One Thing Less

God told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  Eve, responding to the provocations of the serpent, said that God had instructed them not to even touch the tree, when in fact God’s simple instruction was not to eat from it.  In so doing, Eve established the pattern for all false religion, doing one thing more than what God actually said.

You see, Adam and Eve could have climbed the tree and even played catch with its fruit.  There was never any prohibition placed on contact or interaction.  Fundamental Christianity has likewise sinned by putting up walls of false fears in an effort to keep parishioners from “sin”, so called. It is why many churches can be in a community for fifty years and never be missed when their doors close.

In adding prohibitions concerning the tree, Eve played her part in leaving the Garden unattended.  We too, by erecting religious hurdles, hinder Christ in tending to His human garden.

To sin is to act in such a way that falls short of the person and expression of Christ.   Iniquity, however, is more ominous as it is an action which seeks to supersede (which is to supplant and subvert) God’s work and instruction by adding rules to “help” keep us “right” for God, as though God’s work through Christ was insufficient to the task.

None of this is an indictment against Eve or women, but of that humanistic inclination in each of us that tempts us to “one-up” Christ, not believing Him to be quite as sufficient as He claims.

Dad’s other hat is a crown

We will not meet God in the tent of good works, nor in that of guilt over evil deeds. God can only be encountered in the person of Christ. In Jesus, man is met, not by God the Father, but by our Father who happens to be God.

Our Father does not desire to be our venerated ruler, but acknowledged as our most affectionate relative. To this, how can one scarcely do other than to turn toward God, not of fear, but for a Father?

Pinecones and Pyrotechnics

Along the northern and central coast of California grows the Monterey Pine. It is referred to as a “closed cone pine” because unlike other pines whose cones open annually to distribute their seeds, the Monterey Pine cones may stay shut up tight for decades, waiting. What they wait for is fire.

This particular cone needs fire’s scalding heat to melt the resin that seals the seeds in it. Without the fire, the seeds would remain dormant and never distribute. Ironically, the very thing that releases the life in the cone also destroys the established forest. What a wonderful example of God’s dealings with us!

Often, our lives become established forests of our thoughts, habits, creeds and dogmas standing proudly, if not arrogantly, across the landscape of our hearts. This territory is where God wishes to establish a fresh forest, born of healthy seed. So, God brings fire.

Unfortunately, our “hell-fire” mentality often interprets this as God’s wrath, when in reality, it is just the opposite. The burning of our own old forest clears and prepares the soil of our hearts and causes good seed to be released and readily received in it.

I don’t know about you, but God is presently burning my stuff up, big time! It’s no picnic and Smokey the bear is nowhere to be found. It doesn’t take an arson investigator to see that this fire was intentionally set and meant to burn itself out. Unfortunately, there seems to be a lot of old dry fuel for it.

In all honesty, it’s hard to be thankful right now for the smoke and heat, but I’m confident, that soon, I will see new life sprouting from the ashes and then be able to look back and thank God for the fire. I’ve got to trust Him. He’s never, ever let me down even when He lights me up. That’s how dad’s do it. He’s a great Dad.

“For I reckon, that the sufferings of the present time, are not comparable with the glory which is to be developed in us.” – Paul to the Romans (Ch. 8, vv. 18)

Being the Beloved – Henri Nouwen

This is a message presented at the Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove, CA.

Whatever your religious persuasion or denomination, please lay it aside and listen!

Don’t Try

Tired of trying.

Tired of denying.

Act like we’re fine,

But inside we’re dying.

Have to be perfect

We’re obviously not

If you inspect us

We’re wrinkles and spots.

Tried real hard.

Said was for God.

Pleasing people.

Just religious facade.

Oh happy day!

The “Aha” moment.

Facade gave way

To Divinity Dormant.

Our Father’s nearby

Love’s endless supply

Adores all His babies

Just Receive Him. Don’t Try.

Samurai Sermons

Remember when Peter tried to keep Jesus from being arrested, tortured and subsequently crucified? Peter, a devoted follower of Jesus, while trying to “protect” Jesus, cut a guy’s ear off with a sword.

The symbolism here is amazing! Peter (the zealous follower), cut off the ear (violently impaired the hearing) of the high priest’s servant (Peter determined that a man like that should not touch Jesus) by slashing him with a sword (the Word of God).  Jesus then reattached and restored the man’s ear.  Not much has changed. Peter cuts and Jesus cures.

That’s how it is with Samurai Sermons; messages that cut rather than cure.   This type of preacher appoints him or herself as the defender of all that is holy and as such can justify the wounds each sermon inflicts.  These messages are not the occasionally necessary stern corrections we all need, rather, they are a practice of legalistic butchers who have run out of good things to say about Christ for a lack of knowing or exploring His heart.

When church teaching gives in to this tendency, it becomes what Paul the apostle called “the concision”; the “cutting group”; those who believed that you could not get right until you allowed yourself to be cut by a preacher (Circumcision. Ow.).  To this group, Paul replied that he wished that they would just “cut a piece of themselves off.” (Gal. 5:12)

I used to carelessly tote a sword too, until I inadvertently began to cut myself.  Small cuts at first, but then after couple of really deep gashes, a small light in my small brain turned on and swinging the sword began, more and more, to seem like a bad idea. With that, I also realized that I was standing on a pile of ears.  I had made it hard for others to hear Jesus.

By the way, it’s dumb to go anyplace that there are Samurai and expecting that something other than cutting will be going on.  It’s like the old Saturday Night Live skit “Samurai Deli” where the samurai deli owner, John Belushi, would cut everything from pork chops to a ham sandwich with  savage deathblows from his Katana blade.   He had no discretion and consequently destroyed even the few perfect sandwiches he did manage to make.

I probably over-thought the comedic skit, but wondered how such a place, even on TV, could stay open.  Why did the customers keep coming back to have their meat mutilated?  Were they stupid, masochistic, or both?  Or did they just not have another deli in the area?

If your church were a deli, what would you do?

Stop living with mutilated meat! Find another deli!

Moses and the Cross

 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. (Numbers 21:9)

And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: (John 3:14)

Moses (the law) made a serpent of brass (called Christ a sinner) and stuck it (Jesus) on a pole (the cross). The law called Christ a sinner and crucified him. Furthermore, Christ, speaking of being lifted up said, “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw (Gk. “helkuo”; draw; drag) all men (“men” not in original mss.) unto me” Jn. 12:32.

The snake, made of brass, was passed through the fire and its image formed by being beaten. Only then was it ready to receive the gaze of the afflicted. In like manner, Christ suffered to be made the captain (chief, first, prototype, pattern) of our salvation (soterion/assurance). He is most wonderful to suffer so. Now He is set up for me to be healed with just one glance.

God could have directed them to look at the ark of the covenant with its gold and angels. Why not such a thing of beauty instead of a snake made of a metal that denotes judgment and retribution? Because as the most vile thing, we could have confidence that he has fellowship with us in our sinful sufferings, bearing our judgment and retribution if we will but glance at him long enough to acknowledge it, and thereby receive our wholeness!

Just as there was no mention of any death from snake bites because of the raising up of the serpent, so to Christ states that he will draw (drag) ALL toward himself; making an inclusive (not exclusive) assertion concerning the work of his crucifixion, that none would perish.

The Red or Blue Pill? (Grace v. Works): My Paraphrase of Galatians 5:1-6

Make your stand! Christ has liberated us to live as free people. Never again allow yourselves to be the slaves of religious oppression. Listen closely to what I am saying. If you choose to return to religious rituals, such as circumcision, it is because you have counted Christ and His work as pitifully useless.I reiterate, every one who returns to legalism takes upon himself the impossible obligation of performing the whole Law. Christ stops perfecting you who are trying to find life in the Law; you have chosen that which is low by refusing His grace.

While you do that, we, because of the Spirit, look ahead by faith, anticipating to be made perfect. For in Christ, neither observance nor non-observance of religious rites have power. But faith is a force all on its own, expressing itself in love.

- Paul the Apostle

LOST

 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost. (Luke 19:10)

To be lost is not an issue of possession, but of position.  The Greek word translated “lost” in the verse above means “to be put out of the way”.  So then, we were not in the right place and Christ’s coming was to re-position humanity, not to reclaim it.

If a child is lost, he has not ceased to exist to his family, nor has he lost their love. Similarly, humanity moved out of position, though not out of possession.  We have always been God’s kids, but Jesus’ work was necessary for putting humanity back into its place,  in front of our Father.

A Menu For Hope (Son-eater or Sin-eater)

Let’s talk about redemption and salvation. They are not the same thing. Redemption made us His. Whereas, salvation is the process by which we are revealed to be like Him.

Both the consequence of our sins (sinful actions) and our sin-nature were dealt with on the cross. We have been forgiven for what we do and what we were was killed when Jesus died. When Christ resurrected, we were also resurrected with him as new creatures. The work,then, of the Gospel is not to change people, but to notify them of the change that has already come by God’s love through Christ. This is why Paul told a young pastor named Timothy to, “do the work of an evangelist.”

An evangelist is not necessarily someone who preaches in sports arenas and has altar-calls. The evangelist is one who continually brings the Good News about Jesus to the people, letting them know that they are accepted, and if accepted, they can also expect to be perfected in Christ. This causes the increase of Christ in them to take on a more conscious and expectant tone, until there is an outward, intentional expression of the inward consciousness of Christ’s abiding perfection.

Christ’s growth in us will result in His expression through us and the eventual leaving behind of sinful habits and actions. But always remember that “not sinning” is not what God desires from us. What God wants to see made obvious is His Son. And while the by-product of His Son’s growth in us will be the  extinction of our sinful habits, the Father’s sole desire is to see His Son clearly expressed to the earth.  To God, sin is not intimidating and is a secondary issue  insomuch as it hinders the manifestation of our Sonship to the world.

This does not mean that we are free to go out and sin. I say that to pacify the grace-o-phobes. That’s not the Gospel!!!  The Good News is that we are free to go to God, in whatever our condition, by the work of Jesus Christ. Since that is true, then our diet must be Christ and not sin.

If we eat sin-consciousness,we will only show sin. But, eating Christ-consciousness (the consciousness of His person, presence and our position in Him and by Him), we can rest in full assurance that He will eventually make us what we eat; organically birthing Christ in us as our new nature.

Php 1:6  I’m convinced that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it through to completion on the day of Christ Jesus.

Son Devoted to the Sin-Devoted (a paraphrase)

Consequently, having been rendered innocent by means of faith, we now enjoy peace with God by reason of our Supreme One, Jesus Christ. It is he, who by means of faith, has brought us into this present enjoyment of God’s affection. For this, we openly celebrate; fully expecting to be dignified by God Himself.Not only so, we also celebrate when under pressure, knowing that the pressure produces endurance, and endurance produces proven experience, and proven experience produces confidence.And because the love of God is gushing into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us, our confidence will never let us down.

A good way to explain it is that at the proper time, even in our inability to resist sin, Christ died for the sake of all the ones irreverent towards God.To appreciate this, consider that finding someone to die for an innocent person is rare. Even finding someone who would dare to die for a good person would be difficult.But while we were still devoted to sin, God demonstrated His love for us through Christ’s death on our behalf.

(Paraphrase of Paul’s letter to the Roman church, Chapter 5, verses 1-8 )

Ghost Pains

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

Concerning Christ, most know that he died in some connection to their sins. The Bible does say that he would save his people from their sins (Mt. 1:21). But if that were all, his solution would only be topical since it would treat the symptom and not the ailment. What God did in Christ is so much more than topical. Aristotle, in his writings, used the Greek noun “hamartia”, the word used for sin in 2 Cor. 5:21, in the sense of a “tragic flaw”. So then, in becoming the flaw personified, Christ, in his death, eradicated the flaw from which our flawed actions emanate.

(Heb 2:14) Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;

God made Christ to become the embodiment of our tragic flaw, though he was flawless; possessing no sin-consciousness, so that we, reposing in Christ, would be made the embodiment of God’s virtue. (2 Cor. 5:21-paraphrase)

Christ died not as a sinner, but as sin itself, and as such, sin was slaughtered. Sin became a casualty of Calvary,… except in the consciousness of men. By embodying sin, Christ went beyond any vile thing a person could ever do; their sins (flawed actions). To commit any fallen action is in no way as profound as being the source-nature from which such actions come.

If this is extrapolated to its logical conclusion, sin is a non-issue, except as a lingering misconception in the consciousness of humanity. From this misconception come misconceived acts. Sin then, in its fullest embodiment, was slaughtered on the cross in the person of Christ.

Why are our deeds so evil then? Why do we still sin?

The answer is “ghost pains”.

As long as I’ve known Bob, he’s been ancient. I think he was born old. He and his wife have been involved in ministry for many, many years. They are people of very humble means, but he and his wife have still managed to own a little house and have just enough to meet their daily needs. For some, this may not appear as any big deal, but you try to keep a family going without the benefit of a higher education and after losing your right arm.

Bob lost his arm in an industrial accident. Before that he had been a productive employee, working hard and in hot pursuit of a better life for his family.

One night, visiting Bob and his wife in their home, Bob took off his prosthetic arm at the dinner table and winced. Immediately he began rubbing the stump where his forearm used to be.

I asked Bob, “What’s wrong? Does it hurt?”, thinking that his stump was the source of the pain. “No”, he said, “I sometimes feel the pain I felt when my arm was injured.” “You mean where the arm was severed.”, I said. “I mean that I can still feel my arm; the whole arm.”, he explained.

He went on to explain that amputees often feel what are called “ghost pains.” The mind is still not willing to accept that the limb is gone. Bob said that he can often feel his ghost-fingers wiggling, even though there are no fingers to wiggle.

Our sinful, vile acts are the wiggling of ghost-fingers. We are operating from a haunted mind that does not know, or remains unconvinced,  of the righteousness purchased for us by God’s work in Christ’s death upon the cross.

“(3) Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into union with Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? (4) Therefore, through baptism we were buried with him into his death so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the Father’s glory, we too may live an entirely new life.” –Romans 6:3,4, bolded for emphasis

The “tragic flaw” has been eradicated. If we don’t live in that consciousness, we will live like the children of the first Adam rather than the siblings of the Last Adam, Jesus Christ. And if we, “the believers”,  are unconvinced, what hope does anyone else have of acknowledging the amputation of their tragic flaw?

You may occasionally rub your stump. But when those “ghost fingers” wiggle, and you find yourself acting flawed, gaze upon the One who suffered in our place as the irrefutable evidence that our tragic flaw is gone and is never coming back!  Your sin-nature is now nothing more than a ghost. And a ghost is said to be something that can’t accept it’s dead. Shoot. I ain’t ‘fraid of no ghost!

“For this cause those who are in Christ Jesus will not be judged as sinners.” –Romans 8:1, 1965 Bible in Basic English

“Illuminate Your Mug!”