I was thinking today about cruxification and that it was something that was done regularly in Jesus' time. His crucifixion was not rare. It was unusual because of it's timing on a holiday.
Luke 9:23 KJV "And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me."
Jesus didn't rail against Rome because they crucified people. He said, 'Remember those poor people you saw dragging those crosses through Jerusalem. I am one of them. Follow me and be one of them.'
Crazy!
Jesus talked a lot about how wonderful His Father's kingdom Is. There are many mansions there. Heaven has no pain, death, sickness, jealousy or cruxifications.
Every human institution is littered with atrocity. Every generation has it. Jesus says, 'I am that person you visit in prison. Bring a cup of cold water to them and you are bringing one to me.'
{Sigh} Tears fill my eyes... We are so quick to hurt one another and point fingers. Jesus has risen from the dead. That is the 'sign' He left us with. I want to spread that hope. That hope outlives every generational outrage.
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Saturday, May 30, 2020
Friday, May 22, 2020
Responding To Goodness
- God is good. Mankind isn't.
- We can respond to 'good' but we can not initiate true goodness on our own. Self preservation or gain is always in the mix.
- We can however initiate based on what we have recieved. God's Spirit leads us down a road we would not go on our own. That is the only kind of initation that does not add to the corruption we see around us.
"What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building." - 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 ESV
I have not seen this belief system anywhere else but in the Bible and it is the only way I see to have a truly healthy self image.
If we abandon trying to do 'good' and exalt the One who has done 'good' then we find ourselves living life in a different way without guilt or shame.
I am suspicous of and eventually must denounce any theology or philosophy that does not promote this view because it obscures who God Is and pushs people to try to perform in a way that is impossible.
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- We can respond to 'good' but we can not initiate true goodness on our own. Self preservation or gain is always in the mix.
- We can however initiate based on what we have recieved. God's Spirit leads us down a road we would not go on our own. That is the only kind of initation that does not add to the corruption we see around us.
"What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building." - 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 ESV
I have not seen this belief system anywhere else but in the Bible and it is the only way I see to have a truly healthy self image.
If we abandon trying to do 'good' and exalt the One who has done 'good' then we find ourselves living life in a different way without guilt or shame.
I am suspicous of and eventually must denounce any theology or philosophy that does not promote this view because it obscures who God Is and pushs people to try to perform in a way that is impossible.
--
Tuesday, May 19, 2020
My Box Of Unfinished Busniess
I'm praying for bravery this morning... for you and for me.
We are brave people... i think we can forget this... obstacles, fears, complexities, unknowns... we have faced them before and we can face them again... but will we? Yes... we will... the box of 'unfinished business', the conversation, looking at the thing we have avoided looking at... God will go with us if we invite Him and then take a step... the complex thing can be broken down into little steps... the hard thing is only too hard if we get overwhelmed by the wind and the waves... focus on Jesus and move towards His outstretched hand... I like to picture Him in my problem smiling at me... laughing maybe but not in a mocking way but the way a friend who cares for you and is on your side might laugh and say, 'Don't be afraid. I AM here.'
You are brave. No. No arguments. You are. That giant is blind as a bat. He hopes you get close enough and afraid enough to stay away or just do something stupid. His loud words are just words. Face him with your sling. Pick some stones and take aim. Don't rush in but don't hold back. Aim for the head. There is danger but you are brave and smart.
I got on my knees this morning and put all my 'unfinished business' in a box. It isn't going into the attic. God is going to be with me as I finish each thing. He promised me that He would never leave me or forsake me. (see Deut 31:6, 8; Heb 13:5)
I plan to recycle this box... rip off the tape, flatten it and recycle it.
"For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:8-9 ESV
Yes.
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We are brave people... i think we can forget this... obstacles, fears, complexities, unknowns... we have faced them before and we can face them again... but will we? Yes... we will... the box of 'unfinished business', the conversation, looking at the thing we have avoided looking at... God will go with us if we invite Him and then take a step... the complex thing can be broken down into little steps... the hard thing is only too hard if we get overwhelmed by the wind and the waves... focus on Jesus and move towards His outstretched hand... I like to picture Him in my problem smiling at me... laughing maybe but not in a mocking way but the way a friend who cares for you and is on your side might laugh and say, 'Don't be afraid. I AM here.'
You are brave. No. No arguments. You are. That giant is blind as a bat. He hopes you get close enough and afraid enough to stay away or just do something stupid. His loud words are just words. Face him with your sling. Pick some stones and take aim. Don't rush in but don't hold back. Aim for the head. There is danger but you are brave and smart.
I got on my knees this morning and put all my 'unfinished business' in a box. It isn't going into the attic. God is going to be with me as I finish each thing. He promised me that He would never leave me or forsake me. (see Deut 31:6, 8; Heb 13:5)
I plan to recycle this box... rip off the tape, flatten it and recycle it.
"For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:8-9 ESV
Yes.
--
Monday, May 18, 2020
Newness In Christ
Take a look with new eyes and you will see that all things have become new again.
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ESV
People who have an identity crisis either crystalize or start over. This passage informs me that because of Christ I don't have to lose it all circumstantially in order to begin again.
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:11 KJV
I like the KJV for this passage. We must say, 'What I do can not separate me from God. What Jesus has done has reconciled me to God forever.' and that gives a place for newness.
Celebrities reinvent themselves with new clothing, hairstyles, and altered styles but God has reinvented us in Christ with mercy. It happens again and again and we need it to happen over and over again for each day and each season. Our mind needs renewal.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:2 ESV
The pressures of life will push on us and can block the light we need to see. Depressions are caused by pressures. Renewal is needed.
"...the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds," - Ephesians 4:21b-23 ESV
What you want will kill you an inch at a time but what you have can renew you of you enter into the renewal that Jesus has won for you.
--
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ESV
People who have an identity crisis either crystalize or start over. This passage informs me that because of Christ I don't have to lose it all circumstantially in order to begin again.
"Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord." - Romans 6:11 KJV
I like the KJV for this passage. We must say, 'What I do can not separate me from God. What Jesus has done has reconciled me to God forever.' and that gives a place for newness.
Celebrities reinvent themselves with new clothing, hairstyles, and altered styles but God has reinvented us in Christ with mercy. It happens again and again and we need it to happen over and over again for each day and each season. Our mind needs renewal.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." - Romans 12:2 ESV
The pressures of life will push on us and can block the light we need to see. Depressions are caused by pressures. Renewal is needed.
"...the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds," - Ephesians 4:21b-23 ESV
What you want will kill you an inch at a time but what you have can renew you of you enter into the renewal that Jesus has won for you.
--
Thursday, May 7, 2020
A Formal Request
Today I am equating prayer, the supplication kind (asking for something), to a form that needs to be filled out or formal request of some kind. Almost all governments and organizations of any size have something like this. A 'ticket' is created to document that there was a problem then that 'ticket' gets closed.
"And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.' For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.' And the Lord said, 'Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?' " - Luke 18:1-7 ESV
Was the form filled out? Who gets the form? Do they care about the issue? Can the people who get the request fix the issue? Do they have the power? These are questions we ask and must answer about any formal request.
In the parable, the woman knew the judge had the power so she kept coming.
'And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?'
Jesus said this. What is our answer to His question?
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"And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, "In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, 'Give me justice against my adversary.' For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, 'Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.' And the Lord said, 'Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?' " - Luke 18:1-7 ESV
Was the form filled out? Who gets the form? Do they care about the issue? Can the people who get the request fix the issue? Do they have the power? These are questions we ask and must answer about any formal request.
In the parable, the woman knew the judge had the power so she kept coming.
'And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?'
Jesus said this. What is our answer to His question?
--
Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Our Original Confidence
Wow. This next passage is loaded.
"Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end." - Hebrews 3:12-14 ESV
Our 'original confidence' is vital. Jesus is alive and if we know God there was this moment that we became aware that He was aware of us. A transaction happened. A saving. We knew it. A dead soul was suddenly alive and the Spirit of Grace ignited a confidence in us.
'Day-to-Day while it is called today' we encourage each other that this living God still sees us and things are happening even if we don't see evidence that they are.
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?' " - Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV
Like a sheep, I am prone to wander. My heart can harden out in the wilderness as I seemingly fend for myself but Jesus leaves the ninety-nine to find His wandering lambs.
The cross is a big landmark that I can look to and lift up. He can be found in His word and where two or more encouraging and encouraged hearts gather and say His true name. He Is Saviour, shepherd, physician and the living God. When His nature is revealed our confidence returns and rests on Him and His willingness to affect situations for us and through us.
--
"Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end." - Hebrews 3:12-14 ESV
Our 'original confidence' is vital. Jesus is alive and if we know God there was this moment that we became aware that He was aware of us. A transaction happened. A saving. We knew it. A dead soul was suddenly alive and the Spirit of Grace ignited a confidence in us.
'Day-to-Day while it is called today' we encourage each other that this living God still sees us and things are happening even if we don't see evidence that they are.
"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?' " - Hebrews 13:5-6 ESV
Like a sheep, I am prone to wander. My heart can harden out in the wilderness as I seemingly fend for myself but Jesus leaves the ninety-nine to find His wandering lambs.
The cross is a big landmark that I can look to and lift up. He can be found in His word and where two or more encouraging and encouraged hearts gather and say His true name. He Is Saviour, shepherd, physician and the living God. When His nature is revealed our confidence returns and rests on Him and His willingness to affect situations for us and through us.
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