Extravagant Grace
Repainting The Christian LandscapeFurious Love Series – God is what God does!
Posted on April 22, 2012“Love would never leave us alone” ― Bob Marley
Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. – Eph 5:2, The Message
Before Jesus ever came on the scene Israel had been living by a creed that can be traced back to thousands of years ago in her history, this creed is called the Shema. Now the Shema is basically made up of three parts one from Deuteronomy 6, another from Deuteronomy 11, and the last from Numbers 11. If you were to go to a Jewish synagogue you would hear this recited at every service. It starts like this:
Deu 6:4 Attention, Israel! GOD, our God! GOD the one and only!
Deu 6:5 Love GOD, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got!
It is interesting to note that when a Scribe approached Jesus in the gospel of Mark (12:28-33) and asked “What is the first commandment of all?” Jesus replied by starting to quote the Shema, but he added something else, something that in His mind was more important than obedience to the law (which happened to be the other parts of the Shema).
Mar 12:33 “and to love Him from all the heart”, and from all the understanding, “and from all the soul, and from all the strength;” Deut. 6:4, 5 and “to love one’s neighbor as oneself” Lev. 19:18 is more than all the burnt offerings and the sacrifices.
Mar 12:34 And seeing that he answered intelligently, Jesus said to him, You are not far from the kingdom of God. And no one dared to question Him anymore.
Jesus was above all things a revolutionary with a radical message. Most folks do not tend to see Jesus as an insurrectionist or a divine insurgent but make no mistake; His message was anything but tame. In the preceding verse Jesus makes an unmistakably clear connection with loving people and the coming of the Kingdom of God. That is because a true relationship with God is impossible without loving people (1 John 4:7, 8). The revolution of Jesus’ subversive kingdom was a revolution of love. He overthrew the satanic strongholds of hatred, intolerance and religion that marred the image of His creation. The powers that He overthrew were neither territorial, nor geographical but were those powers that disfigured a person’s soul. His revolution was inward and spiritual, a revolution of the heart. One of the ways that Jesus demonstrated the love of God was by showing people grace. Jesus was quick to point out that laws and rules will not bring people into the kingdom… only love will.
Rom 5:20 All that passing laws against sin did was produce more lawbreakers. But sin didn’t, and doesn’t, have a chance in competition with the aggressive forgiveness we call grace. When it’s sin versus grace, grace wins hands down.
Aggressive? Forgiveness? Gracing people into the kingdom? Now that seems pretty hard! You may ask how I can aggressively forgive when so much has been done to me. That may work for Jesus … but that’s a different story for me. From my experience it is those who have experienced forgiveness that are more readily to give it away. I believe that the most powerful weapon of the New Covenant is forgiveness. If we have a problem with forgiving it is usually because we are making ourselves to be a judge and if we do that we have a need to establish guilt and punishment to vindicate our sense of justice. The only problem with that is that if we walk through life as the judge we end up entrapped in our own cell of bitterness.
Showing love will definitely challenge us, but it will also change us. The kingdom of God is demonstrated every time we choose love over hate, love over unforgiveness, love over intolerance, love over greed, love over violence, and love over injustice. I believe the way of love is the better way. I think that the love of God is the simple answer to all our complex questions.
Love tells us the truth when all we have ever known are lies. Love tells us that we are accepted when all we have ever known is rejection. Love tells us of freedom when all we have known is addiction. Love tells us about grace when all we have ever known is religion.
We are called to be an army in a revolution of love. We are the healers in broken places, pouring ourselves out to a hurting and suffering world. As Donald Miller says “We’re called to hold our hands against the wounds of a broken world, to stop the bleeding” and the only way is by demonstrating the Love of God.
… and love without stopping. (1Co 16:14, the Message)
Live Loved – Bert
Furious Love Series – Sinners In The Hands of An Angry God???
Posted on April 14, 2012On July 8th 1741 Jonathan Edwards delivered what would become one of the most notable if not the most famous sermons ever delivered to a congregation in Enfield Connecticut. The following is an excerpt from what he said that day:
“The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God’s hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.”
Now some people may find that incredulous to believe even in our day but many people still espouse that God is a God of wrath who threatens his creation with hell-fire damnation. Whether we like to admit it, we all have been shaped by church history and theology. We may not know it but there is a reason why we believe what we do and if you are like me I have found out that a lot of stuff that I have believed is pure crap.
I don’t want to discredit Jonathan Edwards just on the basis of this one sermon because he did make a valuable contribution to church history … but on this point … I think he was CLEARLY WRONG. It is not that wrath is not mentioned in the bible because it most certainly is. The point is that our understanding of what wrath is has been convoluted and tainted.
In order to begin our study on the Furious Love of God we need to clear up some misconceptions about God and it is paramount that we start with a proper foundation. So let’s first start with the premise of what God says that He is …
Deu_4:24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God. (KJV)
Deu_4:31 For the LORD thy God is a merciful God … (KJV)
2Ch_30:9 … for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful … (KJV)
Job_37:22 … God is terrible majesty. (KJV)
Psa_7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day. (KJV)
- Note “with the wicked” is in italics meaning it was never in the Hebrew but added by tranlators
I want to stop here because this is one of the text verses that Jonathan Edwards and many others have used to state that God is angry. You see we can’t make statements that God is not angry and just leave it at that because there are some seemingly contradictory statements in the bible. It is our intention in this study to unearth some of the ambiguities and shed some light on the true character of God.
Dr. Clarke says: “I have judged it of consequence to trace this verse through all the ancient versions in order to be able to ascertain what is the true reading, where the evidence on one side amounts to a positive affirmation, ‘God is angry every day,’ and, on the other side, to as positive a negation, ‘He is not angry every day.’ The mass of evidence supports the latter reading. The Chaldee first corrupted the text by making the addition, ‘with the wicked,’ which our translators have followed, though they have put the words into italics, as not being in the Hebrew text. Several of the versions have rendered it in this way: ‘God judgeth the righteous, and is not angry every day.” The true sense may be restored thus; el with the vowel tsere signifies God; el, the same letters with the point pathach, signifies not. Several of the versions have read in this way: ‘God judgeth the righteous, and is not angry every day.’ He is not always chiding, nor is he daily punishing, notwithstanding the daily wickedness of man; hence the ideas of patience and long-suffering which several of the versions introduce.”
I am not submitting that there is no such thing as the anger or wrath of God. What I am saying is that our perception of what it is remains severely flawed. You see fear has been the greatest motivator of evangelism in church history. It gets more people out of their seats and down the aisle than anything else I know. Unfortunately this is a psychological tool that preachers have used on the masses for eons and we took the bait and have lived our lives in fear.
1 John 4:18 (AMP)
There is no fear in love [dread does not exist], but full-grown (complete, perfect) love [a]turns fear out of doors and expels every trace of terror! For fear [b]brings with it the thought of punishment, and [so] he who is afraid has not reached the full maturity of love [is not yet grown into love's complete perfection].
Fear is diametrically opposed to true biblical faith. Maybe… just maybe we have a wrong picture of our Father. I could be wrong? It is a possibility; but then again I might have stumbled upon the truth. We are taught as “deeper life” Christians that truth is progressive and our faith is static. The problem at hand is that we just don’t want to progress and evolve. We are comfortable with remaining where we are and when someone challenges our wineskin we revolt. When the painter of a movement dies we just quit painting all together. Folks … there is more of His grace and glory yet to be revealed.
“And we are put on this earth a little space that we may learn to bear the beams of love.” – William Blake
- In Part Two we will dig deeper into the wrath, judgment and the love of God
Live Loved — Bert
When The Kingdom Comes – Part 1
Posted on April 01, 2012“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth … Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:13~16, The Message)
As far as I can tell … when the angels announced the birth of Christ they brought an announcement of peace and “good news” to mankind (Luke 2:14). They knew that the birth, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus was a pivotal point in human history. They knew that through Jesus he would pay the redemption price for the sin of the whole world. In the bible the word evangelism means the announcement of “good news.” The word “evangelize” is transliterated from the Strongs # G2097 – euaggelizō – yoo-ang-ghel-id’-zo From G2095 and G32; to announce good news (“evangelize”) especially the gospel: – declare, bring (declare, show) glad (good) tidings, preach (the gospel). Contrary to popular belief God is not angry or mad at anyone. His peace is extended to everyone and to me that’s not just good news that is great news!
Unfortunately we have relegated the gospel or good news of Jesus to mean that when you die you go to heaven. If that is all that the gospel was meant to be it is very irrelevant for life right now. When Jesus announced the kingdom of God is at hand, He was announcing that heaven is here right now. Immediately Jesus began to demonstrate personal and social transformation through His ministry via the inbreaking of His kingdom.
Right before the eyes of everyone history was being made as Jesus started validating the worth of every person by liberating them from sin, sickness and all types of social and religious oppression. The one reason that Jesus gave for this was that the kingdom of God had invaded the earth. That is why when Jesus announced that the Kingdom of God had come men stumbled because it was radically different from what they understood it to be. The kingdom of God that Jesus announced and began to establish was not an institutional and political structure. His kingdom began to take shape in the form of a community of people made in His image who not only experience the love and forgiveness of God but also learn to serve and share it with others.
One of most controversial aspects of Jesus kingdom message was that He redefined who the people of God were (Eph 2:12-15). He moved all the fences that his own religion (he was Jewish) had erected to include those who were ostracized, marginalized, rejected and disdained by society and the religious institution.
Eugene Peterson, in his introduction to Luke in The Message puts it this way: “Religion has a long history of…reducing the huge mysteries of God to the respectability of club rules, of shrinking the vast human community to a ‘membership’…But with God there are no outsiders. Luke is a most vigorous champion of the outsider himself, the Gentile in an all Jewish cast of New Testament writers, he shows how Jesus includes those who typically were treated as outsiders by the religious establishment of the day: women, common laborers, the racially different, the poor. He will not countenance religion as a club. As Luke tells the story, all of us…now find the doors wide open, found and welcomed by God in Jesus.”
When Jesus taught and demonstrated the kingdom of God, He was showing us a different way of being and how to relate with others in this world. We should not wait for this to magically happen some glad morning after we die. We need God with skin in the earth now. Jesus’ prayer shows this: “May they all be one as you Father are in me and I am in you. May they be one in us” (Jn 17:21).
“God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.” (2 Cor 5:16~17)
In the next part of this series we will look at who’s eating at the table with Jesus.
Live Loved Bert
Grace Shift #3
Posted on February 25, 2012( Note to the reader: Although the name of these articles appear as Grace Shift, I would like to recommend a great book by the same title from a friend whom I have known for years … Bishop David Huskins)
Jesus Loves me this I know … but how about everybody else?
On Saturday mornings, as my custom has become, I intentionally get up and go to a dive restaurant for breakfast in one of the roughest parts of the city where I live (I do not advise anyone to go here after dark … just saying). Now it’s not because I like the ambience or the intellectual stimulation but because those who patronize this locale are in need of hope and not to mention the stories I hear are fascinating. That brings me to a point. Everyone has a story. Everyone! It’s just a matter do we have the time to listen or do we even want to listen? I have come to find out that until we are willing to listen to someone they will never trust us with their heart. If our intent is to share the good news (and I am not talking about preaching at someone) with people we must be willing to listen because people take interest because they know we care.
“People are longing to discover true community. We have had enough of loneliness, independence and competition. – Jean Vanier
Developing friendships is the true ministry of Jesus. You church folk may get mad at this but Jesus had no intent on building a ministry, organizing church services, or revival meetings. These things were never the focus of his ministry. Jesus selflessly focused on people and building relationships as He shared the Father’s love with them. Jesus lived such a life that taught a radical love, a radical inclusivity, and a radical hospitality for people that it shocked and appalled his adversaries, and that made his own disciples and apostles stumble at times.
“The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved”. – Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
Some folks think that because I so frequently express the unconditional love and grace of God and have made a bold commitment to love others unconditionally that I condone and accept everything someone does. That’s not the case. Love is not an act of promoting licentiousness, acceptance is not agreement and forgiveness does not come without the acknowledgement that we have been wronged. It’s just that Love, the God kind of Love is the only thing that will bring reformation in a non-Christian world. Preaching at people and telling them they need to change does not work. Besides Jesus loved people where they were and they changed because of that. He did not wait until they changed and then love them.
“To love another person is to see the face of God.” – Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
In John 15:9-17, Jesus explains that his true disciples abide in his love. The Greek word for love, found in this passage is agapē (ag-ah’-pay) which means; love, that is, affection or benevolence; specifically (plural) a love feast: – (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love.
In other words it meant love built on empathy, mutuality, and compassion. Jesus’ encouragement to the disciples to love one another was very difficult for them. Just follow Jesus through the gospel of John and take note.
In John chapter 4, Jesus shows some love to the Samaritans, the disciples are thinking … really? Jesus replies “Yes”, “Even the Samaritans!”
In John chapter 8, Jesus shows some love to the adulteress woman, the disciples are thinking … really? Jesus replies “Yes”, “Even the adulterer!”
In John chapter 12, Jesus shows some love to the Greeks, the disciples are thinking … really? Jesus replies “Yes”, “Even the Greeks!”
In John chapter 15, Jesus says, “Love one another.” And the disciples are thinking … really? Jesus replies, “[Yes,]…love one another as I have loved you” (v. 12).
This is the kicker … our ability to love others is grounded in our ability to hear and believe that God loves us! Wow! Let’s take that a little further … If you believe that God loves you sometimes (when you feel that you are worthy of course) then you will only love others some of the time. Do you think God loves only the parts of us that are lovely—but what about the parts of ourselves that are not so lovely, or that are downright ugly?
“We are not loved because we are beautiful, We are beautiful because We are loved!”
Do you really believe that Jesus loves you? Do you? Do you believe that Jesus loves you, all of who you are, and who you’ve been, who you are becoming? Do you think your life is unattractive to Him? Think about that question. Think about yourself, your appearance, your personality, your talents, and your giftedness. How about your flaws, your failures, your disappointments, your jaded past? What do you find hard to love?
Just what is it that keeps you from experiencing the abundance of God’s love for you?
Live Loved – Bert
Book of Tears – Part 1
Posted on February 20, 2012“We need never be ashamed of our tears.” ― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations
“Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling the secret of who you are, but more often than not of the mystery of where you have come from and are summoning you to where you should go next.” — Frederick Buechner, Whistling in the Dark
Ps 56:8 Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book?
(CEV) You have kept record of my days of wandering. You have stored my tears in your bottle and counted each of them.
(GNB) You know how troubled I am; you have kept a record of my tears. Aren’t they listed in your book?
It is interesting to me that David wrote these words from the personal perspective of great difficulty and pain. This is the case with the majority of his psalms and I think that is why they are so meaningful. You may not realize this but David spent a lot of years in his own wanderings, they included Gath, the cave of Adullam, Mizpeh, the forest of Hareth, Keilah, En-gedi, the wilderness of Ziph and Maon just to name a few and evidently he had shed quite a few tears along the way. Now before you become too cynical, understand that David did not choose his journey, his journey chose him and it was unlikely that he mapped out the places that his life had taken him. David eventually dwelled in Zion but it was not without great adversity. As we travel down the path of kings take note that Jesus redeemed us from a lot of things on the cross through His perfect sacrifice but one thing he did not redeem us from was from the human experience.
Thirty years ago, when I was a little naïve I dreamed of becoming one of those preachers with capped teeth, alligator shoes, and a perfect life. I thought if I only believed and said the right things I would be exempt from difficulty … at least that is what I thought. Well That day never came and I have since changed my mind (repented) about a lot of things. One of the great turning points in my life came when I stopped hiding in the swamplands of legalism and started living in the land of grace. In Graceland (not to be confused with the home of Elvis) we find the true source of power.
2 Cor 4:7
We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. The real power comes from God and not from us.
Grace brings us to be conscious of our humanity in the context of being aware of the one who works in and through us. We all have flaws and we all have cracks. This is why Paul said we have this treasure in jars of clay not crystal vases! The real objective of recognizing our own weakness and brokenness is for the purpose of embracing the strength of Christ.
The Book of Tears
In this passage David made a reference to a tear bottle and a book of remembrance that God kept in our behalf. Notice it’s not an account of how many times you’ve spoke in tongues, ran around the church, jumped or shouted but a book of tears. Why is it that our TEARS are important enough to God for Him to keep account of?
“The tears which I shed in my wanderings. Let them not fall to the ground and be forgotten. Let them be remembered by thee as if they were gathered up and placed in a bottle – (“a lachrymatory”) – that they may be brought to remembrance hereafter.”
Your Tears are not forgotten!
Live Loved Bert
Grace Shift – Part 2
Posted on January 30, 2012I was walking through the store the other day looking for laundry detergent and I was really surprised by the huge selection on the shelves. Now just like everybody else I am looking for the best deal but I am thinking to myself the only difference in the pricing is the packaging. Really is there some secret ingredient in one product that the other does not contain or is it that marketing and branding makes the consumer believe that they are getting a better product because of the label. In our world of consumerism it is called “branding” and if you have taken part in some recent church growth seminars you have probably heard this term thrown around.
Over the course of about two thousand years Christendom has developed its own culture and language that has evolved into thousands of different dialects. Each of our tribes has their own unique diction and assorted differences that make them superior to the rest. We rarely take time, or rarely do we care what the world outside our walls makes of our “code” words. I don’t think they are that interested in learning “Christianese” either. At the end of the day it really does not matter what we say; it matters what is heard and seen in our speaking. We can either join people to churchianity and the superfluous baggage that comes with that or we can connect them to the life of Christ. There is a growing mass of people out here who are detached and disconnected from church whether you like to admit it or not. They are here for many reasons. Some are idealistic and some are rationalist. Some are dejected, rejected and some shamed. Some are married. Some are divorced. Some are straight and some gay. No matter what you think of them they are here. They are not any different from us who stayed; they just had a tough time picking Jesus out of the crowd.
“In general, the churches … bore for me the same relation to God that billboards did to Coca-Cola; they promoted thirst without quenching it.” John Updike
What if God does not turn out to be the same person our doctrines and accumulated ideologies said He is to be. What if the god of our prejudices, insecurities and fears is nothing like the God revealed in Jesus? What if we got all dressed up, put on our Sunday’s best and venture out to our place of worship, told that Jesus is here only to discover He really wasn’t. Think of all the unsatisfied people – and I am one of them – that have an intuition that there is more to Jesus than what is advertised. I am not trying to discredit all the wonderful people, with wonderful ministries who have made an impact in life (they know who they are) but the labels don’t work for me anymore. The labels don’t work for a lot of people anymore. Often we use Jesus to approve what we approve, vote the way we vote, pursue what we pursue and like all the people we like but in a lot of cases Jesus has left the building and is nowhere to be found.
Could it be that somehow we have failed to truly understand the man and his message? What if Jesus did not come to start a religion, but rather a revolution! A revolution that would Change the world! What if the message that Jesus preached had an answer for world hunger? What if Jesus’ message had an answer to stop violence? What if Jesus message had the ability to end apartheid and racism? What if Jesus message had an answer to stop illiteracy? I firmly believe that it does. I believe we are living in a time when the religious fog is lifting off the church and we are coming into a moment of great clarity. I believe we are in the midst of a grace shift.
Live Loved — Bert
Grace Shift
Posted on January 15, 2012News Flash
Just in … It has been reported that the greatest heist of all time has occurred — The message of Jesus has been hijacked from the church. Unfortunately most people are not even aware of it. Like a slow dripping faucet, there is a nagging in my soul that just won’t go away … no matter how much I try, it just does not seat right with what I know to be true. For years I have looked at a different message of Jesus in the New Testament that differed from the one that many churches, televangelists, and the media has presented.
We have all kinds of Jesus’ in the world. There’s been “the colonial Jesus, the Eurocentric Jesus, the Republican or Democrat Jesus, the capitalist or communist Jesus, the white supremacist Jesus, the slave owning Jesus, the nuclear bomb dropping America-first Jesus, the organ music stained-glass nostalgic sentimental Jesus, the anti-science know nothing simpleton Jesus, the prosperity gospel get rich-quick Jesus, the Native American slaying genocidal Jesus, the male-chauvinist Jesus, the homophobic Jesus, the South African pro-apartheid Jesus, The anti-Semitic Nazi Jesus, the anti-Muslim Crusader Jesus,” and So on. (A New Kind of Christianity – Brian McLaren)
So when you talk of Jesus and His message just what are you talking about? Which Jesus are we talking about? If you were only allowed to share one message that summarized the core of who Jesus was and what His mission was what would you say? I don’t want to sound like I have it all figured out, that is so far from the truth, but what I gather from Jesus’ message is somewhat different. Maybe that’s just me but I have a haunch that I am not the only one. What I see may seem shocking, disturbing, and provocative to you but I am willing to bear the ridicule and disdain of believing such because at this point in my life I have nothing to lose.
It is apparent to me and many just like me that the message that has been proclaimed by the church is really a low –calorie diluted version of the real gospel. Perhaps this is why “Church” has become an unfulfilling boring experience for many. Don’t be so quick to think it is because we have become too modern, too rational, too self-absorbed or that we lack commitment. Maybe we just need something that is real, something that will work in the trenches of life?
Now don’t get jacked-up, but I think the story that we have been telling is full of holes. A lot of people living beyond the outpost of the Christian bubble are disillusioned with what they have heard and experienced in church. Most of what people hear as the gospel leaves them with uncertainty because what they hear is so fragmented. The gospel to them is like a giant jigsaw puzzle that they are left to figure out and fit all the pieces together and unless they have a point of reference to guide them they will never figure it out.
Adventures in missing the point
Somehow the message of Jesus as taught by the church has evolved into a three-step formula. It may be subtly disguised from place to place but it is essentially the same wherever you go (Now I know there are a lot of great churches out there but from my experience there are just as many that you are better off to avoid). It goes something like this; if you believe like we do, if act like we do, you will belong. It is called “believe, behave, and belong.” I have another name for it but will refrain from mentioning it in this post.
Jesus never used this approach with people. He first accepted people for who they were. They then believed and by that were able to change their behavior. That is why when Jesus announced that the Kingdom of God had come they stumbled because it was radically different from what the religious leaders of His day understood it to be. One of most controversial aspects of Jesus message was that He moved all the fences that his own religion (he was Jewish) had erected to include those who were ostracized, marginalized, rejected and disdained by society and the religious institution.
A major grace shift occurred when Jesus announced that outsiders were welcome in the kingdom of God. Jesus loved people regardless of where they were in life. It is Christ-like to show people that they can belong in our world even if they don’t act, think, behave, or believe like we do. Just imagine if the church or community of faith was a place where people could belong. Do you think it might impact what they believe? Do you think it would have an impact on how they lived? If love and acceptance won over dogma I think a whole lot of people would truly find hope in the authentic message of Jesus. We cannot continue to misquote, misrepresent, and misguide people if our goal is for them to experience the grace that all of us have shared in our journey of the life of Christ.
We stand at an axis point in church history and it is important for us to understand how to respond to the world. Will we respond to change the same way Luther and Calvin responded to Galileo and Copernicus? Will we allow our faith to evolve? Are we flexible to even consider change? Can we ponder the notion that our world view needs a major over-haul? Movement and change are necessary for the sustenance of life. Folks don’t be afraid we are in the midst of a grace shift!
Live Loved – Bert
A Safe place to Fall – Part 1
Posted on December 12, 2011Psalm 103:10
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
Early one morning Jesus came to the temple from the Mount of Olives, sat down and began to teach those who had gathered to hear Him. Now as Jesus was teaching, a group of Scribes and Pharisees interrupted the meeting by dragging a woman behind them and they threw her at the feet of Jesus.
“Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of adultery. The law of Moses commands that she be stoned. What do you say regarding her?”
Not only was stoning a brutal practice of execution, but it was a shameful way to die because the first stones had to be thrown by the witnesses to the adultery, and then after that each member of the community where the two adulterers lived also had to throw some stones. This woman according to the Law of Moses should be put to death but this could not happen because Rome held the governing power over Jerusalem and the Jewish leaders. Only they had the power to execute a criminal.
You see these religious leaders were not so much concerned with the sin of this woman as they were with entrapping and discrediting the ministry of Jesus. If Jesus said she should be put to death, He places himself above Roman law and if He lets her go …well He places Himself above the Law of Moses.
What is Jesus to do? The accusers press Him to respond and He simply bends down and starts to write in the sand. What was written that day only Jesus and those men who were there will ever know, but whatever it was, it rocked their world? One by one, the accusers faded away and Jesus is left alone with the woman. He stands up again, and speaks to her. ‘Where are your accusers?’ he asks. ‘Where are those who condemn you?’ She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.
This is one of the foremost revelations of God in the bible and we pass by it without realizing its significance. You see Jesus came to heal and restore our brokenness not condemn it. Our debt to sin and our debt to the law was paid in full by the blood of Jesus Christ. And that’s not all folks! Not only has our debt been paid in full but there is never a possibility of us going into debt again because the record was destroyed.
Rom 4:6-8 (Message Bible)
David confirms this way of looking at it, saying that the one who trusts God to do the putting-everything-right without insisting on having a say in it is one fortunate man: Fortunate those whose crimes are carted off, whose sins are wiped clean from the slate. Fortunate the person against whom the Lord does not keep score.
The actual word “impute” (keep score) in Greek is logizeshthai, and it’s an accounting word. It means to write into a ledger so it will not be forgotten. This was unthinkable to the Greeks of Bible times, to not keep a record of wrongs. The Reason God is not keeping score is because He destroyed the record (and he does not start over after we are Christians) of it at the Cross.
Take note how Paul illustrates how God destroyed the record of our sin. It is not enough just to know God’s forgiveness. We must understand the how and the why.
Colossians 2:14 (NKJV) having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
Blotting out the handwriting – The word rendered handwriting means something written by the hand, a manuscript; The two tablets of stone (law-ten commandments) are mentioned to be written by God
“Wiped out” is the Greek word exaleipho, which means: “to wipe off,” like erasing a blackboard. Ancient documents were commonly written either on papyrus, a paper-like material made from the bulrush plant, or vellum, which was made from an animal’s hide. The ink used then had no acid in it and did not soak into the writing material. Since the ink remained on the surface, it could be wiped off if the scribe wanted to reuse the material.
The word “handwriting” cheirographon, which literally means: “something written with the hand,” or “an autograph.” Paul describes that certificate as “requirements that was against us.”
The word “requirements” is the Greek word dogma, which means: “decree, ordinance, decision, command, a formalized rule (or set of rules) prescribing what people must do.” This refers to the Mosaic law as a certificate of requirements that puts us in debt to God. Under the glorious New Covenant we are liberated from keeping the Law. We are now married to a new husband (Romans 7:1-4). He is our keeper not the law.
Notice what Paul says next, “And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.” The word “taken” is the Greek word airo, which means: “to lift up, to bear, to take away.” It is the same word that John the Baptist uses when he says “Behold the Lamb of God that takes away (airo) the sin of the world.” The perfect tense emphasizes the permanence of the removal of the bond, which has been paid and canceled and cannot be presented again.
Live Loved
Jesus is a Safe Place — Bert
True Wealth
Posted on November 29, 2011I don’t think God really has a problem with people being wealthy … it’s just that we have a skewed understanding of what wealth is and how it’s really measured. The dictionary defines wealth as “A large aggregate of real and personal property, an abundance of those material or worldly things that men desire to possess.” Unfortunately the world we live in defines wealth in terms of having an abundance of “stuff.” Usually a man’s wealth is determined by the car he drives and the house he lives in. In our society, the more “stuff” we possess determines our social status (sometimes the same is true in the church world … just saying).
The wealth we see on the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous and MTV Cribs may seem impressive, but pales in comparison to the wealth we have in Christ. If we want to understand the truth about wealth and riches, we have to view it from the other side of the cross.
Paul said, [Eph 3:8] ‘Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ’.
God’s Riches are incomparable and Incomprehensible! Paul called them unsearchable! Unsearchable means they cannot be tracked out, you can’t follow His footprints. You see God has deep pockets, His supply endless!
Ephesians 1:7 KJV In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Paul kept praying for understanding in the churches. For example: [Eph 1:17,18] ‘That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints…’.
When Paul prayed in this instance he did not pray for somebody’s healing, a new job, or for someone to get through a difficult trial (nothing wrong with that) but he prayed for something much more important. You see we can be very wealthy as far as money goes but live in abject poverty because we are so ignorant of who we are in Christ, and the riches that we have in Him.
One of the responsibilities of the Holy Spirit is to show us those things freely given to us by God (1 Cor 2:12). Paul said we need to SEE THESE RICHES!
Ephesians 1:17-18 KJV That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: (18) The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Ephesians 1:10-12 KJV That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: (11) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: (12) That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
We have an inheritance. Now I know you might be thinking that when your family members die the only thing they will leave you with is a bill, but it’s not so with Jesus. You see we simply inherit it because we are members of His family! We did not work for it, it’s a gift! The Holy Spirit is your only connection to show you this treasure of wealth that is freely given to you by God!
But, on the contrary, as the Scripture says, What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, [all that] God has prepared (made and keeps ready) for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed]. [Isa. 64:4; 65:17.] (1 Corinthians 2:9 AMP)
Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the [ Holy] Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things of God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man's scrutiny]. (1 Corinthians 2:10 AMP)
For what person perceives (knows and understands) what passes through a man’s thoughts except the man’s own spirit within him? Just so no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (1 Corinthians 2:11 AMP)
Now we have not received the spirit [that belongs to] the world, but the [ Holy] Spirit Who is from God, [given to us] that we might realize and comprehend and appreciate the gifts [of divine favor and blessing so freely and lavishly] bestowed on us by God. (1 Corinthians 2:12 AMP)
I know this may seem disappointing to you if you expected to hit the lottery ( In a sense you did) or if you were waiting to find out that God was an ATM, but here is the punch line … You have a treasure in Christ and You are the treasure of God, You are His inheritance!
“For the Lord’s portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance” — Deuteronomy 32:9
This passage speaks of God having an “inheritance,” and it tells us that this inheritance is in His own people! Not only do we obtain an inheritance in God, but God has an inheritance in US! Why would God need us? Because He also longs for a counterpart to lavish with His grace, love and glory. You are His “special treasure.”
Live Loved — Bert
5 Smooth Stones
Posted on November 29, 2011And he (David) took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd’s bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine. [1 Samuel 17:40, emphasis added.]
I think the life of David probably prefigures Christ and His work more than any other character of the Old Testament. The Old Covenant is filled with pictures (types) of the person and work of Jesus and David is one of the best pictures we could study. The reason the bible uses these word pictures is so that everyone can grasp and understand the person and work of Christ. I am convinced that if we don’t see these pictures from this side of the cross our understanding will always be flawed. One of the Hebrew words for picture is “mashal” which basically means to define what is unknown by what is known. A “mashal” begins where the listener is and then pushes him into a new realm of discovery. Using David’s life as our reference point, we are going to launch out into a new realm of discovery in New Covenant truths.
Stone #1 – You are Beloved … And God will never change His mind about you … Never!
David is a true picture of Jesus. David’s name literally means “The Beloved.” Jesus was called the Beloved of His Father (Matt 3:17, Col 1:13). Like Jesus, we are also called the beloved of God. This is what the Cross did! By the Cross, God set His affections on you!
Rom 1:7 BBE
(7) To all those who are in Rome, loved by God, marked out as saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2Th 2:13 GW
(13) We always have to thank God for you, brothers and sisters. You are loved by the Lord and we thank God that in the beginning he chose you to be saved through a life of spiritual devotion and faith in the truth.
The New Covenant was a mystery until Paul unfolded the revelation that was given to him (Eph 3:4-9). Not only did Paul declare that the mystery was revealed, he also told us that we have become part of that mystery (Col 1:26). The Gospel is a love story of redemption. There is a purpose for redemption! The real reason Jesus died was for people, not for a building, not for a ministry, not for anyone to be on the cover of a Christian magazine or appear on Christian television. Jesus pursues us for the purpose of us; and part of that “us” is homeless and sleeping on the street tonight. Part of that “us” is eating out of a garbage dump for the next meal. Part of that “us” is dancing in a strip club, hooking on the street corner and smoking crack in the alley. Every person was purchased by His blood; every person is the pearl of His great price! Selah…
You see the Gospel is an act of recovery, restoring what was Lost! Ever since the beginning of time God sought to have a companion, a counterpart. The Gospel is a restoration of Intimacy. The Gospel is an incredible invitation to a sacred romance with the great romancer God Himself.
“ God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship (Communion – Intercourse) of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” – 1 Corinthians 1:9
You see redemption is not about a bunch of doctrines. It is much more than that. Redemption had a higher objective. You are the capstone of what Jesus accomplished. We are the joy that was set before Him. He got you. We so often forget. He is the Divine Romancer who promised that He would never leave us.
Heb 13:5….for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] [Josh. 1:5.]
Live Loved — Bert