The Good Of The Father (Better Than DEI)

 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 

Recently, all of the mainstream media has been abuzz about how Donald J Trump has been dismantling many of the government funded programs designed to promote diversity, equity and inclusion to all.  Ask anyone about DEI and you will surely get some mixed reactions.  On the one hand, many will praise the benefit of everyone being included, with no exceptions for race, color or creed.  However, the down side to this is that there will be those who are passed over in the hiring process who might be extremely well qualified for a job yet lose that opportunity simply so someone of a lesser stature or status can be "Included."  This isn't right and equals the equivalent of modern day discrimination.  Ironically, the very same political party which prides itself on fighting discrimination has championed this DEI idea.  The democratic party, the party of American slavery, insists that all should be included.  But there is another Who has proclaimed that all are included, and that is Christ Jesus.  The apostle Paul speaks to this in Galatians, that we are all one in Christ {Paul to the Galatians 3:28}.  Traditionally, Christian groups have said that all are welcome, but have fallen into the same prejudices as any DEI program.  Those who follow Jesus are, after all, human, and we humans are often inclined to be prejudiced against others for one reason or another.  I recall the morning a pastor at my old church informed me that I probably would not be welcome in a men's fellowship golfing group because I had yet to learn the game.  To hear this coming from a pastor was devastating for me.  Was this what Christian fellowship amounted to?  A fellowship intended for those deemed worthy by those involved?  I'll go out on a limb and say that this is not what the Father intended for His children.  For even Jesus has proclaimed that we are to love one another {Johns Account 13:34}.  Now, I'll be the first one to admit that I have failed in that commandment.  There are those who I have shunned for one reason or another in the past.  As I said, we're human, it's what we do.  

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 titled this post "Better than DEI" because I believe that I have stumbled upon something.  Some time ago, I began focusing more on my fitness goals by going to the local gym more often.  Well, this presented a new problem, because traditionally I was a rather shy person often embarrassed by my physical condition.  Now, surrounded by so many others in the gym environment, I had a choice to make.  I could do what I usually did and keep to myself, or I could open up and become one of the crowd.  I chose the latter.  What has followed has been one of the best times of my life so far.  For what started with introducing myself to one person has mushroomed into a rather large group I affectionately call the "Gym Rats."  The people I have come to know are bartenders, construction workers, retail clerks, men and women.  So, if you ask me, these Gym Rats are much better than any DEI program ever developed.  There are no prerequisites or entrance exams.  There is no discrimination if someone is coming to the gym for that first time.  It may yet to be revealed in these Gym Rats, but we are all one in Christ Jesus.  The same Jesus I have come to know in me is also the same Christ who resides in them as well.  For all are in union with the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Too many in the mainstream church have taken to having requirements of those who choose to be a member of the church.  I can remember being required to attend membership classes before I could be considered a "Member" of the church I was attending.  How inclusive is that?  To be clear, the mainstream church IS NOT the church of which Christ is the head {Paul to the Colossians 1:18}.  This church is the Ecclesia, the body of believers in Christ.  This is the distinction I make when I speak of the church of Jesus.  Inclusion isn't simply a buzzword to be tossed around.  For our Gym Rats, all are welcome.  All are one in Christ Jesus.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Broken Chains)

 

Who Himself carries up our sins in His body on the pole, that, coming away from sins, we should be living for righteousness; by Whose welt you were healed 

Peter to the Dispersion 2: 24, Concordant New Testament 

The other night I watched a confessional video interview of rocker Alice Cooper who declared that it was God who had healed him of his addiction to drugs and alchohol.  While I do not doubt that the Lord healed the old rocker, I see something else in play here.  After watching the interview, I immediately thought to myself, so this is what happens when God becomes more important in our lives than the addictions we're enslaved in.  I can say that I am speaking from personal experience.  I recall the night standing outside a local strip club in Portland and wondering why I couldn't just walk in like I had so many times before.  Yet this time was different. This time the appeal just wasn't there anymore.  So it is that I can relate to the words and experience of one Alice Cooper.  Now, he might believe in his heart that the Lord delivered him from the throes of his addiction, and he would be right in thinking that.  But, wasn't it God who allowed him to be addicted in the first place?  Well, the apostle Peter speaks to just that in First Peter.  Peter speaks to the Father briefly allowing our sufferings in order that we might  benefit from them {Peter to the Dispersion (1) 5:10}.  Peter also speaks that we should not find it strange when we encounter various trials in life, but that we should rejoice in the unveiling of Christ in us {Peter to the Dispersion 4:12-13}.   Wasn't it the Father who allowed me to be addicted to pornography for as long as I was?  Indeed, this is also true.  The apostle Paul proclaims in Galatians that Christ Jesus has set us free from the yoke of slavery {Paul to the Galatians 5:1}.  Jesus has broken those chains!  I submit that when Christ is revealed in us, those chains of our sin will indeed be broken.  Paul also has declared that we are indeed dead to sin {Paul to the Romans 6:11}.  Since I was dead to sin while in the midst of my own addiction, why was it that I continued to engage in it?  Well, it was at that point in my life that I did not know just who I was in Christ.  In essence, I didn't know who I truly was inside.  It had been preached to me that I was simply a sinner who had been saved by the grace of God.  So, in my mind I was doing what sinners do.  The knowing of Christ Jesus had yet to be revealed in me.  Standing outside that building that night, God showed me not only who He is, but who I am as well.  

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

Paul to the Galatians 5: 1, Concordant New Testament 

The revelation of Christ that I have received from the Father is the knowledge that it is Christ who I now live in {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  We do well to understand that this revelation, which was also revealed in the apostle Paul, has no set time schedule.  For Paul spent more than a few years steeped in the Jewish faith and persecuting the followers of Jesus until Christ was revealed in him {Paul to the Galatians 1:15-16}.  This revelation only comes "When it delights God."  I believe that this is exactly what Alice Cooper experienced as he was in that hospital so many years ago.  For he went in an addict but came out with the realization that he wasn't the same man he thought he was.  The chains had been broken!  I enjoy hearing the confessions of those who have come to their own "Jesus realization" moments in their lives.  Let me be clear, Jesus has always been with us from the beginning {Johns Account 1:1-3}.  For all was created by Him and for Him.  We also understand that we are created in the Fathers likeness {Genesis 1:27}.  Having been created in His likeness, how can we not have the Father in us?  Yet all too often we forget that truth, or the truth has yet to be revealed in us.  The mainstream church, for their part, do not speak to this truth of Christ in us.  Jesus and the Father live separate from us in heaven.  This is the lie of the deceiver spoken in the garden which continues to be spoken from church pulpits today {Genesis 3:1-6}.  The truth is that God has never been apart from His creation.  It is in our minds that we accept this as truth until such time that the Father reveals Himself in us.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father {Jesus In A Skirt}

 

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 

Not so long ago, President Donald J Trump was criticized for seemingly degrading comments which he made against women which were caught on tape.  Democrats, of course, did everything they could to damage him over these comments.  For his part, Trump dismissed his comments as "Locker room talk."  In my own experience, I have been around many men/boys who have shared the same degrading comments about women as Trump has, even worse.  More than a few of my co-workers have taken to referring to women in derogatory ways as well.  Now, I believe that this not only relegates a woman to being inferior to a man, but that her only purpose in life is to give pleasure and obedience to men.  Furthermore, the disciple Peter proclaims that women should be honored as "The weaker vessel" {Peter to the Dispersion (1) 3:7}.  The apostle Paul takes this a bit deeper as he proclaims that there is no male nor female, but that all are one in Christ {Paul to the Galatians 3:28}.  Now, I'm not saying that man has not been created with certain, shall we say, urges which we are constantly bombarded with throughout our lives.  However, we should realize that all which we have been created with is from the Father Himself {Genesis 1:27}.  It is obvious that God knew beforehand just what we were getting into.  If we are all one in Christ, as Paul proclaims, then when should know that when we look upon a woman we are looking upon Jesus Himself.  Would we ever even think of disparaging Jesus with a vulgar name?  Yet, this is the behavior which far too many men continue to engage in.  Be it locker room talk or simply speaking how we feel about women in general, speaking this way of the Fathers creation presents to us a problem.  Now, I have not been innocent in this arena by any means.  While I may not have verbally degraded women, my own thoughts over them did just as much harm as if I were saying it out loud.  I've made my peace with the Father for my actions.  So, the question remains, how are we as believers to view e female?  The weaker of the sexes?  Trust me, in my own time in the gym I have seen more than a few women who could kick my butt given the chance.  But I tend to fall in line with the words of Paul, that there is no longer any male or female, but that we are all one in Christ Jesus. 

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 

Through the years I have been told that when I look in the mirror the image that I see is not my own, but that of Christ Jesus.  Knowing this, is it any different for a woman?  I would suggest that when a woman gazes into the mirror, she does not hear that she is the fairest of them all, but that she is a daughter of the Father.  Indeed, we have all been declared children of God {First Epistle of John 3:1}.  How, then, knowing that we have not only been divinely created, but live within the Father, can we possibly degrade His creation?  Obviously, this is not from the Father but from our own human desires.  As I've said, I've been there.  I'm not proud of those things I've done, but I've come away with the revealing which the Father has given unto me that not only am I in His image, but all have been created in it as well.  So how is it that we respond to someone who is continuing to disparage the Lords creation?  Well, I believe that our calling is to remind them that the very one whom they are degrading carries the same identity as they do.  That man I know who has taken to referring to women in a not so flattering way is one in Christ just as she is.  This is the truth given unto us by the Father.  Nobody will convince me, as some have tried, that their opinions of women are the Fathers desire for them seeing as God is in them.  That's crap!  The desire of the Father is that His children would recognize their union life in He and Christ {Johns Account 14:20}.  Jesus isn't simply a man, He wears a skirt as well.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Never Close Enough)

 

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 

The other day at the gym I was listening to a country music version of the old hymn "A closer walk with thee."  One verse in particular got me to thinking, "I'll be satisfied as long as I walk, Dear Lord, closer to thee."  Closer to God?  Anyone who has ever attended one of our mainstream churches for any length of time will recognize these words.  Growing up in the church, I learned to walk closer to God.  To do this, however, meant that I needed to live my life in a way that He approved of.  Of course, anyone who has ever attempted to live a life totally pleasing to the Lord knows that there will be obstacles along the way.  We're only human, and all too often that freedom of choice God has created us with can get in the way of living a God favored life.  Again, if you've ever spent time in the church, you know and have heard these words in one sermon or another.  I know that I have.  What got me thinking about the words of the hymn was not the fact that I could walk closer to God, but in the knowing that today I walk IN HIM.  The apostle Paul speaks to this truth in Galatians {Paul to the Galatians 2:20}.  In his heart, Paul knew that it was no longer he who was alive and thriving, but Christ Jesus who lived through him.  If I were still in the church, this verse might have sounded a bit far fetched.  Jesus in me?  Christ alive in a sinner?  How is this even possible?  Well, it's not possible, if not for Jesus.  For it is Jesus who took our sin upon Himself at the cross {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  Were it not for the work of Christ on the cross, my sin would forever be before me.  But this has never been Gods plan for me, nor for His children.  This is why a hymn such as A closer walk with Thee sends the wrong message about the truth of the Father.  We do not simply walk closer with Him.  We walk IN HIM.  Jesus has declared our union life with He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  Of course, this is not the message which we will receive from the pulpits of the mainstream church.  

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 

My mother was a huge fan of the old hymns when I was growing up.  I can still see her singing to herself as she worked around the house.  So it is that I was exposed to these hymns from an early age.  The message was clear.  God is with us.  We can walk with Him.  Come unto us Lord.  Of course, I never in my life heard one of these old hymns that proclaimed our life in Him.  So it is that the authors of these hymns followed the path of centuries old church theology.  That all have sinned and that God could never be within reach of sin.  Of course, I now know that there are indeed scriptures that speak to our life in the Father.  These are indeed the same scriptures which have been around for thousands of years.  So the question remains, did the church get it wrong or did they simply choose to ignore that which was in front of their noses?  One thing is for certain, God has never changed {To The Hebrews 13:8}.  This leads me to believe that those in the church simply chose to ignore that which was in front of them in favor of the centuries old church narrative.  This is also the reason that I struggled to accept the truth of the Father as it was revealed to me through a dear friend of mine.  I had never before heard of the concept of living within God.  Was it even possible?  Well, I have come to know that not only is it possible, but that it is how I now live each and every day.  In fact, if I could I would rework that old hymn from A closer walk with Thee to...As I walk in Thee.  But, that wouldn't fit the narrative.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (A Love Like No Other)

 

And we know and believe the love which God has in us.  God is love, and he who is remaining in love is remaining in God, and God is remaining in him

First Epistle of John 4: 16, Concordant New Testament 

For some reason, I found myself watching a match making reality program the other day.  As far as I could tell, the purpose of this charade was to bring together single people with the intent of matching them with someone compatible with them.  This would have been the usual boring fare except for one young lady who claimed that her motivation for appearing on the show was to "Find someone to love me for who I am."  Now, this struck a chord with me because I myself have felt this way at times in my own life.  I mean, who doesn't want to be loved, right?  Too many people spend a lifetime in their search for this love relationship.  Far too many fail in their quest to find it.  More still find a feeling disguised as love, but in the end is nothing like love at all.  I can recall speaking to more than a few people involved in abusive relationships who only remained in them because they hoped that they would eventually lead to the love which they desired for themselves.  My own parents lived such a relationship.  Thankfully, my mother had the intuition to see that my dad would not change his ways.  This is a story repeated too many times for too many people.  Again, it is natural that we would desire someone to love and to love.  But what if these people found that love which accepted them no matter what they had done?  A love that, through the good and the bad, continued in its affection for them.  Well, this love can be found in the love which God has for us.  Growing up in the church theology, my image of God was one of a distant Father.  A Father who would love me one minute, but then withdraw His love the moment that I misbehaved or did something to displease Him.  The truth is, this is NOT the love of God.  For the love which God has for His children transcends any love which our human hearts can imagine.  The love of God is not abusive.  Furthermore, the love of God is never based on what we may or may not have done.  It is God who has loved us even before our first breath {First Epistle of John 4:19}.  It is God who will love us at our best and our worst.  This is the love of God, a love like no other.  

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 

How many times have you felt this way in your life?  That feeling that God could never love you because of what you had done in your life.  Well, I've spent a good portion of my life fighting off these feelings.  There are times that I've been my own worst enemy when it comes to my own relationship with God.  I'm well aware of those things that I've done in my life which the Father does not approve of.  There were days when the guilt and shame of my actions clouded my own view of Gods perfect love for me.  How could God love someone like me?  Simple, I am His creation {Genesis 1:27}.  In love I was created, and it is in love that I remain in Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  Too many people look upon God as being judgmental, but this isn't who He truly is at all.  For we're told that the one true nature of God...is love {First Epistle of John 4:8}.  For their part, the mainstream church has failed when it comes to speaking to the love nature of the Father.  They would rather speak of a God who holds the threat of an eternity in hell over our heads if we fail to live as He desires.  Again, this is not who He is at all.  It is because of Gods love for us that He dispatched His Son to be that sacrifice for our sins {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  It is because of the love of Jesus that He became sin and gave Himself willingly for us {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  He did all of this for us, out of His love for us.  Does that sound judgmental to you?  What love is there that, upon being found guilty, would do away with our transgressions and declare us clean in His sight?  Only the love of the Father.  A love like no other.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (Saving Grace)

 

Not for the works which are wrought in righteousness which we do, but according to His mercy, He saves us, through the bath of renascence and renewal of the holy spirit

Paul to Titus 3: 5, Concordant New Testament 

It's something which every believer strives for.  We struggle, hope and pray that we will one day be among the elect.  It is one of the key beliefs of our faith.  That when we believe in Jesus and follow a life of the Lord, that we will be saved.  Not only that, but spend our eternity in the presence of the Father.  For too many believers, this is the end game.  This is our reward for living a life in the Lord.  To be "Saved" is Gods reward for accepting His Son.  Or is it?  Growing up in the mainstream church, my salvation was a promise given to me if I flew right in the eyes of the Lord.  However, that same salvation could also be revoked should the Lord deem me unacceptable.  This was my struggle with knowing my own salvation.  A few years ago a good friend posed a question to me, did I consider God to be a Indian giver?  Did I consider God to be One who would promise me one thing and then take it away if He felt I didn't deserve it?  Of course, this made me question a few things about God as well.  Would God promise me something just to yank it away from me?  What kind of loving Father would do that?  We're told in scripture that God never changes {To the Hebrews 13:8}.  Therefore, if the Father makes me a promise, He intends to keep that promise {Paul to Titus 1:2}.  Yet the message of the mainstream church continues to be that of salvation in limbo.  Yes, Jesus shed His blood on that cross for you, but if you don't live your life the right way, you might just find yourself in hell someday.  This is the  mixed message that I grew up receiving from the church.  But it IS NOT the message which God has declared to His children.  For time and time again in the scriptures, we are told of the salvation of the Father {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9, Paul to the Romans 10:9, Johns Account 5:24}.  So who is it that we are to place our confidence in, God the Father or in man?  The words of man will tell us that our salvation is an object to be traded.  But the word of the Father proclaims that salvation is the gift freely given unto His children {Johns Account 3:16-17}.  

That, if ever you should be avowing with your mouth the declaration that Jesus is Lord, and should be believing in your heart that God rouses Him from among the dead, you shall be saved.  For with the heart it is believed for righteousness, yet with the mouth it is avowed for salvation

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

I see the topic of salvation to be the prickly pear of Christian theology.  For those in the mainstream church will hear that salvation is indeed conditional.  However, the apostle Paul, who undoubtedly knew of his own salvation, proclaimed this was not the case at all.  It is Paul who preaches that salvation is not a reward of our own works {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  Want to know the key to your salvation?  You will find it in Christ Jesus.  Jesus has proclaimed that nobody comes to the Father but through Him {Johns Account 14:6}.  But what is salvation?  That is key to our understanding of it.  A simple Google definition describes salvation as a "Preservation or deliverance from harm, ruin or loss."  Knowing this, is our salvation simply a eternity in the Lord?  That ship might already have sailed.  For Jesus has proclaimed our union life in He and the Father {Johns Account 14:20}.  So, how is it that salvation is our eternity in God if we already are there in Him?  My own belief on salvation is that it is that which is given freely of the Father unto His children.  Salvation is not simply a reward for good works, nor is it a destination of heaven.  I have been saved because of the love of the Father through the works of Christ Jesus.  I have been saved from what I once was, and redeemed unto who I am now {Paul to the Romans 6:10}.  Those in the church will hang onto the words of Paul that all have sinned {Paul to the Romans 3:23}.  But Jesus has died to that sin, thus saving me from being enslaved to it {Paul to the Corinthians (2) 5:21}.  THAT is my salvation.  Given freely out of Gods love for me.  

~Scott~ 

The Good Of The Father (How Deep Are You?)

Religion has actually convinced people that there is a 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.  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 heard a radio pastor the other day speaking with approval of those who find themselves "Deeply Religious."  In his words, these deeply religious believers are the ones who keep the faith of those around them alive.  As I listened, I thought that a better title for these mainstream church goers might be "Deeply in the weeds."  For those who might think differently, consider this prospect.  Who has ever been saved by religion?  Now, I agree that many have come to acquaint themselves with knowing the Lord and Jesus through immersing themselves in religion, but how many have been saved by religion itself?  Having grown up in the mainstream church, I'm well aware that having faith and believing are key points to the religious lifestyle.  I remember rising from the pool the morning of my baptism with the thought that I was now saved.  Was it this tradition that saved me?  Did John the baptizer save those he baptized?  Or, as John declared, did he simply pave the way for One greater than himself {Johns Account 26-30}?  As the baptizer declared, "He must be growing, yet mine is to be inferior."  Knowing this, we can say that it is definitely not the tradition of baptism by which one is saved.  For Jesus has proclaimed, "I am the way the truth and the life, no one is coming to the Father except through me" {Johns Account 14:6}.  So, it is not by being religious that we are saved.  We are saved when we trust in the work of Christ Jesus {Paul to the Ephesians 1:7}.  Religion has led us to believe that it is due to our own efforts that we have achieved salvation.  We believe.  We profess Jesus.  We accept Him into our hearts.  But the apostle Paul proclaims that it is not by our own efforts, but due to the love and grace of the Father {Paul to the Ephesians 2:8-9}.  If you continue in this religious belief, then you might just be deep in the weeds.  

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 

I personally would hate to see the after affects of those who, through their own efforts, achieved their own salvation.  Can you imagine the arrogance?  Knowing that they were saved, and rubbing this knowing in the faces of those who weren't.  Of course, this has nothing to do with the love and grace of the Father, but of the arrogance of man.  It is for this reason that God loved us enough to save us {First Epistle of John 4:10}.  To be in the weeds is to hold onto the belief that my own efforts are leading to my salvation.  The mainstream church is known for telling us that we can "Punch our ticket" for salvation if we only believe and live the right life.  But this goes against the declaration of Jesus Who has proclaimed that it is He who is the way to the Father.  It is Christ Jesus who has paved the way for the love of God to be manifested.  It is through the love and grace of the Father that we are saved {First Epistle of John 4:16}.  God saved you, not the church.  Sure, the church can TELL us of how it is that the Lord has loved and saved us.  I am thankful that I grew up in this knowledge.  I am thankful that I was raised knowing of Gods love for me.  I believe that this knowing kept me from getting too deep into the weeds of mainstream church theology.  I knew that I wanted to live my life in the Father and not simply punch my ticket for heaven.  The truth of the Lord that is so often overlooked is that WE DO live our lives in union with Him {Johns Account 14:20}.  Yet sometimes we need to dig ourselves through the weeds in order to see it. 

~Scott~