A Lesson Learned On The Trail

 

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  

1 John 4: 18 NKJV 

I decided to go old school this morning and write on a topic which many believers may look upon as a touchy subject.  I'm talking about faith.  Or, as some may call it, trust.  Why am I speaking to this?  Well, because this week my own faith took another hit as our illustrious do nothing governor Lockdown Kate Brown once again decided that it was much better to shutter businesses and keep people at home than to allow them to work and earn a living.  Now, I really don't care what side of the political spectrum you're on at this point as it makes zero difference to me and my situation.  For although I am blessed to still be working, there are now parts of my life which are once again for the umpteenth time put on hold.  This is where my lack of trust came in.  Yes, I know that we were slowly getting everyone back to work before this latest hiccup.  However, my very first thought when the closures were announced was that we were once again headed for a five to six month shutdown.  In reality, data in Oregon is evaluated each week to determine the course of fighting the Democrat politically motivated virus.  So, next week we could very well be back to where we were once again.  However, the card not played on the table is the governor and what she will decide to do.  That is where the lack of trust comes in.  Yet last night I thought about this situation a little deeper, who is it that we have our trust in?  Is our trust in a person, or in God to work the situation as He will?  Now, I don't claim to know all there is to know about God and His motives, but He most certainly has a objective even in these anxious times.  What may ease our hearts from time to time is asking the Father what His intentions are.  For those who feel that their relationship with the Father isn't that close that we can have a heart to heart talk with Him I refer you to the words of the apostle Paul.  For it is Paul who, in the book of Galatians, introduces to the reader the truth of Christ Jesus in us {Galatians 2:20}.  That is, it is Jesus who lives in each of us, and He is more than willing to talk with us any time of the day.  Will we listen? 

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Hebrews 11: 1 NKJV 

Does anyone besides me feel as if their own faith is weak sometimes?  Back in the day, I was told that a weak faith meant that something was in the way of my seeing God.  That something being sin.  However, I think there's something different in play here.  When is it that our trust is shaken the most?  Do we feel as if we can trust someone we are happy with?  Of course.  Yet, when we become afraid for some reason all bets are off.  I suggest, therefore, that a big reason for our lack of trusting is our own fears.  Fear of a outcome we do not want to see.  What it all boils down to is our fear of something unknown.  We do not know what tomorrow will bring, so we hang on to rumors and the lies of the enemy which distract us from what we know to be true.  A few years ago, my friend Dennis and I were pretty big into the hiking scene.  There were more than a local trails we conquered.  I still recall one of these trips where the trail brought us to a razor thin bend in the trail about 600 feet above the Clackamas river.  My friend stood in front of me as my fear of heights began to take over.  In a moment of panic I confided that I didn't wish to die on this trail.  Of course, Dennis laughed and assured me that I wasn't going to die.  Guess what...I didn't.  Yet that is the fear of the unknown which many believers face in their relationship with God.  Will He help me?  Will He be there for me?  The answer to these questions is, of course, YES.  The writer of Hebrews describes faith as our assurance that what we will hope will come to pass.  We all too often cannot see it, but we know in our hearts that it is real.  The same assurance which tells us that a tree or a rock is real is that same assurance which tells us that what we hope for will come to pass.

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world.  And this is the victory that has overcome the world - our faith.

1 John 5: 4 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Jesus University

 

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10: 10 NKJV 

I never imagined that there was so much I needed to learn and know about following Jesus.  Yet, I was reminded once again this week of the academic requirements of knowing who Jesus is.  Or, more importantly, someone's version of who the Christ is.  If one looks at my opening scripture reference they will see a common verse from Paul's letter to the Romans concerning believing in Christ Jesus.  That is how we have come to accept this passage.  But wait, do Paul's words really speak to this truth?  Or, do we need to dig deeper into the context in order to come to the truth about Jesus that someone else feels is out there?  Welcome to Jesus university.  Where there is plenty of studying and lectures, but no degree is ever earned.  Where those with a knowledge of the ancient language and texts speak to those who simply desire to follow Christ about how they should go about doing so.  We see this all too often in the academia of seminary.  Or, as I have come to refer to it, Pharisee school.  Now, don't get me wrong, I believe that a good copy of a concordance is a good item to have for every believer.  For when the ancient texts we know today as the scriptures were written all those years ago, it is often helpful to know what the writers intent was.  Helpful, but not required.  I believe that it is indeed helpful to know just how Jesus felt about the religious academics of His day.  Those who studied the script and applied their knowledge to the lives of others.  These...were the Jewish Pharisees.  It it helpful to point out that in the first few books of the new testament we are introduced to the rocky relationship which Jesus had with the religious leaders of His day.  Was this how Jesus felt about them personally?  I doubt it, for they were Gods children as well despite being blinded by their knowledge of the Jewish texts.  The Pharisees accused Jesus and His followers of everything from working on the sabbath (actually...healing) to breaking with Jewish traditions {Matthew 15:2}.  In fact, Jesus' own disciples warned Him of the Pharisees displeasure {Matthew 15:12}.  Jesus' response?  "They are blind leaders of the blind" {Matthew 15:14}.  Sounds a lot like many Pharisee school graduates today.  

"The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.  Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.  For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.  But all their works they do to be seen by men.  They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.  They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, 'Rabbi, Rabbi.'  But you, do not be called 'Rabbi"; for one is your teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren.  Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven.  And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ.  But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.  And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.  

Matthew 23: 2 - 12 NKJV 

Back in my church days, it always amused me when I would began a conversation with one of the church pastors by referring to him by his first name only.  Indeed, many of these Pharisee school grads loved having that word "pastor" added to their name.  I get it.  I mean, a Pharisee school degree can't be cheap, so you might as well enjoy the title you've earned, right?  Wrong.  For this was one of the issues which Jesus had with the Pharisees of His day.  To walk around the city and have everyone acknowledge you as "Rabbi."  Not only that, but the perks?  The best seat at feasts, the best seats in the house of worship.  Walk into any church service this Sunday morning and you will know exactly where to find the pastors...front and center in the front pews.  The best seats.  Now, I cannot say in all honesty that all pastors put themselves on display like this.  For I know a few former pastors who shy away from the limelight of the positions they once held.  For me, I'm more comfortable with someone who is approachable and can tell me all about Jesus without bringing out their Pharisee school degree and knowledge.  I have a concordance, I can find out what a word means as well as you can, dude.  I've been blessed in my life to have a dear friend who has seen the pastoral life from the inside and at times was very uncomfortable with what he saw.  I respect him for that.  Yet, on any given Sunday followers of Jesus around the world are expected to give reverence to a man...a position.  Not this guy.  I give reverence where it's due, to Christ Jesus.

Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"  But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.  "Let them alone, They are blind leaders of the blind.  And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch."

Matthew 15: 12 - 14 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

The Graveyard Of Christian Hope

 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.  

1 Corinthians 15: 22 NKJV 

I heard a radio pastor make a astounding claim this past week.  In his sermon, this pulpit pounder stated that "God hates anything which is against those He loves."  The first thing I thought about was, God hates His own children?  Seriously, how many of us have experienced other people, even other fellow believers, being against us at one time or another?  Does God hate them?  Does God even hate me for being against other believers when I have?  Can you see how this could play havoc with a believer who does not know any better?  A believer who does not know the true nature of God {1 John4:8}.  In my young Christian church going days I would have heard a statement such as this and felt as if all was lost.  I know that I have been against other people at times, so God must hate me.  So, this God of love must hate me, right?  Wrong.  Like many messages coming out of mainstream church theology, this one has no basis on the truth.  The truth is that God is loving and merciful.  The truth is that He desires for ALL to be saved and come to abide in Him {1 Corinthians 15:22. 2 Corinthians 5:15, Romans 5:19}.  It has never been the Lords desire that anyone be left out of His presence.  Yet, if you listen to most church messages, you will surely come across more than a few that claim that our sins prevent us from experiencing all of the fullness of the Lord.  Talk about living in the past.  For that is exactly where our old sin nature lies dead now...in the past {Romans 6:6, Romans 5:18}.  I cannot claim that church theology is designed to squash the hopes of believers, but it certainly looks that way at times.  For how can God fearing Christians hope to live in the forgiveness of God if the sin card is continually being held over our heads?  I believe that it is impossible...save for the knowledge of the truth of God and all which He has accomplished through Christ Jesus.  

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

John 3: 16 - 17 NKJV 

A good friend of mine commented to me after I told him of the radio preachers comments that this falls in line with contemporary church theology, to place the focus on sin and not on Christ Jesus who defeated sin and death {Romans 6:9}.  I agree.  I've lived it.  I've sat through countless sermons from pastors who, knowing that Christ provided for the forgiveness of our sins, continued to speak to my sin as a barrier to experiencing the fullness of the Lord.  In this way, I needed to continue to live on that hamster wheel of chasing Gods forgiveness yet being told that the best I could ever do is to be "like" Jesus.  Well, the apostle Paul claimed that not only are we "like" Jesus, but that we ARE Christ who lives in us {Galatians 2:20}.  Walk into any church on a Sunday and try to proclaim that before the congregation.  Soon, you'll be hearing words like "heresy" and "blasphemy" before they try to convince you that you need saving from these devilish thoughts.  Yet the scriptures make it clear that our sins are indeed forgiven and that Christ lives in us.  Not long ago I watched the 2018 film Come Sunday which details the situation of Bishop Carlton Pearson.  It was Pearson who shocked his congregation by mentioning the idea that all of Gods children would be saved.  Well, in the end, Pearson lost his ministry, his home and many of the things he owned.  His life in the ministry seemed all but finished simply because he spoke to the truth of God.  So yes, walk into any church this Sunday and proclaim to all in attendance that sin is dead and that all of Gods children will be saved.  Then, let me know how that works out for you.  I might not be a prophet, but I can pretty much tell the outcome of that venture already.  For is is far easier for the church to fill empty seats speaking to sin than it will ever be to speak the truth of living in the fullness of Gods love and forgiveness.  

Knowing 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.  For he who has died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6: 6 - 11 

~Scott~ 

Letter Never Sent

 "If you could save your own father from hell...wouldn't you?" 

Bishop Carlton Pearson ~ Come Sunday 

July, 2016 

Dad,

I'm just writing to let you know that mom passed away a few months ago.  I was with her during her last days and I know in my heart that she loved the Lord and was waiting eagerly for her eternity with Him.  I know that I mentioned in a few of my past letters to you that I am a believer in God, and I still follow that path.  I also realize that you were never too taken with what you called "church stuff."  Knowing your family history as I do, I understand.  But that in no way takes away my love for you, or the fact that I have prayed over and over that you would come to know Him as I have.  My desire is that assurance in my heart that I will one day be with my parents once again.  Know that I am praying for you each day...and that God loves you as do I.

Scott 

It  was a letter that I never found time to send.  A few months after the death of my mother, I wrote a quick note to my dad in Minnesota to tell him she had passed.  He never received it because it was never sent.  That's on me.  I thought about that short note once again this week as I watched the 2018 film Come Sunday.  It's the story about Bishop Carlton Pearson, who ran afoul of church leadership in the 1990's by turning thousands of years of church teachings on their ear.  His crime of heresy?  Speaking to the possibility that a loving God would not and could not condemn His children to torment in hell.  The belief that those who are somehow "separated" from God will one day face the torment and fires of hell has been a staple of Christian theology for thousands of years.  Let me put it another way which may cause you to look a this differently.  The belief that those who are somehow separated from the God who created them has been a staple of man made religious teachings for thousands of years.  The movie Come Sunday caused me to look at my own life situations differently.  My own father, who to my knowledge was never a believer, passed away in 2018 without ever knowing the Lord.  Is he now in hell?  What if I could somehow save him from that torment?  Were that the case I would do it in a heartbeat.  But first I would need to recognize that hell is indeed a true and real place of torment, and that a loving God would have no qualms about sending His children to a eternity there.  That is something I cannot do.  I will never believe that the God who loved me enough to create me in His own image and to provide for my redemption through Christ Jesus would do all of these things only to ultimately banish me to torment in hell.  Yet millions of Christians continue to believe the spoon fed doctrine of Gods hellfire and punishment.  

"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.  '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.'  "Then he said, 'I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my fathers house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.'  "Abraham said to him, 'they have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.'  "And he said, 'No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.'  "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 

The phrase "separated" from God has been playing in my thoughts a lot this week.  It was something that was discussed as we watched the movie this week.  Perhaps God does have a special place designated for those who have become separated from Him?  Was my own dad separated from God?  Well, as I so often say, it's a good story if you can sell it.  And the mainstream church has been selling this story hook line and sinker for thousands of years.  I don't know about you, but I have a hard time believing that a God who created all which we see could ever be separated from anything He has created.  We are created in His image {Genesis 1:27}.  It is God who breathed into us the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  Are we to believe that at some point God decided to remove Himself from something He lovingly created?  I don't see it.  However, millions of believers have drank the kool aid over the years to the point where it has become accepted theology.  As someone once said, tell a lie often enough and eventually it becomes truth.  Is it a lie that the mainstream church has been teaching?  Each person needs to decide that on their own based upon what we know and understand about God.  Bishop Pearson did, and he lost everything in the process.  I know in my heart that God is a loving God {1 John 4:8}.  I know that I am created in His image, and that He lives in me {Galatians 2:20}.  I also know that Jesus became sin that my own sins would be wiped clean {Corinthians 5:21}.  All of this leads me to believe that God loves His children He has created and that His greatest desire is that we be one with He and Christ {John 17:21}.  God is not seeking to punish...but to redeem.  I only wish I would have shared that good news with my dad.  

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

~Scott~ 

Family Business

 

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. 

2 Peter 3: 9 NKJV 

It is not a popular message, and if you speak it you could end up as a perceived enemy of the church.  It's a message that popular pastor Carlton Pearson spoke to in the film Come Sunday.  The message that it is certainly not the Lords desire that all of His children should perish in hell.  That our own beliefs on hell may indeed be wrong.  In the end, bishop Pearson was stripped of his church leadership and mocked within the church community for bringing his heresy to light.  I can relate to much of what bishop Pearson endured, because for many years I was that guy in the pew absorbing each and every word that the mainstream church wanted me to hear.  That God was a good and just God.  That God, at times, could be a angry God.  If you wanted to keep on Gods good and blessing giving side, you needed to follow the commands spoken by the pastor on Sunday morning.  I get it.  I remember those days.  But now they seem like more a memory for me.  See, I haven't stepped into a church since 2010.  In fact, the other night while watching this movie with a few friends, I was told that perhaps God had indeed turned His back on me because I turned my back on Him.  Really?  News flash, I didn't turn my back on God.  I love the Lord with all of my heart.  I love Him because He loved me first.  I love Him because He loves me even when those around me see nothing good in me.  I could not turn my back on Him.  Even if I did, God would not abandon me, He would wait for me to return to Him.  So, I have not turned my back on God, just on the family business.  That family business that is hell bent on making full pews and offering plates the focus of their existence.  The family business that forsakes speaking the truth of Christ Jesus and instead continues to read from a two thousand year old playbook.  That is what I walked away from. 

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."

John 3: 16 - 17 NKJV 

For Carlton Pearson, his come to God moment happened as he watched a news program about a war torn region of the world.  Then the question came...are these people going to hell?  Granted, they had not been "saved" in the eyes of the mainstream church, so were they then destined for hell?  My own come to Jesus moment happened at the end of a Easter Sunday sermon.  The pastor had just finished wrapping up the traditional sermon on the death and resurrection of Christ and how through Him all of our sins were now washed away.  Then, almost as a afterthought, he invited the congregation to come forward for prayer if they had any sins they needed to confess.  I was done.  This certainly wasn't the God I had been taught, who spoke to me about forgiving my sins but then goes back on His promise.  Can God lie?  Absolutely not.  It was then that I realized that my struggle wasn't with God, but with the men who taught me about the Lord.  The old Christian mindset that God is a vengeful God does not sit too well with me.  If God were a vengeful God, then why did He provide for my salvation through Christ?  If God is a vengeful God, why did he create me lovingly in His own image? {Genesis 1:27}  If God is a vengeful God, why is it that He lives in me today? {Galatians 2:20}  No, I will never believe in that image of the God I love.  This is the struggle that Carlton Pearson wrestled with.  It is also the struggle which a dear pastor friend of mine wrestled with as well.  longing to speak the truth of Christ and the love nature of God, but knowing that if he did his place in the family business would be no more.  One thing is certain, however, you will not find me in that pew come Sunday.  

And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for our only but also for the whole world.

1 John 2: 2 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

What The Hell

 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 John 4: 8 NKJV 

It's a message which has caused a great deal of controversy in the mainstream church over the years.  Who is it that is damned to hell?  What mistakes are so outrageous that a loving God would turn His back on the one who made them?  Many times in scripture it is referred to as the "Lake of fire" where unbelievers end up after their lives here on earth are complete.  One thing is certain, only the Lord has the power to save or condemn anyone.  For most of my Christian life, hell was a place which I feared I would end up if I didn't do what the pastor told me to do.  That is, live my life in such a godly way that the Lord would be hard pressed to condemn me.  To live my life "Like Jesus," emulating His holy example.  Well, if you ask me, Jesus set the bar pretty high for someone like me to attain.  I mean, I was but a sinner right?  How can sinful flesh ever be seen as worthy of being loved in the eyes of God?  This was the question I asked myself many times as I struggled to align myself with who I thought God wanted me to be.  The trouble with this way of thinking is that when we engage in it, we're eliminating Christ from the conversation.  For it is Jesus who took our sins to Himself at the cross {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  It is also Christ who has declared sin to be dead once and for all {Romans 6:11}.  If I knew then what I know now, I would have understood that Jesus needed to eliminate my own sin for me to be reconciled to God.  After all, this is the desire of the Lord, that ALL might be saved {John 3:17}.  Over the years, I've had a difficult time grasping how a loving God could turn His back on one of His children and condemn them to hell.  This caused me to approach the Lord out of the fear of what punishment He would give me.  In the end I was faced with two choices, either God was a Lord to be feared...or what the church had been teaching me for so long was wrong.  

Knowing 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.  For he who has died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV 

Is it that far of a reach to say that believers have been taught something which just isn't true over the years?  Do you believe in a God of love...or a God of fear and punishment?  Because at the end of the day, this is the question that will determine how it is you view God.  This will be the filter which you see Him through.  As a young believer, I believed in the teachings that Gods anger could be roused to the point where He would condemn one of His own to a eternity of punishment.  That His love is conditional upon our behavior.  I wanted God to love me for me ALL of the time.  Well, it turns out that He does love me, and I am assured of this in scripture.  He loved me enough to create me in His own image {Genesis 1:27}.  He also loved me enough to allow His own Son to suffer on the cross that my own sins would be washed away.  I will never believe that a God who loved me this much would suddenly condemn me to a eternity of punishment.  What I will believe is that God is a God of love for His children.  That through Christ, we have now become one with Jesus and the Father {John 17:21}.  For Jesus did not come into this world to condemn...but to save.  As far as the question about hell goes, I believe if I was misled once by the teachings of the church...that it could certainly happen again.

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment.  But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.  We love Him because He first loved us.

1 John 4: 18 - 19 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Through The Looking Glass

 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come; For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self control, brutal despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power.  And from such people turn away! 

2 Timothy 3: 1 - 5 NKJV 

The other day my friend sent me a news story of some political angle along with the quote..."This will make your blood boil."  My response to him?  Not really.  For many of the injustices and events described in this video I have been aware of for some time.  I guess I pride myself to being a follower of most things political as well as history.  The late Rush Limbaugh had a saying that he knew liberals like he knew himself.  Why?  Because those on the left end of our political arena have been using the exact same tactics for years on end.  So, not much of what they do surprises me anymore.  While thinking about this the other night I asked myself, is it possible to be a Christian in todays world?  Now, I know that many a believer might have asked the same question at some point, so I cannot claim to be the first.  From what I know about my faith and the God which I serve, I know in my heart that one can indeed be a Christian in this world without falling victim to it.  Indeed, we are warned in scripture of just how many troubles and tribulations which we will face in life.  We have warnings from Jesus {Matthew 6:25-34}.  We also have the apostle Paul warning young Timothy about the ways of this world {2 Timothy 3:1-5}.  So, the warning bells have been there for some time.  I cannot say for sure, but I believe that one of the reasons which Paul gave such a strong warning to his young apprentice was to prevent him from falling victim to the desires of this world.  Even back in Paul's day I'm sure that there were plenty of temptations to go around.  That will never change.  For as long as we are living in this physical world, we will always be faced with situations and temptations which will run contrary to our faith and beliefs.  On a personal note, I have fallen victim more than a few times to bad behaviors and thinking wrong of others.  I would venture to say that anyone who claims to have never engaged in such things are lying to themselves {1 John3:10}.  

You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater then he who is in the world.

1 John 4: 4 NKJV  

I am not naive enough to trust that all Christians will stick to their beliefs like white on rice.  Hey, if I could stumble and fall before then it's possible for any believer to follow that wayward path.  My advice to these people is simple, never forget who you are.  I've been through many occasions where I've acted out and followed what the world believes.  Does this change the fact that Jesus is my true identity?  Not in the least.  One of my favorite passages from scripture is that of the prodigal son {Luke 15:11-31}.  With this parable, Jesus tells us that in spite of ourselves, the love of the Father is absolute.  That is the wonderful thing about God, His love is unchanging throughout our life journey.  I have heard many a Christian claim that God has changed over time.  Brother, God hasn't changed, WE'VE CHANGED.  I believe that this nation of ours once had a deeper faith and respect for the Lord.  However, over time we as a people have chosen on more than one occasion to follow the path of the world over the path the Lord has given us.  Granted, since He is in all of His creation and is all knowing, He most certainly knew we would do just that.  Just as He was aware that His chosen people, Israel, would follow the ways of the world as well.  Does God withdraw His love for us once we decide to follow the worlds lead?  No, but He does allow us to make that choice despite it being the wrong one.  At the end of the day, when we're weary and beat up from what the world has dished out to us, God is there to love us.  There is nowhere we can go that is out of His reach.  There is also nothing we might do that His grace and forgiveness cannot overcome.  

"These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

John 16: 33 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Ego Eimi

 And He said to them, "Why are you troubled?  And why do doubts arise in your hearts?  "Behold My feet, that it is I myself.  Handle Me and see, for a Spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have."

Luke 24: 38 - 39 NKJV 

It must have been tough for the disciples of Jesus to accept the man who was standing before them claiming to be their former teacher.  Let's face it, not that long ago many of them had witnessed Jesus die at the hands of the Romans and Jewish religious authorities.  Although He had spoken many times as to  what must take place in His life, these men still were late for lunch when it came time to accepting what Jesus had predicted as true.  What I love about these scriptures from the physician Luke is that Jesus does not condemn His friends for their unbelief.  Instead He shares a meal with them by the shore of the sea.  One of my bibles declares the scriptures immediately following Jesus sharing this meal with His disciples as His "Ascension."  We can get into exactly what it is that is taught about this journey of Jesus at some point, but for now we see Him leaving His friends.  Jesus leaving?  Yes, that is what we're told in these scriptures.  We're told that Jesus "Was parted from them and carried up into heaven" {Luke 24:51}.  My first thought in reading this verse is that Jesus is gone.  He is no longer around, but has separated Himself from us by rising to be with the Father in heaven.  Now, if you are a hardcore church teaching believer, you will indeed accept this as truth.  But what if that which we have been told about the after ascension life of Jesus is not true at all?  Would you believe?  Or, would you simply be like one of the unbelieving disciples by the sea on that ascension morning?  Personally, I find it far more encouraging to hold on to the trust and belief in the truth about Christ Jesus.  The truth which tells me that Jesus is still very much part of my life.  

"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."

Galatians 2: 20 NKJV

How much closer can I be to Jesus than to have that realization that He is in me?  I don't need to follow church teachings which encourage me to "Be like Jesus."  I AM Him.  If you have ever heard of this truth of Christ in you and have struggled to accept it, join the club.  It is this truth which the apostle Paul deemed the 'mystery among the Gentiles" {Colossians 1:27}.  That is, people in Paul's day found that accepting the truth of Christ in us just as difficult as those of us today.  Does this make the reality of Jesus any less true?  Absolutely not.  Do I, at times, still feel like one of Jesus' disciples talking to Him by the sea that morning?  Absolutely.  Growing up in the realm of Christian teaching, it was difficult for me to accept that Jesus could be within me.  Yet, here He is.  We know that God has reconciled us to Him through Christ Jesus {2 Corinthians 5:18}.  We also know that through Him that we will be one with the Father {John 17:21}.  So, yes, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I should have no fear...for Christ is with me.  It is something which we can proclaim with all confidence.  Who am I?  EGO EIMI!  

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1:27 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Redemption Morning

 

"But go, tell His disciples - and Peter - that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you."

Mark 16: 7 NKJV 

I can't imagine how Peter must have felt in that moment.  Here he was, only days removed from what I'm sure Peter saw as his betrayal of his friend, teacher and Lord.  However, this is also exactly why the angel mentioned Peter by name that resurrection morning.  It was never His intent to allow Peter to keep his own failure in his heart.  This was Peters redemption day.  No matter how strong your faith or belief, across the world this morning millions of people will celebrate what can only best be described as a miracle.  A man put to death on a cross.  That same man buried in a tomb.  Then, as the sun rose on the third day...death became life.  I've been told that Easter brings about new beginnings.  That it is a good example of reconciliation.  I agree.  However, once again on this Easter Sunday, my thoughts turn to something far less than redemption.  See, for me Easter represents something completely different than it might for many people.  I agree that the scriptures are correct, that Jesus walked out of that tomb that morning, defeating death once and for all {Romans 6:9}.  I also agree that those who came to His tomb that morning were not expecting what they ultimately found there.  One thing that Easter represents for me is failure.  Failure?  Yes, failure.  For it was on Easter morning in 2010 that I walked through the doors of a church for the last time.  For those who have been reading these pages for awhile, you know the story of my Easter revelation and how it put me on the road to knowing who Jesus really is.  It was on Easter morning that I sat and listened to another pulpit pounder give his sermon on the wonders of the risen Christ.  How Jesus had bled and died to free us of our sins.  Then...it happened.  At the end of his sermon, the pastor invited anyone who felt that they had unconfessed sin in their lives to come forward for prayer.  Believe me, I had been feeling pretty good up until that point.  Feeling confident in my heart that Jesus forgave me.  Yet, now this man was telling me that might not be true?  I wasn't confused at all.  For I knew that Jesus died for me.  However, I was upset that the good news of the resurrection of Christ had been hijacked.  I walked out never to return.

Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, saying, 'The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.' "  And they remembered His words.

Luke 24: 5 - 8 NKJV 

There have been many times where I have felt like Peter must have felt that morning.  Rejected and alone.  Indeed, I used to think that people who gave up coming to church had given up on God.  I hadn't given up on God, just on how He was being taught.  I guess that I could remember that Sunday morning as my own redemption morning.  It wasn't long until I began to hear whispers of conversations.  Conversations on how we had the wrong view of who Jesus is.  Yes, He died on the cross and was raised on the third day, I get that.  But what about after that?  Well, we're told that after His resurrection  that Jesus was seen by a multitude of over 500 people including His disciples.  For over 40 days prior to His ascension, Jesus was seen and talked to a multitude of people.  My point being...Jesus is NOT dead!  This was the Jesus I wanted to know.  Eventually, a dear friend and brother introduced me to the Jesus that He knew.  The Jesus whom the apostle Paul claimed lived in him {Galatians 2:20}.  This was the Jesus I wanted to know.  Not the guy who ascended to heaven and stayed there, apart from the rest of us.  I believe that to be bogus teaching.  The Jesus I now know is a Jesus of love, compassion and redemption.  I now know how Peter must have felt on that redemption morning. 

~Scott~ 

Papa

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8: 38 - 39 NKJV 

I had the opportunity to watch the film heaven is for real the other night.  I believe that I have seen this movie before, but this time it was different in the way I viewed it.  See, the last time I saw this movie I had a totally different understanding of who God is.  I had a different knowing of who Jesus is.  I believe that my reaction to this movie the first time I saw it was that something such as what happened to young Colton Burpo could certainly happen to anyone, if they followed the Lords path. That is, if a believer was strong in the Lord, then such a experience could certainly happen.  Just look at the family depicted in the movie, the father was a pastor and they were very religious.  But is that the real reason why God chose to reveal to young Colton that which He did?  Knowing what I've learned about God I'd say no.  I say no because I know that God does not separate His children {Galatians 3:28}.   I know that the love of God is all encompassing {1 John 4:16}.  Therefore, I don't believe that there are any requirements if God should choose to show us what it is He wants us to see.  But this isn't about a movie.  This isn't about how a young kid saw things that were beyond physical description.  This is about how my own understanding of who God really is has changed.  Anyone who has seen the movie heaven is for real knows that by the end of the film, people began to see God differently.  As for myself, I refuse to know God as a giver of rules who rewards those who do well and punishes those who don't.  Yes, this might be the God of popular religious teaching, but I don't believe that it resembles the Lord too well.  Ask yourself, does God love you more than me?  Does He favor me over you?  So, if Gods love knows no end and with Him there is no favoritism, how then is it that God can punish one yet bless another?  Again, that is what we're taught.  Trust me, if I taught you for 2,000 years that the sky was brown, you'd believe it.  I was taught to be the good Christian and that God would reward me.  Well, along the way I had things happen in my life which made me wonder if God was somehow mad at me.  I was questioning God.  Now, I am neither a blasphemer nor a heretic, I simply wanted to know if God was upset with me.  It turns out He wasn't mad, and that I didn't know Him as well as I thought I did.

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 John 4: 7 - 8 NKJV 

What is it that you know about God?  Do you know that He is holy?  Do you know that He created the heavens and the earth?  Congratulations, you were paying attention in church.  Now, what is it that you KNOW about the Father?  What is it that you feel in your heart about who He is?  For me, God has a very special place in me.  The apostle Paul tells us that it is Christ Jesus who lives in us {Galatians 2:20}.  Yes, that old man we once were has been nailed to the cross of Christ and put to death never to return {Romans 6:6}.  Yes, despite all you have done, God loved you enough that Jesus would take your sins upon Himself upon the cross {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  We now have no basis to believe that our sin can keep us from a close relationship with God.  How can something that's dead keep us from knowing God?  If you have any doubt that sin is something we still need to fear, heed the words of Paul when he claims that we reckon ourselves to be dead indeed to sin {Romans 6:11}.  Indeed, there is nothing which stands in our way of knowing who God really is.  Who is God?  Well, if you have ever felt His love within you, then you know Him already. 

We love Him because He first loved us

1 John 4: 19 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

False Expectations

 "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."

Matthew 1: 21 NKJV 

I spent some time this week looking through the scriptures on the birth of Jesus looking for where it was written that the Son of God would be a great military leader.  Of course, I could not find such a verse no matter how long I searched.  Yet, in the years leading up to the birth of Christ, this was the prevailing view among many of the Jewish faith.  It seemed that the birth of Jesus would bring forth the defeat of the Roman occupation, the rebuilding of the temple which the Romans had destroyed and the restoration of the kingdom of David to it's former glory.  These events were not part of the prophesy of the birth of Jesus.  In fact, the medieval sage Maimonides laid out specific events in his Mishneh Torah which the Jews believed would confirm the identity of the Messiah.  Maimonides wrote that, "If he is not successful with this, or if he is killed, it's known that he is not the one that was promised by the Torah."  So, since Jesus has been crucified, are we to now believe that He is not the risen Messiah?  Well, that's a good story if you can sell it.  The truth of the matter is that the prophesy concerning Jesus never mentions that He would be the military leader who would lead the Jews against the Roman occupation of the holy lands.  But what does that prophesy say about Jesus?  That Jesus should reign as king {Jeremiah 23:5}.  Jesus is the image of God {Colossians 1:15}.  The prophesy told of the coming king of Israel {Zechariah 9:9}.  Nowhere is it mentioned that Jesus would defeat the occupying Romans.  Well, nowhere but in the writings of Maimonides.  

For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.  And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9: 6 NKJV 

I find it hard to believe that, having the writings of the prophets in the years leading up to the birth of Jesus, that many Jews continued to believe that their promised Messiah would deliver them from the Romans.  I get it.  I have watched a few popular movies on the birth of Jesus, and I am always intrigued that among the population of Jerusalem there is a movement of those opposed to the Roman occupation.  These zealots, apparently founded by a man named Judas, were opposed to the Roman occupation and fought against them.  What is important to remember, however, is that Jesus Himself never advocates for this insurrection.  Instead, He calls on His followers to bless those who persecute them {Luke 6:28, Matthew 5:11-12}.  Jesus represented a radical shift in the old ways, something the Jews of His day were definitely not expecting.  While the Jewish leaders prepared to stone a adulterous woman, Jesus called on the one who had never sinned to cast that first stone {John 8:7}.  Indeed, many of the long accepted ways from the days of the old testament were at odds with the radical new teaching which Jesus was bringing to the table.  This was no longer an eye for an eye, but the expression of the Lords love for His people through Jesus.  In fact, were it not for Jesus, the Lord God might never be seen at all.

An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.

~Scott~