A Character Issue

14But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. 15But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. 16Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord,the veil is taken away.
2 Corinthians 3: 14 - 16 NKJV

I recently had a pretty spirited discussion with a aquaintance of mine on the subject of the indwelling Christ.  That is, Christ in you.  When I say that this was a spirited discussion, what I mean to say is that this was a argument over scripture.  Yes, it seems that this is what we've resorted ourselves to.  Again, the word heresy was tossed out there to describe my own beliefs.  So, how can something that is supported by the scriptures be considered heresy?  I guess I would  need a theology degree in order to figure that out.  Am I  heretic?  Well, if I am then I have some company as I'm not the only one who trusts in the truth of Christ Jesus in me.  The apostle Paul tells us of the truth of Christ in us in Galations {Galations 2:20}.  One point that I brought up in my "discussion" was for my companion to shelve his personal feelings about this matter and simply focus on the character of the man Jesus.  Sound simple enough, right?  Yet, all too often our own feelings, our "filter" if you will, get in the way.  One who has been raised in a strict, religious based upbringing might adhere to a filter where each and every sin needs to be accounted for and punished.  However, someone who has felt the burden of their own sin might just take a more lenient approach.  Having been raised in a single parent home, my own filter had difficulty seeing God as my true Father.  For my own memories of what a father was were not very comforting.  That was my filter.  So, as I mentioned to my friend, perhaps we need to simply set aside our own life filters and concentrate on the character of Jesus.  Was Jesus a disciplanarian?  Was it Christ who saw those in the wasteland of their own sin and disgarded them?  What was the response of Jesus to the woman about to be stoned for her sins?  As we focus on the man Jesus was and not on our own filter we began to see how our heavenly Father truly looks upon us.  He does not see us as sinners saved by His grace, but as His loved and cherished children from whom the stain of our sins no longer is an issue.  That's right, the truth is that we are now DEAD to sin.  Paul proclaims this in Romans {Romans 6:6-11}.  Knowing this, what sins are you praying Gods forgiveness for?  When Jesus proclaimed "It is finished!" that was it.  Sins day has come and gone.

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.
1 John 4: 7 - 8 NKJV

The way I see it, this all comes down to our own view of who God is.  If we see God as a authoritarian, then we will come up with scripture after scripture to validate our point to others.  However, if we see God for who He truly is, as Love, then we will point out scriptures that tell of His goodness and mercy.  I'll tell you this, I don't believe that it was a authoritarian who loved me enough to cleanse me from all of my sins.  I don't believe that it was a vengeful God who became sin on my behalf that I would be spared its ugly penalty.  Don't get it twisted, there is no other reason by which we are saved but from our Lords love and grace.  He chose not to punish me for my transgressions, although He would have been justifed in doing so.  This is not who God is.  The apostle John tells us this when he prefectly describes the character of God {1 John 4: 7-8}.  So, when we cast aside our own filters and focus only on the character of God what is it that we see?  We see who He truly is...Love.  That's right, God is Love.  This is, and always has been, His character.  Throughout all of our trials, sin and problems, the Love of God has never changed.  He is the very same yesterday, today and forever {Hebrews 13:8}.  God didn't change, WE changed.  We changed in how we viewed Him.  We changed in how we dealt with Him.  Through it all, God has remained the same as He always was.  So, I don't buy into all of that bunk that Gods motive is simply to remain seperate from us and only show up when it's time for His discipline and correction.  If that were true He would make Himself a liar, and we know He's not into that.  When we see God for who He truly is, then we will know the character of God.

~Scott~

The Man In Me

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 woke up this morning wondering, where are you God?  See, the past few days I have been afflicted with a cold, so I figured maybe God God could give me some relief from that.  Well, the trouble with that is, for a instant I began to wonder just where to look for Him.  Of course, in my heart I knew the answer to that question.  God was in the same place He'd always been, in me.  I am the reflection of all which He is.  Not only that, it is now HE who lives, not me {Galations 2:20}.  That's right, the old man I was is pretty much dead now.  This is what the apostle Paul wrote in Galations.  I've also come to realize that it is this truth of Christ Jesus in us that seems to be one of the stumbling blocks in our own understanding of who it is that Jesus really is.  We're more than comfortable with the traditional idea of Jesus as a preacher Son of God who died on the cross for us all.  However, is that all He is?  Not to me.  To me Jesus is much more personal.  Not only does He live in me, but He shares in all which I experience in my life.  If I'm sick, this is what Jesus is feeling as well.  If I am anxious, these are the feelings of Christ in me.  How can that be?  Well, if the old man I once  was has perished {Romans 6:6}, who is left in me but Christ Jesus Himself?  This is the very essence of what Paul tells us in Galations.  Yet, far too many christians miss the boat on this personal relationship with Jesus.  Instead, they strive to "be more like Jesus" which has been part of church theology for thousands of years.  Here's my question, why take the counterfeit when you can have the original?  Why live a life stiving to "be like" Christ when you already are?  It all seems a bit misguided to me. 

6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done 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, 3reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV

The more I matured in my own faith the more I realized that I could never "be like" Jesus as the popular teachings told me.  For the more I tried to be like Him, the more my won guilt and shame over my own sins got in my way.  I've got a feeling that this is the case for more than a few christians today.  Well, I'll tell you that simply being like Jesus is a hamster wheel which you will never get off of.  Believe me, I tried.  The good news is that this was never the way God intended us to live our lives.  We were meant to live our lives IN Him, not "like" Him.  In His prayer in the garden, Jesus reveals this to us.  As He prays, Jesus asks that we would be ONE with the Father as He and the Father are one.  Can there be any stronger evidence that we are simply not created to "be like" Jesus?  I call that a cheap imitation, a knock off.  For even if we achieve that goal of being like Jesus, we still miss out on the personal relationship we were meant to share with Him.  Not only that, but living that life strengthens the false teaching that we are seperate from God.  We were not created to live seperated from God.  However, over the centuries this prevailing church teaching has become the belief of our own relationship with God.  God is in heaven with Jesus, and I am down here on earth.  What union do you see in that scenario?  What relationship are we to have with a Jesus who we are seperated from?  I'll tell you, long distance relationships don't work in this situation.  The first step to knowing the Christ Jesus who is in you is to trust that He is...in you.  After all, we're told that He definately is in us.  We're told that we're to live a union life in Him.  When our veils are lifted, we will know that He indeed lives in us {2 Corinthians 3:14}.  Then we will surely see the man in us. 

20“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who 10will 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."
John 17: 20 - 23 NKJV

~Scott~

In The Halls Of Heretics

1Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus 2Christ has come in the flesh is not of God.
1 John 4: 1 - 3 NKJV

For as much as I make satire out of my christian beliefs being seen by others as being herecy, I have actually been refered to as a heretic while in a discussion of scripture.  Imagine that.  So, am indeed a heretic?  Some would think so.  I think that I have just had the Lords truth revealed to me.  Then, we need to have that discussion on what is truth.  Is truth found in scripture?  Is that same scripture, as a institutional friend of ours claims, to be used as a blueprint for how we are to live our lives?  A handbook for our life here on earth?  If you follow this belief, what happens whenever your life path doesn't follow the instructions outlined in scripture?  Does the God you follow somehow become angry and punish you for your wanderings?  Keep in mind that one of the areas where you and I may agree is that we serve one God.  However, we may not agree on just who God is.  See, I see myself as having a personal relationship with my heavenly Father.  I see Christ Jesus as living in me {Galations 2:20}.  It is for this belief that I was accused of being a heretic.  Dosen't the apostle Paul tell us in Galations that this is the truth of Christ?  It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!  I'm dead now, perished to the old sin nature that once plagued me.  Other christians may see Pauls words and claim that they were only meant for him, his Lords dear disciple.  You may say that I'm taking his words out of context.  So, who's the real heretic here?  My question, as I've asked my friend, why is your scripture different from mine?  Why is your Lord different from the one I follow?  Because I'll tell you, if you criticize me for my views of God then we definately don't serve the same God.  So, now we end up having two Gods with two different views of His behavior.  Who's right?  Who's the heretic?  Well, maybe neither of us.  The larger question is, who are we to place ourselves in our Lords judgement seat and accuse others?  Ask yourself that.  Does God ask that you intimidate and berate those around you with scripture?  Does He ask you to guilt and shame others to make your point?  I'm always amazed at just how many scriptures christians will use to make their point on how right they are, as if the more scriptures they reveal will justify their point.  Yeah, good luck with that.

3For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
2 Timothy 4: 3 - 4 NKJV

Do I relish being a heretic?  Not really, my joy comes from my relationship with Christ Jesus.  The relationship you would tell me isn't possible until He returns.  My excitement is in knowing that I am no longer that man I used to be.  You would throw out a scripture that all have sinned {Romans 3:23}.  I rejoice in the fact that I am now dead to sin {Romans 6: 6-11}.  You will tell me that I need to seek Gods forgiveness.  The way I see it, everything you do in the name of God is based on your belief that you and He are somehow seperated.  The Lord is in heaven and we are here on earth waiting His return.  I say that He never left us.  You feel guilt and shame because of your continued belief in our sin nature.  I say that Christ Jesus bled and died once for the sins of all {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  Did he miss some sins as he died on that cross?  Are these the sins you continually ask our Lords forgiveness for?  We have come to a place where we have different views of the same God.  This might not be a issue of who's right, but one of our own understanding.  Could it be that the truth of Christ has been revealed to me but not to you?  Don't get me wrong, that in no way means that you cannot receive it.  All it means is that the veil of your own heart is yet to be lifted {2 Corinthians 3:14}.  I know of what I speak because I used to be among you.  I followed the teachings of the church like a robot, keeping the commandments as best I could.  All the while praying that I would behave well enough to someday "be like" Jesus.  The trouble with this theology is that it never brings you close to a more personal relationship with Christ Jesus.  You're constantly stuck on that hamster wheel of performance hoping that God will judge you favorably.  When the veil is finally lifted you realize that you no longer need to struggle to be like Christ, but rejoice in His presence in you.  That, in a nutshell, is the freedom of Christ Jesus.  Once you embrace the truth of Christ in you, then you will have entered the halls of the heretics.

14But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ.
2 Corinthians 3: 14 NKJV

~Scott~

The Debt And The Damage Done

24who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.
1 Peter 2: 24 NKJV

I got a call some time ago from someone claiming that I owed over three hundred dollars in federal taxes.  Worst off, if I did not resolve this matter immediately, I would be subject to prosecution.  As my heart raced I began to wonder if I had indeed paid that debt.  However, a quick search of my records revealed that the debt had been paid.  Of course, knowing this made dealing with this scam call a whole lot easier.  However, for that brief instant I doubted what I knew was true.  I also began to think of another debt we know has been paid but yet continue to believe otherwise.  That is the debt of our old sin nature.  Rarely does a day go by where I am not reminded of this debt in my own life.  Either through the doubts of those around me, or from my own realization of the price Christ Jesus gave up for us all.  How great a burden must that have been to carry?  I can barely handle the memory of my own transgressions, yet Christ took that debt of all mankind upon Himself upon that cross.  He did this, for me.  He did this, for you.  Yes, I admit that there are time where I forget the debt of my own past has been paid in full.  It is in these moments where I am reminded how great of a burden it must have been.  All the bad I had ever done, to myself and to others.  All gathered together and laid upon the shoulders of one man.  It is Christ who accepted this burden on our behalf {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  The debt has been paid in full.  Or has it?  I often hear christians talking of how they continually pray seeking Gods forgiveness for any sins they may have done.  What?  Do you believe that the debt is paid in full or don't you?  I believe that continuing to hold fast to the belif that we continue to sin does a disservice to all Christ has accomplished.  Do you trust in Him or not?  That is the question we should be asking ourselves. 

21For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
2 Corinthians 5: 21 NKJV

One of the huge reasons I left the institutional church centered around what I saw at the time as the hypocracy of its teaching.  One easter sunday as we sat in church celebrating the risen savior, the pastor asked his congregation to come forward to lay at the altar any sins we felt needed to be laid to rest.  Huh?  Here we were on easter celebrating the fact the Jesus was risen!  Risen from the grave after He gave Himself for the forgivensss of our sin debt.  Now we were piling on His accomplishment many more sins which I'm guessing we thought that escaped Jesus' crucifiction.  Tell me how that works.  If Jesus indeed took our sins upon Himself, how then do we continue to have sins to offer up?  As I said, do we believe in the works of Christ or don't we?  Not only that, but the apostle Paul tells us in Romans that we are now DEAD to those sins which once haunted us {Romans 6:6-11}.  So, are we now to ressurrect that which is dead?  Are we to breathe new life into that which Jesus bled and died to put to death?  Trust me, there is absolutely nothing we can do to undo what Jesus has done on our behalf.  Simply because we refuse to accept the fact that He put to death our sin nature does not mean that it never happened.  All this means is that you have failed to realize what Christ has done for you.  The truth is the truth.  Jesus DID perish on the cross that the sins of mankind would be put to death.  Nothing can ever change that.  Not even a scam phone call. 

6For when we were still without strength, 4in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5: 6 - 8 NKJV

~Scott~

I Fought The Law

13And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14having wiped out the 9handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
Colossions 2: 13 - 15 NKJV

As I sat doing my writing this sunday morning I suddenly realized the extent of my criminal activity.  After all, isn't sunday the Lords day?  Did not the Lord rest on the seventh day, like God needs rest, but that's  not the point.  The point here is that I have been flaunting the law for years.  Somehow I've remained under he radar in my zealous crime spree.  Now, I might not look like a common criminal, but looks can be deceiving.  I especially felt my guilt a week ago when I spent some time in the gym.  Now, I may never answer for my crimes, but I still need to get them off of my consceince.  What other illegal activities have I been involved in?  Oh, there were those times I didn't do that ceremonial washing of my hands before each meal.  I'm sure they'd throw the book at me for that one.  There were also those occasions where I didn't eat what the law claimed I was supposed to.  I tell you, I'M GUILTY!  Has anyone else ever felt like a lawbreaker in their christian life?  I get it.  For generations we've been told over and over again just what we were, and weren't, to do.  I lost count of exactly how many religious laws we christians were supposed to follow, but a fellow brother of mine reminds me every so often that they numbered somewhere in the several hundreds.  So tell me something, how did all of those laws work out for you?  Did writing requirements for life down somehow bring us closer to God?  I'd say no, but I'm just a lawbreaker.  I'm told that it all began with the Isrealites being in fear of God as they stood at the foot of that mountain {Exodus 20:19}.  Oh how they pleaded with Moses that they would not have to speak to God.  For to speak to God meant...death.  So, Moses trodded up that mountain to with the Lord and receive His instructions to the people of Isreal.  The rest, as they say, is history.  God had spoken, through Moses, to all of Isreal.  The ultimate middle man.  Of course, everyone knows just how long it took for the Isrealites to break that covenant.  The carvings on those stone tablets was barely dry before Aaron led the Isrealites into rebelion.

18Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off. 19Then they said to Moses, “You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.”
Exodus 20: 18 - 19 NKJV

So began the long list of requirements which was against us.  So, did God really intend for us to live by a long list of laws?  Well, to the relief of all those law breakers out there, you can rest assured that I believe that it was never our Lords intention that we would live by such a long and structured system of requirements.  For to do so would remove any semblance of a personal, one on one relationship with His children.  Instead, God would be seen at best as a enforcer and, at worst, as a  punisher of those who violated the law.  Again, tell me how this long list of requirements has brought us closer to a more personal relationship with our heavenly Father.  Tell me how the law brought us into a knowledge of Christ Jesus in us.  I'll go out on a limb and say that the law NEVER did any of these things.  It wasn't meant to.  Have you ever heard the common phrase rules are meant to be broken?  Well, tell me if you've ever driven through a stop sign.  Tell me if you've ever driven over the speed limit or caught more fish than the regulations allowed.  Did those laws ever lead to what they were intended?  No.  So, why would such a list of requirements lead to rightousness?  It simply will never happen.  Again, they were never meant to bring us closer to God.  It is for this very reason that Jesus did away with those requirements which were against us at the cross {Colossions 2:14}.  We are no longer under the requirement of the law.  I suppose that's good news to most believers out there, yet there are still many who struggle every day wondering just  how God sees them in their trespasses.  I'll tell you how our heavenly Father sees you, as His loved and cherished child.  Not as one who breaks the law, but as one who now lives apart from that system.  The more we continue to see God as one who enforces the law and dishes out His punishment upon those who live against it, the more we miss out on the gift of relationship He has for all who seek Him.

"I don't need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside. It's not my purpose to punish it; it's my joy to cure it.”
~ William P. Young, The Shack ~

~Scott~

The God Life

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 7and in your spirit, which are God’s.
1 Corinthians 6: 19 - 20 NKJV

I've been reading a lot lately about the difficulty of living a christian life.  Not a Christ centered life, mind you, a traditional christian life.  Just the other day, Wayne Jacobsen grappled with a discussion on how we are to let God provide for us.  To me, the answer to that question is simple at its base, but I read the opening nonetheless.  What I took out of Waynes discussion is that same question, how do WE allow God to direct, provide and generally be...God?  I believe that the answer to this question lies less with our living a christian life and more with living the "God life."  What's the God life?  The God life is dealing with everything in our lives as if God Himself has a hand in it, because He definately does.  I've written before about the error of seeing ourselves as seperated from God, and it is that belief that is at the base of much of how we see God these days.  When we adhere to this line of thought, our thoughts will naturally focus more upon ourselves than on our heavenly Father.  This isn't living the God life.  The underlying belief for living the God life is the realization that God has never been seperated from us.  He has always been here among us.  The apostle Paul assured us of this belief in Galations when he explained the indwelling Spirit of Christ Jesus in each of us {Galations 2:20}.  When we realize the truth of Christ Jesus in us, we've taken a huge step to living the God life.  What if Wayne, instead of asking the question of how to allow God to provide for us, instead proclaimed with confidence that God WILL provide?  After all, to live in the God life, we are already assured of this.  We do not see God as someone we need to approach seperately from ourselves, but someone who intimately knows all that we need.  God is not one who needs to be reminded of by anyone about any aspect of our lives.  If we live in the God life, we do so with the confidence that everything we experience, He does as well.

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

Have you ever wondered where God is?  Yeah, me too.  Well, in our hearts we know where God has always been, but one lie from the accuser turned us from being secure in our creators presence to the belief that He was somehow removed from us.  That's right, the moment satan asked Eve "Has God indeed said," he opended the door of our own doubt in the truth we once knew.  Satan claimed to Eve that once she ate of the forbidden fruit that she would "be like God."  Well, the truth is....SHE ALREADY WAS.  Did God somehow change?  No, WE changed.  We went from living our God life to a life in the false belief that we were seperated from our Father.  Now, one might argue that at the fall God was somehow removed from our presence, I don't buy it.  If anything, it is we who failed to see God in ourselves.  That, in a nutshell, is the difference in living the God life and just a normal christian existence.  So, yeah, I can understand why someone would wonder where God is.  In reality, it is God who is patiently waiting for His children to come to the realization that He has always been there.  This is illustrated in one of my favorite parables from the new testament.  As Jesus tells the story of the prodigal son, He relates to us the story of our own lives.  It is we who left the only home we had ever known and set out on our own.  Not only that, when we finally realize that the grass wasn't all that green on the other side, we wander back home full of guilt and shame as the prodigal son did.  The good news for us is that our heavenly Father is not set upon punishment for our sins, but on redemption.  He's all about our own restoration to that life we once knew, because it is there where we knew the joy of knowing Him.  His desire is for us to return to a life knowing we are in Him, and He in us {John 17:22}.  That is the God life.

6knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7For he who has died has been 2freed 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, 3reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV

~Scott~

Accused But Not Convicted

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 sis 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 recently had the opportunity to do my service on county jury duty.  While I wouldn't like to make it a regular habit, I think I learned more than a few valuable lessons from my time on the panel.  One of the most important things I learned came from the judge for the case.  For in her opening instructions to her jurors, she instructed us that as we contemplated the sentence for the accused, we were not to take into consideration her possible sentence on the accused in our deliberations.  Sounds simple enough huh?  I'm guessing that this is a common practice for jurors.  Stick to the evidence at hand.  However, as I soon found out, our own prejudices were more difficult to put aside than we thought.  What I learned is that these very same prejudices could very well influence us away from the courtroom as well.  What does all of this have to do with the christian life, of living a life as Christ? {Galations 2:20}  Well, I'm sure I don't need to remind many a believer just who their true adversary is.  Listen to more than a few sunday sermons and his name will pop up all too often in our conversations of sin, judgement and temptation.  He is the same accuser who perpetrated the lie upon Eve in the garden {Genesis 3:4}.  It is this lie that far too many christians continue to adhere to as the basis of their own view of themselves.  We're sinners, God cannot stand sin, did God really say?  Yeah, we all know who he is.  Well, how about if we take a few words of advice from the judge when we deal with satan?  How about this, suppose when we look upon ourselves that we don't allow what we feel as Gods possible judgement upon us to influence how we see ourselves?  For as that accused man sat at the defense table he was just that, accused yet not convicted.  So it is with us.  Each and every day in our christ walk we stand accused.  Accused by those around us.  Accused by our own thoughts.  More importantly, accused by the accuser.  Make no mistake about it, christian, whenever these thoughts of accusation enter our hearts, our accuser is well kmown by all.  It's not the guy next door or the "man" who is keeping us down, far from it.  It is satan who wanders Gods creation seeking whom to devour {1 Peter 5:8}.  The problem is, whenever we forget who it is we truly are we are falling into his trap.

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 cthe Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Romans 8: 1 - 2 NKJV

There have been many times I have thought of saying to those around me, just what don't you understand about no condemnation?  That's right, NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  If you are living as Christ Jesus who dwells in you, then there are no accusations the accuser can convict you of.  We stand before him accused...yet never convicted!  What a difference that can make in the life of a believer.  It did for me.  Once I realized that I was no longer under the sentence of sins punishment I felt a enormous sense of freedom {Romans 6:6-11}.  I'm not special in any way, I simply realized the man I truly was.  In one of the most iconic verses in scripture, we're told that Jesus seeks to save and not condemn {John 3:16-17}.  Notice verse 17...THAT ALL MIGHT BE SAVED.  Does that sound like Jesus had His own prejudices against us?  No, He came to abolish those.  Believe me, with our history Jesus had every right to pass judgement, but that wasn't what His own heart desired.  No, His desire was that He would return all of us to the Father.  Any thoughts contrary to that are from our accuser.  How many times have you sat in church all the while feeling as if you could never measure up?  Yeah, me too.  I don't blame the pastor, the accuser can work through him as well.  My point is that God never intended for us to live a life of fear.  The life we live we live in celebration IN HIM.  Anything less and we are following the lessons of the accuser.  However, we must remember that all satan can do is accuse.  He can NEVER convict us!  We do a good enough job of that ourselves.  Some time ago I received some good advice from a dear friend.  He told me that whenever satan reminds you of your past...remind him of his own future.  Sounds fair.

~Scott~

Yesterdays Christian

8Jesus Christ is ithe same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hebrews 13: 8 NKJV

There was a time when I followed with interest the story of the Isrealites.  Gods chosen people.  The Isrealites were pretty devout in faith.  Even today, Judeism is one of the more devout religions.  However, the Isrealites were also good at something else which God wanted nothing to do with.  They were good at forgetting who they were.  They were excellent at forgetting all which the Lord had done for them.  So much so that even after being delivered out of Egyptian captivity, the Isrealites acted as if God had left them high and dry.  Of course, God continued to not only provide for His people, but to guide them as well.  I would say that we today have a lot in common with Isrealites of yesterday.  For there are times when we ourselves forget the grace and mercy of the Lord in our lives.  I have found that this is easy to do when things are going well for us.  Of course, things will not always go well.  So, when the struggles of life come upon us, we once again cry out to God for help.  I get it.  This is all we have been conditioned to do.  Trust me, I've been there.  One of my favorite pieces of advice is that the very first words of a man in trouble will always be..."Help me God!"  Why is that?  I'll tell you why, because in our hearts we know that in our time of need God will always be there.  And He is.  It is God who has promised to never leave us {Hebrews 13:5}.  We know that God cannot lie, so we trust in Him to deliver us out of our most frightening moments.  However, all too often what happens is that after the moment passes we seem to forget the mercy which God has shown us.  Our lives are normal once again.  I believe that this belief is part of the error of the belief that we are somehow seperated from God.  That God is in heaven and we are living here on earth.  God is only known for helping those of us in need?  Is this all that Gos is to you?  If so you might want to reconsider how it is that you see Him.

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

Why is it that we forget what God has done?  Why is it that we all too often forget who we are in Gods eyes?  Did God somehow change over time?  No, I will venture that it is we who have changed.  We've changed not only in how we see God, but in how we see ourselves as well.  We've become like those Isrealites of old.  Not only do we see God as being a distant part of our lives, but we see ourselves as being distant from Him.  The Genesis creation story tells us that we have been lovingly created in our Fathers image {Genesis 1:27}.  That He breathed into us the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  These aren't simply some words spoken from a pastors sunday sermon.  They actually happened.  Yet all too often we forget where we've come from.  No, God didn't change, we changed.  We have forgotten who it is that we are.  The apostle Paul reminds us in Galations, that it is Christ Jesus who dwells in us {Galations 2:20}.  Does that sound to you like God is seperated from your life?  Far from it.  Not only is He in us, but He is involved in each and every detail of our lives.  All that He is...we are.  How can I then say that God is not a part of my life?  If I did I wouldn't be honest with myself.  We know that it is the desire of our heavenly Father that all would be saved {John 3:16-17}.  So, are all indeed saved?  Think carefully on that.  What if, just what if all of Gods children were indeed saved but just didn't realize it?  We cannot disregard this truth simply because we don't see it as feasible.  After all, this is Gods show, not ours.  Yeah, I remember the christians of yesterday.  Those of Gods children who had forgotten who they really were.  They forgot...God didn't. 

~Scott~

Worst God Ever

6“Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: ‘I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God.
Issaiah 44: 6 NKJV

I have a freind who, in a moment of disagreement with his pastor, proclaimed "you're a good pastor, but you suck at being God."  To this I would agree.  How many of us, on occasion, have come to the cold reality that we really are no good at being God?  Now, when I say 'being God," I'm refering to those times when we take the reigns meant to be pulled by God and try to do it all by ourselves?  I admit I've been there more often than I care to admit.  I'm the worst God ever.  There is a reason that God instructed the Isrealites that they should "Have no other Gods before Me" {Exodus 20:3}.  Why would we even want to?  Why would we, as Gods children, seek a counterfeit Lord?  Yet we do it all the time.  Not only did the Isrealites do it, but thousands of generations after them did it as well.  Somehow, every now and then I think to myself that just maybe I could do it better than God could.  The author Norman Grubb would explain this away as Gods children seeing themselves as thinking that we are independent from God.  This "Independent self" line of thought is not only in error, but gives us a false view and negative view of ourselves.  After all, who am I without God?  He is the very meaning of my existence.  It was God who breathed into me the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  It is God whose Spirit dwells in me today {Galations 2:20}.  Yet, all too often we skew the lines of our relationship with our heavenly Father.  I see ourselves as somehow seperate from God.  With God being enthroned in heaven and His children living our lives here on earth totally seperate from Him.  This is a lie.  It is the very same lie perpetrated by the accuser in the Garden when he sowed the seeds of doubt in Eve {Genesis 3:1}.  As he offered htat forbidden fruit to Eve, satan asked her "Did God really say?"  This is at the very root of our seperation thinking...and why we really suck at being God.

1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God.3All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1: 1 - 5 NKJV

I don't believe that I would be the worst God ever if I would just trust in Him to work all that He will.  However, sometimes my gut gnaws at me and I feel that maybe I could do it better myself.  This could be seen as either a spirit of independence or of rebellion.  Independence to live our own lives, or rebellion against God.  I would say that our seperation thinking is both of these.  There is a reason we see as one of the ten commandments that we're to have no other Gods before Him.  He is our one and only.  He is our Alpha and Omega, our First and Last and the Begining and the End {Revelation 22:13}.  He was even before we came into being.  Not only that, He is the very reason for my existance {Genesis 1:27}.  Without Him, there can be no me.  How, then, can I willfully say that I am seperate from He who created me?  One of lifes mysteries I guess.  I chalk it down to our relentless desire to be independent.  To live our own lives.  Folks, despite all that seperation thinking crap, we ARE living our own lives.  The fact that we are living our lives in Him should give us great joy instead of frustration.  You can tell me all day long that you exist independent from God, but I know the dirty little secret most people keep.  When the rubber meets the road and we tremble in the midst of lifes situations the first words far too many people utter are "HELP ME GOD!"  Imagine that.  How awesome a God have we that, despite our rebellion, lovingly draws us to Him.  Of course, all too often we simply don't realize His presence.  Here's a trick question, are all of Gods children saved?  Indeed, Jesus provided for the salvation of many {John 3:16-17}.  Think of this, what if ALL of our heavenly Fathers children are saved but they simply fail to realize it?  The fault doesn't lie with God, but in our desire to do things our own way.  Which is why we really suck at being God.

~Scott~

The Forgotten Jesus

14For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”
Hebrews 3: 14 NKJV

Do you think you know the man Jesus?  What IF you don't?  What IF all you thought you knew of Christ was simply a old wives tale?  Well, thankfully through the pages of scripture and the testimony of the apostles of Christ we are assured not only that Jesus was indeed real, but of His teachings as well.  So, why is it that we often forget what we've learned?  Why have we forgotten Jesus?  I can already hear the voices out there, Scott, I haven't forgotten Jesus!  Yeah,that's what I thought too.  Until I realized that I had forgotten He who saved me.  To get to the bottom of this mystery we need to once again go back to the truth of Christ, that mystery among the gentiles {Colossions 1:27}.  The truth of Christ doesn't lie in His teachings, but in who He is.  Who is Jesus?  He is more than our Savior.  He is much more than the one perfect man and He is definately more than I had thought He was.  The truth of Jesus is who He is today.  The apostle Paul tells us that it is Christ who lives within us {Galations 2:20}.  That's right, Jesus dwells within you.  All that Christ Jesus is, we are as well.  So, how have we forgotten who Jesus is?  Well, each and every time we ask ourselves "what if" when speaking of ourselves we have forgotten who Jesus really is.  Every time we have doubts about who we are...we've forgotten Jesus.  Every time we throw in the towel and give up when adversity hits...we've forgotten Jesus.  For all that Jesus is, we are as well.  After all, it is Christ who now dwells in us, right?  You might tell me, "yeah...but."  As Jesus told His apostles, "Blessed are those who have NOT seen and yet believed" {John 20:29}.  How many of us are like poor Thomas, struggling to believe and yet falling short?  Don't get me wrong, I don't believe that Thomas didn't WANT to believe in the risen Christ...he wanted proof to dispell what he himself had seen with his own eyes.  So it is with us. 

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, 6“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

What is it that makes those who know the truth of Jesus to forget?  If we know in our hearts that Christ dwells within us, how is it that we forget?  Well, why did Thomas doubt what he was seeing with his own eyes?  We know the truth, and yet at times we act as if we never knew Him.  Believe me, I've been there.  There have been plenty of times when I have doubted the man I really am.  Instead, I followed the narrative the world set before me.  Not only was I not Jesus, but Jesus could never be in the presence of a sinner such as myself.  Well, that argument only works if you believe that Jesus has not already provided for the abolishment of sin.  The fact is, we are now dead to sin {Romans 6:6-11}.  Something else I've forgotten every now and then.  So, not only did Jesus become sin that I would not suffer its penalty, He also returned to dwell within me.  How good of a geneology is that?  I am not only a child of God, but a heir with Christ as well.  Why would I ever forget something so possitive?  One of lifes mysteries I guess.  The truth is, whatever negative things those around us claim that we are...Jesus says no.  Whatever bad behaviors we might engage in, Jesus tells us that's not who we really are.  We will forget Jesus every now and then, but that will never change who we are IN Him.  As Thomas claimed..."My Lord and my God!" 

~Scott~

Heart Condition

24A man’s steps are of the LORD; How then can a man understand his own way?
Proverbs 24: 20 NKJV

I'm always amazed at the christians I come across in my travels.  I remember meeting a rough looking biker guy who I was almost possitive would be difficult to deal with, yet was one of the most gentle people I ever met.  I recall in those days not so long ago where a fun night for me would be to spend my time at one of the strip clubs which portland is famous for.  Yes, I was a man living a mans life.  Was I also christian as well?  Well, yes, at least that's what I would tell myself.  The apostle Paul tells us about matters of our own behavior in 1 Corinthians 8.  How would it look to one who is weak in their own christian faith and they see me walk into a strip club?  Well, they may just be of the mind that if it's ok for a christian man like me to do then it would be ok for him as well.  In a round about way, can you see how our own behaviors might affect those around us?  I call this our heart condition.  We might have an idea who it is that we are, but we might be mistaken as well.  I know that I had the wrong idea of the man I was back in the day.  In my mind I was a man first and a christian second.  Let me stop here to point out that when I say that I knew I was a christian that I knew what religion I followed.  Ok, that's out of the way.  Make no mistake, knowing what religion we follow will in no way lead us into the understanding of who we truly are inside.  I believe that not knowing the man I really was had a big impact on my own behavior in my younger days.  In my mind I went to church so I was doing ok. That's part of our heart condition.  Part of the discussion our group of men has on a regular basis is understanding the man in Christ we truly are.  Once you come to the knowledge of who you really are, a lot of those things you used to partake in don't seem so enticing anymore.  At least that's the way it was for me. 

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

One of the questions I hear many christians ask when I talk to them about who they really are is "Can I still get a tattoo, can I still smoke, can I still gamble?"  My first response is usually, yes, but why would you want to?  Our own heart condition comes from our knowledge of the person we are in Christ Jesus.  Who are we?  Paul tells us that it is Christ who now dwells in us {Galations 2:20}.  Yes, it is Jesus who makes His home inside of you.  We are all that Jesus is.  Whatever it is we go through, be it gambling, drinking or going to strip clubs, we do it as Christ who is in us.  That is...if we know in our own hearts that He has made His home in us.  As I said, once we have the realization of who we truly are, many of those behaviors we once engaged in become less appealing.  For me, the question I would ask myself is, "Jesus, how do you feel about what I'm doing?"  Once we know Jesus, we will most assuredly have that intimate relationship with His as well.  There was a point after my own realization of Christ where my own behaviors were changed.  That desire to visit the clubs was not as important to me as it used to be.  Beleieve me, I've been through more church based pornography addiction seminars than I can count.  None of them could do for me what my own realization Christ Jesus in me has done.  I guess I could have saved myself some money had I known.  Like I said, I had  a heart condition.  One of the biggest barriers to our own realization of Christ in us is the belief that God could never have a close, intimate relationship with me, a sinner.  Relax, Jesus has already provided for that as well.  For it is through the finished work of Christ that we are now dead to our old sin nature {Romans 6:6-11}.  I recall a conversation I had with a friend of mine not too long ago.  Our conversation turned to my strip club visits of days gone by.  Those behaviors, I told him, just didn't do anything for me anymore.  Really, there is nothing in the way of our own realization of who it is we really are.  Can I still smoke and get a tattoo?  Yes, but I'm not sure if Jesus would want to. 

~Scott~

The Killing Of Jesus

28so Christ was offered once to bear the sins tof many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
Hebrews 9: 28 NKJV

I heard a radio preacher the other day who I actually agreed with.  For instead of spouting the usual institutional rhetoric, he let it be said that as christians we are slowly killing Jesus.  That's right, we are unknowingly hammering more nails into that cross of Christ Jesus each day.  Now, I know what you're thinking, Jesus died for the forgiveness of my sins, I had no part in that mess that was His crucifiction.  Wanna bet?  I used to be among those who nailed Jesus to His cross, until I realized my mistake.  The mistake I made, and the mistake many christians continue to make is adding sin after sin to the cross of Jesus.  How is it that we are doing this to our Savior?  Well, each time we come before our heavenly Father seeking forgiveness for one sin or another, we are killing Jesus all over again, in a sense.  I have a few friend who seem to find comfort in confessing their daily iniquities before the Lord.  I say, if it makes them feel better then have at it, but their confessions will in now way change what has already been completed.  What's done is done...IT IS FINISHED!  How am I so very confident that we no longer need to kill Jesus?  Because it is Christ who suffered ONCE for the sins of many {Hebrews 9:28}.  That's right, having suffered once for all of our sins, is it right that Jesus suffer longer because a few of us don't seem to realize the reality of His work at the cross?  The result of the work of Christ Jesus on the cross, we are now DEAD to that sin nature that once defined us.  We are no longer sinners, sinners saved by grace or any other form of soiled garments we can think of.  What's done is done...IT IS FINISHED!  It is for this very reason that we refer to the cross of Jesus as the FINISHED work of Christ.  That means all, not most or a portion of our sins.

36“Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
Acts 2: 36 NKJV

So, why is it that we continue to heap up sins upon the shoulders of Christ?  Why is it that we keep seeking forgiveness for things long since forgotten?  Well, this is how we have been conditioned for some time.  We have been told continually that whenever we pray we should also seek our Lords forgiveness for anything which He might not approve of.  Yes, there might yet be some unforgiven sins which might get in the way of our Lord blessings.  If this is true, why are we told that Christ died once and only once?  For some time I didn't recognize this either.  I was stuck in the centuries old  church narrative that tells us we need to confess our sins.  Think catholic church and one of the first images you think of is the confesional.  Rehashing our bad behaviors over and over until we feel good enough to realize that Jesus already paid that price in full.  The only thing I gained from seeking forgiveness for sins long forgotten was much pain and heartache.  No, it wasn't worth it.  Were I to seek an audience with my heavenly Father I'm sure He would simply smile and proclaim..."What sin?"  So, if we are indeed dead to sin as the apostle Paul tells us in Romans, what of those bad behaviors I continue to do?  Don't I need to confess these "sins" to the Lord?  Before you go thinking that again, hit the brakes and remember that Christ died ONCE for all.  Are those bad behaviors really sin, or something else entirely?  Well, since the sin issue has already been dealt with by Christ at the cross, those behaviors we conveniently call sin must be something different.  So, what are we dealing with here?  What we're dealing with is the same lie told to Adam and Eve by the very same accuser who told it.  That's right, the same accuser who convinced Eve is the same accuser who still spews his lies of unforgiven sins today.  Of course, when we're told by the church that we need to continue to confess our sins it doesn't help in our own realization of the truth.  Knowing that Christ died once for the sins of many we have but one choice...stop killing Jesus.

6For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5: 6 - 8 NKJV

~Scott~

Our Evil Within

Was it Anakins flesh that made him evil?

16I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. 17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
Galations 5: 16 NKJV

Have you ever thought that there was no good in you that God could possibly see?  That, somehow, there was a part of you that was simply in rebelion to your heavenly Father?  Well, if you have then you are neither guilty nor condemned in Gods eyes.  Remember that we are now dead to the sin life we once lived {Romans 6: 6-11}. But, what about that...thing inside of all of us?  You know, that source of all evil which God lovingly created in His own image and made a part of us.  I'm talking about the flesh.  That part of us who so many pulpit pounders over the ages have tried to convince us that we're consistantly guilty.  Well, your flesh is neither evil nor wicked.  I know that all too many christians will read those words and call it heresy, but I believe that I have a point here.  I believe that the early church fathers were so hung up on the flesh being evil that they translated their own hatred into scripture.  Like a CNN journalist talking about Donald Trump, all too many pastors see the flesh as a source of wickedness.  Of course, if that flesh, being wicked, then of course we as well can never please God, right?  congratulations, you've fallen for one of the great myths of christianity.  What is it about our flesh which makes it evil?  Now, I will agree that the flesh is that neutral part of our being that is susceptible to any and all of those influences of the environment around us then I'll be on board with that.  But the flesh being always evil?  I'm not down with that.  Rememeber that it is our heavenly Father who lovingly created all that we are, including our own flesh.  Remeber also that Jesus had His own flesh.  In fact, if it were not for the flesh of Christ we may have never known Him.  What?  Well, what did the flesh of Jesus contain?  That's right, His flesh contained His Spirit.  If we are to believe the apostle Paul, then our own flesh is but a vessel which contains the indwelling Spirit of Christ {Galaations 2:20}. 

5For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, ithe things of the Spirit. 6For to be 2carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Romans 8: 5 - 6 NKJV

So, if indeed our flesh is but a vessel for the indwelling Christ, how can it be in emnity against God?  Well, that all depends on what is influencing our flesh at any given moment.  Yes, Jesus had His own flesh, but Jesus also had His mind in the right place.  Jesus knew the truth of His flesh and kept it perspective.  We can also.  I don't believe that looking at our own flesh as having enmity against God is the right perspective.  After all, as I said, we're created in His very image.  Yes, that includes our flesh.  All that we are has been lovingly created by God that we would be in union with Him.  But, how can we be in union with God if there is a part of us that is evil?  Well, that is part of what I call the great church deception.  We're told that, being sinners, we can never attain a close relationship with God while we are alive.  Indeed, it will not be until the second (or third...or fourth) coming of Christ that all will finaly be put in order and we will achieve a close personal relationship with God.  Well, that's bunk!  Jesus Himself prayed that we would be one in He and the Father {John 17:21}.  So, how is it that I can be one in the Father if my flesh is wicked?  Notice that Jesus did not pray that we would be one in the Father ATER His return.  No, the desire of our heavenly Father is that we would be one in He and Christ NOW.  Jesus knew, as I do, that it has never been our flesh which has made us wicked in Gods eyes.  But Scott, what about the bad things the bible says the flesh has done?  Well, the context of that is that FOLLOWING the influences of the world can and will bring about wickedness.  I'm sure we all understand that.  It is our flesh, that neutral part of our being, which will be easily influenced by our surroundings.  However, if we are aware of the truth of the flesh, then we can live in peace that it has never been our Lords creation that has made us wicked in His eyes.

20“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who 10will believe in Me through their word; 21g“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, jthat 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.
John 17: 20 - 23 NKJV

~Scott~