Raising The Dead

 

Now at their becoming affrighted and inclining their faces to the earth, they say to them, "Why are you seeking the living with the dead?"  

Luke 24: 12, Concordant New Testament 

It seemed like just a normal Oregon winter day, with that east wind keeping us colder than normal.  As I pulled into one of the facilities we service, I noticed a pedestrian shouting and flagging me down.  I was able to discern that he was alerting me to a possible overdose nearby.  I was immediately skeptical, as this is an area with a large homeless population.  However, I made my way to where the man was directing me.  On arriving, I found a young man passed out on the ground, with his so called girlfriend administering what can only be described as rudimentary CPR.  Minutes after calling for assistance, the paramedics arrived to assist the victim.  One of the paramedics administered a dose of the drug Narcan, which somehow counteracts the effects of heroin on the body.  Within thirty seconds of receiving the life saving dose, the young man was sitting up, taking off the blood pressure cuff and oxygen mask the first responders had used to revive him, and shouting at those around him wondering where he was.  Such are the effects of this life saving drug.  Then it hit me...I'd just raised the dead.  

In November of 2020, Oregon voters passed state measure 110, which effectively decriminalized the possession of formerly illegal drugs such as heroin and methamphetamine.  Punishment for simple possession now turned from a felony to a minor ticket infraction.  As the measure passed by over 55% statewide, one can assume that the majority of the state agreed that criminalizing hard drugs was inhumane.  Yet I have a different take, because in Oregon, if you win the most populated areas of the state you have a good chance of winning.  So, to say that all of Oregon is in support of reduced penalties for drug possession would, I feel, be in error.  So it is that we have turned the scourge of drugs upon the same people we were attempting to save from them.  From a Christian perspective, our very first knee jerk reaction is to pray for the afflicted.  This is what we have been taught for most of our Christian lives in one way or another.  So we pray.  Yet, the homeless population seems to get larger.  Doesn't God care about those trapped in the slavery of addiction?  Sure He does, just pray for them.  Well, how about instead of simply praying for those most vulnerable, what if they were to experience the love and mercy of Christ Jesus firsthand?  

"For I hunger and you give Me to eat; I thirst and you give me drink; a stranger was I and you took me in; naked and you clothed Me; infirm am I and you visit Me; in jail was I and you come to Me."  "Then the just will be answering Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we perceive You hungering and nourish Thee, or thirsting and we give Thee drink?  Now when did we perceive Thee a stranger and took thee in, or naked and we clothed Thee?  Now when did we perceive Thee infirm, or in jail, and we came to Thee?'  "And, answering, the King shall be declaring to them, 'Verily, I am saying to you, in as much as you do it to one of these, the least of My brethren, you do it to Me.' 

Matthew 25: 35-40, Concordant New Testament 

I find it interesting that one of the most important teachings of the love and mercy Christ is found in Matthew.  Here, Jesus rattles off a few occasions where His followers dropped the ball and left Him high and dry.  They refused Him when He was hungry.  They ignored Him when He was a stranger.  They even left Him without clothing when He had none.  Incredulous, the people ask of Jesus just when they had seen Him in this way.  Then Jesus drops the hammer.  "In as much as you do it to one of these, the least of my brethren, you do it to Me" {Matthew 25:40}.  I'm sure that there was a long silence from the crowd after Jesus spoke these words.  For when was the last time that you saw Jesus in someone you don't care much about?  I admit that as I watched the paramedics administering medication to that young man recently that I immediately did not see any resemblance to Christ.  Now, I can speak all day and twice on Sundays about how I see Jesus in myself, but in some homeless kid?  Then I need to ask myself that question, what makes him so different from me?  What makes Jesus choose me over him?  Is the indwelling Christ simply available to those most Godly?  If so, then the apostle Paul broke that mold.  For it was Paul, the persecutor of the early church of the followers of Jesus, who speaks to the reality of Christ in us {Galatians 2:20}.  The indwelling Christ is not available to only a select few, but to all who accept Him.  How does the homeless kid in the slavery of addiction even hear of the freedom to be found in Jesus?  From those who have realized Christ Jesus in themselves.  Through us, Christ is manifested upon the world.  I guess I could say that as long as I have Jesus, I'll keep raising the dead.  

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 flesh, I am living in faith that is of the Son of God, Who loves me, and gives Himself up for me.

Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Last One Out Turn Out The Lights

 

How, then, should they be invoking One in whom they do not believe?  Yet how should they be believing One of whom they do not hear?  Yet how should they be hearing apart from one heralding?  Yet how should they be heralding if ever they should not be commissioned?  According as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those bringing an evangel of good!  

Romans 10: 14-14, Concordant New Testament 

How would you have learned of something if someone had not first informed you?  Indeed, many Christians have come to the faith through the preaching and leading of others.  This is indeed why ministries are so very important.  Correctly accomplished, they spread the gospel of the Lord wherever those who are speaking it go.  I have been involved in a few ministry opportunities, and I have always been amazed at how eager some people are to hear the word of the Lord.  Yet, I could not speak of the word of the Lord had I not first heard it for myself all those years ago.  A good friend of mine has been speaking the gospel of Christ most of his life.  His credentials include time spent in seminary and many years in the pulpit.  He knows of what he speaks.  It is through his leadership that I myself came to the knowing of the truth of Christ in me.  But where would I have been without his words to guide me?  Granted, I am positive that the Lord used him to speak the gospel of Jesus into me as well as others.  I am fortunate for his leading.  Yet what of those who have not been as fortunate?  Who will tell them of the truth of Christ?  Sadly, I speak of my knowing Christ in me, but in mainstream Christianity those who speak to this are few and far between.  Instead, we all too often hear the theology connected to the modern mainstream church.  These are the teachings that I grew up with in a Christian home.  Through the years I listened to the man in the pulpit speak to me about God.  How God created me {Genesis 1:27}.  How He dispatched His only Son to die for me on the cross {John 3:16}.  How Jesus, after His death on the cross, rose again {Luke 24:5}.  Finally, how Jesus ascended unto the Father in heaven {Acts 1:9}.  However, as far as the story of Jesus goes, this is where the road ends according to Christian theology.  It is Jesus who now sits in heaven at the Fathers side.  This was the Jesus that was spoken to me.  This was the Jesus I knew.  

This is the stone that is being scorned by you builders, which is becoming the head of the corner.  And there is no salvation in any other one, for neither is there any other name, given under heaven by men, in which we must be saved. 

Acts 4: 11-12, Concordant New Testament 

Growing up, I remember sitting in front of the TV with my mom watching various Billy Graham crusades.  Now, the reverend Graham was indeed a wonderful speaker of the gospel.  Evidence of this is seen near the end of each and every gathering he spoke at.  For at the end of each and every broadcast, reverend Graham would invite all who wished to give their lives to the Lord to come forward.  I was always amazed at the crowds of people who willingly walked forward to accept Jesus as their Lord and savior.  My mother would often pray over those who walked forward.  As I thought about this writing this week one thought kept popping up.  What if Billy Graham had somehow chosen a different career path?  We can say all we want about fate and destiny, but was it the reverend Grahams ultimate decision to speak the Lord to millions of people, or was it the Lords leading him to do so?  I have listened to my friend speak of a "deeper desire" when he talks about his early pre-seminary days.  I believe that this was the Lords leading for him.  So, if indeed Billy Graham had never once spoke in public about the gospel of Jesus, what would have become of all those he helped lead to the Lord?  Would they somehow have been held guilty of never knowing Jesus?  The scripture is clear, Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Nobody comes to the Father but through Him {John 14:6}.  Yet what of those who seemingly never knew or heard of Him?  Are they doomed to a future hell?  Knowing the full nature of God, I believe that His desire is that all will come to know His Son {1 John 4:8, John 3:17}.  Yet how will they know if someone never tells them of Jesus?  

For God's indignation is being revealed from heaven on all the irreverence and injustice of men who are retaining the truth in injustice, because that which is known of God is apparent among them, for God manifests it to them.  For His invisible attributes are descried from the creation of the world, being apprehended by His achievements, besides His imperceptible power and divinity, for them to be defenseless, because, knowing God, not as God do they glorify or thank Him, but vain were they made in their reasonings, and darkened is their unintelligent heart.

Romans 1: 18-21, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Meta Universe

 

Now the soulish man is not receiving those things which are of the spirit of God, for they are stupidity to him, and he is not able to know seeing that they are spiritually examined. 

1 Corinthians 2: 14, Concordant New Testament 

The other day I found myself wandering through the gym I go to and noticed an alarming trend.  Now, I was already aware of the influx of the digital universe on our society, but it's interesting to see it first hand.  As I did my gym thing, I noticed more than a few youngsters playing on their phones.  No doubt they were immersed in their daily dose of alternate reality.  This topic of internet addiction is something which I can speak to as I have already had my go at being addicted to the internet.  As far as addictions go, I would say that most people would deny that they are addicted to their digital devices.  Yet these are the very same people who spend over half of their waking hours worried over how the meta universe perceives them.  Look on any social media platform and you will see millions of people jockeying for the favorable opinion of people whom they have never even met.  Again, I've been there.  I've experienced the high of having so many others look at me with approval.  But it turns out what they were approving of wasn't really me.  That man so many others were approving of was just the man I wanted others to see.  He was the cool dude who had everything under control.  He was the confident, attractive guy everyone wanted to know.  That is all part of the lie of social media.  When we're engaged in the meta universe we can create our own reality.  We are what we want those around us to see.  In the midst of my porn addiction, I also dabbled in the early days of the online meta universe.  Most youngsters these days have never heard of the first chat rooms that plagued the internet.  Back then, an alternate reality was as easy as creating a profile you wanted to be known as.  Once you had your profile, you could commence to surfing through the various chat rooms to chat up other chat folk.  Of course, you couldn't tell who the person on the other end of the line was, but you were hoping it was an attractive woman...or man.  That was the nature of these forums back in the day.  This was the start of the meta universe.  

They are of the world; therefore they are speaking of the world, and the world is hearing them. 

1 John 4: 5, Concordant New Testament

I've often wondered what the reaction of most people would be should their meta universe be taken away from them for any extended period of time.  The sitcom TV teenager who goes into cold sweats when their parents restrict their use of their electronic devices describes this generation Z perfectly.  I've known parents who gift their pre-teen kids with cell phones at ages as young as 11 years old.  So, from a pretty young age, our kids are not only dabbling in the meta universe, but more than likely engaging in more than they are telling us.  There have been countless stories of young children seduced online by those meaning to do them harm.  Knowing the alternate reality of the meta universe, it's easy to see how an impressionable child could be lured into danger by a would be sexual predator.  For their part, the parents of these kids are seldom aware of what their kids are dabbling in.  These are kids who could be searching for the acceptance and approval they feel they are not getting at home.  It's the perfect hunting ground for deviants.  This is what I tell those of the younger generation whenever they ask me why they don't see me spending time on my phone.  I've been there.  These days, I'm assured in the reality of who I am.  My worth and value is not at all gauged by the acceptance of those in the meta universe.  My reality is in Christ Jesus {Galatians 2:20}.  Through Him I know the truth of who I am.  The beautiful part of that is, I didn't need the meta universe to convince me.  

~Scott~ 

The Lord Giveth

 

Wherefore God gives them over, in the lusts of their hearts, to the uncleanliness of dishonoring their bodies among themselves. 

Romans 1: 24, Concordant New Testament 

I present to you a question.  Is God the all-knowing creator of all that we see?  Is God indeed capable of accomplishing anything according to His will?  If you answered yes to these two questions, then you understand just who the Lord is.  Now, another question.  Knowing God as you do (Or as I am hoping that you do), do you believe that God would tolerate sin among His children?  Do you believe that He would simply turn a blind eye to sin while His children do things He sees as wrong?  Well, many Christians may not know the Lord as well as they say they do.  Far too many believers look at the world around them and wonder why it is that God does not work against the wrong behaviors they see.  Others engage in doing wrong without seemingly any fear that God might intervene.  We hear them talk of "Siezing the day" and living life on their terms.  I have even heard church going believers profess that the Christian life is far too restrictive.  They prefer to live the life of the world while claiming to follow the Lord.  Sorry, but that isn't how things work.  Yet, where is God in the midst of all of this misbehavior?  I'll tell you where, the same place He's always been.  God didn't change...we changed.  Along the way, the Lords creation chose to live their lives according to the lie of the accuser.  The problem is that the deck was already stacked against us even before we were born.  Scripture tells us that all have sinned {Romans 3:23}.  Yes, that means you.  For all of our good intentions, we were all born into sin.  This is the result of our acceptance of the lie of the accuser in the garden {Genesis 3:5-6}.  It is this moment which also demanded that we are in need of a Savior.  Make no mistake about it, we NEED Jesus.  For while we were all born into sin without a choice on our part, we do have the option to choose to accept Christ and the forgiveness offered to us by the Father.  However, what becomes of those who ultimately choose not to accept the offering the Lord gives?  Well, in that case the Lord giveth.  

In this was manifested the love of God among us, that God has dispatched His only-begotten Son into the world that we should be living through Him.

1 John 4: 9, Concordant New Testament 

We need to get one truth straight from the beginning, ALL have been given the opportunity to choose the forgiveness offered by Christ Jesus at the cross.  Just as all were born into sin, all have the opportunity to choose Jesus and have their life of sin forgiven.  That is our choice.  So, what of those who steadfastly refuse to accept Jesus, preferring instead to live life on their own terms?  Well, as the apostle Paul tells us, God gave them over to their own behavior {Romans 1:24}.  God is still who He is, He simply gave those who refuse His offer of forgiveness up to their sin.  God does not condone their misbehavior, He simply allows them to live their lives the way they choose.  This is their choice.  Our choice is a simple one...Jesus or a life in the world.  For those who refuse to accept Christ, the choice is still available to them.  There have been countless stories of those who have chosen the forgiveness of Christ Jesus even after a life of wrongdoing.  One of my favorite scriptures is the tried and true scripture we find in John 3: 16.  That a loving and merciful God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son.  That whoever believed in He whom the Father sent would not perish but have everlasting life.  We've all read this verse at one time or another.  Yet I believe that the real message of hope is found in John 3:17.  That Christ did not come to Condemn the world, but that ALL might be saved through Him.  That all might be saved.  This is why Jesus came to us.   

For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only-begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him should not be perishing, but may be having life eonian.  For God does not dispatch His Son into the world that He should be judging the world, but that the world may be saved through Him. 

John 3: 16-17, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Gender Specific

 So Elohim created humanity in His image; in the image of Elohim He created it: male and female He created them. 

Genesis 1: 27, Concordant Old Testament 

I've come to realize lately that I could be in need of someone to identify with.  When I say identify, I mean who it is that I feel that I am.  So, who am I?  Better yet, who are we?  It seems that the biggest thing lately is for someone to identify with someone or something they feel defines them.  I even heard of a man in the southern U.S identifying as a goat.  While this might be taking things quite far, it provides you with an idea of the lengths which people will go to in order to feel accepted.  Some might feel that identifying as another race might somehow ease their guilty racist hearts.  While others might seek to identify as another sex entirely.  Take, for example, American swimmer Lia Thomas, who made waves recently by transitioning to a "female" swimmer.  Apparently, she identified more as a woman than as the male human she was conceived as.  I'm interested as to what the reaction of the average every day believer would be on this issue.  I can assume that, knowing the words in scripture, that Christians would know the difference between what God intended and what man desires.  However, believers are human and certainly not immune to the wiles of the modern world.  There might just be those few believers who think it's all well and good to identify with whatever makes them happy.  Hey, whatever floats their boat.  But what should we do with the truth of how God sees us?  I might just be a voice in the wilderness here, but wouldn't God know better than anyone who we are?  After all, He did create us {Genesis 1:27].  It is God who breathed into us the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  This is the truth of who we really are.  

Yahweh Elohim formed the human out of the soil from the ground, and He blew into his nostrils the breath of life; and the human became a living soul. 

Genesis 2: 7, Concordant Old Testament 

From scripture we know that the Lord not only created us but gave us life as well.  How is it that we can be anything other than what God created us to be?  There is but one way to achieve this, through the arrogance of man.  Somewhere along the way, we accepted the lie that we ourselves are separated from the God who created us.  That we no longer have any connection to Him.  For the believer, this means continually striving to "Be like" Jesus.  Well, God isn't satisfied with His children simply resembling His Son.  It has always been the Lords desire that we would be one with He and Christ Jesus {John 17: 21}.  Separation was never in His ultimate plan for us.  This was simply the lie spoken by the accuser in the garden {Genesis 3:5-6}.  So, over time, we substituted the lie of the accuser for the truth of the Lord.  But this is much more important than saying the devil made me do it.  Satan has no power over us!  We, on the other hand, have the power to choose.  We can choose the truth revealed to us by God.  Or, we can choose the lie spoken to us by the accuser.  It's our choice.  Keep in mind that choice does nothing to affect the truth of who it is we are.  All it does is provide us with a choice to believe in.  We can choose truth, or we can choose the lie.  So, who is it that I identify as?  Well, I identify as Jesus {Galatians 2:20}.  

We are of God.  He who knows God is hearing us.  He who is not of God is not hearing us.  By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.

1 John 4: 6, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Oh God Where Art Thou?

 

The God Who makes the world and all that is in it, He, the Lord inherent of heaven and earth, is not dwelling in temples made by hands, as if requiring anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all

Acts 17: 24, Concordant New Testament 

I was thinking the other day of just how much effort we Christians put into locating God.  We look for God in our churches and in the world around us.  Heck, we even look for God in our popular worship music of the day.  Listen to a good number of the most popular praise and worship songs and you will hear the singer praying to God to appear in our presence so that WE CAN worship Him.  If I were God, and in most respects, through the work of His Son, I am, I would gently remind the praise and worship crew that, "Hey...I'm here!"  Think about it, would God suddenly decide that He does not want to be among His creation?  He made all which we know and see.  There is nothing that ever was that did not have His fingerprints upon it.  So, what, or Who, are we looking for?  Are we seeking God or are we simply seeking to satisfy our own curiosity that there is indeed a God there somewhere?  As a Christian, I often prayed to the Lord that He would reveal Himself to me.  Granted, I knew who God was, but I was seeking confirmation of sorts.  This is the plight of the modern believer.  We're fed the mainstream church mantra that God is in heaven watching everything we do.  So, what do we do when we seek a deeper connection with Him?  Well, the church tells us that in these situations we need to pray to God and ask Him to "come closer" to us.  Seriously?  We're asking our loving heavenly Father, who created all that we see, to be closer to us?  I think the better question which we should be asking is where do we NOT see God?  Can you think of anywhere that you would never expect to see Him?  Even in those most wretched of places where few venture, it is God who not only created it, but calls it His own.  Something we might see as wicked and evil, God sees as His very creation.  

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 flesh, I am living in faith this is of the Son of God, Who loves me, and gives Himself up for me. 

Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament

I recall an old Hollywood movie back in the day titled Oh God.  In it, John Denver is Jerry, a super Market manager in California living what could be seen as a mundane life.  Until one day Jerry receives a note...from God.  The note instructs Jerry to meet God in an abandoned office.  You can imagine his reaction, God wants to meet me?  Jerry begins to question his sanity, along with others around him.  He eventually goes to the office building where he is met...by God (in the form of the late George Burns).  Why would God choose to make Himself known to a super market manager?  As God tells it, "Because people have forgotten who I am."  The movie climaxes with Jerry in a courtroom on trial, in part due to his insisting that God was indeed for real.  The trial seems cut and dry, with Jerry on the verge of being found guilty.  That is, until God shows up.  In the end, we see George Burns telling the world that God is indeed real and that He just wanted to see how His children were getting along.  It seems that this is that this is the scenario we find ourselves in these days.  A world looking for proof that God exists.  A world desperate to know Him.  This is why we seek Him.  This is why we are so very desperate to know Him.  We seek the assurance that what we have been told for so long is true.  God is real and God is here.  The apostle Paul's words in Galatians speak to the assurance we seek.  It is God who lives in me {Galatians 2:20}.  

~Scott~  

Lies He Told Me

 

Those who alter the truth of God into the lie, and are venerated, and offer divine service to the creature, who is blessed for the eons!  Amen! 

Romans 1: 25, Concordant New Testament 

I originally had planned to make this post about baggage.  More specifically, the emotional baggage which we all carry with us as a result of past experiences.  Hurts, emotional wounds, we all have experienced these lies at one time or another.  For much of my life, I have struggled with the truth of who it is that I really am.  Only recently have I come to know Jesus in a way where I understand that I am not the man who the world has been trying so hard to convince me that I am.  The lies have ranged from my identity being tied to my physical appearance to what I believe in.  Nowhere, in the worlds way of thinking, was I that precious child of God I was created to be.  No, for the world had other plans for me.  People wanted to be sure that I knew just who I was.  For quite a few years, this was the emotional baggage I carried with me.  The toll it took on my life was not good at all.  Depression and low self-worth haunted me from time to time.  Accepting positive comments became a struggle.  These were the lies he told me.  So, you ask, who is he?  Well, he is the same one who has spread the lie of every single false image that we have ever had of ourselves.  He is the one who instituted the lie that, in the aftermath of our own sin, that we would be exactly like God {Genesis 3:5-6}.  He is none other than Satan our accuser.  What the accuser has done to me is nothing new, he's been at it since before time began.  It was Lucifer who conceived in himself the lie that he could be as God {Isaiah 14:14}.  Indeed, if Lucifer was arrogant enough to conceive the lie that he could be as great as God, then he was certainly capable of deceiving us with that very same lie.  That lie of the accuser, spoken to Eve in the garden, started mankind down, as they say, the highway to hell.  For what Satan accomplished by speaking the lie to Adam and Eve was to introduce sin into Gods creation.  Contrary to what the accuser may have thought, however, this was not the end of our relationship with the Father, but the beginning of our relationship with Christ Jesus.  

Because knowing God, not as God do they glorify or thank Him, but vain were they made in their reasonings, and darkened in their unintelligent heart. 

Romans 1: 21, Concordant New Testament 

One question I've asked myself over and over is why is it so damn easy to accept the lie of the accuser than the truth of Jesus.  The lies of the accuser tell us that we are fat, lazy, scared and incapable of being loved by anyone.  These are the lies we all too often willingly accept.  These are the lies I believed about myself.  Although I knew God, I was deceived by the lies of the accuser.  So, what changed?  How did I come to know the truth of who it is I really am?  I was introduced to Jesus for the very first time in my life.  The moment I came to know Jesus I began to see the contrast between the truth of Christ and the lies of the accuser.  Jesus spoke to me what I knew in my heart, that I had been lovingly created by my heavenly Father.  The words of Jesus were not meant to tear down, but to reveal the truth of what God desires we know.  It is the desire of the Father that we would be reconciled to Him {John 17:21}.  I see the beginning of our relationship with Jesus to be in the aftermath of the lie spoken by Satan in the garden.  Because it is here where God desires that we realize our need for Him.  The Lords punishment did not carry over across the eons.  It is through Christ Jesus that He brings His children unto Him once again.  I mentioned that my own self image changed when I came to know Jesus in a deeper way.  The apostle Paul speaks to this in Galatians.  The reason that I see through the lies of the accuser is because of the revelation that I...am Jesus {Galatians 2:20}.  I'm no longer that guy who the world tried so hard to convince me that I was.  In fact, I never was.  What I am is the living embodiment of Christ Jesus who is in me.  That's something the accuser never told me.  

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.

Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~