Who I Am

 

In Whom there is no Jew nor yet Greek, there is no slave nor yet free, there is no male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus. 

Paul To The Galatians 3: 28, Concordant New Testament 

I was going through a few health insurance forms the other day when I came across the obligatory question of my race and sex designation.  What made this interesting was the choice at the end, which simply stated "I identify as."  I contemplated a few well thought of responses before I just stated the obvious.  White male.  Of course, if you read the liberal news lately, and I try hard not to, you would get the feeling that most of the worlds problems are caused by white males.  Climate change, crime and even political uprisings.  Yes, the white male is responsible for a good many things.  Yet, on the official form I was forced to identify with someone whom society claims that I am.  The world as a whole sees me as a white male.  But is this who I truly am?  If not, who am I?  Who are we?  The apostle Paul shed some light on this question in his letter to the Galatians.  Paul proclaimed that we are not as the world sees us.  For there are no male nor female, nor white nor black, there is only Christ Jesus {Paul To The Galatians 3:28}.  More importantly, as Paul proclaims, we are all one in Christ.  For it has never been God who chose to separate His children into categories.  To classify His creation based on the color of their skin.  No, this was mans idea all along.  The late Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke of a day when men would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.  That day has yet to come.  Instead, we base every aspect of our society on race and sex.  Sometimes even those lines have become blurred by mans efforts.  Case in point, the recent transgender efforts.  We now have women who identify as men and men who see themselves as women.  If you don't feel like a man, you can check that box and identify as a female.  I might be old fashioned, but I tend to look at things how Jesus sees them.  So, how does Jesus see someone who chooses to identify as a member of the opposite sex?  Well, I would say that Jesus views this person as he was originally created.  That being in the spirit image of the Father {Genesis 1:27}.  Of course, this might send many a liberal into fits, but it doesn't take away from the truth of who we truly are.  

Now he who joins the Lord is one spirit.

Paul To The Corinthians (1) 6: 17, Concordant New Testament 

I believe that what would help people understand who they truly are is to see themselves as we are, in spirit and not in the flesh {Paul To The Romans 8:9}.  Of course, this might be a tough ask for a lot of people who continue to view themselves by what they see with their eyes.  When I was younger, I tended to see God as resembling my own flesh.  After all, I was created in His image, right?  Wouldn't God look like me?  Unfortunately, that is the wrong way of seeing things in the spirit reality.  In the spirit reality of our true identity, we all bare the same exact spirit image of the Father who created us.  This is who we are in Him. It is the Father who breathed life into these flesh vessels which contain the spirit {Genesis 2:7}.  It is not our flesh which defines us, but the spirit of His very image.  So it is that someone who suddenly decides that no longer "feel" like a man, but as a woman is only fooling himself.  They are missing the point entirely.  This is one situation where what we see IS NOT what we get.  Despite the scriptures speaking to our spirit identity, many believers continue to live in a false reality.  That the flesh is who we are.  Maybe so, but it's not who I am.  

You are not in flesh, but in spirit, if so be that Gods spirit is making its home in you.  Now if anyone has not Christs spirit, this one is not His. 

Paul To The Romans 8:9, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

In That Day

 In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 

Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament 

I discussed with a few of my married brothers a few years ago the phenomenon of how each spouse would know what the other was thinking at any given time.  This was not so much of a surprise for me, as from the scriptures I knew that the marriage covenant was a vow between two people.  However, once married, these two individuals become one flesh {Genesis 2:21-24}.  The fact that the name woman is derived from her very creation testifies to this truth.  "She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man" {Genesis 2:23}.  Most believers are all too familiar with the creation history, how God caused a deep sleep to befall Adam and created Eve from the bone which He took from him.  It is no wonder, then, that two individuals brought together would be considered as one flesh.  So, what would the marriage covenant have to do, if anything, with our life in Christ Jesus?  Well, I use this as an example to illustrate what the apostle John spoke of.  That being our union with Jesus.  Jesus speaks to being in the Father, of our being in Him and Christ in us {Johns Account 14:20}.  This has been a topic which our group has discussed to some extent as of late.  What is it like to live IN Jesus?  Well, if you can picture living each and every day living and walking as Jesus then you may just have a good understanding of this truth.  The reason I used the marriage covenant as an example is because it closely identifies with this truth.  For I have never been a separate entity.  It has never been Jesus and then me, it was always about the union I share with Him.  When I see myself in the mirror, I see Jesus as well.  When I run into difficult situations in my life, I am assured that I share them with Christ Jesus Himself.  Indeed, whatever I think or do, I do as Christ.  This is my union with Him.  This is what Jesus referred to which is related to us through the apostle {Johns Account 14:20}.  As the apostle Paul proclaimed, I no longer exist, what remains is Christ {Paul To The Galatians 2:20}.  

That they may all be one, according as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in us, that the world should be believing that Thou dost commission Me. 

{Johns Account 17: 21, Concordant New Testament  

For its part, the mainstream church has never quite grasped the truth of our union with the Father.  They speak in phrases such as "Being like" Jesus and "Walking with" Him.  There is, in fact, a huge difference in the way in which the traditional church sees our union with Jesus and the actual truth.  The church speaks to the lie of our still being separate from the Father.  That the best which we can hope for is to be close to Jesus.  Well, the very definition of the word union speaks to "Joining or being joined."  When we join a club, we are a part of that organization.  When we join a union, we become a part of it.  When we are united with Christ, we are a part of Him.  Nowhere in the definition of the word union is it intended that one would "Be close" to something.  In fact, if we are "Close" to Jesus, then we are not in union with Him.  This is the truth of our union in Christ, that we are now in Him.  It is also through the love and mercy of Christ that He chose me to be in union with Him {Johns Account 15:16}.  Yes, I may have chosen to believe in Jesus, but it is Jesus who chose me to be in Him.  Not to "Be like" Him, but to be in Him.  What confidence it gives us knowing that we live each and every day in Christ Jesus!  The world could not defeat Jesus, and it certainly cannot defeat we who remain in Him.  

"Not you chose Me, but I chose you, and I appoint you, that you may be going away and bringing forth much fruit, and your fruit may be remaining, that anything whichsoever you may be requesting the Father in My name, He will be giving it to you."

Johns Account 15: 16, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Free Indeed

 

For freedom Christ frees us!  Stand firm, then, and be not again enthralled with the yoke of slavery.

Paul To The Galatians 5: 1, Concordant New Testament 

How many believers out there have at one time or another seen religion as more of a chore than a belief?  The truth is, I don't blame you if you had.  For centuries the institutional church has burdened congregations with the rules of what to do and what not to do in order to have favor with God.  Some may wonder, what does freedom in Jesus really mean?  Well, I can tell you what freedom in Christ Jesus has meant to me.  See, I was once one of those bored church goers who obediently sat in my pew each Sunday while some pulpit pounder spoke of the freedom to be found in Jesus.  One of the most often quoted verses can be found in John 8:36, that if the Son sets you free, then you are free indeed.  Interestingly, the concordant version of the New Testament speaks that if Jesus makes us free, that we shall be "Really free" {Johns Account 8:36}.  Yet, how do you explain freedom in Christ to someone who has never experienced it?  The mainstream church talks a big game by preaching on the freedom found in Jesus, but they fall short in practice.  I believe that freedom in Jesus goes hand in hand with freedom from the obligations of the institutional church.  Freedom from the traditions.  Freedom from the guilt and shame of sin {Paul To The Romans 6:6-11}.  THIS is the freedom which we find in Christ Jesus.  How many times have you sat through a Sunday sermon only to have the pastor tell you that you are a sinner?  Yeah, I've been there.  Of course, believing that we are still in sin is not freedom, but slavery.  Slavery to the yoke of sin.  The apostle Paul speaks in a few places in scripture.  In Romans, Paul proclaims that we consider ourselves to be "Dead indeed" to sin {Paul To The Romans 6:11}.  Make no mistake, when the mainstream church proclaims us sinners, they are perpetuating that which enslaves us!  Dare I say that when the mainstream church speaks to us of being sinners, that they themselves are perpetuating a lie.  The lie which proclaims that, despite giving Himself on the cross to free us of the consequences of our sin, that Jesus failed to accomplish His destiny.  This is NOT freedom in Jesus.  

For the spirits law of life in Christ Jesus frees you from the law of sin and death. 

Paul To The Romans 8: 2, Concordant New Testament 

The truth of Christ Jesus is that He did not give Himself up that Gods children would remain in bondage.  Yet remain in bondage many continue to do.  I have a good friend and coworker who stresses each and every day if he has offered enough prayers to overcome the sins he has committed that day.  Again, this is NOT freedom in Christ.  This is bondage plain and simple.  When the pastor speaks that we are sinners, he attempts to wash away the hope which Jesus brought unto us.  The hope of freedom from the slavery of sin.  I cannot speak to the motivation within the mainstream church as to why they would continue to promote slavery to sin.  All I know is that it does not speak to the freedom we have in Christ.  The freedom which we have in Jesus assures us that Christ died to free us from the yoke of sin.  That we are no longer under the threat of condemnation {Paul To The Romans 8:1}.  More importantly, that we are now one with Christ Jesus {Paul To The Galatians 2:20}.  Not only are we free from the slavery of sin, but we are now free IN Christ Jesus.  I spoke of how it is that I would describe freedom in Jesus to someone who had never experienced it.  It all comes down to one question...are you a sinner?  If you believe that you are still indeed a sinner, then you are still enslaved by sin and not free in Christ Jesus.  For Jesus took that penalty for you that you will be free!  

~Scott~ 

Daughters Of Men

 

The sons of  the Elohim saw the daughters of the human that they were good looking.  So they took wives for themselves from any whom they chose. 

Genesis 6: 2, Concordant Old Testament 

Here is a stunning statistic.  12 Billion dollars annually in the United States goes into...pornography.  At any given moment in time, over 28,000 people are viewing porn on the internet.  35% of all internet downloads are pornography related.  In 2018, users collectively watched 5,824,629,200 hours worth of porn.  We have a problem.  Unfortunately, this is a subject which I am fairly familiar with as I once counted myself to be addicted to this junk.  What was once seen as somewhat forbidden has now become common in our culture.  Yet ask any person addicted to pornography if they are aware that the images they are viewing are someone's wife or daughter and you might just get a blank stare.  The addiction is that strong.  Yes, I call it an addiction just as I realized that I was addicted as well.  Those who justify the use of pornography refer to it as either a coping mechanism or a pleasure of life.  Indeed, the list is long of those who have viewed pornographic images and in then committed violence against women.  Pornography is a trigger for things far uglier.  I was fortunate enough to learn the lies of pornography before it was too late.  I frequented many a nude bar in my time.  Yet on one night I was stopped in my tracks by a feeling in my spirit that this was not the place for me.  I praise and thank the Father for my revelation that night.  Believe me, I prayed A LOT that my desire for those images would fade away.  I would walk into church each Sunday knowing what I had done.  Knowing that God did not approve of it.  When people talk of the guilt and shame of sin, I've walked that road!  However, I've also known the love and forgiveness which the Father gives to all who desire it.  Trust me, a life in the Father is much better than a life lived as a slave to a lie.  

With Christ have I been crucified, yet I am living; no longer I, but living in me is Christ.  Now that which I am now living in the flesh, I am living in faith that is of the Son of God, Who loves me, and gives Himself up for me. 

Paul To The Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

It is interesting that Moses describes in Genesis the erosion of human which God had created.  How the sons of the Lord chose freely from the daughters of the human whomever they desired to be their wife {Genesis 6:2}.  Sounds a bit like todays society huh?  What many fail to realize is that what Moses was describing was the lead up to the flood which God brought upon the earth.  The wickedness of man had reached the point where God pushed the reset button.  One of things I've realized since I've been working to overcome my addiction is that each and every image plastered on the internet of an attractive woman is indeed a daughter or mother or wife.  In the same breath, I react with rage when I think of someone treating someone I know like that.  Yet I was doing the exact same thing!  Make no mistake about it, pornography IS NOT a victimless crime.  The true victims are not those enslaved to viewing the images, but those who are often forced into doing what they do.  I have no magic solution to overcoming this addiction.  However, I can speak with confidence to what opened my eyes to the truth of what I was doing.  Our prayer should not be that the Father would take away the desire, but that He would reveal to us who it is that we truly are inside.  I pray that God would shine His light and pierce the darkness of what we have considered normal for so long.  

~Scott~ 

Rock Stars For God

 

Now all those who believe also were in the same place and had all things in common.  And they disposed of the acquisitions and the properties, and divided them to all, forasmuch as some would have had need.  Besides persevering day by day with one accord in the sanctuary, besides breaking bread home by home, they partook of nourishment with exultation and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor for the whole people.  Now the Lord added to those being saved day by day in the same place. 

Acts Of The Apostles 2: 44-47, Concordant New Testament 

My mom always liked going to church on Sunday mornings.  That was her thing.  Whatever was going on in life, it came second to her being there in the pews.  One of her favorite parts of the Sunday morning service was the singing of the old hymns she recalled from her younger years.  Despite not being that much into the public singing thing, she always encouraged me to join in.  This was part of her way of praising the Father.  Yet, something began to happen in the few years before she became sick.  The church she knew and loved so well began to change.  The singing of the old hymns had began to give way to new, louder and more hip versions of morning worship songs.  Along with the loud music came the light show one might only expect to find at a local rock concert.  Not only did this new form of worship alienate my mother, but others as well.  Yet, in the end it seemed that this was the direction which our church was headed.  I mention this because this seems to have become the go to model for many of our brick and mortar churches these days.  Granted, there continue to be houses of worship which will from time to time dig back into the golden oldies of praise and worship hymns, but these instances are few and far between.  Now, one thing which I will seldom criticize another for is how they praise the Lord.  That is indeed different for everyone.  I was never much of a singer of hymns in church, but I would praise God in my own way.  I have a few dear friends who still enjoy singing the hymns of old as well.  I believe that part of the issue here is that we have elevated those who perform these modern church hymns into pseudo rock stars.  Once a lower tier of church ministries, praise and worship bands and orchestras now occupy places of importance within the church.  And why not?  We're told to sing unto the Lord, aren't we?  But what is the difference between those who rock out to modern praise and worship hymns in church and those who quietly sing the old hymns they remember to themselves throughout the day?  Absolutely nothing!  Therefore, I see these modern rock stars for God as simply ways to bring more people into the mainstream church.  

Through Him, then, we may be offering up the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips avowing His name. 

To The Hebrews 13: 15, Concordant New Testament 

In the days of the old Promise Keepers ministry conferences, there was a praise and worship band known as Maranatha music.  These were my hymns.  I still have more than a few recordings of these hymns in my music collection.  Why do I mention this?  As I said, people sing praises to the Lord in different ways.  Yet, my first experience with Maranatha music came at a Promise Keepers conference in Portland some years back.  Honestly, the sound of thousands of men singing praises to the Lord on that day still moves me.  I had been under the assumption that most guys were like me, that they would sing to themselves or in private.  But that day, I sang praises to the Lord with the rest of my brothers.  If you search Maranatha or Promise Keepers on YouTube you are bound to come across the awesome sounds of men singing unto the Lord.  Many of these songs don't include the blaring sounds or flashing lights of a normal Sunday morning worship, but they are awesome.  And what is the overall message of our modern praise and worship music?  Lord, come into our presence.  Forgive us, oh Lord.  I get it.  For the message of modern praise and worship music seems to follow the messaging of the mainstream church without fail.  So, we continue to sing the messages of church theology unto the Lord.  For me, I prefer hymns that celebrate my life in Him {Johns Account 14:20}, and Jesus' defeat of sin on the cross {Paul To The Romans 6:6-11}.  The trouble is, hymns such as these are few and far between.  

~Scott~ 

The Waiting

 

Now of this one thing you are not to be oblivious, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.  

Peter To The Dispersion (2) 3: 8, Concordant New Testament 

Outside the old church I used to attend someone had once erected a bronze statue of a majestic eagle.  Why an eagle?  Well, as the scripture proclaims, those that wait on the Lord shall mount up with wings like eagles {Isaiah 40:31}.  Anyone who has ever gone through a positive or difficult season in their lives knows the importance of waiting and being patient.  I myself have been reminded of this in the past month.  Yet, as the crooner Tom Petty once sang, "The waiting is the hardest part."  I recall many a church goer agonizing over the prospect of waiting for the Lord to intervene in any given situation.  It seems that we at one time glorify the concept of waiting on the Lord, yet when the rubber meets the road we agonize over it.  Why is that?  I believe that it all goes back to the lie which the deceiver instilled in Adam and Eve in the garden.  It is Satan who convinced Eve that she indeed could partake of the tree which the Lord God had commanded them not to eat of, that being the tree of the knowledge of good and evil {Genesis 1:17}.  The consequences of partaking of this tree, according to the Lords warning, was death.  Yet the deceiver convinced Eve that she if she was to eat of the forbidden fruit, that she "Would not surely die," but that "The day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" {Genesis 3:1-5}.  As they say, the rest is history.  What followed was the expulsion from the garden for the Lords creation, and the opening up of sin in man.  Indeed, we would need to wait a very long time before Jesus cried out on that cross "It is finished!"  With that, sin was put to death.  But the waiting for that moment?  I've come to the conclusion that as much as we are told to remain patient and to wait upon the Lord, we don't like it.  Why?  Because we desire to live our own life, that's why.  We want our life on our terms.  THAT is the very definition of the lie of the deceiver!  That we can be separate from the Lord who created us.  Don't be deceived, when scripture speaks to us of waiting on God, we are indeed waiting IN HIM.  

Now when the full time came, God delegates His Son, come of a woman, come under law. 

Paul To The Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

To understand completely how it is that we are indeed waiting in the Lord, we must first understand the relationship which we share with Him.  Contrary to institutional church teaching, there is NO separation between ourselves and God.  God has been an intimate part of our life ever since He breathed into us the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  But what about God banishing Adam and Eve from the garden?  Yes, there were consequences for following the lie of the deceiver.  The trouble is, many clueless believers continue to follow that lie even today.  The apostle Paul spoke of the truth of the indwelling Christ in us in Galatians {Paul To The Galatians 2:20}.  This was not something unique to only Paul, but is the evidence of our life in Christ.  And if we live in Christ Jesus, then we wait in Him as well.  I feel that many Christians treat the verse of waiting on the Lord as if they are alone.  We're far from alone in this life.  For many years, waiting on the Lord meant a struggle to me.  For when I waited upon the Lord, I waited for One who was far off to come and deliver me.  Now I realize that I could have avoided a lot of undue stress had I known the relationship which I share with the Lord.  Indeed, for the Lord a day is like a thousand years.  Waiting on Him can seem like a difficult proposition in a microwave speed world.  Yet when we come to know that we wait IN the Lord, it is His comfort which surrounds us.  

~Scott~ 

The Fathers Voice

 

"He who is of God is hearing Gods declarations.  Therefore you are not hearing, seeing that you are not of God."

Johns Account 8: 47, Concordant New Testament 

There is a popular television game show where unknown singers compete from behind a screen.  As they sing, well known recording artists judge them based not on appearance, but by their voice talent.  I was thinking of this this week as I contemplated what we have come to know as "God's voice" within us.  I've heard it time and time again from Christians who face particular situations oh so carefully as they await to hear from God as to what it is they should do.  I get it.  Of course, I also hear many believers complain that they just cannot hear the voice of the Father despite waiting for awhile.  Is it that the Father makes His voice known only to certain people?  I would doubt that.  The Father who loved us enough to breathe into us the breath of life would not pick and choose which of His children He wishes to commune with.  I believe that the desire of the Lord is that He commune with ALL of His children.  Yet, there are those who insist that they cannot hear the voice of the Lord.  My question to them would be this, do you know Him?  Do you know Him well enough to recognize His voice?  Jesus proclaims that those who do not hear the voice of the Lord "Are not of God" {Johns Account 8:47}.  It is for this reason that I ask, do you know Him?  I admit that for much of my life I only knew OF the Father.  I knew the stories which were told each and every Sunday.  How I was created in his image {Genesis 1:27}.  How the Father breathed into me the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  Yet as far as knowing the Father intimately, I was lost.  I was like most well meaning Christians, knowing of God yet never experiencing a relationship with Him.  Granted, I knew right from wrong, and I still possessed that "Little voice" within me which warned me when I was on the verge of doing something wrong.  Some claim that this is indeed the voice of the Lord.  While a good case can be made that this voice of what we know as our own conscience is in reality the muted voice of the Lord within us, it is often ignored.  

Lo!  I stand at the door and am knocking.  If ever anyone should be hearing My voice and opening the door, I will also be coming in to him and dining with him, and he with Me. 

The Unveiling Of Jesus Christ 3: 20, Concordant New Testament 

I first heard of the scripture being "Seared" into our memory during a Sunday morning sermon.  I feel most would agree that there are certain events in our lives which will be forever seared into our consciousness.  I feel that the same can be said of the scripture which we read.  Passages which seem so important that something within speaks to us that we should remember it.  The Fathers voice?  I believe that it very well could be.  Do I believe that those who have never known the Lord can hear His voice?  Absolutely.  God has never been limited to only those who follow Him.  After all, each of us has a unique history with the Father.  We recognize Him because it is God who is a part of who we are.  For we are not flesh based, but in spirit {Paul To The Romans 8:9}.  This is the truth which the apostle Paul spoke to in Galatians.  That being the truth of our life in Christ {Paul Tom The Galatians 2:20}.  Following the history of the Lords creation, God first created man in His spirit image {Genesis 1:27}.  It is this spirit image which is our one true identity.  After that, God formed the flesh man out of the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life, and our spirit became a living soul {Genesis 2:7}.  There is no doubt that the Father has been a part of us from the beginning.  Therefore, I believe that it is entirely possible that someone who has never known the Lord will suddenly hear His calling.  Of course, it remains entirely up to the Father as to when this will happen.  

~Scott~