As I understand things each of us is born with a personality, gifts, and an inner disposition. It is the beginnings of a perspective that is developed and molded over years through the living of life, education formal or informal, experiences, habits, family, heritage, culture, time in history we were born, birth order, and a myriad of other things.We begin to see and understand life and our existence through this lens we call perspective, what the Bible calls understanding. It is how we learn to handle situations and people. It has great impact on the way we respond to those things. Woundings and failure can color our understanding and as a result affect our decision making processes and with that our decisions. Success and accomplishment great or small will have a different affect on our understanding, but equally as powerful.
Changing that perspective or understanding can be beyond difficult. In all of us it resides almost without our awareness. Sounding something like "I am who I am; I cannot change." Our habits and lifestyle good or bad are born from our understanding and are lived out. Sometimes things can change, but more often I believe they are merely compensated for. We judge life based on our right and wrong and try to live accordingly. Jesus Christ came to live and die and was raised from the dead to bring true change and interrupt that process. From what I have seen, people can often receive His life but through a lack of awareness, stay fixed in their understanding while adding Jesus to their experience. I believe many of our factions and lack of a godly lifestyle can be tied to this malady.
Paul saw this in the church at Ephesus. He began his letter to them explaining that they were loved, accepted, sealed, and that they had every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. But knowing the difficulty in believing and having those things active in their lives he prays, "Therefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,the eyes of your understanding being enlightened;"(Ephesians 1:15-17a). Our perspective comes from the eyes of our understanding and cannot change without the influence of the wisdom and revelation of knowing God. Wisdom being what to do and the right way to do it and revelation into the way God does things. Seeing and understanding God can change the way we see life causing the changes in the way we act. Not by the present church prescription of "gain more knowledge and try harder". Even biblical knowledge seen through unenlightened eyes has been misleading for me. It can sound like more work and with that so much more tiring. But from what I see God gives it to us not because we are being good or bad but, because we ask Him. I am asking all the more these days....
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Doctrinology: Does what you believe define you?
Jesus two millenium ago lived on the earth, and declared Himself to be the Son of God. He lived a perfect life, died on a cross, was buried, and on the third day was raised from the dead to substantiate that claim. His message was an invitation to relationship with His Father with His life and death an atonement so that relationship could exist. Within one century of His passing church fathers felt a need to codify their belief system with a document called the Apostle's creed. It was written in response to a number of spurious beliefs that began to arise and were thought to endanger Biblical Christianity. In the city of Nicaea in the year 325 church fathers met again feeling the need to further clarify their belief system due to a growing number of church centers with divergent beliefs developing. It was here the Nicene Creed was established declaring this was how we believed. In or around the 1500's the reformation was taking root and Martin Luther was nailing his 95 theses' to The Wintenburg door giving voice to how a protestant believed and beginning a time when Christians began to separate because of the beliefs they held to. In their minds a threat was growing and a response had to be made. With this, a mindset and a culture was developing where "how we believe defining us" (or as I like to call it "doctrinology") was finding its place in the spiritual landscape. In the 1600's through the 1700's Europe became the fertile ground for "The Enlightenment" and "The Age of Reason." From this mindset came the attack on orthodox Christianity and an antisupernatural bias stating that the church was intolerant and abusive. Fables to quiet the fears of men. Not the verifiable fact of science and reason.
Apologists of the church rose up to combat this form of thinking and to try and prove the validity of the scriptures and the legitimacy of Jesus as the Son of God. This gave way to a process where Christians began to define themselves by what they believe in order to distinguish themselves from the world and to a growing degree from the belief systems of one another. Thus "Doctrinology" began to take root. I believe in the importance of correct doctrine. To know what you believe about life and God and the way the world works is important. I don't deny that, but to then use those beliefs to identify ourselves and others leads us down a path I don't believe God intended for us to go down. We see this more and more the further we go down this road. Our statement of beliefs tells us who is in and who is out. We believe we are secure if we believe correctly.
What the Lord is leading me to these days is a return to relationship with Him. I don't know nearly as much as I thought I did. When I use my beliefs or yours to define our relationship, I cut off many and it causes me not to abide in His love. Defining men and women by their beliefs is evaluating by externals. Once the person is labeled, he is responded to by a predetermined set of responses and relationship is cut off. And with that there is no need to listen to the Lord. People who don't believe like me are evil and people who do are good. We do it all the time, but isn't it a bit simplistic and shallow. Love your neighbor as yourself can't happen when we submit to living in Doctrinology. It is a living abiding relationship with Jesus Christ that defines who I am. John 15:9 states "As the Father has Loved Me, so I love you, abide in My love." I am loved like the Father loves the Son and that is what defines me. I am a loved son. Learning to abide in His love defines me and not a list of things I do or don't believe. We have to find our way back to a living relationship with the Father that is then expressed in a loving relationship with one another. The world is waiting for a living example.....
Apologists of the church rose up to combat this form of thinking and to try and prove the validity of the scriptures and the legitimacy of Jesus as the Son of God. This gave way to a process where Christians began to define themselves by what they believe in order to distinguish themselves from the world and to a growing degree from the belief systems of one another. Thus "Doctrinology" began to take root. I believe in the importance of correct doctrine. To know what you believe about life and God and the way the world works is important. I don't deny that, but to then use those beliefs to identify ourselves and others leads us down a path I don't believe God intended for us to go down. We see this more and more the further we go down this road. Our statement of beliefs tells us who is in and who is out. We believe we are secure if we believe correctly.
What the Lord is leading me to these days is a return to relationship with Him. I don't know nearly as much as I thought I did. When I use my beliefs or yours to define our relationship, I cut off many and it causes me not to abide in His love. Defining men and women by their beliefs is evaluating by externals. Once the person is labeled, he is responded to by a predetermined set of responses and relationship is cut off. And with that there is no need to listen to the Lord. People who don't believe like me are evil and people who do are good. We do it all the time, but isn't it a bit simplistic and shallow. Love your neighbor as yourself can't happen when we submit to living in Doctrinology. It is a living abiding relationship with Jesus Christ that defines who I am. John 15:9 states "As the Father has Loved Me, so I love you, abide in My love." I am loved like the Father loves the Son and that is what defines me. I am a loved son. Learning to abide in His love defines me and not a list of things I do or don't believe. We have to find our way back to a living relationship with the Father that is then expressed in a loving relationship with one another. The world is waiting for a living example.....
Monday, December 5, 2011
What tree are you living from?
"The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Genesis 2:9b.
"1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings."
With this man took his first steps from God and began the process of living on his own.
22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
You would think becoming like God and knowing good from evil would be a good thing. To the natural mind it would seem like the only way to live. Are we not supposed to be good? Isn't that the very definition of our Christianity? I would say that is the prevailing belief, but I believe it is at the center of our struggle for a living, successful, and sustainable relationship with God. Why is it in our day so many have fallen away and given up hope in their relationship with God. I believe it is partly in the burden of trying to do good year after year and not feeling like it is working. It seems to be a tough sell getting people to come to church, and why not? Who wants to come and hear someone encouraging the downcast to try harder. I believe we have missed the message of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the life we were meant to live with Him and replaced it with a message from the knowledge of good and evil.
In our salvation is not only the initial cleansing of our sins, but the ongoing ability to walk above our sins and the limitations of our common humanity. In our day that message has been lost to some extent. I don't believe it is some grand conspiracy theory or anything like that. In America our credo is to try harder.We can do it! Pull yourself up by your boot straps, self made man, and all that John Wayne and Rambo stuff that is in our culture and our fiber. I believe it has bled over into our gospel as well. It wasn't until I had lost all I had worked for that I saw how much of me was wrapped up in what I did. Reality was I was building for me not for Him way too much. It wasn't all bad I know, but it hurt too much to make the same mistakes again. This is the reason I blog. Jesus died not only to save us from our sins, but also to live inside us and do in us what we can't do in ourselves. When we choose to live and learn on our own and use our gifts and abilities to keep us safe and protected we live by that tree that killed us in the first place. It said in the day that you eat you will die and die we did. Not a natural death but a spiritual one. A death where we were separated from our Creator. And when we live from that tree now, we live separated lives that don't fulfill and are not inspiring. I believe Jesus wants our lives to become inspiring again. What is it in you that makes you so different? You know who........
"1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings."
With this man took his first steps from God and began the process of living on his own.
22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
You would think becoming like God and knowing good from evil would be a good thing. To the natural mind it would seem like the only way to live. Are we not supposed to be good? Isn't that the very definition of our Christianity? I would say that is the prevailing belief, but I believe it is at the center of our struggle for a living, successful, and sustainable relationship with God. Why is it in our day so many have fallen away and given up hope in their relationship with God. I believe it is partly in the burden of trying to do good year after year and not feeling like it is working. It seems to be a tough sell getting people to come to church, and why not? Who wants to come and hear someone encouraging the downcast to try harder. I believe we have missed the message of the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the life we were meant to live with Him and replaced it with a message from the knowledge of good and evil.
In our salvation is not only the initial cleansing of our sins, but the ongoing ability to walk above our sins and the limitations of our common humanity. In our day that message has been lost to some extent. I don't believe it is some grand conspiracy theory or anything like that. In America our credo is to try harder.We can do it! Pull yourself up by your boot straps, self made man, and all that John Wayne and Rambo stuff that is in our culture and our fiber. I believe it has bled over into our gospel as well. It wasn't until I had lost all I had worked for that I saw how much of me was wrapped up in what I did. Reality was I was building for me not for Him way too much. It wasn't all bad I know, but it hurt too much to make the same mistakes again. This is the reason I blog. Jesus died not only to save us from our sins, but also to live inside us and do in us what we can't do in ourselves. When we choose to live and learn on our own and use our gifts and abilities to keep us safe and protected we live by that tree that killed us in the first place. It said in the day that you eat you will die and die we did. Not a natural death but a spiritual one. A death where we were separated from our Creator. And when we live from that tree now, we live separated lives that don't fulfill and are not inspiring. I believe Jesus wants our lives to become inspiring again. What is it in you that makes you so different? You know who........
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Identity part 2: Finding our source from the true vine
"Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing." A quote from Jesus John 15:4,5 NKJ. As I write I'm listening to The Stones " I can't get no satisfaction." It's the theme song for hard working Christians, or at least it was for me. Growing up so random when I found my purpose I ran after it. Some of that action was misguided. Sadly I did the same things with my older children trying to raise them as they were growing up. Having had a real life change as an Evangelical Christian, I wanted nothing more than to do right and raise my children to do the same. I spent much of my young Christian life being a branch trying to bear fruit of myself. With the gifts God gave me, I worked hard to navigate through life trying to make wise decisions. I would use my prophetic gifts to discern people and protect myself where need be. I would plan and maneuver always looking out for the best option. I taught my children to do the same; to be kind and to help others because that was the right thing to do. What I didn't teach them by word or example was how to listen to God or how to depend on God. In short I didn't know how to abide and I didn't teach them how either. We did a lot of works but still longed for abiding fruit. I saw this especially in my older two. After awhile they found no value in just being nice to people. As most of us know, people can be hurtful; and if you don't know why you are being nice and who wants you to be nice, you lose hope and motivation. As my children floundered spiritual I began to realize I had taught them to obey, but I had not taught them why or how.
Having a spiritual experience just might not be enough. It wasn't for me. My whole life has taught me to depend on myself. It is the way my earthly father taught me and it is the way life experiences have continued to instruct me both inside and outside the church. So why act differently? Why try to fight upstream against nature? For me, it has become clear it is the only way to become truely fruitful in life. We were created to find our source in the true vine, Jesus. When we allow Him to live in and through us, we become fruitful in a way that is impossible with human energy alone. But the difficulty comes in submitting our lives to Him. Everything in me fights against this, but the fact is I know it is right. I act and do out of relationship with Jesus. No more of doing it my way. It is both scary and safe all in the same breath. I now live out of my control. Totally a new concept to me (and very scary), but I am learning to live in Him. I didn't realize how much I resisted God in trying to serve Him. I know the plan, now get out of my way I'm here to help. I wanted His rewards my way and that doesn't work. If we want the good fruit it comes from the true source, Jesus in me and through me. When we act in response to His directives in a living way it brings living fruit. He is speaking to us all the time nudging and urging us to refect Him in a world that longs to know if He is real. And when they see it, I believe they will respond. I'm good because I am suppose to be sends a message but just not one that changes people. There isn't enough there. The word is true: apart from Him I can do nothing.............
Having a spiritual experience just might not be enough. It wasn't for me. My whole life has taught me to depend on myself. It is the way my earthly father taught me and it is the way life experiences have continued to instruct me both inside and outside the church. So why act differently? Why try to fight upstream against nature? For me, it has become clear it is the only way to become truely fruitful in life. We were created to find our source in the true vine, Jesus. When we allow Him to live in and through us, we become fruitful in a way that is impossible with human energy alone. But the difficulty comes in submitting our lives to Him. Everything in me fights against this, but the fact is I know it is right. I act and do out of relationship with Jesus. No more of doing it my way. It is both scary and safe all in the same breath. I now live out of my control. Totally a new concept to me (and very scary), but I am learning to live in Him. I didn't realize how much I resisted God in trying to serve Him. I know the plan, now get out of my way I'm here to help. I wanted His rewards my way and that doesn't work. If we want the good fruit it comes from the true source, Jesus in me and through me. When we act in response to His directives in a living way it brings living fruit. He is speaking to us all the time nudging and urging us to refect Him in a world that longs to know if He is real. And when they see it, I believe they will respond. I'm good because I am suppose to be sends a message but just not one that changes people. There isn't enough there. The word is true: apart from Him I can do nothing.............
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Who am I? A question of identity
Are you one of those people who always knew what they wanted to be? Not me. I have searched most of my life for who I am and what I am to be.What is my purpose in life? I have a natural confidence so I find it somewhat easy to fake it usually.
I love to watch people. Often I wonder what makes them tick. Some seem so confident in who they are and where they belong. They have figured out their careers. It gives them a sense of being. It can define our existence. Where people come from or their cultural underpinnings can give them meaning. What we have accomplished, where we live, the size of our income, the size of other things, who we know, who we date, who we love, where we went to school, physical prowess, mental prowess, sexual prowess, our clothes, our cars, our figure, our hair, our height, our weight, our discoveries, the books we read, our position at work, whether we own a business, our toys, and plenty of other things we use to tell others who we are. It helps to establish our value and defines us. If you are in church, you've been taught how important it is to believe correctly. We have used those beliefs to define us and from what I can tell to exclude others. We have formed groups around those beliefs to state our position and to clarify who belongs. I have a friend who coined the term "doctrinology." What doctrinology means is we define who we are by what we believe. If we believe correct, we are correct or so the saying goes. In the christian circles I have run in, people were defined by their gift or their office. Sometimes meaning came from the particular church they attended, or who their pastor was. If the church is successful and I go there, then naturally by definition I am successful as well.
So do I actually have anything to say? I think so and this is it. We were created by God and by definition it has always been His intention that we are to find our meaning, our value, our purpose, and our identity in Him. He's the only thing that never changes. Because I know Jesus, I am a loved son, a child of God. Accepted because of what He has done, forgiven, empowered, and satisfied. The world and all the things we mentioned change and adjust and, if our identity is in those things then when they change we become insecure. We no longer know who we are because our basis of belief has now shifted and we must shift with it. It causes us to have to defend our position (some call that being defensive.) Our sense of personal meaning can not endure that shift. We become unstable because our foundation is unstable. God has built into each of us a need for stability and a need to know who we are. His grace has liberated us. It's not what I do for Him that defines me it's what He's done for me. That's something that will never change.
I love to watch people. Often I wonder what makes them tick. Some seem so confident in who they are and where they belong. They have figured out their careers. It gives them a sense of being. It can define our existence. Where people come from or their cultural underpinnings can give them meaning. What we have accomplished, where we live, the size of our income, the size of other things, who we know, who we date, who we love, where we went to school, physical prowess, mental prowess, sexual prowess, our clothes, our cars, our figure, our hair, our height, our weight, our discoveries, the books we read, our position at work, whether we own a business, our toys, and plenty of other things we use to tell others who we are. It helps to establish our value and defines us. If you are in church, you've been taught how important it is to believe correctly. We have used those beliefs to define us and from what I can tell to exclude others. We have formed groups around those beliefs to state our position and to clarify who belongs. I have a friend who coined the term "doctrinology." What doctrinology means is we define who we are by what we believe. If we believe correct, we are correct or so the saying goes. In the christian circles I have run in, people were defined by their gift or their office. Sometimes meaning came from the particular church they attended, or who their pastor was. If the church is successful and I go there, then naturally by definition I am successful as well.
So do I actually have anything to say? I think so and this is it. We were created by God and by definition it has always been His intention that we are to find our meaning, our value, our purpose, and our identity in Him. He's the only thing that never changes. Because I know Jesus, I am a loved son, a child of God. Accepted because of what He has done, forgiven, empowered, and satisfied. The world and all the things we mentioned change and adjust and, if our identity is in those things then when they change we become insecure. We no longer know who we are because our basis of belief has now shifted and we must shift with it. It causes us to have to defend our position (some call that being defensive.) Our sense of personal meaning can not endure that shift. We become unstable because our foundation is unstable. God has built into each of us a need for stability and a need to know who we are. His grace has liberated us. It's not what I do for Him that defines me it's what He's done for me. That's something that will never change.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
Seeing things through a different lens
Whether Mom and Dad knew it or not I grew up as a wild child of the 60's and 70's.While in my freshmen year at college the lifestyle took its toll and life came crashing to what felt like an abrupt halt. My parents were in the process of a divorce, my life choices were killing me, and suicide felt like a real option. It was from this place that I was introduced to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. Though my family had been to church occasionally I don't remember anything of substance or value from the experience. I will say that night in my dorm room has left an impact that has lasted 36 years. After my conversion ( man when I got religion I really got it ) things started to change. Not everything all at once, but slowly my introduction to Jesus began changing my lifestyle. The desire to change had been placed inside me and I was loving it. I couldn't get enough of spiritual things. For years I was there whenever the church doors were open. Passion didn't waver and the years that followed brought me to the realization that I wanted to pastor. From previous posts you know some of that story.
Things had started well, what happened? Somewhere along the line trying hard had become part of the routine. It then became important to encourage others to try hard as well. We had to give our best to God right? Wasn't He up there finding out who was naughty and who was nice? Doling out blessing and punishment to the deserving. I don't know how it all got so whacked out I just know it did. It was during this time in my life that my belief structure was centered around trying to please God with my attitudes and my actions so I would be approved. Bible verses like " study to show yourselves approved unto God a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." and "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" greatly influenced my life. " My soul follows hard after God " was on my mirror reminding me what was right and the posture I was called to walk in. All to say I gave it all I had. Too many disappointments to count later and I was losing my hope and my faith.
Through it all I knew Jesus was real, people were difficult, and something was wrong. Losing everything is a great way to realign. A study of Romans 5 reveals that even though we were estranged from God He still loved us through the work of His Son Jesus on the cross. Yet after I became a christian I kept trying to make God happy with me with what I was doing for Him. If I failed He would leave because He couldn't look on me or my sin. There were a list of requirements I had to do to make myself rightous before Him. Though sincere I was terribly mistaken. There was never anything I could do for God to make me righteous and there was never anything I could do to keep me righteous. As I thought about it for awhile it began to become clear to me in reality I was laboring to be "self-righteous." This lifestyle kept the focus on me and what I did and how I felt. My actions affected God. As the lights began to turn on for me in these areas I started seeing through a different lens, a God lens, a grace lens. All of life is summed up in Christ. It was His death, burial, and, resurrection that gave me access to God the Father. It is His work that keeps me in right standing. Nothing that I do on my own changes my position in Christ. Nothing. I was killing myself trying to please a God already pleased with me because of the work of His Son. He loves us completely. In Him I am learning life. To know that I am a loved son and you are too. This is the good news of the gospel you are received, complete in Him. Nothing you do can change that. Freed from judgement and punishment because of Christ. It truly is a better way and the implications go on and on and on.................
Things had started well, what happened? Somewhere along the line trying hard had become part of the routine. It then became important to encourage others to try hard as well. We had to give our best to God right? Wasn't He up there finding out who was naughty and who was nice? Doling out blessing and punishment to the deserving. I don't know how it all got so whacked out I just know it did. It was during this time in my life that my belief structure was centered around trying to please God with my attitudes and my actions so I would be approved. Bible verses like " study to show yourselves approved unto God a workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." and "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" greatly influenced my life. " My soul follows hard after God " was on my mirror reminding me what was right and the posture I was called to walk in. All to say I gave it all I had. Too many disappointments to count later and I was losing my hope and my faith.
Through it all I knew Jesus was real, people were difficult, and something was wrong. Losing everything is a great way to realign. A study of Romans 5 reveals that even though we were estranged from God He still loved us through the work of His Son Jesus on the cross. Yet after I became a christian I kept trying to make God happy with me with what I was doing for Him. If I failed He would leave because He couldn't look on me or my sin. There were a list of requirements I had to do to make myself rightous before Him. Though sincere I was terribly mistaken. There was never anything I could do for God to make me righteous and there was never anything I could do to keep me righteous. As I thought about it for awhile it began to become clear to me in reality I was laboring to be "self-righteous." This lifestyle kept the focus on me and what I did and how I felt. My actions affected God. As the lights began to turn on for me in these areas I started seeing through a different lens, a God lens, a grace lens. All of life is summed up in Christ. It was His death, burial, and, resurrection that gave me access to God the Father. It is His work that keeps me in right standing. Nothing that I do on my own changes my position in Christ. Nothing. I was killing myself trying to please a God already pleased with me because of the work of His Son. He loves us completely. In Him I am learning life. To know that I am a loved son and you are too. This is the good news of the gospel you are received, complete in Him. Nothing you do can change that. Freed from judgement and punishment because of Christ. It truly is a better way and the implications go on and on and on.................
Monday, September 5, 2011
So what was the point ?
Is God up there somewhere just looking for a chance to ruin our good time? Does He even notice? Are we on our own with no hope for help or encouragement in our time of need? To be honest I have learned so much since the changes that have occurred to me in the last 5 years through the circumstances that I have described in my first 2 blogs. I did not want to admit it to myself that I was often angry at God, disappointed in the way He would treat me (even though I was trying so hard for Him), and I found that I was using prayer as a vehicle to accuse Him. In our prayer times it would go something like this "God we are waiting here faithfully for You and You are not showing up. We will keep on trying, but what will it take to get You to move? We know you are reluctant to join us without the proper sacrifice and we will do whatever it takes to finally get You moving."
I know that this is a strong statement. Without realizing it, I believe many in the body of Christ to include myself with this approach have changed the way orthodox christianity defines the way God interacts with man and man interacts with God. I believe it takes the good news of our faith and turns it into a list of do's and don'ts (which is the law as described in Galatians).
I was in a situation where I felt I constantly had to monitor myself to make sure God wouldn't get mad at me and leave me alone with my sin. That if I did all the rights He wanted me to do and avoid the wrongs He would be happy with me and the result would be He would bless my life. I don't how those thoughts got to the center of my devotion, but looking back I know that it is true. And I beleive I have seen it and heard it from many others as I have pastored over the years. An old sage once said" What if you spent your whole life making apple pies for God and in the end found out God didn't like apple pie?" It is my observasion that too much of twentith century christianity will be seen it that way as we look back at it years from now.
I know that this is a strong statement. Without realizing it, I believe many in the body of Christ to include myself with this approach have changed the way orthodox christianity defines the way God interacts with man and man interacts with God. I believe it takes the good news of our faith and turns it into a list of do's and don'ts (which is the law as described in Galatians).
I was in a situation where I felt I constantly had to monitor myself to make sure God wouldn't get mad at me and leave me alone with my sin. That if I did all the rights He wanted me to do and avoid the wrongs He would be happy with me and the result would be He would bless my life. I don't how those thoughts got to the center of my devotion, but looking back I know that it is true. And I beleive I have seen it and heard it from many others as I have pastored over the years. An old sage once said" What if you spent your whole life making apple pies for God and in the end found out God didn't like apple pie?" It is my observasion that too much of twentith century christianity will be seen it that way as we look back at it years from now.
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