Not Your Average Dead Guy

 

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

Galatians 2:20 Concordant New Testament

Imagine for a moment that you are a brand-new Christian searching for a relationship with Jesus.  Somewhere in your heart you feel that desire to know Him.  Where do you go?  Who do you talk to?  Like so many before you, you could turn to your local church for answers to any questions that you may have about Jesus.  But what about questions about a relationship with Christ?  Is the any mainstream church even equipped to answer your questions?  So, knowing that the church more than likely does nothing for you as far as relational Jesus, where else do you turn?  Can you ask someone you know as a Christian about this idea that we can somehow have a deeply personal relationship with Jesus?  What would their response be?  A relationship with Jesus?  Is that even possible?  Welcome to the new Christianity of those seeking to know more about Christ.  And why wouldn't we?  Jesus is the central figure of the Christianity we believe in.  The prophets proclaimed His birth, and His ministry has inspired millions.  Then, He gave Himself up on a Roman cross that our sins would be forgiven {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  This is the Jesus you've been searching for.  The Jesus who has loved you from the beginning.  We read of the relationship which Jesus shared with His disciples.  How these men, chosen by Christ, lived, struggled and traveled with Him during the years of His ministry.  Jesus and His disciples not only were friends, but they also shared their lives together.  As Jesus taught, His disciples took in what He proclaimed.  But we also know that these twelve men shared almost every hour with Jesus.  They saw a side of Jesus which very few, including those of today's world, have never seen.  This is the Jesus you are longing to know on a more personal level.  

To whom God wills to make known what are the glorious riches of this secret among the nations, which is: Christ among you, the expectation of glory.

Colossians 1: 27 Concordant New Testament

To be fair, I was once among those who have searched for a more personal relationship with Christ Jesus.  A dear friend of mine traveled that path before me as he wondered to himself, "How do I have a relationship with a dead guy?"  How indeed.  For all which we have been taught about Jesus leads us to trust and believe that Jesus is not somewhere which we can find a relationship with Him.  No, Jesus is now sitting beside the Father in heaven.  Or is He?  A good friend of mine challenged me this week to write a post about how a new Christian could come to know Jesus as I have.  To know Jesus not only as that dead guy who died to forgive my sins, but the living Christ Jesus who lives in me.  The apostle Paul had that knowing of Christ Jesus who was in him.  Paul proclaims this realization in Galatians {Galatians 2:20}.  I had no idea of this knowledge when I set out to find Jesus.  My foray into the local church had not produced the answers I was looking for.  Jesus was still that dead guy who died for me.  Still hungry to know Him, a friend introduced me to some radical scriptures which tossed everything I thought I knew about Jesus on its ear.  It turns out that Jesus isn't just some dead guy I can hold up as evidence of my faith in Him.  As Paul proclaimed, Jesus is alive in me.  So, what would I say to a new believer who is seeking a more personal relationship with Jesus?  What took you so long?  Seriously, even though I hate throwing scriptures at others in the hopes that they might somehow "get it," this is different.  It is through these scriptures I have come to know by heart that others can be introduced to the Jesus I have come to know on a more personal level.  I would start by presenting Paul's own testimony of Christ which he recognized in himself.  I would also present Paul's testimony on the death of sin which he gives us in Romans {Romans 6:6-11}.  It is through these scriptures and the freedom in Christ Jesus which I have discovered that I would begin my conversation with a someone seeking a more personal relationship with Jesus.  

~Scott~ 

Through The Mud

 

Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For he who has died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.  Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV 

I listened to a radio preacher this week as he exclaimed that as we sin, we drag Jesus with us through the mud.  What got me interested in this particular sermon is that it was the closest this pastor had ever come to acknowledging Christ Jesus in us without actually admitting to it.  So, it seems to be with the modern institutional church narrative that Jesus cannot be one with us because of our sins.  How many times have you sat in church on a Sunday and left feeling more guilty than when you arrived?  I noticed it a lot.  I could walk into church feeling good that God had provided for the removal of my sins through the finished work of His Son.  Then, without missing a beat, the pulpit pounder would start talking about some sin I'd somehow forgotten about.  Never mind the fact that as Jesus died upon the cross that He cried out, "It is finished!"  What was He referring to?  What was finished?  Sin was finished!  More appropriately, our sins.  Yes, all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of the Lord {Romans 3:23}.  Yet most pastors today prefer to see sin in pre-Jesus terms instead of the correct post-Jesus era.  I know that I have sinned, but that was my old man, and he was out to death alongside Jesus on that cross.  Not once did Jesus cry out, it is finished...except for this or that!"   Jesus did not die with only a part of His task completed.  It is our sin which was one of the final obstacles to fall.  For we cannot live in our post-Jesus life without Jesus having first put sin to death once and for all.  The apostle Paul explains that we are no longer slaves to our sin {Romans 6:6}.  I believe that many Christians have been victims of the pre-Jesus church teaching.  We have been brought up to believe in a lie.  Yes, when we behave wrongly Jesus is there with us.  But Paul also teaches us that Jesus is with us each and every day.  When we look upon ourselves, we see Jesus who is in us {Galatians 2:20}.  

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." 

Galatians 2: 20 NKJV 

I want to pose to you one question.  How many times does Jesus need to die in order to put sin to death?  How many times must He endure the torture and mocking?  For when we continue with the church narrative that sin continues to plague our life, we delegitimize the sacrifice of Jesus upon the cross.  It is Jesus who Himself became sin that it would be put to death {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  Yet there are many Christians out there who are digging up dead sins that they might somehow be revived and endured once again.  I don't know about you, but I prefer knowing that those sins of my past are dead and gone.  This is the truth of the Jesus life.  There may be more than a few people out there who will swear up and down that the sky is not blue, but that does not make it true.  Likewise, many well intentioned Christians will say that the idea of Christ in us is something along the lines of impossible.  As I said, that doesn't make it true.  Scripture tells us that Jesus indeed dwells in us today.  Paul mentions this truth in a few places {Romans 6:8, Galatians 2:20}.  We're not told to cherry pick scriptures to find that which we believe to be acceptable.  It is the Word which is true and acceptable.  It is the Word which has been with us from the beginning {John 1:1-5}.  

I'm digging up bones

exhuming things that are better left alone

I'm resurrecting memories of a love that's dead and gone

Yeah tonight I'm sitting alone digging up bones  

Randy Travis ~ Digging Up Bones 

~Scott~ 

The Question Remains

 

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, "Do you want to be made well?"  

John 5: 6 NKJV 

What would you say to Him?  If our Lord Jesus were to approach you in your illness and ask if you wanted to be healed, what would you say to Him?  Would you be like the man beside the pool and tell Jesus your story of how you have been sick for so long and that there was nobody to help you?  Trust me, Jesus knows where you've been.  He already knew that this man by the pool of Bethesda was ill and had been for some time {John 5:6}.  Still, He asked him the question, "Do you want to be made well?"  to me this is a silly question, because if I were in this man's condition I would jump at the opportunity for healing.  Yet the man by the pool had seen false hope before.  When the waters of the pool would be stirred, he would try in vain to make it into the pool, only to have others beat him to it.  Jesus knew this as well.  It is beyond certainty that Jesus, knowing this man had experienced false hope so many times already, had come to give him everlasting hope.  He didn't need the healing waters of the pool, all he needed was Jesus.  Jesus was his hope.  Jesus is our hope.  It is Jesus who proclaimed to the man, "Rise, take up your bed and walk" {John 5:8}.  Immediately, of course, the man who had waited for so long was healed.  He hadn't stepped into the waters of Bethesda.  What he did experience was the living water of Christ Jesus.  I'm sure that most of us have a dog in the fight on this issue as we have all been ill at one point of another.  Scripture tells us that the man by the pool had been sick for thirty-eight years {John 5:5}.  I think back to some of the times in my life where I have been ill and yearned for Jesus to heal me.  I prayed that His healing hands would hold me.  I asked others to pray over me.  In the end, I was healed, knowing that Jesus never left my side.  But thirty-eight years?  I cannot even begin to imagine what that must be like.  Yet there are those who have suffered for so long.  To these Jesus may indeed pose the question, "Do you want to be made well?"  

And what agreement has the temple of God with idols?  For you are the temple of the living God.  As God has said:  

I will dwell in them

And walk in them,

I will be their God,

And they shall be My people."

2 Corinthians 6: 16 NKJV 

I think that Jesus' healing of the man by the pool of Bethesda is an important lesson for us today.  When I look at this man, I see one who did as the religious authorities of the day instructed those who were sick.  He went to wait beside the pool.  His focus was not on the healing power of the Lord, but on idols.  In the series The Chosen, Jesus lays it out for the man by the pool, "This pool does nothing for you, and you know it."  Indeed, many of those things we have been taught do nothing for us as well.  Did Jesus tell the man to tithe that he might be healed?  Did He tell him to spend more time in the temple in prayer over his infirmity?  No, He simply asked him what he wanted to hear for so many years.  "Do you want to be made well?"  Those tithes and offerings, the time spent in church filling a pew, it does nothing for you...and you know it.  What does offer you strength and healing is Christ Jesus.  It is only through Jesus that we will discover all which we really desire and need.  He is our hope of glory.  So, the question remains, do you want to be made well?  

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.  

Colossians 1: 27 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Our Hope Of Glory

 

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. 

Romans 8: 24 - 25 NKJV 

Recently I found myself in the middle of a health issue where my hope became a daily struggle.  I already knew the outcome.  The medication was working.  I was in the Lord's healing hands.  Still, I was more than a bit nervous and losing hope.  What if this time was different?  What if the Lord desires to lead me in a different direction?  All of these thoughts were with me each and every day.  Eventually I've come through the other side none the worse for wear, just like in the past.  This got me to thinking about the verse in scripture about our hope.  Who hopes for what they see?  Does anyone really hope for what they know is going to happen?  No.  We place our hopes on things and situations we are unsure of.  Strong is the Christian who sees their hopes and immediately knows that no matter what, God will work in their situation.  The rest of us may realize in our being that the Lord is at work, but we still carry a bit of doubt.  That is why we hope, right?  We hope because we carry doubts that what we're going through will work in our favor.  Don't get wrong, it's perfectly normal to have doubts, even for believers.  Thomas doubted he was seeing Jesus until the Lord gave him proof {John 20:24-31}.  Despite being told that He would rise once more, Jesus' disciples doubted he would.  It's normal to doubt.  I also believe that Jesus desires for God's children to live our lives in hope and not in doubt.  What do we hope for?  The apostle Paul lays that out for us beginning in Galatians.  Here, Paul tells of the truth of Christ Jesus in us {Galatians 2:20}.  This is the hope Paul refers to again in Colossians.  It is our knowledge of Christ Jesus in us which is, as Paul puts it, our hope of glory.  Still, when it comes to knowing the truth of Jesus in us, Christian circles are filled with more doubters than those of us who hope in the glory of Christ.  

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Colossians 1: 27 NKJV 

I look at Paul's description of the revelation of Christ in me and I understand just how true it is.  This is indeed a mystery among many people.  A dear friend recently referred to it as "the secret."  Whatever the reason, despite plenty of scriptural references, many still believe that their lives are separated from God.  It is the lie spawned by the enemy in the garden.   This is life without hope.  For if we believe that God is far removed from us in heaven, what hope do we ever have for a relationship with Him?  If we believe the traditional church teaching that we can only hope to "be like" Jesus, how will we ever come to know Him?  Like I said, a life without hope.  I'm sorry, but I choose not to live my life that way.  I desire to know Jesus and to have Him in me.  I choose the hope of glory.  I cannot speak for anyone else, only for what my own hopes are.  I no longer hope for what I do not see.  I rejoice in the glory of Christ Jesus which has been revealed in me.  He is our hope of glory.

Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is.  

1 John 3: 2 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

Reading The Seams

 

Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled.  And they realized that they had been with Jesus.

Acts 4: 13 NKJV 

The New Yorkers were furious.  Steaming mad.  Infielder Howard Johnson held up a few roughed-up baseballs and claimed that it was proof that "He's doing something to that ball!"  "He" was none other than Houston Astro's hurler Mike Scott, who up until that point had been stymying the Mets with his split fingered fast ball.  If the Mets were seeking a punishment for the Houston right hander, they wouldn't get it.  They would, however, get the ultimate revenge as they would eventually win the series in six games.  Mike Scott and his split finger pitch fanned fourteen Mets in his two starts.  There is an expression which tells us that we do well when we "Read the seams on the fast ball."  That is, when we are able to perceive things which others may not.  We sometimes refer to such people as gifted or blessed, I would agree on the latter.  For I believe that one's perception is not simply an act of genetics or schooling, but a revelation of the Lord.  Yes, even no believers may have these revelations.  However, what if that ball is moving so fast that we can't read the seams?  What if, as the New York Mets protested, someone is scuffing the ball before we can see it?  It's been known to happen.  God's revelations do not always come on a regular basis.  Why do I bring this up?  To illustrate the knowing of the truth of Christ Jesus.  See, people may say that they know Jesus, but do they?  There are simple questions.  Where does Jesus live?  How can Jesus tolerate sin?  Read the seams people!  Fortunately for us, we have the apostle Paul, whose own revelation led him to his understanding of Christ Jesus in him {Galatians 2:20}.  It is Paul who explains to us that it is Jesus who lives in us today.  What about that nagging sin issue?  Yeah, Paul gives us a few words on how Jesus did away with that as well {Romans 6:6-11}.  Sin is no longer the issue which keeps Jesus away from being one with us.  This is a truth I have only come to know and understand in the last few years.  I read the seams.  Why haven't other believers also wrapped their understanding around the truth of Jesus?  Well, like I said, the Lords revelations are unlike clockwork.  It is in His timing which we will see Christ in us.  

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might teach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood.

Galatians 1: 15 - 16 NKJV 

Understand, I wasn't a heathen before I came to realize Christ in me.  I was like many other believers out there simply following what I learned in organized church.  I wasn't reading the seams.  In other words, it was a steady diet of slow pitches which I became accustomed to.  Then one day a dear friend stood on that mound and delivered to me a blistering split fingered fastball.  Something which went so far against what I had been taught that I couldn't immediately accept it.  Here I was, a sinner saved by the heavenly Fathers love and grace...and Jesus is in me?  Me?  Like most believers who have had this revelation, my first thought was what about my sins?  You know, those sins which Jesus Himself died on that cross to forgive me of?  Those sins which, despite knowing this, I still carried with me?  Yeah, those sins.  Well, it turns out that Jesus has Himself become sin that I need not be enslaved to them any longer {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  Again, I didn't read the seams.  Reading the seams can be difficult.  Perceiving what we will encounter is no easy task.  However, one thing we can be assured of is that the One who knows every secret will reveal to us what He wants us to know in His perfect timing.  The Houston Astros found that out the hard way.  

Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.  For he who has died has been freed from sin.  Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more.  Death no longer has dominion over Him.  For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. 

Romans 6: 6 - 11 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

The Reason For Our Seasons

 

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2: 10 NKJV 

It might just be one of the most prayed prayers in the history of the church.  Why me, God?  As we struggle through one bad situation or another.  One ailment or another.  It is a question we might just ask of a God whom we were taught to believe would protect and care for us if we only believed.  So, what went wrong?  Did we suddenly stop believing?  Did God become upset and pull the plug on His love and support for us?  Well, if you are a member of a mainstream traditional church, these are the answers you might just get to this question.  You haven't prayed enough.  You haven't tithed enough.  Blah blah blah.  Are we to believe, then, that a God who never changes has suddenly turned a 180 and abandoned us because of our failure to utter a timely prayer or fork over a few more dollars to the church corporation?  I have always felt uneasy about such claims uttered by church officials.  First of all, it relegates our heavenly Fathers love for us into a reward system.  Want God to love you, well you need to pray more or drop more into that offering plate.  Does anyone but me see the ridiculousness of this line of thinking?  Yet many a Christian the world over buy into this idea of somehow buying God's love.  It's bunk.  So it is that get into another conversation, why is it that a loving God would allow His children to suffer through times of adversity and sickness?  Jesus Himself tells us that we should not think that we will be immune to suffering simply because we believe in Him {John 16:33}.  We should not expect that we will not be afflicted, but that through Christ Jesus we will.  We can correctly assume that we don't go it alone in our struggles, but that Jesus is there with us.  The apostle Paul reminds us of this truth when he speaks to Christ Jesus in you {Galatians 2:20}.  In fact, my understanding of Christ in me led me to a different understanding of an amazing passage.  In Philippians, Paul explains that he can do all things through the strength of Christ Jesus {Philippians 4:13}.  Not only that, but Christ Jesus IS our strength in time of need.  

To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.

Colossians 1: 29 NKJV 

I decided upon the title of this post after hearing the testimony of a few friends who have undergone or are in the middle of a struggle in their own lives.  Not only that, but I've recently found myself in the middle of a few difficult situations.  As I mentioned, just because we believe in Jesus, we are not immune to the trials of life.  Far too often we fall into the mindset of seeing Jesus as a far-off observer instead of knowing the truth of Christ in us.  In this scenario, when we are afflicted, we immediately turn to the one who promised never to leave us {Hebrews 13:5}.  Then, when we perceive that our situation may not be improving, we immediately run to God to inquire why He is ignoring us.  Sound familiar?  I get it.  Here's something new.  Because we know that we are not immune to Lifes trials, how about we try a radical new way of responding to them?  How about instead of asking God why He isn't working, we ask Him what He's doing through us?  What is it that God is working in our lives through us?  Now THAT is more in tune with the truth of Christ Jesus in us.  Of course, you won't find this truth preached from any church pulpit that I know of.  What is the reason for our seasons?  Our pain may make it personal to us, but it is the Father who is working through us.  

Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.

2 Corinthians 12: 10 NKJV 

~Scott~ 

At The Feet Of The Father

 

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.  

1 John 4: 8 NKJV 

There's something to be said about the way a child is raised.  Scripture tells us that we should raise a child the right way and he will not depart from it {Proverbs 22:6}.  Indeed, a child who is raised well by their parents will have a sound foundation through their life.  But how is it that we, as Crosby, Stills and Nash implored, teach our children well?  Well, they learn both from experience and from examples we give them.  Whatever a child sees a parent do, they automatically assume that they need to mimic that behavior.  After all, if it's good for mom and dad it must be meant for the kids too, right?  Sadly, there are some parents out there whose questionable behavior comes nowhere close to teaching the children well.  This is exactly why children who come from abusive homes typically tend to exhibit that very same behavior.  The cycle continues.  As we discuss children learning from our parents, we should consider the Christian perspective as well.  For those of us who love God, what is it that we see our Father do?  well, the apostle John explains that to us.  For the very nature of God is love {1 John 4:8}.  This is also what the Father wishes for us to learn from Him as well.  This is the command which Jesus gave to those who would listen, that we love one another {John 13:34-35}.  Why?  Because the very essence of our heavenly Father is love.  It is love by which he created us in His image {Genesis 1:27}.  It is also through His love by which he provided for our redemption through His Son.  When we look upon our Father, we see love.  This is what we can learn from Him.  Of course, along with love we may also come to emulate God's mercy and grace as well.  Of course, it all goes back to His love for us.  This is the key to learning from the Father.  

Is someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?

1 John 4: 20 NKJV 

Some time ago a friend asked me to speak to a group of young people he worked with and mentored.  At first, I was taken aback and wondered just what it was that I could possibly say to these kids who had seen so much turbulence and tragedy in their own lives?  How could my own experiences somehow relate to them that they were not alone in their experiences?  Well, it turns out that I've been there as well.  My own struggles may not have been as severe as some of these kids, but they were struggles nonetheless.  Perhaps through my experiences I could relate to them that I had faced down the devil in my own life as well.  Knowing this, I agreed to speak to my friends group.  Unfortunately, I never got the chance as life events prevented our schedules from meshing.  However, from time to time I still think of the impact I might have had with these kids had I had the opportunity to speak to them.  What is it that they could learn from me?  Well, as one of my favorite sayings claims, learn from my mistakes.  The difficult times I've suffered may not have been in vain if they can be used to show others that the Lord used me for His purpose.  The struggles I've had may well be a lesson to those searching for a better way.  When we learn at the feet of the Father, we learn to emulate all which He does and to include it into our own lives.  Love one another.  Show mercy.  Be kind to those less fortunate.  This isn't merely being "like" Jesus.  This is BEING Jesus {Galatians 2:20}.  And in the end, this is how we learn.  

For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 

Hebrews 4: 15 NKJV 

~Scott~