Thoughts On Prayer

21“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22“And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.25“O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26“And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17: 21 - 26 NKJV

We've spent quite a bit of time lately discussing prayer.  Not just our own prayers but those prayers of others as well.  Sometimes I get some pretty confused looks when I now relate my thoughts on my prayers to God.  I guess I should say, my communication with God.  I mean, that's really what our prayers are right?  When our backs are against the wall or we simply need to feel our Lords presence we all too often seek to bend the Fathers ear that we might bear our burdens upon Him.  Now, I see nothing wrong with this at all.  However, I have changed my own thoughts on how it is I pray.  This comes from my own realization that I am no longer lifting my prayers up to a unseen God in heaven.  See, I no longer see my heavenly Father as simply sitting on His throne in heaven gently but sternly watching over His children.  That is how I used to see things, but things have changed.  My prayers now are not to a God removed, but to a loving Father who shares every aspect of my daily life with me.  The prayer of Jesus in the garden which we find in John 17 gives a hint as to where our own prayers should be directed today.  If you read into this prayer of Christ, you can see that His very desire was that we, those who followed Jesus, would be ONE as He and the Father are one.  Think about that, the prayer of Jesus is that Gods children would share in the union that He shared with the Father.  So, the question we have often asked in our own group is...was that prayer of Jesus ever answered?  Well, I can honestly tell you that YES, the prayer of Jesus in the garden was indeed answered.  That is, today you and I enjoy that same union which Christ and the Father have shared from the begining.  Our own proof of this comes from the apostle Paul, who proclaims in Galations that it is the Spirit of Christ that lives through us today.  This is the union we now share with He and the Father.

20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2: 20 NKJV

So, knowing that we now share in the union with Christ, how is it that we are now "supposed" to pray?  Well, first of all, I would be the last person who would tell someone how they should pray to the Father.  Prayer is such a intimate and personal conversation with God that I don't believe that we can ever place conditions on it.  There can never be a "ought to, should have" or "you should do this" conditions placed upon our prayers to the Father.  To do so smells of the institutional church and seperation theology, and I think we all know by now my feelings on that matter.  No, I see our prayers as much of a intimate conversation as if we were talking to a close friend.  Do we place conditions on those conversations we have with our friends?  I would hope not.  When we began to see ourselves as being in union with Christ, our prayers will take on a new meaning.  This is what changed my own views on prayer.  I now see my prayers as a intimate conversation with Christ who is closer to me now than He has ever been.  Not only that, along with my union in the Father, He knows my words even before I speak them.  What valley, mountain or situation will I ever face that God is not intimately involved with?  I can't think of anything.  Knowing that the Spirit of Christ Jesus now shares every aspect of my life is a good feeling.  So, what does that union mean in regards to our prayers?  Well, for one we can stop thinking of "lifting up" our own prayers to God.  We are in union with Jesus and the Father, God is in heaven, but He is also in us.  I would say that where we once lifted our prayers, we are now speaking directly with the Father.  It seems that we've cut out the middle man and now are going directly to the source.  My advice to anyone on prayer would be this...talk to Jesus, He's waiting to be with you.

14For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, 16that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,17that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Ephesians 3: 14 - 19 NKJV

~Scott~

The Day I Met Jesus

20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2: 20 NKJV

I was watching some overrated reality show the other night, which in itself is bad enough.  However, it seemed like a good way to kill time.  Somehow, the restaraunt critic host of the show made the off the cuff comment that he could remember the exact day of his first baptism.  Now, I'm not sure if this guy was looking to get his show axed, but talking christianity on network tv is a good way to do just that.  So, I got to thinking if I could recall the exact day of my own baptism...I've had two.  I vaguely recall bits of each one, which may or may not refelct just how importantly I viewed each.  Can I really recall that day I first met Jesus?  I'm thinking not.  Yes, some may be thinking as they read this that it would be impossible for me, a sinful man, to ever come face to face with Christ Jesus.  To these people I would say...don't take everything your pastor says as gospel.  Yes, I have come face to face with Christ.  In fact, it is He who now lives through me {Galations 2:20}.  So it is that everything I will ever do, experience and feel I do as Christ who is in me.  Yet, good luck trying to get me to recall the exact day I came to that realization of Christ in me.  The difference between that revelation of Christ in us and, say, our own baptism is that that baptism is a pretty concrete physical act.  Now, did Christ experience that baptism through me?  I have no doubt that He has been a big part of me for some time now.  However, like I said, I am just hard pressed to recall the exact timing of my so called conversion into that world of the Spirit of Christ.  I think of the apostle Paul, who certainly had no doubt in his own heart that the Spirit of Christ lived on through him.  Did Paul recall that exact moment where he realized the indwelling presence of Christ, not really.  However, Paul realized something even more important.  Paul knew that, unlike a baptism, our own realization of Christ in us may go unnoticed for a time.  So it was that he knew that it is only by Gods timing that we come to that realization {Galations 1: 15-16}.

6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be adone away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.7For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV

I remember a conversation I had with a friend some time ago on this topic.  He recalled looking into the mirror one morning and thinking to himself that he was indeed looking at Jesus.  The point is that even for a good christian man such as my friend, the knowledge of Christ in him was something gradual in his life.  I'm guessing that this was his way of telling me that one day I would come to that very same realization.  One day I too would meet Jesus.  Well, I can definately say that I now know the truth of Christ in me.  Now, does that mean I live each and every day in the knowledge of that revelation?  Well, I have my moments.  I like to tell people that knowing Christ in us is really a tough thing to wrap our minds around.  Indeed, it is the mystery among the gentiles {Colossions 1:27}.  That is, Christ in us, the hope of glory.  In our own group we have been meeting and digesting this truth of Jesus in us for more than a few years.  Every now and then someone new will join us and I will see that glazed look in their eyes as they try to comprehend what I've struggled to come to grips with myself.  Hey, dude, I've been there.  For me these days it's more about reinforcing what I already know.  That as I live, Christ lives.  Something I often think of is the phrase "the man in the mirror."  Who is it that I see when I look in that mirror?  Well, no matter what I'm thinking at the time has no bearing on that truth of Christ in me.  I could be having one of my lowest days of the week, Jesus is still standing there looking back at me.  That realization isn't just reserved for me or the righteous.  No, the truth of Christ is there for all to enjoy...the day you meet Jesus.

 15But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, 16to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,
Galations 1: 15 - 16 NKJV

~Scott~

A Weaker Ministry

26For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Galations 3: 26 - 28 NKJV

There has been many stories in the news lately about the mistreatment of women in our society.  Only this morning, hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein turned himself in to face charges on assault and other crimes against women.  Also this morning, Wayne Jacobsen waded into this controversy with a podcast in which he touched on the subject of women in the christian church feeling inferior to men.  Now, I would say that if there is but one place where ALL would have a safe haven it would be in the church.  However, as I would tell any critic of the institutional church, we are all human with human fleshly behaviors.  Not only that, the heirarchy of the modern church is led by those with the same human tendencies.  So, how is it that a organization led by those with fleshly thoughts and desires be expected to somehow show impartiality and Godliness to all?  Heck, if I know that I myself am prone to my own thoughts and desires, how is it that I could even claim to treat everyone with the love and respect of our Lord Jesus whose Spirit lives through us {Galations 2:20}?  Indeed, the church is but a man made institution subject to the rules and regulations of the men/women who lead it.  What kind of behaviors were you expecting from such a organization?  Ok, all of that aside, the underlying issue remains as to how we see the females around us.  I say females because this seems to be the news of the day, so deal with it.  However, bad behaviors are never reserved for one sex or another.

16Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
2 Corinthians 5: 16 - 17 NKJV

We recently discussed the possibility of a monthly gathering of our group to further the discussion of Christ in us.  However, the one exception this time was that we will be including our spouses in the conversation.  Now, as one of the single guys in our group this threw me for a loop...temporarily.  Indeed, it's not only me who needs to know the truth of Christ, but others in our group as well.  It would be pretty damn self centered of me to suggest that we exclude someone from this conversation simply because society might scream that a female should be below us and should only be taught and never teach.  Well, I've heard more than a few good female pastors in my time.  Our focus should not be on the messenger but on the message of the truth of Christ in us.  All that matters is that His message is delivered to all who will hear it.  Something tells me that this would avoid alot of bad feelings out there.  After all, in the end it is not our church, but Christs.

~Scott~

That Rugged Cross

24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.25“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"
Matthew 16: 24 - 26 NKJV

A lot has been made in christian circles about he who "denies" himself in exchange for knowing Jesus.  In fact, Jesus Himself tells us that if anyone would come after Him, that he should deny himself and take up His cross.  Well, I got into a bit of a discussion the other night with a pastor who shall remain nameless about what it means to take up that cross of Christ.  These days we have used these words of Christ as sort of a cliche to describe a tedious situation we may or may not be in.  All too often we describe a job, a difficult situation or our own lot in life as "that cross we bear."  However, I tend to look at those words of Christ in what may be the context He meant them to be understood.  See, to people in Jesus' time, that cross meant something completely different than it does today.  For Jesus, the cross meant a cruel death at the hands of the Romans.  Christians today have come to see the cross as but a representation of the gift which Jesus gave of Himself on our behalf {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  Believe me, the cross is so much more than a symbol.  So much more, in fact, that Jesus called on all who follow Him to deny themselves and take up their own cross and follow Him.  That's the rub isn't it, to deny ourselves?  Now, at the sake of offending a few self loving millenials, let me just say that at the core of our trust in Christ lies something we hold onto pretty tightly.  That is our own independent self.  The missionary Norman Percy Grubb (1895 - 1993) would have claimed that it is no longer our own self which survives, but only the one true self in the universe...God.  Of course, this flys in the face of anyone who holds tight to the carpe diem mind set that we alone are responsible for the outcome of our own circumstances.  Of course, I have often wondered how it is one could lay claim to Christ in them while still holding to their own independent self mind set {Galations 2:20}.  Has someone who still holds to their own independent self really denied themselves?  I wouldn't think so.  So, they've yet to shoulder that rugged cross?

19Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6: 19 - 20 NKJV

I believe that at the heart of our understanding of Christ in us lies that understanding that we no longer exist.  Yes, I realize that this might be a tough pill for most to swallow, but we're told it is true nonetheless.  The apostle Paul tells us that our own bodies no longer belong to us, but that we have been purchased at a high price.  You could say that the price was paid in blood...the blood of Christ.  So, how is it that we can deny something that really doesn't exist?  Can we deny something that we no longer identify with?  Are we indeed seperated from God?  If so, then how is it that we can claim Christ in us?  No, the ONLY way the belief of Christ Jesus in us works is if we ourselves no longer exist.  All which remains is Christ.  Trust me, there are still times where the struggle is real for me to understand all of this.  For we have been spoon fed from an early age that we are our own entity.  We have ourselves, and then we have Jesus.  Folks, that is seperation theology and it doesn't sit too well with the truth of Christ in us.  So, can we indeed die to ourselves?  I would say no, knowing that we have no self to die to.  All that remains is Christ.

~Scott~

Arguing For Jesus

9Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13“And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be dhumbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18: 9 - 14 NKJV

I heard a story the other day of a man who was driving around with a bumper sticker which proclaimed "God, save me from your followers."  At first I had a little laugh at this obvious jab at christinaity, until I realized the seriousness of the message.  See, I've been on the other side of that coin, trying in vain to argue someone into a life in Christ.  No, I never really got too many converts using this approach, but there was no mistake that people knew where I stood.  They call it apologetics, and it's premise is to use a "reasonable " argument to make others accept your point of view.  The funny thing is, every time I would hear a similar minded preacher on the radio I couldn't turn it off too fast.  Yet I had no reservations about using those same tactics in order to entice others into God.  I guess that you could say that I was kind of a door to door salesman for Jesus.  Now, if you were to ask me just how it was that I came to the realization of Christ in me, it wasn't because someone presented to me a argument which I couldn't ignore.  No, it was revealed to me through many conversations I had with a few christian brothers.  Like most people, I had questions about the man Jesus, and my brothers in Christ did their best to answer them.  Ultimately it was my heavenly Father who revealed His Son in me {Galations 2:20}.  There was no shouting, arguing or street corner evangelism.  I shudder to think what my own response would have been to such an approach.  Maybe I'd still be looking for Christ in my own life.  Since when has a well presented argument ever won someone to Jesus?  I mean, isn't the mere mention of the word "argument" showing that you are somehow forcing your opinion upon someone who might not want any part of it?  No matter, everyone MUST know the truth of Jesus!!  So we shout it from the rooftops hoping someone will hear us.  Lord, save us from your followers.

20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2:20 NKJV

A friend sent me a story the other week of a man who, apparently wanting to frighten people into their own salvation, suddenly stood up in a crowded movie theater and began shouting the virtues of knowing Jesus.  So, can anyone see just why I got a chuckle out of that bumper sticker on that dudes car?  Why do we, as christians, feel that it is our divine duty to argue Jesus unto others?  Can someone tell me anywhere in scripture where Jesus used this technique in His own ministry?  No, because He didn't need to.  See, actions speak so much louder than words, and those around Jesus could definately see His compassion and mercy to others.  Jesus had no need to shout His ministry to anyone.  He already knew who He was.  The trouble with most apologetics today is that we already know just who and where Christ Jesus is.  Not only are we assured that it is Jesus who lives through us, but that in due time He will be revealed unto those who seek Him.  I've long thought that the ministry of apologetics will only turn more people away from Jesus.  Think about it for a minute, does Jesus really need our help in getting His message across?  Does Jesus really need us to defend Him?  Trust me, the man Jesus is more than capable of standing on His own in His desire that all come to Him.  I did not come to that realization of Christ in me because someone presented to me a better argument.  Yet there was a time when I was taught that this was effective ministry.  The ministry of Jesus was not based on arguments, but on the teachings of the love and mercy of Jesus.  He healed the sick, gave hope to the lost and forgave the sins of the wicked.  Jesus did not come to seek the righteous, but to bring the lost unto the Father.  Somewhere along the way more than a few of us have lost His message.  When Christ Jesus is revealed in us, He will work through us that we would reach others with His message.  What better ministry is that?

25“But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. 26‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’ 27“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, 28‘for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ 29“Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ 30“And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ 31“But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
Luke 16: 25 - 31 NKJV

~Scott~

Hope For Those Who Hurt

39Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” 40But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? 41“And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” 42Then he said kto Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” 43And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
Luke 23: 39 - 43 NKJV

I heard something interesting on a christian radio call in show this past weekend.  A caller was lamenting the passing of a loved one who had taken her own life.  It was the response of the host which surprised me a bit.  For even though this woman had taken her own life, if she had indeed known Christ Jesus then she could be assured of a eternity with her Lord and Savior.  This threw me for a loop, as I had grown up being told that the very act of taking anothers life can pretty much guarantee someone a one way ticket to hell.  Now, I have never even seen a list, if there is one, of those offenses which can warrant a eternity seperated from God.  However, I have been told that there indeed are those offenses which are...unforgivable in our Lords eyes.  So, where does that leave someone who is so completely lost that they feel their only choice is to take their own life?  Is it the same as taking the life of another?  Certainly the criminal penalty of taking anothers life far outweighs that of taking ones own life.  But how does God see it?  Well, on one hand you have the very act of taking away a life shared in Christ Jesus {Galations 2:20}.  Also, you have the issue of destroying that which God has created in His own image {Genesis 1:27}.  Once we get past the underlying issues of this most desperate of actions, we can better understand the person...and our Lords response.  The underlying issue is, of course, is how does Jesus view those among us who are hurting?  How has Jesus seen me when I have been at my low points?  Well, since He shares each and every experience of my life with me, I can only imagine that He is intimately involved in whatever I am going through.  I see the reaction of Jesus to those who were hurting and I get a glimpse of how He would see others who are in pain.  One thing Jeus never did was condemn one who was hurting.  On the contrary, it was Jesus who gave hope to those who seemingly had none.  If we understand that God is merciful to those who need it most, then we can see Him in the form of the man Jesus as He comforts those in need {John 1:18}.

35‘for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36‘I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’37“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38‘When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39‘Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’40“And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
Matthew 25: 35 - 39 NKJV

I think that we have gotten beyond that point of being more Christ like.  We know that it is that Spirit of Christ who lives through us, and that those around us will see His love and compassion as He works through us.  Every time we give encouragement to someone who needs it it is Christ through us who is glorified.  So, what does this all have to do with one who takes their own life?  Can they expect, as the thief who hung on that tree beside Jesus, to be with our Lord in paradise?  I would say yes, with one condition.  I believe that Christ Jesus is the one and only way to a eternity with our heavenly Father, and that once He is revealed in us our own eternity is secured.  There is no alternate way to come into our Lords glory, it doesn't work out that way.  There is a real reason that Jesus claimed to be the Way, the Truth and the Life.  Because He is.  Nobody comes to the Father but through Jesus.  Good deeds and holy thoughts only go so far, these are but window dressing.  Where is it that your own heart stands in Christ?  Is He but a free pass to paradise, or are you now one in God and in Christ?  If we are indeed one in Christ, we can be assured that He will never leave us.  Are we ever that hopeless once we have Jesus?

9Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. 12‘I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13“And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’ 14“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be dhumbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18: 9 - 14 NKJV

~Scott~

The Reluctant Jesus

20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2:20 NKJV

We have a friend in our group who has said on more than one occasion that it is very difficult for him to proclaim that he is indeed Jesus.  Despite scripture reference to the contrary, there is still that reluctance to claim what his spirit already knows.  That the risen Spirit of Christ Jesus lives through him.  I guess I can't blame him, I struggled with that very same realization in myself.  Was it ever that difficult for me?  Maybe at times.  I remember simply saying "I'm Jesus" without fully comprehending what it was that I was signing onto.  I hear that there have been more than a few of us who have gone through the same struggles as I have.  This is the reluctant Jesus.  Of course, it doesn't help matters that the modern day institutional church does not back us up with teaching that we are indeed Christ.  See, that would somehow be blasphemy.  As a freind recently told me, it seems that Jesus has become hidden behind the clergy and the elders of the church.  I get it.  What organization can survive if its own members flock towards a better idea?  So, I get why todays church has did its best to hide the truth of Christ Jesus in us.  However, that in now way means that it isn't true.  I think of the push back that Jesus received as He proclaimed Himself the Son of the living God.  Yeah, that threw more than a few Pharisees for a loop.  Yet it was, and is, true.  Am I supposed to simply overlook certain parts of scripture that the church feels is not relevant?  Sorry, that's not my thing.  I'm of the belief that if it is written in the word, then there is a truth and a reason for it.  It is meant to leads Gods children into a new realization.  A realization of Christ in you.

6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be adone away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.7For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV

A friend once told me that in the latter stages of his career as a pastor that he began to come to the realization that the teachings of the church he served were less and less about Jesus and more about tradition and the survival of the organization.  How many other christians have come to that same realization and ended up leaving the church dissolutioned and lost?  I mention this simply because if others have come to the realization of that truth of Christ then it is only by the revelation of our heavenly Father.  The apostle Paul, on his Damascus road experience, was brought to this very same revelation {Galations 1:15-16}.  It's not through our own timing or realization, but by the very revelation of God.  So don't feel so bad if you struggle with what our Lord has revealed in you, you're in good company.  Now, realizing that the Spirit of Christ lives through you is one thing, but understanding it may bring its own challanges.  Enter the reluctant Jesus.  Indeed, if Christ lives through me, then He shares in ALL that I do and experience in my own life.  In fact, there is nothing that I do in which Jesus is not intimately involved.  He is involved in every breath, heartbeat and decision I make each day.  This is Jesus in me.  This is the prayer of Christ in the garden which we see in John 17.  This is the prayer of Jesus which was ultimately answered, that we would be one with He and the Father.  As He lives through me, so I am one with Jesus and the Father.  There are still times when I feel like a reluctant Jesus, but I honestly feel more complete with Him than without Him.  We can certainly feel like that reluctant Jesus, but that in no way changes who we truly are in Him.

20“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who jwill believe in Me through their word;21“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22“And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.25“O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me. 26“And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”
John 17: 20 - 26 NKJV

~Scott~

Done

 44Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45and sold their possessions and goods, and dividedp them among all, as anyone had need. 46So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.
Acts 2: 44 - 47 NKJV

They're called the "dones."  They are christians who have grown accostomed to or grown up in the institutional church but for one reason or another have suddenly felt themselves unfed, misunderstood or...alone.  Back in 2009 I suddenly found myself in that catagory of the dones.  My mother had recently overcome a brain tumor and my own world was suddenly turned upside down.  Now, I had been attending the very same church for a long time, so I had seen many others come through its doors only to leave and never return.  For some time I saw people such as this as uncommitied to anything God.  Not like me.  No, I came to church every sunday, I ushered, I tithed and I played the good christian soldier.  I wasn't done...not yet.  I'm not sure of the date, but there came a time when going to church didn't carry that same importance as it once did for me.  I began to miss a sunday, then two.  Even though I always came back, when I did I encountered more than my share of bewilderment as to how I could "give up" on God.  Was I giving up on God?  I didn't think so.  Despite having gone to the same church for so long, I somehow felt stuck in the same place.  Funny, but it's almost like I was expecting, as the apostle Paul claimed, to advance in my faith {Galations 1:14}.  Instead, I was in that same place I was in so many years before, as a baby christian looking to be fed.  I wanted more.  I was done.  I'm sure that there are many more out there who followed the same path as I have, but this was just the one I chose.  I was fortunate for the friendship of a pastor from the church I had just left who took every opportunity to allow me to grow in Christ.  I realized that this was exactly what I had been seeking in the church but never received it.  Through all of the sermons and classes I ever attended, I'd never come to know Christ as I did once I became a done.

9Two are better than one, Because they have a good reward for their labor.10For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, For he has no one to help him up. 11Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone?12Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Eccleasiates 4: 9 - 12 NKJV

I asked a friend of mine this week who had followed me into the dones not too long ago.  In his own words, he claimed that he got "bored" with going to church...another done was born.  I'm guessing that my own my situation could easily be seen as the same as my friend.  I remember sitting in many a sunday sermon impatiently looking at my watch as the pastor served up another speech about being closer to God, or the power of prayer or whatever the buzzword was for the week.  Boring.  In retrospect, I have often asked myself where was Jesus in all of this?  Well, I didn't know it at the time, but Jesus was the one there all along waiting on me.  Go figure.  Was church more than just a weekly sermon?  If it was I was sure looking for it.  The closest I got to feeling excited about the church I was going to would come when the men of the church would get semi energized for one of our mens conferences.  Maybe now I'd be filled with more than I was getting in church...nope.  The only difference bewteen my regular church service and Promise Keepers was that the conference had more people.  That's no knock on the Promise Keepers, it just wasn't what I was looking for.  To me, there had to be more to God than a weekly lecture and a list of rules to follow in order to be a good person.  In my heart I knew that Jesus had something better for me.  I also noticed something else once I was done, freedom.  No longer was I bound to those rules of the church that would somehow make me that much more righteous.  Now I was experiencing God on my own terms, one on one with no pulpit pounder middle man in between.  The God I came know once I left was different from the one I left behind in the empty pews of the church.  This God never made me feel guilty if I took a sunday off, never condemned me after I stumbled.  I was no longer a member.  I a son...and I was done.

11When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13: 11 - 13 NKJV

~Scott~

Our Big Break

47“But Solomon built Him a house. 48“However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: 49‘Heaven is My throne, And earth is My footstool. What house will you build for Me? says the LORD, Or what is the place of My rest? 50Has My hand not made all these things?’
Acts 7: 47 - 50 NKJV

I read something this week from Wayne Jacobsen who was bemoaning the trend of some christians suddenly finding the church they grew up in as no longer having meaning to them.  Well, not like it used to.  Hey, Wayne, I've been there.  It's not just that Wayne is preaching to the choir in this instance, I do give him kudos for bringing this subject up.  Now, I've spent a good deal of time in the past railing on the institutional church, and for good reason.  See, I've lived the "church" life.  I've sat through the sunday sermons, given until it hurt and attended more than a few latest and greatest seminars which were supposedly supposed to bring me closer to God.  Well, I did get closer to God, but it wasn't because of some church or pastor.  No, how I knew that I was closer to God came with that revelation of Christ in me {Galations 2:20}.  It seems that Jesus had been there all along, I just didn't realize it.  Now, I could blame the church for this, but why?  Was it the churchs fault that Christ was not revealed in the man Saul for so long? {Galations 1:15-16}  This begs the question, is the church God?  Ok, let me rephrase that, is that church which we know today God?  That church with the elegant furnishings, the lovely choir and energetic pastor...is that how we see God?  Not in my book.  In fact, Luke mentions in the Acts of the apostles that God is not found in temples made by men {Acts 7:48}.  Still, far too many people equate the local church as that sole dwelling place of our heavenly Father...Gods house.  Like I said, I've been there.  Like many christians today, I grew tired of the regulations, rules and traditions which all too often took center stage over Gods children.  Seems I wasn't alone in my thinking.

20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2:20 NKJV

A friend sent me a funny video this week of a pastor yelling at his congregation about the virtues of believing in God.  Now, I've never seen a pastor yell in a sermon, but if I had I'd assume it wouldn't be all that popular.  I found it more humerous than anything.  What is it that makes us force God upon others?  Does God require us to somehow muscle others into believing?  I think not.  I don't think that the creator of all which we see would ever need someone to force others to believe in Him.  That is why we were created with that ability to choose.  God wants for us to choose.  Well, it is His very desire that we choose Him.  The trouble with having that ability to choose is that we don't always make the right one.  Yes, I have a history of wrong choices.  However, one right choice I did make was to accept Christ when He was revealed in me.  I didn't have someone yell at me to accept Jesus.  I didn't realize Jesus in me in some institutional church seminar.  No, as with all who have made that same decision I did, it came in the Lords own timing.  Luke asks in Acts, "what will you build for me?"  What is it that we, as followers of Jesus, bring to the table?  All we're really asked to bring is ourselves unto Him.  All we're asked is to bring ourselves...not a new building.  See, Gods children are far more valuable to Him than a new building, even if the church doesn't see things that way.  There was a point in my christian life where this truth struck my heart like a bell.  Why were we spending so much time building, spending and preaching?  Would not God provide for all of this?  All He desires is for His children to choose Him.  Choose wisely.

~Scott~

All I Am

7Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.9In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
1 John 4: 7 - 11 NKJV

I was thinking just the other day about something a friend related to me recently.  The topic had come up of Gods grace,and how it is that he blesses His children with not only His grace, but His mercy and love as well.  He gives to all who come to Him freely without question.  So, if our Lord is indeed Love, would it be so hard for Him to bestow upon us something He already is?  Could we call this our Godly heredity?  I mean, we are assured that we are not only sons of God, but heirs as well {Romans 8:17}.  I really don't see it as our Lord being able to give all that He has freely, but as His children inheriting all that He already is.  I inherited certain characteristics from my own parents, and these are evident even today.  We all take away things in our own dna that we can trace back to our own family roots, and our heavenly dna is no exception.  Not only are we heirs in to the promise in Christ Jesus, but it is Jesus Himself who lives through us today {Galations 2:20}.  Yes, I guess you could say that part of my own parents lives through me as well.  They are a part of who I am.  So it is that Jesus is...part of who I am.  A part of who we all are in Christ.  So, what does this all have to do with our Lords grace and how it is that He gives of it freely?  Well, if God is Love, are we not the same if Gods Spirit is in us?  If God is grace, are we not already washed in His grace as well?  It may be a hard row to hoe, but the fact is that if God is in us, then He shares all we are...and vice versa.  I know that there might be more than a few Pharisee school pulpit pounders out there who might shake their heads and declare me a outright heretic, and that's ok.  I get it.  Trust me, it was hard enough for me to come to grips with all I am in Christ.  It's no wonder that the apostle Paul called this the "mystery among the gentiles" {Colossions 1:27}.  That is, Christ in you, the Hope of glory.  I am witness to it.

21“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22“And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
John 17: 21 - 24 NKJV

I don't believe that our question should ever be just how much of His love and grace our heavenly Father has to give to us, that would be a no brainer.  Instead, I think we should instead ask ourselves how much of Him do we see in ourselves?  God is love, do I see this side of Him in myself?  More often than not I don't.  Yet that doesn't mean that this isn't a part of who I truly am in Him.  All it tells me is that there are things about Him I have yet to see in my own life.  It's not a God issue, it's a me issue.  The mystery of the gentiles, remember?  I'm pretty sure that Paul struggled with the very same things I find in myself at times.  Yet, Paul realized that it was he himself who had been put to death, replaced by Jesus {Romans 6:8}.  Is my heavenly Fathers love and grace given to me freely?  Absolutely.  Of course, it was already within me.  For all that God is, is all that I am as well.  As He lives, so I live.  It's not possible for me to abandon the traits which I have been born with, I am who I am.  I know Gods love simply because it is who I am in Him.  I know His grace because I see it in He who lives in me.  Yup, pretty simple really.

6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be adone away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.7For he who has died has been freed from sin. 8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him.10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 11Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV

~Scott~

Through The Thorn Bushes

7And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.8Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.10Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12: 7 - 10 NKJV

I was reminded this week of not only how impatient I am with myself, but with my Lords timing as well.  As I am so fond of saying to my physician friend...I'm definately not a patient patient.  However, if I have learned one thing through my latest bout with infirmity it is that God can, and often does, take us through our own thorn bushes.  As the apostle Paul lamented the "thorn in his flesh" that tormented him, he also came to realize that through his torment was a light at the end of the tunnel.  So, three times Paul asked the Lord to relieve him of his torment, three times.  So, what was the Lords response to his faithful minister?  "My grace is sufficient for you" {2 Corinthians 12:9}.  Trust me, I've spent more than a few moments this week asking God if He could relieve me of my distress.  If He could?  Yeah, that was my question.  God, I know you're there and I know you're real, so can You heal me?  Like I said, I'm not a patient patient.  I shudder to think if I had been one of those patriarchs of old whom the Lord trusted to lead His people through the wilderness.  Ok, Lord, you want me to wait for your word?  How long are we talking here?  Yeah, it seems that our loving heavenly Father seldom works things out that way.  Sometimes He even works things out in ways we did not expect.  That's God doing what He does best.  All too often we forget that our Lord does not work at microwave speed {2 Peter 3:8}.  Of course, that doesn't mean that He's too busy for us, just that He has our own best interests in mind as He works in our lives {Jeremiah 29:11}.  Was God somehow disapointed in Paul?  Hardly, He just reminded Paul of all that was important.  His grace is sufficient.  For without His grace, we would still be lost in our sins.  Instead, we are assured that His Spirit lives through us {Galations 2:20}.  Even through our thorn bushes, our Lords grace endures.

8We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— 10always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
2 Corinthans 4: 8 - 11 NKJV

I was also reminded this week by a dear friend of what is likely the ultimate outcome of those who come through our thorn bushes.  What is the desire of Christ Jesus who is in us as we labor through our own weakness?  That the Father receieve all the glory of the outcome!  As Paul proclaimed, "I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake" {2 Corinthians 12:10}.  Take pleasure in our infirmities?  Remember that end game folks, that God be glorified.  We may place all of our focus on our own situation as we're going through our own thorn bushes, that takes our focus off of where it really belongs.  Where do you think Pauls attention was as he dealt with that thorn in his flesh?  Obviously he thought of it often if he asked the Lord three times to remove it from him.  I get it.  I spent alot of time this week with my attention focused on my own situation.  Then again, as He shares our experiences with us each day, I'm sure that He understands how we tick by now.  God knows me, He should, He lives through me.  Would it be Gods desire to heal His own flesh?  I'd think so.  Then agian, there are many followers of Christ who fall victim to incurable disease.  His grace is sufficient.  As Paul proclaimed, "For me, to live is Christ, to die is gain" {Philippians 1:21}.  Think about that, if we have accepted Christ Jesus, what is our future?  I'll remind you if you've forgotten, ours is a future within our Lords presence for eternity.  Christ has given us the ultimate victory over death {Romans 6:9}.  Tell me again that His grace is not sufficient for us.  For it is by His grace that He saves us from ourselves.  It is by His grace that He lives through us.  To God be the glory.

24And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! 25“For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” 26And those who heard it said, “Who then can be saved?” 27But He said, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.”
Luke 18: 24 - 27 NKJV

~Scott~

How We Pray

15Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: 17that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,19and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.
Ephesians 1: 15 - 19 NKJV

Knowing the man Jesus is a wonderful thing.  Well, that is until we are nudged to change our own way of thinking.  Before long, we are thinking of Jesus not as "there," but as "here."  See, more than a few believers get stuck in the belief that Christ bled, died and rose again into heaven after three days in the grave.  Now, I have no doubt that Jesus is indeed in the Fathers presence, for this is exactly what we are told in the scriptures {Acts 1:9-11}.  However, it is the new Jesus where many christians get tripped up.  This is the post crucifiction Jesus.  That Jesus who, as the apostle Paul tells us, lives through us today {Galations 2:20}.  I know of what I speak, for I struggled with the truth of Christ as it was revealed to me.  When that happened, I had to rethink most of what I had been told about Him.  Was this the same Jesus who had ascended into heaven and now sits at the side of the Father, or is He somehow among us today?  The answer is...yes.  As the physician Luke tells us of Christs rise into heaven in Acts, we can also trust that Paul is also correct that when he tells us that it is He who lives through us today.  Our knowledge of Him may change, but is Jesus Himself who never changes {Hebrews 13:8}.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever.  We ourselves are the ones who change.  We change from seeing Jesus as simply looking down on us from heaven, seperated from Gods creation, to seeing Him as closer than we have ever been to our Savior.  In this the prayer of Paul is answered in that the knowledge of Christ Jesus will be revealed to us {Ephesians 1:17}.  Notice that Paul did not pray for Gods provision or for our health, but only that Christ would be revealed to us.

25But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 26Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Romans 8: 25 - 26 NKJV

This knowledge of Christ in us led us into another conversation this sunday morning.  The question was asked, how is it that we should pray?  Should our prayers be just a daily wish list for those things in our lives we would like for God to address?  Or, is there something more to our own "requests made known to God?"  Jesus Himself tells us that our heavenly Father knows even before we ask just what it is we need {Matthew 6:32}.  Now, I could easily ask God for a six figure income and a fancy sports car, but is this what I truly need?  Is it the material things we need, or our own knowledge of Christ in us?  I think Luke hit the nail on the head.  For if God already knows what we need, why pray for something He knows we need anyway?  No, our prayers should be that our own understanding of Jesus be revealed in us.  Now, I'm not saying that a prayer offered to God with a personal request would be ignored, only that when we pray, God already knows what it is we will ask Him.  My question to my friend this week was, how do I pray for Gods healing for myself?  Well, I wouldn't hear his answer in any sermon I'm sure.  As he told me, my prayer should be more aong the lines of, "ok, God, you got this."  As He lives through me, He will also work through me in the healing of HIS body.  Remember, that man I was has already been put to death, all that's left is Christ {Romans 6:8}.  As I live, Christ lives in me as well.  Whatever infirmity it is that I am facing, He's going through it with me.  So, what is the end result of my healing through Him?  Simple, that Christ be glorified.  Whatever pain medicines, antibiotics or that I am given, it is through Christ Jesus that I will be healed.  Ok, God, you got this.

1Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart,2saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. 3“Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, b‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ 4“And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, 5‘yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ”
Luke 18: 1 - 5 NKJV

~Scott~

As He Lives

 20according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. 21For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 1: 20 - 21 NKJV

I really don't expect to get too much money for my revelation.  The other day I was contemplating the reality of Galations 2:20.  You know, that passage in which the apostle Paul assures us that Christ lives on through us.  So, as I contemplated this reality of Christ Jesus in me something else was spoken to me as well.  As Christ lives, so I live.  Again, I can thank Paul for his insight into this truth we find in Jesus.  It's in Philippians that he stakes his claim that to live is Christ..to die is vain {Philippians 1:21}.  So, I'm guessing that I can't proclaim that I've stumbled across anything too inspirational...although it was to me.  As He lives, so I live.  So it is that I now live this life in Christ Jesus.  Or, more appropriately, He lives through me.  Everything that I experience, touch and live, I share with Him.  It's funny that too many christians spend a lifetime in their own quest to "be closer" to Jesus.  Folks, we will NEVER be closer to our Lord and Savior than we are right now.  All it takes is for us to realize all that we have in Him.  Yes, this could well be our Lords revelation of Christ Jesus in us.  How else would we come to that realization of Jesus in us if not for our Lords revealing?  This is how was for Paul as well {Galations 1:16}.  When it pleases God, Christ Jesus will be revealed in us.  Now, that doesn't mean that everyone will receive that revelation and accept the truth of Christ.  We all should be aware of that.  We've all known those who, despite being children of God as we are, ignore that fact that they also are heirs in Christ along with us {Romans 8:17}.  I have zero doubt that my loving heavenly Father sees them as He also sees me.  Trust me, we've had more than a few group discussions about those who have realized that truth of Jesus and those who don't.  That in no way changes who I really am.  As He lives...so I live

15But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, 16to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
Galations 1: 15 - 17 NKJV

Notice that, as with Paul, God did not push me into my own realization into Christ in me. Despite all you might think you know about God, one thing that He has blessed all of His children with is that ability of choice.  I understand from a pretty reliable pastoral source that we are the ONLY ones in our Lords creation created with such freedom to choose.  It is by this fact that more than a few of Gods children refuse to accept the truth of Christ.  That in no way changes who they are, just that they do not realize it.  Trust me, I've often teetered on that cliffs edge of realizing the truth of Jesus myself.  For me it remains one of the most difficult things I've ever tried to comprehend.  So, I can often see why the institutional church has yet to embrace all that Jesus has to offer those who accept Him.  My mom often had a inspiring phrase she would tell me in my lowest moments.  As I struggled, she would all too often assure me that Jesus was as close to me as my next breath.  Well, it turns out that she was right all along.  I think of this in relation to the painting I used for this post.  Jesus is there knocking, will we answer Him?  We are all given the choice.  For those to whom the truth of Christ has been revealed, we now share our lives with Him.  As Christ and the Father are one, so it is for us {John 17:21}.  We are now one with the Father.  As He lives, so we live.

20“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who jwill believe in Me through their word;21“that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22“And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23“I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. 24“Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
John 17: 20 - 24 NKJV

~Scott~

Seeing Past Ourselves

16Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5: 16 - 17 NKJV 

I read this week a little peice of how, as christians, we sometimes get stuck on ourselves as we speak of Christ to others.  I'm sure we've all been there at one time or another, struggling with the prospect of speaking Christ to one whom we may not see as "desirable."  Whether it's the one who at one time hurt our feelings or one who we see as not exhibiting "christian like" behaviors.  There are times where I've held back speaking Jesus into those who I've felt somehow didn't deserve to hear of Him.  What's with that?  Well, let me tell you that I myself may not have been "worthy" by our worlds standards when the truth of Christ Jesus was spoken into my heart.  In fact, I'm sure that there have been plenty of people out there who have missed out on hearing of Jesus simply because I let myself get in my own way.  I wasn't seeing past myself.  I've often wondered just how Jesus would have seen me if were to have met Him on some lonely road in Galilee.  Of course, I already know that answer.  For Jesus would have seen me as He saw others who He came across, with love and mercy.  Despite our own shortcomings, it is Christ who cuts through it all to see each of us as we truly are in Him {Galations 2:20}.  We should never get it twisted, it is Christ Jesus who sees Gods children as we really are.  We are no longer sinners needing His redemption, He's already taken care of that at the cross.  It  is Jesus who took our own sin unto Himself that we should not suffer it's penalty {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  I hear all too often of the anology of the "filthy rags" we once wore, symbolizing the sin that once defined us.  Yet, through Christ our trespasses are now "white as snow"{Isaiah:18}.  See, Jesus never let his flesh get in the way of what His Spirit was doing.  Yet this is something we ourselves seem to struggle with from time to time.  I would think that Jesus never put restrictions upon whom we were to speak His truth to.  No, we're the ones who do that.  

26For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galations 3: 26 - 28 NKJV 

I heard some political pundit proclaim some time ago that democrats had "no need" to know about Jesus.  Really?  Well, if that's the case then more than a few of us may never have heard the saving truth of Jesus.  Thankfully, Jesus cuts through all of the crap to reach us right where we're at.  For that I am grateful.  How many times have I, echoing the words of the apostle Paul, claimed to be among the "worst" of sinners?{1 Peter 1:15}.  More than a few I'm sure.  However, I'm also assured that it is Jesus who loved me enough to put Himself in my place {1 John 4:19}.  So, if we are assured that it is Christ who lives through us today, why is it so difficult at times to see those around us as being in Christ as we are?  Believe me, there is no difference between me and that grumpy guy down the street, for Christ gave Himself for all.  That through Him ALL might be saved {John 3:16-17}.  As christians, we don't hold membership in a special club where only the few and the most righteous are allowed.  If this were the case then I may have never been allowed in myself.  Rest assured, we are not the judge of who enters into our heavenly Fathers presence.  I believe that God embraces all who come unto Him.  So, why wouldn't we feel the same way?  For if God embraced us in His love and mercy, shouldn't we also do unto those we meet?  If He loved us, so we ought to love one another {1 John 4:11}.  Easier said than done?  Perhaps.  I wouldn't think it would be all that difficult once we learn to see past ourselves to how Christ sees us.  How many hurt feelings could be avoided if we simply did that?

9In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

1 John 4: 9 - 11 NKJV 

~Scott~  

When We See Jesus

"You're eyes can deceive you, don't trust them"

25The other disciples therefore said to him, “We have seen the Lord.”So he said to them, “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.”26And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, “Peace to you!”27Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.”28And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”29Jesus said to him, f“Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”
John 20: 25 - 29 NKJV

Thomas had a problem.  Despite having lived among the Son of God for quite some time, he was still unsure of what it was that Jesus had been saying all along.  Despite those encouraging words from his friends that they had seen the risen Lord, Thomas refused to believe.  He wanted to see the risen Christ before he would accept what Jesus had already told him.  It's hard to think that we all have a bit of doubting Thomas in us.  Sure, we know that Jesus told those who would hear of the trials that He would face on His way to the cross.  That the Son of Man must suffer many things for all of us.  In our hearts we know that truth that is Jesus, but all too often we want something more.  Like Thomas, we want to SEE Jesus with our own eyes that we might be reassured that He is indeed who He says He is.  Despite all that we know, we find it a comfort that we might be able, just for an instant, see Jesus as He is.  One of the issues I had as I struggled with the knowing of Christ in me was that I couldn't see Him.  Yes, the apostle Paul assures us in Galations that the Spirit of Christ lives through us, we still feel as if we cannot see Him {Galations 2:20}.  Like Thomas, how is it that I could believe, to trust, in someone I couldn't even see?  Of course, if I've faced these questions, I'm sure that there are others out there who have asked that very same thing.  There may be more than a few doubting Thomas' out there among us.  All seeking to see the Lord Jesus.  Have we been blinded to who Jesus really is?  Perhaps, but I also think that what it is we're looking for may just be closer to us than we think.

5Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.7“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?
John 14: 5 - 9 NKJV

Like Thomas, ol' Philip also seemed unsure of what Jesus had been speaking of for so long.  I have often wondered if Thomas and Philip ever got together to wonder amongst themselves just what Jesus was telling them.  Can one who has died rise again?  Can we actually see God?  Of course, we know in our hearts that the answer to both of these questions is a resounding YES!  Still, we long to see Him to prove to ourselves that He is there.  That we're not somehow wasting our time believing in someone who doesn't even exist.  However, like the wise old jedi Obi Wan Kenobi once told his young apprentice, "you're eyes can deceive you, DON'T trust them."  I have a feeling that this wise advice would do many a christian good these days.  Stop relying on your physical sight to look for something you already know to be true.  Have you ever seen with your own eyes the affection of another?  No.  Now, we often see those ACTIONS of another which we perceive as affection, but I'm guessing that physical affection itself cannot be seen with our eyes.  Yet we do not discount that it exists.  When is the last time your eyes saw gravity?  I'm guessing that nobody can claim to have seen this either.  Sure, we see gravitys effects upon us each day, but we've never actually seen it.  Therefore, we accept it because we simply know it's there.  Knowing Jesus can also be that simple.  Although He is not visible through our physical eyes, we can rest assured that Jesus is who He claims to be.  We're told that nobody has ever seen God, but we're assured that He lives in us {1 John 4:12}.  Knowing that the Spirit of Christ lives through us, our own spirits are assured of His reality.  We know that we know.  Your own eyes can deceive you, don't trust them.  When we look into that mirror...we have seen Jesus.

3Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. 4And it happened, as they were bgreatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. 5Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? 6“He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, 7“saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”8And they remembered His words.
Luke 24: 3 - 8 NKJV

~Scott~

What's Your Crutch?

6Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;7and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4: 6 - 7 NKJV

I got to thinking this week of a few of those things I have used to cope with all that is around me.  Some time ago I had a habit of posting inspirational phrases on my walls at home.  I'm sure that at one time there must have been more than a few index cards taped to my walls.  The idea was that from the moment I woke up each day until the time I went to sleep I was surounded by these inspirationl phrases.  Good thoughts in, good attitude on the outside right?  Yeah, well it didn't always work out that way.  I mention this because our sunday conversation this week turned to a few of those things we all do to help us through the day.  There seem to be so many addictions out there that people use to help them through their own life journeys.  I have a friend who has battled a drug addiction for some time before turning his own life towards Christ.  Now, for those of you who might expect a lecture on the evil sins of abusing drugs, I ask you to take a step back and look within.  For we all have had something we may have used at one point or another to keep us in our own comfort zone while the world raged around us.  For me it was a food addiction.  For others it may be drugs, work or that desire for success.  Any way you might look at it, it's still something we might use to get us through the day.  These are our crutches.  Like a pair of crutches we might use to assist a broken leg, we also use our own emotional crutches to help us through our day.  So, what is it that you rest your hopes on in those moments where you feel the most lonely, tired or afraid?  The apostle Paul would tell us to place our anxieties upon Christ Jesus {Philippians 4:6-7}.  Jesus Himself asked those who were listening what would be gained by worrying about their own lives {Matthew 5:27}.  Yet this is exactly what we do on a day to day basis.  These are the things that make us feel good temporarily and yet come roaring back to bite us before too long.

 7casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.8Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5: 7 - 8 NKJV

The one thing that I would mention is that those crutches which we all too often use to make us feel comfortable in our own surroundings are just a temporary fix.  Like a pair of crutches we might use for a broken limb, they're only good for as long as we need them to get around.  Once we're healed, we seldom feel the need to use them further.  Seriously, how many healthy people do you see hobbling down the street on crutches?  Like I said, I've been on the other side of the addiction fence, so I can relate to my friend who seems to be fighting his demons of the past once again.  The trouble is, those urges never go away, but maybe we just learn to accept them for what they are, a temporary escape.  Through all of my struggles with food addictions, those triggers that caused me to lean on those crutches never went away, I just learned to see them as they were, an escape.  Now, that in no way means that I still don't struggle with my own demons, but I can rest assured that I'm not alone in my fight.  I made the comment to a friend this week as I we talked about my long work hours.  As I told him, "you can't keep Jesus down."  Indeed, we are told that it is that Spirit of Christ Jesus that now lives through us {Galations 2:20}.  Whatever it is that we experience it is He who experiences it through us.  Simply put, as we live, so does Jesus live.  We have never been closer to Christ than we are today.  So I've asked myself in my food and pornography addictions, is this something Christ would want for Himself?  I believe that the obvious answer is NO.  Yet, we continue to go back to those crutches that make us feel good temporarily.  One thing I'm certain of, our addictions may be temporary, but it is Christ Jesus who never changes {Hebrews 13:8}.  Our situations and how we deal with them may change day to day, but the one constant in our lives is Christ.  I can't think of any twelve step program that beats that.

20“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
Galations 2:20 NKJV

~Scott~