Quick To Listen

 

Now you are aware, my beloved brethren!  Yet every man should be swift to hear, tardy to speak, tardy to anger. 

James 1: 19, Concordant New Testament 

I was listening to someone on You Tube the other day as they explained why it was that they were an angry person at times.  The answer, they claimed, was that they felt that others around them were seldom hearing what they were saying.  I hear that a lot.  More than a few women claim that the number one trait they consider in a man is his ability to listen to her.  There is no doubt that our ability to those around us is a huge asset in our relationships with others.  James, our Lords brother, stated that we should be swift to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger {James 1:19}.  We all have known people in our own lives who could benefit from this advice.  By listening to others we gain knowledge of the person we are talking to.  I have known people that could get a good indication of the demeanor of a person within the first few moments of a conversation.  Then there is the reality that each of us simply wants to be heard.  We desire for others to hear what we are saying to them.  All too often, our words validate how it is we are feeling.  There is a reason why one of the best tools in the tool belt of every law enforcement officer is the ability to listen.  When we are feeling stressed, more often than not we may find ourselves in the office of one who has been trained to listen to others.  Those in the mental health field are very adept at listening to others.  In the wake of this weeks mass shooting in Maine, I wonder if this tragedy could have been prevented if someone had simply listened to the troubled man who ultimately took so many lives.  Unfortunately, we will never know the answer to that question.  It is a well known fact that we feel validated when those around us give importance to our words.  Jesus Himself made it a practice to listen to those around Him.  As He confronted the woman caught in adultery, His response was to listen and not condemn her {John 8:1-11}.  His response to the woman despised by others?  "Neither do I condemn you" {John 8:11}.  Much attention has been given to Jesus and the words He spoke, for good reason.  However, it is Jesus who also listened to those around Him who simply desired someone to hear them.  

"Everyone, then, who is hearing these sayings of Mine and is doing them shall be likened to a prudent man who builds His house on the rock" 

Matthew 7: 24, Concordant New Testament  

My own recent experience with a young lady who was homeless also taught me the value of listening.  This young lady was ashamed of the choices she had made and longed to see her family once again.  I listened as she spoke of the pain she dealt with each day in her life on the street.  Instead of condemning her, I spoke to her of the love which the Father had for His children.  That He was with her wherever she went.  I like to think that my words and my ability to hear her had an impact on her life.  Imagine a Sunday morning church service where instead of a sermon the pastor listened to the congregation!  Better than that, imagine a Sunday morning service devoid of all of the trappings of institutional worship such as loud music, offerings and sermons.  There is no doubt that when I think back upon the Sunday services I've missed I realize that, thankfully, I'm not missing out on much.  The truth is, I can recall very few pastors whom I have met in my life who have had the ability to truly listen to others.  In my opinion, if we expect our police officers to be able to listen to those troubled people they encounter, why not our pastors as well?  Food for thought.  It's no secret that, as humans, we are indeed social beings.  We desire interaction.  We desire to be heard by those around us.  When we're not being heard, it often seems like things are out of balance.  I have a group of people that I interact with at the gym I frequent.  I did not form this group, nor did I hand pick the people who are in it.  What I did do was listen and interact with these gym rats over time.  There is now a small group of people who go about their daily routine at the gym while interacting with others.  That's what it's all about folks.  

And there came a cloud overshadowing them.  And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, the Beloved.  Hear Him!" 

Mark 9: 7, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Fathers Mercy

 

For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all. 

Romans 11: 32, Concordant New Testament 

Growing up as a church going Christian, I was constantly reminded that if I didn't behave that there would be retribution from the Lord.  This could range anywhere from a lack of blessings to physical harm.  Imagine that if you will, that the Father who loved you enough to create you in His own image {Genesis 1:27} would suddenly turn His back on you due to your bad behaviors.  That your heavenly Father who dispatched His One and only Son that He would become sin on your behalf {2 Corinthians 5:21} would suddenly count those sins against you once again.  This is the church narrative in which I grew up.  The trouble with this line of thinking is that it's a lie.  That's right, the church lied to us.  For God is not a liar nor is He a Indian giver.  Once He promises that He will do something, it's as good as done.  So, if He has provided His Son to bear the penalty of our sin, He would not suddenly rescind that reality.  If the Father has provided that sin be put to death on that cross, He will never again resurrect it as something to hold against us.  Knowing this leads us into an interesting question.  How is it that we explain the bad in this world?  This past week, a mentally disturbed gunman ended the lives of eighteen innocent people in Maine.  Not only that, but the world once again sits and watches as the middle East prepares for yet another armed conflict.  As Christians, we have long thought of ways to explain how it is that a loving God could allow such evil in His creation.  So, the narrative was created in the halls of the mainstream church that somehow it must be our fault.  Somehow, our behaviors so angered God that He tossed aside His true love nature {1 John 4:8} and meted out His justified punishment.  After all, we deserved it, right?  Wrong!  For what was once counted against us has been dealt with by Christ Jesus at the cross.  So, there must be something else in the works here.  The apostle Paul speaks of a seldom understood truth.  That is, that the Father would allow the stubbornness of His children in the world that He might show His love and mercy to all {Romans 11:32}.  Think of that, what is it that the Lords children desire most in times of pain?  We seek His love and mercy upon us.  We seek out a Lord who does not condemn but reconciles all back to Him.  Indeed, that is precisely why He allows the turmoil that we see in the world around us.  

Yet God, being rich in mercy, because of His vast love with which He loves us ( we also being dead to the offenses and lusts), vivifies us together in Christ (In grace are you saved!)

Ephesians 2: 4-5, Concordant New Testament 

As I've grown, I am amazed at how my own view of the Father has as well.  How could I be of the belief that my loving Father would somehow once again count my offenses against me?  Yet this is the exact same narrative which continues to be spoken in the mainstream church.  This is how church pastors and leaders explain the presence of wickedness in this fallen world.  Somehow, it's our fault.  Sooner or later, just as in the days of Noah, God will again do away with sinful man, right?  That's a good story if you can sell it, and the church is doing a damn good job of doing just that.  The trouble is, God has promised us that He will never destroy His creation again with a flood {Genesis 9:11}.  Of course, there are many other ways in which God could dish out His just punishment upon us, but why?  Has He not already provided for the forgiveness of our sins?  Has He not assured us that He is with us always?  If God cannot lie, then we should know that He will never mete out His punishment upon us for our sins.  That ship has sailed.  However, what He can and WILL do is to allow events in the world around us to reconcile His children back to Him.  I believe that this is what we have been witness to for many years.  The Lord using different events that He would draw His children to Him in love and mercy.  Unfortunately, this does not fit the narrative of the mainstream institutional church.  For if everyone realized the truth of the Fathers forgiveness, then those in the church would not be able to proclaim that God counts our sins against us.  It's that simple.  The Fathers desire has never been to bestow His righteous punishment upon the wicked of the world, but to reconcile all to Him.  This is His true nature defined.  

"Now, go and learn what this is: Mercy am I wanting, and not sacrifice.  For I did not come to call the just but sinners,"

Matthew 9: 13, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Bible And The Culture

 

Be not loving the world, neither that which is in the world.  If ever anyone is loving the world, the love of the Father is not in him, for everything that is in the world, the desire of the flesh, and the desire of the eyes, and the ostentation of living, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

1 John 2: 15-16, Concordant New Testament 

I have a friend who for the most part lives off the grid when it comes to television and news.  He busies himself with projects around his cabin in the woods and is happy just doing that.  I realize, however, that any conversation with him concerning the state of the world we are living in is sort of fruitless as he is usually uninformed about such issues.  I don't blame him for tuning out most things, for these days most things are more than worth tuning out.  We have a powder keg once again in the middle east, a dysfunctional congress and a president who can barely put two words together most days.  Who wants to watch that on the news?  We also have the ever growing list of which words are acceptable and which are deemed much too offensive to speak any longer.  The culture which has become known as "woke" has seemingly turned the country on its head.  This got me thinking this week, in the midst of all which many now find offensive, how long will it be before the bible itself is deemed too offensive to read?  How long before there becomes a woke translation of the scriptures which adheres to the doctrine of being soft and cuddly to all?  I believe that it's just a matter of time before such a translation exists.  Already we have seen a number of different bible translations pandering to different dialects and ways of living.  Some years ago we saw the introduction of the Pidgeon bible, relating to the dialect of those native to the region of Hawaii.  Now, I'm not against the EXACT translation of the scriptures into the native languages of the different regions of the earth, as I believe that the Father desires His children to hear and read of Him.  However, I also have a mistrust of those who would participate in the translation of said scripture.  What is their agenda?  For unless the word is transcribed as closely as possible to the original text, I believe that a lot is being left out.  I certainly would not be one to advocate for the scripture being watered down to be less offensive to people.  In my opinion, if you find the bible offensive, then perhaps you need to be reading it that much more.  There is certainly scripture which speaks to not adding or taking away from the original word {Proverbs 30:5-6, Galatians 1:6-9, Revelation 22:18-19}.  However, I believe that we have already crossed that Rubicon when it comes to adding to scripture.  

Wherein there is no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, freeman, but all and in all is Christ. 

Colossians 3: 11, Concordant New Testament 

There is one very important thing to remember when we speak about the Father and the culture in which we live.  That is, in this ever changing world, the one constant has always been God.  It is the Father who never changes {Hebrews 13:8}.  The whims of man may change often, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He is the rock which we count on.  Not only that, but He will never leave us a swell {Deuteronomy 3:16}.  Too many well meaning Christians live under the idea that there is a separation between themselves and the Father.  That somehow God is not involved in our day to day lives.  The apostle Paul speaks against this notion as he claims that it is Christ Jesus who lives in him {Galatians 2:20}.  God is indeed intimately involved in all we do.  Not only that, all of this woke culture and chaos we see around us...was pre ordained.  Indeed, the Father proclaimed what the ages would bring long before He created man.  There is nothing which ever occurs in this world which God is not a part of.  So, our first question should be, "What are You accomplishing here, God?"  God never does anything by happenstance, there is always a purpose.  He has a purpose for the chaos in the middle east.  He indeed has a purpose for the state of the culture we are living in.  What is that purpose?  What is it that the Father has been working to accomplish through the passage of time?  The author J Preston Eby makes a strong case that God has been working to ensure the salvation of all of His children.  That the Father was in Christ Jesus reconciling the world we live in unto Himself {2 Corinthians 5:19}.  For Jesus came not to judge, but that the world THROUGH HIM might be saved {John 3:16-17}.  I believe that this has been the work which the Father has been engaged in from the begining.  Chaos and discontent may roil all around us, but we can rest assured that the ultimate desire of the Father will come to pass.  

How that God was in Christ, conciliating the world to Himself, not reckoning their offenses to them, and placing in us the word of the conciliation. 

2 Corinthians 5: 19, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

A New Community

 

Thus let your light shine in front of men, so that they may perceive your ideal acts and should glorify your Father who is in the heavens. 

Matthew 5: 16, Concordant New Testament 

I remember the old school church doctrine on meeting with others outside of church.  For years, my social interactions were limited to those I was sure to be believers such as myself.  Of course, this is not what Jesus did when He walked the earth, but it was what I was told a good Christian does.  Do not be yoked to unbelievers, they told me time and again.  I often wonder what Jesus would have thought of that doctrine.  These days, I KNOW what He would have thought.  He would have gently reminded me, what of the least of these?  For Jesus never limited Himself to interactions with His disciples only.  No, He is well known for going out into whichever community He happened to be in and speaking to, uplifting and sharing the news of His Father in heaven.  So much so that even His devoted disciples at times questioned His choice of company, as we find with His calling of the tax collectors Matthew and Zaccheus.  Jesus was never interested in befriending the most popular, but the forgotten around Him.   It was Jesus who proclaimed that it was the sick who need the physician, not those healthy among us {Matthew 9:12-13}.  Sadly, too many Christians fail to recognize that Jesus was laying the groundwork for we the believers to engage in community.  Community has never been about a big event designed to attract crowds to a church building.  Community has never been about men's conferences.  Community has never even been about home groups.  For all of these examples, save for the men's conferences, all too often are attended by believers who are known among the group.  What of the least of these?  Believe it or not, when your home group is finished for the day, there remains many of the Fathers children who are lost and wandering in the world.  What does your Christian group do to reach them?  Indeed, I was adept at turning my back on the hurting around me and relishing in my "God groups" sanctioned by the church.  I remember the list of pastoral "approved" groups which I would see whenever I desired to branch out.  As far as Jesus is concerned, this is not community.  Jesus visited and reached out to the lost and weak around Him, how are we engaging in this if we simply stick with people we know?  This is the question every church should be considering.  

'For I hunger and you give Me to eat I thirst and you give Me to drink; a stranger was I and you took Me in; naked and you clothed Me; infirm am I and you visit Me; in jail was I and you came to Me.'  "Then the just will be answering Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we perceive Thee hungering and nourish Thee, or thirsting and we give Thee drink?  Now when did we perceive Thee a stranger and took Thee in, or naked and clothed Thee?  "And, answering, the King shall be declaring to them, 'Verily, I am saying to you, in as much as you do it to one of these, the least of My brethren, you do it to Me.'  

Matthew 25: 35-40, Concordant New Testament 

The other day I participated in a podcast with my friend Dennis where we discussed my recent activities related to my fitness journey.  I will delve into the meat of this journey in further detail in the future, but one part of our conversation included the group of people I have come to refer to as the gym rats.  The gym rats are not a church group.  In fact, I have no idea where many of their faith views are centered, or if they know the Lord.  What I do know is that this is a group of people who share a common interest and come together in one place to share life.  THIS is community.  This is part of my community.  But, it's not church approved!  Neither were many in the community of Jesus during His ministry.  In fact, the officials of His day often criticized Jesus for the company He kept.  For Jesus, it has never been about surrounding Himself with only those who know Him.  If this were true, only His disciples would have benefited from His ministry.  But Jesus spread the words of the Father far and wide throughout every region He came to.  Those who so desperately needed to hear His words were all too often those who were lost, the least of His brethren {Matthew 25:40}.  The gym rats have never been about sermons, songs or tithing.  What we ARE about is allowing the light of Christ Jesus within me to shine before those around me {Matthew 5:16}.  Already, more than a few relationships have blossomed as I allow Jesus to speak through me.  Community does not need to be tied to a church, it can be a coffee shop or golf group.  One of my dear friends began a practice of reading his bible each morning at a local coffee shop.  As time went by, different people became curious as to what he was doing and he opened up and engaged them in conversation.  Not as preaching, but as friends.  To this day, he has maintained relationships with many of those whom he met in his coffee shop group.  THIS is community.  I am grateful to be involved in my community of gym rats, and it grows with each day.  I also know in my heart that it is Christ Jesus who is leading the way to those who need Him the most.  It is through those who know Jesus that the world around us will come to know him as well.  Let your light shine.  

~Scott~ 

In Prime Time

 

Look at me, what about me makes you think that I care about your opinion of me? 

Deion Sanders 

In his playing days, "Neon" Deion Sanders was never one to keep what he was thinking to himself.  Some might call him a free spirit while others called him a arrogant bully.  Whatever you thought of him one thing was certain, Deion didn't care what you thought of him.  He simply went out on the field and allowed his ability to speak for him.  He did that for fourteen years in the NFL and a further nine seasons playing major league baseball.  Sanders routinely refers to those who don't like his style as haters.  Whatever your opinion of him, Deion Sanders is going to go about life on his own terms.  So, what does  Deion Sanders have to do with me, Jesus and knowing the man I am?  Well, in my own way I have adopted one of the most important characteristics of the man known as prime time.  For anyone who does not know me, you would never know that your opinion of me is of zero consequence.  In fact, I'm often  surprised at the reaction of others when they criticize me when they do not get the reaction from me that they were expecting.  They do not get the angry retort.  They do not get the frustration.  What they do get is someone who is confident enough to know the person they are despite what they are trying to tell me.  One of my favorite verses of scripture is the apostle Paul's realization in Galatians of the man he truly is.  It is Paul who claims that it is Christ Jesus who lives, not the one the world knows as Paul {Galatians 2:20}.  You can bet that in his day, Paul knew his share of criticism for his beliefs.  Yet Paul stood his ground, knowing that it was Jesus Himself who he lived as {Romans 6:8}.  I can confidently proclaim this as well.  That's right, contrary to what some may think, Paul's words in Galatians 2:20 were not simply referring to Paul but to all of the Fathers children.  So it is that when others may try to sway your beliefs with a false narrative of who you are, it has never been true.  For we are the Fathers creation created in His very image {Genesis 1:27}.  When I look in that mirror, I see Jesus.  

Your opinion of me is not the opinion I have of myself.

Deion Sanders

I was never really a big Deion Sanders fan until his retirement.  In his playing days, he almost always ended up playing for teams I was not too fond of.  Consequently, his on field antics only seemed to verify his arrogance.  Yet there was indeed a method to the madness of the man known as Prime Time.  The swagger followed him from his college days at Florida State University to his days in the NFL.  Like him or not, there was no mistaking who he was.  All too often, too many people, Christians included, are afraid of giving their opinion for fear of what others might think of them.  Our current woke culture has only intensified this behavior.  However, I have rarely been one to shutter up how I am feeling about things.  Yes, this trait has gotten me in my share of trouble and offended a good number of people, but I have remained true to myself along the way.  I've never considered myself to have anything in common with the man prime time, but perhaps we're not so different.  I do not know the faith leanings of Deion Sanders, but in listening to him speak, I believe that he is aware of the love of the Father.  In his current job as the head coach as Colorado, he has made it abundantly clear that his main purpose while at Colorado is to be a "leader of young men."  I can stand behind that.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that young people in this world are often devoid of men and women of faith to guide them.  If one of those leaders happens to speak his mind and offend a few people along the way, well I'll still support him in what he's doing.  

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 

~Scott~ 

Living The Lie

 

When, then, Jesus took the vinegar, He said, "It is accomplished!"  And reclining His head, He gave up His spirit. 

John 19: 30, Concordant New Testament 

One of the hardest things for many believers to wrap their understanding around is that the sin debt which we once incurred has now been paid in full.  Jesus Himself proclaimed this with His final breath {John 19:30}.  In fact, the Greek word for "It is finished," is Tetelestai, which, when translated means paid in full.  What exactly does this mean for the believer?  It means that no other action is required.  The debt has been paid in full.  When we come before the Father seeking forgiveness for some sin we feel we have committed, we might be surprised at His response...what sin?  See, in the Fathers eyes, we are no longer found guilty of sin.  The only time in which we will still be found guilty of sin is in the halls and pews of the mainstream institutional church.  I have my own theory as to why the mainstream church has continued to preach the false narrative of sin despite scriptural evidence to the contrary.  That being that by doing so keeps the pews full on Sundays.  What better way to keep people filing into its doors than to convince them that they need the church in order to deal with their sinful ways.  That if we were left to our own devices that God would eventually unleash His judgement of anger upon all sinners.  So it is that many believers continue to live the lie.  I used to count myself among these blind followers.  I lived in the fear that I would never measure up to the holy standards of the Father.  The truth is, nobody can.  However, through the selfless actions of Christ Jesus on the cross, we have no need to live in fear any longer.  For we're told that Jesus Himself became sin on our behalf {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  The apostle Paul proclaims that "The One not knowing sin" (Jesus) is made to be a sin offering for our sakes.  Jesus paid that debt in full.  There is no longer any action required.  Would you continue to pay on a debt which you knew to be satisfied?  Of course not.  This leads me to one conclusion of the believers who continue to live the lie preached by the institutional church.  That is, that they are somehow unaware that the debt has been paid.  The message which they continue to hear each week is that they are sinners.  I get it.  Sadly, until the believer breaks away from the message of the church, they will never come to the total understanding of the gift which the Father has given to all His children.  The gift of Christ Jesus.  

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, having been roused from 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 

People have no trouble believing that giving our unbridled attention to something can slant our point of view.  Partaking of too much of something can often lead us into being enslaved by food, drugs or alchohol.  This is the reason in which Paul instructs us, in Romans, to not be "still slaving for sin" {Romans 6:6}.  My own revelation of knowing the truth of the gift of Christ Jesus was not revealed to me until I had spent many years living in the lie of the mainstream church.  It was only by the revelation of the Father in me which led me to understand that the debt had been paid in full.  Of course, this led to my distancing myself from the halls of the institutional church.  I am no longer spoon fed the lie that my sin debt remains unpaid.  As Christ has proclaimed, It is finished!  My prayer is that the Father would reveal Himself to all of His children.  But then what will become of the church?  If all of the Lords children flee from the halls of the institutional church, what will become of it?  Well, has anyone even considered that this is the Father intention?  That God is calling His people out of the mainstream church?  In recent years we have seen great numbers of once faithful church goers leaving the church.  Are they seeking something more?  Have they finally seen through the veil of the lie being preached each and every Sunday?  The author J Preston Eby writes that God is indeed calling His children out of the church (Babylon), and it's in scripture.  The apostle John proclaims in Revelation, "come out of her, my people."  It is Eby's belief that this is indeed the Fathers warning for His children to abandon the halls of the man made institutional religion.  To cease living the lie of the church and began living a life of freedom in Him.  

And I hear another voice out of heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you should be joint participants in her sins, and lest you should be getting of her calamities." 

The Unveiling Of Jesus Christ 18: 4, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Lest We Forget

 I am saying, then, does not God thrust away His people?  May it never be coming to that!  For I am also an Israelite, out of Abrahams seed, Benjamin's tribe.  God does not thrust away His people whom He foreknew.  Or have you not perceived in Elijah what the scripture is saying, as he is pleading with God against Israel?  Lord, Thy prophets they kill, Thine altars they dig down, and I was left alone, and they are seeking my soul. 

Romans 11: 1-3, Concordant New Testament 

They are places that are etched into the memory of all who experienced them.  From the survivors to the soldiers who liberated them.  Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Dachau and Bergen.  For those who survived these German death camps, it was hell on earth.  For those who liberated the survivors, it was unimaginable that men could sink to such a level of depravity.  There were even locals of the German population who claimed that they were unaware of the horrors taking place so close to their homes.  Nevertheless, the allied liberators made sure that each and every German bore witness to the horrors brought about by one mans vision of hate.  It is well known that the European Jewish population suffered greatly at the hands of Adolf Hitler and his nazi ideology.  It has come to be known by one word, the holocaust.  Yet even today, despite eye witness historical testimony, there are many who would deny that these events of world war two ever took place.  Still more would deny the recent events of October 7, 2023 in Israel.  On this day, the nation of Israel was suddenly attacked by numerous Hamas terrorists crossing over from the Gaza Strip into Israel (yes, I call them for what they are, terrorists!).  Once again, the world has born witness to the brutality of one ideologies hatred against the Jewish people.  This time, a radical Muslim belief brought death unto the people of Israel.  Witnesses continue to tell of the terror brought forth by the soldiers of Hamas.  The killing and infants.  The massacre of hundreds of innocents.  One of the questions which I have heard tossed around a lot this week is, how could God allow this to happen to His people once again?  But is the nation of Israel the Lords chosen, or simply one the many members of the family of the Lord?  For we know that church of Christ Jesus is composed of many, Jew and Gentile alike {Romans 1:16}.  Therefore, we can rightly see this brutal attack as an attack on all believers.  

Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it. 

George Santayana 

The idea that God would use this brutal attack upon Israel in order to punish her smacks of institutional church theology.  Many a believer has been there, where they have been told that difficult circumstances in their lives are in fact due to Gods punishment.  As a good friend told me recently, there is a profound difference between punishment, and correction.  Do I believe that the Lord, the God of Israel used these Hamas terrorists to bring punishment upon the nation of Israel?  No!  Do I think the Lord could indeed use these circumstances in order to return the hearts of His people to Him?  Absolutely.  The difficulty with events such as we witnessed this week is that our minds automatically start to think about an angry God and His punishment upon us.  I've been there.  As I said, much of this is due to an ages old institutional church theology which preaches that despite the Lord forgiving us our sins through the sacrifice of His Son, that our own actions may, on occasion, continue to warrant His punishment.  People, that ship has sailed!  As Jesus hung on that cross and cried out "It is finished," He meant it.  It is Christ Jesus who, as the apostle Paul proclaims, died "Once for all" {Romans 6:10}.  We also know that the Father works all for the good for those who are in Christ {Romans 8:28}.  So, many will ask, what "Good" can possibly come from such a tragedy?  I cannot proclaim to know the answer to such questions, but can we agree that Father would use events such as this to lead His children back to Him?  I feel that is entirely possible.  Of course, in a nation suffering with the aftermath of a terror attack, this may not be the answer many are looking for.  Whatever the case, looking at these events through our own perspective might only produce more questions than answers.  

~Scott~ 

A Fathers Love

 

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

1 John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

Lately I have been surrounded by more than a few people who are well versed in both scripture and mainstream church theology.  The challenge for me has been to stand fast in what I know to be true and not again be carried off by the beliefs of the man created church system.  This was once again evidenced this week as a co worker and I discussed our Christian faith.  Now, I have no issues with talking with others about what I believe, but I usually do not get a good response.  In the eyes of many Christians, I'm on a one way road straight to hell and eternal punishment.  It would seem that my beliefs are so far out of whack with the mainstream belief system that it's a wonder indeed that God has not sent his lightning bolts down upon me.  I mean, that's what God does, right?  He oversees the world and duly punishes all who are wicked, right?  Well, if you sit in the halls of one of the houses of worship on any given Sunday, that is what you might hear preached.  It's a good story if you can sell it, and the mainstream church have become masters of selling the message.  But what if what you've been told by that church was flawed?  What if, over the years, someone has cobbled together a few select words of scripture to fit the narrative and called it the gospel?  This is indeed why the apostle John spoke to us about "Testing the spirits" to see if they are of God {1 John 4:1}.  Testing the spirits leads us to asking questions.  Testing the spirits eventually led me to decide to leave the mainstream church.  Since childhood, we've been told that God loved us enough to create us in His own image {Genesis 1:27}.  But the snake lied {Genesis 3:4-5}, and so we were cast out of the Lords garden as sinners {Genesis 3:23-24}.  So we lived until God dispatched His Son as a savior to His creation {Matthew 1:21}.  Through Christ Jesus, our sin was put to death by His own death on the cross {Romans 6:10}.  Notice that Paul speaks to Jesus perishing "once for ALL" on the cross.  Jesus proclaimed this Himself as He died on the cross and cried out, "It is finished"{John 19:30}.  Interestingly enough, the Greek translation of the final words of Christ on the cross translates to "Paid in full."  Jesus paid our sin debt, nothing else is required.  

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God, for many false prophets have come out into the world. 

1 John 4: 1, Concordant New Testament 

Growing up, I was constantly reminded by those in the church that I still had sin which I needed to deal with.  If I did not deal with it, I would find myself facing the Lords judgement for my actions.  I always thought there was something wrong with that line of thinking.  First, the talking heads of the mainstream church had spoon fed me their theology that Jesus died upon that cross for my sins.  My sin  debt had been paid.  But wait, what about todays sin?  Despite the words of Paul there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ, the church continues to preach sinful man {Romans 8:1}.  So, one question I found myself asking on a regular basis was, who would God hate enough to send to hell?  Who would a loving God find so repulsive that He would turn His back upon His loved creation?  When you get down to the brass tacks Christianity, this is what the church continues to preach.  If God is love, as John tells us, does it not go against His nature to take His love away from His children?  There are many stories of human parents who, despite the disobedient behaviors of their own children, still continue to express their love.  Why would God be any different?  Well, I believe that the Father is indeed different than what we have been led to believe.  It is my belief that God loves ALL of His creation and that His desire is that we would return to Him.  Jesus spoke of the father of the prodigal son who did just that {Luke 15:20}.  I've always seen the parable of the prodigal son as the perfect illustration of Gods love for us.  Despite the theology of the mainstream church, the love of the Father endures all.  

And rising, he came to his father.  "Now, at his still being far away, his father perceived him and had compassion, and running, falls on his neck and fondly kisses him."

Luke 15: 20, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Hell Bound!

 For even as you were once stubborn towards God, yet now were shown mercy at their stubbornness, thus these also are now stubborn to this mercy of yours, that now they also may be shown mercy.  For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all.  

Romans 11: 30-32, Concordant New Testament  

For much of my life as a Christian, I believed that I truly could never be worthy of going to heaven.  Somewhere, this wicked heart of mine would trip me up once again and God would blot my name from the book of His chosen ones {Jeremiah 17:9, Mark7:21}.  This is the Lords righteous judgement upon those He deems to sinful to be on His presence.  For I was born a sinner, and that was all I would ever be {Romans 3:23}.  This belief was all but solidified each and every Sunday as the local pastor assured me that all I could ever hope to be is to "Be like" His Son.  That even though Jesus had come to cleanse me of my sins, somehow my wicked heart would someday prove me unworthy of the Lords love.  When I look back, it's plain to see that I was blinded by the words and scripture interpretations of those in the church.  God was not the God of love I know today, but a vengeful God just waiting to root out all who lived their lives against Him.  Sadly, this continues to be the image of God that perpetuates much of the mainstream church today.  If you do not tow the line as far as church attendance, tithing and devotion you will surely find yourself bound for hell.  Does this sound like something God would do, to express His deepest love for me only to find me at some point unlovable?  Now, you might find this tough to swallow, but if you've heard many Sunday sermons then you know all too well that the church makes it a point to assure us that hell is our ultimate destination.  So, we struggle to live our lives in a way pleasing to the Lord.  At the direction of the pastor, of course.  But why would God go through all the trouble of saving me only to condemn me in the end?  That was the one question which always bothered me.  I mean, if the intention of God was to condemn me to hell, why didn't He just do that and save Himself the effort?  Why indeed.  So, the predicament we find ourselves in as believers is that either God is a liar, or that we ourselves have been lied to.  

And I hear another voice out of heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, lest you should be joint participants in her sins, and less you should be getting of her calamities." 

The Unveiling Of Jesus Christ 18: 4, Concordant New Testament 

When was the last time you knew God as a liar?  When was the last time in which you saw that you could not trust Him at His word?  The mainstream church will shout from the rooftops that one of the beautiful attributes of God is that He will never lie {Numbers 23:19, Hebrews 6:18}.  So, if we are to take God as His word, we will discover that His one true desire is that ALL of His children will be saved {Romans 11:30-32}.  For those who have been spoon fed the lectures on guilt and just punishment (Sunday sermons), this might be a tough pill to swallow.  We've been conditioned by those around us to accept this idea that God will dole out His righteous judgement upon all who do not live up to His standards of holiness.  This indeed would be true, if not for Christ Jesus.  For God, in His unending love He has for us, dispatched His Son that He would take our sins upon Himself as He died upon that cross {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  Yes, but weren't those our past sins?  What about the sin I continue to do today?  Well, the apostle Paul assures us in Romans that Jesus gave Himself ONCE FOR ALL TIME {Romans 6:10}.  What does this mean exactly?  It means that we've been lied to.  It means that Jesus took all of our sins past, present AND future upon Himself and put them to death on the cross with Him.  The author J. Preston Eby, in his Saviour Of The World series, has referred to the mainstream church as the cursed Babylon we read of in the book of Revelation.  It is the mainstream church, Eby states, that God is calling His children out of in Revelation 18:4.  It is this mainstream church which will one day feel the righteous judgement of the Father.  It is the church, and all which it has been against the Father, which will one day receive the Lords ultimate judgement.  Yet God, in His unending love and mercy, calls His children out of her, that we might not receive of the punishments which the Father has in store for her {Revelation 18:4}.  It has never been the Fathers desire that we would live in fear of His judgement upon the church.  It is the Fathers desire that we know and understand the love which He has for us.  

~Scott~ 

Jesus' Mixed Bag

 

At this, then, many of His disciples came away, dropping behind, and walked no longer with Him. 

John 6: 66, Concordant New Testament 

One of my favorite shows on the life of Jesus is the Chosen series.  You cannot watch this series without getting a good perspective of what life with Jesus might have been like.  Growing up, I would often watch the old Christmas and Easter movies which portrayed Jesus with His loyal group of disciple followers.  But is this is good depiction of the everyday life of the disciples?  I would say no.  A good friend pointed out to me the other day that Jesus' disciples were indeed a "mixed bag" of those who believed in the born Christ and those who were not so certain.  Indeed, the ranks of these disciples were filled with men who were loyal to Jesus and some who were not so much.  The apostle John tells of more than a few of Jesus' followers who simply walked away from Him {John 6:66}.  We can assume many reasons for this happening.  Some may have had other responsibilities while others simply thought that this self-proclaimed Messiah was not who He claimed to be after all.  Despite turning away from Jesus, John continues to refer to them as disciples.  John also relates that not all of His followers were believers {John 6:64}.  Perhaps these few followers simply were finding fellowship with Jesus?  Whatever the case may be, Jesus certainly knew that not all of His followers were towing the line.  Of course, He did not treat them differently but continued in His teaching to the disciples as a whole.  So, what in the heck does this have to do with Christianity today?  Simple, when it comes to Christian community, we will always have  those among us who are not totally sold on the entire Jesus idea.  I have seen this personally in my time with different groups.  There are those who have been hardcore religious believers while others have sought out a community of believers simply because they were curious and desired more for their life.  Politicians might spout sound bites about being "Inclusive," but it may be hard to find a more inclusive group than that of believers in Jesus.  The apostle Paul calls upon us to bear one-another's burdens {Galatians 6:2}.  True community is certainly a mixed bag.  

Contributing to the needs of the saints, pursuing hospitality.  Bless those who are persecuting you: bless, and do not curse, so as to be rejoicing with those rejoicing, lamenting with those lamenting.  Being mutually disposed to one another, not being disposed to that which is high, but being led away to the humble.  Do not come to pass with prudent with yourselves.  To no one render evil for evil, making ideal provision in the sight of all men, if possible that which comes out of yourselves.  Being at peace with all mankind. 

Romans 12: 13-18, Concordant New Testament 

Have you ever felt out of place in a so called "church community group?"  I've certainly been there.  I've been on the outside looking in as I was told by church hierarchy that it was probably best if I did not join their group.  Let me tell you, that hurt me.  When you walk into a church community that touts a "come as you are" attitude, only to discover that you're not wanted.  It hurts.  Perhaps this is one of the reasons that Christians have received such a bad reputation from those around us.  Indeed, we are all too often seen as pious, religious and unwelcoming.  I get it.  As I've said, this IS NOT true community.  True community, as the Father intends it to be, is a true come as you are attitude.  It is the Father who will always accept those who return again to Him.  Likewise, we are called upon to accept those who come broken to Christ as well {Romans 12:13-18}.  If for one second you have misgivings about accepting a broken person into your group of community, think of the condition you found yourself in when the Father sent His Son to suffer in your place {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  How boring would a group of all believers be?  Nobody needing the saving words of Jesus?  Nobody longing to feel His forgiveness?  If we consider ourselves to be an exclusive community, what of the broken who desire to find Jesus?  The exclusive, country club model of church community flies in the face of what the Father intends for His children.  The Fathers desire still holds true for all, come as you are.  

For even as, in one body, we have many members, yet all the members have not the same function, thus we, who are many, are one body in Christ, yet individually members of one another. 

Romans 12: 4-5, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~