A father had one son whom he loved. But every other child he hated because they couldn't live up to his standards, they couldn't meet his demands. He was always thinking to himself, "I want to hurt my sons & daughters so badly! I want to kill them! They owe me everything yet they cannot meet my expectations!" So one day he picked up a weapon & he went into the room where they were all gathered. He began yelling at them & swinging at them. The one son he loved jumped in front of his father screaming for all of his brothers & sisters to run. There his father beat him to death...
I ask you, was that father a good father?
So often God our Father is pictured almost the exact same way. That, "in his holiness," He was furious at us (hated us) for falling short of his standards/expectations/demands/law/glory. That he held us in debt to him because of our inadequacy compared to him & his beloved son. And the only thing that could stop his burning anger, his burning WRATH, was to slaughter one of his children. What kind of father sees himself as so superior to his children, so holy, so righteous, that he feels justified in killing them?
God our Father has been painted that way, as arrogant, judgmental, abusive, loveless, & murderous. Even worse is that is the "good news," the gospel, that has been told to the world. Not, "God so loved the world.." but "God was so holy He couldn't accept or love his own children.." "God was so anger & wrath filled that he demanded blood.."
Jesus did not take the suffering God wanted to pour on us. God never wanted to wrathfully make us suffer. Lamentations 3:33 says, "God does not make people suffer nor cause them sorrow willingly from His heart." Jesus took our place as a sacrifice AND a savior. Jesus was not a sacrifice in the sense of being something slaughtered to appease an angry God. Jesus was a sacrifice in the sense of a savior sacrificing himself to save someone else, taking the pain of what he saved us from.
He is our Savior & rest assured, REST ASSURED, that He did not save us from Himself, He did not save us from our Father. God did not save us from God.
The first time the word sin appears in scripture is not at the fall of man in the garden. God did not say, "I am so angry at you! You have sinned against me! Because you have disobeyed me you will surely die because I will kill you with my wrath!"
The first time the word sin appears in scripture is when God is warning Cain. God tells Cain, "Sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you. Sin wants to kill you."
It is sin that sought to kill us. God has always loved us. We never deserved death in His eyes. What kind of father thinks his children do not deserve to live? What kind of father thinks his child is UNWORTHY OF LIFE?
Jesus is our Savior AND so is our Father. They save us from sin & death & all of its powers. Jesus laid down His life willingly to remove the dark power of sin & shame over our hearts & minds so we can experience God's love for us first hand without barriers! Jesus allowed Himself to be devoured by sin. He went into the belly of the beast to destroy sin from the inside out. He burst out of its belly & burst out of the grave to defeat death!
While the cross was humble & passive when looking only at the physical realm, the cross was utterly heroic when looking at the spiritual realm.
Jesus is nothing but the hero. Our Father is nothing but the hero. They are our Saviors, our Super Heroes, OUR FAMILY.
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Monday, June 23, 2014
Your Father's Grace
Grace is your Father's love for you. His never ending love & kindness towards you.
To think that grace only applies to sin leaves us sin conscious & believing that sin has power over us. It makes us think that grace is nothing more than God swallowing His true feelings about us to "give us grace" when we screw up. Grace is not, "I'm thankful God'll have grace for me next time I blow it." Grace is not God's reminder of how despicable we are & how great He is for putting up with us.
Oh my friends.. Grace is not about God forgiving our faults or overlooking our flaws. Grace is about God seeing us as His faultless, flawless children whom He adores!
As Isaiah 9:6 says, God is our Wonderful Counselor AND our Eternal Father. Our Father does not need to blame us or find fault in us to counsel our struggles. He does not look at us as evil or unworthy or as screw-ups. We are His beloved children that He is pleased with. He wants to help us love & be loved better.
A good father doesn't make the focus of his relationship with his children their mistakes. He isn't always looking to improve them. There is joy & play & laughter.
God is not a self-centered Father. He loves you for you. You are not your flaws, faults, & failures and you never have been in Your Father's eyes. You are His darling child. He loves you for you. And loving you for you satisfies Him like nothing else can.
To think that grace only applies to sin leaves us sin conscious & believing that sin has power over us. It makes us think that grace is nothing more than God swallowing His true feelings about us to "give us grace" when we screw up. Grace is not, "I'm thankful God'll have grace for me next time I blow it." Grace is not God's reminder of how despicable we are & how great He is for putting up with us.
Oh my friends.. Grace is not about God forgiving our faults or overlooking our flaws. Grace is about God seeing us as His faultless, flawless children whom He adores!
As Isaiah 9:6 says, God is our Wonderful Counselor AND our Eternal Father. Our Father does not need to blame us or find fault in us to counsel our struggles. He does not look at us as evil or unworthy or as screw-ups. We are His beloved children that He is pleased with. He wants to help us love & be loved better.
A good father doesn't make the focus of his relationship with his children their mistakes. He isn't always looking to improve them. There is joy & play & laughter.
God is not a self-centered Father. He loves you for you. You are not your flaws, faults, & failures and you never have been in Your Father's eyes. You are His darling child. He loves you for you. And loving you for you satisfies Him like nothing else can.
Friday, June 13, 2014
Your Father Loves You for You
If you think you don't "deserve" God's love you are still looking through the lens of sin & law & performance. God wanted us to throw that lens away.
God is our Father. Before giving or loving does a good parent ask, "Does my child deserve this love I am about to show? Does my child deserve this gift I am about to give?" No! Love gives because love loves. Love doesn't judge to evaluate reward. Love just loves.
If you say to yourself, "I'm going to love them even though they don't deserve it." You aren't loving them, you are judging them, judging them as undeserving & unworthy based on how they've behaved. You are dehumanizing them. You are ignoring who their Father is.
It is not more loving to grittingly ignore a grudge. It is more loving to never take up a grudge to begin with. It is not more loving to forgive. It is more loving to never take offense, to never need to forgive except for the sake of the other person's peace of mind.
"Love does not take into account wrongs suffered!"
God never forgave you because He was never angry or offended at you to begin with. God is love & God does not take into account wrongs suffered! The word that has been translated as forgive from both the Hebrew & the Greek means "to remove burden." It does not mean, as our English word forgive means, "to renounce anger, to stop resenting, to let go of a grudge, to stop blaming."
God has no mercy for you! People say mercy is "not getting what you deserve" presuming you deserve bad. Presuming that God really wants to hurt you but chooses not to. The word translated as mercy in the Hebrew means "loving kindness" & in the Greek means "compassion."
Throw away the word "mercy" because it does not represent your Father's heart towards you. God is not "merciful" towards you. He does not want to harm you or pay you back for your wrongdoing!
So often we take scriptures like "while we were still sinners Christ died for us" & think to ourselves "see He was really mad at us but in His love He begrudgingly got over it." But those scriptures aren't meant to give us the picture of "God saved us even though our actions made Him not want to." They are meant to show us that "God saved us, but not from Himself, because He amazingly never held the fact that we were sinners against us."
To question whether someone deserves something is to question their worth, to JUDGE their worth. If you judge someone undeserving of love you are saying they are unworthy of love. That sin or law keeping or good behavior is what determines a person's value. But oh my brothers & sisters how far from the truth that is!
You don't determine (judge) your newborn's worth based on her or his behavior. You don't look at your child napping & say to yourself, "This child doesn't deserve my love." That child has your love because you are their parent. You aren't looking at them through the lens of sin or law keeping or performance. You are looking at them through the EYES of a father or a mother.
Our Father only has FATHER'S EYES. He doesn't wear glasses because He doesn't believe lies.
God our Father did not send Jesus to judge the world, the world judges itself. It condemns itself by refusing to believe in the light of His love. Jesus came to save the world from the lie that God doesn't love you for you as a good Father would.
It branches from the original lie in the garden, "It is good to know evil." God's love for us surpasses all knowledge. The fullness of His love is beyond our imagination. So when we try to wrap our minds around good & evil we believe we are evil & that God thinks we are evil too because we struggle to grasp a love that does not take evil into account.
Evil is simple, it is obvious when things fall apart but it is not obvious how things are put together. So when we choose to know good & evil we choose the power to judge ourselves & others. But love doesn't judge, love just loves. Sometimes love protects with consequences. Sometimes love protects from consequences.
Children as their lives begin cannot fathom the depths of their parents love for them. But they get to experience that love as their lives unfold.
The enemy wants us to confuse acts of God's protection for acts of God's poor perception of us. God sought to protect Adam & Eve from the tree of knowledge of good & evil but Satan twisted it saying, "God's not trying to protect you. God is holding out on you. He says you don't deserve to know what He knows. He doesn't love you enough to tell you everything He knows. But you can bypass Him & the long process of learning from Him in a relationship & just eat from the tree. You won't surely die!"
And that is Satan's first lie to all of us in our youthful ignorance, "Your parents aren't protecting you. They are holding out on you." And that flips protection upside down, from love to no love. This is Satan's goal: to disempower our belief & trust in God's love for us.
In religion Satan says, "God doesn't love you for you, you are unworthy of His love. He loves you for Himself to bring Him glory & praise Him & serve Him as a slave."
In failure & shame & guilt Satan says, "God doesn't love you for you, you are unworthy of His love. His love for you is based on what you can do for Him. You know how it goes, everyone is like that. But He's God so He gets to make the loftiest demands."
In pride Satan says, "God loves you because you are so good at what you do (He doesn't love you for you). Look at those people. Doesn't it make you mad that they don't measure up?"
The truth is GOD LOVES YOU FOR YOU. Not because He "has to" because He is love. But because He wants to so deeply that He is too enthralled with you to EVER choose anything but love.
So let's stop talking about God like we're scientists dissecting his corpse, labeling His attributes. Let's be caught into our Father's arms & listen to His heartbeat. You are His special child & He couldn't love you any more or love you any less. But you get to experience more & more of His love today, tomorrow, & forever.
God is our Father. Before giving or loving does a good parent ask, "Does my child deserve this love I am about to show? Does my child deserve this gift I am about to give?" No! Love gives because love loves. Love doesn't judge to evaluate reward. Love just loves.
If you say to yourself, "I'm going to love them even though they don't deserve it." You aren't loving them, you are judging them, judging them as undeserving & unworthy based on how they've behaved. You are dehumanizing them. You are ignoring who their Father is.
It is not more loving to grittingly ignore a grudge. It is more loving to never take up a grudge to begin with. It is not more loving to forgive. It is more loving to never take offense, to never need to forgive except for the sake of the other person's peace of mind.
"Love does not take into account wrongs suffered!"
God never forgave you because He was never angry or offended at you to begin with. God is love & God does not take into account wrongs suffered! The word that has been translated as forgive from both the Hebrew & the Greek means "to remove burden." It does not mean, as our English word forgive means, "to renounce anger, to stop resenting, to let go of a grudge, to stop blaming."
God has no mercy for you! People say mercy is "not getting what you deserve" presuming you deserve bad. Presuming that God really wants to hurt you but chooses not to. The word translated as mercy in the Hebrew means "loving kindness" & in the Greek means "compassion."
Throw away the word "mercy" because it does not represent your Father's heart towards you. God is not "merciful" towards you. He does not want to harm you or pay you back for your wrongdoing!
So often we take scriptures like "while we were still sinners Christ died for us" & think to ourselves "see He was really mad at us but in His love He begrudgingly got over it." But those scriptures aren't meant to give us the picture of "God saved us even though our actions made Him not want to." They are meant to show us that "God saved us, but not from Himself, because He amazingly never held the fact that we were sinners against us."
To question whether someone deserves something is to question their worth, to JUDGE their worth. If you judge someone undeserving of love you are saying they are unworthy of love. That sin or law keeping or good behavior is what determines a person's value. But oh my brothers & sisters how far from the truth that is!
You don't determine (judge) your newborn's worth based on her or his behavior. You don't look at your child napping & say to yourself, "This child doesn't deserve my love." That child has your love because you are their parent. You aren't looking at them through the lens of sin or law keeping or performance. You are looking at them through the EYES of a father or a mother.
Our Father only has FATHER'S EYES. He doesn't wear glasses because He doesn't believe lies.
God our Father did not send Jesus to judge the world, the world judges itself. It condemns itself by refusing to believe in the light of His love. Jesus came to save the world from the lie that God doesn't love you for you as a good Father would.
It branches from the original lie in the garden, "It is good to know evil." God's love for us surpasses all knowledge. The fullness of His love is beyond our imagination. So when we try to wrap our minds around good & evil we believe we are evil & that God thinks we are evil too because we struggle to grasp a love that does not take evil into account.
Evil is simple, it is obvious when things fall apart but it is not obvious how things are put together. So when we choose to know good & evil we choose the power to judge ourselves & others. But love doesn't judge, love just loves. Sometimes love protects with consequences. Sometimes love protects from consequences.
Children as their lives begin cannot fathom the depths of their parents love for them. But they get to experience that love as their lives unfold.
The enemy wants us to confuse acts of God's protection for acts of God's poor perception of us. God sought to protect Adam & Eve from the tree of knowledge of good & evil but Satan twisted it saying, "God's not trying to protect you. God is holding out on you. He says you don't deserve to know what He knows. He doesn't love you enough to tell you everything He knows. But you can bypass Him & the long process of learning from Him in a relationship & just eat from the tree. You won't surely die!"
And that is Satan's first lie to all of us in our youthful ignorance, "Your parents aren't protecting you. They are holding out on you." And that flips protection upside down, from love to no love. This is Satan's goal: to disempower our belief & trust in God's love for us.
In religion Satan says, "God doesn't love you for you, you are unworthy of His love. He loves you for Himself to bring Him glory & praise Him & serve Him as a slave."
In failure & shame & guilt Satan says, "God doesn't love you for you, you are unworthy of His love. His love for you is based on what you can do for Him. You know how it goes, everyone is like that. But He's God so He gets to make the loftiest demands."
In pride Satan says, "God loves you because you are so good at what you do (He doesn't love you for you). Look at those people. Doesn't it make you mad that they don't measure up?"
The truth is GOD LOVES YOU FOR YOU. Not because He "has to" because He is love. But because He wants to so deeply that He is too enthralled with you to EVER choose anything but love.
So let's stop talking about God like we're scientists dissecting his corpse, labeling His attributes. Let's be caught into our Father's arms & listen to His heartbeat. You are His special child & He couldn't love you any more or love you any less. But you get to experience more & more of His love today, tomorrow, & forever.
"The reason God saved us & made us alive together with Jesus is so that throughout eternity He can show us the super-abounding wealth of His love & kindness toward us." (Ephesians 2:4-7)
Monday, June 9, 2014
At one
Atonement, at-one-ment, God "meant" for us to be "at one" with Him.
Sin caused a separation between us & God. But God did not separate Himself from us. Sin deceives us into thinking that God's love for us is conditional thus making us feel separated from Him. Jesus crushed that lie with the truth, by showing His unconditional love for us by dying for us to give us life & remove sin's power over our minds & our spirits.
Our Father loved us before we were ever born, before we could possibly meet any conditions. Before we could think or breathe His love abounded for us & His love continues to abound for us forever. Separations be gone! Lies be gone! We are at one with You God!
Sin caused a separation between us & God. But God did not separate Himself from us. Sin deceives us into thinking that God's love for us is conditional thus making us feel separated from Him. Jesus crushed that lie with the truth, by showing His unconditional love for us by dying for us to give us life & remove sin's power over our minds & our spirits.
Our Father loved us before we were ever born, before we could possibly meet any conditions. Before we could think or breathe His love abounded for us & His love continues to abound for us forever. Separations be gone! Lies be gone! We are at one with You God!
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
The God & The World of John 3:16
God is infinitely love & humanity is infinitely lovely. To claim otherwise is to disgrace God's own children, our brothers & sisters. It is to call good evil. It is to say that God's hatred for sin outweighs his love for us.
What parent among us lets our child's negative actions outweigh our love for them? When do we say to them, "My child, to me, what you do is more important that who you are."
God is never glorified at our expense. Instead He desires to share the riches of His glory with us. Our false humility of self degradation never pleases God just as no parent would be pleased while their child degrades his or herself.
God is love & we are made & remade into His image. Just as being a child of humans makes you human being a child of God makes you love! Yet just as babies cannot survive by themselves & must be nurtured & cared for, we as love must be nurtured by our father in order to love, to show who we are.
It should never baffle you that God loves you. Yes it should make you elated & joyful & thankful but you should never wonder "Why does he love me?" or "How can he love me?" Do we wonder why parents love their children? Do we wonder "Why do I love my child?" or "How can I possibly love my child?" No, love is a given. And to believe that God's love is less powerful than our love or that his "holiness" makes him shun his own children is to believe in a god that doesn't exist.
Sadly very few people believe in the God of John 3:16. Trust me.. you don't live in a different world. He loves you too.. more than you can imagine.
Related Posts
Why so few Believe John 3:16
Love in 1 Corinthians 13 Written as God's Vows to Us
I will wait for you & be kind to you. I will trust you & be considerate of you. I will not boast of myself but instead boast of us. I will not seek to control you. I will not make you feel small or insignificant. I will not shame or dishonor or disgrace you. I will not demand my own way. I will not be irritated or angry with you. I will not record, remember, or recall your wrongs, but I will never be glad to see you hurting. I will never think ill of you, but I will take no joy in seeing you harm yourself. We will rejoice together over truth & the simple reality that we are together. I will know when to be silent & when to speak.
No matter what comes I will always protect you, I will always believe the best of you, I will always be satisfied with you, I will always look forward to our life together, I will always stay beside you. I will never give up on you. My love for you will never diminish or fail. My love for you never ends.
No matter what comes I will always protect you, I will always believe the best of you, I will always be satisfied with you, I will always look forward to our life together, I will always stay beside you. I will never give up on you. My love for you will never diminish or fail. My love for you never ends.
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Breaking the Law is Agreeing with the Law
"If I do the very thing I do not want to do, I agree with the Law"(Romans 7:16).
This says breaking the law is agreeing with the law, showing that the law is good. How is that possible? Wouldn't keeping the law be agreeing with it & showing that it is good? Only if the purpose of the law was to be kept. The purpose of the law was to show you can't keep it thus letting you know that your good behavior cannot save you. Breaking the law should make someone agree with the purpose of the law. The law was not only a diagnosis of sin & coming death, it was also an invalid prescription. Why did God give an invalid prescription? Because that is the first prescription people would take anyway! People would try to save themselves by being good & acting right. The law was meant to keep people "searching for the cure." Jesus is the cure. The word "save" in the Bible also means "cure." Jesus is our Savior, our Healer.
This says breaking the law is agreeing with the law, showing that the law is good. How is that possible? Wouldn't keeping the law be agreeing with it & showing that it is good? Only if the purpose of the law was to be kept. The purpose of the law was to show you can't keep it thus letting you know that your good behavior cannot save you. Breaking the law should make someone agree with the purpose of the law. The law was not only a diagnosis of sin & coming death, it was also an invalid prescription. Why did God give an invalid prescription? Because that is the first prescription people would take anyway! People would try to save themselves by being good & acting right. The law was meant to keep people "searching for the cure." Jesus is the cure. The word "save" in the Bible also means "cure." Jesus is our Savior, our Healer.
Thursday, May 22, 2014
English Lesson: Grace, Guilt, Convict, Condemn, Righteous, Shame, Blame, Accuse
Shame - feelings of disgrace, disfavor, guilt, unworthiness, condemnation; to make someone feel guilty; dishonor
Convict - charge someone with guilt; make someone feel guilty; condemn
Condemn - charge someone with guilt; pronounce someone as guilty; express disfavor
Guilt - feeling shame, disapproval, disgrace, dishonor, condemnation for supposed inadequacy or wrongdoing; blame
Blame - hold responsible; express condemnation
Righteous - without guilt; honorable; blameless; unsinful; defendable against accusation
Accuse - charge someone with guilt, inadequacy, or wrongdoing; charge someone with an offense or crime; blame
Let's Compare
Grace & shame are opposites. Grace & guilt are incompatible.
"All who receive God's wonderful abundance of grace (freedom from shame) and his gift of righteousness (freedom from guilt) will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17)
Righteous & guilty are opposites.
God counts us as righteous (guiltless/blameless) if we trust in Him. (Romans 4:24)
Convict, condemn, & accuse mean the same things.
There is no condemnation (conviction/accusation) for those who are in Christ Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
Satan is the accuser (convictor/condemner) of the family of God. (Revelation 12:10)
The Dependable Promise
Here is a promise God makes SEVEN times in scripture:
"Whoever trusts in God will never be put to shame.” (Isaiah 28:16, 45:17, 54:4, Romans 9:33, 10:11, 1 Peter 2:6, Joel 2:26-27). I'd say that is something for us "dearly loved children" to be "imitators of God" about & not shame ourselves or others.
Does God Convict Christians?
"When The Holy Spirit comes, He will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because THEY do not trust in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and YOU (my disciples) no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged" (John 16:8-11).
The word convict in this scripture is better translated as "convince." Knowing this we can see Jesus is saying:
• The Holy Spirit will convince those who do not trust in Jesus of their sinful condition.
• The Holy Spirit will convince the those who know God of the righteousness He has given them.
• The Holy Spirit will convince people that the devil stands condemned.
This is the only scripture that could even be construed to say the Holy Spirit convicts Christians. But even if you do take the word convict here to mean "declare guilty" you must remember that righteous means "without guilt." Jesus says His disciples are only "convicted" of righteousness. Thus it is a play on words meaning "The Spirit declares you guilty of not being guilty!"
The word "conviction" only appears TWICE in scripture & in those TWO places only carries the meaning of "assurance."
If you believe the Holy Spirit convicts you of sins, that means you believe He puts you to shame, He makes you feel guilty. God has abundantly promised the opposite. Thus if you believe the Holy Spirit convicts you of sins you have been living under disgrace rather than under grace.
Since shame is making someone feel guilty & grace is the opposite of shame, grace then is making someone feel innocent & righteous. God teaches us, corrects us & guides us, He encourages our hearts to compassion, sympathy, & empathy but He never charges us with guilt or tries to make us feel guilty.
No condemnation means there is no shame, no conviction, no guilt, no punishment. There is only grace, favor, honor, approval, reward, & LOVE!
"Our Lord Jesus Christ will confirm to the end that you are indeed blameless." (1 Corinthians 1:8)
"Allow God to cause you to increase & abound in love for one another & for all people. When you do He will confirm to your hearts that you are blamelessly holy before our God & Father." (1 Thessalonians 3:12-13)
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
The Gospel Hidden in Names: Romans 16
There are 36 names mentioned by Paul in Romans 16. Looking at the meanings of their names reveals a hidden message from the Holy Spirit. I couldn't find anything on Google where someone had done this before so it is my pleasure to bring this hidden written message from the Holy Spirit to the rest of God's family.
"A radiant ancient eagle, Jesus the Lord is salvation. He is praiseworthy, exalted of God, a man of victory. He is youthful, large, & considerate. A head of grain called the Best Counselor & heroic.
Rest in luxury & pleasure woman.
Red & incomparable burning shall come to the god of thieves who fathered the messenger.
The lover of the Word, soft haired, put together, & heavenly, you are honoring God & are shining with bright white light. You know the one who will heal, the Savior who is of the Father.
From the third Lord to the beloved fourth, The Lord is Salvation."
The Radiant Youthful Eagle
The Lord said, "You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:4-6).
This passage is fulfilled in Christ for all of God's children. We obey His voice by trusting Him (getting saved). Christians are called a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9). The covenant is entered into by trust rather than by works of the law. Israel never became a kingdom of priests but the Assembly has.
God says we are "brought to Himself by riding on eagles' wings" Christ is pictured as an eagle here in Romans 16 & we are brought to the Father by Him. The other eagles are those who proclaim the good news.
"The Lord gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, Those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary" (Isaiah 40:29-31).
The strength of the Lord is Jesus. Jesus is the "joy of the Lord," the Lord's ultimate enjoyment. So "the joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). We are made like Him in spirit like strong youthful eagles. This scripture points to the rebirth of our spirit which joins itself to Jesus the "radiant ancient eagle." Likewise we who love Jesus the Word radiate with bright white light.
The Head of Grain
Jesus said in John 12:24, "I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."
Jesus said this referring to His death bringing our life. He is the first born child of God among many brothers & sisters (Romans 8:29). Here hidden in Romans 16 Jesus is called "a head of grain" by the Holy Spirit pointing back to Christ's statement above, amazing!
The Best Counselor
"His name will be called Wonderful Counselor" (Isaiah 9:6). Of course this is Jesus. Hidden in Romans 16 it says Jesus is "A head of grain called the best counselor!"
The god of Thieves & the Messenger
"The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).
Hermes was the name of the Greek god of thieves. Here it points to Satan. John 10:10 says Satan only comes to thieve, kill, & destroy thus he is the god/father of thieves. A name meaning paternal connects the names Hermes & Hermas giving the idea of the false prophet being fathered by Satan. Satan is called "the father of lies" in John 8:44.
"Red & incomparable burning shall come to the god of thieves who fathered the messenger."
Soft haired
"The lover of the Word, soft haired, put together, & heavenly, you are honoring God & are shining with bright white light."
The description of the bride of Christ used here by the Holy Spirit is much like the language used in the Song of Solomon which is also God speaking to His bride. The lover of the Word is the bride of the Word, & The Word of course is Jesus.
The Signature of the Holy Spirit in Romans Romans 16:22-23
"I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, host to me and to the whole assembly, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother."
Tertius means "third," Gaius means "lord," Erastus means "beloved," Quartus means "fourth"
Taking just the names we have the words third, lord, beloved, fourth. Perhaps this means "From the third Lord to the beloved fourth." The third lord would be the Holy Spirit, the fourth lord would be the assembly, all Christians. Jesus is the King of kings, we are His kings. He is the "Lord of lords," we are His lords.
Notice it also says, "I ,Tertius (or Third), write this letter." The Holy Spirit is doubly saying that He wrote Romans!
Summary
So there is a lot hidden in these names: The awe-inspiring person of Jesus, the riches of being in Christ Jesus, the doom of the devil & the false prophet, the brilliance of the Bride of Christ, a reminder of Christ as healer, & the very signature of the Holy Spirit!
Bonus!
As a bonus there is also a message hidden in the names of the places mentioned in Romans 16.
"From Grain rises the Household of the Best Counselor, the Household of rest."
"A radiant ancient eagle, Jesus the Lord is salvation. He is praiseworthy, exalted of God, a man of victory. He is youthful, large, & considerate. A head of grain called the Best Counselor & heroic.
Rest in luxury & pleasure woman.
Red & incomparable burning shall come to the god of thieves who fathered the messenger.
The lover of the Word, soft haired, put together, & heavenly, you are honoring God & are shining with bright white light. You know the one who will heal, the Savior who is of the Father.
From the third Lord to the beloved fourth, The Lord is Salvation."
The Radiant Youthful Eagle
The Lord said, "You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings, and brought you to Myself. Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" (Exodus 19:4-6).
This passage is fulfilled in Christ for all of God's children. We obey His voice by trusting Him (getting saved). Christians are called a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (1 Peter 2:9). The covenant is entered into by trust rather than by works of the law. Israel never became a kingdom of priests but the Assembly has.
God says we are "brought to Himself by riding on eagles' wings" Christ is pictured as an eagle here in Romans 16 & we are brought to the Father by Him. The other eagles are those who proclaim the good news.
"The Lord gives strength to the weary, And to him who lacks might He increases power. Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, Those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary" (Isaiah 40:29-31).
The strength of the Lord is Jesus. Jesus is the "joy of the Lord," the Lord's ultimate enjoyment. So "the joy of the Lord is our strength" (Nehemiah 8:10). We are made like Him in spirit like strong youthful eagles. This scripture points to the rebirth of our spirit which joins itself to Jesus the "radiant ancient eagle." Likewise we who love Jesus the Word radiate with bright white light.
The Head of Grain
Jesus said in John 12:24, "I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds."
Jesus said this referring to His death bringing our life. He is the first born child of God among many brothers & sisters (Romans 8:29). Here hidden in Romans 16 Jesus is called "a head of grain" by the Holy Spirit pointing back to Christ's statement above, amazing!
The Best Counselor
"His name will be called Wonderful Counselor" (Isaiah 9:6). Of course this is Jesus. Hidden in Romans 16 it says Jesus is "A head of grain called the best counselor!"
The god of Thieves & the Messenger
"The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10).
Hermes was the name of the Greek god of thieves. Here it points to Satan. John 10:10 says Satan only comes to thieve, kill, & destroy thus he is the god/father of thieves. A name meaning paternal connects the names Hermes & Hermas giving the idea of the false prophet being fathered by Satan. Satan is called "the father of lies" in John 8:44.
"Red & incomparable burning shall come to the god of thieves who fathered the messenger."
Soft haired
"The lover of the Word, soft haired, put together, & heavenly, you are honoring God & are shining with bright white light."
The description of the bride of Christ used here by the Holy Spirit is much like the language used in the Song of Solomon which is also God speaking to His bride. The lover of the Word is the bride of the Word, & The Word of course is Jesus.
The Signature of the Holy Spirit in Romans Romans 16:22-23
"I, Tertius, who write this letter, greet you in the Lord. Gaius, host to me and to the whole assembly, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer greets you, and Quartus, the brother."
Tertius means "third," Gaius means "lord," Erastus means "beloved," Quartus means "fourth"
Taking just the names we have the words third, lord, beloved, fourth. Perhaps this means "From the third Lord to the beloved fourth." The third lord would be the Holy Spirit, the fourth lord would be the assembly, all Christians. Jesus is the King of kings, we are His kings. He is the "Lord of lords," we are His lords.
Notice it also says, "I ,Tertius (or Third), write this letter." The Holy Spirit is doubly saying that He wrote Romans!
Summary
So there is a lot hidden in these names: The awe-inspiring person of Jesus, the riches of being in Christ Jesus, the doom of the devil & the false prophet, the brilliance of the Bride of Christ, a reminder of Christ as healer, & the very signature of the Holy Spirit!
Bonus!
As a bonus there is also a message hidden in the names of the places mentioned in Romans 16.
"From Grain rises the Household of the Best Counselor, the Household of rest."
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Conviction & Soul Winning
"Soul winning" is a phrase used one time in the Old Covenant scriptures (Proverbs 11:30) & it was never a term applied to New Covenant "conversion" or evangelism. New Testament evangelism wasn't focused on "winning" but on "proclaiming" the good news. It was never a burden to try to get people saved. It was a joy to tell people about Jesus & go from there. In the letters of the New Testament you don't see people being told to "get out there & win the lost."
The idea of "soul winning" often equals "winning" an argument or manipulating a stranger into saying a "sinner's prayer." If they do you invite them to church, hope they come, & never talk to them again. If you have to "win" people that means you "lose" if you fail to get them to pray a prayer.
So evangelism as pushed in most churches is a legalistic parroting that has nothing to do with the person you are talking to, it only has to do with you "making sure you witness enough" for God to not be disappointed with you. It is shame based & law based witnessing. Part of the gospel is that Jesus came to free us from both shame & the burden of the law. So if you talk to people about God because you have to & you'll feel guilty if you don't you're not exuding the results of the gospel at all. You're exuding the opposite.
I've seriously heard multiple people say that the MAIN difference between a Christian & a non-Christian is that God "convicts" Christians of their sins. Convict means "to charge with guilt, to make someone feel guilty, to shame someone by calling out their faults." According to this "the good news" is that if you become a Christian God will make you feel really really bad about everything you even slightly do wrong in your life.
Our conviction of sin guilt is imaginary. Scripture NEVER says that God convicts Christians of sin. It in fact says the opposite. God does not charge people with the guilt of sin (2 Corinthians 5:19). And God promises SEVEN times that He will never make us feel guilty or shameful (Isaiah 28:16, 45:17, 54:4, Romans 9:33, 10:11, 1 Peter 2:6, Joel 2:26-27).
So instead of freedom from slavery to sin, guilt, shame, & the law you are put into the maximum security prison of hyper law which leads you to believe that every single command in all of scripture was written for you to keep & every single moment of shame or guilt or obligation is God's "conviction." How foreign to the gospel this is! It saying being a Christian means there are more laws to keep & more shame being heaped & God charges you with sin more than ever.
No wonder people think they have to "win souls" because who would choose a God like that? People try to "win" souls like they try to win a war because their goal is to get people to "surrender" to God. Scripture DOES NOT USE the word "surrender" because God is not at war with us! He is our loving Father. He waits for His children to come home & celebrates with we who are already at home with Him.
The idea of "soul winning" often equals "winning" an argument or manipulating a stranger into saying a "sinner's prayer." If they do you invite them to church, hope they come, & never talk to them again. If you have to "win" people that means you "lose" if you fail to get them to pray a prayer.
So evangelism as pushed in most churches is a legalistic parroting that has nothing to do with the person you are talking to, it only has to do with you "making sure you witness enough" for God to not be disappointed with you. It is shame based & law based witnessing. Part of the gospel is that Jesus came to free us from both shame & the burden of the law. So if you talk to people about God because you have to & you'll feel guilty if you don't you're not exuding the results of the gospel at all. You're exuding the opposite.
I've seriously heard multiple people say that the MAIN difference between a Christian & a non-Christian is that God "convicts" Christians of their sins. Convict means "to charge with guilt, to make someone feel guilty, to shame someone by calling out their faults." According to this "the good news" is that if you become a Christian God will make you feel really really bad about everything you even slightly do wrong in your life.
Our conviction of sin guilt is imaginary. Scripture NEVER says that God convicts Christians of sin. It in fact says the opposite. God does not charge people with the guilt of sin (2 Corinthians 5:19). And God promises SEVEN times that He will never make us feel guilty or shameful (Isaiah 28:16, 45:17, 54:4, Romans 9:33, 10:11, 1 Peter 2:6, Joel 2:26-27).
So instead of freedom from slavery to sin, guilt, shame, & the law you are put into the maximum security prison of hyper law which leads you to believe that every single command in all of scripture was written for you to keep & every single moment of shame or guilt or obligation is God's "conviction." How foreign to the gospel this is! It saying being a Christian means there are more laws to keep & more shame being heaped & God charges you with sin more than ever.
No wonder people think they have to "win souls" because who would choose a God like that? People try to "win" souls like they try to win a war because their goal is to get people to "surrender" to God. Scripture DOES NOT USE the word "surrender" because God is not at war with us! He is our loving Father. He waits for His children to come home & celebrates with we who are already at home with Him.
Monday, May 19, 2014
Not a Job but a Journey
Christian
religion makes us believe that we have all the right answers (commands)
& that we only need to implement them. That we have the full truth
as passed down from theologians & doctrines that have already
examined scripture. It says the problem we have is not our beliefs but
our lack of desire & effort.
What an effective way for "the father of lies," the devil, to hinder us! Jesus didn't call him "the thwarter of honest effort." He called the devil the father of lies. You can notice godless religion easily because it focuses on our ineffectiveness. It defines all the commands & "truths" we should know & then measures us on how well we obey them. It is faithless, it has nothing to do with trusting God, it is all about OUR efforts.
When you aren't allowed to question or consider your beliefs as wrong you spin your wheels forever because YOU are the problem. You just need to TRY HARDER! But when you start with the wrong blueprints & you dedicate yourself to stick to them you will never be able to build the right house.
Religion never asks you, "Are you believing a lie?" Because religions are built to be the places where you get truth & answers. If you question what they've told you then the religion has failed because religion is about being right.
We must dare ask ourselves questions like "Have I been believing the wrong things?" & "Have I been taught falsehoods?" Satan's fiery arrows are lies. Our problems don't come from our weakness to obey truth but our unwillingness or ignorance to believe truth.
And the truth IS that you don't have to try, you only need to trust your Father & He will guide you into all the desires & efforts necessary for TODAY (Philippians 2:13). He will also lead you away from all the desires & efforts that were never good for you.
God is not a boss training you for a job. He is a Father walking with you on your life's journey. He doesn't expect you to get all of your actions & answers right by the end of your first week. You are His beloved child, not His employee. Think about that! Seriously stop & think about that...
Think about how differently a child is raised from infancy by her or his parents compared to how someone is trained for a job. Now remember that He is the Father & you are the child!!
This life is not about a job (mission/plan/purpose) that God plans for you to carry out. This life is the family of God being loved & raised together by our wise & loving Father.
What an effective way for "the father of lies," the devil, to hinder us! Jesus didn't call him "the thwarter of honest effort." He called the devil the father of lies. You can notice godless religion easily because it focuses on our ineffectiveness. It defines all the commands & "truths" we should know & then measures us on how well we obey them. It is faithless, it has nothing to do with trusting God, it is all about OUR efforts.
When you aren't allowed to question or consider your beliefs as wrong you spin your wheels forever because YOU are the problem. You just need to TRY HARDER! But when you start with the wrong blueprints & you dedicate yourself to stick to them you will never be able to build the right house.
Religion never asks you, "Are you believing a lie?" Because religions are built to be the places where you get truth & answers. If you question what they've told you then the religion has failed because religion is about being right.
We must dare ask ourselves questions like "Have I been believing the wrong things?" & "Have I been taught falsehoods?" Satan's fiery arrows are lies. Our problems don't come from our weakness to obey truth but our unwillingness or ignorance to believe truth.
And the truth IS that you don't have to try, you only need to trust your Father & He will guide you into all the desires & efforts necessary for TODAY (Philippians 2:13). He will also lead you away from all the desires & efforts that were never good for you.
God is not a boss training you for a job. He is a Father walking with you on your life's journey. He doesn't expect you to get all of your actions & answers right by the end of your first week. You are His beloved child, not His employee. Think about that! Seriously stop & think about that...
Think about how differently a child is raised from infancy by her or his parents compared to how someone is trained for a job. Now remember that He is the Father & you are the child!!
This life is not about a job (mission/plan/purpose) that God plans for you to carry out. This life is the family of God being loved & raised together by our wise & loving Father.
Friday, May 9, 2014
The Father Lens: Confession Before Fellowship
Imagine a father who, every time you get together, requires you to tell him about ALL your recent mistakes & failures before going into any other conversation. And if you don't do so He will have nothing to do with you. Who wants to even approach a father who requires every conversation start with focusing on your faults?
That was how I & many others were taught to pray to our heavenly Father. We were told, "Confess your sins when you start the prayer or God will not hear you." This idea of God is the complete opposite of grace. It pictures him as letting any & every conceivable negative thing immediately stand between you & him because he is so impatient & offendable.
I thank you true Father that you are not a graceless grump who is always looking for an excuse to ditch or demean his children. I thank you that You love us with humble gentleness & not with harsh egotism.
That was how I & many others were taught to pray to our heavenly Father. We were told, "Confess your sins when you start the prayer or God will not hear you." This idea of God is the complete opposite of grace. It pictures him as letting any & every conceivable negative thing immediately stand between you & him because he is so impatient & offendable.
I thank you true Father that you are not a graceless grump who is always looking for an excuse to ditch or demean his children. I thank you that You love us with humble gentleness & not with harsh egotism.
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Being "Used" By God - Debunking Religious Clichés
Scripture never says that God wants to "use" us nor that we should ask to be "used" by Him. Pleading to our heavenly Father "Daddy use me!" is desperate, distorted, & disgusting language. If your goal is to be "used by God" you are still attaching your value to your works. Instead of seeking to be "used" look for what God is doing today & ask Him if He wants you to join in with Him. Seek also to realize how God has already been joining you in what you are doing. You are not God's tool. You are His child. Our Father works with, plays with, & rests with His children.
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