Gospel

Here is an exert from the book "When God Weeps" by Steven Este. Don't let the gospel ever become familiar. We need to constantly be changed by this story..

"The face of Moses has begged to see- was forbidden to see- was slapped bloody (Exodus 33:19-20). The thorns that God had sent to curse the earth's rebellion now twisted around his own brow...

'On your back with you!' One raises a malled to sink in the spike. But the soldier's heart must continue pumping as he readies the prisoner's wrist. Someone must sustain the soldier's life minute by minute, for no man has this power on his own. Who supplies breath to his lungs? Who gives energy to his cells? Who holds his molecules together? Only by the Son do 'all things hold together' (Colossians 1:17). The victim wills that the soldiers live on- he grants the warriors continued existence. The man swings.

As the man swings, the Son recalls how he and the Father first designed the medial nerve of the human forearm- the sensations it would be capable of. The design proves flawless- the nerves perform exquisitely. 'Up you god!' They lift the corss. God is on disply in his underwear and can scarcely breathe.

But these pains are a mere warm-up to his other and growing dread. He begins to feel a foreign sensation. Somewhere during this day an unearthly foul odor began to waft, not around his nose, but his heart. He feels dirty. Human wickedness starts to crawl up on his spotless being- the living excrement from our souls. The apple of his Father's eye turns brown with rot.

His Father! He must face his Father like this!

From heaven the Father now rouses himself like a lion disturbed, shakes his mane, and roars against the shriveling remnant of a man hanging on a cross. Never has the Son seen teh Father look at him so, never felt even the least of his hot breath. But the roar shakes the unseen world and darkens the visible sky. The Son does not recognize these eyes.

'Son of Man! Why have you behaved so? You have cheated, lusted, stolen, gossiped- murdered, envied, hated, lied. You have cursed, robbed, overspent, overeaten- fornicated, disobeyed, embezzled, and blasphemed. Oh, the duties you have shirked, the children you have abandoned! Who has ever so ignored the poor, so played the coward, so belittled my name? Have you ever held your razor tongue? What a self-righteous, pitiful drunk- you, who molest young boys, peddle killer drugs, travel in cliques, and mock your parents. Who gave you the boldness to rig electrons, foment revolutions, torture animals, and worship demons? Does the list ever end! Splitting families, raping virgins, acting smugly, playing the pimp= buying politicians, practicing exhortation, filming pornography, accepting bribes. You have burned down buildings, perfected terrorist tactics, founded false religions, traded in slaves- relishing each morsel and bragging about it all. I hate, loathe these things in you! Disgust for everything about you consumes me! Can you not feel my wrath?'

Of course the Son is innocent. He is blamelessness itself. The Father knows this. But the divine pair have an agreement, and the unthinkable now takes place. Jesus will be treated as if personally responsible for every sin ever committed.

The Father watches as his heart's treasure, the mirror-image of himself, sinks drowning into raw, liquid sin. Jehovah's stored rage against humankind from every century explodes in a single direction.

'Father! Father! Why have you forsaken me?!'

But heave stops its ears. The Son stares up at the One who cannot, who will not, reach down or reply.

The Trinity has planned it. The Son endured it. The SPirit enabled him. The Father rejected the Son whom he loved. Jesus, the God-man from Nazareth, perished. The Father accepted his sacrifice for sin and was satisfied. The Rescue was accomplished."

Grace and Truth

"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. And from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."
1 John 1:14,16-17

We often hear the phrase "full of grace and truth," but rarely stop and realize its implications for our struggles here on earth. Often times, we as humans lean towards one or another as we relate to ourselves or people in our lives. I have had a few conversations with girls about this, trying to figure out its implications for our lives. I have been reading this great book by Dr. Henry Cloud called "Changes that Heal", and I am going to share a few thoughts..

When Adam and Eve were in the Garden of Eden, they had both grace and truth united in one God. When they sinned, they drove a wedge between themselves and God; they lost their grace-filled and truthful relationship with God. Without grace, Adam and Eve felt shame. God saw that Adam and Eve were in a lost state, so he decided to give them direction; he gave them truth in the form of law. The law is a blueprint, or a structure, for people to live by. If offers them guidance, and it sets limits for them. There was a problem, at that time, God gave them truth without grace. Adam and Eve soon realized that they could never measure up. No matter how hard they tried to perform, they would always come up short. Truth without grace is judgment.
Law brings wrath (Romans 4:15)
The law was added so that the trespass might increase (Romans 5:20)
We are held prisoners by the law (Galatians 3:23)
You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. (Galatians 5:4)
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. (James 2:10)

When we look at what the Bible says about the law, about truth without grace, we see that the law silences us, brings anger, increases sin, arouses sinful passions, brings death, puts us under a curse, holds us prisoner, alienates us from Christ, and judges us harshly. The law without grace destroys us. No one ever grows when they are under the law, for the law puts us into a strictly legal relationship with God: 'I'll love you only if you do what is true or right.' Getting truth before grace, or truth before relationship, brings guilt, anxiety, anger, and a host of other painful emotions.

So what about grace without truth? In the same was that truth (without grace) can be called judgment, grace (without truth) can be named license. The bible writes..
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:13)
What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey- whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness." (Romans 6:15-16)
For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do- living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, carousing, and detestable idolatry. (1 Peter 4:3)
He who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame, but whoever heeds correction is honored. (Proverbs 13:18)

Thankfully we have a God who is a God of both grace and truth. The passage in John 1 shows both how people fail and how they are redeemed. Failure comes through the law, and redemption through Jesus. It is only through him that we can realize two ingredients of growth: grace and truth. Grace and truth together reverse the effects of the fall, which were separation from God and others. Grace and truth together invite us out of isolation and into relationship. Grace, when it is combined with truth, invites the true self, the "me" as I really am, warts and all, into relationship. It is one thing to have safety in relationship; it is quite another to be truly known and accepted in relationship.
With grace alone, we are safe from condemnation, but we cannot experience true intimacy. When the one who offers grace also offers truth (truth about who we are, truth about who he or she is, and truth about the world around us), and we respond with our true self, then real intimacy is possible. Real intimacy always come in the company of truth.

A really great example of this is Jesus and the adulterous woman in John 8:3-11. If you don't know the story, you should take a quick look :). Short summary, the Pharisees catch this woman in the act of adultery and drag her out to Jesus in front of a group of people. They think that Jesus would tell them to stone her because that is what the law of Moses commands them to do to such woman. Jesus tells them "If any of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone." When they heard his answer, they began to slink away, one by one. Soon, Jesus was left alone with the woman and asked her, "Woman, where are they? has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she replied. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
In this one encounter, Jesus shows what it means to know grace and truth in him. He offered this woman grace in the form of forgiveness and acceptance. He said, in effect, that she did not have to die for her sin. She was accepted and did not have to be separated from him. He also showed the power of grace as an agent to end separation from her fellow human begins as well. The Pharisees were no different from her: she was a sinner, and they were sinners. Jesus even invited the Pharisees to commune with her as a member of the human race, an invitation they declined. Grace has the power to bring us together with God and with others, if others will accept it.
But Jesus did not stop with just acceptance. He accepted her with full realization of who she was: an adulteress. He accepted her true self, a woman with sinful desires and actions. He then gives her direction for the future: "Go now and leave your life of sin." These two ingredients together- acceptance and direction- serve to bring the real self into relationship, the only way that healing ever takes place.

So what does this look like in the church, in relationships? In the book, Dr. Cloud told a story about his friend who was a recovering alcoholic. He put it this way..

"When I was in church or with my Christian friends, they would just tell me that drinking was wrong and that I should repent. They didn't know how many times I had tried quitting, how many times I had tried to be a good Christian. When I got into Alcoholics Anonymous, I found that I could be honest about my failures, but more important, I could be honest about my helplessness. When I found out that God and others accepted me in both my drinking and my helplessness to control it, I began to have hope. I could come forth with who I really was and find help. As much as the church preached grace, I never really found acceptance there for my real state. They always expected me to change. In my AA group, not only did they not expect me to change, they told me that, by myself, I could not change! They told me that all I could do was confess who I truly was, an alcoholic, and that God could change me along with their daily support. Finally, I could be honest, and I could find friends. That was totally different, and it changed my life."

This guy found that when he could be himself in relationship with God and others, healing was possible. Problems occur when the real self, the one God created, is hiding from God and others. It also challenges me to pray that God would give me a balance of grace and truth in my life. Grace and truth as the Holy Spirit continues to make me more and more Christlike. Grace and truth as I relate to others and Christ uses me to impact people.

God so loved the world that he gave..

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified." Isaiah 61:1-3

I got a new job that I'm pretty stoked about!! Freedom for Youth recently hired as the new "house mom" for the girls transitional housing. I will get the opportunity to live with the young women, be a vessel that Christ can use to love and teach them through me.

If you think about it, I ask that you pray for this ministry. Pray in advance that God softens these girls hearts, that they have a willingness to change their lives. The girls will be from 18-22 years old. They will come from a variety of different ways.. whether they are homeless, recommended by a school counsel or youth pastor, from prison, aged out of the foster care program but not ready to live on their own.. ect. I'm sure these girls have been beaten up by the world, they will have experienced things that I haven't even dreamed about, been lied to their entire lives. Pray that God would radically change their lives. Pray that they will understand the truth and that the truth will set them free!

Pray also that my heart and my emotions will be in sync with what Gods heart is like. To break my heart for what break His heart. The heart of God is for sinners, for the broken-hearted, for the outcasts of society. I pray that God would give me his heart for his people. To open my eyes to things that I don't see. To be a vessel that He can mold and shape to be used for his glory. Here I am, Lord, send me!

"For God so loved the world that he gave..." John 3:16

As we continue to grow in our love for Christ, that should be our response to His love. That his love would compel us to give. To give ourselves completely. To who? To the world.

If you want, you can read up on what God is doing through Freedom for Youth.

Are you Exhausted Spiritually?

God gave me this at a critical time last year. Its one of Oswald Chambers devos from "My Utmost for His Highest"..


The everlasting God . . . neither faints nor is weary —Isaiah 40:28

Exhaustion means that our vital energies are completely worn out and spent. Spiritual exhaustion is never the result of sin, but of service. Whether or not you experience exhaustion will depend on where you get your supplies. Jesus said to Peter, “Feed My sheep,” but He gave him nothing with which to feed them (John 21:17). The process of being made broken bread and poured-out wine means that you have to be the nourishment for other people’s souls until they learn to feed on God. They must drain you completely— to the very last drop. But be careful to replenish your supply, or you will quickly be utterly exhausted. Until others learn to draw on the life of the Lord Jesus directly, they will have to draw on His life through you. You must literally be their source of supply, until they learn to take their nourishment from God. We owe it to God to be our best for His lambs and sheep, as well as for Him.

Have you delivered yourself over to exhaustion because of the way you have been serving God? If so, then renew and rekindle your desires and affections. Examine your reasons for service. Is your source based on your own understanding or is it grounded on the redemption of Jesus Christ? Continually look back to the foundation of your love and affection and remember where your Source of power lies. You have no right to complain, “O Lord, I am so exhausted.” He saved and sanctified you to exhaust you. Be exhausted for God, but remember that He is your supply. “All my springs are in you” (Psalm 87:7).

Mind of Christ

I read a book by A.W. Tozer and he used this analogy that I often think about.

God did not give us eyes to hear how beautiful a song was. He gave us ears for that. He did not give us ears to see how beautiful a sunset is... he gave us eyes. In the same way, God did not give us a brain or intellect to understand the things of God. He gave us a spirit!!

"'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him'- these things GOD HAS REVEALED TO US THROUGH THE SPIRIT. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ."

Wow! How cool is that? We have the mind of Christ. Because of the Holy Spirit, we are able to understand the things of God, the things of the supernatural.

Divine Revelation

Have you ever had an experience reading the bible and the light bulb in your head turns on? A concept that you have known intellectually for years, but finally it makes sense. For example, a concept like being a new creation in Christ. I have heard tons of messages and have had discussions over the issue.. I could quote verse after verse about it. But one day, its almost like God opens my eyes and lets me see my identity in Christ in a whole new way. Then I want to go run and tell everyone but yet I can't explain it, I can't explain the difference that has occurred.

Since I have been a christian for along time, its easy for me to believe that some how I understand who God is. But I realize that I intellectually know who God is, but have not come close to REALLY KNOWING God. I have found that the closer I get to knowing Christ, the more I realize how far I really am. Will I ever get a grasp of who God is? Of the love that surpasses knowledge? Of the undeserved grace that he constantly pours out on me? The concept that I am a new creation in Christ? That all my sins were nailed on the cross? That my old self was crucified with him on the cross 2000 years ago? That in Christ, all the fullness of God dwells? That I have the spirit that raised Christ from the dead living inside of me?

I know that I am a christian. There is nothing that someone could do to convince me that I am not. Why is that? Because the Spirit revealed it to me, and there is something in me that could not believe otherwise. What about these other truths?

I need divine revelation! I need the Holy Spirit to reveal concepts and things that I intellectually have known for years, but have not fully grasped in order for it to change me. God gave us His Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. To open up our eyes so that we can see Him as He really is.

"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you." John 14:25

"I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie- just as it has taught you, abide in him." 1 John 2:26-27

"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth." John 16:13

Don't you sometimes wish that there was a formula to knowing God? That he could of told us to do this plus this.. and then we can understand Him? But God is not a God who uses formulas. He is a God who longs to have a relationship with us. How badly do we want it?

"My son, IF you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understand; yes, IF you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, IF you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, THEN you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." Proverbs 2:1-6

Here is a quote that I wrote down in my journal a few months ago, not sure where its from but it kind of relates..

"Jesus defines the realm of eternity as touching God in the Spirit. This is not some second-rate event for weak people who need experience to increase their faith-- the experiential knowledge of God is the foundation, the basis, the rock of our faith.. Every founder of faith encountered something of the Spirit that launched them in the realm of faith. They endured because they saw Him who is invisible. Paul prayed that the church of Ephesus would know the love of Christ which passes knowledge. How could they know something which passes knowledge? Yet Paul prayed it and God caused it to be recorded in His word, so it must be a real thing in the grace of God. Paul was talking about an experience with the love of God. Something that surpasses our human capacity to comprehend and process, something supernatural. He was talking about a mystical encounter with God through the Holy Spirit."

Lord, OPEN MY EYES, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law!!