A Love Story

   The other day I saw this picture posted on Facebook, with the tag-line "Seriously, how the hell do billions of people believe this?". I admit it was a knee-jerk reaction when I commented 'Who ever wrote this has obviously never read the Bible.'. I actually wanted to go on a rant and pick the statements apart and expose the source (Atheist Republic.com) as a bunch of fools. But I felt a hand of restraint hold me back. (Thank you, Jesus)
   Over the past few days, as I have reflected on this, I have come to realize how sad this all is. You see, billions of people do not believe this. We believe that a loving God created us in His image for fellowship with Him, that we were created with a free will so that we could appreciate how glorious that fellowship is. But our free will also allowed us to pridefully turn away from that fellowship. It is that pride, that arrogance, that is the original sin, and it is that pride at the very heart of the graphical statement illustrated above.
   Many people, and not just the atheist groups, have a hard time wrapping their heads around this whole concept. And I admit it was a tough one for me for a long time, but here is the basic scenario.
   From the moment of that first sin God has worked on bringing us to an understanding of our folly, and bring us back to our original fellowship with Him. This is the main theme of the entire Bible.
  So when God came to us in the flesh, in the person of Jesus, This was God getting right in our face so to speak, and saying 'This is how much I love you. I am willing to take on all the horror your act of sin has caused in the world and pay the bloody price for it. Please just come back to me. I miss our fellowship.'
  So that is why I am so saddened when I read these mis-informed statements about what we believe, and who God is and what he does. The truth is right there in the Bible; "That God so loved the world that He..." You Know the rest. If you don't, read the Bible. (HINT: it's in John 3:16)

This Jesus

   The name Jesus, the person, the history, the impact Jesus has had on our global culture is immense. There are so many interpretations of who he is, what he did and what he stood for sometimes it's difficult really get a handle on what Jesus is all about.

   The first introduction to Jesus we all have is through the Bible, but there are so many other texts and books and poems and movies it is very difficult to draw a clear picture of who "this Jesus" is.

   Evangelical Christians have him defined, the Mormons have him defined, the Jehovah's Witnesses and the multitude of "New Age" groups (everything from the ancient Gnostic texts to channeled works such as A Course In Miracles) have him all figured out. But they are all at odds with what they perceive as who "this Jesus" is.

   When it comes down to it there was a small group of people who actually rubbed elbows with Jesus while he was here on earth. Jesus had his group of disciples. At one point he sent out a group of seventy. Then there were his closest twelve. Of these He had a core group of three, John, Peter and James. Thankfully several put those experiences down in writing that we can share His story today.

   In this article I will focus on two of those close friends; the disciples John and Peter.

   Let us look at what they say and hopefully the Jesus they talk about, from their own personal experience you will see that this Jesus they knew is the Jesus who wants to touch your life today.

   Lets first look at  John. Now here's a guy who was one of the first that Jesus called to "follow Me". and without hesitation John put down his work and followed. We see John taking part in the discipleship training Jesus put forward, we see John at the Mount of transfiguration, we see John seated next to Jesus at the last supper, we see John at the foot of the cross. We have his testimony in his gospel and three epistles. The whole of the Bible culminates with Johns magnificent prophesy we call the Book of Revelation.

  So what does this man who knew and lived with and traveled with Jesus have to say about who Jesus is? This is not some interpretation after the fact these are the words of the person who in the Bible is called "the disciple who Jesus loved"

1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

  John also makes these defining statements about Jesus.

John 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

John 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

   Peter was also was among the first that Jesus called to follow Him. Here in his second letter he lets us know that he too was an eyewitness to all the stories we, even to this day, hear about Jesus.

2 Peter 1:16 For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. 17 For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 18 And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

19 And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; 20 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

   And again Peter testifies on the day of Pentecost:

Act 2:14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. 16 But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:

17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.19 I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood,Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.21 And it shall come to pass That whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’(Joel 2:28-32) 22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it. 25 For David says concerning Him:‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also will rest in hope. 27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me full of joy in Your presence.’(Psalms 16:8-11) 29 “Men and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne, 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption.32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. 33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 “For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord,“Sit at My right hand,35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’(Psalms 110:1) 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” 37 Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”

   So here we have two people who knew Jesus personally, traveled with him, camped with Him, ate with Him, watched him die, saw him resurrected and ascend to heaven. If the case for who is the true Jesus was brought to court would you not have to go in favor of the eyewitnesses?

A Daily Call

   I find it interesting how God brings a message. This is one that has blessed me and drawn me closer to the Lord.

   In the last two weeks I have listened in on two different Bible studies on the Book of Jonah. Both studies came from completely different angles. One illustrated the run-away prophet; the other, the servant who was displeased with how God didn't deal with the situation the way the man thought it should come out.

   All around Jonah was a stinker (and not just when he came out of the belly of the fish). But I think the most important aspect of this book in the Bible is the willingness of God to faithfully call his chosen prophet to pursue His will.
   God calls us to obedience, but even when we run away, fall away, or push Him away his Holy Spirit is always there to call us to his will.

^{Luke 11:28} He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

How Great Thou Art

  John 1 In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was with God in the beginning. ³ Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. ⁴ In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

¹⁴ The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

   These verses in the Bible are some of the most foundational in true Christian faith. They speak directly to the Deity of Jesus but even more so as to the "largeness" of God. When in discussion with people it seems that grasping the idea of one God who is also three is too much to wrap our human minds around.

   I, myself, have struggled with this but recently I have been meditating deeply on this "largeness" that is God.

   The Bible tells us that God created everything; that in the beginning there was only God and that it gave him pleasure to form the cosmos and all that is in it. This means that he created time, space, and every atom, molecule, and organism that has its being within that creation.

   God surrounds this creation; He is larger then His creation, larger then time, larger then space, and yet at the same time he is within his creation. It was God who spoke light, who parts seas and rivers, walks on water, hung on the cross, and who indwells the believer. My human mind still struggles with this expansiveness, but yet find such a great comfort in that the largeness of His love surrounds me even with all my flaws and failings.

   My prayer is that as He continues to reveal His Majesty we can open our eyes to see and our ears to hear and know "How great Thou art". 

Your Kingdom Come

Luke 11:1-4 Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John also taught his disciples.”

² So He said to them, “When you pray, say:

Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
³ Give us day by day our daily bread.
⁴ And forgive us our sins,
For we also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.”  

   When His disciples asked Jesus how to pray He gave them what we now commonly call the Lords Prayer. This is a wonderful example of the Trinity in action. Powered by the Holy Spirit, Jesus , the Son speaks to the Father. So when he says "Your Kingdom come." He is  not only telling us  to request, seek, work for, His Kingdom, He is also speaking it into existence.
  We, by turning our lives over to God, become citizens in His magnificent Kingdom.
  He is the King of kings.

The Cult of Darkness. or How to Defeat the Enemy While on your Knees

   I stopped by some friends house tonight on my way home. They were comparing the mentality behind the the attack on the Sikh Temple in Wisconsin to the way there neighbors treat them. The term they were using was "It's like there is a cult of darkness in the world". I was drawn to tell them about my recent study in The book of Romans where Paul is addressing the oppression that the believers in that city, and pretty much the world of the first century were being confronted by was a "cult of darkness". And yes it continues to this day
   Romans 1...
²⁸ Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. ²⁹ They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹ they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.

   The thing is; the point of much of Paul's words in "Romans" is that we are all a part of that "cult of darkness" if we are without Jesus, THE Christ. He is the only way to peace in our souls and subsequently in the world. So many fight against this because we are taught by our culture to be self reliant; that our intelligence is our salvation; that we are "the captain of our own ship". The "My way or the highway" mentality will lead a person to hell.
   It is not until we relinquish our lives; our person, to God that we can be free of the "cult of darkness".

   Romans 8...
⁹ You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh (read: "cult of darkness") but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. ¹¹ And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of His Spirit who lives in you.

Paul continues with this encouragement


³¹ What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? ³² He who did not spare His own Son,but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? ³³ Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. ³⁴ Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. ³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

³⁷ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, ³⁹ neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

   So as concerning the "cult of darkness", would not a life given over to Jesus; The Lord; the Savior of the world; the Righteous One; the Lamb of God, be the the way to stand toe to toe with the wickedness in the world; the "cult of darkness". But more importantly would not a life given over to Christ show the world and lead it to the most beautiful Way.

Motivation

   

   When I read this quote by our old buddy Albert it made me pause and look at what my motivations are for following the life path I have chosen.
   Sinners are a "sorry lot".
   Yes the fear of separation from God, or the hope of spending eternity in His presence are valid motivations to be "good".
   Should not our motivation for that goodness be our deep and consuming love for God?


   "Love your neighbor". "Love your enemy". "Love yourself". We can get our heads wrapped around these, But "Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind and soul"...
   Do you feel motivated?
   Praise the Name of the Lord.
   That's a start.