Who is your enemy?

I have long fought battles that I was not meant to fight.  There have been things and people, places and persons I felt to be my enemy that I had to either conquer, subjugate, or avoid.  God help me.  The war is over; the last enemy has been defeated and I am at rest from conflict.  God has become peace and I don't need to stand toe to toe with anything or anyone.  I have no enemies.  So, why do I keep on fighting?
Jesus Christ has in one act destroyed the conflicts of the believer's mind, heart, soul, and world.  He has changed everything, coming in and defeating what needed to be in our lives.  He, through His sacrifice ceased the enmity between God and man so that there is no war between humans and God.  We have seen recently in the rebirth of Greek mythology in Hollywood a theme of brutal tension between the gods and humans.  That is not so in the realm of Christianity.  God is not angry nor is He against you, He is highly invested in your success.  He has come to bring an end to war in you, if you will accept what He has done.
If God has made peace with man then why do I make war even with those who make war with us?  Is there war between Jesus and God?  Then why do we make war with other believers?  When we do fight amongst ourselves we make Jesus fight against Himself.  What about the unbeliever when we fight against them, we fight against the ones that God wants to make a covenant of peace with.  Therefore there is just no one we should be fighting.  It doesn't matter how others treat us; it is how we choose to live ourlives.  I don't have to answer for how others live their lives before God.  My life is God's and mine own; I have to be true to Him and myself.  If others fight let them fight.  Let them choose peace or not.  What will you choose?
Tomorrow I will go further this theme.

Easter every day

Because Christ is risen we are continually celebrating His resurrection.  We must be careful not to let religion confine such an awesome treasure to once a week, once a year.  The present risenness of Christ is immediate and continuous, immeasurable and uncontainable.  And because we reduce it to time slots in our weekly schedule we are missing out on knowing the power of the resurrection.  Today, Christ is Risen! Tomorrow Christ is Risen and Forevermore Christ is Risen!
We can celebrate the risen Christ in every thing we do from our rising in the morning to the closing of our day.  It is applied in our times of weakness and in our time of strength.  The risenness of Christ is relevent when we are sick and in health, in poverty and in wealth.  We can have the same affection every moment for Easter as we do once a year.  The power of the risen Christ will never grow old and it won't become routine.  The more I learn of it and the more it consumes sin, sorrow, and fear the more I love hearing the mention of the very word. Resurrection! (shudder, awe, Bam I love it)
When the Church realizes that the Risen Christ is the answer and cure for society, sin, and the brokenness of people, then we can see the "holiday" manifest into the streets.  My heart is heavy and burdened that the love and power that eminates from holiday is not an every moment of our lives experience. It is like how I felt after watching the Passion of the Christ; that emotion, love, and fullness is mine for the taking.  The power of the Resurrection is my wealth; the overwhelming victory that changes everything every day.
Oh, that I may know Him and the Power of His Resurrection!!!!!! Christ is Risen, now and forever!!

The Kingdom has gone Public!

God has not been hiding in the shadows for about 2000 years now.  He opened the door in the Life, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of His Son.  At one time only a select, holy, few could even get close to the curtain He dwelt behind, but now the curtain has been torn and open access granted.  He took His Kingdom and made it public; what was once privately owned is now offered to all.  Yes, all the trade secrets, blessings, and profits are open to whomever will come to Him.  Jesus said, "Don't fear little flock for it has pleased the Father to give you His Kingdom.
There are no longer private shares and public shares; whatever is His is now yours, believer.  This is what John wrote about in his first letter, "our fellowship is with the Father and His Son Jesus Christ."  Fellowship is more than "hanging out" eating food.  It is about sharing all things in common with everyone else in the fellowship.  Christ invites us into His fellowship; He gives us all of what He has and is. 
This Kingdom life is all about faith.  We have to come and make our lives public to Him there can be no private ownership of anything.  Whatever we withhold from His touch will never be what it could be with His life infused to it.  It is truly unfortunate that there are areas of our life where we actually believe we have the ability outside Him to control.  I am learning that absolutely everything must be turned over in trust as He has turned over everything in trust over to me.
 Jesus said it this way, "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom."  The ones who appropriate the Kingdom are the ones who don't think they can; they are bankrupt in themselves relying fully on the provision of God for every part and parcel of their existence.  What they discover is that when they are weak He is strong.  They don't believe in themselves alone, privately; they believe in what Christ can do through them.
Are you believeing for health?  Praise God.  You are convinced that is out of your control and you are putting full reliance upon Christ to keep you free from sickness and disease.  After all you have the scriptures and promises of God, right?  What about financial freedom?  Are you trusting that God can multiple your seed for sowing?  But if this is all your believeing for your coming up short.  Why not also surrender your fight against sin; there is only one way to defeat sin and that has already been done on the Cross.  Why are we not trusting God to lead us through a sinless day as we are believing for a sick-free, poverty-free day?  Did not Paul teach that we are to "reckon ourselves to be dead to sin; but alive unto God?"  You may say impossible.  But what difference is there?  It is the same redemptive work that by His stripes we are healed and He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.  Why do we have more faith in healing than in righteousness.  The New Covenant speaks more of righteousness and holiness than it does healing. 
Sin remains because we continue to believe it is our responsibilty to overcome it.  We don't feel that way about healing; but we don't come in poverty of spirit in regard to sin.  Remember there are no private parts; what you withhold from His power is what you have to face on your own.  It is time to take your health, wealth, and righteousness public.  Living by faith in the Finished work of Christ.  Claiming every day what you claim about your health, finance, the curse and the devil.  "I claim a sinless day today because of the Finished Work of Christ."

Harbor

      The life in Christ is to be a harbor; a safe haven from the sin, death, and destruction of this present age.  We are with Christ hidden in God.  Not just insulated from the world but rather victorious over it.  You may think, "well, I don't feel like I am victorious!" Or, "it doesn't look like I am winning over my circumstances."  Yet remember God has not called us to walk by feeling or even by sight; we are to live by faith in the revealed reality of our hiddenness and risenness in Christ in God. 
     Our life in Christ is meant to be a life of rest and confident expectancy.  Too much of our consciousness is invaded by past hurts, present offenses, and the fear of what could be.  Most people will not engage fully in relationships because they have been hurt, are being hurt, and fear it happening again.  The problem with any avoidance of life is also to neglect the life that Christ gives so freely.  To enjoy what He has bestowed upon us is to take risk; to reach out without seeing but knowing that He has done it already is not always easy.  Paul says that if God gave His own Son without caution will He not also with the Son freely give us all things?  And when we take harbor in this reality we can fully enjoy and see all those things He has done. 
    It is when we harbor ill feelings, grudges, fears, and prejudices that the good things He has given begin to blur.  Oh, they are still there; they are always there.  Our sight of them is obscured by nursing our pains and past struggles; we can't see the all things because our focus is on the pain.  For years we have had a hard time bringing suffering into a consistent theology.  Some have a conviction that we suffer because we have sinned; others are convinced it is to make us into stronger Christians.  I have come to realize that our focus is never the how's and why's of suffering but that our eyes are always fixed upon Jesus. 
    What if we didn't allow our hearts and minds to be weighted down with controversy? Would suffering be different if I didn't take the attitudes and opinions of others more important than the truth of God's word?  What if I didn't sit around trying to figure out "what the hell I did to get this pain," but instead realize that God has worked on my behalf and I will see His goodness in the land of the living.  What if I came to the understanding that God is not mad at me and I should not let anger keep me from fellowshipping with neighbor and loved one?  What we if refused to harbor unforgiveness, anger, malice, greed, and prejudice; but rather sailed into the harbor of the Son and rest, rest, rest?

To Fulfill All Righteousness

    Jesus comes to John the Baptist in the 3rd chapter of Matthew and the 1st in John, to be baptized by John.  Now we know that Jesus was without sin and really did not need to be baptized in the rationale of the New Testament process of baptism.  Some have erroneously suggested that because of the nature of Baptism that Jesus was cleansed at this point.  Or on the other hand it has been suggested that Jesus was merely going through an exercise he intended for his followers later to enact.  Baptism, then would be a symbol of what Jesus went through and the new birth of the believer.  The phrase, "to fulfill all righteousness" then means that we do this because Jesus commanded us to.
    All scripture is a testimony of Jesus Christ.  This event in scripture has more to do with the Finished Work than it does baptism (of which I mean not to diminish but look deeper in this passage).  In the Old Covenant a man would bring his sacrifice for repentance to the Priest, the priest would examine the sacrifice to see if it were acceptable, sins would be confessed, and then the lamb would be slain.  If the sacrifice were not acceptable the man would be turned away still in his sins.  The sins of the sinner would be transferred to the animal and the perfection of the animal to the sinner.  Then the lamb would be the sin; the man righteous.  Thus to fulfill all righteousness.
     Jesus came to the river with his people.  The bible tells us that all of Jerusalem was coming out to be baptized by John and his baptism was a baptism of repentance.  Jesus identified himself with man who came broken to be wash; He Himself clean like the spotless lamb.  In fact when John saw Jesus coming he declared, "behold the lamb of God which takes away the sins of the WORLD."  He was approaching the priest with the repentant people of God.  See, John was of the Levitical priesthood lineage. 
     John declared that the sacrifice was acceptable.  He told Jesus that he should not be baptizing Jesus but that He should be baptizing the baptizer.  John declared that Jesus was of higher rank than himself.  The Lamb was perfect not needing baptism nor repentance.  Yet, Jesus says do this to fulfill all righteousness; He had to be slain as man so that man could be righteous as He was.
   Earth declared the lamb to be acceptable but so did heaven.  When Jesus was baptized the Father says, "This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."  God accepted what came with man and was approved by His Priesthood and the deal was done.  What remained was that the Lamb had to be killed and his blood shed for the sins to be eradicated.  The body that God had prepared not to stop sacrifice but to complete it was acceptable for the task it was sent to accomplish.  And all righteousness was fulfilled in one act. 

Redemption in Your Lives

I met a man today on my journey who was a sex offender looking for a job.  I can not tell you whether he is guilty or not even though he claims he was wrongfully accused.  Nor will I take occasion to debate the severity or depravity of this man.  All I can say is I saw a depth of pain in his eyes and a sense of hopelessness in his present circumstance changing.  He was honest and open about his status and I couldn't help feel a sense of compassion stirring notwithstanding or validating any pain he has caused others.  And as he walked away I was overwhelmed with a sheer impression that mankind is in deep, dark pain. 
What has happened to the current of redemption amongst men?  Why aren't the fresh breezes of grace and mercy blowing over the tired, huddled masses on this earth?  I mean hasn't redemption reigned in this world for over two thousand years, why isn't it the common tongue of men?  It seems in reality that the message of wrath, judgment and condemnation rest upon the lips of people today rather than the dulce rhythms of God's tender salvation.  The tones rising to meet the weathered ears of sin broken people in desperate need of hope.
What "good news" is the message of modern "gospel" of turn or burn?  Men say God hates "gays" and they will perish forever in hell. Yet, is it not the love of God that is the hope to redeem them from the sin and the hell that comes after?  Or what of the young woman who in hopelessness has an abortion?  She is given the title "baby killer" and yet what were you called before redemption?  Was it not the grace of God who change your name?  What was it exactly; the severity of God that changed your purpose and destiny or was it the redemption paid in blood that set your soul free and entitled you to Kingdom?
It is time we cast off these scarlet and black letters upon the chests of men and give them the message of truth.  There is only one communication of redemption in this age; it is how you communicate it.  We must rewrite this curriculum that has been circulated amongst the "sinners" and "saints" of this age.  Men have too long sat in the throes of this "condemnation generation" without relief from its blasts pinning them to their despair and brokenness.  They need the old, old message of forgiveness, freedom, and hope. These do not need our contempt, pride, and arrogance; but the redemption that we once saw in the Saviour's eyes and heart and Word.
You may be thinking if we are not tough on sin; how will men be aware how dangerous sin is.  I have one answer for you.  The man I met today needs no new lesson on the dangers of sin; he needs to know how to beat it.  He doesn't need the correction of the Church to make him feel the sting of his error; but he does need the message of Redemption to recover from it.  Let us let redemption ring!

Freed from all law

1 Corinthians 6:12  -New International Version (©1984)
And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
1 Corinthians 6:13  -New American Standard Bible (©1995)
All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be mastered by anything

I know it is hard sometimes to wrap your head around the full scope of God 's Grace.  It seems like it just goes too far in it's gratuitious nature.  Paul says it was for freedom that Christ has made us free.  But the religious among our family believe that man cannot be fully trusted with such freedom.  They maintain that he needs boundaries and posted laws to remind him the serious infractions sin and failure procure.  If he is not reminded he will surely backslide into depravity and fall short of God's glory.  And because we have been taught and enforced by our religious leaders we have a hard time trusting the full extent of God's unmerited favor. 
The truth of the matter is that the work Christ has done in us has freed us from the need of law.  A righteous man does not need law to instruct him on what is right and wrong; he already possesses the ability.  What Christ did for us is like the man so entrenched in debt and up to his eyeballs in bills.  Someone comes along and pays off his debt, and uploads millions into his account.  He no longer has bills.  No one is sending him payment booklets to remind him monthly to give his debtors their due.  It is like the man born lame in need of crutches all his life, only to be miraculously healed of his affliction; he no longer needs the crutches. 
You were unwashed, unsanctified, unjustified a person under the law; needing the law to keep you in line.  A line you would always cross. But now you are washed, sanctified and justified in the name of Jesus and in the Spirit.  There has been a miracle done in your soul to change your nature.  You no longer need a law to direct your life; you yourself can under the tutelage of the Holy Spirit in you live a lawful life.  For you are not lawless but rather lawful.  See the law has been fulfilled and there is no longer any bills to be paid, nothing to overcome. 
There may be a concern here to say all things are to me lawful; we are not sure we can be trusted with such knowledge.  If I tell a man he that all things are lawful for him will  he not go out and sin like crazy declaring that all things are lawful for him.  Paul is telling the Corinthians that no man can judge him in the food he eats or the days he observes or not.  He is saying that there is no law hanging over his head constantly bearing judgment, scrutiny, and condemnation for every little thing.  (Like smoking, drinking, and watching too much t.v.)
I am not suggesting that all sin is now become legal.  Paul goes on to say that not all things are profitable.  Even though I have great freedom there are things that magnify and maximize that freedom and there are things that are a detriment to my freedom and can master my life.  For freedom means freedom from a law that chokes out life and brings condemnation; freedom from sin and its destructive tendencies.  I shall not be master by either.  In Christ both law and sin become irrelevent to the Christian together.  We have been made lawful; so sin and law have become obsolete as crutches to a lame man made whole; or the man of debt forgiven no longer concerned about bills.