The Last Mile

 

If you get up, I'll take you places you've never been

~Steve Harvey~ 

The story goes that a U.S, Air Force para rescue crewman was on a mission to rescue a downed pilot in the waters off California.  It had been a training mission that had gone wrong, forcing the F-16 pilot to eject into the Pacific Ocean.  As the rescue crewman watched the waters for any sign of life, he was apparently struck by the brightness of one particular star in the sky.  However, he was quickly reminded that he needed to reorient himself, as what he had thought was a star was actually a rescue beacon from the downed Air Force pilot.  The fact that this rescue helicopter was still on station was also a advantage to the downed pilot, as low fuel had supposedly forced the rescue crew to return to shore minutes before.  The helicopter pilot wouldn't give up so easy, there was someone depending upon him and his crew.  Fortunately, the downed pilot was located and returned to his unit.  This got me thinking this week.  How many times have we come to a place in our lives where we actually consider giving up a good and decent option?  I know I've been in those footsteps one too many times.  Many times I've failed to consider all the options involved.  I'll consider quitting, not realizing the consequences if I had stayed the course and stuck it out until the end.  Far too many times, I'm focused on the here and now and the situation at hand.  Quitting, giving up is the option which in most occasions brings the least amount of pain and sacrifice.  Why trudge the road ahead when there is a possibility of failure?  Failure...is not pretty nor is it comfortable.  To fail is to lose, and who likes a loser?  However, failure is also where we ultimately develop perseverance for that road ahead.  What if Jesus had thrown in the towel after the first few times He was beaten?  Knowing His destiny, Jesus could very well have given up or taken revenge upon those persecuting Him.  Yet Jesus in that moment was not thinking of Himself and His situation, but on His Fathers work.  To fail was not an option.  

And He has protested to me, "Sufficient for you is My grace, for My power in infirmity is being perfected."  With the greatest relish, then, will I rather be glorifying in my infirmities, that the power of Christ should be tabernacling over me.  Wherefore I delight in infirmities, in outrages, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake, for whenever I may be weak, then I am powerful.

2 Corinthians 12: 9-10, Concordant New Testament

The comedian Steve Harvey relates the story of how he used to live in his car while he auditioned for different comedy club gigs.  At one point, after suffering one too many rejections, he recalls the Lord speaking to him in that still voice, "If you get up, I will take you places you've never been."  It wasn't long after this that Mr. Harvey began his career as a comedian.  What if he had quit?  Truth be told, he was planning on quitting in that moment he perceived the Lords voice within him.  Had that happened, he would have been just another upstart who failed to make it.  But at what cost?  How many lives might not have been affected had Steve Harvey quit in that moment?  I, for one, have been motivated by a few of his experiences.  And so the Lord, knowing what was in his heart, lifted His child up in one of his darkest moments.  I cannot claim to be a good motivational speaker, I leave that to others.  However, what I do know is that there have been times where I have stuck it out regardless of the outcome I thought would come to pass.  Perseverance is not bred anxiousness, as they say.  I would never advise someone to walk the path that I have walked.  However, what I would suggest is that they pay close attention to the voice of the Father as they go through their ordeal.  If you listen, He will take you places you've never been.  

For all I am strong in Him who is invigorating me--Christ! 

Philippians 4: 13, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Voice Of The Accuser

 

And no marvel, for Satan himself is being transfigured into a messenger of light. 

2 Corinthians 11: 14 , Concordant New Testament 

I received a encouraging email from a dear friend this week.  He was reminding me to never speak the words of accusation.  These were timely words of advice, as I was in the middle of a situation where my own confidence was being questioned.  I was indeed hearing the words of my accuser.  I wasn't good enough.  There was no good in me.  Satan has never stopped tossing accusations at me that he wants me to accept as true....and he never will.  I know that I'm not alone in this respect, for there are countless people out there whom the accuser has convinced of his lies.  This is how it begins.  When we give credence to Satan and his lies we are speaking accusations unto ourselves.  If one is not strong enough to withstand and/or deflect these lies, our life could become dark and miserable.  Don't get me wrong, this is what our accuser desires.  That is his game plan.  So, how is it that we can be strong enough to withstand Satan's words of accusation?  By being totally confident in the truth of who it is we really are.  To realize this we will take heed of the words of the apostle Paul.  It is Paul who spoke to the reality of Christ Jesus in us {Galatians 2:20}.  It is also Paul who, on a road to Damascus, was suddenly introduced to the man he truly was.  The trouble is, Saul had been persecuting this man for some time.  He had become a slave to Satan's accusations.  Yet in an instant, Paul was introduced to the One who would transform his life, and in doing so, the faith of the entire world.  For we have no more accurate description of the indwelling Christ than the words of Paul.  It is from these words that I draw my own confidence of the man I truly am.  Am I the sinful man which my accuser continues to convince me of?  No, for Jesus has provided for me the death of sin {Romans 6:6}.  That's right, not only did Jesus die upon the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, but He put sin to death in the process.  These two events are intertwined.  Of course, the accuser will continue to remind us that the truth we accept is nothing but ancient history.  

"How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!  How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations!  For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most high.'

Isaiah 14: 12-14 NKJV 

We do well to remember that the very words of accusation spoken from Satan are spoken from he who was thrown out of heaven by the One true God of the universe.  It is also true that the final fate of our accuser has already been decided.  When that time comes, he will be thrown into the lake of fire never to accuse anyone again {Revelation 20:10}.  The question remains, however, how many of the Lords children will he drag down with him?  For just because one might buy into the lies of the accuser does not in any way make them true.  Donald Trump would call them fake news.  If Satan accuses you of being a sinful person and incapable of the indwelling Christ in you, it is by no means true.  Remember, it is Jesus Himself who dealt with that sin issue once and for all.  In my own case, the lies of the accuser told me that I was not good enough for the friendship of others.  That, of course, is a lie.  By speaking with the boldness of Christ into our lives we can defeat the lies of the accuser.  Jesus didn't do anything halfway, He went all out.  When He healed, He spoke healing into that person.  When He forgives you, His scars speak to all He endured for you.  For his part, what has Satan ever done for you besides fill your life with accusations?  In the end, those accusations will never provide for us what Jesus has given to us.  That is His very presence in us.  

In whom the god of this eon blinds the apprehensions of the unbelieving so that the illumination of the evangel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of the invisible God, does not irradiate them. 

2 Corinthians 4: 4, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

This Man Jesus

 

But not as the offense, thus also the grace.  For if, by the offense of the one, the many died, much rather the grace of God and the gratuity in grace, which is of the One Man, Jesus Christ, to the many superabounds.  

Romans 5: 15, Concordant New Testament 

I've spent a good deal of my time as a believer struggling to fit in.  Struggling to fit into Christ and His holiness.  Struggling to fit into the example which He gave to us all.  That is, to exemplify Christ Jesus enough that I would be worthy of His saving grace.  The trouble with this line of thinking is that once we buy into it, we'll never get off that hamster wheel of trying to be good enough to deserve all which Jesus has given us.  However, the apostle Paul reminds us that which we have received from Christ is not a loan to be repaid, but the free gift of God {Romans 6:23}.  So, it seems that my struggles in my early years of being a Christian may have been in vain.  I still realized that I was forgiven, I just followed an ages old theology along the way.  The theology which proclaims man as a sinner unable to achieve relationship with Jesus.  The best we can do, we're told, is to be "like" Jesus.  But being like Jesus has never produced a true relationship with Him.  Being like Jesus has never brought us closer to Him.  Being like Jesus is simply a theology which continues to be spoken by one too many pulpit pounders out there.  One thing which many pastors have often overlooked is the man Jesus.  The man Jesus who is, by all intents and purposes, exactly like me.  It is this Jesus who wept, became angry and showed human compassion unto those He ministered to.  This is the human side of Jesus.  I believe that had I chosen to see Him in this way in the early years of my faith that perhaps my struggle to know Him would not have been so prominent.  Jesus is not just the holy Son of God sitting in heaven, but an integral part of my life.  Paul also reveals to us the extent to which Christ remains in us by declaring that it is Jesus Himself who lives in us {Galatians 2:20}.  It is this revelation which introduced me to the man Jesus.  

This One, given up in the specific council and foreknowledge of God, you, gibbeting by the hand of the lawless, assassinate. 

Acts 2: 23, Concordant New Testament.  

Some of the scripture which I turned to in my early search for the gospel on the human side of Christ was spoken by Paul to the authorities of his day after the death of Jesus.  It is Paul who proclaimed that it is "This Man" whom the Roman authorities put to death {Romans 2:23}.  He also describes Jesus as a "Man accredited by God" to those same authorities {Acts 2:22}.  Obviously, Paul knew Jesus not as a celestial being, but as a human man.  Of course, it is this human Jesus which Saul spent many years persecuting before his own revelation of the man Jesus.  What can we take away from this?  Well, as Paul understood, Jesus is not simply sitting in the heavens awaiting His triumphant return.  No, He is actively involved in every part of our lives.  For even if Christ has been revealed in you, one must understand that it is also the human side of Jesus whom you now proclaim to the world.  Jesus could not have walked the earth in human form had He not also carried with Him the thoughts, emotions and feelings of each one of us.  This is Jesus...This is who I am.  When I get annoyed at circumstances around me, I think of how Jesus Himself must have also shared these same feelings.  We have read the scriptures which show us that Jesus wept, became angry and felt compassion.  But He also laughed and celebrated with His disciples the same way that we interact with our friends and neighbors.  This is Jesus...the Man I am.  

For there is one God, and one mediator of God and mankind, a man, Christ Jesus. 

1 Timothy 2: 5, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

In That Moment

 How, then, should they be invoking One in whom they do not believe?  Yet how should they be believing One of whom they do not hear?  Yet how should they be hearing apart from one Heralding?  Yet how should they be heralding if ever they should not be commissioned?  According as it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those bringing an evangel of good?  

Romans 10: 13-15, Concordant New Testament 

I had the misfortune this week of being involved in the discovery of a young man who had passed away.  It's been said that this young man partook in one last dose of drugs as he lay there where we found him some 16 hours later.  Although it was certainly a shock to come across someone whom the Lord had finally called into their eternity.  But this young man was different, coming across him seemed to give me a connection with him despite the fact that he was deceased.  I can't help but wonder that somewhere a family is wondering what has become of their son.  I also can't help but wonder if his outcome would have indeed been different if I, or another believer for that matter, had the opportunity to talk with him in his final moments.  What would I have said to someone who in their final moments may have been depressed enough to consider ending their life?  This is most certainly above my pay grade.  One thing that is not above my pay grade would be speaking the truth of Christ Jesus to someone desperate to hear it.  Sadly, in a world filled with the negative, there are certainly many who are longing to hear something positive for a change.  We know that Jesus met people where they were in life.  That could be a woman about to be stoned for adultry or a thief hanging on a cross.  No matter the circumstance, Jesus met people where they were in life.  I believe that this is the message that I would have spoken to this young man in his final moments.  When you feel lost and the world tells you that you're not good enough...Jesus wraps you in His love and assures you that He remains in you {John 15:4-5}.  It is not very hard to see why the gospel of Christ is called the good news, for I know of no better news than the indwelling Christ in all of the Lords children.  

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

Galatians 2: 20, concordant New Testament

There is no way in which I could put myself in the young mans shoes, but I have indeed experienced situations where I felt as if I was undesirable and a failure.  This is not uncommon, for the world will continually bombard us with negative messages.  On top of that, Satan, our accuser, will throw at us his own accusations of low self worth and hopelessness.  It is not easy to push aside the negative messages that bombard us, but it is much easier when we are assured of the truth of Jesus.  Were this young man to tell me of his struggles and how he feels other people see him, one of the first things I would ask him is, "Who is telling you all of this?"  Who is telling you that you're worthless?  Who is telling you that narcotics are your only way out of lifes problems?  The accuser, that's who.  Satan has NO desire for Gods children to come close to knowing the good news of Christ Jesus.  The best way for him to accomplish this is to constantly throw at us messages of low self worth.  Because if we are not confident in what the Lord has created in His image, we will never realize the truth of Christ in us {Galatians 2:20}.  There is a popular saying concerning our self confidence out there.  Garbage in, garbage out.  That is, if we allow negativity to dominate our lives...then negativity will be the result of our life.  No matter where you are in life, Jesus is there with you waiting to open your eyes to Him. 

To him 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

~Scott~  

In The Eyes Of The Believer

 

I have seen two things that I cannot reconcile.  A man dead without question.  And that same man alive again.  I seek Him, the Nazarene, to ferret the truth.

~Clavius, Risen~ 

In the film Risen, the centurion Clavius is confronted with something which obviously shakes him to his very being.  Something which confronted all that he already knew to be true.  One man, witnessed before his eyes to be crucified on a cross, and that same man seemingly alive once again a few days later.  Now, this man Clavius was no stranger to death.  Indeed, soldiers of the Roman legion faced death on a daily basis.  But one man by all intents and purposes dead...and then alive again?  This was something the Roman was not prepared for.  From my own experience, it is not something many a believer is prepared for as well.  See, Clavius watched the man Jesus die upon a cross that day.  Everything he knew assured him that Jesus was dead.  Yet days later he was once again confronted by the same man he had witnessed slain.  How could he explain this to his superiors?  Finding the answer to this question sets Clavius off on a quest to "ferret the truth" of the resurrection of the Christ.  Along the way, he learns of the saving grace of the Messiah.  I have come across many a believer who, hearing of the grace and love of Jesus, continue to seek proof and assurance that He is indeed who He claims to be.  On this Easter morning many celebrate the occasion of the resurrection of Christ Jesus.  Yet few of those in the crowd in Saint Peter's square in Rome will ever know who Jesus truly is.  Many of these believers, like Clavius before them, demand proof that He is indeed the Savior.  Oh, they'll tow the church line and celebrate this occasion OF Jesus, but they won't delve deeper into who He is.  To many, Jesus was tortured and put to death on the cross (For some Christians this is where His story ends), this is the day traditional religion refers to as Good Friday, aka Holy Friday and Black Friday.  Yet, with the hijack of the term by retailers worldwide, I'll simply call it Good Friday.  We celebrate the torture and death of Christ.  This all leads up to that morning a few days later where His resurrection is commemorated by believers worldwide.  Believers who, like Clavius, still search for proof of Jesus.  

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, termed Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.  The other disciples, then, said to him, "We have seen the Lord!"  Yet he said to them, "Should I not perceive in His hands the print of the nails, and thrust my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will by no means be believing."  And after eight days His disciples were again within, and Thomas was among them.  The doors having been locked, Jesus is coming and stood in the midst and said, "Peace to you!"  Thereafter He is saying to Thomas, "Bring your finger here and perceive My hands, and bring your hand and thrust it into My side, and do not become unbelieving but believing."  And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"  Now Jesus is saying to him, "Seeing that you have seen Me, you have believed.  Happy are those who are not perceiving and believe."

John 20: 24-29, Concordant New Testament

I can recall many a Easter Sunday service where I sat in church worshiping a dead guy.  That was my early perception of Jesus.  That was what I was being taught about Jesus.  My Clavius moment came when a dear friend of mine introduced me to the truth of Christ in me.  Wait, most of my life I have been told that Jesus died on the cross and now you're telling me that He's alive and in me?  What about that ascending into heaven thing {Acts 1:9-12}?  Was I being lied to or was Jesus indeed alive and well in me?  I needed to ferret the truth.  Needless to say, my own realization of Christ in me came with my own share of demanding proof of what I was being told.  How can Jesus be in me?  Isn't He in heaven?  How can Jesus inhabit sinful man?  Like Clavius before me, I searched for the truth of Jesus.  Like Clavius, along the way I was introduced into a greater knowing of Him.  I came to realize that sin was no longer an obstacle between  myself and Christ, because He has provided for the death of sin {Romans 6:6}.  I have also been introduced, through the words of the apostle Paul, to my one true identity in Christ {Galatians 2:20}.  I feel that Clavius himself uncovered these truths in his own search for the Nazarene.  Do not be unbelieving...but believing.  

Knowing this, that our old humanity was crucified together with Him, that the body of sin may be nullified, for us to 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~ 

Two Faces Of God

 

For Gods indignation is being revealed from heaven on all the irreverence of justice of men who are retaining the truth in injustice. 

Romans 1: 18, Concordant New Testament 

How many of us have heard of the two faced God?  You the One, the God who promises safety and security all while somehow scheming to bring harsh punishment upon those foolish enough to disobey Him.  Does this sound like the God you serve?  Well, like it or not, He's out there.  I read a article this week from a columnist who was calling for a boycott of God due to His treatment of man whom He so lovingly created.  While I cannot be on board with this bunk, I can understand how someone might come to the conclusion that God is somehow a vengeful, hateful and violent being.  The scriptures are chock full of examples where God, in His almighty power, brings death and destruction unto those whom He supposedly created in His very image {Genesis 1:27}.  We have the Lords destruction of the Egyptians as the Israelites fled Egypt {Hebrews 11:29}.  We also know that it is God who wiped out most of humanity, save His few elect, with the great flood {Genesis 6:17}.  Many will, and have, wondered how it is that a God who professes to love His creation can suddenly turn a blind eye to His love and seemingly kill His cherished creation without so much as a care.  I get it.  There have been times where I have wondered the very same thing.  The ages old question of why bad things happen to good people has been a part of our Christian theology for as long as I can remember.  So, what's up with God?  Doe's He truly carry such a dislike for us that it's only a matter of time before He lets loose and performs another purge on humanity?  Is He so oblivious to the daily sufferings of His people that He allows so many things that hurt us to infest our lives?  Does God care at all about me?  Well, the good news is that God indeed does care for us.  He cared enough to provide His very Son as an offering in our place on that Roman cross {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  He loves me enough to live in me today {Galatians 2:20}.  Yet the ongoing narrative of some inside and outside the Christian community is that God somehow can be provoked into unleashing His other nature of anger.  The church, for their part, has certainly used this fear to their advantage.  

He who is not loving knew not God, for God is love.

1 John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

How many people have been subjected to the church mantra that continues to teach that disobedience and/or disinterest in God or the church will surely bring about the Lord's wrath?  For some time, I believed that missing a Sunday church service would open myself up to the opportunity for God allowing misfortune into my life.  Eventually I discovered that God was not this monster that He was being painted to be.  However, by using statements such as these, the Christian church is banking that congregations will be so in fear of Gods retribution that they dare not stray from the church doctrine.  As one country singer once opined...That ain't no way to go.  So if God is not the monster who dealt death and suffering to so many of His children, who is He?  Well, I believe that the God we serve indeed has, as we do, two natures.  Remember that we were created in HIS image.  Why would God not have the very same makeup as those He created to be as He is?  The trouble is, while you and I have no qualms when it comes to displaying our two natures any chance we get, God is different.  For while retaining two natures, God chooses to display His nature of love as His true nature.  We also know from scripture that Jesus Himself had the natures of both God and man {Colossians 2:9}.  When we see the worst of the worst unfolding before us, it is not uncommon to question why it is that God would allow such things to happen.  After all, we have seen and known His love nature for His children.  It is this side of God which He chooses as His one true nature.

Nevertheless empties Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming to be in the likeness of humanity.

Philippians 2: 7, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The New Disciples

 

And, approaching, Jesus speaks to them saying, "Given to Me was all authority in heaven and on earth.  Going, then, disciple all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to be keeping all, whatever I direct you.  And lo!  I am with you all the days till the conclusion of the eon!  Amen!" 

Matthew 28: 18-20, Concordant New Testament

I remember back in the day where I was involved in one or another church based classes on discipleship.  I was taught all of the verses and bible matters that I was to share with those who wanted to know more about Jesus.  I guess that I wasn't cut out to be a disciple, however, because I don't think that I ever converted anyone.  A few years ago I actually researched the word disciple and I came away with more than a few interesting conclusions.  Our friends at Google have defined a disciple as a "Personal follower of Jesus."  A disciple is also "A follower or student of a teacher, leader or philosopher."  Knowing this, are not we who follow Jesus all his disciples?  All too often we make the mistake of classifying a disciple in the lens of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.  Yes, these men were followers of Jesus during His life and ministry, therefore we refer to them as His disciples.  But could Jesus have had more than twelve disciples?  Judging from the layman's definition of the word, He may have had thousands of followers.  Personally, I'm a follower of Jesus.  Am I now a disciple of His?  All of these word games present a interesting discussion as to how we refer to those who follow Christ yet they do nothing in the way of leading others to the truth of Jesus.  I would venture that it takes a disciple to lead another to knowing Jesus.  It takes a follower of Jesus to lead someone into knowing Him.  So, even though we may consider ourselves disciples, it is by definition only.  How have we helped others to know Jesus in the way which we do?  The question first and foremost is, how do I know Jesus?  I know Jesus on a personal level, one that is rarely if at all spoken of in the mainstream church.  To me, Jesus is intimate.  I have a relationship with Christ Jesus who is in me {Galatians 2:20}.  I am, if you will, a member of the new disciples.  Although Christ be in me, I am a follower of His word and truth.  

Not you chose Me, but I chose you, and I appoint you, that may be going away and be bringing forth much fruit, and your fruit may be remaining, that anything whichsoever you should be requesting the Father in My name, He will be giving it to you.

John 15: 16, Concordant New Testament 

Taking a look back into scripture, how is it that Jesus "called" the twelve?  He simply gave them each  one command...follow Me.  To follow Him.  Now, I have no doubt that by asking these men to follow Him that He intended to teach them that they in turn would be teaching others about Him.  Are things any different for the new disciples of today?  I would say no.  Jesus has chosen us to follow His example and to share with others His truth.  Then we might be asking ourselves, how is it that we share Jesus with others?  The church model on discipleship suggests that we present the story of Jesus to others through well memorized scriptures.  I say that's bunk.  How is it that Jesus approached others to teach them?  How did He approach the woman at the well?  How did He approach the woman about to be stoned for adultry?  Jesus met people where they were in life.  When He called Simon to follow Him, He met him on the shore as he was struggling to work out a living catching fish.  He called the tax collector Matthew to follow Him, knowing all too well the indignation the Jews felt towards him.  Jesus met people where they were in life.  This should also be the practice of the new disciples.  I have no desire to spew a few well rehearsed scriptures to someone hoping that they will somehow believe me.  No, I want to tell them about the Jesus I know.  I want to tell them about the Jesus who loves them no matter what they feel they have done.  I want to tell them about Jesus who is the true identity of who it is they are.  They ARE Christ.  This is the Jesus I proclaim.  I am a new disciple. 

By this all shall be knowing that you are My disciples, if you should be having love for one another.

John 13: 35, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

I Am He

 

"This Messiah you speak of, I am He" 

Jesus to the woman at the well, The Chosen 

What is so hard to believe that Jesus lives among us?  Is it that difficult to comprehend that our Lord and Savior continues to influence every aspect of our lives?  Scripture tells us that Jesus not only bled and died upon the cross, but that He rose again three days after that.  When mainstream church teaching sings the same old song for generations, I tend to believe that there must be something to it.  So it is that we accept that Jesus survived the cross.  But here's where the teachings of the church and the reality of Jesus diverge in a dramatic way.  The church teaches that after His death and resurrection Jesus rose into heaven and was seated next to the Father there.  Therefore, ask many a pastor where Jesus is and their response will most likely be...in heaven with the Father.  But if the cross and the tomb could never contain Him, why would thousands of years of church teachings constrain Jesus?  The fact is that we have scriptural references that Jesus not only survived the cross, but might not be where most people expect Him to be.  Up until a few years ago, the one place that I expected to find Jesus was right where the pastor told me, in heaven.  This is where the disconnect started.  For if Jesus was with the Father in heaven, I was indeed alone here on the earth the Father created.  Had the Lord violated His vow to never leave me {Matthew 28:20}?  Yet this is how things seemed to be.  Then I was introduced to the writings of the apostle Paul and the truth of Jesus began to be revealed.  Contrary to what I had been led to believe from the pulpits of countless churches, Jesus was not only alive but living in me {Galatians 2:20}.  For his part, Paul had first hand experience in the revelation of Christ.  It was on the road to Damascus that his own conversion began {Acts 9:1-43}.  So it is that Paul was changed from a life of persecuting the early church to a life of knowing Jesus in a intimate way.  This is the Jesus I have come to know.  

Now Thomas, one of the twelve, termed Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.  The other disciples, then, said to him, "We have seen the Lord!"  Yet he said to them, "Should I not perceive in His hands the print of the nails, and thrust my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will by no means be believing."  And after eight days His disciples were again within, and Thomas was with them.  The doors having been locked, Jesus is coming and stood in the midst and said, "Peace to you!"  Thereafter He is saying to Thomas, "Bring your finger here and perceive My hands, and bring your hand and thrust it into My side, and do not become unbelieving, but believing."  And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!"  Now Jesus is saying to Him, "Seeing that you have seen Me, you have believed.  Happy are those who are not perceiving and believe." 

John 20: 24-29, Concordant New Testament

How many Thomas' do we have out there?  How many well meaning Christians have struggled with knowing Jesus simply because they could not see Him?  Well, I once counted myself as one of these believers.  In fact, when I was first introduced into the scriptures of Paul, I kept butting my head against the wall because I could not physically see what Paul was describing to me.  Christ in me sounds awesome...but how come I can't see it?  How can I verify that Jesus indeed is in me.  The answer to this all too often brings more questions than answers.  For it is by the revelation of the Lord that we began to see Christ in us.  This is the same revelation which brought Paul to his knees on that Damascus road {Galatians 1:15-16}.  It is the same revelation which Paul himself referred to as the great mystery {Colossians 1:27}.  Knowing this, it's not too difficult to understand why so many have a tough time believing the truth of Christ Jesus in them.  Like Thomas, we strive for some kind of physical evidence we can use to verify our own revelation of Jesus in us.  This is not only our mystery, but the expectation of our glory in Christ Jesus. 

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 

~Scott~ 

Leadership

 

"When I get home people will ask me, 'Hey Hoot, why do you do it man?  Why?  You some war junkie?'  I won't say a goddamn word.  Why?  They won't understand.  They won't understand why we do it.  They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it.  That's all it is." 

SFC Norm "Hoot" Hooten, 1SFODD 

People dole out thousands of dollars each year for seminars and conferences on leadership.  Corporations routinely send their employees to these venues in order that they will somehow come away with the magic formula on what it takes to lead others.  Sad to say, but I could save these companies a whole lot of money with some simple advice.  First, however, we need to agree on what makes a good leader.  Is a good leader someone who dictates instructions to others from the relative safety of their corner corporate office?  Or, as I believe, is a good leader one who walks and works with those they have been chosen to lead?  When one looks at the styles of military leaders, the ones most remembered are the ones who led from the front lines and not from the rear.  One of the most celebrated generals in our nations history, General George Patton, made this a common practice during his career.  Patton was a soldiers general and his men respected him for that.  In my opinion, I would rather work for someone who wasn't afraid to get their pants dirty like the rest of us than someone who killed time in a corporate office.  I've seen too many times the weak leadership of those who were disconnected from their frontline workers.  I happen to work for such a agency currently.  The traditional corporate model on leadership is one who sits at a desk and delegates.  I get it.  But a corner office does not a leader make.  I look at the example of the leadership of our mainstream churches and I cringe.  Total corporate business model on top down leadership.  The lead pastor dictates to the assistant pastor who dictates to another assistant who...well you get the picture.  But is this the way that Jesus wants His church to operate?  Is it the desire of the Lord that our churches be run by the top down business model?  Is it the Lords desire that there be church leadership at all?  If there are no leaders, who is the head of the church?  That would be Jesus Himself {Colossians 1:18}.  

Now Jesus calling them to Him said, "You are aware that the chiefs of the nations are lording it over them, and the great are coercing them.  Not thus is it to be among you.  But whosoever may be wanting to become great among you, let him be your servant, and whoever may be wanting to be foremost among you, let him be your slave, even so as the Son of Mankind came, not to be served but to serve, and to give His soul a ransom for many."

Matthew 20: 25-28, Concordant New Testament 

I look at the leadership model of Jesus and I see something we could all learn from.  For Jesus did not seek to Lord Himself over those who followed Him.  I'm thinking He would not have been too comfortable in some corner office somewhere dictating His desires upon others.  From the beginning Jesus presented Himself as lowly and meek.  Born in a manger.  Raised in a modest family.  The birth and life of Jesus was not what one might expect of a chosen messiah or king.  But I'm certain that this is the way our heavenly Father intended it to be.  Jesus did not lead His disciples by edict, but by example.  Wherever His disciples traveled, Jesus was there with them.  They shared meals by the sea.  Conversations along dusty roads.  Jesus called on those who followed Him to learn from Him.  He is the textbook definition of learning by example.  Then again, what corporate executive would be caught dead comparing themselves to their underlings?  What corporate model advocates leading from the bottom up?  Yet this is what we get with Jesus.  It is Jesus, the Son of God, who makes His home in us today {Galatians 2:20}.  It seems to me that this has less to do with leadership and more to do with relationship.  In the corporate model, relationships are definitely frowned upon.  

Who being inherently in the form of God, deems it not pillaging to be equal with God, nevertheless empties Himself, taking the form of a slave, coming to be in the likeness of humanity, and, being found in fashion as a human, He humbles Himself, being obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 

Philippians 2: 6-8, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

What Does God Say?

 

Among whom we also all behaved ourselves once in the lusts of our flesh, doing the will of the flesh and of the comprehension, and were, in our nature, children of indignation, even as the rest.

Ephesians 2: 3, Concordant New Testament 

Recently there has been an uproar over the state of Florida instituting the so called "Don't say gay" law.  This legislation, far from what the left leaning media will tell you, discourages gender identity teaching through grade 3 as well as giving parents more information of what their children are being taught in school.  I for one have no issue with this.  What parent would not want to know what their child is being taught in school?  However, I guess more than a few teacher unions find this idea repulsive.  Go figure.  Each time there is a controversy over some cultural issue I am tempted to ask one question...what would God say?  Take the so called don't say gay law for instance.  Who does God say a child is?  Well, I would bet that He sees each and every child in the very same way that He sees me...as His loved creation {Genesis 1:27}.  Each and every child takes their very identity from their creator...the Lord God.  It is God who breathed into us the breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  I realize that over time many have forgotten where it is we came from, but that does not nullify it in any way.  We were once dust of the ground whom God blessed with life...it's as simple as that.  That's what God says.  How about another so called hot button issue...marriage.  Traditional marriage is yet another battlefield the left leaning cry babies have assaulted in the past decades.  First it was the issue of divorce, then it became the issue of same sex marriages.  Again I ask, what does God say?  Well, the very word woman denotes just where women originated...from man.  For it is God who caused a sleep to fall upon Adam in the garden where He extracted from his creation a rib bone which then He formed into Eve {Genesis 2:21-22}.  I find Adams reaction to Eves presence very telling.  'This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of Man"{Genesis 2:23}  This is what God says.  

If anyone should be saying that "I am loving God," and should be hating his brother, he is a liar, for he who is not loving his brother whom he has seen can not be loving God whom he has not seen.

1 John 4: 20, Concordant New Testament 

So, I have presented two examples of how mankind has taken something which God has meant for good and turned it upside down.  I'm not at all surprised.  Man and moral behaviors go together like oil and water.  I'm not saying that there are no morally sound people in the world, it's just that there are far more immoral people.  Of course, God has something to say about this as well.  It is God who has given unbelievers over to wrong behaviors {Romans 1:28}.  As usual, nothing falls away from the Lords attention.  So what are we to do with all of these immoral people all around us?  Are we the Christian soldiers who are to fight for our Lord to bring the heathen hordes to justice?  Well, what does God say?  The answer may surprise you.  We have been called...to love {1 John 4:11}.  That's right, if God so loved us, then we are to love one another.  We see this in the very nature of God, which is love {1 John 4:8}.  Despite the fact that many behave in a way that goes against the desires of the Lord, we are called to show the love of God unto them.  This is what God says.  Many believers grew up in the church where looking down upon those who behave badly may have been encouraged.  This IS NOT what the Lord desires from His children.  We are to display for all the world to see Christ Jesus who is in us {Galatians 2:20}.  We are to love those around us as God loves all of His creation.  This is what God says.  

~Scott~