Raising The Dead (God's Love)

 

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.

1 John 3: 1, Concordant New Testament

Growing up, I remember one of the ways that my mother would make me feel better when I was hurting.  In those times, she would often hold me and tell me that God loved me.  At the time, I was more interested in hearing that my mom loved me, but I grew up at least knowing that God loved me as well.  I found myself thinking of those times this week as I struggled through a few of life's situations.  I admit, there are still times in my life where I need to hear those words...God loves me.  You'd think that being a Christian born and raised that I would already be assured of this, but I still have my moments where I need to be reassured.  In my heart I know this to be true, but it is still good to hear it.  I think of all of those whom we might come into contact with in our daily lives, and how much they may desperately need that confirmation as well.  When was the last time that you told someone that God loves them?  Can you think of anything more life changing than hearing those words?  I recently had the experience of speaking to a girl named Heather who happened to be living on the streets of Portland.  As we talked, she told me that she missed her family but that she didn't want them to see her in the condition she was in.  Her breaking point came when I tried to assure her that God loved her.  At this point, this tough street kid started to cry.  I'm guessing that at that moment Heather needed to hear that God indeed loved her.  How powerful of a statement is that?  The apostle John marvels at this as well as he reveals the Lords love for us.  A love that assures us that we are His children {1 John 3:1}.  Is it any wonder that my mother would choose those times when I needed it the most to remind me of the Fathers love for me?  I believe that most people do not hear those words quite enough.  

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.  

1 John 4: 16, Concordant New Testament 

As believers, I believe that each and every church service should began with one statement...God loves you!  We spend far too much time focused on the do's and don'ts of Christian life that we sometimes forget that it is the love of the Father that is at the base of our belief.  Jesus tells us not to covet.  Does He do this out of a sense of right and wrong?  Perhaps, but I believe that His main focus is His love for us.  It is because of His love for us that He gave Himself in our place {2 Corinthians 5:21}.  We also understand that the very nature of the Father is one of love {1 John 4:8}.  He is not a God of hellfire and brimstone as the Old Testament at times depicts.  The Fathers main purpose is not to remain in heaven and watch for the next opportunity where we mess up.  No, because of His love for us, He remains in us today {Galatians 2:20}.  In spite of our former condition, it is God who loved us enough to send His Son to die for us {Romans 5:8}.  There is absolutely nothing that will ever separate us from the love of the Father {Romans 8:37-39}.  The message of Gods love for us could be a strong one for someone in desperate need to hear it.  Do you know someone who needs to be reminded of the Fathers love for them today?  I remember in those times when I needed it the most I was reminded of the Fathers love for me.  I don't think I'm wrong when I say that He desires all of His children to know of His love for us.  

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

1 John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

The Road Not Taken

 

And not to be configured to this eon, but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind, for you to be testing what is the will of God, good and well pleasing and perfect. 

Romans 12: 2, Concordant New Testament

There's a guy I work with.  Someone of, let's just say nefarious behaviors when it comes to his recreational time away from work.  A man with a wife and three children who has been known to drop back a few beers at the local strip club before going home at the end of the day.  A real family guy.  As most readers of this page know, that was once my way of doing things as well.  That was the road I used to travel before Jesus pulled me back.  My coworker wondered this week why he had not seen me at the local watering hole for awhile.  I simply told him that I had been a bit busy, because trying to explain to him the real reason for my absence may have been a bit over his head.  I'm not sure that he would have understood that night I realized that I was somewhere I didn't belong.  Don't get me wrong, I had been a regular attendee to the local dens of iniquity for quite some time.  It's what guys do, so I was told.  So, you can imagine the shock among my work brethren when they realized that I was not partaking in the time honored male tradition of admiring the female body.  As far as Jesus was concerned, it was not the place for me to be.  Far too many people often find themselves traveling down that road I once did.  Walking somewhere they shouldn't be.  My coworker continues to do just that.  The only difference between myself and him is my realization of the Lord Jesus in me.  Were he to chance upon his own revelation of Christ, he might change his path as I have.  It is never the Lords intent to see His children waste their lives in the pursuit of what many would call worldly treasures.  Scripture tells us to avoid such things {1 John 4-6}.  People such as my coworker are of the world, that is what they flock to.  Yet, we recall a man named Saul who also once walked in the world but was shown the error of his ways.  

Now Saul, still breathing out threatening and murder against the disciples of the Lord, approaching the chief priest, requests for him letters for Damascus to the Synagogues, so that, if he should be finding any who are of the way, both men and women, he may be leading them bound to Jerusalem.  Now in his going he came to be nearing Damascus.  Suddenly a light out of heaven flashes about him.  And falling on the earth, he hears a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"  Yet he said, "Who art Thou, Lord?"  Yet He said, "I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting."  

Acts 9: 1-6, Concordant New Testament 

Would anyone dare think of the apostle Paul as an unbeliever?  Would any well meaning Christian stake claim that Paul was wandering down that wrong road in life?  Well, before it was revealed to Paul who he truly was, he was the man Saul who persecuted the believers of the early church.  It was Saul who fought for the execution of those who followed the words of Jesus.  Raised up deeply in the Jewish faith, Saul saw the teachings of Jesus as blasphemy at the very least.  Being the loyal religious soldier, Saul did his part to do away with those of the way, the early church.  Yet, that road Saul was walking one day brought him face to face with the One whom he had been vehemently against for so long.  The man Jesus.  What is interesting to me is that from the beginning of his encounter with Jesus, Saul, seems to know that he is dealing with something different here.  His initial response leads us to this conclusion..."Who are You, Lord?"  Now, it may well have been the bright flash of light that blinded him that brought him to that conclusion, but being a religious man himself, I believe that Saul had a hint of who he was dealing with.  So, another man wandering in the wiles of the world receives the revelation of Christ.  Anyone see a pattern here?  I am satisfied to tell those I once associated with that I no longer indulge in that which I used to.  Some accept me despite of that while others walk away.  If there is one thing I have learned from this is what I learned outside the strip club that night.  No man is beyond the reach of the Lord.  

~Scott~ 

The War Within

 

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

Romans 7: 24-25, Concordant New Testament 

There is a common phrase thrown out whenever someone acts in the wrong way.  The devil made me do it!  There may be a sliver of truth to that, since it is the deceiver who introduced us to sin in the first place {Genesis 3:4-6}.  Yet we can't throw all of the blame for our bad behaviors on the most obvious scapegoat, for we ourselves have a role to play in that movie.  Not only do we at times have the desire to behave wrongly, there is a part of us which is more than willing to go along with the plan.  That part of us is none other than our flesh.  To put it in perspective, it is Christ who indwells in us {Galatians 2:20}.  Yet, it is our flesh that is the container for His being in us.  Granted, Jesus did away with that old nature that He would make His home in us {Romans 6:6}.  It is the flesh that remains.  It is our flesh that is often at war with the desires of the Lord.  It is our flesh which God referred to as His enemy {Romans 8:7}.  This should not come as a surprise to most believers, as scripture is filled with passages that depict the flesh as being contrary to the desires of the Lord.  Now, the flesh is not entirely wicked, it is simply highly influenced by our outside world around us.  The apostle Paul realized that his mind was obedient to the Lord but his flesh was indeed focused on sin {Romans 7:24-25}.  Should we anguish as Paul did upon our realization that our flesh is contrary to God?  What wretched man am I!  No, for even Paul realized that although his flesh may be highly influenced, it is the grace of the Lord which saves us from ourselves {Romans 7:24}.  

For the flesh is lusting against the spirit, yet the spirit is against the flesh.  Now these are opposing one another, lest you should be doing whatever you want. 

Galatians 5: 17, Concordant New Testament 

It is important to remember that despite the fact that our members are waging war against the desires of the Lord, all is not lost.  I am not that wretched man.  For through the love and grace of Christ Jesus I have been redeemed.  Despite the war raging within me, I still reserve the right to choose bad behavior or choosing Christ.  My focus can be on Jesus, or on the world around me.  Because of the sacrifice of Christ at the cross, I am a new creation in spirit {2 Corinthians 5:17}.  This vessel that is so influenced by the world around me was also lovingly created by the Lord {Genesis 1:27}.  For many believers, the mind is focused on the Lord.  Yet the fleshly body is all too often focused on what not to do.  We can see this evidenced in the number of Godly men who have fallen victim to one perilous behavior or another.  I used to think of pastors as  men of the Lord with iron will.  I would try to model myself after their passion for the Lord.  That was then, this is now.  In recent years, the mainstream church has been rocked with allegations and charges of these men of God behaving badly.  More evidence of the war waging within.  Knowing the good which pleases God, yet instead choosing to follow the deceptions of the flesh.  I've been down that road as well.  Guilt, condemnation and shame are the usual outcomes.  As believers, we might feel that all is lost when we make the choice to follow where the flesh leads.  We may see ourselves as that wretched man Paul agonized over.  We do well to remember that Christ Jesus has provided for our redemption.  We are no longer defined by our flesh, but by Christ in us. 

~Scott~ 

Loving The Unlovable

 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. 

1 John 4: 20, Concordant New Testament 

I passed by a billboard the other day which struck at my heart as it should many self proclaimed Christians.  The sign said simply...Christians love their enemies.  Really?  Well, I'll tell you, there is a entire world out there that probably would not agree with that statement.  I do not agree with it, and I'm a believer.  Let's be clear, I DO NOT disagree with the loving our enemies statement, I just feel that as believers we have fallen far short of what was expected of us.  Sure, we might out on our Sunday best and shake our brothers hand, but all that goes out the window as soon as someone cuts us off in traffic.  I am in no way attempting to be condemning here, I am simply bringing up what Jesus desired for His followers.  It can be said that Jesus is not shown in us when we treat our brethren badly.  However, I am of the opinion that Jesus never leaves us.  Therefore, He is in us even when we deny our brother.  Is He approving of our actions?  Probably not.  Yet if we listen to what the apostle Paul has proclaimed, Jesus dwells in us no matter what {Galatians 2:20}.  How is it that we, as believers, can convince the world of the truth of the indwelling Christ when we treat others in questionable ways?  My first question to them would be, is this how Jesus taught you to treat people?  Of course, most believers know that Jesus was pretty clear when it came to how we're supposed to treat one another.  With the same love that He shows us.  It is through our love for the brethren that God will be glorified {Matthew 5:16}.  I will be the first to admit that I have fallen short when it comes to loving those around me.  I won't go through a list of those I've considered unlovable, only that it exists.  There are those who have wronged me, insulted me and treated me badly.  My response has always been the one taken from the world, get mad and get even.  Oh, there are times when I have given grace to my brethren, but it's definitely an area I need to pay more attention to.  

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

Matthew 5: 16, Concordant New Testament 

It's really not a big shock to me as to why we choose not to bestow our brethren with love as Jesus commanded.  We think we know better.  When someone treats us wrongly, instead of showing the grace of the Lord we have already convicted them in our hearts.  How much better would we feel if we were to absolve what others have done to us and allowed the Lord to deal with it all?  Do we trust Him enough to do just that?  I know that I haven't.  My list of accused and condemned brethren is quite long.  Yet the Fathers intent is to transform that list of accused into a roster of those blessed through His love and grace.  I could have shown them love, but I thought my way was better.  After all, those who practice wrongdoing are guilty right?  Well, that kind of reminds me of a story of a pot and a black kettle.  At some point in my life, I was that guy who treated someone wrongly.  Was it my expectation, then, that God should condemn me for doing so?  If so He never got that memo.  For all of the brethren that I have mistreated, the Father is the One that showed me His love.  How much so will He also show love to those I treat wrongly?  We believers do not have a monopoly on the blessings of the Lord.  Nor are we immune from those who will treat us in a bad way.  What we can be assured of is that when we love those the world deems to be unlovable, it is Christ who is showing Himself through us. 

~Scott~ 

Separation Anxiety

 

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

Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

The other day I heard of a story of a young man who, while facing a trial in his life, came to the realization that as he went about his day, that God was there right with him.  I do not dispute this belief.  Modern Christians are quick to point to the fact that God continues to be a integral part of our lives...albeit from a distance.  Growing up in the traditions and legalism of the mainstream church, I came to accept as fact the idea that my Lord was not a physical part of my life, but One who sat in heaven and manipulated events to His choosing.  Should I need help, and if it fit his will, God would manipulate events in my favor.  However, if I was acting in a not so holy way, then the Lord would deem it in His power to withhold blessings or allow discomfort in my life.  Thus was my early relationship with God.  Like many who attended the churches of our land, I had separation anxiety.  I was in His earthbound plane while God controlled things from the heavens.  Sadly, this continues to be the view of the mainstream church today.  Nothing much has changed as far as the believers relationship with the Father.  Sure, we can proclaim that we love God, but we come up short in our desire for a personal relationship with Him.  The idea that God is with us in the midst of our trials is not a new concept.  Jesus promised that He would be with us always {Matthew 28:20}.  Of course, this introduces the question, if Jesus is with us, can He be two places at once?  Does Jesus pick and choose when and where He accompanies us?  What if I were to suggest that not only is Jesus with us in our trials, but that we walk through those times AS Jesus?  Is this statement worthy of blasphemy?  Perhaps, but reading the words of the apostle Paul presents us with a different view of Jesus.  One the mainstream church seems to have missed altogether.  

Now if the spirit of Him who rouses Jesus from among the dead is making its home in you, He who rouses Christ Jesus from among the dead will also be vivifying your mortal bodies because of His spirit making its home in you.  

Romans 8: 11, Concordant New Testament 

When it comes to separation anxiety, I'd say that the mainstream church puts it into practice.  Separation anxiety in the believer is the struggle to identify the true God from the one the church has propped over the centuries.  Have you ever longed for a closer relationship with the Lord?  Wondered if you were of good enough behavior that God would allow Himself into your heart?  That was my struggle.  I longed to embrace God as I had my own father, yet church teachings told me that this was not possible until I became perfect in the Lords eyes.  I needed to prove to God that I was worth that relationship with Him.  Does this sound like the love of the Father?  Does this sound Like God loved me enough to breath into me the breath of life?  If I wasn't good enough for me to have a personal relationship with God, what was He even there for?  Fortunately, through a good friend, I came across the words of the apostle Paul.  Paul proclaims that those who long for a personal relationship with God can have it.  It is Christ, explains Paul, who lives in us {Galatians 2:20}.  It is the spirit of the Lord that is making His home in you {Romans 8:11}.  Keep in mind that this is probably something you will not hear from the pulpit of too many church congregations.  I have often wondered why the church would choose not to proclaim the liberating truth of Christ Jesus in us.  Instead, they continue to adhere to the idea of the Father being separate from the Children He loves so dearly.  It is no wonder that so many believers suffer from this separation anxiety.  

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

1 John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Jesus Freaks

 Wherefore , also, God highly exalts Him, and graces Him with the name that is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should be bowing, celestial and terrestrial and subterranean, and every tongue should be proclaiming that Jesus Christ is Lord, for the glory of God, the Father.

Philippians 2: 9-11, Concordant New Testament 

Have you ever met someone who was so on fire for Jesus that it could best be described as an obsession?  Their only thoughts are centered around Gods one and only Son and how they can know Him better.  Not only that, but these so called Jesus Freaks go to any length to tell the world around them about the joy of knowing Jesus.  They've heard of all the wonderful things Jesus has done, and they are all in for following Him.  I feel that were these people alive during the ministry of Jesus that perhaps they would have perhaps been disciples of His as well.  The era of the Jesus freaks as I recall was back in the 60's and 70's.  I recall watching tv shows featuring multi colored vans of Jesus freaks traveling around the country.  Of course, this was the public image of someone who followed Jesus back then.  The recent film release Jesus Revolution attempts to capture the spirit of those to whom following Jesus was an obsession.  Not having yet seen the movie, I can only go off what I have seen from the films trailers.  However, I do feel that it is a film worth seeing.  In my time in the mainstream church I would at times encounter someone who came across as being a Jesus freak.  Someone who lived and breathed knowing Jesus.  The interesting thing is, instead of accepting one who desired to know Jesus, those in the churches I attended tended to ignore these admirers of Jesus.  So much so, that in many cases the once proud seeker of Jesus became just another regular member of the congregation...minus the desire to know Jesus.  That fire had been squashed by those who for one reason or another did not want to hear of their form of Jesus.  But has anyone ever realized the Jesus who these Jesus freaks were celebrating?  This is a Jesus of love and kindness and mercy for the downtrodden.  Why would Christians who claim to worship Christ want to silence this message about Jesus?  

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

1 John 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

The only reason I see that those in the church would dismiss the excitement of the Jesus freaks is that their zeal went against the narrative of the mainstream church.  It is well known that Jesus was crucified and buried and that He rose again on the third day.  This is basic Christian knowledge 101.  But the story of Jesus does not end there.  I prefer to view the cross as the starting line for Jesus and not the end of the race.  As He claimed to His followers, He will be with us always {Matthew 28:20}.  I prefer not to think of Jesus as a liar, so I take Him at His word.  One of the most encouraging scriptures I have found was penned by the apostle Paul and it concerns the reality of Jesus in our world today.  Paul writes that it is Christ Jesus who lives in him {Galatians 2:20}.  I feel that a lot of believers get lost in the reality of Jesus, and it all depends on which message you are receiving.  For most of my life, the church version of Jesus was spoken to me.  This is the Jesus who died for me, was buried, rose again and ascended into heaven where He now resides.  This, of course, flies in the face of the Jesus Paul was speaking to.  Imagine my own confusion as I was introduced to the reality of Jesus indwelling in me.  I no longer needed to strive to "be like" Jesus in order to be successful.  Jesus put to death the man I once was, clearing the way for His life in me {Romans 6:6-11}.  This is the message of the truth of Jesus.  It is rarely preached in the pews of Christianity, so this may be your first time reading what some might consider to be heresy.  Thinking back, this was the message that the Jesus freaks were attempting to give us.  Jesus is alive! 

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

Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

In The Line Of Fire

 

When I get home people will ask me, "Hey Hoot, why do you do it man?  Why?  You some kinda war junkie?"  You know what I'll say?  I won't say a goddamn word.  Why?  They won't understand.  They won't understand why we do it.  They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it.  That's all it is. 

SFC Norm "Hoot" Hooten 1SFODD, Task Force Ranger 2001 

It's a question I've often asked myself, where are you God?  Usually it's in my times of most trouble as I struggle to make sense of one situation or another.  Where is God when we're up against it?  Where is God when the rubber meets that road?  Well, if we stop long enough to think, in the midst of our troubles and struggles God is in the only place that He can be...within us.  The trouble with our life situations is that we rarely take the time to stop and realize the presence of the Lord within us.  Our life situations and how to deal with them seem to take priority in these times.  I get it.  I have been down that road plenty of times.  After my mother passed I became angry with a God who I felt had abandoned me in my time of need.  My grief was clouding my vision.  God was grieving as well.  The pain which I felt at her loss, the Lord felt as well.  How could He not, it is He who dwells in me.  The apostle Paul makes this clear in Galatians.  God is not just a overseer who sits in heaven waiting for His children to screw up or need His help.  He is a active participant in our everyday lives.  The mainstream church will preach to us a version of Christianity which separates us from God, but nothing could be further from the truth.  It is God who created us {Genesis 1:27}.  Not only that, it is also God who breathed into us the breath of life that we became a living creation {Genesis 2:7}.  His very fingerprints are upon us.  How is it that we could deny that our creator would be ever present in our lives?  Yet this is what the church narrative teaches.  Jesus was crucified, buried and rose from the dead.  We readily accept this truth of Jesus as fact.  After His death on the cross, Jesus ascended into heaven to be seated next to the Father.  Christianity generally agrees with this as well.  But that's where the history of Jesus ends for many believers.  Leaving many to wonder...where are you God?  

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 the faith that is of the Son of God, who loves me, and gives Himself up for me.  

Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

As we began to realize the presence of Christ within us, we will began to see just how involved He is in our lives.  There is never a time when Jesus is not there with us as we traverse this thing we call life.  His desire is that we be one with He and the Father {John 17:21}.  His place is here with us.  Of course, this presents another interesting question which I was reminded of recently.  If Jesus is in us, what of all of those times where we behave in a not so Christian manner?  Is He still in us at these times?  Yes!  Jesus is the same, He does not change.  In those times where we're not at our best, it is Jesus who is within us grieving the fact that we would do this to ourselves.  This is how Jesus feels when we act in a bad way.  Instead of sitting in heaven waiting to punish the wayward sinner, Jesus is dwelling within us.  He is there in the good as well as the bad.  A comment was made some time ago in one of our gatherings that we act in a way which is pleasing to the Lord.  I agree.  What behaviors are pleasing to the Lord?  We all know the right things to do.  Be kind to others, love those who persecute us and give to those in need.  Jesus often reminded people of these behaviors.  I have not found any scripture where Jesus claims that He is waiting in heaven to punish those who behave badly.  However, I have read the passages of Him being in me {Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:8}.  It has never been the Lords desire that we would be left to our own devices, separate from God who created us.  On the contrary, the joy of the Lord is that we would be one with He and Christ.  

For in Him is all created, that in the heavens and that on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones, or lordships, or sovereignties, or authorities, all is created through Him and for Him. 

Colossians 1: 16, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~