Saving Grace

 

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 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. 

Paul to the Romans 6: 6-11, Concordant New Testament 

It was what we said each and every time we knew that we'd messed up once again.  Despite all of the prayers, outreach and striving, we once again discovered we were...human.  Not only that, but imperfect humans.  Our goal was to be holy enough for God to accept us, but that rarely worked out in our favor.  I often compared it to being stuck on a turning hamster wheel with no hope of getting off.  Around and around we'd go, never knowing which sin we would land on.  But knowing that we eventually would be there again.  As we tried to explain our shortfalls, we would shrug our shoulders and proclaim that we were but sinners "Saved by grace."  The basic concept of this sounds good on the surface, that we have been saved by the grace of the Father.  I'm ok with that.  Yet we were those same believers who sat in church every Sunday praising Jesus that He died on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins.  But when the dust settled, we were still living in fear of sinning again.  For its part, the mainstream church hammered home the idea that ALL have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  While this is indeed true of our OLD man, that in no way describes our life in Jesus today.  Growing up, I used to feel that my sin would forever be an issue between myself and the Father.  How could I get to heaven if I was in continuous sin?  How could I make myself holy enough to pass Gods judgement?  Hell seemed a definite reality.  I was spinning that hamster wheel for all it was worth.  But what about Jesus?  Didn't Jesus give Himself on the cross that our sins would be washed away?  The double speak coming from the pastors seemed confusing.  Yes, we were sinners despite the fact that Christ Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.  Eventually I had to make that choice of who was telling the truth, Jesus or the mainstream church leaders.  That was the easy part.  We are told in scripture that God never lies {To the Hebrews 6:18}.  We're also assured that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow {To the Hebrews 13:8}.  God will never lie, and Jesus will never change.  

For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may becoming Gods righteousness in Him.  

Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21, Concordant New Testament 

The mainstream church needs you!  It needs you to believe in their own interpretation of the gospel of Jesus.  That despite the fact that Christ gave Himself as propitiation for our sins, that sin continues to reign unchecked in our lives.  Therefore, you need to find a local church in order to deal with that sin in your life.  Once there, the pastor will guide you in which prayers, programs and duties you need to engage in to be more "Like Jesus."  How if you sacrifice hard enough that you can ultimately be "Closer to God."  This alternate gospel goes against that of the apostle Paul, who proclaims that it is Christ Jesus who lives in us {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  It goes contrary to the spoken words of Christ who proclaims that we are in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  The church will try to convince you that sin remains the issue in your life between yourself and God.  But it was Christ Jesus who gave Himself that we would no longer be slaves to sin {Paul to the Romans 6:6, Paul to the Colossians 1:14}.  Jesus dealt with the issue of sin, that our union with He and the Father would be complete.  We no longer need to worry that our sin will keep us from Gods love and mercy.  For it is through His love and mercy that Jesus was dispatched for the death of sin in our lives {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  We are not sinners saved by grace, but His children in union with Him. 

In this was manifested the love of God among us, that God has dispatched His only - begotten Son into the world that we should be living through Him. 

First Epistle of John 4: 9, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Who I Am

 

For since, in fact, through a man came death, through a man, also, comes the resurrection of the dead.  For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.

Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15: 21-22, Concordant New Testament 

I was once again reminded this week of who it is that I truly am.  In days of old, I would perceive the fact that others would not speak to me as something having to do with me.  These are the inner voices of condemnation which we sometimes resurrect within us.  The truth is, when these voices raise their ugly head these days, I know exactly how to deal with them.  There is a current ad playing on television for some fitness company with an excellent tagline.  The message..."Those voices inside your head, you're the only one that can hear them!"  How true!  All too often we waste our time and energy on people and things which don't really represent who it is that we truly are.  We have the wrong mindset.  So, who is it that we really are?  We are the representation of the Father who we are in union with.  Now, some might ask, "Are you saying that you're God?"  Look carefully at what I said, I am the REPRESENTATION  of the Father Whom I am in union with.  I remain in Jesus and I remain in the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  This is who I am.  It is God who created me in His likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  It is also God Who, from the dust of the ground, created my flesh vessel and breathed into it His breath of life {Genesis 2:7}.  This might be a bit difficult to comprehend, since too many people base their identity on their physical appearance.  Think of it, we spend millions of dollars each year in our quest to have a better physical appearance to our flesh vessel.  I have separated the flesh from our true identity for a reason, to better describe who it is that we are.  We know from the scriptures that we are not in flesh, but in spirit {Paul to the Romans 8:9-17}.  This is our true identity.  Our God created flesh serves the purpose of being the container for His spirit as well as our own.  In this we can say with confidence that God LIVES THROUGH US.  It is known in some Christian circles that the world will see God through those who know Him.  It is God who lives through us.  This is our union with Him {Paul to the Romans 8:29}.  

Yet you are not in flesh, but in spirit, if so be that Gods spirit is making its home in you.  Now if anyone has not Christs spirit, this one is not His.  Now if Christ is in you, the body, indeed, is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is life because of righteousness.  

Paul to the Romans 8: 9-10, Concordant New Testament 

Remember those voices in your head?  You are the very likeness of God, what is it that man can do to you to you?{Psalm 118:6}  For its part, the mainstream church has not done anything to reinforce our true identity in the Father.  On the contrary, the church will argue that such sinners as we can never be in the Father.  That might work if you are still living in the belief that sin is an issue in your life.  But the truth is that Christ Jesus took care of that issue on the cross.  Jesus BECAME SIN that it would be done away with {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  Jesus gave Himself that we would no longer BE SLAVES to our sin {Paul to the Romans 6:6-11}.  The mainstream church keeps the sin issue alive because they need it to survive.  If you feel that you have sinned, where is it that you will seek the forgiveness of God?  In the church.  The church will promise that you can indeed be "closer" to God.  The church will tell you that if you work hard enough that you can "Be like" Jesus.  The issue with the church is that our approach to God is based on what we can or cannot do.  The apostle Paul tells us differently.  It is Paul who proclaims that our salvation has nothing to do with our own efforts but everything to do with the love and grace of God {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  The mainstream church continues to ignore the truth that it is God who lives through us.  That we, as His creation, live in union with He and Christ.  This is who we are.  The fact that we may have never heard this gospel of truth or have somehow forgotten it does not take away from who it is that we are in the Father.  

For in grace, through faith, are you saved, and this is not out of you; it is Gods approach present, not of works, lest anyone should be boasting. 

Paul to the Ephesians 2: 8-9, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Case For Universalism

 

For even as, in Adam, all are dying, thus also, in Christ, shall all be vivified.

Paul to the Corinthians (1) 15: 22, Concordant New Testament 

It ranks as one of the hardest truths of the Lord which I have come to accept.  That each and every one of Gods children will ultimately be saved.  It's easy for me to proclaim that I myself will be saved, for I know this truth in my heart.  However, what of those who for one reason or another we do not deem worthy to be saved?  The brutal murderer, the bully or the one who extorts millions from those in need.  What about them?  Will they also be saved?  The short answer is...yes.  I realize that this fly's in the face of a lot of Christians these days, but that's ok.  I grew up in the mainstream church, where there were rewards for the good and consequences for those who bring evil unto the world.  Of course, this continues to be the mantra of the church today.  But let me present to you the words of Jesus, Who in Matthew proclaims "Do not judge, lest you be judged" {Matthews Account 7:1}.  In other words, it's not up to me to decide who it is that will be saved.  It's not up to any of us.  At the end of the day, God will decide who He will bring into His eternity with Him.  We can celebrate the grace of the Father that brings us unto Him through the works of Christ Jesus.  Yet we have no grounds to place condemnation upon those around us, that's Gods department.  This is the strongest argument I can make for the idea of Christian universalism, the idea that God will save all of His children in the end.  You probably won't hear this preached from the pulpits of the mainstream church anytime soon.  Why?  Because as believers we understand that there must be consequences for our actions here on earth.  Yet as believers we must also understand that it is God Himself who ultimately decides who is and isn't saved.  If we believe that we are saved through His love and grace, we must know that God has the right to bestow that love and grace on whomever He chooses.  The good news for us is that Gods very nature is love {First Epistle of John 4:8}, and that His desire is that all will return to Him {Paul to Timothy (1) 2:4}.  

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and losing one of them, is not leaving the ninety-nine in the wilderness and is going after the lost one, till He may be finding it? 

Lukes Account 15: 4, Concordant New Testament 

The mainstream church needs you!  It needs you to believe in what they are telling you.  It needs you to accept what they tell you hook, line and sinker.  That God has designated a place for those who do wrong.  This domain has come to be known in Christian circles as hell, and too many believers have been threatened by it.  Threatened that if they don't tow the line that they are headed to hell.  This, of course, is nothing more than the church passing judgement unto others.  They place themselves upon the throne of God and declare who it is that will suffer the agonies of an eternity in hell.  I've seen this played out far too many times in my life.  I have had the eternity in hell scare tactic used against me more than once.  I have used the hell scare tactic on others.  This is what we did.  Those who do wrong need to be punished!  Those who speak to the existence of hell quote scripture after scripture of how God brought punishment upon those who did wrong.  Yet they do not proclaim that His love for us transcends that punishment.  That He dispatched His Son that ALL the world might be saved through Him {Johns Account 3:17}.  The fact is, when we threaten others with eternity in hell, we are placing upon them a judgement, and the Father has given all judgement unto the Son {Johns Account 5:21-22}.  Christ Jesus gave Himself that He would be the propitiation not only for our sins, but for those of the entire world {First Epistle of John 2:2}.  The truth about universalism is that it is the Fathers desire that all come to Him {Titus 2:11}.  

~Scott~ 

The Image Of God

 

The grandest of all truths is that CHRIST IS THE IMAGE OF GOD!  If you want to know what God had in mind when He said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness," you have only to look at Jesus Christ. 

J. Preston Eby 

Growing up in the theology of the church, I always saw the image of God as that resembling myself.  After all, God has created man in His own image {Genesis 1:27}.  If I am indeed created in His image...then God looks like me.  Well, in all honesty, this flesh image of mine has never been my one true image of myself.  My true image is one of spirit and not flesh {Paul to the Romans 8:9}.  Jesus Himself walked the earth as the spirit likeness of the Father {Johns Account 10:30}.  When Jesus proclaimed that He and the Father were one, the Jewish authorities took up stones to stone Him for this apparent blasphemy {Johns Account 10:30-32}.  But Jesus was not lying here.  Not only could Jesus not lie, He was referring to His union with the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Jesus and the Father ARE one.  Jesus is the very image of God.  Notice that I did not proclaim that Jesus was God, but that He is the exact image of Him.  So it is that when we ourselves were created in His likeness, we became the image of the Father as well.  Now, before you accuse me of the worst of blasphemies, consider the words of the author J. Preston Eby, who proclaims that Christ is the very image of God, created in His exact likeness.  Indeed, when we 're told in Genesis that we are created in the likeness of God, this is exactly what our one true image is.  The flesh image we all share was as much a part of that first creation as being created in the Fathers likeness.  It is the second creation which formed our flesh from the dust of the ground and breathed into the flesh the breath of life, creating a living soul {Genesis 2:7}.  The Fathers likeness, in flesh form.  Just as it was when Christ Jesus walked the earth, fully God and man.  The Fathers likeness in the flesh.  

In Whom we are having the deliverance, the pardon of sins.  Who is the image of the invisible God, Firstborn of every creature, for in Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties, or authorities, all is created through Him and for Him. 

Paul to the Colossians 1: 14-16, Concordant New Testament 

Have you ever wondered what God was referring to when He proclaimed, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness?" {Genesis 1:26}.  Who is it that the Father is talking to?  After all, this is before His creation was complete.  Well, if we give heed to the words of the apostle Paul, our eyes are opened to the truth.  Paul proclaims that Christ Jesus is the "Firstborn of every creature."  Not only that, but that "In Him all is created."  Indeed, Christ and the Father were from the beginning {Johns Account 1: 1-5}.  It does us no good to play that game of who came first, Jesus or God, that answer is all too obvious.  All we need be knowing is that we are created in the likeness of the Father and that through Christ Jesus all things came into being.  How the world, through Christ, was created.  How I, through Christ, have been created in He and the Fathers likeness.  And not just me, but all of the Lords creation.  This is the union which we share in the Father and Christ {Johns Account 14:20}.  J. Preston Eby proclaims that the life of Jesus is the life of God "Transmuted into the form of our human life."  That we might experience the very being and nature of God in our human terms.  Paul touches on this in his passage on the indwelling Christ {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  We can be confident in proclaiming that we are the very image of the Father. 

The life of Jesus is the life of God transmuted into the form of our human life, so that we may see, touch, hear, know, understand, and experience the very being of God in human terms. 

J. Preston Eby 

~Scott~ 

Adams Choice

 

Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it brought a yearning to the eyes and that the tree was desirable for gaining insight.  So she took of its fruit and ate.  She also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate.  Then the eyes of both of them were unclosed, and they realized that they were naked.  So they sewed fig leaves together and made girdle skirts for themselves. 

Genesis 3: 6-7, Concordant Old Testament 

A few days ago, in a post titled "The rules committee," I made the point that the mainstream church had saddled the human race with more rules to live by.  Well, it seems that they had some assistance in that.  A good friend pointed out to me that it was not the church which created the rules to live by, but the first couple in the garden of Eden.  The moment that Adam and Eve first bit of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, "The eyes of both of them were unclosed" {Genesis 3:7}.  That is, they immediately became aware of what they had done.  In that moment, they had chosen to be independent from God.  How can one take and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and NOT understand what is good and what is bad?  But Adam had a problem, with his new found knowing he needed to establish some parameters of which behaviors were now good and which were indeed bad.  The creation of our rules to live by had been born.  The concordant version of the Genesis scripture is interesting to me because it describes Eves perception that the forbidden fruit brought a "Yearning to the eyes and that the tree was desirable for gaining insight" {Genesis 3:6}.  Now, this was BEFORE Eve had taken of the fruit and eaten.  Eve perceived with her eyes that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was indeed appealing to her sight.  So, she took of its fruit and she ate.  Not only that, but she shared the fruit with her husband as well.  Of course, upon taking of the fruit, both knew that they had screwed up big time.  This is the consequence of knowing the difference between good and evil.  We know when we do bad things.  Adam and Eve had been living the perfect union life with the God in the garden.  Until this point they had no reason to know the difference between good and evil because their eyes had not yet been opened.  All they knew was life in the garden and communion with God.  Adams choice changed all of that.  

Consequently, then, as it was through one offense for all mankind for condemnation, thus also it is for one just award for all mankind for life's justifying.  For even as, through the disobedience of the one man, the many were constituted sinners, thus also, through the obedience of the One, the many shall be constituted just.  

Paul to the Romans 5: 18-19, Concordant New Testament 

Imagine for a moment that you're Adam.  You've just disobeyed the Lord, and now you had this new found knowledge of what is good and what is not good.  You now need to apply your newfound knowledge to your life outside of the Lords garden.  You now need to set criteria for what is good behavior in the sight of the Lord and what isn't.  Remember, God was not out of the picture when He pushed Adam and Eve out of the garden.  Scripture tells us that Adam and Eve were not expelled from the garden for their disobedience, but the possibility that they may take of the tree of life, eat of it and live forever {Genesis 3:22}.  Of course, they knew nothing of death to this point.  Not long after their exodus from the garden, bad behavior reared its head again as Cain killed Able.  Now, obviously Cain knew that his actions were wrong, having been infected with the knowledge of good and evil via his parents.  Murder would fall into one of those negative rules to live be.  And so it is that because of Adams choice, the mainstream church took the opportunity to create the rules of right and wrong which they continue to preach today.  Of course, having been infected through the actions of Adam and Eve, we know full well the difference between good and bad behaviors.  Most people do their best to uphold their good behaviors.  Yet we all fall short eventually.  So it is that through the disobedience of one man (Adam), all sinned {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  Yet through the obedience of One (Christ Jesus), the world may be saved through Him {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  

~Scott~ 

What You Never Knew About Hell

 

Who shall incur the justice of eonian extermination from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of His strength.

Paul to the Thessalonians (2) 1: 9, Concordant New Testament 

For centuries, Christians worldwide have associated hell as the place of eternal damnation and punishment.  Hell was the place where those who never accepted Jesus or never performed up to the Lords standards ended up headed.  The mainstream church has used hell as the ultimate scare tactic in order to get weak kneed believers to fall in line with the church theology.  The fear of going to hell is real to a lot of people.  Growing up in the mainstream church, I was taught that hell meant Gods disapproval of me.  No matter how good I tried to be, the threat of an eternity in hell always hovered over my head like an axe about to fall.  I would sometimes have dreams of a lake of fire, which is how the church often describes this place.  So, I struggled to perform my best so as to avoid the lake of fire.  But what if all we've been told about the existence of hell has been wrong?  Think about this, has not God created all things?{Genesis 1: 1-31}.  Has not God created the heavens and the earth?  Is there anything which the Lord has not spoken into existence?  So it is that even the existence of hell has been created by our heavenly Father.  But why?  Why would a loving Father create such a place of torment and punishment?  Well, what if all we've been told about hell is wrong?  What was the Lords purpose for the creation of hell?  I believe that the apostle Paul refers to this in his letter to the Thessalonians.  Paul speaks of those who will be faced  with "Eonian extermination from the face of the Lord" {Paul to the Thessalonians (2) 1:9}.  That is, being apart from the Lord.  What greater punishment could there be than to be apart from God for eternity?  I believe that Paul's definition of hell is the most accurate.  Of course, no one has ever been to hell and lived to tell about it.  All which we have to inform us of its existence are the scriptures.  And the scriptures tell us to avoid the consequences of hell at all costs.  

For thus God loves the world, so that He gives His only-begotten Son, that everyone who is believing in Him should not be perishing, but may be having life eonian.  For God does not dispatch His Son into the world that He should be judging the world, but that the world may be saved through Him. 

Johns Account 3: 16-17, Concordant New Testament 

Jesus describes hell as a place of "Lamentation and gnashing of teeth" {Matthews Account 8:12}.  Indeed, not someplace any believer would want to go.  Jesus spends most a lot of time warning others to avoid hell at all costs.  Jesus knew the truth about this place.  The apostle Peter speaks of Jesus "Being gone to the spirits in jail" {Peter to the Dispersion (1) 3:19}.  Some have pointed to this passage as evidence that Jesus spent time in hell speaking to those who were there.  I believe that this is not only possible, but totally within the scope of love of the Father.  The apostle John refers to this in one of the most iconic passages we know.  That Jesus did not come to condemn the world, BUT that the world would be saved through Him {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  So, why wouldn't a loving God desire for all to be saved?  Does knowing this truth affect your overall view of hell?  It did for me.  In the film Come Sunday, bishop Carlton Pearson is expelled from his church simply for speaking to the truth that there is not a hell.  Of course, this fly's in the face of the centuries old mainstream church narrative.  I do not put it past God to ensure the salvation of all of His children.  After all, the true nature of God is love above all else{First Epistle of John 4:8}.  So, what then do we say about hell?  Well, two things which I can be assured of is that there is indeed a hell and that it's nothing at all like the church told me it was.  

If you could save your own father from going to hell, wouldn't you?  

Bishop Carlton Pearson ~ Come Sunday 

~Scott~ 

The Rules Commitee

 

Who rouses Him from among the dead, you also being dead to the offenses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He vivifies us together jointly with Him, dealing graciously with all our offenses, erasing the handwriting of the decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and has taken it away out of the midst, nailing it to the cross. 

Colossians 2: 13 - 14, Concordant New Testament 

I watched an internet video the other night of a street preacher plying his trade when something he said caught my attention.  His claim, "If you're in a church that is telling you don't do this or don't do that, find another church!"  I would tend to agree.  Over the centuries the mainstream church has become less about speaking Jesus and more about being the default rules committee for all of mankind.  Indeed, the church will lecture us what we should do, when we should do it and who we should do it with.  All of this in an effort to "Be more like Jesus."  The issue that I have with this overloading of rules and regulations is that when we are talking of the freedom we find in our union with Christ, there is very little room for the rules and regulations of the mainstream institutional church.  Why?  Because rules and regulations fly in the face of freedom.  How is it that we can be free if we are continuing to hold fast to the restrictions of the church? {Paul to the Galatians 5:1}.  Granted, these rules to live by have deep seeded roots in the original ten commandments handed down to Moses {Nehemiah 9:13}.  But I would argue that the ancient Israelites made a bad choice by building that altar while Moses was up on the mountain communing with God.  For our part, we all have made the wrong choice from time to time {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  So, even though the mainstream church rules committee has given us rules to live by, they continue to preach that sin remains the issue.  Go figure.  Despite having rules to live by, we continue to prove ourselves as sinners in the eyes of the church.  Well, maybe it's not we who are the ones to blame after all.  You know who it is that doesn't condemn us of sin?  God!  It is the Father who dispatched His Son to become sin that we would be free of it {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  It is Christ Jesus who gave Himself, by His own choice, to die on that cross for us {Lukes Account 22:42}.  The reality is, when God created us in His image, He created us with the innate ability to choose freely on our own.  To choose between the rules set before us or union with Christ {Johns Account 14:20}.  

A wretched man am I!  What will rescue me out of this body of death?  Grace!  I thank God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Consequently, then, I myself, with the mind, indeed, am slaving for Gods law, yet with the flesh for sins law. 

Paul to the Romans 7: 24-25, Concordant New Testament 

It is common knowledge that despite the myriad of traffic law regulations in the nation today that people continue to break these rules set before us.  It seems that the more rules that are put before us, that the more of these rules we disregard.  Knowing this, how is it that the rules to live by instituted by the church will go unbroken?  In my opinion, it is simply a open invitation to behave badly.  Or, the invitation to CHOOSE to behave badly.  For being created in the image of the Father, we have that ability to choose what we will do each and every day.  The apostle Paul spoke to this in Romans {Paul to the Romans 6:1-2}.  Paul posed the question of "Persisting in sin that grace may be increasing?"  But as the apostle proclaims, "We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it?"  Indeed, it is Christ Jesus who has not only taken away those decrees which were against us, but has declared us dead, indeed, to sin {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  So it is that I agree with the words of the preacher, if you're in a church that is telling you what to do, how to do it and who to do it with...find another church!  

What, then, shall we declare?  That we may be persisting in sin that grace may be increasing?  May it not be coming to that!  We, who died to sin, how shall we still be living in it? 

Paul to the Romans 6: 1 - 2, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

What Sin?

 

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 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. 

Paul to the Romans 6: 6 - 11, Concordant New Testament 

A good friend told me some time ago something encouraging.  That when we come before the Lord seeking forgiveness for whatever sin we may be feeling guilty over, we might be surprised by the Fathers response.  That response being, "What sin?"  Yes, God may inquire of us what sin we are feeling so guilty over.  See, in the Fathers eyes, whatever sin we might continue to be struggling with has long ago been accounted for by Christ Jesus on the cross.  The mainstream church is famous for preaching the doctrine of "Sin management" to the world.  But, if there is no sin, can there even be sin management?  To speak to the existence of sin is to deny the work of Jesus at the cross.  I get that many well meaning Christians will not agree with or accept this, but it's true.  For what did Jesus give Himself on the cross for?  Jesus paid that sin debt which was for all intents and purposes was intended for us {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  We are the ones who sinned {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  Jesus is Gods response to that sin {John 3: 16-17}.  Jesus was not dispatched into the world to condemn us for our sins, but that the world would be saved THROUGH HIM.  The scriptural evidence that Jesus nailed sin to that cross is overwhelming, yet many people continue to struggle with the guilt and shame of their perceived misdeeds.  Many people worry day and night if God will ever forgive them.  Not only has the Father forgiven us through His Son, He seeks to assure us of this through the words of the apostles.  To struggle with sin is to subject ourselves to the pain of not being sure if God even cares.  That's no way to live.  It was never the Fathers desire for His children to live a life of condemnation.  This is not living free in Christ.  

Everyone who is remaining in Him is not sinning.  Everyone who is sinning sees Him not, neither knows Him. 

First Epistle of John 3: 6, Concordant New Testament 

Do you know Christ in your life?  Have you seen Jesus in you?  If not then you might need a reset.  Paul speaks to the indwelling Christ in his letter to the Galatians {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Most believers are not aware that they live now in union with Jesus and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  This isn't something special only reserved for the righteous.  This is the truth of our lives in Christ today!  The reason that so many people remain unaware of this truth is due to the existence of the dual gospels.  One spoken and preached by the mainstream church and the other spoken through the apostle Paul.  For all intents and purposes, we have competing messages being spoken concerning Jesus.  One of His birth and crucifixion and the other of our life in Him today.  Something I always tell a few good friends of this second gospel is that we are battling thousands of years of mainstream church theology.  This explains why the truth of the indwelling Christ spoken by Paul is seldom preached in the pulpits of the mainstream church.  Of course, this does not invalidate the words of Paul simply because the church chooses not to accept it.  But there's more to this.  If we agree that Christ Jesus was crucified on the cross for the redemption of sins, then we also must agree that this only occurred ONCE.  Paul reiterates this point in Romans {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  Jesus HAS died for the forgiveness of sins.  Jesus HAS paid that debt in full.  What sin has the death of Jesus left uncovered?  

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

Johns Account 19: 30, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~  

The Jesus Bath

 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything, but a new creation. 

Paul to the Galatians 6: 15, Concordant New Testament 

Have you been washed?  You know, washed in the bath of Jesus?  I personally have been baptized three times in my lifetime.  Once after I was born and then two more times as the spirit led me.  Each time I had the temporary feeling that I was indeed closer to God.  I had proven myself to him.  But then the teachings of all have sinned came knocking once again and I felt guilty all over again.  It has been said that baptism is but a public testament to our faith in the Lord.  I guess I could agree with that, but is that really what God is looking for?  The apostle Paul tells us that the Father is not interested in ritual, but in our own realization that we are a new creation in Christ {Paul to the Galatians 6:15}.  I can honestly say that rituals cannot bring about that revelation within us, I am living proof of that.  Each and every time that I was baptized I felt a brief sense of being close to Him, but that was a passing feeling.  You could say that baptism is a band aid to the ages old problem of sin in our lives.  We take the Jesus bath expecting to be complete in Him, that our lives will suddenly turn in the right direction.  It doesn't work that way.  When we are baptized, we are confirming our faith in God.  But again, do we really need a ritual for that?  Can't I simply proclaim my faith and union in the Father as I do these days?  Well, when we're dealing with the mainstream church, there's always a ritual for most everything.  We have rituals for how we give, for how we pray and for how we worship the Lord.  Again I ask, is this really needed?  I would say no.  Paul proclaims that Christ has removed these requirements from our lives once and for all {Paul to the Colossians 2:14}.  What good is the free gift of God if we need to prove ourselves to Him?  

Erasing the handwriting of the decrees against us, which was hostile to us, and has taken it away out of the midst, nailing it to the cross. 

Paul to the Colossians 2: 14, Concordant New Testament 

It has never been Gods intention that we should prove ourselves to Him.  That we should be proving ourselves worthy of His love and grace.  Jesus took care of all of that at the cross.  But wait, wasn't Jesus Himself baptized by John the Baptist?  Yes, but there was a purpose for this.  That purpose was, as Jesus said, "For us to fulfill all righteousness" {Matthews Account 3:15}.  Jesus certainly didn't need to publicly proclaim His faith, yet being fully human as well, the Father allowed John this ritual.  We must realize that the Jesus bath has never been about a transformation of our lives.  That comes only from our realization of the indwelling Christ in us {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  The church did not open my eyes to a life in Christ through baptism.  This was revealed in me years later through the encouragement of a good friend and the truth of the writings of Paul the apostle.  Paul spoke to the reality of Christ Jesus being our life {Colossians 3:4}.  We live now in union with Jesus and the Father {John 14:20}.  Again, this realization did not come from the ritual of baptism, but the revelation of the Father in me.  I do not need to prove myself worthy, only to realize the free gift which He has given me.  

~Scott~ 

Freedom In Christ?

 Are you not aware that to whom you are presenting yourselves as slaves for obedience, his slaves you are, whom you are obeying, whether sin for death, or for obedience for righteousness.

Paul to the Romans 6: 16, Concordant New Testament 

Christians often point to the fact that we as believers can be free in Christ Jesus.  Free to live a life free from condemnation.  Of course, these same Christians will harp on the idea that we still need to worry about sin as well.  How is it that we can be free in Jesus if we're still worried about the sin He has taken away?  So, is there indeed freedom in Christ?  Certainly, but not if you're to interpret the words of the apostle literally.  We often toss around the word slavery when we discuss our sin nature.  Indeed, we were once slaves to sin {Paul to the Romans 6:6}.  What has changed that is the work of Christ Jesus on the cross.  Through Jesus, we are no longer sinners.  I will submit the definition of slave for consideration.  A slave is "A person who is forced to work for and obey another and is considered to be their property; an enslaved person."  So, do you still think that you're free in Jesus?  The apostle Paul refers to slavery as "Presenting yourselves as slaves for obedience" {Paul to the Romans 6:16}.  Paul refers to our former obedience to sin, and our obedience to righteousness in which we were slaves.  In todays current culture, the issue of slavery continues to be a hot topic, which is why I understand why the mainstream church has not discussed the issue of slavery to sin AND slavery to righteousness all that much.  As slaves to sin, were we ever transported from our homes against our will?  As slaves to sin, were we ever forced to work for another?  As slaves to sin, were we ever punished physically for in our attempts to be free?  See where I'm going here?  I have a friend who claims that total freedom is an illusion, that mankind has always been a slave to someone or something.  I can see some truth in this belief.  For we were once slaves to sin {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  But it is also Paul who proclaims that we are no longer under the bondage of sin {Paul to the Galatians 5:1, Paul to the Romans 6:6}.  So, if we are no longer in bondage to sin, who or what are we in bondage to?  Realizing that we must indeed be in bondage to something or someone, what would that be?  

For freedom Christ frees us!  Stand firm, then, and be not again enthralled with the yolk of slavery.

Paul to the Galatians 5: 1, Concordant New Testament 

Now for the kicker, who is it that goes the extra mile these days to keep us in bondage to sin?  Who is it that constantly reminds us that sin continues to be an issue in our lives?  That would be the mainstream institutional church.  For reasons known but to them, the church continues to speak the lie that we continue to be in bondage to sin.  A good friend of mine recently commented that the church needs to cease and desist from this behavior.  I agree.  For preaching the bondage of sin overshadows the truth of the freedom we find in Christ Jesus.  Yes, the church can speak all day long of the freedom we find in Jesus, but they nullify that by speaking to our own continued bondage to sin.  If you're sitting in your pew on Sunday longing for that freedom in Christ, you will certainly be reminded of your continued bondage to sin.  Of course, this goes against the truth of the gospel of Jesus, who became sin on our behalf that we would no longer be in bondage to it {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  Most believers understand that Jesus died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins.  Yet, many still believe that they remain in the bondage of sin.  They present prayers each day for the Lords forgiveness.  I don't blame them, I blame the message they continue to receive from the pulpits.  Paul speaks that we have indeed been set free of the bondage of sin by Christ Jesus {Paul to the Galatians 5:1}.  The question we need to be asking is, who are we now in bondage to?  

~Scott~ 

The Union Life

 

In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you 

Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament 

The question was suggested this morning.  How is it that we know that we are in Christ Jesus?  I look back on the day in which the man Saul came to realize that the spirit of Christ was indeed in him.  It is Paul who proclaims that it is God who revealed His Son in him {Paul to the Galatians 1:16}.  It is also Paul who tells us that when we are in Christ we are a new creation {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:17}.  But how is it that we KNOW that we are in Christ Jesus?  Speaking for myself, I believe that I am in Christ for two reasons.  First, the scriptures have proclaimed to me that this is true.  Paul instructed young Timothy on the value of the written scriptures {2 Timothy 3:16}.  That all scripture is indeed inspired by God.  Knowing this, I can be assured that I am indeed in Christ Jesus.  But it goes even deeper than that.  For I suggest that simply reading the word will not produce the knowing of our union with Christ.  Many well meaning Christians have read the passages of Jesus giving Himself on that cross yet they still struggle with the sin issue.  Reading and knowing in our hearts are two different things altogether.  It wasn't the written scriptures that drove Saul to the realization that Christ was in him.  There was something else involved.  Paul KNEW that Jesus was in him.  For his part, the man Saul was well educated in the teachings of the Jewish texts.  He was raised in that environment.  Consequently, those Jewish texts definitely did not speak to the truth of Christ Jesus in us.  So, Saul would have been unaware of this truth before his trip down the road to Damascus.  But when the time had come, the Lord chose to REVEAL to Paul His Son in him.  This brings me to the second truth of how it is that we know that we are in union with Christ Jesus.  Just as it was revealed to Saul that Jesus was in him, so the Father chooses to reveal our presence in Christ as well.  In this we know that we are in Him.  

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

Paul to the Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

My mother had a saying whenever it was that I would ask her how it was that she knew God was indeed real and living.  Yes, as a young whipper snapper I would ask these questions.  My mom would smile and say "I know that I know."  She knew in her heart that God was real and personal to her.  She knew that all she needed to do was speak His name and that He would listen.  Of course, having been taught in the mainstream church, I doubt that she understood the truth of the indwelling Christ as I do, but she may have understood this as well.  Just like my mother before me, I also know that I know.  I know that it is the Father who revealed His Son in me.  I also know that I now live in union with He and the Father.  Jesus has proclaimed that when we see Him that we see the Father as well {Johns Account 14:9}.  In the end, this all comes down to our own deeper knowing of what has already been spoken to be true.  The Lord has proclaimed it, I believe it!  Of course, the true litmus test of this knowing is when the rubber hits the road and we are faced with life situations.  Do we panic, or do we rest in the assurance of our knowing that we are in the Father through it all?  We do not live as individuals, but as His creation in union with Him.  

Philip is saying to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficing us."  Jesus is saying to him, "So much time I am with you, and you do not know Me, Philip!  He who has seen Me has seen the Father, and how are you saying, 'Show us the Father'? 

Johns Account 14: 8-9, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Knowing Our Place

 

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. 

Paul to the Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

I am convinced that being in the Lord means accepting all which He is.  This means not only the world around us, but ourselves as well.  Yet, far too many people, believers and non believers alike, express their dissatisfaction daily with the Lords creation in themselves.  I admit, I have been a partaker of this thinking as well.  What am I talking about?  I'm speaking of that part of us which the Lord God created from the dust of the ground {Genesis 2:7}.  It is God who breathed into our flesh creation the breath of life and "The human became a living soul."  Yes, we were created in the Fathers very spirit image {Genesis 1:27}, but it is the flesh which often gives us the most difficulty.  We often blame the flesh for the existence of sin.  We struggle to keep the "Desires of the flesh" at bay.  But what are we struggling with?  God did not create us with something which goes against His desire for us.  God did not create our flesh bodies that they would be a hinderance to Him.  The apostle Paul speaks to this in his letter to the church in Corinth.  Paul proclaims that far from being a bastion for evil and wicked thoughts, our flesh bodies are "A temple of the holy spirit in you" {Paul to the Corinthians (1) 6:19-20}.  Knowing this, would we not do our best to take care of our own flesh body?  I know that this has become a focal point in my life the past few years.  According to a recent survey, 58% of those surveyed claimed to engage in exercise daily.  I myself usually shoot for six days/week on average.  Now, we should have little difficulty with someone desiring to improve their flesh body realizing that it is the temple of the spirit in them as Paul points out.  But this isn't always the case.  For there are those out there, believers as well as non believers who use exercise as a means to improve the appearance of the flesh body.  I see far too many of these posers in the gym that I frequent.  Standing in front of that mirror and flexing those muscles.  Granted, I have no idea whether they are aware of the significance of their flesh body, I simply know that they take a lot of pride in what they have accomplished through fitness.  This might be where the line between caring for the temple of the spirt in us and our own pride needs to be drawn.  

Or are you not aware that your body is a temple of the holy spirit in you, which you have from God, and you are not your own?  For you are bought with a price.  By all means glorify God in your body. 

Paul to the Corinthians (1) 6: 19-20, Concordant New Testament 

John is a believer who as far as I can tell, loves the Lord.  John is also a fitness nut who spends a great deal of time devoted to his exercise.  In my conversations with him, he believes that what he is doing is caring for his flesh body the best way he can.  He understands that it is God Who created his flesh.  John is also a fellow gym rat, one of the few people I've come to know at the gym I frequent.  To understand the line between caring for the temple and stoking our own pride is to see the difference between a man such as John and the other posers at the gym.  Do we understand the significance of caring for the flesh, or do we exercise simply to be more physically appealing to others?  I would suggest that even believers might be confused on this topic.  When I first began weight training, my goal was to be more attractive.  However, in recent years I've come to realize that it's far more than that.  For not only do I know the Lords place in me, but I know my place in Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  I know that I do not exercise alone, but as Christ who I live in union with.  What in the world would Jesus need with exercise?  Well, it is through Christ that I have come to know the small group of people known as the gym rats.  As I work in Christ to preserve His temple in me, He works through me in the lives of those around me.  Pride is no longer part of that equation. 

~Scott~ 

Finding Ourselves

 

Yet you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that God's spirit is making its home in you.  Now if anyone has not Christ's spirit, this one is not His. 

Paul to the Romans 8: 9, Concordant New Testament 

There has been a big push in recent years for people to find out who they are.  Someone might identify as one of the opposite sex while another might identify as someone of a different race entirely.  There have even been those who have found their identity in different animals.  Well, let me present a little bit of truth into this conversation shall we.  Wishing something were true DOES NOT mean that it is.  Just because you now see yourself as someone of a different sex, you're physical attributes betray who you think you are.  For those who are in the know, the Lord created mankind in His own image {Genesis 1:27}.  But He didn't stop there, God also formed our flesh body from the dust of the ground and breathed into man the breath of life and the flesh became a living soul {Genesis 2:7}.  However, I understand that not everyone sees things from the way they were originally meant to be.  I understand that there are those whose eyes have been blinded by the lies of the accuser.  I get it.  For it is Satan himself who spoke the lie unto Eve in the garden.  Adam and Eve knew that eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was forbidden, yet Satan managed to convince them otherwise.  The accuser claimed that were they to eat of the forbidden tree that they "Will not surely die" as the Lord had promised {Genesis 3:4}.  On the contrary, Satan claimed that were they to eat of the tree, that "Your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" {Genesis 3:5-6}.  The rest, as they say, is history.  Satan has successfully introduced the lie into Gods children that we can be independent of the Lord.  This is, of course, ridiculous thinking.  But the mainstream church has taken to speaking this separation lie for thousands of years.  Being like God.  Getting closer to Jesus.  It's all the same lie spoken by the accuser.  But here is my question, how is it that one who has ALWAYS had the Father in them suddenly be without Him?  It is a well known fact that God never changes {Malachi 3:6}.  God is where He has always been, in us.  We are the ones who have chosen to identify as someone different.  

There is no independent, self-operating self in the universe, except for the One who calls Himself the I AM {Exodus 3:14} and says, "I am the Lord and there is none else, there is no God beside Me" {Isaiah 45:5}.  

Norman Grubb ~ No Independent Self 

So, who is it that you choose to identify as?  Are you a biological man choosing to identify as a woman?  Are you an African American choosing now to identify as a different race?  Well tell me, how's that working out for you?  It is painfully obvious that simply being a man dressing as a woman DOES NOT make you female.  Also, believing that you are your own individual does not make it true.  You have been created in the Lords image, and that image is not the image which we look upon in the mirror each day.  You were created in the Fathers spirit image, that is who you truly are.  No woke liberal thinking will ever change that.  Remember, God does not change.  It might be difficult for many people to accept, but you have been living a lie.  Until I came to know the truth of Christ Jesus in me, I lived that very same lie.  I saw God as being far away from where I was.  I grew up a believer believing the lie which had been taught to me.  That is, that as a sinner I could never be close to God.  Yet what I failed to comprehend was that through Christ Jesus on the cross my sins was no more.  It is Jesus who Himself became sin that it would be nullified {Paul to the Corinthians(2) 5:21}.  Jesus took upon Himself the sin of the entire world and put it to death {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  No matter how much we want to believe in the lie of Satan, we cannot escape the truth of who we are.  

For the One not knowing sin, He makes to be a sin offering for our sakes that we may be becoming God's righteousness in Him. 

Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5: 21, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Works Of Jesus

 In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament 

The works of Jesus during His ministry are often referred to as miracles, and for good reason.  For these were the divine works of the Father through Him {Johns Account 5:19}.  The sick were healed, the hungry were fed and the dead rose from the grave.  These are the works of Jesus.  A good friend reminded me the other day that Jesus is a loving person Who loves to give.  But are these works of Jesus simply something of the past?  Not at all.  Of course, in order to understand this one needs to understand the union we share with Christ Jesus and the Father.  We know that the Father is in the Son, but the Son is also in us as well.  The apostle Paul referred to this truth in his letter to the Galatians {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  If we understand that Jesus is indeed a loving person (Present tense), it is not that far of a stretch to assume that Jesus, being in us, can accomplish His works through us.  Of course, many in the mainstream church might think this impossible, they do not understand the union we share with the Father and the Son.  Indeed, it is not beyond the Fathers reach to work His desires through His children Whom He has always been an intimate part of.  God is not just an overseer sitting on His golden throne in heaven with Jesus by His side.  From the beginning, He has been a part of us.  It is the Lord who created us in His own image {Genesis 1:27}.  It is the Father who then breathed into His creation the breath of life, giving life to our flesh formed from the dust of the earth {Genesis 2:7}.  God has been in union with us from the beginning.  Knowing this, it is easy to see that the Father will indeed work His desire through us.  And not only we who believe, but also in someone we might never think would follow the Lord.  

"I am the Grapevine.  You are the branches.  He who is remaining in Me, and I in him, this one is bringing forth much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing" 

Johns Account 15: 5, Concordant New Testament 

The sticking point which many people run into is the fact that God can indeed work even in those who outwardly give no indication that they even know the Lord.  My friend was spot on, Jesus IS a loving person Who loves to give.  The reason we fail to see Christ in others is because we judge others by an outward appearance.  Your neighbor might not act like he knows the Lord, but does that disqualify him from being used by the Father?  Of course not!  We believers do not hold a monopoly on being Gods chosen, we're simply a few of the countless children of the Lord.  When I mentioned that God has been in union with us from the beginning, I was referring to all of humanity.  God did not create two types of humans, believers and non believers.  We are all created in the Fathers image.  I am reminded of the story of an American aviator taken prisoner after being shot down over North Vietnam.  This man eventually would come to be in the presence of one of the most brutal Vietnamese army commanders of the war.  Many prisoners lost their lives to his tactics.  Yet when the young aviator came to be in this brutal commanders camp something changed.  Whether out of mutual respect or a sense of morality, the young aviator was not mistreated by his Vietnamese hosts.  Indeed, he survived to return home once again.  Years later, the mans family came across a letter his wife had written during his time in Vietnam.  She prayed for her husbands safe return.  Now, I have no doubt that the Father is capable of working through what we see as the worst of humanity in order to accomplish His works.  By seeing the Father in us it is easier to see the works of the Father.  

~Scott~ 

The Gospel Of Prosperity

 

"Now no one can be slaving for two lords, for either he will be hating one and loving the other, or he will be upholding one and despising the other.  You cannot be slaving for God and mammon" 

Matthews Account 6: 24, Concordant New Testament 

I noticed the other night on a feed I was watching a montage of different mainstream church pastors glorifying the fact that they were rich.  Not only that, but they proclaimed that if their congregations increased their tithing, that they would prosper as well.  There was Joel Osteen, Kenneth Copeland and Creflo Dollar (Yes, that's his name) all glorifying the glory of the almighty dollar.  Welcome to the prosperity gospel.  This is the home of the ornate mega church and the upper income church leadership.  The first I had ever heard of this type of belief was in a former church of mine when they began to speak of the "Name it and claim it" idea.  Simply put, pulling passages from the scriptures that the Lord will provide, they insist that His children can indeed ask for anything, even wealth.  Now, I never personally prayed that the Lord would supply wealth unto me, but I do admit to praying for various needs.  In my opinion, this is just one more way in which man has corrupted the mainstream church for his own gain.  Many believers are unfamiliar with the practice of the tithe.  The tithe, as those of the days of old knew it, was meant to support the Levite temple priests whose sole occupation was that of functionaries of the temple.  These Levites were responsible for the upkeep of the temple and the teaching of the nation of Israel.  They were far from rich.  This was the original intent of the tithe.  However, these days that intent has been hijacked to include everything from new church buildings to ministry events.  All of this, of course, on top of the pastors salary.  Growing up, it was common knowledge that the pastoral ministry was not a profession which people chose to get rich.  On the contrary, it was a calling.  Those who entered the pastoral field were often "Led" to do so by the spirit.  Financial gain was not the motivation.  Serving the Lord was something many were led to do.  

Will a human defraud Elohim?  For you are defrauding Me.  Yet you say, in what way do we defraud you?  In the tithe and the heave offering!  With a curse you curse Me, and Me you are defrauding - the nation, all of it.  Bring the entire tithe to the treasure house, and viands shall come to be in My house.  And test Me, indeed in this, says Yahweh of hosts, if I will not open for you crevices in the heavens and I empty for you a blessing until there is insufficient storage. 

Malachi 3: 8-10, Concordant Old Testament 

In recent history, the institutional church has done an excellent job of using the scriptures found in Malachi to bestow guilt and shame unto their congregations when the tithing totals are not where they think they should be.  I can recall more than a few Sunday mornings where the senior pastor would lay down a "Tithing challenge" to those in the congregation in an effort to get them to give more.  This challenge even included the "Guarantee" that if they increased their giving and the Lord did not bless them financially that the church would reimburse them for what they gave in extra tithing.  I can recall more than a few lower income families who scrimped and saved extra money to tithe in the hopes of Gods financial blessings.  I was never on board for this.  It didn't take long for me to see these tithing challenges for what they really were, the churches attempt for financial gain.  Now, if the pastor would have simply put the word out that the church needed funds for building maintenance I probably would have reacted with less skepticism, but this was a shakedown.  I have heard stories of a few families who were struggling financially and ended up asking the pastor for their refund on their tithe and the pastor doing his part to convince them to "Give God more time."  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see through this smoke screen.  The prosperity gospel has never been about the prosperity of the church of Christ Jesus, but the financial gains of a few.  

~Scott~ 

Is This Really Me?

So Elohim created humanity in His image; in the image of Elohim He created it: male and female He created them 

Genesis 1: 27, Concordant Old Testament 

What is the real you?  Do we know?  Too many times I've heard someone proclaim that they "Weren't acting like themselves."  How would they even know?  We humans are possessed with many differing moods for different occasions.  At times our emotions run high and those around us wonder if this is who we really are inside.  As usual, I'll be looking into this from the spiritual perspective of my belief in Christ Jesus.  Our group has often discussed that God is in us no matter what, and on this I agree.  But, is God a part of our positive and negative emotions as well?  I would say yes, and here's why.  From the beginning, the Lord has been a permanent part of who we are.  He created us in His very image {Genesis 1:27}.  Of course, this image in which we were created is not the one I grew up believing.  For we were created in the spirit image of God, that is who we truly are {Paul to the Romans 8:9}.  Just as God is in the spirit, so is our one true identity in Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  Most Christians have never known of the second creation.  This is something which I have known for some time from scripture, yet never considered it a second part of our creation until now.  This second creation occurred when God formed from the dust of the ground the flesh image which we often perceive as who we are {Genesis 2:7}.  So it is that our spirit image is encased in the flesh, yet still a part of the Lords creation.  Many Christian pastors rail against the wickedness of the flesh for its part in our wrong behaviors.  But I would point out that each and every wrong behavior we have ever participated in began in the mind.  Before the wicked action even took place, the thought to do so registered within us.  But where is God in all of this?  Right where He has always been, in union with us.  Remember, God DOES NOT change {Malachi 3:6, To the Hebrews 13:8}.  God began in us, and that is where He has remained.  

That which is begotten by the flesh is flesh, and that which is begotten by the spirit is spirit. 

Johns Account 3: 6, Concordant New Testament 

Knowing this, what can be said of our true identity?  Who is it that we really are?  Are we simply just a mix of flesh and cells which will turn once again to dust when our days are complete?  If this were indeed true the Lord would have told us so.  But that is not our true identity.  That is not who we really are.  Paul spoke to this truth of the indwelling Christ in Galatians {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Paul understood that he no longer lived, but that he was living in Christ Jesus.  Yes, his flesh resembled the man Paul, but his one true identity was in Christ Jesus.  But wait, where was God when Paul was persecuting the early church?  The same place He always had been, in Paul.  This is the issue which prevents too many believers from seeing themselves to be in union with the Lord, the works of the flesh.  How could God be in the presence of such deviant behavior?  I have a better question for you, how could we forget who we really are?  Of course, to forget who we truly are we first need to understand who it is we truly are.  Sadly, many believers are not aware of this truth.  Instead, we follow mainstream church backed teachings which tell us that God cannot be in the presence of sin.  We mistakenly believe that we are still sinners, and that we are separated from God because of this.  Remember, God never changes.  If He was with us from the beginning, He is with us now.  It is we who have forgotten not only our true identity, but our union with the Father.  

~Scott~ 

Mirror Images

 

So Elohim created humanity in His image; in the image of Elohim He created it: male and female He created them. 

Genesis 1: 27, Concordant Old Testament 

When I watch the news these days, it's never to see what's been happening.  No, I watch the news occasionally to see how far we've gone over the edge.  The other night was no different.  While watching a national news broadcast I saw a story on a group of college protestors demanding that the world saw them for who they were.  That is, seeing them for their appropriate gender and/or identity.  Apparently the reporter had made the mistake of referring to a female agitator as "Ma'am."  Of course, this elicited the typical outraged reaction we've seen from those who feel different than they really are.  Now, for those who have read this page before, my aim is to see things from my perspective of being a believer in Christ Jesus.  Therefore, when I hear that someone has somehow come to see themselves as totally different than the one which the Lord created, you just know that I'm going to question that belief.  As with most issues with our identity, this one has its roots in the lie which Satan spoke to Adam and Eve in the garden.  It is the deceiver who proclaimed that if Eve took and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that her "Eyes would become unclosed, and you will become like Elohim, knowing good and evil {Genesis 3:5-6, Concordant Old Testament}.  That is, they would be like God.  Who wouldn't take that deal?  But, what Adam and Eve failed to account for is that they ALREADY were like God.  Indeed, the first couple had the spirit of the Lord already in them.  It is God who breathed into Adam the breath of life and his spirit became living flesh {Genesis 2:7}.  It is God who took from Adam to create Eve {Genesis 2:21-22}.  Make no mistake, we are Gods creation.  He has always been an intimate part of each of us from the beginning.  Yet somehow, Adam and Eve were deceived into believing that they were separated from the Lord.  This thinking on their part is part of a larger conversation.  So it is that this creation has come to believe that we are indeed our own separate individuals.  Of course, believing that something is true does not exactly make it that way.  

There is no independent, self-operating self in the universe, except for the One who calls Himself the I AM {Exodus 3:14} and says, "I am the Lord and there is none else, there is no God beside Me" {Isaiah 45:5}

No Independent Self, Norman Grubb

The words of the writer Norman Grubb are pretty difficult to argue with, for they are based on the truth of the scripture.  There is NO independent, self-operating self in the universe, but for God.  Of course, this fly's directly in the face of each and every wanna be he/she/what or them out there.  In the eyes of the Lord, this is a false identity.  Of course, I see far too few Christian leaders speaking out on the existence of these false identities and trendy pronouns.  For to do so would bring forth the wrath of the modern cult culture.  But my loyalties do not lie with appeasing the masses or filling pews on Sundays.  I call it for what it is...the lies of the devil.  I do not believe that you're a woman in a mans body or vice versa.  What you are is confused about your one true identity.  You've bought into the lie of the deceiver hook line and sinker.  When I look in the mirror, I see the One Whom I live in union with, Christ Jesus.  Now, people will throw all sorts of insults and accusations my way, but that's par for the course when we challenge the pop culture beliefs.  My task is not to argue my point of view, but to pray that their eyes would be opened.  In the end, this situation belongs to the Lord.  One can never doubt that the Lord brings those He has chosen to Christ {Johns Account 10:29}.  In the end, it is through Christ that all will be saved {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  

~Scott~ 

Only Jesus

 

In the beginning was the word, and the word was toward God, and God was the word.  This was in the beginning toward God.  All came into being through it, and apart from it not even one thing came into being which has come onto being. In it was life, and the life was the light of men. 

Johns Account 1: 1-4, Concordant New Testament 

There is popular nationalistic catch phrase which supposedly states the values of this nation.  You can hear it spoken every now and then in patriotic circumstances...God, Family and Country!  The only kudos I would give to whoever devised this phrase is that at least they had the knowledge to place God first where He rightfully belongs.  But somehow I don't feel that the desire of the Lord is to be simply first on our list.  No, I believe that the Lord aims to be our ONLY one.  Our only hope.  Our only life and our only Father.  The writer Norman Grubb makes it clear that God comes second place to no one.  In his book, No Independent Self, Grubb speaks to scripture from Isaiah to illustrate this point.  "I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside Me" {Isaiah 45:5}.  Growing up in the institutional church, I was taught to believe that anything which takes the place of God in our lives is to be considered an idol.  I agree with very few teachings from the mainstream church, but I agree with this particular one.  If God indeed desires to be first and foremost in our life, then He is probably not on board with other things hijacking His importance.  Things like our job, money and even at times our families.  Remember, there is God and NONE other.  We recall that God tested the faith of Abraham by calling upon him to sacrifice his only son Isaac {Genesis 22:10}.  Although it grieved Abraham that the Lord would require of him his only son, his faith in God and fear of the Lord prevailed.  God not only saved Isaac, but blessed Abraham {Genesis 22:22}.  How many of us would do as Abraham has done?  That is, to sacrifice their loved ones for the Lord.  I suggest that I would not find too many people who trusted in the Lord fully enough to do that.  The writer of Proverbs spoke of placing our trust in the Lord in the Old Testament {Proverbs 3:5-6}.  As the proverb proclaims, "In all your ways acknowledge Him."  

Who, being the effulgence of His glory and emblem of His assumption, besides carrying on all by His powerful declaration, making a cleansing of sins, is seated at the right hand of the majesty in the heights. 

To the Hebrews 1: 3, Concordant New Testament 

Over the past few months I have been considering more and more what it is like to live fully in Christ Jesus.  Overlooking that which is going on all around us and focusing on who it is we truly are in Him.  The apostle Paul spoke to this in something I refer to as life according to Paul.  Paul proclaims in Philippians that "To be living is Christ, and to be dying, gain" {Paul to the Philippians 1:21}.  Paul understood that his life did not revolve around the physical world, but in Christ Jesus in Whom he was in union.  Paul had no difficulty knowing what was important in his life.  The reason that I contemplate this knowing in my own life is that I believe that it gives us a better perspective on the world surrounding us.  When hard times come, and they will, we do well to know that we endure them in union with Christ.  Jesus is not simply a Savior sitting in heaven removed from our daily life.  When we know Christ as our life, we understand that we endure WITH HIM.  This is the union which the apostle John spoke of {Johns Account 14:20}.  Jesus in the Father, ourselves in Christ and Christ in us.  This is our life in Him.  

In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 

Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Lords Chosen

 

"And I am giving them life eonian, and they should by no means be perishing for the eon, and no one shall be snatching them out of My hand.  My Father, Who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to be snatching them out of My Fathers hand."

Johns Account 10: 28-29, Concordant New Testament 

One of my favorite streaming shows is the Chosen series which depicts the life of Jesus and His disciples during His ministry.  It is really profound to see the events depicted in New Testament scripture being brought to life in such a way.  What I also like about this production is that is keeps pretty close to the scriptures as far as events and timelines go.  I definitely recommend it for anyone interested in knowing about the life of Jesus.  The title for this series borrows from the fact that it is Jesus who personally chose the men who would follow Him.  They were His chosen.  But I am reminded of another fact from the scriptures, that we ourselves are Gods chosen.  The apostle John proclaims this is his scripture, that we are indeed given to Christ by the Father {Johns Account 10:29}.  We know that no one comes to the Father except through Christ, but it is the Father who delivers us to Him {Johns Account 14:6}.  There are many in Christianity today who will argue that God does not choose us beforehand, but that we need to somehow "Work" our way into our own salvation.  This, of course, is simply a wrong interpretation of the scriptures.  The apostle Paul assures us of this in Ephesians.  That salvation is the gift of the Lord and not of our own works {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  Paul was aware, as I am, that if we were to succeed in claiming our own salvation by our own efforts, that it wouldn't be long before mankind declared with pride that he himself is responsible for his own salvation.  Can you imagine hundreds of pulpit pounders declaring from the pulpits that they themselves bring about Gods salvation?  Soon the importance would shift from the Father to man himself.  I'm sorry, but I like things just the way they are.  That God, Who loved us first, by His love and mercy would dispatch His Son to become sin in our place {Paul to the Corinthians(2) 5:21}.  There is absolutely nothing I have done which warrants my salvation, for I have been chosen.  

According as He chooses us in Him before the disruption of the world, we to be holy and flawless in His sight, in love designating us beforehand for the place of a son for Him through Christ Jesus; in accord with the delight of His will. 

Paul to the Ephesians 1: 4-5, Concordant New Testament 

The reason that I will not hear that I have been chosen by God coming from the mainstream church is that the church itself is based on a incorrect theology where our efforts are necessary to gain favor with God.  To work out ones salvation has been a teaching of the church for many years.  We're told that we need to, "Make ourselves right with God."  This is ridiculous thinking.  It is God who loved us from the beginning and it is God Who has chosen us to be in Him.  The other night I listened to a local Christian radio broadcast and I was surprised at the teaching coming from it.  The pastor encouraged those listening to seek the Lords forgiveness and that those who do not were on a, "Fast track to hell."  Well, first off, what is it that I am needing to seek the Lords forgiveness for?  Has not Christ Jesus defeated sin at the cross {Paul to the Romans 6:10-11}.  And who is it that condemns us?  Is it God Who, having provided for our salvation, now points the finger of blame at those who are in Christ?  No, for as Paul proclaims, there is NO condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus {Paul to the Romans 8:1}.  IMHO, there is absolutely no scriptural evidence that God now seeks to condemn us.  However, who DOES seek to condemn those who are in Christ are those in the institutional church.  Why else would they proclaim that if we do not seek forgiveness from God that are going to hell?  I feel that if I were to inquire of the Father for His forgiveness that I would get a simple answer...forgiveness for what?  Indeed, Christ gave Himself that I would be forgiven.  God chose me that I would remain in Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  

~Scott~