Making sense

That made absolutely no sense!!!!

Have you ever received a message from a friend and had to scratch your head?  What in the world were they saying??  Maybe they were typing too fast, maybe they were recording the message, maybe spellchecker got it wrong, maybe you’ve  misread it.

Whatever the reason, you know your friend, and this message is not saying what they meant to say . . . this message is nothing like the person you know . . . you must hold the message loosely until you check with your friend and ask them, what did you really mean to say???

You know and trust your friend but the message you just received is something else.

Many years ago, after He had live, died, and resurrected, Jesus told His disciples that it was really best for them if He departed.  He told them He would send a Comforter, His very Spirit, to dwell inside each of them. This Comforter would help them remember Jesus . . . how He acted, what He said, the warmth of His love, the meaning of His death, and in fact . . . all things!!!

This same Spirit continues on today.  The very Spirit of God Himself . . . a resident inside our soul and core.  What better resource for knowing The Father? What could be more reliable?  To whom else should we go for answers? 

Messages from or about God can come in many forms, from preachers, teachers, parents, the Bible, friends, songs, devotional readings, and even our own mind.  Some are trustworthy and tell the true heart of The Father . . . others make us say “this doesn’t sound like my Father!”.

If it sounds a little off, if it doesn’t mesh with what you already know about Him, if you suspect that the word didn’t come through accurately. . . you have God’s Spirit right inside you . . . trust Him to clarify, listen to His explanation, be comforted that you are communing with your Friend Himself.

Then it will all make sense.

Best Friends

WHAT IF

What if you had a friend that . . .

Was crazy-mad-head-over-heels in love with you,

Never disappointed you,

Was with you 24 hours a day,

Loved to have fun,

Knew your faults in detail but looked past them into your inner eyes,

Freely forgave before you even asked,

Spoke just the right words at the right time.

You could tell anything,

What if they . . .

Understood exactly what was bugging you,

Would never move to another town,

Would never abandon you,

Loyally stood up for you against your enemies,

Would never be mad at you,

Kept their word,

Showered you with the best of gifts,

Yeah right!!  Dream on!  Nobody can do that. 

But what if ???

How would you handle it?

How long would it take to believe it was true?

Would anything in you change?

I’ve found a Friend, oh, such a Friend!   He loved me ere I knew Him; He drew me with the cords of love,   And thus He bound me to Him. And round my heart still closely twine   Those ties which naught can sever, For I am His, and He is mine,   Forever and forever.

I’ve found a Friend, oh, such a Friend!   He bled, He died to save me; And not alone the gift of life,   But His own self He gave me. Naught that I have my own I call,   I hold it for the Giver; My heart, my strength, my life, my all,   Are His, and His forever.

I’ve found a Friend, oh, such a Friend!   So kind, and true, and tender, So wise a Counsellor and Guide,   So mighty a Defender! From Him who loves me now so well,   What power my soul can sever? Shall life or death, or earth or hell?   No? I am His forever.

- J.G. Small

What Are We To Conclude

What are we to conclude when the bible doesn't work?

When I was a kid I was told that if I had faith I could move mountains.  Since I loved to snow ski, and since the mountains were more than one hour drive away (which I hated), I would often pray that the mountains to be moved closer to my house.  I even tried "commanding" them (some folks in the know said that was the right thing to do).

The mountains which were the laser focus of my young prayers still sit in the same spot.

It's been 50 years.

I think that is enough time for God to act.

But nothing happened.

I know many people who have been seriously damaged because they prayed for healing, or for financial help, or relief from a temptations they could not bear, or for wayward children, based upon promises they claimed from the bible and nothing happened.

How are we to make sense of this?

The bible lies?  We don't understand what the bible is actually saying?  We harbor sin?  God doesn't care?  We don't have "enough" faith?  Our requests are selfish?  Or, we have no answers right now but we'll understand it better by and by?

I was also told as a kid that if I "hid God's word in my heart" it would keep me from sinning.  Boy, what a deal!!  I quickly started memorizing verse after verse after verse . . . hundreds of verses . . . thousands of verses . . . entire books of the bible . . .

I still sinned.

Much later in life I learned that "the Word became flesh".

Hmmmm, could this be an answer that makes sense?

He became one of us . . . lived . . . died . . . then sent His very Spirit to live within us.

Maybe "hiding God's Word in my heart so I might not sin" didn't mean memorizing bible verses but rather something totally different and totally better!

"Knowing" written words is not my burning focus any longer.  Rather, knowing, listening to, communing with, the living Christ who dwells in me . . . aaaaaand, what do you know!! . . . sin looses it's pull and power and allure!

At least the bible is right that hiding God's Word in our hearts beats back sin's power but . . . I'm still working on that mountain thing.

JIGSAW PUZZLE THEOLOGY

When I was a kid I remember my mother inviting me to help her with a jigsaw puzzle.  I didn’t know any better so I said yes . . . it seemed like fun to her so, why not?

However, I wanted the picture to materialize in rapid fashion. The picture on the box was intriguing so I wanted to see it in real life . . . and my patience was very short.  I wanted to pick up a piece and presto, chango, place it in exactly the right spot.

After trying several pieces without success I found a piece that was a close fit and did my best to make it fit.  I pushed and squeezed and distorted it and finally declared to my mom that I got one to fit.  I was so proud of my abilities and the way I’d quickly mastered jigsaw puzzling. . .until . . . my mom pointed out that the colors and patterns  and lines didn’t really  fit with one another, let alone the shapes, I needed to remove it, back up, and keep trying until there was a true and accurate fit. 

I didn’t want to hear it!!

Getting a clear picture of God is much like putting together a jigsaw puzzle with an infinite number of pieces.  For the picture to be accurate, each piece must fit perfectly with the other ones.  No forcing or twisting or settling for an imperfect fit.

The more people working together on the puzzle the quicker it seems to take shape and the more fun the process is, but if one person is forcing pieces that don’t fit, the rest of the group can’t pretend that it does fit.  It’s time to back up and wait until the right piece comes into focus.

God is revealing to me the need to back up and reevaluate some pieces of my theological puzzle I thought were perfect fits but, in fact, had been forced together by me or others.  I am so amazed by God’s patience with me . . . just like my mom, He just says, remove the wrong pieces, keep asking, keep seeking, keep knocking and the right pieces will pop out.  You’ll know when the piece is the right one. 

I am totally fine with all the pieces that I haven’t fit together yet because I know the right picture will grow in God’s timing and I trust Him.

It’s becoming a much more beautiful picture too.

God of the Nth, or Merry Christmas

When it comes to grasping divinity it is too hard and too big for my mind.

I remember in my school days that exponents were used to describe large numbers . . . the kind the mind can't grasp.  The the biggest and largest number was referred to as the "nth" power.  When you move into calculus they increase the abstract to the "n+1" power.  In other words, the largest possible number there is . . . plus one.

Even this falls far short of completely illustrating the vastness of our creator.

The theologian, in the same way as simple math, falls short of explaining God to us and like calculus we need to move further with the help of the poet and the mystic . . . but even that is not enough.

And yet, God himself placed all of who he is into a person . . . Jesus . . . so he could be one of us . . . and live with us . . . and we could see him, touch him, understand him, and amazingly so he could show us how much he loves us and desires an intimate relationship with . . . me . . . and you.

That is why the angels shouted out Glory to God in the Highest!!

Something to think about this Christmas.

The Heart of the Matter

All things in the scriptures were written for us . . . but not all things in the scripture were written to us.

Example:

Jeremiah 17:9  says "The human mind is more deceitful than anything else.

It is incurably bad. Who can understand it?".  

Many teachers have convinced people who are in Christ that this is true of them.  It is sad to see.

Jesus IS the cure.  Jesus came to remove our stony heart and give us a heart of flesh.  Those who are in Christ are NEW creations, the old is passed away and all things are new.  Those that are in Christ have the Spirit dwelling in their hearts.  

Listen to your heart.  Follow your heart, for this is the dwelling place of the very God.

The Basics

I embrace the Christianity taught by Jesus Christ which teaches that to be right with God a person MUST BE PERFECT. This is such a high standard that no one can possibly achieve it. If a person were to be 99.9999999999999% perfect but slip up once in one small detail, they are disqualified.

However, Jesus DID live such a perfect life and has said that if we would quit trying to meet God's high standards through our own efforts, that the perfection he achieved would be ours . . . freely . . . without strings . . . forever . . .

The Apostle Paul in Romans 8:1 said: "There is therefore NOW NO CONDEMNATION to those who are in Christ."

So, salvation, and restoration of the broken relationship with God, the complete removal of all our sinfulness, past, present, and future, the joy and peace and security of not having to worry about "did I do it right", the very spirit of God dwelling inside our core, is all freely given, with no strings, no "as long as", no requirements to keep trying to be perfect, no requirement to attend religious services, no requirement to give money, no rules to keep, no expectation that sin in our lives will stop . . . NOTHING, to anyone and everyone when they admit they can't be good enough on their own and simply understand that Jesus has already done it all for us.

I know this may sound somewhat different than Christianity as most people think about it, but many teachers down through time have twisted the wonderful message that God has done all this for us only because he loves us all so very much and wants to have a close, intimate relationship with his beloved creation.

I know you are very focused on love, as am I, and I have found that knowing that I am loved THIS MUCH, makes it possible to really reach out to and care for and love those who cross my path. I am not perfect at it, but the more I grasp God's great love to me the easier it becomes to love . . . even those who are hostile to me.

Sorry to be so long winded, but this is such a wonderful message it kinda bubbles up inside of me.

The Good News is Really Good!!

For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8,9.

Most Christians believe this to be true, and yet they feel a need to add things to it such as "make a commitment", or "give your heart to Christ", or "make Him your Lord", or "make a decision", and I could go on and on. All of a sudden this free gift from God sounds more like it has a string attached or a hook in it, or like it is from my own effort rather than a free gift. It makes the Good News taste a lot less "good".

Prior to the light of Christ shining in our hearts we are described as dead and in darkness. How does a corpse do anything? How do they make any decisions? What part did the dead Lazarus play in his own resurrection? Answer . . . NOTHING. God did it all!!

I remember being down deep in the Carlsbad Cavern when they turned out the lights . . . I have never experienced any darker darkness than in that hole in the ground. Picture someone in an underground limestone cave having never seen the reality of the beauty around them because of the darkness, all they have ever known is the darkness. Suddenly someone turns on the lights, revealing all the beauty that was around them all the time for them to enjoy. They don't DECIDE to believe in the existence of stalagmites, or stalactites, or waterfalls, or pools of crystal clear water, they see it and just know it to be true.

The light being turned on is the same as the faith that is a gift from God spoken of in Ephesians. His Spirit "turns on the light" showing the dead person that all his sins are forgiven, he is loved unconditionally, he has the presence of God inside of him, he is assured of eternity spend in a fabulous place called heaven. He doesn't need to make a decision, or make God his lord, or promise anything at all. It is all his freely out of the loving heart of a gracious God! Now this tastes a lot more like Good News to me.

Way to go God!!!

God's Loving Care

I saw a dead sparrow on the sidewalk this morning and I was reminded of God's never ending love for me.

A dead sparrow seems like an odd symbol of God's care and love.

Does God care for sparrows? Isn't there a passage which says He watches over even the sparrows and knows when they "fall"? If He does care so much and yet sparrows continue to fall from the sky, why doesn't He protect them? Why didn't He prevent this sad event? Could He? Did He want too? If not, how is that love?

I love birds. My wife and I have worked hard to make our backyard "bird friendly" and we enjoy spending time watching them flitting about and listening to them calling out to each other. They are such happy creatures. Seeing one of our feathered friends laying still and dead on the cold pavement evoked sadness in my heart.

I think God is sad like that too when one of His creation is hurting, struggling, or . . . dies.

This world is not the way God made it. This world is not the way God wanted it. This world, and all that is in it, including sparrows, are damaged and will some day die.

Sin is the culprit and God hates the damage that sin has done to His creation.

Through Christ's victory over sin on the cross we now know the day is coming when all the damage will be reversed. Pain will be gone, tornados will cease, hating, cheating, hurt, and yes, even death, will all be washed away. All things will be restored just the way God wanted it in the first place.

Yet, today is not that day. Today, we must all continue to struggle with sin's effects. Today sparrows continue to fall from the sky, and loved ones we know continue to get sick and die.

For me the comfort comes from knowing God values me much more than sparrows. When I suffer the effects of sin in this world, He is there with me; supporting me; crying with me; comforting me with the words . . . "I make all things new".

I have a best friend.

Sin Addiction

A crack baby is born; it's mother and father are strung out.

This precious young life is adopted by loving parents.

In spite of the adoptive parent's great love the innate effects of the crack addiction will continue to cause harm and destructive behavior for their youngster throughout the child's life.

The parents hate the addiction that continues to plague and cause harm to their loved one, but they understand their adopted child can do nothing but struggle with the crack addiction it was bequeathed by it's biological parents.

Motivated by love, if there were a way the adoptive parents would gladly take the pain, hurt, and consequences of the crack addiction from their suffering child and endure it themselves.

Sin is the same way. God hates the sin that continues to cause us hurt and pain. He understands that we are damaged and will continue to struggle. He is not mad at us when we sin, but He is very mad at sin. Wouldn't you be mad at anything so destructive to the ones you love?

Thankfully, there was a way of escape and God is the one who provided it.

Way to go God!!

Reading those personalized license plates can be a challenging, eye opening, and puzzling adventure..

I read one this morning which said "STOP SIN". It was easy to decipher but now I find myself trying to understand the application of this message.

Is this a command to the unwashed masses?

Shall I take it as a battle cry for someone on a crusade to stamp out evil in the world?

Maybe it is a simple wish for the car owner for their own personal life.

Is this even possible? Every effort to control sin seems to fail. If I try to speak only loving words inevitably I find myself wishing to take back something said. If I work hard at contentment, before long I will be wanting a new car, or house or job. No matter what the sin is, by trying harder, or working more, or learning the right thing, or grunting really hard the effect will be failure to meet the goal of stopping sin. I believe one could spend an entire life time shouting "STOP SIN" and the result would be . . . no change.

Are there some people who are better at stopping sin in their lives than others? It may seem so, but even the good ones have not STOPPED sin if there is even one remaining.

Things that are deep; things that are engrained; things that are instinct; things that are inbred; to stop these things is to go against nature, so am I as hopeless as it sounds?

Thankfully not. God knows everyone is a sinner by nature. God knows no one can STOP. God knows sin will continue. God offers to unite all of us with His Son, the One who truly was able to "stop sin", and thereby the sin penalty is erased, the guilt is gone, the anxiousness of repeated sinning evaporates, the fear of facing an angry, wrathful God is replace with a sense of extreme love from God to me.

Although sin will continue to raise it's ugly head as my life goes on it is like a fangless viper, the venom is gone as a result of God's extreme love.

I'm sure glad He knows my weakness and in His love has made provisions to overcome the power of sin. I pray the guy with with the STOP SIN get his wish . . . there is a way.

The latest on Jon's spiritual journey:

I have a close relative who is homosexual and distant from the family. There is a part of me that wants to reach out to him and show him the love of Jesus but will the message of Christ love be clouded by my own hang ups? God is doing great things in my soul . . . things I want. God is asking me to love, not to judge; He is much better at that anyway. He showed me today how He handled a similar situation.

Luke 19:5 And when Jesus came to that place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, come down quickly, because I must stay at your house today."

Jesus did not fear that socializing with a sinner would appear as if He were condoning the stealing which was going on. Can I do the same today? If I care for those in darkness as Jesus did, I will.

Lord open the doors - I think I am ready.

Life Without Sin

Before sin entered. . .

After sin is removed. . .

Rev. 21:4 say "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist any more - or mourning, or crying or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist."

God's goal is to return things to the way is was "before sin entered." No tears, no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain.

Just think of the required things we experience in this present life that are a result of sins entrance: tombstones; morticians; funerals; dentists; lawyers; judges; doctors; anesthesia; litter; graffiti; divorce courts; wheelchairs; diets; door locks; laws; taxes; weeds; hearing aids; glasses; policemen; the military; burglar alarms; insurance; painting things; air bags; vitamins; eye glasses; Rolaids; life jackets; Jerry Springer; governments; languages; airport metal detectors; Bibles; wigs; exercise; sleep; diseases; and the list goes on and on.

I look forward to the day these things "have ceased to exist".

Even so come Lord Jesus.

Overblown Theology

I love learning about God.

His attributes.

His heart.

His love.

But more than that I love knowing His attributes, His heart, His love first hand.

I am so very thankful that the simplest and least educated person can still know God in deep and profound ways without the benefit of years in college and seminary. Maybe I am a bit bias in my thoughts since I have no formal theological education but have come to know my wonderful God through a lifetime journey with my hand in His.

I dread to imagine a world where only the theologians could know God and they would have to guide the masses in order for the common folks to get close to the Father at all. I don't think this was what God had in mind when He said in Rev. 3:20 "Listen! I am standing at the door and knocking! If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come into his home and share a meal with him, and he with me." (New English Translation).

I love the picture of sitting down with the Father and sharing a meal in my house; with all the clutter, dirt and "unmentionables". He knows I am not the same kind of housekeeper that He is but He doesn't care as long as He can have communion with me. What better way to become intimate with Him? We know He desires that close of a relationship with us because he is the one knocking on the door and calling out to us.

Formal training is good but thank God it is not required.

I think it's time to eat.

It's election time. One of the well-worn topics of the day is TAXES. Have you ever pondered the meaning of this word? I looked it up and as applied to revenue collected by the government this word accurately discribes what is going on. Here are some words listed in the dictionary.

Demand, burdensome charge, obligation, to take, tough, difficult, strenuous, challenging, wearing, tiring, exhusting, and draining.

At this time, and in the economic environment we now find ourselves, the last thing anybody needed are more taxes. In fact, for the economy to thrive logic demands a reduction in taxes.

Please think about this when you make your ballot selection

What is Church?

I am totally committed to my wonderful Savior. He is as close as ever. I have grown over the last years in ways I never dreamed were possible, yet, I have not participated in what most would call "church" for almost 3 years. How is this possible?

I was always taught if you quit attending you would surely spiral down to the depths of depravity; Satan was waiting to "sift you like wheat"! Yet the opposite happened. I grew closer, deeper, and more in love with my savior than during the last 50 years.

How can this be?

Those in the know discuss concepts like the "universal church" and the "local church", are these what God had in mind? I have a hunch no. The church is Christ's bride. He longs to relate, to comfort, to spend time with, and to be intimate with her.

I know Christ is directing my path to the place he wants me; to an intimacy He deisres. If this takes place in "traditional church" or in some other venue, I care not. I just want Him more and more every day.

I am still learning.

A Cross Among Weeds

Near my house there is a hill, atop of which is a wonderful cross, worthy of hiking to in the early morning hours. As I was standing there alone early one morning God and I were having a wonderful time watching the sun rise and worshipping together.
In the midst of my worship time I noticed the fresh crop of weeds coming up all around the hillsides. These weeds reminded me of the curse. The curse of sin. Didn't it say something in Genesis about the earth bringing forth weeds? Sin . . . . curses . . . weeds.
Weeds are very symbolic of sins if you think about it. They are always cropping up around us requiring that we pull them out. The more we allow sins, the more they multiply . . . like weeds. I will always be weeding my life of the sins that crop up.
Yet, as I viewed the cross among the weeds on this morning, I began to realize that Christ had broken the curse through the power of the cross. Even if sin continues to pop up in my life until the day I die, I know the curse is broken, once and for all. My heart fills with joy and love for my wonderful savior every time I am reminded of this wonderful story. The curse is broken. Sin is powerless. Christ won the final victory. I am His, He is mine. Though the seeds of sin will always be around me, though my flesh enjoys sin and I must weed it out, I have no fear. There is a cross among the weeds