speaking, our feelings can express what is going on in our hearts, but the heart is much more than feelings.

I very much appreciate many of the teachings I've heard lately that talk about us being able to trust our hearts... because they're new hearts that are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. I think it's a good thing to understand this. However, I still think it's very possible (and sadly common) for Christians to mistake their feelings, emotions, logic, gut sense, etc, for the true heart. While our true heart (spirit) is fully in line with God, and can indeed express itself through our minds, feelings and emotions, at the same time our minds, feelings and emotions can express things that are not true... that are not of the Spirit... and I think it's very important to grow in our understanding of the difference. Otherwise, we may mistake anything we think or feel for truth, when really our minds, feelings and emotions can still deceive us and take us away from the truth.

This is why I'm thankful that we have the Scriptures. The sad thing is that I see many "heart" people getting defensive when the Bible is put on the table! To trust God with our new heart is a great and wonderful thing, but how do we even know about the old heart/new heart apart from what the Scriptures say? How do we know many, many wonderful truths apart from the Bible?

I'll be the first to say... because I've said it before... that most people who have ever lived have never had access to a Bible, and yet God's word has been true and has been revealed to mankind since the beginning. But here's the thing that I've seen, if only a little, in some of the "heart" teachings I've heard: A disregard for the truth that we do have in the Scriptures. Sometimes (although rarely) it's even been almost to the point of animosity against studying the Scriptures. And a little more often the teachings have, in my opinion, been contrary to what the Scriptures do reveal as New Covenant truth. I'll be honest and say all of this concerns me.

Truth be told, we don't all agree on the interpretation of all the Scriptures. That's not what I'm addressing here. I'm talking about people's feelings, logic, emotions, gut reactions, etc, that they regard as "truth" when the Scriptures reveal something to the contrary. Again, God does indeed reveal Himself to us in our spirits, often through the avenue of our minds, feelings and emotions. But also again, our thoughts, feelings and emotions can deceive us.

Here are a couple of examples.

1) A man comes to Jesus by faith alone, trusting solely in the truth of the gospel. Then his thoughts and feelings begin to make him wonder if the gospel is really that good, and if maybe God is angry with Him for falling short, and he begins struggling and striving to maintain his righteousness in an effort to stay right with God - all because his mind and emotions tell him something contrary to what the Scriptures really say.

2) A woman comes to Jesus by faith alone, and then becomes emotionally connected with a man who is not her husband. She begins having deep feelings for him, and in her "heart" she really feels that God wants her to be with this man, so she divorces her husband and marries the other man.

In both cases, the people really did believe something about God and about themselves that wasn't true. They believed their hearts were telling them something, but it wasn't really their new heart (spirit). It was their minds, feelings and emotions. They were truly deceived.

That's the point of all this. We can believe some really "good" stuff about who God is and who we are, or some really "legalistic" stuff about who God is and who we are - or anything inbetween - that may not really be the truth. The whole point here is that we can easily be led in our minds, thoughts and emotions by things that seem to be true, but yet the Scriptures tell us otherwise.

Some other examples include the ideas that hell is just a fictitious place, and that everybody is saved. I've heard people say, "how could a loving God put people in hell, never mind creating it?" (A recent comment by Matthew in another post reminded me of this). Or, "It's just not logical that God wouldn't save everyone." It's supposedly the new heart from which people have gotten these doctrines - but it's really their own thoughts, logic, emotions, feelings, etc. It doesn't line up with what the Scriptures say.

When helping Timothy to understand God and the gospel, Paul didn't tell Timothy, "just follow what your heart is telling you." He reminded him about the Scriptures, "which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus." He told him, "All scripture is God-breathed and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..." The Scriptures he was referring to were, of course, the Old Testament. How wonderful that we now also have all of the New Testament to learn from as well! There is a TON of truth about who God is (and who we are) that we can be assured of through our studying of the Scriptures. Life is most certainly not about living by doctrines and theology. But if we're going to teach or share with each other things about who God is and who we are, and since we do have the Scriptures, which do indeed contain the truth about God and us, then let's not disregard the them as we learn to walk according to our hearts.

Rest Easy

Late last year I posted about a song from the early 90's that I really love called "Rest Easy" from Audio Adrenaline. At the time I posted the lyrics and a link to a short snippet of the song because I couldn't find a video for the song.

But yesterday Matthew posted a video for the song (no visuals, just audio) that was added to YouTube this past March, and it's well worth the listen! Check it out here on Matthew's blog or here on my post from 12/13/07, which I updated today with the video. Thanks MD!

While I'm at it... Let me link to this really great post of his called Believing the Invisible. It's about not putting faith in ourselves, or even putting faith in our own faith, but about putting our faith in its true object, Jesus.

Waiting - Part 3

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, PATIENCE, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. - Galatians 5:22-23

"Lord, I pray for patience. And please give it to me NOW!" - Christian prayer

:)

I believe that as Christians, our spirits have been born again (1 Peter 1:23) - made into brand new creations (2 Cor 5:17). We've become partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). We've been joined together with God (1 Cor 6:17). Christ is in us (Col 1:27) and we are in Him (1 John 4:13). We are complete in Him (Col 2:10). He has perfected us forever (Heb 10:14). This is good news! It's the reality of who we are in Him, and it's all due to His loving kindness and grace. Again, I believe this is the truth about our spirits. "God... made us alive together with Christ... and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:5-6).

I believe it's a different story with our souls. What I mean is, although our spirits have been made new creations and are complete and perfected, and have become partakers of the divine nature, there is still a daily sanctifying work of grace going on in our souls (our mind, our will, our emotions, etc). I can tell you for certain that my will does not always line up with that of the Spirit. My emotions do not always reflect the truth of who I have become spiritually in Christ. My thoughts vary from moment to moment. Put simply, one moment I can be thinking pure, holy thoughts and the next moment I can be lost in impure, ungodly thoughts. Happy one moment, sad the next. Trustful one moment, doubting the next. And so on.

But yet in this soul-life, through the daily, ongoing work of the Holy Spirit, I'm growing. And to get specifically to the topic of this post, this growing process isn't instantaneous! A lot of waiting is involved. Since we are joined with God spiritually and have become a partaker of His divine nature, our natural desire when we realize that in our souls (minds, wills, emotions) we're not patient with our spouse, our children, our parents, our friends, our coworkers, ourselves (or on a bigger scale the overall development of our own personal life stories), is to become more patient. And since we're impatient in learning patience, we wish God would simply snap His fingers and make us patient!

Of course it doesn't work that way. Patience, along with all the other fruit that comes out of an ongoing relationship with the Holy Spirit, takes time. It's not instantaneous. There's a process going on, and I think that most of the time we don't even understand all that God is doing in and through us to bear His fruit. I do believe there are times when we're given revelations and insight about what He's doing, and those are wonderful times, but we generally don't see the bigger picture. However, in all of this we've been given a gift that I believe can and should help to melt away all the doubt and uncertainty when we don't see. That gift is faith.

I wholeheartedly believe that faith truly is a gift, and not something that we can earn or muster up by ourselves, and yet there is yet a growing process involved in learning to walk in faith. To walk in faith is to know that there is a bigger picture, even though we can't see it. It's to know that God is at work in us, to will and to do according to His good pleasure (Phil 2:13), even when we don't sense what He is doing. There is a growing process involved in which you "let your roots grow down into him (Jesus) and draw up nourishment from him, so you will grow in faith, strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught" (Col 2:7 NLT).

Growth by its very nature is not quick or instantaneous, so it naturally involves patience ("long-suffering"). Patience involves waiting. Waiting expectantly requires faith. Faith requires believing what you don't see, but again it's a gift and it simply means that you are believing and trusting in the One through Whom all things were created - the One who is before all things and in Whom all things consist! (see Col 1:16-18). It's a well-placed trust, no?

Who we are in Christ

We know that apart from Christ we were nothing. Unfortunately it seems to me as if sometimes we Christians stay stuck right there. "We are nothing."

But ohhhhhhhh, my friends, in Christ we are a lot of wonderful things! Who God has made us to be is far more amazing than what we give Him credit for. God doesn't just mercifully "see" us a certain way just because we believe in Christ, but He has in reality made us to be a brand new creation, ALIVE with Him, joined to Him, complete in Him, fully accepted in Christ!

And just to get this straight, I'm not talking about that person sitting down there in the front row with his five-inch-thick King James Bible, who doesn't watch TV or go to movies and doesn't curse or smoke or drink or have an evil thought pop into his mind. I'm not talking about the person who is in church every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday evening, and whenever else the doors are open. I'm not talking about the person who never messes up and who never hurts anyone and who never says the wrong things. I'm not talking about the person who is completely consistent in everything he says and does. I'm not talking about the person who is happy all the time and never gets sad or depressed or irritated. I'm not talking about that Christian couple who say they never argue or fight. I'm not talking about the person whose "well worn Bible is a sign that they are not." I'm not talking about the person who takes part in all the activities at church. I'm not talking about the person who wears the Jesus pin and who has 3 Christian bumper stickers on his vehicle and listens only to Christian music. I'm not talking about the person who is able to connect with people easily and who knows all their neighbors. I'm not talking about the "10% who are doing 90% of the work." I'm not talking about the person who has no addictions or complexions or personality issues.

I think this might start to give a picture of who I'm not talking about!

Who I'm talking about is... YOU!

Who are you? I gleaned all of the following truths about you directly from Bible passages.

You are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, God's own special people. You once were not a people but are now the people of God. Jesus has made you kings and priests to His God and Father. You are loved by the Father. The love of God has been poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit who was given to you. You belong to God and He belongs to you. You are the beloved of God. You are your Beloved's and He is yours, and His desire is toward you. You are a saint.

You have been saved by Christ's life. You have been made alive together with Him. Christ is your life. You reign in life through Him. You have been sanctified in Him. You are the temple of God in which the Spirit of God indwells. Christ is in you. You are a holy temple of God. You are Christ's house. Inwardly, you are being renewed day by day.

Your sins have not only been forgiven; they have been taken away. You are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. You are holy and blameless before Him. You have been perfected forever. You have been brought near to God by the blood of Christ. In Christ you approach God with freedom, boldness and confidence. You were bought with a price. You are a citizen of heaven, and you are seated with Christ in the heavenly realm.

You are a new creation. He has given you a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. You have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the word of God which lives and abides forever. You are shielded by God's power.

You are a child of God... an actual child of God... through faith in Christ Jesus. As a legitimate child, you are qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. You have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God's beloved Son.

The Holy Spirit has been poured out abundantly on you through Jesus Christ. Having been justified by God's grace, you have become an heir according to the hope of eternal life. You have become an heir of God and a co-heir with Christ. You have become a partaker of Christ. You have become a partaker of the divine nature. You have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ. You have been united with God, joined to Him in an inseparable union.

Having been justified by faith, you have peace with God. You are accepted in the Beloved. You are complete in Him. You are no longer condemned and nothing can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus. You are a branch of the living Vine, and His life flows through you. God rejoices over you with gladness. He quiets you with His love. He rejoices over you with singing.

All of these things are true of YOU because God says they are true of you! You may "feel" that it's true or you may not feel that it's true. You may understand all of it or some of it or very little of it, but it's still all true.

The point here is that you are not low. You are not a worm. You are not "nothing." You are all the things that are mentioned in the previous paragraphs, and you are much more that I haven't mentioned. I'm only skimming the surface!

Again, we know we were nothing apart from Christ. But now we are in Him and He is in us and we are His! We belong to Him. We're no longer nothing. Our lives in Him are not a matter of us trying to become something! We are complete in Him. We don't come groveling towards Him. We come boldly and confidently to Him, not afraid but with great awe and reverence. We don't sit around as a bunch of mere sinners, hoping He'll grant us favor with Him. We roll around and jump up and down in His favor and grace that has been lavishly poured out on us and given to us in abundance. We celebrate who we are in Him. We can fully enjoy the true identity that is truly who we are. WE DON'T DOWNPLAY IT!!!

I'm excited, I know! For a few years now I've been working my way of the box that I had previously been locked up in, in which the church had tried to tame me and to make me into someone who strives to be a "good Christian boy." :) I don't believe that that's what God had in mind for me when He saved me. He made me to be so much more than that! He has made me whole, and I want to live in that wholeness. He is a God who is "wild, dangerous, unfettered and free" (Walter Brueggeman) and I want to enjoy Him as He is and I want to live as who I am in Him!

Life in Christ summed up

My buddy Dave Lesniak sent me this video via Facebook. It's a quick video of his friend Joel Engle speaking about our life in Christ. No condemnation. It is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. We've been set free from the law of sin and death. Etc.

Joel briefly talks about how many Christians live in fear, and lack intimacy with God because they don't trust God's love.

This is a quick summary of our lives in Christ, and I just thought I'd share it because it's always refreshing to hear the truth spoken like this!

God's armor 1-3

2 Chron 20:14-17 14 Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15 And he said, "Listen, all you of Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem, and you, King Jehoshaphat! Thus says the LORD to you:'Do not be afraid nor dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours, but God's. 16 Tomorrow go down against them. They will surely come up by the Ascent of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the brook before the Wilderness of Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!' Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you."

I realize that I'm ripping this passage right out of a larger story and out of larger context, and my purpose isn't to misuse scripture but I simply wanted to point out that this passage, to me, is essentially a good illustration of the "spiritual warfare" that we fight as Christians. The battle is not ours. It's God's! In my post from a couple of days ago called "The Full Armor of God," I mentioned the six elements of battle gear that Paul writes about in Ephesians 6: Truth, Righteousness, The Gospel of Peace, Faith, Salvation, The Word of God. In that post I left off with the idea that all of this is a matter of God's gifts to us and His working in and through us, and I want to continue with those thoughts here. I should mention that I believe the whole of our life in Christ is a matter of God's gifts to us and His working in and through us, and so these six things should seem no more spooky or spiritual than anything else in our lives!

I'm purposely being brief here, and I'll start with the first three. Perhaps someday I'll look at each element more closely and in depth. 

• Truth - Jesus Christ is the truth. And along with that, His word is truth. So many of the battles we face are a matter of truth vs. lies. The point is, it's the truth of God. We can't conjure up our own 'truth,' but rather we rest in the truth of God. There is a direct correlation between truth and victory/freedom. Jesus said, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." If you, or someone else, is in bondage, the battle is fought and won with truth. 

• Righteousness - One of my 'favorite verses' is Romans 1:17. In the previous verse, Paul says that the gospel is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. In verse 17, he goes on to say that something is revealed in the gospel: God's righteousness. This is not man's righteousness. It's nothing that man can conjure up on his own. Our righteousness is a gift from God. "For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Cor 5:21). Even walking according to this righteous nature that we now have is a matter of trusting in God's working in and through us rather than trying to muster it up in the strength of our flesh or willpower. 

• The Gospel of Peace - As the above paragraph mentions, the gospel of peace (the good news) is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. The angels declared the gospel of peace at Jesus' birth as they praised God and said, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!" (Luke 2:13-14). The gospel is a mighty weapon! How do we use this weapon? We simply declare the gospel. We simply declare the good news. Note, in the use of these weapons, we're not responsible for the outcome. The battle is the Lord's. We simply bear the weapons, by faith, and the Lord fights the battles. 

To apply some of this practically, some real life situations may include dealing with another person who is habitually angry or downhearted, and perhaps the lies of the enemy have caused this. Perhaps you're dealing with a troublemaker. Perhaps you're even dealing with a very good person who doesn't think he or she needs Christ. Perhaps any of these scenarios could have to do with yourself. If the lies of the enemy have gotten a hold of someone, and brought them into bondage, even if they don't know they're in bondage, the truth holds the power to set them free! Again, we're not responsible for the outcome, but we can speak the truth to others (or to ourselves) as a "weapon" to help dispel the lies, and we can let the Lord engage in the "battle." 

Can you think of any other ways (the ways are endless I think) in which these three things (truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace) can be put on and applied practically in our daily lives? I'll talk a little about faith, salvation and the Word of God when I get back to this.

You ran well...

Gal 5: 1-12
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2 Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3 And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4 You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

7 You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is.
11 And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. 12 I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!

How had the Galatians formerly been running well? What truth were they not "obeying?" Who and what did hinder them from obeying that truth? Who was troubling them? Considering the context, what was needed for them to "run well" again? (There is, of course, more context than the few verses that I shared).

Rest Easy

Post updated 6/3/08 (see update at end of post)

This song by Audio Adrenaline has helped me through many times of fear, uncertainty, restlessness, anxiety... you name it... in my walk with Christ, and I would guess it has done the same for many others. Why? Because I think the verses of this song, as well as the bridge, state many of the thoughts, fears and negative emotions that many Christians deal with... and the chorus addresses the simple, biblical, truthful answer to all of it: Rest Easy.

And here's the thing... We can't deny that each of us, in different ways, deal with these thoughts, fears and negative emotions at times while we're growing in grace. Raise your hand if you rest in the fullness of the perfect truth all the time. I didn't think so. :) These things seem very real to us while we're going through them. However, since they're not based upon the truth of who we are in Christ, we don't want to stay in them. Rather, we want to displace them with the truth of our identity in Christ and with the truth of who God really is. This takes time and patience, but all the while we know that we can rest easy.

Audio Adrenaline - Rest Easy

One more mile 'til I lay rest
I have put myself through this rigid test
But the mile has never ended
No distance has been gained
I do not see greatness I wanted to obtain

Where is my embrace from the race that I have run?
I have kept a steady pace, but still I have not won

Chorus
Rest easy
Have no fear
I love you perfectly
Love drives out fear
I'll take your burden
You take my grace
Rest easy
In my embrace.

I am such a sinner
I fear my evil ways
I fear my imperfection
I fear my final days.
I just want to take control
And snap this rusty chain
Drop my heavy burden
It seems to be in vain

Chorus
Rest easy
Have no fear
I love you perfectly
Love drives out fear
I'll take your burden
You take my grace
Rest easy
In my embrace

Bridge
I am not a bold man even though I want to be
I am just a dreamer with a tender history
Scared of confrontations
I fume all through the night
The world has its hold on me and I just want to fly

The sky... the sky... is open wide
But I cant fly...

'Til I step aside

Chorus
Rest easy
Have no fear
I love you perfectly
And perfect love drives out fear
I'll take your burden
You take my grace
Rest easy
In my embrace
Rest easy, rest easy
Rest easy, in my embrace
Rest easy

There's no video for this song (that I know of) and I couldn't find a full audio version of the song online but here's a 30 second Windows Media or Real Player snippet of the song. If those links don't work, or if you want to sample other Audio A tunes, here's their website. (Make sure your speaker volume is low... a song starts playing immediately). Highlight "MEDIA" and click on "DISCOGRAPHY."

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6/3/08 update: Matthew posted a YouTube video for this yesterday. It's simply a blank screen but it includes the full audio. So here it is:

There is life in the Red Letters... Sometimes.

I was recently listening to some music from good ol' DC Talk. I've always loved their music. Even from the freaky hip hop days. :) By the way, are those guys ever gonna get back together? Their greatest hits CD, "Intermission," came out when? 2000??? That's quite an intermission! I know, I know, they've all gone on to other wonderful things, and I could really digress quite terribly here! So on with the point...

The chorus of their song "Red Letters," from the "Supernatural" CD goes like this:

There is love in the red letters
There is truth in the red letters
There is hope for the hopeless
Peace and forgiveness
There is life in the red letters
In the red letters

I want to go on record as saying I'm not trying to judge the writer's heart or intentions. A response to what I'm going to say here could go something like, "Come on, Joel! What are you bickering about now!" And it's true that I didn't even have to use this song to make my point. I actually had another title for this post, but this song popped into my head because I had just listened to it the other day. So it simply provided a starting point for what I'm saying.

The "red letters" in the song refers to the words of Jesus. Certain Bible publishers have published "Red Letter" versions, to highlight the words of Jesus in red.

So, first off... everything that is said in the chorus of this song can indeed be found in the "red letters" (in various words that Jesus spoke): Love, truth, hope, peace, forgiveness and life.

HOWEVER... There are times when the red letters do not speak love, truth, hope, peace, forgiveness and life. If you don't already know where I'm going with this, please stay with me give me a chance to make my point. There are times when the red letters speak death and condemnation. And it's not always at the most obvious times!

Let's back up a minute. In our modern day Bibles, we see a division between "Old Testament" (Genesis to Malachi) and "New Testament" (Matthew to Revelation). The New Testament (Covenant), we therefore perceive, begins with Matthew, Chapter 1. But hold on just a minute. Let's look at something Jesus said that's recorded in Matthew 26 and Luke 14. At the "Last Supper," Jesus takes the cup of wine and says "this cup is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

The New Testament (Covenant) did not come into effect until the shedding of Jesus' blood. Before His death on the Cross, Jesus ministered and taught under the Old Covenant. Jesus was "born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law." Many of the red letters were addressed to those who were "under the law." Many of the red letters were spoken to affirm, emphasize, accentuate and show the intensity and true meaning of the... Law!!!

Paul would later remind us that "whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and the world become guilty before God" (Rom 3:19). While Jesus HIMSELF "did not come into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17), He knew that the LAW was the means by which the world stood condemned and which silenced their self-justifying mouths, and which ultimately was the schoolmaster that would lead them to Him (Galatians 3:24,25).

Paul called the law "the ministry of death" and "the ministry of condemnation" (2 Cor 3:7, 9). And again, Jesus Himself did not come to bring death or condemnation. But in order to bring Life and Justification, He taught the fullness and the exactness and the definitiveness of the death and condemnation that was through the law. This "tutor" (schoolmaster) of the Law is what leads people to Jesus.

Many of the "red letters" were not actually meant AS life, but rather as the means of demonstrating the death and condemnation of those under the law... with the intention of ultimately leading a person to Life.

So... if I were a big Nashville lyricist (don't I wish!), and if I would have been part of the writing team for this song, perhaps I would have added another line or two to the chorus, or even another chorus!

There is law in the red letters
There is guilt the red letters
There is death and condemnation
End of self justification
Sin abounds... in the red letters
In the red letters

(See Romans 5:20-21 if you think that last line is utter foolishness)!

I realize I may have dropped half of my audience with this post. Either because someone thinks I'm dissing DC Talk or because I'm misrepresenting the Bible.

PLEASE don't think I'm dissing DC Talk! As for the Bible, don't take my word for it anyway!