Who I Am

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 humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18: 9 - 14 NKJV

I have a bad habit.  See, there are times when I tend to give the words of others more importance than they actually deserve.  I'm speaking more along the lines of negative comments than anything else.  Yes, I'm sure that there are others out there who have struggled with this very same issue.  Now, if I listened to the words of those who were trying to diminish who it is that I really am, I would be nothing more than a dumb, arrogant, lazy shmuck.  Thankfully, I know in my own heart that this is not who I am.  Not only that, I know in my heart that this is not the true identity of those who have suffered words that hurt them.  I know it's hard to think otherwise when we are constantly being bombarded by insults and put downs, but trust me when I say that there is something special about all of us.  We are unique in our very being.  In fact, each of us were created in our heavenly Fathers very image {Genesis 1:27}.  Not only that, it is the Spirit of Christ Jesus who lives through us today {Galations 2:20}.  However, knowing these words and taking them to heart is another issue.  For too long I simply stuffed these words inside as mere book knowledge found in scripture.  I didn't take them to heart.  Therefore, I did not realize who I really was inside.  Can anyone blame me for having a bad attitude at times?  In my eyes, I was the same insignificant person certain people painted me out to be.  Nothing could have been further from the truth.  It wasn't some dog and pony show empowerment seminar that caused me to start seeing myself as I really am.  Far from it.  No, I didn't began to see myself as my heavenly Father looks upon me until I came to the realization of who I am in Christ Jesus.  It is Jesus who loved me first {1 John 4:19}.  When was the last time that someone convinced you that you weren't alive?  That the sky wasn't blue?  We are all too willing to accept these facts, yet we remain on the other side of the fence when it comes to who we really are.  It's time that changed.

1Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of aGod! Therefore the world does not know bus, because it did not know Him. 2Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.
1 John 3: 1 - 2 NKJV

When was the last time that you called God dumb or lazy?  Gee, Scott, who the hell would ever do such a thing?  Uh huh, but when you talk down to one of His children aren't you demeaning His creation?  When you insult one of His children aren't you in fact criticizing Jesus whose Spirit is in them?  Indeed, I am not afraid to claim that...I am Jesus.  All that He is I am for He is in me.  Christ is as much a part of me as my own family DNA.  In fact, it is His DNA which is in me as well.  So, again I ask you, when you talk down to one of Gods children who do you think you're talking to?  As I mentioned, I did not know who I really was until I realized my personal relationship with Christ Jesus.  This didn't stop others from disparaging me, only how I perceived their words.  It didn't take long for me to realize that I wasn't that person who others were trying so hard to say that I was.  Then I began to ask myself, if these people  were trying so desperately to paint me as someone I wasn't, how did they see themselves?  Seriously, if you see yourself as being worthless, then more times than not you will portray that feeling unto those around you.  I get it.  The truth is, we've bought into the lie perpetrated by the master deceiver.  The same snake who deceived Eve in the garden continues to deceive us today {Genesis 3:4-5}.  The narative is that we're full of sin, useless and in constant need of Gods punishment.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  It is Jesus Himself who became sin on our behalf that we would be saved {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  We are no longer sinners, but saved through Christ.  Of course, we can read scriptures until we're blue in the face and yet still not realize who we really are.  That was me.  I'm not the one others claim me to be.  I am Jesus...that's who I am.

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~

I Can

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

The other day I wrote out a list of a few things which I've considered shortcomings in my life.  Now, I wouldn't call these areas detrimental to my daily living, just misplaced beliefs.  Things like, being successful, having good things etc.  The list included about ten things that I was telling myself that I could accomplish.  It was more of a motivational tool than anything else, but I soon realized that I had touched on something important in my own life.  While it's true that I can indeed accomplish all of the things on this list of mine, I really shouldn't have had to even wonder if it was at all possible.  I already have it in me.  I have within me the ability to be all that Christ Jesus Himself is.  This is not only my identity but all that I am.  If indeed Christ is in me as we're told, then along with that comes all which He is {Galations 2:20}.  I cannot sit back and claim Christ Jesus in me while ignoring that fact alltogether.  So, my list has suddenly turned from "I can" to "He can."  Like most people, it seems that I had failed to realize all that Jesus is.  He is not simply a story in the bible.  He is not just the perfect man to model ourselves after.  The fact is, we need not struggle with being "more like" Jesus because we already are.  I wasted a lot of my christian life chasing the carrot on the end of the stick of being more like Jesus.  This isn't a issue with how Jesus is, He never changes {Hebrews 13:8}.  No, this is a issue of how WE see Jesus.  Or, how we see Jesus in us.  If we listen to the institutional pulpit pounders tell it, Jesus is unattainable.  We're better off simply imitating Christ than realizing who we truly are inside.  Brother, this is a race we can never win.  When we view Jesus as outside of ourselves, then we see ourselves as seperated from Him which is the lie which satan introduced to Eve in the garden {Genesis 3: 4-5}.  Of course, it is the very same lie which Lucifer himself believed {Isaiah 14: 13-14}.  The truth is, when satan tempted Eve in the garden by claiming that by eating the from the forbidden tree that she would "be like God"...she already was!

 4Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5“For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3: 4 - 5 NKJV

I recently related a story of a friend of mine who worked hard to provide for his own children, only to have his son claim that he grew up without a father.  The reason that I used this story as an example of Christ in us is for the very reason that we ourselves all too often perpetrate the same lie which satan threw down so long ago.  We cannot be like God....we already are Him!  Through Christ Jesus, we now have our heavenly Fathers Spirit within us.  All that He is, we are as well.  Still, like most well meaning christians, I fell for the bait on the end of the line and believed that I could be "like" Jesus if I tried hard enough.  A few months ago I ran across a struggling christian who, like many, was weary of the institutional church rat race of always trying to be good enough.  He was surprised when he told me that he had left the church and I simply told him "I don't blame you."  I don't blame someone for growing weary of constantly struggling to measure up, I've been there.  The truth is, it's a struggle we can never win.  There will always be one more sin, one more indiscretion which will make us feel unworthy of our Lords presence.  The reality of Christ in us was not meant to enslave us in more guilt and shame, but to free us from it!  There is truth in the words of the apostle Paul when he claims that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus {Romans 8:1}.
As I finished writing out my motivational list of accomplishments I realized that I had chosen a appropriate title for my list.  Through Christ Jesus in me...I can.

1There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8: 1 - 2 NKJV

~Scott~

Our Human Condition

27So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Genesis 1: 27 NKJV 

I asked myself a question this week after watching the election coverage on some talking head channel.  I had just finnished watching a interview where some millenial snob was arguing that his vote must be made important at all costs.  Really, dude?  So, should I take it from this comment that everyone elses vote should be less important than this new age hippie?  So, I asked myself the question, when did did it become all about us?  Now, it's no secret that we live in a age of self important, entitled millenials, but I think it goes even deeper than that.  For some time now, "sieze the day" and "look out for number one" have been catch phrases to describe our own human condition.  Can anyone see the obvious discrepancy in this thinking?  Well, I'll refresh you with one question...what about God?  Where does He stand in all of this?  We're talking the God who created all we see, not just a God who we turn to when we're up that creek without a paddle.  Now, I'll admit that I've been bitten by that millenial bug every now and then, but I really do not believe that this is how God intended us to be.  For to believe this we must believe that we are seperated from our heavenly Father who created us, our Father who has called proclaimed us His children {1 John 3:1}.  In my heart, I cannot fathom that a God who would take such care in His own creation and ensuring our future would suddenly toss us to the winds of fate.  No, He has never worked that way.  With God there is always a purpose to all He does.  Funny man George Carlin once quoted "What's the use of being God if any run down shmuck with a two dollar prayer book can come along and f@ck up your plan?"  I agree.  Be it Gods will or His devine plan, that which our heavenly Father set in motion long ago was a series of events all leading up to His desired outcome.  Is there anything in our own lives in which God has not been involved in?  Yet, seperation from God is a teaching we so often see these days.  

7And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.

Genesis 2: 7 NKJV 

I have a dear friend who refers to this teaching from the institutional church as seperation theology.  I agree.  So, what is it about our so called "human condition" which places upon us the desire to be seperated from God?  Well, I don't think that it is a desire to be seperated from God, but a desire to be seen as a independent being.  I have a friend I work with who has had a fractured relationship with his son over the years.  Now, over the years his father has provided for his sons well being, health and shelter as any good parent would have.  However, these days that same son he cared for all those years ago has taken to proclaiming that he grew up with a father who was never around!  Now, either this young man is delusional or he simply has refused to accept all which has occured in his life.  I mention this to bring attention to our own human condition.  See, all too often we are that estranged child who feels that we as well did not receive the benefits of being a child of God.  Does this mean that God has somehow abandoned us?  NO!  What it means is that we, as His creation, have failed to realize who it is that we truly are.  This is not a God issue, it's a WE issue.  I cannot come before God and lay claim that He somehow was never there for me.  Likewise, I cannot approach Him with the belief that I am somehow seperated from Him.  For it is God who breathed into me the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  All that He is...I am.  It is God who lives through me today {Galations 2:20}.  As with my coworkers own son, he carries with him all which his father is.  So, what does this say for our own human condition?  Well, I believe that our own condition is and always will be linked our heavenly Father.  There will continue to be a mistaken belief that we are somehow seperated and independent from Him, but that will never make it true.  

3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Colossions 3: 3 - 4 NKJV

~Scott~ 

The Unforgiven

10Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. 11And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13“But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Matthew 9: 10 - 13 NKJV

I recently shared a conversation I had about God in the most unlikely of places.  A week or so ago I found myself at a local watering hole after work enjoying a beer.  Yeah, I know, what's a self proclaimed christian doing in a bar?  Of course, this may well open the door to many a christian joke.  A pastor walks into a bar...a christian walks into a bar etc.  I get it.  Even though I'm no bar fly, I do enjoy a good brew every now and then.  Perhaps this is something I need to ask the Lords forgiveness for.  Anyway, it wasn't my beer swilling that made this visit noteworthy, but the conversation I had with another bar patron.  This man seemed to be your normal working guy enjoying a beer after a days work, but as I found out, there was something different about him.  I'm not really sure how our conversation turned to God and church, but all of a sudden I found myself talking to this man about his own failures, as he saw it, in the church.  It seems that he and his family had been regular church attenders up until the past few years.  Being raised in a catholic household had dampened his desire to know God a bit, but he continued to attend church regularly.  All the while, he would question whether he was doing enough to satisfy the Lord he loved.  Was he really Gods child?  Was he really forgiven?  Now, I understand his feelings because I myself have battled them in my past church going life.  So, I asked him a simple question, how do you see God?  Do you see the Lord as simply a spiritual being, on His throne in heaven looking down upon us?  Or, do you see Him as a God who is intimately involved in your life each day?  He gave this some thought before saying that he had never known God to have a personal relationship with anyone.  I mean, how could He?  Aren't we all sinners?  God cannot be in the presence of sin...right?  As I said, I've asked these very same questions myself at one time.  So, I laid it out for him.  Why did the Pharisees and Jewish authorities accuse Jesus of dining with tax collectors and sinners {Matthew 9:11}?  I won't say that a light bulb came on in this mans head, but for the first time I saw in him that he was begining to see what I was telling him.

1Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” 3So He spoke this parable to them, saying: 4“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? 5“And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6“And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’7“I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."
Luke 15: 1 - 7 NKJV

As I've said, I have asked myself many a question concerning God and His relationship with me before.  How could God love me?  Was I doing enough to please Him?  What if He became angry with me?  I've heard it all before.  So, hearing a desperate man in a bar who was himself searching for God was nothing new to me.  Not so long ago, I was in the very same place he was in.  Sure, I had been taught over the years that I was forgiven and that God indeed loved me, but at the same time I heard the double speak from the pulpits of the church that I needed to be "more like God."  I cringed whenever I heard it.  I mean, how could any sinner be more like God?  The very idea of this seemed unattainable to me.  On top of that, I was told in my most difficult times that maybe, just maybe God was angry with me and letting me go through my oreeals alone.  What?  So, you're telling me that the God who loved and cherished me enough to provide for my future with Him and the forgiveness of my own sins would suddenly turn his back on me?  Was I really doing enough to please God?  Well, it turns out that my own view of God was flawed.  I saw Him as seperate from my own life, which couldn't be further from the truth.  As it turns out, I was already closer to Him that I ever thought possible.  I just didn't realize it at the time.  So, how close are we to our heavenly Father?  Well, the apostle Paul tells us in Galations 2 that it is Christ Jesus who now lives in us {Galations 2:20}.  We don't need to be more like Christ...we ARE Christ.  Now, I don't expect the run of the mill christian to be able to embrace this truth of Jesus right away.  It took me awhile to realize it myself.  That teaching that God is somehow seperate from His children is simply not true.  We are created in His very image {Genesis 1:26}.  Into His likeness He breathed the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  He very being is now within us.  All that He is...we are as well.  If God has revealed His truth to you, then you too can have a bar stool ministry.

~Scott~