The Politics Of Religion

 

"So no, I'm not too big on religion...and not very fond of politics or economics either...and why should I be?  They are the man-created trinity of terrors that ravages the earth and deceives those I care about.  What mental turmoil and anxiety does any human face that is not related to one of those three?" 

~William P Young, The Shack~ 

There is an old saying which says that one should never argue about politics or religion.  Taking either side will come out on the losing end.  I was reminded of this the other day when Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris put her foot in her mouth by proclaiming that Christians needed to vote for her in order to...help God.  Honestly, I almost spit my coffee as I was reading this.  The Lord of all creation needs our help?  The creator of all we see needs our help?  In the end, I pass this off as simply another ploy by a somewhat slick and weak politician.  If Harris was attempting to pander to the Christian crowd and save her failing campaign she failed miserably in both cases.  Obviously, politics and religion were never intended to be linked together.  Granted, both have been created by mankind.  Also, both have been shown to divide Gods children rather than unify them.  Who is it that brings us together?  Christ Jesus.  It is God who created each of us in His likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  It is Jesus in Whom all was created {Johns Account 1:1-3}.  Knowing this, did Jesus require any assistance from His creation...ever?  The answer would be no.  Instead of being outraged at the comments from comrade Harris, we should rejoice that through Christ the truth of the Lord has been revealed.  It has never been the desire of the Lord to divide His children.  On the other hand, through Christ we have been joined to He and the Father in union {Johns Account 14:20}.  To this day, I've never heard this truth spoken by any politician anywhere.  

But the Most High is not dwelling in what is made by hands, according as the prophet is saying, "Heaven is My throne, yet the earth is a footstool for My feet.  What kind of house shall be built for Me?" the Lord is saying, or what is the place of My stopping?" Is it not My hand that does all these things?'

Acts of the Apostles 7: 48-50, Concordant New Testament 

What is it that you'd think would be the Lords reply were we to ask Him if He needed help?  First off, I feel as if He would show His love and grace even while replying to our offer.  Yet I also feel that He would gently remind us of what we read in the Acts of the Apostles.  It is here where we are reminded that the Lord does not dwell in what is made by human hands {Acts of the Apostles 7:48}.  We see this all too often when our local churches are referred to as "The Lords house."  What will we build the creator of the universe that He cannot create for Himself?  Are not the materials we would use created by Him?  Is not the land any dwelling would sit on created by Him?  No, I do not believe that God requires our assistance.  What I do believe that He desires for us is that we know Him as our Father.  That we know who it is that we are IN HIM {Johns Account 10:37-38}.  I definitely would have been shocked beyond all belief if comrade Harris had mentioned that all has been created through Christ Jesus.  Despite being loved as the Fathers child, it appears that she is unaware of that. 

~Scott~ 

Being Woke

 

Perceive what manner of love the Father has given us, that we may be called children of God!  And we are!  Therefore the world does not know us, for it did not know Him. 

First Epistle of John 3: 1, Concordant New Testament 

Many on the left side of the political isle are fond of declaring that people should be "Woke" to a new way of thinking.  Indeed, being woke has come to be associated with some of the most radical liberal ideas of the day.  I posed the question the other day to a friend if he felt, knowing what we now know of the Father, that our work in the ministries of the mainstream church had been in vain.  He responded by saying that what was needed was for people to "Come awake" to what the Father was doing through them.  That same thought is true today.  While many consider being woke to be a political punchline, I see it as an opportunity to help people into a new understanding of the Father.  A Father who loved us while we were lost in the lies of the deceiver {Paul to the Colossians 2:13}.  A Father who ordained His Son to take our sins upon Himself a the cross {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  The old way of Christian thinking had us believe that sin kept us from a relationship with the Father.  In reality, through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, we can now consider ourselves as being dead to that sin {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  This is what I think of being awoken to the truth of the Father.  That we now live in union with He and Christ {Johns Account 14:20}.  Of course, this fly's in the face of the traditional church theology which many know so well.  Perhaps that is why so many have a difficult time accepting the truth of the Lord.  But I am not proclaiming something which is not spoken of in the scriptures.  The apostle Paul spoke of the presence of Christ in us {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Yet, when I speak this truth to most believers I get the typical deer in the headlights look in return.  They are unaware of the union they share with the Father.  In other words, they need to be "Woken" to the this truth in their own lives.  I remember the struggle which I encountered when this truth was first presented to me by a dear friend of mine.  I remember thinking how radical of a change it seemed to be.  Jesus in me, a sinner?  Yet I thank the Father for His revelation of His Son in me {Paul to the Galatians 1:15-16}.  

"If I am not doing My Fathers works, do not believe Me.  Yet if I am doing them, and if ever you are not believing Me, be believing the works, that you may be knowing and believing that in Me is the Father, and I am in the Father" 

Johns Account 10: 37-38, Concordant New Testament 

It is well known in Christian history that Jesus was despised by the religious authorities of His day for His proclamation that He and the Father were one and the same {Johns Account 10:30}.  For this the Jewish Pharisees took up stones against Him.  To them He was speaking the blasphemy of making Himself one with God.  To Jesus, he was simply introducing them to the truth of the union of He and the Father which John spoke of in scripture.  Oddly, that same resistance which the spoken words of Jesus encountered back then still hold true today.  Many still need to be woken to the truth of the Father.  Yet centuries of church theology can be difficult to overcome.  It was for me.  But it was not a Sunday sermon or mainstream church ministry that spoke the truth of the Father into my heart.  Although a good friend planted the seed of that truth, it was the revelation of the Father which opened my eyes to knowing Him.  For this I am grateful.  My prayer is that others will receive that same revelation and begin to see God as I do.  

~Scott~  

My Neighbor Myself

 

In Whom there is no Jew nor yet Greek, there is no slave nor yet free, there is no male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus.

Paul to the Galatians 3: 28, Concordant New Testament 

In all of my years in the mainstream church, I was led to believe that there was a unique difference between myself and the world around me.  See, I was a sinner, but saved by the blood of Jesus.  Those in the world around me, on the other hand, were the ones NEEDING to be saved.  The unknowing and unchurched among us were simply sinners lost in the world.  It was our task as believers to bring them to the Lord.  Indeed, there have been countless discipleship and ministry programs designed to bring the wayward unto Jesus.  The Christian church has always been good at labeling people.  In their domain, the world is divided between sinners and believers.  We celebrate the believers and pray for the sinners.  But what if the church got it wrong?  What if we've been sold a bill of goods?  The scriptures tell us that ALL are created in the Fathers likeness, both male and female {Genesis 1:27}.  The apostle Paul takes that one step further by declaring that in Christ there is no Jew nor Greek.  No slave nor free {Paul to the Galatians 3:28}.  So, is there really a difference between myself and my neighbor?  Not really.  Both have been created in the Fathers image.  Both were created for and by Christ Jesus {Johns Account 1:1-3}.  Knowing this, we soon realize that the divisions created by those in the mainstream church are not what the Father intended for His children.  Believers and sinners, it's all a label created by man-made religion.  First off, where are there sinners?  Do we continue to believe that those not involved in the mainstream church are lost in sin?  The truth is that Jesus took our sins upon Himself and nailed them to the cross with Him {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  Therefore, as Paul proclaims, we are to consider ourselves to be "Dead indeed" to sin {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  Tell me again where those sinners are.  Despite being assured in the scripture that all were created through Christ Jesus, I do not recall a single sermon ever uttered in the mainstream church which did not label humanity as the lost and the saved.  

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 

Have you ever known the Lord to play favorites?  To be unjust in His actions?  Paul proclaims that with God there is no partiality {Paul to the Romans 2:11}.  So, can we assume that it was never the Fathers intent that His children be labeled as saved and lost?  I would agree with that.  When we look upon our neighbors, we should see Christ.  When we look into that mirror, we should see the same thing.  For we are all in union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  But what of those among us who behave badly?  Those who by all indications have forsaken God for the riches of the world.  Are they any different from us?  No!  The only difference between them and ourselves is that we realize who it is that we are in Christ.  It's that simple.  There are those who have been created in the Fathers likeness yet do not realize this truth in themselves.  They are not lost in the Fathers eyes, just unaware.  There is no doubt that realizing this truth can change the way that we look upon the world around us.  Instead of laboring to "save" the lost, why not simply introduce them to who they really are in Christ?   

~Scott~ 

The Brotherhood

 

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

First Epistle of John 4: 20, Concordant New Testament  

I was reminded once again this week of the value of having a solid group of brothers in the faith around me.  I am proud to say that through my years in the mainstream church I have developed and maintained friendships with more than a few Godly men.  The brotherhood can help us in those instances where the accuser comes to mislead us.  That, after all, is his mission.  His lie deceived Adam and Eve in the garden, and it continues to deceive many believers today.  Yet having a solid group of friends around us can help us navigate those situations where Satan attempts to inject himself into our lives.  Those friends in the faith around us can help remind us of Satan's rightful place in the big scheme of things...behind us!  That's right, the accuser has already been defeated.  His only tactic he has left is to wander the earth seeking to distract God's children.  When you look at the world around us, it might seem as if he is doing pretty good at his objective.  All around us, the Lords chosen stumble and fall each and every day to the distractions of Satan.  I'm not ashamed to admit that I have fallen victim to his antics more than a few times.  But the truth of the Lord Jesus is on our side.  The accusers fate has been sealed.  Jesus became sin that we would no longer live in bondage {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  The apostle Paul proclaims that we consider ourselves now to be indeed dead to sin {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  Contrary to the teaching of the mainstream church, sin is no longer that elephant in the room we can never be free of.  Jesus took our sin upon Himself and nailed it to that cross.  Yet the accuser will continue to prowl the earth seeking to remind us that we're all sinners {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  For many years in the church I continued to hear the phrase "Sinners saved by grace."  While this may be true in some respects, we're sinners no more.  Through the selfless love of Christ Jesus, we're no longer held in the bondage of sin.  

In Whom there is no Jew nor yet Greek, there is no slave nor yet free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Paul to the Galatians 3: 28, Concordant New Testament 

A good friend once reminded me of the truth of our accuser.  He said that when Satan comes to remind you of your past, remind him of his future.  Amen!  The strength in the bonds of brothers in the faith comes from encouraging each other and reminding one another of the truth of the deceiver.  I have been blessed with having a group of friends who do just that.  Not only that, I have gathered around me a group of the Lords children at my local gym.  Like the brothers which surround me, it is my goal to be that bond of faith with those who surround me as well.  I believe that when Jesus spoke of loving one another, this is what He was referring to {Johns Account 13:35}.  Paul spoke of a key thought in our belief, that of seeing those around us as one in Christ as we ourselves are {Paul to the Galatians 3:28}.  If we see others as one with Jesus, how is it that we can think wrongly of them?  If we see others as one with Jesus, how is it that we can be in conflict with them?  Sounds like a good plan, right?  Well, everything looks good on paper.  When my brother reminded me this week of my wrong thoughts toward another, I was not seeing them as one in Christ as I am.  However, I am grateful that I have once again been reminded of this truth.  As the scripture proclaims, two are better than one {Ecclesiastes 4:10-12}.  Give Satan his rightful place in our rear view mirror.  

~Scott~ 

Man To Man

 Having, then, a great Chief Priest, who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, we may be holding to the avowal.  For we have not a Chief Priest not able to sympathize with our infirmities, but One Who has been tried in all respects like us, apart from sin. 

To the Hebrews 4: 14-15, Concordant New Testament 

I was called out the other day by a good friend.  I've always said that if a friend cannot challenge you for wrong behaviors then there is something wrong.  Some would call this holding each other accountable.  I simply think of it as a friend reminding me of who I really am.  The story goes that, while having dinner with a few friends, my eyes were attracted to an attractive lady.  Not only that, but my thoughts were suddenly led to what some might call improper thoughts concerning her.  Now, I'm not stranger to these feelings, I've spent many an evening in a number of strip clubs.  But this time was different.  This time the thoughts came despite my knowing who it is that I am.  Indeed, I have no doubt that I live in union with Jesus and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  I realize that I am created in the Fathers likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  Despite this knowing, somehow those old feelings creeped up once again this week.  Therefore, the next day, my good friend did the right thing and reminded me that this lady was, as I am, a child of the Father.  That hit me hard!  No longer was I a fun loving guy simply having a good time, but a child of the Lord who was treading somewhere I should not have been.  In His own way, God reminded me of this through my dear friend.  For this I am grateful.  But I'm left to wonder, hasn't God created me inn His likeness?  Is not all which He is in me as well?  The author of Hebrews spoke to this when writing of the Chief Priest Christ Jesus who has endured all which we have and more, yet without sin {To the Hebrews 4:14-15}.  So, was Jesus ever tempted by lust as I've been?  I can assume, according to scripture, that He has.  Yet Jesus was able to endure these temptations without giving in to the sin of the flesh.  Me?  Not so much.  While I did not give in physically to the thoughts I felt, the thought to do so was still there.  My friend, perhaps knowing who it is that I truly am, reminded me of what I had forgotten.  That the object of my attention was also a child of the living God.  

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 

The reminder I received is that I don't hold a monopoly on being chosen by God.  I do not hold a monopoly on being seen as His child.  This person whom my thoughts were drawn to is also looked upon by the Father as being His.  This realization is what made my thoughts that more troubling to me.  If I were still in the mainstream church I might be recommended for a twelve step program or given a sermon on the evils of sin.  Yet, I also am aware that I have been declared dead to sin {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  Paul posed the question if we should continue to sin since we are under the grace of the Father.  His response?  "May it not be coming to that!" {Paul to the Romans 6:15}.  It is Jesus who became sin on our behalf {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  That sin which others proclaim in us is dead and gone.  What remains in us is Christ.  THIS is who I am.  Just as Jesus was tempted with all I have been, He was without sin.  Rather than despair in regret over another failure in front of God, I rejoice in knowing that His grace gently reminds me of How He looks upon me.  Not as a perpetual sinner, but as His loved child.  

What then?  Should we be sinning, seeing that we are not under law but under grace?  May it not be coming to that! 

Paul to the Romans 6: 15, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Exodus

 

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, for her sins were piled up to heaven, and God remembers her injuries" 

The Revelation of Jesus Christ 18: 4-5, Concordant New Testament 

For anyone who has bothered to notice, the mainstream church has suffered a mass exodus of worshippers over the past years.  The media has written about it and more and more pastors have preached against it.  I personally have not stepped foot inside a church in over 15 years, yet I continue to worship the Father in my own way.  That's right, I gave up the church and all of its traditions for a deeper relationship with Jesus and the Father.  But how is it possible to have a relationship with Jesus without the "covering" of the traditional church?  We have been led to believe that the church is the be all end all for all things related to God.  If we want to learn about Him, we go to church.  If we want to know Him, we go to church.  If we want to celebrate Him, we go to church.  The traditional church has always been seen as the focal point of our connection with the Lord.  In the coming weeks I will be doing a podcast with a dear friend where we will dive into how we have given up the mainstream, institutional church in order to celebrate Him with a new group of believers and those hungry to know Him.  I would bet that every pastor worth their salt would insist that in order to know the Lord, you must first be involved with a local church.  But think about this, did Jesus Himself ever make such a claim?  Jesus told the Samaritan woman He met at the well that it would no longer be about locations or temples, but that God's children worship him in "Spirit and truth" {Johns Account 4:24}.  Worshipping God without the mainstream church?  Indeed, it is possible, and desirable to God {Johns Account 4:23}.  Could this be the reason why so many of God's children have fled the mainstream church?  I doubt it.  I don't believe that many of the Lords flock have had this truth revealed to them yet.  However, I do believe that many who have left the church did so, as I did, because they were led by their spirit to seek something more.  To know more about the Father that they were not getting from the traditional man-made church.  

"But coming is the hour, and now is, when the true worshippers will be worshipping the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father also is seeking such to be worshipping Him.  God is spirit, and those who are worshipping Him must be worshipping in spirit and truth" 

Johns Account 4: 23-24, Concordant New Testament 

Have you ever heard the traditional church referred to as a prostitute?  Well, imagine my reaction as I first read the writings of the Christian author J Preston Eby.  In his Kingdom Bible Studies on the book of The Revelation of Jesus Christ, Eby refers to the traditional church as a prostitute deserving of the Lords wrath.  In the book of Revelation, the apostle John speaks to his vision of the Lord proclaiming to His children "Come out of her, My people, lest you should be joint participants in her sins" {The Revelation of Jesus Christ 18:4}.  I do believe that God was giving this warning to His children to remove themselves from the man-created church institution and all of its requirements and traditions.  Is this what the apostle Paul was speaking to in his own warning against the requirements which were against us that Jesus nailed to the cross{Paul to the Colossians 2:14}?  Indeed, many of the requirements and traditions of the mainstream church are not designed to bring us any closer to God.  What DOES bring us closer to God is our own realization of who we are in Him.  That we are not on the outside looking in, but living in union with Jesus and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  This is a revelation which is received from the Father.  This is truly knowing God.  Freedom in Jesus is knowing that you share in His life, without all of the traditions associated with the mainstream church.  

~Scott~ 

Self Death

 

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

Norman Grubb ~ No Independent Self 

I overheard a radio pastor mention the words of Jesus to Nicodemus we find in John 3 this week.  Then the padre mentioned something else, the act of dying to ourselves.  Now, I've heard this phrase tossed around in Christian circles many times before, but for different reasons.  For to die to ourselves in the modern Christian theology means that we forsake that which is of this world to follow Jesus.  Of course, this thinking does not address the fact that we, as God's children, have nothing which we can refer to as "ourself."  We have never been removed or independent from God that we should refer to ourselves as our own independent self.  As the author Norman Grubb puts it, there is but one self in the universe, and He is the I AM, the One and only God.  To think anything else is to simply not understand who it is that we are in the big scheme of things.  To proclaim that we exist as "self" means that we are independent of the God who created us.  How is that at all possible?  How is it that we who He created in His likeness could be independent of Him?  Yet this continues to be the theology preached within the halls of the mainstream church.  We are our own self.  We need to "come to Jesus."  We need to forsake this world.  It all sounds ok, but it's based upon the lie of the deceiver spoken in the garden.  It is Satan who proclaimed to Adam and Eve that were they to eat of the fruit which God had forbidden, that they would indeed "Be like God" {Genesis 3:1-7}.  Of course, having been created in the Fathers likeness, they were already like God.  This was the beginning of the human "Self" as we know it.  

Jesus answered and said to him, "Verily, verily, I am saying to you, if anyone should not be begotten anew, he cannot perceive the kingdom of God."

Johns Account 3: 3, Concordant New Testament 

Nicodemus could not understand what Jesus was speaking to him when he spoke of being "Born again."  To him, this meant something which seemed impossible in his earthly understanding, for someone to once again be born again from their mother's womb {Johns Account 3:4}.  In our current Christian language, we speak of being "Born again" as being the beginning of our journey unto Jesus.  Again, we have never been separated from Him.  For all things were created for and through Jesus {Johns Account 1:3}.  Jesus has been from the beginning with God {Johns Account 1:1-2}.  The issue has always been that we have failed to recognize who we are in Christ.  The apostle Paul speaks to those who know Jesus having crucified their own flesh {Paul to the Galatians 5:24}.  However, Paul also speaks to Christ living in us {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  And why not, hasn't Jesus been a part of us from the beginning?  We're not the only ones who have had difficulty discerning this truth of Christ Jesus.  Paul speaks to this being "Secret among the nations."  That is, our own expectation of the glory of Christ {Paul to the Colossians 1:27}.  Even in Paul's day, there were many who did not comprehend the truth of Christ.  That truth which Jesus is speaking to our spirit is that we are forever a part of He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  We have no need to die unto ourselves.  What we need to do is realize who it is that we are in Christ. 

~Scott~ 

Gods Elite

 

Now they said to Him, "Grant to us that we should be seated, one at Thy right and one at Thy left, in Thy glory."  Yet Jesus said to them, "Not aware are you what you are requesting.  Are you able to drink the cup which I am drinking, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am being baptized?"  Yet they say to Him, "We are able."  Yet Jesus said to them, "The cup indeed which I am drinking shall you be drinking, and with the baptism with which I am being baptized shall you be baptized.  Yet to be seated at My right or at My left is not Mine to give, but it for whom it has been made ready by My Father." 

Marks Account 10: 37-40, Concordant New Testament 

I had an interesting conversation with a co-worker this week which centered around who would be the most important in the Lord's heaven.  Would his own pastor, who had spent a lifetime of serving the poor and needy, have a seat of prominence in God's paradise?  What place would he, a reformed sinner, have in heaven?  Well, I reminded him that this question had already been asked of Jesus by His own disciples James and John.  These brothers had asked that Jesus grant that they be seated at His right and at His left in His Fathers kingdom.  Jesus' answer?  This authority had not been granted to Him, but by the Father {Marks Account 10:40}.  Too often we get too involved in our own pride to realize what it is we are desiring.  James and John wanted to be seen as being on the same level as Jesus, and this did not sit well with the other disciples {Marks Account 10:41}.  Are we truly that arrogant that to believe that our own goo deeds will grant us a prominent place in heaven?  The apostle Paul speaks in Ephesians that it is not by our good works that we enter into the Fathers salvation, but through His grace alone {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  No matter how good a life we have lived, no matter how many we have helped along the way, it is by the love and grace of the Father by which we are saved.  It is because of the Fathers love for us that He dispatched His only Son to give Himself for us on the cross {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  It is because of the love of Christ that He willingly became sin that we would no longer bare its penalty {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  Also, as with my co-worker, do we consider ourselves simply "Reformed sinners?"  This reminds me of the Christian catch phrase that we are simply "Sinners saved by grace."  While we have been saved by the love and grace of the Father, our identity is no longer linked to the past, but to Jesus.  Jesus is who we truly are {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  

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

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

Have you ever known God to show favoritism?  Have you ever known Him to go back on His word?  Well, when we believe that the Lord favors those who do good deeds over those who have likewise been saved by the sacrifice of His Son we are staking the claim that God is playing favorites with His salvation gift.  Remember, at the end of the day, our salvation is a gift from God {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8}.  Can you imagine the turmoil amongst the followers of Jesus were James and John granted their request to be seated at His side?  Yes, James and John were loyal followers of Jesus, but they were also human.  How long before they would have bragged about their positions of prominence among the other disciples?  How long before the other disciples requested from Jesus positions in heaven of their own?  I'm sorry, but we're human, that's what we do.  Knowing this, Jesus gave the correct response to His followers that day.  Their position in heaven was not His to give, but the Father.  Part of the response I gave to my co-worker was that we are all created in the Fathers likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  God has not created one greater or better than the other.  For we are all children of God {First Epistle of John 3:1}.  We should be glorying in His love and mercy and not in our own desires.  

~Scott~ 

Me, Jesus And The Blasphemy

 

"I and the Father, We are one"

Johns Account 10: 30, Concordant New Testament 

Have you ever been persecuted for telling the truth?  I would reckon that there are many believers out there, even unbelievers, who have been raked over the coals for simply telling the truth.  A lot of times, the world does not want to know the truth as we tell it.  So it was with Jesus as He spoke to the Jews who demanded of Him to prove that He was who He claimed to be.  Jesus proclaimed that the works which He had done in the name of the Father were a testament to His identity {Johns Account 10:25}.  Then, Jesus said something which made the Jews gathered around Him take up stones against Him, He told the truth.  Jesus proclaimed "I and the Father, We are One" {Johns Account 10:30}.  In the eyes of the Jews gathered that day, Jesus was simply a human street preacher proclaiming Himself to be God.  In their eyes, He had committed a capital offense worthy of stoning.  His crime?  "For an ideal act we are not stoning You, but for blasphemy, and that you, being a man, are making yourself God" {Johns Account 10:33}.  So, there we have Jesus, accused of the blasphemy of making Himself God.  But Is Jesus really who He proclaims to be?  We know from scripture that Jesus was from the beginning {Johns Account 1:1}.  We also know that through Him all was created {Johns Account 1:3}.  We know that Jesus is in the Father and the Father in Him {Johns Account 14:10}.  So it was that Jesus has been condemned for simply telling the truth.  Even today, many in the mainstream church have difficulty accepting this truth spoken by Jesus.  Instead, they proclaim a theology which speaks to the separation of man and the Father.  This is born out of the lie spoken by Satan to Adam and Eve in the garden {Genesis 3:2-6}.  The lie was that once the first creation ate of the fruit which God had commanded them not to, that they would "Be like God."  In reality, as the created likeness of the Fathers very image, they were ALREADY like God.  Likewise, as we were also created by God in His likeness, we share in the identity of the Father.  

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

Paul to the Corinthians (2) 4: 4, Concordant New Testament 

Ove the past few years, a group of my friends and I have spoken phrases which, in the day of Jesus, might have been seen as blasphemy.  Words such as "Be Jesus" and "Live as Jesus."  What blasphemy is this?  But, like Jesus who has been persecuted for speaking the truth of His own identity, so it is with me.  For I speak the truth of my identity as well.  I speak to my identity as being created in the likeness of the Father {Genesis 1:27}.  I speak to the truth of my union IN Christ and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  If for these words I am accused of blasphemy by those who do not know the truth of Jesus, then so be it.  While I do not expect stones to be heaved my way, I fully expect to be criticized at some point for my belief in my own identity in Christ Jesus.  This is one of the rifts within Christianity today, and why the truth of Jesus is rarely spoken to.  Yet there is freedom in knowing who we are in Christ.  We are free in the revelation that we are in Him.  That we did not choose Jesus, but that the Father chose us {Johns Account 15:16}.  The world may see me as simply a man speaking to knowing Christ, but that's not who I am.  Who I am...is Jesus.  

~Scott~ 

The Choice

 

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

Johns Account 15: 16, Concordant New Testament  

It's been said that there are consequences with the choices that we make in life, and I agree.  In fact, there are those in the Christian community who have confused the consequences for the choices which we make for the anger of God.  That our lives will be in turmoil because God is somehow angry with us.  No, for there are consequences for each and every choice that we make.  If we fall into financial difficulty after making a habit of visiting strip clubs, it's not God is somehow teaching us a lesson, we simply made the wrong choice in the first place.  It's that simple.  But I was thinking this week that our own life in Christ is a direct result of another choice.  The choice which Jesus made when He chose each of us unto Himself {Johns Account 15:16}.  Too many Christians will toss around the phrase that they somehow "Chose Jesus."  No, Jesus CHOSE YOU before the world was formed.  It is well known that we are created in the likeness of the Father {Genesis 1:27}.  Therefore, He has been a part of us from the beginning.  We have been predestined as sons of God through Christ Jesus {Paul to the Ephesians 1:5}.  So, if indeed there are consequences to the choices that we make, what are the consequences for God for having chosen us?  Well, first and foremost, we are to live in union with Jesus and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  As a result of the Father choosing us unto Himself, we now live IN HIM {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Gods intent for us was never to live in separation from Him, as was the lie spoken by Satan in the garden.  From the beginning we have been meant for a relationship with the Father through Christ Jesus.  This is the consequence of the choice which Jesus made when He called us unto Himself.  We will never choose Jesus, He has already chosen us.  

According as He chooses us in Him before the disruption of the world, we to be holy and flawless in His sight.

Paul to the Ephesians 1: 4, Concordant New Testament 

Another consequence of our being chosen by the Father is that we no longer live in sin.  If you have ever wondered how God sees you, just read the words of the apostle Paul in Ephesians.  Paul has proclaimed that God chose us from the beginning that we would be holy and flawless IN HIS SIGHT {Paul to the Ephesians 1:4}.  Paul also tells us that through Jesus we are to no longer "Slaving for sin" {Paul to the Romans 6:6}.  Therefore, despite the choices which each and every one of us make in life, God is never angry with us.  God never allows His anger to run over into our lives.  For God has CHOSEN to reveal unto us His one true nature, which is His love {First Epistle of John 4:8}.  It is His love in which we now live in union with Him.  Growing up in the mainstream church, this would have been a foreign concept to me.  For I lived in fear of angering God with the choices I made.  Nevertheless, each time I made the wrong choice, I simply blamed the consequences of my choices on the anger of a God who loved me.  But this is what I had been taught that God was like.  I thank the Father that my eyes have now been opened to His true nature.  That He does not look upon me with a disapproving eye, but with a love I am only now beginning to understand.  This is His choice for me.  

"Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky watching everything you do, every minute of every day.  And the invisible man has a special list of ten things He does not want you to do.  And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where He will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever until the end of time!  But He loves you."

~George Carlin~ 

~Scott~ 

Traditional Jesus

 

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. 

Paul to the Colossians 2: 13-14, Concordant New Testament 

For many, this is the Lords day.  That day each week where we supposedly all gather together to worship in our local Lords house.  Pews will be filled with believers who feel it is their duty to God to come together with their brethren to worship the Lord.  Yet, you won't find me there.  Granted, I still consider myself to be a believer, I just have not participated in the traditional institutional church in more than a few years.  I do have good friends who continue to gather in church for their own reasons, and I respect them for that.  It's just not for me.  In my younger years, I felt the tug of compulsion to fill my seat in the church each week, but not so much in recent years.  The writer of Hebrews calls on believers to "Not forsake the assembling of ourselves" {To the Hebrews 10:25}.  Many well meaning pastors point to this passage as the evidence that our participation in weekly worship is mandatory.  Not for me.  For the author of Hebrews did not come outright and issue the command of the Lord that all gather together in worship.  Yet it is claimed it is "According as the custom of some."  There will be those who gather in worship and those who choose not to.  This is not the identifier of a believer.  What is the identifier of a believer and follower of Jesus is knowing that our life is no longer our own, but belongs to Him.  The apostle Paul points this out as he speaks of the indwelling Christ in us {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  Therefore, I see two different versions of Jesus in the world today, the traditional church version and the authentic Christ Whom God desires all of His children to know.  The traditional Jesus is a Savior Who dwells in heaven, far removed from the Lords children here on earth.  The mainstream church speaks to this in the claim that we can only ever hope to "Be like" Jesus.  In reality, the true authentic Jesus is a Lord and savior Who has always been an intimate part of our life {Johns Account 1:1-5}.  Jesus was in the beginning and He is today.  This is the One true Christ.  

In this we know that we are remaining in Him, and He in us, for He has given us His spirit. 

First Epistle of John 4: 13, Concordant New Testament 

One of my favorite scenes from The Chosen series is the scene of Jesus and the woman at the well drawing water.  This woman, a Samaritan, seemed shocked that this Jew would request a drink from her.  By Jewish tradition, Samaritans were not allowed to worship in the presence of Jews.  Yet Jesus explains that the time is coming when neither "In this mountain nor in Jerusalem shall you be worshipping the Father" {Johns Account 4:21}.  He then reveals to this Samaritan woman the worship which the Father desires, "When the true worshippers will be worshipping the Father in spirit and truth" {Johns Account 4:23}.  I can definitely see the correlation between this woman at the well and so many worshippers in our churches of today.  We've been told that coming together in church is the acceptable measure of worship of God.  Yet Jesus Himself has proclaimed that it's not about temples or traditions at all.  True worship of the Father is about spirit and truth.  I can honestly say that even though I am not in church this Sunday, that I am indeed in worship to the Father.  I know that I live in union with Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  I do not follow the traditional church model of "Authentic" worship.  No, I follow my heart for Him.  

But coming is the hour, and now is, when the true worshippers will be worshipping the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is also seeking such to be worshipping Him. 

Johns Account 4: 23, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Leading The Way

 

For whoever are being led by Gods spirit, these are sons of God. 

Paul to the Romans 8: 14, Concordant New Testament 

We've all heard the phrase more than a few times in our Christian lives.  Being led by the spirit.  I revisited this truth the other day after discussing a recent writing about tithing with a good friend.  His question to me was "Have you ever been urged by God to give?"  Of course, I answered that indeed I had.  That I had felt the inner leading to give to someone in need.  But what does it mean to be "Led by the spirit?"  We hear a lot about it, yet we rarely delve deeper into what it really means to us and our lives.  I've never heard of a church program designed to teach people how to follow the spirits leading.  Granted, I've heard quite a few Sunday sermons on this very topic.  I believe to truly understand what it means to be led by the spirit that we need to understand our relationship with the Father first and foremost.  We understand that we are created in His likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  As the prophet Isaiah has proclaimed, shall what has been formed declare to He who formed it, He did not make me?" {Isaiah 29:16}.  Therefore, to understand our life is to understand that we have an intimate connection with our Father who created us.  Jesus Himself has also declared our union with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Therefore, we live in union with Jesus and the Father.  How much more of an intimate connection do we need?  This is the personal connection we share with God.  He created us, we live in His creation.  But personal connection does not necessarily mean we share a relationship with Him.  For that is a personal choice each of us makes at some point.  I realized that I shared in Gods creation from an early age, yet only in recent years have I realized the relationship I also have with Him.  Yes, there is a difference.  We each might recognize a friendship, but we may choose at some point to develop this friendship into a deeper relationship.  The same can be said for our relationship with the Father.  

Now, similarly, the spirit is also aiding our infirmity, for what we should be praying for, to accord with what must be, we are not aware, but the spirit itself is pleading for us with inarticulate groanings.  Now He who is searching the hearts is aware what is the disposition of the spirit, for in accord with God it is pleading for the saints. 

Paul to the Romans 8: 26-27, Concordant New Testament 

Anyone who has been married can attest that the marriage relationship can develop to be strong enough that both parties will be keenly aware of the thoughts of the other.  Believe it or not, this marriage relationship example ties in quite well with the idea of being led by the spirit.  For just as two people who are connected can tell what the other is thinking, so it is with our relationship with the Father.  We are a part of each other, and there is no doubt that God can whisper His intentions into our hearts.  His leading may be for us to give to someone who has been praying to Him for relief.  In many ways, we are the instruments of the Father here on earth.  The Father will only be known through the words and actions of those who know Him well.  Yes, God can and has reached out with His hands to help those in need, but He also leads His people into the same situations.  This is what it is like to be led by the spirit.  To have the Father speaking into our hearts what it is He desires for us.  He is the One who knows us best.  We might think that we're not capable of doing what He asks, but He knows us better than that.  It is through the leading of the Father that we reach out into areas we never thought that we would.  

~Scott~ 

Praying For Dollars

 He loves you, and He needs money.  He always needs money.  He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow He just can't handle money.  

George Carlin 

I'll be honest.  If there's one thing that I no longer miss about the church is the weekly passing of the collection plate.  That guilt and shame driven tradition within  the mainstream church that tells us that we're helping the poor and unfortunate among us.  I was reminded of this again this week as I enjoyed some Christian music only to have it interrupted by some quarterly fundraising gig.  Now, granted, operating a modern day broadcast station isn't a cheap venture.  Those operating funds need to come from somewhere.  By the same token, the modern mainstream church is not an entity which can survive without the donations and tithes of its members.  Those ministries, programs and music are not cheap.  Nor are the countless staff members that are somehow needed to make the engine run.  Thus the need for the weekly collection plate.  In my time in the institutional church, I was witness to many situations of the church squeezing whatever funds they could from the congregation.  I get it.  Like I said, running a church isn't cheap at all.  One critic has described the modern church as the largest business corporation in history, and I would agree.  From the many ministries to the jazzy praise and worship bands, modern churches need a good deal of money to operate.  Yet it wasn't always this way.  For in scripture we are witness to the early church of the followers of Jesus who didn't meet in fancy buildings {Acts of the Apostles 2:44-47}.  Among these early followers of Jesus we see the true definition of the word community.  I cannot recall in all of my years attending church any congregation that resembled this.  Disposing of personal possessions for anyone in need.  Breaking bread in each others homes.  Indeed, the modern church can definitely learn from these early believers.  To my knowledge, we're not told that these early believers even relied on a collection plate.  If there was someone in need, the community did their best to help.  Also, we see no reference to multiple ministries and programs nor professional worship music.  So, that right there would shave money from the annual budget.  No, what we see with these early believers is a group of followers of Christ living and worshipping Jesus in their own community setting.  

Now all those who believe were also in the same place and had all things in common.  And they disposed of the acquisitions and the properties, and divided them to all, forasmuch as some would have had need.  Besides persevering day by day with one accord in the sanctuary, besides breaking bread home by home, they partook of nourishment with exultation and simplicity of heart, Praising God and having favor for the whole people.  Now the Lord added to those being saved day by day in the same place. 

Acts of the Apostles 2: 44-47, Concordant New Testament 

Of all the tithing campaigns which I have seen, the one which moved me the most was the tithing challenge.  The tithing challenge was just that, the congregation was challenged by the pastor to give to the church each week, with the "guarantee" that they would be blessed for doing so.  To sweeten the pot, the congregation was informed that if by the end of the challenge that they were not blessed, that they could request their funds which they had given in tithes to the church to be returned.  Now, in all honesty, who would ever request a refund on a tithe?  Yet this is what the church leadership banked on.  That the congregation would not request funds to be refunded.  Truly an ingenious plan if you can get away with it.  And they did.  Is it no doubt that Jesus called out the Pharisees of the Jewish faith for their tactics?  In His woes to the Pharisees, Jesus publicly scolds the religious leaders of His day for their treatment of the Lords children {Matthews Account 23:15-33}.  I've often wondered, how would Jesus react to the pastors of the modern church which confesses to follow Him?  Would we see Jesus proclaiming woes to the pastors?  Keep in mind, it is not the people whom Jesus was critical of, but the religious system and leaders of His day.  Likewise, it is not the ecclesia of the Lord, His family, that I am critical of, but the modern religious system.  For it is this system, and that which Jesus Himself criticized, which has been raised up by the hands of man.  

~Scott~ 

Trusted Faith

 

Now faith is an assumption of what is being expected, a conviction concerning matters which are not being observed. 

To the Hebrews 11: 1, Concordant New Testament 

I have always enjoyed watching The Chosen series depicting the ministry life of Jesus.  One of my favorite scenes involved the Roman soldier Gaius, who over time had come to know Jesus and His disciples.  Well, this scene of Gaius ties in with the scripture passage depicting the faith of the Roman Centurian {Matthews Account 8:5-9}.  In the scriptures, this Centurian seeks out Jesus for healing of his "Boy" who lies sick at home.  Despite the fact that Jesus is dealing with one of the despised Romans, He offers to come to the home of Gaius and heal his child.  This is where the situation turns from a healing opportunity for Jesus to a lesson in faith for the generations.  For Gaius, apparently realizing that his own personal history might prevent Jesus from granting his request, acknowledges that he is indeed unworthy to have the Son of God enter into his home.  Instead, obviously knowing the reputation of Jesus, he proclaims "But only say the word and my boy will be healed."  We're told that Jesus "marveled" at the faith of this gentile {Matthews Account 8:10}.  Of course, this instantly turned into a lesson on faith for Jesus' followers.  Jesus proclaims of this Roman, "With no one in Israel so much faith did I find."  In The Chosen, Jesus speaks to His denial by His own people and the religious leaders of His faith.  This is well documented.  Yet, one Roman, not a Jew, presents to us the greatest lesson on trusted faith we might ever know.  The writer of Hebrews speaks to faith as "An assumption of what is being expected" {To the Hebrews 11:1}.  I used to believe that faith centered around how many prayers I could offer up to the Lord to plead my cause.  If my prayer life was lacking, or is my own behaviors were not pleasing to the Lord, I could not expect for Him to honor my request.  This continues to be the teaching within the mainstream church.  However, nowhere in this approach do we see the trusted faith that what we ask of Jesus will be granted to us.  Trusting faith means that we have the faith of the Centurian.  That Jesus alone can grant what it is we ask of Him.  I agree that prayer is important, but prayer alone is empty if we do not believe in our hearts that Jesus is able to provide what we ask of Him.  

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 

How is it that you trust that you are indeed saved?  Is it through the reading of scripture?  Do you believe that you have enough good deeds to "Punch your ticket" into heaven?  The apostle Paul speaks to this in his letter to the believers in Ephesus.  Paul speaks to the truth that our salvation doesn't come from what we have done, but only through the grace of God.  That our salvation is the gift of God {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  Trusted faith realizes that it is but through Christ Jesus that we are saved.  Paul proclaims that salvation is not of works, "Lest anyone should be boasting."  Paul, of course, knew that were salvation a result of our own efforts, that many would proclaim themselves the reason for the gift which they had received.  Christ dd not die on the cross only for man to proclaim his own salvation!  It is Jesus who became sin that we would be saved {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  It is God who dispatched His only Son that through Him all would be saved {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  Trusted faith understands this truth.  Faith also dictates that we are created in the Fathers likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  Faith also speaks that we live in union with the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  These are more than just words in the scriptures.  This is the conviction of things which are not being observed {To the Hebrews 11:1}.  

~Scott~