Church Words

And the anointment which you obtained from Him is remaining in you, and you have no need that anyone may be teaching you, but as His anointing is teaching you concerning all, and is true, and is no lie, according as it teaches you also, remain in Him.

1 John 2: 27: Concordant New Testament 

As a writer, not everyone is impressed with my work.  Not everyone agrees with what I put out on my page.  No matter, my ultimate goal is that everyone knows the truth of Christ Jesus in them.  Yet there are those who see something with my writings every now and then.  Something which they judge in a negative way at times.  I have stood accused of using "Institutional" language in a few of my posts.  Whatever does this mean?  Well, the long and short of it is...church words.  Words or phrases which many a Christian has heard time and time again over the years.  I've heard them myself, and I wasn't impressed.  All too often, church words take us to a place where a true relationship with Christ Jesus simply isn't possible for any believer.  Church words keep us enslaved to the mainstream church idea that we are still sinners in the Lords eyes.  Now, there are times when I simply don't realize that I might be rehashing my own version of church words as I write.  I get it.  I chalk that up to too many years learning in the church system.  Writing about something you have been told for years is true is easy.  What's difficult is writing about something that too many in Christian circles do not take seriously.  That is, the indwelling of Jesus in us.  The apostle Paul spoke to this realization in Galatians.  As Paul proclaimed, it was no longer he who lives, but that Christ lives in him {Galatians 2:20}.  I do not see this revelation as church words simply because I have never once heard this truth proclaimed from any pulpit.  But other words are seen as church words.  Words like sin, judgement and being like Jesus.  Basically, a lot which can be seen as being taught from the pulpits of the modern mainstream church are, in effect, church words.  Go figure.  

To whom God wills to make known what are the glorious riches of this secret among the nations, which is: Christ among you, the expectation of glory.

Colossians 1: 27 Concordant New Testament

Not to ruffle anyone's feathers, but I also know a few more church words which I do not find to be counter productive.  They are, God loves you and Christ died for you.  These are definitely church words many Christians have heard spoken from the church and are recognized as true.  But I would like to suggest a few other words that should also be recognized as true.  Christ is in you; you are dead to sin.  That last one always seems to get more than a few protests in response when I speak it to others.  Dead to sin?  What blasphemy is this?  The same blasphemy Paul speaks to in Romans 6.  It is Paul who declares that we should now consider ourselves dead to sin {Romans 6:11}.  Now, for those of you who say that I am simply cherry-picking scripture, that is exactly how I see more than a few of those who get their feathers ruffled and proclaim that what they are reading is somehow "Institutional" in nature.  Do you not understand that the Father can use any part of His creation to lead another to the truth of His Son in them?  What if someone, like I did, recognized the church words they continued to hear each Sunday yet yearned for something more?  To be honest, I do not intentionally cherry pick verses or mainstream church teaching that I might further the advancement of the church.  I use what I have experienced so that others will come, as I have, to the knowing of Christ Jesus in them.  

Knowing this, that our old humanity was crucified together with Him, that the body of sin may be nullified, for us by no means to be still slaving for sin.  For one who dies has been justified from sin.  Now if we died together with Christ, we believe that we shall be living together with Him also, having perceived that Christ, being roused from among the dead, is no longer dying.  Death is lording it over Him no longer.  For in that He died, He died to sin once for all time, yet in that He is living, He is living to God.  Thus you also, be reckoning yourselves to be dead, indeed, to sin, yet living to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6: 6 - 11 Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Not Your Average Dead Guy

 

With Christ I have been crucified, yet I am living no longer, but living in me is Christ.  Now that which I am now living in flesh, I am living in faith that is of the Son of God, who loves me, and gave Himself up for me.

Galatians 2:20 Concordant New Testament

Imagine for a moment that you are a brand-new Christian searching for a relationship with Jesus.  Somewhere in your heart you feel that desire to know Him.  Where do you go?  Who do you talk to?  Like so many before you, you could turn to your local church for answers to any questions that you may have about Jesus.  But what about questions about a relationship with Christ?  Is the any mainstream church even equipped to answer your questions?  So, knowing that the church more than likely does nothing for you as far as relational Jesus, where else do you turn?  Can you ask someone you know as a Christian about this idea that we can somehow have a deeply personal relationship with Jesus?  What would their response be?  A relationship with Jesus?  Is that even possible?  Welcome to the new Christianity of those seeking to know more about Christ.  And why wouldn't we?  Jesus is the central figure of the Christianity we believe in.  The prophets proclaimed His birth, and His ministry has inspired millions.  Then, He gave Himself up on a Roman cross that our sins would be forgiven {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  This is the Jesus you've been searching for.  The Jesus who has loved you from the beginning.  We read of the relationship which Jesus shared with His disciples.  How these men, chosen by Christ, lived, struggled and traveled with Him during the years of His ministry.  Jesus and His disciples not only were friends, but they also shared their lives together.  As Jesus taught, His disciples took in what He proclaimed.  But we also know that these twelve men shared almost every hour with Jesus.  They saw a side of Jesus which very few, including those of today's world, have never seen.  This is the Jesus you are longing to know on a more personal level.  

To whom God wills to make known what are the glorious riches of this secret among the nations, which is: Christ among you, the expectation of glory.

Colossians 1: 27 Concordant New Testament

To be fair, I was once among those who have searched for a more personal relationship with Christ Jesus.  A dear friend of mine traveled that path before me as he wondered to himself, "How do I have a relationship with a dead guy?"  How indeed.  For all which we have been taught about Jesus leads us to trust and believe that Jesus is not somewhere which we can find a relationship with Him.  No, Jesus is now sitting beside the Father in heaven.  Or is He?  A good friend of mine challenged me this week to write a post about how a new Christian could come to know Jesus as I have.  To know Jesus not only as that dead guy who died to forgive my sins, but the living Christ Jesus who lives in me.  The apostle Paul had that knowing of Christ Jesus who was in him.  Paul proclaims this realization in Galatians {Galatians 2:20}.  I had no idea of this knowledge when I set out to find Jesus.  My foray into the local church had not produced the answers I was looking for.  Jesus was still that dead guy who died for me.  Still hungry to know Him, a friend introduced me to some radical scriptures which tossed everything I thought I knew about Jesus on its ear.  It turns out that Jesus isn't just some dead guy I can hold up as evidence of my faith in Him.  As Paul proclaimed, Jesus is alive in me.  So, what would I say to a new believer who is seeking a more personal relationship with Jesus?  What took you so long?  Seriously, even though I hate throwing scriptures at others in the hopes that they might somehow "get it," this is different.  It is through these scriptures I have come to know by heart that others can be introduced to the Jesus I have come to know on a more personal level.  I would start by presenting Paul's own testimony of Christ which he recognized in himself.  I would also present Paul's testimony on the death of sin which he gives us in Romans {Romans 6:6-11}.  It is through these scriptures and the freedom in Christ Jesus which I have discovered that I would begin my conversation with a someone seeking a more personal relationship with Jesus.  

~Scott~ 

Through The Mud

 

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 

I listened to a radio preacher this week as he exclaimed that as we sin, we drag Jesus with us through the mud.  What got me interested in this particular sermon is that it was the closest this pastor had ever come to acknowledging Christ Jesus in us without actually admitting to it.  So, it seems to be with the modern institutional church narrative that Jesus cannot be one with us because of our sins.  How many times have you sat in church on a Sunday and left feeling more guilty than when you arrived?  I noticed it a lot.  I could walk into church feeling good that God had provided for the removal of my sins through the finished work of His Son.  Then, without missing a beat, the pulpit pounder would start talking about some sin I'd somehow forgotten about.  Never mind the fact that as Jesus died upon the cross that He cried out, "It is finished!"  What was He referring to?  What was finished?  Sin was finished!  More appropriately, our sins.  Yes, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the Lord {Romans 3:23}.  Yet most pastors today prefer to see sin in pre-Jesus terms instead of the correct post-Jesus era.  I know that I have sinned, but that was my old man, and he was out to death alongside Jesus on that cross.  Not once did Jesus cry out, it is finished...except for this or that!"   Jesus did not die with only a part of His task completed.  It is our sin which was one of the final obstacles to fall.  For we cannot live in our post-Jesus life without Jesus having first put sin to death once and for all.  The apostle Paul explains that we are no longer slaves to our sin {Romans 6:6}.  I believe that many Christians have been victims of the pre-Jesus church teaching.  We have been brought up to believe in a lie.  Yes, when we behave wrongly Jesus is there with us.  But Paul also teaches us that Jesus is with us each and every day.  When we look upon ourselves, we see Jesus who is in us {Galatians 2:20}.  

"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." 

Galatians 2: 20 NKJV 

I want to pose to you one question.  How many times does Jesus need to die in order to put sin to death?  How many times must He endure the torture and mocking?  For when we continue with the church narrative that sin continues to plague our life, we delegitimize the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross.  It is Jesus who Himself became sin that it would be put to death {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  Yet there are many Christians out there who are digging up dead sins that they might somehow be revived and endured once again.  I don't know about you, but I prefer knowing that those sins of my past are dead and gone.  This is the truth of the Jesus life.  There may be more than a few people out there who will swear up and down that the sky is not blue, but that does not make it true.  Likewise, many well intentioned Christians will say that the idea of Christ in us is something along the lines of impossible.  As I said, that doesn't make it true.  Scripture tells us that Jesus indeed dwells in us today.  Paul mentions this truth in a few places {Romans 6:8, Galatians 2:20}.  We're not told to cherry pick scriptures to find that which we believe to be acceptable.  It is the Word which is true and acceptable.  It is the Word which has been with us from the beginning {John 1:1-5}.  

I'm digging up bones

exhuming things that are better left alone

I'm resurrecting memories of a love that's dead and gone

Yeah tonight I'm sitting alone digging up bones  

Randy Travis ~ Digging Up Bones 

~Scott~ 

The Question Remains

 

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  

John 5: 6 NKJV 

What would you say to Him?  If our Lord Jesus were to approach you in your illness and ask if you wanted to be healed, what would you say to Him?  Would you be like the man beside the pool and tell Jesus your story of how you have been sick for so long and that there was nobody to help you?  Trust me, Jesus knows where you've been.  He already knew that this man by the pool of Bethesda was ill and had been for some time {John 5:6}.  Still, He asked him the question, "Do you want to be made well?"  to me this is a silly question, because if I were in this man's condition I would jump at the opportunity for healing.  Yet the man by the pool had seen false hope before.  When the waters of the pool would be stirred, he would try in vain to make it into the pool, only to have others beat him to it.  Jesus knew this as well.  It is beyond certainty that Jesus, knowing this man had experienced false hope so many times already, had come to give him everlasting hope.  He didn't need the healing waters of the pool, all he needed was Jesus.  Jesus was his hope.  Jesus is our hope.  It is Jesus who proclaimed to the man, "Rise, take up your bed and walk" {John 5:8}.  Immediately, of course, the man who had waited for so long was healed.  He hadn't stepped into the waters of Bethesda.  What he did experience was the living water of Christ Jesus.  I'm sure that most of us have a dog in the fight on this issue as we have all been ill at one point of another.  Scripture tells us that the man by the pool had been sick for thirty-eight years {John 5:5}.  I think back to some of the times in my life where I have been ill and yearned for Jesus to heal me.  I prayed that His healing hands would hold me.  I asked others to pray over me.  In the end, I was healed, knowing that Jesus never left my side.  But thirty-eight years?  I cannot even begin to imagine what that must be like.  Yet there are those who have suffered for so long.  To these Jesus may indeed pose the question, "Do you want to be made well?"  

And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?  For you are the temple of the living God.  As God has said:  

I will dwell in them

And walk in them,

I will be their God,

And they shall be My people."

2 Corinthians 6: 16 NKJV 

I think that Jesus' healing of the man by the pool of Bethesda is an important lesson for us today.  When I look at this man, I see one who did as the religious authorities of the day instructed those who were sick.  He went to wait beside the pool.  His focus was not on the healing power of the Lord, but on idols.  In the series The Chosen, Jesus lays it out for the man by the pool, "This pool does nothing for you, and you know it."  Indeed, many of those things we have been taught do nothing for us as well.  Did Jesus tell the man to tithe that he might be healed?  Did He tell him to spend more time in the temple in prayer over his infirmity?  No, He simply asked him what he wanted to hear for so many years.  "Do you want to be made well?"  Those tithes and offerings, the time spent in church filling a pew, it does nothing for you...and you know it.  What does offer you strength and healing is Christ Jesus.  It is only through Jesus that we will discover all which we really desire and need.  He is our hope of glory.  So, the question remains, do you want to be made well?  

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~ 

Our Hope Of Glory

 

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 

Romans 8: 24 - 25 NKJV 

Recently I found myself in the middle of a health issue where my hope became a daily struggle.  I already knew the outcome.  The medication was working.  I was in the Lord's healing hands.  Still, I was more than a bit nervous and losing hope.  What if this time was different?  What if the Lord desires to lead me in a different direction?  All of these thoughts were with me each and every day.  Eventually I've come through the other side none the worse for wear, just like in the past.  This got me to thinking about the verse in scripture about our hope.  Who hopes for what they see?  Does anyone really hope for what they know is going to happen?  No.  We place our hopes on things and situations we are unsure of.  Strong is the Christian who sees their hopes and immediately knows that no matter what, God will work in their situation.  The rest of us may realize in our being that the Lord is at work, but we still carry a bit of doubt.  That is why we hope, right?  We hope because we carry doubts that what we're going through will work in our favor.  Don't get wrong, it's perfectly normal to have doubts, even for believers.  Thomas doubted he was seeing Jesus until the Lord gave him proof {John 20:24-31}.  Despite being told that He would rise once more, Jesus' disciples doubted he would.  It's normal to doubt.  I also believe that Jesus desires for God's children to live our lives in hope and not in doubt.  What do we hope for?  The apostle Paul lays that out for us beginning in Galatians.  Here, Paul tells of the truth of Christ Jesus in us {Galatians 2:20}.  This is the hope Paul refers to again in Colossians.  It is our knowledge of Christ Jesus in us which is, as Paul puts it, our hope of glory.  Still, when it comes to knowing the truth of Jesus in us, Christian circles are filled with more doubters than those of us who hope in the glory of Christ.  

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 

I look at Paul's description of the revelation of Christ in me and I understand just how true it is.  This is indeed a mystery among many people.  A dear friend recently referred to it as "the secret."  Whatever the reason, despite plenty of scriptural references, many still believe that their lives are separated from God.  It is the lie spawned by the enemy in the garden.   This is life without hope.  For if we believe that God is far removed from us in heaven, what hope do we ever have for a relationship with Him?  If we believe the traditional church teaching that we can only hope to "be like" Jesus, how will we ever come to know Him?  Like I said, a life without hope.  I'm sorry, but I choose not to live my life that way.  I desire to know Jesus and to have Him in me.  I choose the hope of glory.  I cannot speak for anyone else, only for what my own hopes are.  I no longer hope for what I do not see.  I rejoice in the glory of Christ Jesus which has been revealed in me.  He is our hope of glory.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.  

1 John 3: 2 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Reading The Seams

 

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.  And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Acts 4: 13 NKJV 

The New Yorkers were furious.  Steaming mad.  Infielder Howard Johnson held up a few roughed-up baseballs and claimed that it was proof that "He's doing something to that ball!"  "He" was none other than Houston Astro's hurler Mike Scott, who up until that point had been stymying the Mets with his split fingered fast ball.  If the Mets were seeking a punishment for the Houston right hander, they wouldn't get it.  They would, however, get the ultimate revenge as they would eventually win the series in six games.  Mike Scott and his split finger pitch fanned fourteen Mets in his two starts.  There is an expression which tells us that we do well when we "Read the seams on the fast ball."  That is, when we are able to perceive things which others may not.  We sometimes refer to such people as gifted or blessed, I would agree on the latter.  For I believe that one's perception is not simply an act of genetics or schooling, but a revelation of the Lord.  Yes, even no believers may have these revelations.  However, what if that ball is moving so fast that we can't read the seams?  What if, as the New York Mets protested, someone is scuffing the ball before we can see it?  It's been known to happen.  God's revelations do not always come on a regular basis.  Why do I bring this up?  To illustrate the knowing of the truth of Christ Jesus.  See, people may say that they know Jesus, but do they?  There are simple questions.  Where does Jesus live?  How can Jesus tolerate sin?  Read the seams people!  Fortunately for us, we have the apostle Paul, whose own revelation led him to his understanding of Christ Jesus in him {Galatians 2:20}.  It is Paul who explains to us that it is Jesus who lives in us today.  What about that nagging sin issue?  Yeah, Paul gives us a few words on how Jesus did away with that as well {Romans 6:6-11}.  Sin is no longer the issue which keeps Jesus away from being one with us.  This is a truth I have only come to know and understand in the last few years.  I read the seams.  Why haven't other believers also wrapped their understanding around the truth of Jesus?  Well, like I said, the Lords revelations are unlike clockwork.  It is in His timing which we will see Christ in us.  

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might teach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood.

Galatians 1: 15 - 16 NKJV 

Understand, I wasn't a heathen before I came to realize Christ in me.  I was like many other believers out there simply following what I learned in organized church.  I wasn't reading the seams.  In other words, it was a steady diet of slow pitches which I became accustomed to.  Then one day a dear friend stood on that mound and delivered to me a blistering split fingered fastball.  Something which went so far against what I had been taught that I couldn't immediately accept it.  Here I was, a sinner saved by the heavenly Fathers love and grace...and Jesus is in me?  Me?  Like most believers who have had this revelation, my first thought was what about my sins?  You know, those sins which Jesus Himself died on that cross to forgive me of?  Those sins which, despite knowing this, I still carried with me?  Yeah, those sins.  Well, it turns out that Jesus has Himself become sin that I need not be enslaved to them any longer {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  Again, I didn't read the seams.  Reading the seams can be difficult.  Perceiving what we will encounter is no easy task.  However, one thing we can be assured of is that the One who knows every secret will reveal to us what He wants us to know in His perfect timing.  The Houston Astros found that out the hard way.  

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. 

Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

The Reason For Our Seasons

 

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2: 10 NKJV 

It might just be one of the most prayed prayers in the history of the church.  Why me, God?  As we struggle through one bad situation or another.  One ailment or another.  It is a question we might just ask of a God whom we were taught to believe would protect and care for us if we only believed.  So, what went wrong?  Did we suddenly stop believing?  Did God become upset and pull the plug on His love and support for us?  Well, if you are a member of a mainstream traditional church, these are the answers you might just get to this question.  You haven't prayed enough.  You haven't tithed enough.  Blah blah blah.  Are we to believe, then, that a God who never changes has suddenly turned a 180 and abandoned us because of our failure to utter a timely prayer or fork over a few more dollars to the church corporation?  I have always felt uneasy about such claims uttered by church officials.  First of all, it relegates our heavenly Fathers love for us into a reward system.  Want God to love you, well you need to pray more or drop more into that offering plate.  Does anyone but me see the ridiculousness of this line of thinking?  Yet many a Christian the world over buy into this idea of somehow buying God's love.  It's bunk.  So it is that get into another conversation, why is it that a loving God would allow His children to suffer through times of adversity and sickness?  Jesus Himself tells us that we should not think that we will be immune to suffering simply because we believe in Him {John 16:33}.  We should not expect that we will not be afflicted, but that through Christ Jesus we will.  We can correctly assume that we don't go it alone in our struggles, but that Jesus is there with us.  The apostle Paul reminds us of this truth when he speaks to Christ Jesus in you {Galatians 2:20}.  In fact, my understanding of Christ in me led me to a different understanding of an amazing passage.  In Philippians, Paul explains that he can do all things through the strength of Christ Jesus {Philippians 4:13}.  Not only that, but Christ Jesus IS our strength in time of need.  

To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

Colossians 1: 29 NKJV 

I decided upon the title of this post after hearing the testimony of a few friends who have undergone or are in the middle of a struggle in their own lives.  Not only that, but I've recently found myself in the middle of a few difficult situations.  As I mentioned, just because we believe in Jesus, we are not immune to the trials of life.  Far too often we fall into the mindset of seeing Jesus as a far-off observer instead of knowing the truth of Christ in us.  In this scenario, when we are afflicted, we immediately turn to the one who promised never to leave us {Hebrews 13:5}.  Then, when we perceive that our situation may not be improving, we immediately run to God to inquire why He is ignoring us.  Sound familiar?  I get it.  Here's something new.  Because we know that we are not immune to Lifes trials, how about we try a radical new way of responding to them?  How about instead of asking God why He isn't working, we ask Him what He's doing through us?  What is it that God is working in our lives through us?  Now THAT is more in tune with the truth of Christ Jesus in us.  Of course, you won't find this truth preached from any church pulpit that I know of.  What is the reason for our seasons?  Our pain may make it personal to us, but it is the Father who is working through us.  

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12: 10 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

At The Feet Of The Father

 

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

1 John 4: 8 NKJV 

There's something to be said about the way a child is raised.  Scripture tells us that we should raise a child the right way and he will not depart from it {Proverbs 22:6}.  Indeed, a child who is raised well by their parents will have a sound foundation through their life.  But how is it that we, as Crosby, Stills and Nash implored, teach our children well?  Well, they learn both from experience and from examples we give them.  Whatever a child sees a parent do, they automatically assume that they need to mimic that behavior.  After all, if it's good for mom and dad it must be meant for the kids too, right?  Sadly, there are some parents out there whose questionable behavior comes nowhere close to teaching the children well.  This is exactly why children who come from abusive homes typically tend to exhibit that very same behavior.  The cycle continues.  As we discuss children learning from our parents, we should consider the Christian perspective as well.  For those of us who love God, what is it that we see our Father do?  well, the apostle John explains that to us.  For the very nature of God is love {1 John 4:8}.  This is also what the Father wishes for us to learn from Him as well.  This is the command which Jesus gave to those who would listen, that we love one another {John 13:34-35}.  Why?  Because the very essence of our heavenly Father is love.  It is love by which he created us in His image {Genesis 1:27}.  It is also through His love by which he provided for our redemption through His Son.  When we look upon our Father, we see love.  This is what we can learn from Him.  Of course, along with love we may also come to emulate God's mercy and grace as well.  Of course, it all goes back to His love for us.  This is the key to learning from the Father.  

Is someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

1 John 4: 20 NKJV 

Some time ago a friend asked me to speak to a group of young people he worked with and mentored.  At first, I was taken aback and wondered just what it was that I could possibly say to these kids who had seen so much turbulence and tragedy in their own lives?  How could my own experiences somehow relate to them that they were not alone in their experiences?  Well, it turns out that I've been there as well.  My own struggles may not have been as severe as some of these kids, but they were struggles nonetheless.  Perhaps through my experiences I could relate to them that I had faced down the devil in my own life as well.  Knowing this, I agreed to speak to my friends group.  Unfortunately, I never got the chance as life events prevented our schedules from meshing.  However, from time to time I still think of the impact I might have had with these kids had I had the opportunity to speak to them.  What is it that they could learn from me?  Well, as one of my favorite sayings claims, learn from my mistakes.  The difficult times I've suffered may not have been in vain if they can be used to show others that the Lord used me for His purpose.  The struggles I've had may well be a lesson to those searching for a better way.  When we learn at the feet of the Father, we learn to emulate all which He does and to include it into our own lives.  Love one another.  Show mercy.  Be kind to those less fortunate.  This isn't merely being "like" Jesus.  This is BEING Jesus {Galatians 2:20}.  And in the end, this is how we learn.  

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 

Hebrews 4: 15 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Our Real Jesus

"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 

I have a friend who, as he once considered having a true relationship with Christ, wondered to himself how he could possibly have a relationship with a dead guy.  Unfortunately, this has become a reality for many Christians.  Steeped in thousands of years of institutional church theology, we have come to accept the very idea that Jesus is far removed from our own lives.  Well, I am here to reveal to you that this simply isn't true at all.  While it's true that many Christians cannot recall most of the sermons the pulpit pounders preach, the teaching of our churches does have an impact on how it is we ultimately see Jesus.  For the longest time I saw Jesus as many of you do, as the Son of God living in heaven at the Fathers side far removed from the trials and tribulations here on earth.  If only that were true.  Our lack of Jesus is only one of the narratives we Christians have fallen for over the centuries.  Yes, Jesus died on the cross and rose again.  Yes, after His death He was seen by hundreds of people including His disciples.  We do not dispute this, yet we dispute the fact that Christ Jesus is closer to us today than He has ever been.  The apostle Paul spoke to this after his own encounter with the very Jesus he had been persecuting for so long.  Paul spoke to the truth of the real Christ, of Jesus in us {Galatians 2:20}.  Unfortunately, in all of my years siting in church pews, I have never heard this truth uttered by a pastor.  Why is that?  Many downplay Paul's revelation, saying that his situation was unique to him.  Really?  Was Paul some sort of deity that Jesus would choose to live only in him?  I doubt it.  Yet if you buy into traditional Christain teachings this is what you will find.  A Jesus removed from your world and your life.  

And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ.  This is the true God and eternal life.

1 John 5: 20 NKJV 

One thing I do know is that living in a world devoid of a living Christ would be terribly depressing.  I liken traditional church teachings of Jesus to that television commercial where the old guy with a fishing rod is dangling a dollar bill in front of you, "I got you a dollar, ooohh you almost had it!"  Likewise, in the church we're told that we may eventually "be like" Jesus if we do everything right.  The trouble with this is, it places the effort upon us to justify simply being in the presence of Jesus.  Well, anyone who has read Ephesians 2 8-9 can tell you it is not by our own means that we are saved.  So, who is the real Jesus?  Is Jesus that guy who bled and died and is now with the Father in heaven?  Yes.  Or, as I believe, is Jesus living in us today?  Yes.  Wait, can He be in two places at once?  Absolutely.  The real Jesus is the man who became sin on my behalf, taking it away from me {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  The real Jesus is the Jesus who lives in me.  For lack of a better word, I am Jesus.  This is my identity.  I know that my friend would have benefited from this knowing in his initial search for knowing Christ.  However, today he is assured that Christ Jesus is in him.  I like it better this way, knowing that God is with me each and every day.  Knowing that I don't need to be in a church pew to be close to the Lord.  This is our real Jesus.  

Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him.

Romans 6: 8 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

The Strength Of Paul

 

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8: 18 NKJV 

Have you ever found yourself going through a rough period in your life and thought that you were all alone?  This week I found myself square in the middle of a health issue where I indeed felt by myself at times.  After all, in my eyes I alone was the one experiencing the pain and discomfort of my affliction.  Then, for some reason, the sufferings of another were revealed to me.  I began to think of the apostle Paul and what he endured at the hands of those who opposed him and his message of Christ.  Paul was imprisoned, tortured and abandoned by more than a few people he trusted in.  It would seem that Paul definitely had the right to complain of his circumstances in life.  Not too many people would have objected considering all he had been through.  Yet Paul did not ask for anyone's pity.  Paul did not curse his circumstances.  What Paul did was connect the dots between his trials and his reality in Christ.  For it was Jesus, if you recall, who Himself also suffered the pain and mistreatment of those who opposed Him.  It was Jesus who also suffered the pain of having those He loved betray Him.  It was Paul who claimed that his sufferings would never compare to Christ who would soon be revealed in him {Romans 8:18}.  So, as I sat disappointed in that hospital waiting room this week I asked myself, does what I'm going through affect my future in Christ?  No!  I also know a few dear friends who have endured their own seasons of trial this past year and come through with a stronger knowing of Christ in their lives.  Now, I don't believe that the Lord purposefully sets forth to make people sick in order to open their eyes to Him.  However, I do believe that He will use our current situations to reveal His Son in us.  This was the strength of Paul.  Through all of his trials, Paul kept his eyes on the prize and continued to speak the word of Jesus.  In fact, by continuing to speak the gospel of Christ, Paul was setting himself up for even more mistreatment.  Yet through Jesus, the strength of Paul, he endured.  

Considering this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.  And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12: 8 - 10 NKJV 

Believe me, as I sat in that hospital I was not rejoicing in my sickness.  In fact, I consider it a rare person who would even do such a thing.  To do so, one would need to shift their attention from the suffering of the present to the wonders of the future.  Yes, our present time here in this world has brought us pain, discomfort and suffering.  However, this world is NOT the future which we aspire to.  Paul knew this all too well.  Whatever sufferings were afflicted upon him had no bearing upon his future glory in Christ Jesus.  When he was at his weakest, he was strong {2 Corinthians 12:10}.  A dear friend of mine once presented a good take upon the iconic scripture we find in Philippians 4:13.  Instead of claiming that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, we realize that our true strength comes from Him.  Christ Jesus is our strength.  No more is this made apparent than in Paul's speaking to Christ Jesus in us {Galatians 2:20}.  Applying this to Philippians 4:13 we realize that we can do all things through Christ Jesus in us.  When we are at our weakest, through Christ we are strong.  So, as I sat there in the hospital contemplating this I suddenly realized, what am I worried about?  For whatever happens in this life of mine, my future in Christ has been secured.  I know who I am, and that is an incredible comfort in chaotic times. 

Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.  For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

Romans 8: 26 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Ezra's Pulpit

 

Then he read from it in the open square that was in front of the Water Gate from morning until midday, before the men and women and those who could understand; and the ears of all the people were attentive to the book of the Law.  So Ezra the scribe stood on a platform of wood which they had made for the purpose; and beside him, at his right hand, stood Mattithiah, Sherma, Anaiah, Urijah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and at his left hand Pedaiah, Mishael, Malchijah, Hashum, Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

Nehemiah 8: 3 - 4 NKJV 

This week we learned that the ministry of the kin of legendary pastor T.D Jakes will be going to virtual services in part due to a decline in contributions.  While not surprising, it got me thinking about the importance which we place upon our pastors and leaders.  I have had the unique opportunity, through a dear friend, to see what life is like on the other side of that coin.  Rarely does the public get to see such things as quotas, tithing goals and maximum church capacity, but believe me it's there.  It is this corporate mentality which I believe has shattered many a church and congregation.  Choosing to run the church as a boardroom and not as a messenger of God.  So here is my question, where in the scriptures is the word pulpit even mentioned?  We associate pulpits with Sunday sermons and church leadership, but where do they fit into the Lord's plan?  Well, as it turns out, one messenger of the Lord did indeed utilize a wooden pulpit, although not in a way you might think.  We're told that the scribe Ezra stepped onto a pulpit of wood that those who were listening to him could hear him read from the Law of the Lord.  Ezra didn't use the pulpit to ask for donations or to point the finger of sin as is the practice of some pulpit pounders today.  No, it was the desire of Ezra that all hear the word of the Law of the Lord.  This was Ezra's pulpit, and he put it to good use.  Knowing this, I've taken a totally different view not only of the word pulpit, but of the role of those who speak from it.  For I am of the opinion that the pulpit should be used as it was meant to be, as a podium to speak the word of the Lord.  But you say, "Scott, that's what our pastors are doing."  Really?  I hear from plenty of Christians who claim to be tired of the same old message they hear from the pulpit.  Far too many people have abandoned brick and mortar churches because they are not hearing the message they are so hungry to hear.  Those in the pulpits have failed us.  

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

Acts 2: 44 - 47 NKJV 

I recently ran into a friend who used to attend the same church I did.  Eventually the question of church came about, and he said he had given up the church for a home group.  I can't say that I blame him, it's been more than ten years since I stepped into a church myself.  For me, the hustle and bustle of the corporate church did not feed my need to know Christ Jesus.  In a way this was a blessing to me because it led me to a dear friend who himself was longing to know Jesus in a more personal way.  I can honestly say that the Jesus I have come to know in me I would never have heard of from the pulpit of any church.  For anyone who doubts this, I challenge you to watch the film Come Sunday.  This movie is based on the experiences of pastor Carlton Pearson.  Pearson was the stereotypical man in the pulpit, trained by the legendary Oral Roberts.  However, at the height of his ministry, he has a moment of conscience.  I would call it a revelation from the Lord.  He begins to see God not as the accusatory figure spoken of from many a pulpit, but as a God of love.  In the end, Carlton loses his ministry, his church and is alienated by his mentor Roberts.  So it is for those who go against the institutional church grain.  I believe that were some brave soul attempt to speak the truth of Christ Jesus from the pulpit that they would suffer the same fate as Carlton Pearson.  This truth of Christ Jesus is the very same gospel which the apostle Paul spoke to in Galatians.  This is the truth of Christ Jesus in me {Galatians 2:20}.  Not spoken from many pulpits, but true nonetheless.  It was this Jesus whom Carlton Pearson recognized when he claimed, "If you could save your own father from hell...wouldn't you?"  Fortunately, Jesus has accomplished this through His finished work on the cross, and He didn't need a pulpit to do it.  

~Scott~ 

The People's Choice

 

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. 

John 17: 3 NKJV 

As I related in a recent post, I have gotten away from making the traditional New Year's resolutions.  I figured I could set goals anytime of the year anyway.  However, that has not stopped many others from making their end of the year plans for the year to come.  Each year, millions of people vow to change everything from their health to their finances.  Yet recently something interesting happened.  A survey by New Life Research found that a significant number of people were resolving to...know God.  You heard right, 29 percent of those surveyed had made resolutions about their relationship with God.  Also, those ages 18 - 34 and 35 - 49 were 35 percent more likely to make faith the subject of their New Year's resolutions.  Forty eight percent of Christians who attend a traditional worship service at least four times a month claimed to have made a resolution about their relationship with God.  What can we take away from all of this?  Well, traditional New Year's resolutions are usually made with the intent of changes one can make to their lives in the year ahead.  So, when an American Christian resolves to work on their own relationship with God in the coming year, what are we supposed to take away from that?  Are people no longer being "fed" in our traditional brick and mortar churches?  Has the church "system" we've come to know bypassed those it has been tasked with serving for the sake of the bottom line?  I'd say both of these statements are true.  I can imagine thousands of Christians sitting through another mundane church service and wondering to themselves, "Why am I here?"  I can imagine it because I've been there.  I've been in the pew longing to hear about the life of Jesus but getting nothing from the pastor but another sermon on the virtues of tithing.  I get it.  I look at these survey numbers and the first thing that jumps out at me is that Christians want to know God.  The other thing I notice is that there has been a huge disconnect between the traditional church and believers.  This also can be evidenced in the numbers of Christians leaving their churches.  It seems that more and more people are searching for God.  

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth and the life.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.

John 14: 6 NKJV 

Back in the 1970's there was a movie titled Oh God, starring George Burns and musician John Denver.  In it a supermarket manager (Denver) is visited by the almighty Himself (Burns) in order that he might spread the good news of the Lord.  God wanted His people to know who He was.  Well, as you can imagine, the Lord's messenger runs into his share of roadblocks as he attempts to do as God had told him.  In the end, however, God delivers a brilliant oratory in a crowded court room before making His exit once again.  God desires for His children to know Him.  As we can see from our recent survey, there are a good number of Gods children who desire to know Him as well.  Not the church where we've been told that God abides.  Not in the words of the pastors who have been tasked with relating God to the people.  No, people desire more and more to know the one true God.  Well, we're in luck, because that is the desire of our Lord as well.  The prayer of Jesus in the garden before His crucifixion reveals that Jesus desires that we would be one with He and the Father {John 17:21}.  How much closer of a relationship with God can we have?  But this is not simply the desire of Jesus, for through His finished work on the cross, those who believe in Christ are now one with He and the Father.  The apostle Paul speaks to this as he relates that it is Christ Jesus who now lives in him {Galatians 2:20}.  When it is revealed that Christ Jesus lives in us, then we have surely become one with the Father.  We can have a relationship with God...without the New Year's resolution.  

"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."

John 17: 21 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

At Your Word

And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.

Matthew 4: 18 - 20 NKJV 

He had been at it all night long.  Toiling in the waters he and Andrew had fished for so long.  Yet, despite all of their efforts, they had nothing but empty nets to show for it.  Now, after a long night pulling empty nets, Simon must have come ashore dejected at their lack of success.  But there, standing on the shoreline, was the man who would change his life forever.  "Let down your nets for a catch," the man told him.  Simon protested, he knew these waters well and no fish meant no fish.  Finally, he gave in, "At your word" he said as he and Andrew lowered their nets over the side.  At His word indeed.  What came next was more fish than he and his brother could pull into the boat.  Who was this man who's spoken word led to the biggest catch these fishermen had ever seen?  He...is Jesus.  Simon and Andrew were impressed enough that they immediately set out to follow Jesus when He called them.  But the question remains, what was it that Simon Peter saw in Jesus that day that he would trust in Him?  Jesus was the son of a carpenter; but He was no fisherman.  Long before electronic fish finders, Jesus knew that by simply speaking it into being, that the nets of these fishermen would be filled to overflowing.  But Simon didn't know that.  Yet he trusted this man at His word.  What I like about the story of Jesus calling Simon and Andrew is the trust they showed in Jesus from the beginning.  In fact, the scriptures tell us that when Jesus called them, they immediately dropped their nets and followed Him {Matthew 4:30}.  Simon and Andrew put a lot of faith in a guy who wasn't even a fisherman.  When was the last time you did that?  If you were so hell bent on doing something and you knew in your heart that you were right, would you take Jesus at His word?  These two fishermen did.  

So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God.  "For assuredly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'be moved and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.  "Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them." 

Mark 11: 22 - 24 NKJV 

Growing up, one of my favorite hobbies was building model airplanes.  I remember one Christmas, my mother had bought me a large-scale model of a North American P-51 Mustang.  Well, this model kit had a million pieces to it, and being the kid that I was, I ignored the label which said that this kit was "For experienced modelers."  As I set out to build my airplane, I suddenly found myself out of my league.  However, nobody was going to tell this kid that I couldn't build my airplane!  My mother offered to help, but I refused and continued on my quest.  Some who know me know that once I set my mind on a project, everything else gets put on the back burner.  No multi taskers allowed here!  I get a feeling that this is what things were like for Simon that day on the Sea of Galilee.  Simon was a fisherman, and here was this stranger suddenly telling him how to do his job.  Who was this guy?  Perhaps Simon knew of Jesus as the carpenter's son that he was.  Perhaps he had heard of the reputation of this man who was now telling him to lower his nets.  We know that Simon and Andrew were religious, most likely Jews by faith.  They certainly knew of the concept of faith, but blind faith?  Faith not based upon that which they could see for themselves?  That was a big issue then and for us today as well.   But when we get so busy doing what we do, oblivious to everything else around us, we can take a lesson from a fisherman.  Step back and listen for the still voice of Jesus as He guides us.  At your word Lord.  

~Scott~