Session Notes

Steve McVey: How To Forgive Somebody:

“‘(Insert the name of the person who wronged you), I want to resolve a matter of unforgiveness toward you. You have wronged me, but I don’t want to be handicapped by this hurt for the rest of my life. What you did to me was (describe the exact incident). When you did that, it made me feel (describe how you felt, not what you thought at the time). You were wrong and I was hurt by your actions. But, (insert the offender’s name), right now I forgive you. I release you from any obligation you have toward me because of what you have done. Just as Christ has forgiven me, I now forgive you.’ Now, pray and thank the Lord for the grace He gives you to forgive others. Ask Him to bring healing to your emotions and to fill you with a greater sense of His love for you. Complete this time by affirming that you have forgiven others at this very moment. Will your feelings instantly change? Maybe not. But that’s okay. As you remind yourself of the truth that you have forgiven those who wronged you, your feelings will gradually change. You may still find that feelings of anger or resentment arise within you at times. That’s normal. When they do, remind yourself of the truth that you have forgiven. It doesn’t mean you didn’t forgive just because you may still have negative feelings at times. Simply acknowledge your feelings and then walk in the truth. Forgiveness is a choice and you made that choice. Don’t allow the enemy to bring you back into the slavery of unforgiveness again. Through forgiveness you have been set free. So enjoy your freedom! ‘If the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed’ John 8:36″

THIS IS A GREAT BASIC ARICLE ON FORGIVING THOSE WHO CHOSE NOT TO ACCEPT THAT GOD TOOK AWAY OUR PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE SINS AND HURT US. I PRAY OUR FAMILY, FRIENDS, CLIENTS, SCHOOLS, AND WORLD ARE OPEN TO J.C’S GRACE.

Steve McVey:

” If the spirit of Picasso rested within you, a great desire to paint would continually motivate you toward the canvass. The knowledge of who was within you would be all the motivation you needed. The good news of grace is that Jesus Christ is in you.”

This is a powerful visionary article on the way the J.C’s Spirit of grace/truth transforms us. May it be so for me, my family, friends, clients, and world.

Steve McVey:

“. If the world only understood the truth about the love of Father, so many more would come to Him in faith. Sadly, their understanding is often a distorted caricature of who He really is. One reason it is so important to understand and accept your Father’s love is because we all eventually become like the whatever we imagine God to be. People trapped in legalism see God as a judgmental, cosmic eye-in-the-sky who is watching and waiting for them to mess up in the way they live. They imagine that how they behave is what matters most to Him. Consequently, that’s the kind of person they become in the way they relate to other people. They become harsh parents, demanding friends, dictator-type pastors, etc. “

I pray we understand and accept God’s unconditional love for us/our family/friends/clients/world as well.

It’s All Him – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“Have you ever noticed our tendency to push ourselves into the starring role of the stories told in the Bible? For instance, consider the story of ‘the good Samaritan.’ Most sermons I’ve ever heard about that text makes the main application be that ‘we shouldn’t be like the lawyer or the priest who passed by the wounded man without helping him. We should be like the good Samaritan.’ In reality, that’s not the meaning of the story. It’s not a moral lesson that the Bible is trying to teach us here. Through that story, Jesus was teaching us about Himself. The main lesson isn’t that we are to help the pitiful, helpless man. It’s that we are the pitiful, helpless man. Jesus is the Good Samaritan who found us after legalism and devout religion didn’t lift a finger to help us.”

I pray the Spirit teaches us that it is all about Jesus as Saviour and not us.

Forgiving Ourselves – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“‘I know that God has forgiven me, but I just can’t forgive myself,’ someone recently said to me after describing a recent period of time in his life when he had made the choice to repeatedly commit the same sin again and again. As Christians always do, he had finally reached the place where he couldn’t stand the thought of living like that for the rest of this life. So he cried out to his Deliverer and the cycle of sin was broken. The foolish behavior was now a thing of the past, but he couldn’t disconnect from it mentally and emotionally. A sense of guilt and self-condemnation was draining him of his energy, enthusiasm and joy. He wasn’t still committing the sin, but was as miserable as he had been when he was. ‘So you do believe that God has forgiven you?’ I asked. ‘Yes,’ he answered, ‘but I can’t forgive myself for what I’ve done. I’ve been a Christian long enough to know better.’ After we had talked awhile and nothing I said seemed to be sinking in, I finally asked him, ‘Do you think you’re better than God?’ ‘What do you mean?’ he asked. ‘I mean that if the blood of Christ is sufficient for God to look at you and say, ‘Forgiven,’ what will it take for you to forgive yourself? If the death of Jesus Christ on the cross for this sin you committed isn’t enough for you, what will it take? You’ve set a standard for yourself that is obviously higher than the one God has set.’”

This is a great encouragement to allow children the grace for God to change them! There is no need for guilt/drivenness. May it be so for the world.

Canned Goods and Closed Hearts – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“My parent’s generation had known what is was like to be without food. Consequently, somewhere deep inside them a voice must have said, ‘I will never be caught without enough food to eat again.’ Thus, the massive inventory of canned goods. Come what may in life, there would be food in the cabinets. I think that’s how many of us face most areas of our lives. We have faced circumstances at times that created a sense of loss or need within us. Because the situation was painful, somewhere deep inside us, we said, ‘This won’t ever happen to me again.’ So we hoarded what we have and shut the cabinet door. We went into the self-protection mode. Some were hurt by a friend and have now closed the door on vulnerability. They’ll never trust another person as a true friend. Others have had a marriage go sour. Today, they won’t completely open up to their mate because of fear. If they give everything, they risk losing everything again. Some were burned at church. Now, they have lumped all churches in the same hypocritical pile and won’t become an integral part of a church fellowship. The hurts differ, but the response is common. Shut the door of my heart and don’t risk losing what I have or being hurt. After all, if it happened once, . . . What ‘great depression’ have you experienced in life? What commodity did you feel you had taken from you when you needed it most? Was it trust? Love? Friendship? What have you lost? As a result have you tried to stuff those things deep inside you that you don’t want to ever lose again? Are you fearful to take them out? Have you resolved that you’ll never find yourself in that kind of situation again?”

This is a great article which describes what happens when a person who has been hurt in turn hurts another. I pray J.C’s Spirit will teach the us, our families, friends, clients, schools, and world to be vlulnerable again in life. God show us other’s hearts/hurts so we will not feel a hint of judgement.

Heavenly Father, I Am Your Child – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“Every blessing in Christ Jesus is already mine. (See Ephesians 1:3) By faith, I will enter in to the grace-filled walk that you have prepared for me. (See Romans 5:2) I am everything you say I am. (See1 Corinthians 15:10) I can do everything you have called me to do. (See Philippians 4:13) I can have all that you have called me to have. (See Psalm 84:11) My days will only grow brighter.(See Proverbs 4:18) Your favor is upon me and will never leave me.(See Lamentations 3:22-23) Nothing that comes my way can harm me. (See Isaiah 54:17) You orchestrate my circumstances so that everything works out for my good. (See Romans 8:28)  Without wavering, I will hold tightly to the hope I say I have, because You can be trusted to keep your Promise. (See Hebrews 3:23)”

This is beautiful! I pray Jesus’ Spirit teaches/reminds/lives these promises through us, our families, friends, schools, clients, and world every moment!

When We Feel Nothing – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“hen we feel nothing, God’s grace shines brightest. It’s one thing to trust Him when everything is going our way, but when circumstances close in on us, trusting Him is evidence of supernatural grace flowing through us. Do you find yourself not feeling the ‘joy of the Lord’ the way you want? If so, be assured you’re at a place where the current of grace can run deeper and wider than usual in you. Whether you feel His presence or not, just trust Him. Be assured that He knows the path you are walking and He is quietly walking it with you. Cling to Jesus and know that the Sun will shine again for one simple reason – Great is His faithfulness.  ”

I pray the spirit would teach us/the world the comfort of His grace in our painful times.

Just Play – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“Joyfully embrace every day and live with the certainty that your Father’s heart is set on you and on the purpose of thrilling you with His love. Let Him love the bondage of adulthood from your heart until it is filled only with a childlike attitude that trusts Him and embraces the world with enthusiasm.”

This is a great article that highlights the faith we are to have like some aspects children possess. May it be so that we, our family, friends, clients, and the world allow THE SPIRIT to facilitate it rather than try to get the understanding ourselves.

The Grace to Shut Up – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“Do you say too much, too often? If so, pray for God’s grace to flow through your actions in such a way as to cause you to know when to say nothing and then enable you to do it. Sometimes grace never looks better than when it enable us to simply shut-up.  ”

This is a great article! After being frustrated with not being able to communicate and completely know the truth of Jesus taking away our/the world’s sin now, I told God. He said I do not have to say anything, IT IS JUST HIS SPIRIT!!! “Well then Spirit teach and enable me/other believers to sense when to Shut Up!!!”

The Hart Institute | Dr. Archibald Hart, Dr. Catherine Hart-Weber | Training, Counseling and Consulting:

“You and your husband will then get stuck in an argument pattern…you will pursue him to get him to admit he is wrong and you are right, he will instead defend himself to get you to admit you are wrong and he is right. Eventually you will each emotionally disconnect. You get ‘gridlocked’ over the issue.  If you keep arguing this way, you won’t resolve anything, you will just have a list of ‘hot topics’ that trigger a very strong and powerful pattern of arguing. And to you he will become an aloof, uninvolved, independent, uncaring roommate. To him you will become a nagging, negative wife he has to put up with. This will not lead to an emotionally connected marriage.”

The last of this article offers excellent suggestions to offer just mutual understanding and expected outcomes. May it be so for us and the world.

The Barnabas Touch – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“Sometimes Christians think that we all need to be like the Apostle Paul – strong, determined, trail-blazers in expanding the kingdom. The church does need folks like that, but don’t minimize the powerful effect of the Barnabas type Christians in the church. You might start churches, like Paul did, or you might touch somebody who turned aside like Barnabas did. Don’t fall into the error of thinking that you have to act outside your basic personality and temperament type. God can use you with the personality you have right now, without changing anything about that aspect of your makeup. Do you relate to Paul’s approach to life? Then go for it. But don’t be too harsh on those who are more comfortable with the Barnabas approach. The Pauls of the church may reach cities, but the Barnabases will impact lives too, one person at a time.  ”

This is an an excellent article encouraging acceptance, believing in others and encouraging those who doubt to include them! I pray we are always open to give 2nd chances to one another/ourselves. May it be so for us our family, friends, clients, schools, and the world.

Big Noise Blog.

A set of resources definitely worth noting.

All but Richard Rohr are relationship focused New Covenant theologians. (Rohr is more of a mystic in search of experience but he does, to some level, get grace.)

Steve McVey is very good and I’m rather fond of hijacking his quotes — but needs to be read carefully as he still has some thinking about sin that needs transformation…

This guy should also be added to the list — thanks Kathy!

Are You Dying To Rest? – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

” I didn’t know that I had already died with Christ and was able to cease from my own works, living instead out of His finished work. The idea of being called by Christ to a place of rest often contradicts the default setting of contemporary Christian thought. We live in a society where people go on vacation with their cell phones, Palm Pilots and laptop computers. To rest in Christ is a concept which often requires a radical paradigm shift for many people. To rest in Christ, trusting Him to express His life through us, sounds lazy and negligent after having lived in the wilderness of legalism for such a long time. Many mistakenly think of rest as some sort of passivity, which it is not. Resting in Christ simply means trusting Him to be our Life-Source, depending upon Him to empower our actions with His strength and direction.”

This is a really clear article on what it means to rest in Christ, that he took away our/the sins of the world and let His love show. May it be so for us/the world.

Note, also permalink, top level posted here.

The power of Eternality:

The man/woman who stands with no fear of death is the most dangerous being alive. The entirety of the system of this world rides on the ability to take a life from another. When death ceases to terrify, control is lost.

The power of Absolution:

This world — especially the Christian side of it — stands in the constant fear of guilt. It stands with heads hung in shame while playing roles designed to prove to those who hold this weeks rating scale that they do, indeed, measure up. The teachings of Jesus have been so bastardized and bent by the keepers of religious power that it actually seems reasonable when that-which-formerly-was is again brought as a means of enforcing the awareness of our guiltiness and pinned on Jesus. But, we didn’t get a Bandaid for our sins — we, with Christ, died to them — and were raised to a new life that doesn’t relate to them. Our heads can never again hang low — because the standard which judged us (The law) can never again condemn us — no matter what.

The power of Love:

So many people live in the fear that if they ever gave God control of their lives, He’d bring out massive pain and torment (and a few plagues from Egypt too) to finally hurt them enough to change them. Yet, Jesus made it very clear that to see His heart was to see the Father. It’s a heart that will never lead through shame, fear, guilt, condemnation, coercion, punishment, torment or wrath. It’s a gentle heart that works quietly inside — when we are ready — to call us to life.

The power of Life:

Almost every aspect of our world is focused upon dying. We have drugs — they keep us emotionally dead. We have TV and entertainment to keep us distracted until we die. We have disassociative meditative techniques that are used to attain the peace of the grave while living. We run from shame, fear, guilt and the paralysis that comes from feeling trapped and bound and this drives that seeking of death. Through canceling all of that, the Gospel not only reawakens the desire to live, it legitimated the call to live and unlocked the creative energy to drive such.

The power of Freedom:

Wanna know why our bricks and mortar churches are emptying by the droves? People heard that Jesus came to set them free — and something deep within them intuitively knows that a list of rules isn’t what He had in mind. The message of the Gospel isn’t less rules — it’s TOTAL freedom. “When a man finally grasps grace, he suddenly finds himself standing, naked and trembling, in such a wide open space that he can do naught else but reach up for a hand to hold — for a guide to lead him through.” Anon

The power of Intimacy:

We can reach up for that hand to hold and that guide who will lead us through. It’s safe now. The cross is critical to this for it proved that not only is God good — but it proved that who He is IS GOOD. The human race unleashed the very worst it had to offer on the one being in the universe who could have annihilated them with a thought — and He loved them so much He let them kill Him and then came back to love them even more. To love ME even more…

The power of Faith:

Faith isn’t belief — faith is Christ in you, the hope of Glory. The Christian life has nothing to do with trying harder or trying period. It’s about surrender to that new life which has been created in you to enough of a degree that you can stop trying and literally get the hell out of the way. It’s about a surrender to a wisdom so much greater then our own that the foundations of this sick and corrupt system of control we call life begin to get blown up — not just for yourself, but also for those you love.

The power of Holy Anger:

Jesus made one thing very clear: He didn’t come to make nice — He came to start a war. The religious leaders of the day didn’t kill, “Gentle Jesus meek and mild.” They killed a guy who they could plainly see was destroying everything about their system of religious power — not trying to start the Progressive Conservative/Republican party. Then, He turned to the disenfranchised, the broken, the humiliated, the poor, the shameful, the powerless and promised them a power greater then the world had ever seen — just before he invited them to join up and open fire.

The power of Humanness:

Look around the world — every major religion out there sees human beings as basically screwed up and disgusting. It then offers it’s prescription to fix them — if people will only tow their line. The Gospel sees people as made in the image of God and, though once broken, as currently perfect without them doing anything to fix themselves. (That’s God’s job.) He came not to destroy them — but to reverse that which was broken about them once and for all. He came to make them fully human and fully alive.

The power of Transformation:

The foundational job of the gospel is to tear back the veils that keep people from seeing the beauty and dignity of the current reality of their lives. Read that again — not to fix people, for that job is already done. The primary weapon we are given is truth — the ability to tear back the lies that have the ones we love trapped in a set of falsehoods that reduce them to that which formerly was (dead) and drive them towards a set of broken strategies which will never fulfill the deepest longings of their hearts.

The power of Passion:

The magical core of the Gospel is the call to the deepest desires of our hearts. If God made those hearts and planted those deep longings within them, then those deep longings have to be His will for our lives. All of the above was NOT done because God wants to finally get you to the point of being a well-trained-seal who will do some religious dance when told. He did all of the above so you could finally reach inside and discover that deepest place of your heart where He planted the vision He created for you to become — and then full-tilt LIVE IT OUT.

The Gospel is not seen in ethics. The Gospel is first seen when a human heart, transformed so that it both is able to hear the voice of God and longs to do so, begins to reach out for the hand of a loving father and, when finding that hand, begins to take the risk to step out and live.

The Gospel achieves it’s true 10,000 candle-power brilliance when that heart reaches out and loves, it stops and cries, it gives to another, it stands in defiance of the night, it attacks with fury, it rescues the broken, it binds up the wounded, it touches that paintbrush to canvas, it places finger to string or key, it speaks with fire and precision, it screams with the fury of Almighty God at the thought of one of His precious children living with even one chain, it kisses with passion and then it makes love with with all of the erotic intensity that only a heart set free can even risk.

It’s the captivating and irresistible master plan of liberty the God of the universe, exploding out of the passionate longings of His heart, wrote for you.

When Hurricanes Come – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“What are we to do when we believe a hurricane is coming into our lives? We do what Remaila said. We make our preparations. We do so by making sure that everything in life is grounded in the love and sovereignty of the One we profess loves us too much to do us any harm. We give all that we are and all that we have to Him. We recognize that this world is temporary and choose not to allow ourselves to draw our identity from it. We hold a loose grip on everything and everybody, realizing that only God determines what we can hold on to throughout our lives. Then we entrust ourselves to God. We affirm by faith (not feelings) that He is in control – that nothing can or will happen in our lives which is beyond the bounds of His authority or the scope of His love for us. We trust Him. It’s that simple. We don’t always understand. We just trust. We don’t always feel like He is loving us through our circumstances. We just trust. We entrust ourselves to the love of One who promised to never leave or forsake us. We lash ourselves to Romans 8:28 and refuse to let go. The storms may rage. The winds may blow. The waves may surge. But we know that our security is in the love of the One who loved us and gave Himself for us. Do you see clouds on the horizon of your own life? Don’t be afraid. The Bible says that those clouds are ‘the dust of His feet’ (Nahum 1:3). As storms approach, simply make your preparations and then entrust yourself to God.”

THIS IS A GREAT ARTICLE SO WE DO NOT try to handle crisis/conflicts in our own strength. It show what that means. However it still can come across that way if we are not JUST OPEN to his truth/trust.

Conflict Resolution Without Words – Positive Living Television:

“If you believe that you or your partner are bad or wrong for your feelings, behavior, or point of view, then you will not be able to let go of judgment. You will move toward compassion when you understand and accept that each of you has very good reasons for your feelings, behavior, and point of view. Try compassionately accepting yourself and your partner and see what happens!”

Although I do not agree with some of the wording of some points, this article offers some basic great points to facilitate openness. GOD GAVE US OUR FREEDOM, BY JESUS TAKING AWAY OUR/THE SINS OF THE WORLD TO SEE THINGS OUR WAY. HE DOESN’T ENFORCE HIS VIEW ON US, ESPECIALLY IN CONFLICT. WE CAN ASK HIM. MAY IT BE SO FOR OUR WORLD.

Don’t Ask, Appropriate! – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“Do you need wisdom? That’s Him. Do you need righteousness? That’s Him. Holiness? That’s Him, too. Do you need sanctification, guidance, strength? It’s all Him. What do you need today? His name is IAM. I AM what? Anything you need. All the fullness of I AM is in Jesus. ‘For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him’ (Col.1:19). All the fullness of Jesus is in you. Don’t pray for what you already have. Just appropriate the sufficiency of the Christ who is living in you. You don’t have to struggle or beg for what you think you need. You already have it. Just let Jesus be Jesus in and through you. “

This is an excellent article on just resting in the grace of understanding/knowing that we have everything of Christ in us now. May it be so.

Rearing Teenagers – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“Teens are crying out to know, ‘Who am I? Do I have value? Am I lovable?’ Don’t undermine a person’s basic identity by striking a blow at who they are. Deal instead with the behavior. ‘You lied to me and that stands in contradiction to everything I know to be true about you!’ is a better response than calling your child a liar. 2. Allow your teen to see the authenticity of your own relationship to Christ.”

This is a great article defining a relationship with Christ. May it be so for us, our family, friends, clients, our kids schools, and the world. However it still has a focus on sin that Jesus dealt with on the cross so it needn’t be a focus. It does allude to looking at the need/feeling that caused it.

Living Peaceably Together – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“When you find it difficult to get along with somebody, there are a few things you might do which could help you navigate through stressful moments. 1. Pray a quick prayer for the person. Ask Jesus to express love to them through you. When we react to the bad mood of others with a negative response, we have allowed them to control us. Why let somebody else cause you to get in a bad mood? You can choose to express love to them and not allow the circumstance to rob you of your own joy. 2. Remember that people who are hard to get along with almost always have conflict going on within themselves. A sales clerk in a store once acted like a jerk to me. My first impulse was to react the same way (I can act like a jerk with the best of them), but instead I paused, looked at the lady and sincerely asked, ‘Are you having a bad day?’ To my amazement, she began to pour out the details of her personal life that were causing trouble for her. I was so glad that I hadn’t acted on my first impulse. Her demeanor instantly softened when I asked that question. (The question I asked could be asked in an accusatory way and add to the problem.) It was one of those ‘God-moments’ when He allowed me to see the importance of responding in love and not reacting impulsively. 3. Recognize the fact that the problem may be within you and not the other person. There have been times when I’ve found myself irritated several times by other people before it finally dawned on me – ‘They aren’t doing anything wrong. I’m just in a bad mood today!’ Maybe the quality in another person that irritates you isn’t a bad quality. Maybe that person reminds you of somebody else that you’ve had trouble with in your past. Or maybe you’re just in a bad mood yourself. When you find yourself feeling irritable toward somebody else, ask the Holy Spirit this question, ‘Lord, is it me?’ You might be surprised to find out that the problem isn’t with the other person at all. Paul determined to look beyond human characteristics and see Jesus in every Christian. Mother Teresa was once asked about her work with the lepers – ‘Do you imagine that it is Jesus ministering to them when you serve them?’ ‘No,’ she answered. ‘When I look at them, I see the face of Jesus.’”

This is a good simple article on allowing Jesus/love/His peace respond through us. The are some parts where it is a little confused. I don’t think we are controlled by another, but it can feel like it at times. Either we are new creations because we are open to the fact that Jesus took the sin of the world away or we are not at this time. May it be so for our family, friends, clients, and the world.

When God Rolls By – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“Don’t allow the circumstances of your life to be what you use to determine how your Father feels about you. Circumstances can’t tell you that. If you want to know how He feels toward you, look beyond the temporal situations of life and see the cross. At the cross, you will find an expression of His divine love for you. He loves you so much that He paid the highest price to ensure that you were His for all eternity. Sometimes He shouts His love in large letters. At others times, he gently whispers His love in the recesses of our hearts. In whatever ways He chooses to speak into your life, you can be assured that you are loved. He does care . . . and nothing is ever going to change that. Listen for Him to speak to you this week and you will hear the words, ‘I love you.’ “

This is a fantastic article of encouragement when crisises happen in our lives which cause us to feel that God doesn’t love us. I pray we are all reminded by His grace at every moment that Jesus death/risenness on the cross is all we will every need to believe/experience it.

I remember Henri Nouwen, the marvelous spiritual author, once telling me personally, “Richard, if I had to describe what we mean by original sin, I believe it is humanity’s endless capacity for self-loathing.”

We were given the absolutely most magnificent gift of therapy (if I could call it that) in the Mystery of the Incarnation. If we could really believe that objectively, metaphysically we are the temple of the Holy Spirit, we are the place where the Divine dwells, and that the Holy is not out there, we could save thousands of dollars in therapy and avoid years of self-doubt.

But what did we do? We made Christianity largely into what I’ve always called a worthiness contest, a moral achievement contest, at which nobody wins. All we can do is pretend. Inside of such a system, religious people are almost programmed for hypocrisy, even with the best of intentions.

Some quotes just stand on their own.

2007 September GraceVine – Grace Walk Ministries:::Sharing the Love & Life of Christ:

“2007 September GraceVine Grace Is Bigger Than Your Sins by Steve McVey   One of the most amazing aspects of God’s grace is the way it blows sin right off the map of our lives. Make no mistake about it – sin lost the battle with God and is now a non-entity as far as its ability to stop His purposes for the life of the Christian. Are there consequences for our sins? We have all seen that often to be the case. Do our sins disqualify us from being used by God? Not at all. David committed a horrible sin when he slept with Bathsheba, but after they were married and God wanted the temple to be rebuilt it was her son, Solomon, that He used to accomplish that project. Peter flatly denied that he even knew Jesus, but when it came time for the sermon to be preached on the day of Pentecost, he was the man who God used that day. Abraham had his wife Sarah tell a king that she was his sister so that the king wouldn’t kill him to have a chance to take her. Despite his horrible and cowardly sin, God reaffirmed His intention to make him the father of a great nation many times afterwards. The list could go on and on. It’s a strange thing to hear debate in the church today about who God can and can’t use. The fact is that God can use anybody He wants to use. I learned this truth even before I understood the grace walk. Years ago someone asked me about a certain, flamboyant TV evangelist. ‘What do you think of him?’ I was asked. ‘He’s an idiot,’ I responded in my ‘I-haven’t-learned-a-thing-about-grace’ way that was all too common back then. The woman then went on to tell me how God had used that man’s ministry to transform her life. ‘What do you think now?’ she asked. Without hesitation, I answered, ‘I guess God uses idiots!’ While my response was far from graceful, it’s true. God uses idiots. I should know. He used me despite my years of legalistic idiocy. God can use you too. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that you might have done something that is so terrible that your Father can’t redeem your past and use your life for His glory. He can use you and He will use you. Jesus came to put away your sin and He fully succeeded at that. (See Hebrews 9:26) We need to stop worshipping our sins by focusing on them and glory in the finished work of the cross. God’s grace is bigger than our sins and He will use our lives for His glory. Let’s just trust Him to do it! “

This is a great article that God can work good for us despite how we act or believe!!! May His sense of control be so for our family, friends, school, churches, and clients. Now it is about feelings not deeds.

GraceAndMercy.org

Church history demonstrates that believers in every generation become enslaved to a performance basis for earning God’s approval and blessing. In other words, they believe they are right with God because they do the right things. This is a constant temptation for all who desire to please God. [...] I’ll be using the term performance basis interchangeably with the term legalism.

Because performance-based living is so deeply rooted in human nature, the entire world, not just the Christian world, is filled with people who either thrive on it or who are constantly striving to extricate themselves from it. But apart from the applied grace of God – the exact opposite of performance-based living – nothing more than superficial relief is ever realized by anyone, Christian or not.

The really entertaining thing about these guys is their background: They are specialists in bringing people out of cults. They have launched this site to take on fundamentalist Evangelical legalism — using those same skills. (See their first post)

From where I’m sitting, it looks to be about time…

This man has compressed more of what the life of Christ is into a 5 min song then most preachers get in their entire lives.

This song is a prayer set to music — the heart cry of a man who knows the Father for a people who know little of such and everything of rules, status and performance.

Steve McVey:

“The problem with rededicating ourselves to Christ is self, which is really just another word for the self-sufficiency of the flesh. The essence of religious flesh, as strange as it might seem, is our attempt at trying to live the Christian life. That is what actually prevents us from living the Christian life. In fact, the harder we try, the greater the likelihood that we won’t succeed because victory in the Christian life doesn’t come by trying. It comes by trusting. “

This is a great reminder article we need often it is not what we do, but what Christ does through us. I disagree with, we have to trust/be dependent, but I do think we have to be OPEN to coming to Him, trust, and being dependent. May it be so

post-gazette.com.

Grove City student suspended over gay porn video

Says film income helped pay tuition

Thursday, May 07, 2009

The Associated Press
GROVE CITY, Pa. — A student is appealing his suspension from a Christian college in Mercer County for appearing in gay porn videos using a pseudonym.

Twenty-two-year-old John Gechter, of Philadelphia, was suspended for one year pending appeal from Grove City College after a student saw him last month in a video posted online.

Mr. Gechter is appealing the suspension and says he may sue, claiming that the gay porn job isn’t any of the school’s business, especially since he performed using the name “Vincent DeSalvo.” Mr. Gechter says he used his porn income to pay for his schooling.

School officials say Mr. Gechter is suspended because he was well aware his porn involvement “exhibited behavior contrary to the values” of the school about 50 miles north of Pittsburgh.

Three interesting things here:

The most interesting part of this is still being recognized by precisely nobody… Apparently, the student who was looking at same-sex oriented erotic videos and narc’ed him out — well, s/he’s still a member of the student body…

It seems that, on this week’s edition of the naughty list, the sex acts involved in viewing same-sex erotic materials are not quite naughty enough to qualify as a, “Really bad sin,” — but performing them (at least on film) is. Or maybe, the real issue is just that the public can’t identify which student reported the problem — thus the school can still claim the problem doesn’t exist in their back yard, avoid dealing with it and still retain their carefully crafted public image…

The second interesting fact is that this guy is telling the truth about his financial needs. It seems that, for no better reason then hiding their finances from the government, the school canceled every student’s ability to subsidize an education in the normal (student loan) way.

The third interesting thing is that no one stated considering keeping them both there, admitting that the entire student body is overloaded with broken hearts and working with all of them to heal such…

Fundamentalist logic…

Steve McVey:

“The LORD’s delight is in those who honor him, those who put their hope in his unfailing love. Psalm 147:11 For many years, I taught people that the way to honor the Lord was to do what He said – to obey Him. Obedience – that was the most important thing in the Christian life, as I saw it. But the problem was that, no matter how hard I tried and how sincere I was, I couldn’t seem to be consistent in that area. This verse from Psalms shows that the Lord is honored when we put our hope in His unfailing love. It isn’t our obedience, our faith, or even our level of love for Him that honors Him most. It is by learning to rest in His unconditional, unfailing and unchanging love that He is most honored. As we learn to accept His acceptance, the calm that comes over us is amazing. No more do we have to struggle to stay on God’s good side. No longer do we condemn ourselves because we think we aren’t doing enough to keep Him in a good mood toward us. We come to learn that our Father’s love has nothing to do with how good we are, but has everything to do with how good He is. Then, lo and behold, the realization of His unfailing love begins to transform us. We find ourselves being motivated to live a godly lifestyle because we want to behave, not because we think it’s the right thing to do. We become increasingly free to relax and just be ourselves, knowing that He loves us no matter what. The love of God for us will mature us, motivate us and minister to us every day. Life increasingly becomes more and more about Him and not about us. “

This is a great little article on revealing God’s healing/Finished Work by resting in the Father’s unconditional love for us!

Steve McVey:

“Living in God-given freedom will inevitably bring the scorn of the self-righteous down on you. Jesus stayed in trouble because the way He acted didn’t fit the expectations of the religious crowd who thought it was their duty to police everybody else to make sure they were minding their P’s & Q’s. When He enjoyed a good meal and a glass of wine with friends, they called Jesus ‘a glutton and a drunkard.’ (See Luke 7:34) “

This is a good brief article that talks about the confusion of seeing Jesus took away they sins of the world. Regrettably the world often falls into feelings of self-righteousness which makes it seems that Jesus did not take away all the bad. May it be so that we have his we have his true understanding/confidence/trust/freedom/rest.

John Eldredge: December 2008:

“omething profound takes place in the soul of a person when they know they matter; when they know they are prized. It changes them. All questions of tit-for-tat are swept away; there is no longer any room for fear in the relationship. They know they are loved, and it evokes love in return. Someone who is recued has a deep and profound gratitude to the rescuer. ‘You would do this for me?’ But if their rescuer said, ‘I did not do this for you; I did this for me. I did it to prove my greatness. In fact, your complete unworthiness to be rescued is part of my plan to show my greatness.’ Could you imagine the relationship having any sort of future?  ”

This is an incredible Christmas article regarding our true worth even BEFORE Jesus took away our/the sins of the world. It is about relationship/knowing Him not beliefs/religion. May it be so for all of us.

John Eldredge: Finding Church:

“They do not actually teach people how to be intimate with God, or hear his voice. Intimacy with God is not promoted; most folks don’t know how to find it. We’ve spoken to a number of good people, mature believers who sincerely love God and dearly want to join him in his battle for this world, but who have found church to be an exercise in frustration. The number of these folks continues to grow; it is a very significant trend. These are not simply malcontents, who really just want to sleep in on Sundays. These are sincere followers of Jesus and they want a genuine place of church; they just don’t know where to find it. So they ask us, ‘What do you do?’ Let me first say what we have done – we have been a part of many different church expressions, from liturgical to conservative Bible to charismatic. And we have benefited richly from all of them. God can be found in many different expressions of ‘church.’ Most recently we have found the house church model to be particularly focused on what we believe are a few of the absolute essentials. Read the various urgings toward ‘church’ in the epistles, and ask yourself, ‘How could this take place in an hour on Sunday morning in a group of 500 or 5,000? How can we pray for one another, really? How can we encourage one another, really? Bear one another’s burdens?’ It can be a rich experience to worship with a large group of people, and hear the word of God taught by a gifted teacher. But there is simply no way that the fellowship urged in the Scriptures can be expressed without involvement in a small group.”

This is a good reminder article. May it be so for all of us and the world so we only do what God is in, not try to be Him for all. I pray we do nothing in our own strength to remain in peace.

Steve McVey:

“emember that there is nothing wrong with the Law of God. God’s Law was given to open the eyes of the self-righteous to their own unrighteousness. The fact is, though, that you and I have been released from the Law (See Romans 7:6) through our death with Christ on the cross. By His grace, we saw our own unrighteousness and, by His grace, we repented of the folly of our sin and turned to Him in faith. At that moment, we were born again and now have no connection to the Law whatsoever. (Read Romans 7:1-6 for the biblical explanation.) If we don’t realize that we have moved out of the bondage of Babylonian captivity, we will still live under the terroristic threats of legalism. But you have been delivered from Babylon. You aren’t under the Law anymore. The religious Al-Qaeda have no rights or authority over you anymore. Your Liberator has set you free “

This is a good brief article on the law vs Jesus. I see repentance as a change in thinking from the Counsellor/Sprit.

Steve McVey:

“When Jesus said that the Scripture in Isaiah had been fulfilled that very day, He was revealing that He was the personification of the anointing of God. The anointing has come to us in the person of the Anointed One! Because Jesus Christ lives inside you, you have everything you need to do anything that God has planned for you to do! Paul wrote that, In [Christ] all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete (Colossians 2:9,10). If Jesus Christ lives in you, everything you need to succeed in life resides within you. You have need of nothing else. God’s grace within you is the anointing you need to accomplish everything He has planned for you. Grace equals enablement! You have miraculous, supernatural, God-given, enablement. That sets you apart from others whose dreams depend on their own ability. The early church grasped this fact and accomplished miraculous results. The same is possible for you. John reminds us, ‘But you have an anointing from the Holy One (1 John 2:20). Notice that he doesn’t say you still need it, but that you have it. He further notes, ‘As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you (2:27). The word here means continue to be present and not depart. In Jesus Christ, you already have all you need to have to do all that you need to do to accomplish God’s plan for your life. Do you understand your ability? Like the anointing of Aaron, you haven‘t been given a small dab of ability. It just isn’t His nature to give sparingly. When He gives, He really pours it on! You are drenched in divine ability to do all that He has planned for you to do.”

We often think we do not see miracles very much anymore. Is it because we are doing things in our own strength rather than allowing Him to work through us? May just the Divine in us show.

Steve McVey:

“The new Christian who has all along been glorifying Christ through his behavior without even thinking about his behavior now stops focusing on Christ and starts focusing on his behavior. The face of Jesus fades into the background and a list of religious rules emerge as the focal point of the new Christian’s life,”

This is a good brief article on starting in faith as you began. Our continued victory can only be received by faith not by following rules. In marital conflict when feeling powerless/blamed/afraid/shame and needing control. Wait, relax, vent to Jesus, and focus on His control/power/blamelessness/promise to make a way through grace, in us believers. Give truth, after receiving His perspective when it can be heard/let it surface, in us believers.

Steve McVey:

” know you’re expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he’s gonna keep saying this. So what you’re left with is: either Christ was who He said He was—the Messiah—or a complete nutcase.”

This is an excellent commentary on the role of conflict/protection in the Good News. Father make it crystal clear to all of us.

Steve McVey:

“it is only when you understand how deeply you are loved that you will be released to pour out agape on others. 1 John 4:19 says ‘we love because He first loved us.’ We don’t just love Him for that reason. We love everybody for that reason. When my grandchildren visit our home and dip their beach pail into the Gulf of Mexico, the pail can’t contain the Gulf so the water spills over the edge on every side. That’s how it is when we have received God’s love. It’s just too much for us, so everybody around us gets wet too. This is where grace becomes practical. When we have fully experienced the loving grace of God, we will faithfully express it. As He is, so are we in this world. Jesus loved. He loved the down-and-outers (the Samaritan woman) and the up-and-outers (Matthew). He loved the unrighteous (Zaccheus) and the self-righteous (Saul of Tarsus). He loved the rogues (Peter) and the religious (Nicodemus.) He loved the horribly immoral (the woman taken in adultery) and the highly moral (the rich young ruler). Jesus just loved. He said, ‘I and my Father are one’ (John 10:30). He shares the same DNA as the One who is love. What else could he do? “

This is an excellent reassurance that unconditional grace will motivate/move us, especially to love as Jesus.

Steve McVey:

“As Jesus said, the greater our understanding of forgiveness the greater the love. The obstacle that most people have trouble getting past in accepting the reality that all their sins have been forgiven is the idea that future sins could already be dealt with, even before we commit them. I remind you though that when Christ died for our sins, He died for all of them and we hadn’t even been born yet. If Christ could take every sin we would commit upon Himself at the cross before we had committed a single one of them, why couldn’t he forgive them in the same way? He can and He did. Your sins are forgiven. Not just some of them, but all of them. What if every sin of our lifetime is already forgiven? What difference would that make in how we lived from day-to-day? I can tell you the difference: it would free us to take our eyes off ourselves and put them on Christ and on others. It would deliver us from self-consciousness and sin-consciousness. The fact is that our sins have all been forgiven. That won’t cause anybody to run wild. The Apostle Paul answered that objection when he said, ‘If all this about grace is true, does that mean we just sin like crazy because we know it’s all covered by grace?’ He answered his own question, ‘God forbid! How can we live in sin if we have already died to it? Or don’t you understand that every one of us who have been placed into Jesus Christ were with Him when He died? The reality is that when somebody dies, they are free from sin and we died!’ (See Romans 6:1-7) We can relax when it comes to the fear that grace will cause people to sin. It won’t do that. Instead it will cause those who understand the scope of forgiveness to love Jesus more and to take their eyes off themselves and live freely in grace.”

This is an excellent discussion of the looming question, fear of license, and vision for us. May it be so.

Grace Walk Resources – Company Info:

“Each member of the Grace Walk team has a passion to share the sufficiency of Jesus Christ, not only for salvation, but for daily living. We have each experienced the bondage of legalism but have been transformed by coming to understand our identity in Christ and what it means to walk in grace. Consequently, He has given us a burning desire to see the body of Christ growing in grace as well.”

This in an excellent introduction to the discussion.

Steve McVey: March 2008:

” all our sins have been paid for (see Colossians 2:13-14); why would the Holy Spirit call our attention to them now? Hebrews 10:1-2 says that when we know we are cleansed, we lose consciousness of sins. Make no mistake about it. Your sins have been put away. What the Holy Spirit does when we now sin is to convict/convince us of who we really are. He shows us that we are able to live like the righteous child of God He has made us to be. He motivates us to live like that and, in the process, we will abandon the sin that caused us to stumble in the first place.”

This is an clear explanation of the reason we do not call attention to sin. We let Jesus tell us who we are really are now with Him inside us and the truth.

Steve McVey: March 2008:

“Let’s face it – the grace walk so contradicts the way many of us grew up believing was the right approach to the Christian life. It may even contradict what we’ve believed up until this moment. So, when the Holy Spirit ‘starts messing with’ our belief system, it’s a little scary. After all, we’ve lived in the security of our beliefs for a long time and to have somebody come along putting forth views that contradict what we have believed is unsettling. We don’t want to be led astray and besides that, grace is downright scary after living in legalism for a lot of years. It’s scary for one reason: it leaves us totally out of control. We can no longer be in charge of our Christian walk, knowing that when we do this, then that will happen. In other words, we stop being able to control things, including God. And nobody likes that on the front end. “

This is an empathetic article on the fear with the Spirit challenges us about the truth of our beliefs. May He allow us to rest that Jesus is in control. The try harder/rededicate yourself approach doesn’t work, only Jesus/His Finished Work is the answer.

Steve McVey: May 2008:

” The sails on the boat can be a metaphor for our lives. The wind (Christ’s Spirit) must fill us in order for us to move forward toward our destination. 2. The tell-tales let you know when the wind is moving across the sail in the most efficient way. The tell-tales in our lives are joy and peace. When Christ animates our lives, these will both ‘line up’ together. 3. Sometimes one tell=tale will be horizontal, showing that the wind is moving across the sail in the best way at that place, while another tell-tale will be jumping around in every direction -showing that part of the sail isn’t getting optimum wind flow across it. It is possible that we are appropriating the sufficiency of Christ in one area of life, yet still may need to submit another area of life to Him. 4. Sanctification is the ongoing work of the spirit (wind) increasingly showing us areas that we still can yield to His control (the tell-tales showing how the wind can be trimmed for maximum efficiency). “

This is an excellent illustration for understanding what it means to do something in our own strength. I pray we sail through life’s challenges.

Steve McVey: September 2008:

“I put this online a long time ago, but enough time has passed that I want to use it again. What do you see? This sketch has been around since the late 1800s. It’s a picture of both an old woman and a young woman, depending on your perspective. If you’re having a hard time seeing both — the necklace on the young woman is the old woman’s mouth. Beneath the necklace of the young woman is the old woman’s chin. The ear of the young woman is the old woman’s eye. (If you can’t see it from those descriptions, it’ll take divine revelation for you to see it The Lord spoke to me through this picture a few years ago when I was struggling with a situation that looked very ‘ugly’ to me. He showed me that it wasn’t the picture that needed to change. What needed to change was my perspective. Since that time, the situation that I initially thought was ugly actually turned into something I see now as beautiful. Our Father’s plan is often not to change our circumstances, but to change how we see and respond to those circumstances. “

This is the timeless illustration of the way we can see things according to the physical/flesh/law/sin or the spiritual/love/appearnace of sin/Jesus. I pray we always see ourselves/other/the world according to Christ’s, and His victory from the cross. May God allow us to rest/stand in our righteousness of Him in us and not on our own.

GV July 2007:

“Christians are those who have become one with God through Jesus Christ. Everything in our lives is intimately associated with Him through our relationship to Him, thus making it sacred. Because Christ lives through you, all that you do becomes sanctified (made holy) because He is the One doing the work through you.”

This is an excellent definition of a Christian! I pray we genuinely show it. It also talks about what sanctification really means to a believer.

GV Jan 2008:

“Control freaks – that’s what we all are when we try to be in charge of our own lives. God never intended for us to be in control. Controlling things is His role, not ours. ‘My life is out of control!’ people have tearfully said to me at times in the counseling office. What they really meant was ‘My life is out of my control and I don’t like it!’             Imagine a baby holding a pair of new shoes in his hands. He is playing with them and happy they belong to him. His parent reaches down to take the shoes and put them on the child’s feet. All the child sees is that his shoes are being taken out of his hands. He doesn’t like it. He wants to control them and keep them in his hands, but he will never walk in them that way.             The parent takes the shoes from the hand of the child and the baby begins to cry. He is overwhelmed with anger, confusion and regret that his shoes are being taken from him. He screams. He kicks in protest. He is losing control of the thing he loves and wants to hold. He doesn’t understand what his parent is doing. But the parent understands and does what is necessary to enable the child to walk – whether the child likes it or even understands.             The goal is to enable the child to enjoy the shoes to the fullest by walking in them. The parent knows that if the shoes are used for their designed purpose, the child will truly benefit and not simply be amused by them.             Only a baby thinks the highest pleasure is to hold them in his hands. He doesn’t see the whole picture. So the parent overrules the baby’s wishes and does what is needful. Eventually the child will understand. When he does, he is thrilled, and more important than that, he walks. Do you want to walk? What are you holding onto that you need to release? Let it go. God knows what He is doing.”

This is an excellent article for parenting and dealing with the crisies of life. I pray for this rest and openness to genuinely let go of our way after working through the emotions individually/together with others.

LiveNHim:

“You don’t need to have a kind of ‘in your face’ grace approach exclaiming your freedom to those who ‘just don’t quite get it’. Now, there may be a time where you do need to take a stand on God’s grace and freedom in the church, but I’m talking everyday life here. The general rule of thumb when it comes to personal relationships with those who do not understand God’s incredible gift of grace for living is simply more ‘grace’. What does that look like? We’re to act ‘in love’, even to the point of refraining from a freedom we think is perfectly fine to protect our relationship with other believers. It’s a humble, accepting and encouraging approach to those who might differ with us. Limiting your freedom on behalf of another is not a compromise of grace but more a sacrifice of love. Allow Christ to love through you…at times, it will be a sacrifice.”

This is a great article on extending grace when we differ about our beliefs.

LiveNHim:

“God gave us an incredible gift in the human body and brain. Every action, thought, desire is recorded on the human hard drive of the brain. The ‘old self’ or nature is dead (that’s what happens when you get crucified…you don’t typically recover) and you have been raised up a brand new self or nature. Those old desires, habits and behaviors have been recorded and can and will resurface…that broad term ‘flesh’ or old ways of thinking and behaving will set its desire against the Spirit but the truth is, you are ‘dead’ to that stuff! There is no real power to make you act or think in the ‘old way’, in fact, quite the opposite. You have the omnipotent power and Life of Christ in you to think and live a brand new life. “

I agree with the majority of the article I see “choice” as openness to it. Believing is not works. I pray He gives us all His understanding of it.

What is of paramount importance is the content of what truth is:

“With my wisdom firmly placed in Him, I can enjoy fellowship with others who are in Him and who may understand some truth differently than I do. I can desire to know the ‘what’s’ and the ‘why’s’, but be at rest. I can also live perfectly at peace with my lack of knowing. I no longer expect of myself or others to understand all about ‘truths’. Jesus, who I am ‘in’, understands it all. This is what abiding is about. My life does not independently contain all that it needs to live. The truth is in Someone else- Jesus.”

This is an excellent brief article on searching for truth, but also being at rest not knowing until it is revealed to us. May it be so for us.

Philosophy of Ministry:

“he Sermon on the Mount proves that before God we all stand on level ground: murderers and temper-throwers, adulterers and lusters, thieves and coveters. We are all desperate, and that is in fact the only state appropriate to a human being who wants to know God. Having fallen from the absolute Ideal, we have nowhere to land but in the safety net of absolute grace.’ It is interesting to me that when referring to his life before Christ, Paul said, ‘as to the Law found blameless’. In describing his life as a believer, he said, ‘For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do but I practice the very evil that I do now wish.’ “

It offers a good compilation of the verses of the real reason for the law.

HURRICANE KATRINA, MEANS OF JUDGMENT OR OPPORTUNITY FOR HOPE:

“d not the death of Christ deal with the root cause of sinful behavior:  sinful hearts?  For me, a pat answer of God’s judgment merely raises many many more questions. We are tempted to be deceived into believing that grace is too light on sin.  However, my heart yearns to testify that it is true grace alone that exposes sin for the subtle dead lie that it is.  Apart from grace, sin is limited to negative-looking behaviors.  Apart from grace, we are tempted to see the need for more of God’s judgment, in addition to the cross.”

This is an excellent article on allowing God’s trust in us because of the 100% sufficiency of Christ as our life. May the Lord replace our fears with the revealing of His security/courage/peace/Finished Work.

A TALE OF TWO MIRRORS:

“ven though my new mirror did not yet need cleaning, I still tried different things to dress up the frame out of habit. After trying everything to dress up the frame, one day I sought to clean the mirror.  Surely the mirror needed cleaning by now. So, I peered into my mirror, saw my reflection, and reached to clean the surface of the mirror…and to my amazement… …to my utter amazement, the mirror had no surface, nothing to separate me from my reflection, and… …and I…I…I touched the face in the mirror!  It was then when I realized I had touched the very face of Jesus!”

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001:

“don’t understand much about the ‘why’ of this tragedy, but this I do know: God makes a person brand new in order to give him the life of His Son…and Christ’s life is sufficient for any situation! During this national distress, we will be tempted to do something to appease God’s wrath and to reclaim His favor.  But the truth is that Jesus Christ has already borne ALL of the Father’s contempt for sin and ALL of His divine judgment on the cross…for us!   God loves and adores each of His children by His amazing grace, not by what we do. ”

This is good brief article that highlights one of the defining moments of our history and our/Jesus response to it. May God reveal it to all.

ONE IOTA OF DIFFERENCE:

“Adam and Eve fell for the temptation to believe Satan’s one iota of a difference regarding the truth about God, and as a result, a division resulted between man and his relationship with God.  All of us inherited this division, this separation.  Jesus the Truth came (John 14:6) to eliminate that division by exposing all iotas in order to make us one in relationship with God (John 17:21). Believing little iota changes in God’s truths can subtly and significantly impact my relationship with God.  The following table presents some examples from my life.  Most often the difference is only one word.  God’s revealed truth nurtures my genuine communion relationship with Him.  However, just a little iota of difference in the truth tempts me to view myself as separate (divided) from God…tempting me to relate to Him as a separate Helper rather than my intimate Life.  When I fall for this temptation, stolen from me is the joy of experiencing the intimacy (oneness) that my relationship with God really is.  The undivided truth sets me free to genuinely, not religiously, relate to God and others (John 8:32, 36).    THE ONE IOTA OF DIFFERENCE   A temptation that steals the joy of my fellowship with God The truth that reveals the joy of my fellowship with God Foundational Biblical Truths God wants me to do good. God wants me! Jesus said, ‘If I am lifted up from earth, I will draw all men to Myself’ (John 12:32). I’m on fire for the Lord. I’m on fire with the Lord! You are light IN the Lord. Walk as children of light (Ephesians 5:8). I just hope for the best. I already have the best hope! The Lord Jesus Christ IS our hope (1 Timothy 1:1).”

This is a great article on the importance of truth rather than the temptation to trust a lie! One is doing it in our own strength the other is just Jesus as the truth of our heart. I agree we do not strive for victory. However I believe we rest in Jesus the victory in us. Our identity is not that we are sinners. We really are saints because Jesus is our heart and that He rose on the cross. We have Him as our new nature. I pray we know it as believers.

My Personal Psalm 23:

“…I shall not want (lack). I used to fall so short in my self-efforts to achieve goodness and happiness (Romans 3:10-12). But now the Lord has given me His righteousness as a gift (Galatians 2:20-21) and His life as my joy (Galatians 5:22, John 17:13). I am now complete in Christ and, therefore, I lack nothing (Colossians 2:9-10)!   He makes me to lie down in green pastures… God makes me lay down my self-efforts (Philippians 3:8).  The pastures where I then rest are lush green, and full of life (John 15:5). God nurtures me there in my true identity and life in His dear Son (Romans 8:16, John 6:51).   …He leads me beside the still waters. God then leads me to a quiet place to assure me of the finished work of His dear Son through the cross for re-creating me (Galatians 6:14-15). He leads me beside still waters to show me my reflection is now a reflection of Christ Himself (2 Corinthians 3:18)!    He restores my soul. This truth restores my soul (mind and emotions).  God turns my focus from temporal things to the indwelling eternal life of Christ (1 John 5:11-13). My mind is being renewed and my emotions are being healed by beholding the glory of His presence (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:20-24).   He leads me in the paths of righteousness…  God delights in ordering each of my steps (Psalm 37:23)… the unique ways Christ expresses His life through me (Colossians 1:29). Christ leads me in His righteous paths, not an external guide, but as my very life (Colossians 3:4).”

This is an incredible personal interpretation of the most common reading of the Bible at funerals for comfort/peace! It reveals we have so all of His LIFE/spirit in us if we just allow it show and not try. I pray we let Him have this control of our lives.

UNION WITH CHRIST:

” However, God doesn’t just want to help me! J  Oh how He wants to live through me in the life of His dear Son to minister to others (Galatians 2:20)!  These two attempts (at-temptations!) at ‘living’ are based on the subtle deception that I have a separate identity from Christ – that I have something in me that can do something of real value.  I do have a unique personality, but it is truly manifested only when Christ lives through me. ”

This is a good brief article on doing in our own strength vs Christ doing it through us. I disagree with the interpretation of the OT verse.

BEHOLDING CHRIST:

“true transformation comes not by doing anything, but only by beholding Christ.  Trust Him to reveal what this means.  Following  is my personal paraphrase of 2 Corinthians 3:18: Your need for striving by the law has been removed!  You are now free to be intimately one with Christ!  Look in the mirror.  When you see your face, see also the face of Christ!  It’s true!  I don’t understand it either – we will spend eternity savoring this!  So as you behold Christ now, you will be transformed on the outside to what you are completely like on the inside!  And because all of this is by grace through the Spirit, and not by your works, God is glorified.  Wow!  ”

These are fantastic one one-liners to encourage resting/not doing anything in our own strength.

YOU LISTENED TO ME:

“Our ears are the foundation of any true ministry in the body of Christ if we realize…He listens through us. I’m free!  Jesus is now real to me and to others I listen to, because for one brief moment in time…you listened to me. “

This is a fantastic article on the true Counsel/Love/Grace/and Truth

BROKENNESS:

“Brokenness is the loving work of God as He uniquely strips each of His children of his or her self-sufficiency so that the beauty of Christ’s life shines through.  Isaiah 33:17 promises that ‘Your eyes will see the King (Jesus) in His beauty.’”

I very good brief article on the meaning of “doing it in your own strength.”

USATODAY.com.

Now there are 1.1 million copies in print and, two weeks ago, FaithWords, a division of Hachette Book Group, signed on as co-publisher with Windblown. Hatchette agreed to a 500,000-copy press run in June and a national campaign in the secular market in July.

The Shack's success has changed Young's life — a little.

He no longer works three jobs running a manufacturer's sales office and working on websites. Kim still works at Gresham High School as a baker, but she's driving a new Honda. They've moved from the tiny rental house, where he wrote The Shack in the windowless basement near the washing machine, to a bigger rental nearby.

Holding hands and beaming at one of their grandchildren, the Youngs say they'd be fine if the money vanished tomorrow.

"Mack is me, a guy who has made a mess of everything," Young says. "The book takes him outside everything familiar, back to the worst experience of his life and lets him recognize God is so much greater."

Yet, as McVey, the minister from Tampa, says, "This pure grace of God has always divided people."

Mohler, Driscoll and other evangelicals pick The Shack apart plank by plank.

No, God can't be a presented as a woman. No, the three parts of the Trinity did not all become fully human. Yes, there is a hierarchy in the Holy Trinity with God the Father in command. Yes, God will punish sin.

Young shrugs them off. Out there in America, where only three in 10 people attend weekly worship services and millions are ignorant of the Bible, his readers struggle to find a good God amid their pain.

As for critics, he shakes his head.

"I don't want to enter the Ultimate Fighting ring and duke it out in a cage-match with dogmatists. I have no need to knock churches down or pull people out," he says.

"I have a lot of freedom by knowing that you really experience God in relationships, wherever you are. It's fluid and dynamic, not cemented into an institution with a concrete foundation."

"But it's not about me. I have everything that matters, a free and open life full of love and empty of all secrets."

I have not read this book but I have it on order. I just discovered I didn’t waste my money…

Let’s do a brief assessment: Love of God? Check. Grace of God? Check. Freedom? Check. Fundamentalist Evangelicalism hates it? Check. The author has such freedom in the love of Christ he’s not even bothering to fight his critics? Check. Yep, it’s gotta be good.

It’s always easy to identify quality. It’s got a clear message of the heart of God — and the, “Dogmatists,” are tearing it apart. They are not tearing it apart because of the message of grace, love and freedom though — that message they claim to espouse (though their hearts are so far from it.) No, they are tearing it apart because, as a novel, it doesn’t rigidly chant a chapter and verse based perfect literal orthodoxy in telling that story and getting its point across.

The same critics that have ignored the thousands of theological inconsistencies in the allegorical work of, oh, I donno, say C.S. LEWIS!!!!!!{SIGH} Clearly they hate the message — but lack the guts to say so…

Typology of Clergy Who Engage in Sexual Misconduct

• PSYCHOTIC & SEVERE BORDERLINES
  Impulsivity due to poor controls; sexual contact due to bizarre belief systems or theories; poor social judgment concerning actions and words; may have variety of sexual targets. Some related cases are:
  • MANIC STATE (especially when previously diagnosed; stopped taking medications)
  • ACUTE PSYCHOSIS SECONDARY TO DRUG REACTION (e.g. steroids)
  • ORGANIC/NEUROLOGICAL PROBLEM (e.g. tumor)
    
• SOCIOPATHS & SEVERE NARCISSISTIC CHARACTER DISORDERS
  Self-centered, gratification-oriented; sexual acting out varies considerably; good at manipulating & getting out of trouble; no concern for harm to others
  
• IMPULSE CONTROL DISORDERS
  Longstanding, ingrained impulsiveness, with or without substance abuse or addictions; sexual issues may be primary or secondary
  • SEXUAL IMPULSE CONTROL DISORDER
    Full range of diagnostic categories including pedophilia; sexual or aggressive needs being met by actions
  • GENERAL IMPULSE CONTROL DISORDER
    When sex is not the major area of acting out, but one area of abuse (e.g. Character Disorder)
    
• SEVERELY NEUROTIC AND/OR SOCIALLY ISOLATED
  Typically overly involved with clients & parishioners emotionally; sexual contact develops secondary to emotional involvement; however, this can become a repetitive pattern
  
• MILDLY NEUROTIC & SITUATIONAL BREAKDOWN IN OTHERWISE HEALTHY PERSON
  Having ruled out more serious pathologies and deficits, in these situations with a single victim and remorseful offender, the situational factors and timing appear to have played a major role — Rev. Marie Fortune calls these people "wanderers"
  
• UNINFORMED/NAIVE
  Having ruled out pathology and deficits, a lack of training and good organizational structure and supports appear to be the basis for boundaries crossings which set the stage for the involvement; this must be a non-predator, and the explanations cannot be rationalizations, excuses, or justifications; there should be remorse; sometimes person has a distorted view of the professional helping relationship or pastoral role and does not distinguish it from friendship

This is an exceptionally well thought out list of the underlying mental and emotional issues present in those who abuse. While targeted at ministers engaged in sexual misconduct (Admittedly an overwhelmingly large and growing subset) it would be a waste to limit it to this specific behavior or specific group.

The problem of abuse is present wherever there is the presence of power. Wherever a person is granted tacit authority over a person’s life (By virtue of age, God, science or whatever), there exists the possibility of abuse. When the person/position granted that power tends to operate without any meaningful societal constraints on his or her behavior, then that position or role will tend to attract those who desire to operate in darkness. It will attract the above personality types.

The functioning of the early Church demanded accountability. The difference is, they demanded it on a far deeper level:

Gal. 2:11 ¶ But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
Gal. 2:12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
Gal. 2:13 And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
Gal. 2:14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, “If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
Gal. 2:15 “We are Jews by nature, and not sinners from among the Gentiles;
Gal. 2:16 nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law shall no flesh be justified.
Gal. 2:17 “But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!
Gal. 2:18 “For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor.
Gal. 2:19 “For through the Law I died to the Law, that I might live to God.
Gal. 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.
Gal. 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
Gal. 3:1 ¶ You foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?
Gal. 3:2 This is the only thing I want to find out from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the Law, or by hearing with faith?
Gal. 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? Gal. 3:4 Did you suffer so many things in vain — if indeed it was in vain?

They didn’t demand accountability at the level of naughty behaviors — they demanded it at the level of surrender to the intimate Grace and Freedom of the Gospel. They demanded that at least her leaders if not also her members stand in a relationship of profound intimacy with God and in isolation from a set of rules that would put them back under the system of judgment that previously condemned them.

While, on the surface, this demand would appear to actually create the exact behaviors that were problematic through giving license, it doesn’t. When a person is captivated by an intimate life of, To quote E. Peterson’s Message translation, a life of, “What’s next Papa,” (Romans Chapter Eight) their life, by very definition, can not be dominated by shame and fear. Shame and fear are the core of most of the non-chemical personality issues and the deepest core of the last two (The ones they don’t seem to be able to figure out).

The irony is, most of our social groupings (Evangelical and otherwise) today have it precisely backwards: We tend to look at the crimes of lust and gossip in a person’s life and condemn them (Or at least call them to account) for such. We then look at the ways they are attempting to control others, inflicting the same shame and fear that drives their own hearts on them and/or demonstrating the personal conformity to the rule of law Paul took Peter to task over and we regard it as a little slip up in an otherwise righteous life. We define it as righteous because it does not exhibit the lust (or whatever) crime we feel is so bad.

Then we wonder why the world wide Church will probably pay out well over a Billion (Yes, you read me correctly) dollars by the end of this decade in compensation for sexual abuse alone, we wring our hands and we lament over why it was never stopped. The answer is simple — we forgot about what really matters.

But, that’s hardly the real tragedy — the real one is that spiritual abuse and other missuses of power often leave much larger bullet holes in a person’s heart then a clearly definable violation like sexual abuse. And, they are so much more common.

John Fischer – Chapter 33

Fear of Dancing

The Spirit of God dances. He can’t be tamed. He won’t be contained. He refuses to be confined to a weekend retreat, an evening meeting, or even a moment of devotion. He doesn’t follow schedules, programs, or agendas, and He doesn’t wait for His name to be called.

The Spirit of God dances. He dances right under the noses of those who don’t believe in dancing; and He dances right on by those who do. He dances through the assemblies of the keepers of the dance, and right on out the door — and no one sees Him go.

And as the dancers continue the empty steps of their pantomime, the Spirit of God dances on out into the streets. He dances by the harlots in the red-light districts, by the victims of AIDS in lonely homes, by bag ladies in the inner cities, and by struggling farm families across the plains. He finds the orphans and widows and dances through the lonely pain of their lives. He dances through the camps of hungry children, through the crowded streets of the oppressed, and past the wire where the South African woman is hanging out ragged laundry as well as by the scrubbed white faces sitting in church in the nearby city.

Sometimes the dance turns to mourning, but always there’s the dance. Happy dance or sad dance….the Spirit of God always dances.

His favorite dancing places are those where the keepers of the dance don’t want Him to go: on MTV, on drive-in movie screens, or on smoky stages with microphones that smell of whiskey. The Spirit of God loves sinners and dances best where life spills out on the floor.

Occasionally He dances on the clean, sweet-smelling stages of the keepers of the dance — but not as often as He would like. He dances there when the keepers need Him: when there is pain, whenever life spills out on the floor. But usually the floor is clean and the dance is simulated, carefully choreographed by the keepers of the dance to use only those steps with which they feel secure.

The Spirit of God refuses to be choreographed. His dance is raw, new, and jerky. It’s not always pleasing to the eye, but His dance is fresh in the lives of human beings whose floors have not been cleaned up. It isn’t well-rehearsed, polished, or perfect; it slips and slides, sometimes innovative and shocking and at other times just exhilarant, but it’s always real.

Most people, even those who pride themselves in their dancing, are afraid of this spontaneous dance. They’re afraid of anything they can’t control; and His dance is wild, unmanageable, even mad. But most important, it’s vulnerable, open to criticism — the quality they fear most. So they must create their own dance of predictable steps and prescribed routines and send all their people through dance school — or outlaw dance altogether.

But this should come as no surprise. It has always been this way. The Lord of the Dance himself was here once, and it was the same way then. He danced on the keepers’ holy days and broke their holy laws. His timing — if not His whole dance — always seemed offbeat. He turned the tables on their dance in the Temple as He led a solemn dance of respect through their lighthearted nonchalance. He rode along Palm Drive atop a donkey at the head of the greatest hosanna dance ever.

He wanted to turn their empty religious movements into heartfelt, joyous dancing. He wanted them to exchange the grip of the Law for the freedom of the dance. But they thought He was a clumsy dancer, always bumping into their traditions and stepping on their pious toes. He even danced with the wrong crowd, in smoke-filled rooms and on messy floors.

Once He described His generation and declared, “We played the flute for you, but you would not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn. For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ ”

No, nothing’s really changed . . . but the Spirit of God dances on.

This has to be one of my favorite quotes of all time — especially these two lines:

He dances through the assemblies of the keepers of the dance, and right on out the door — and no one sees Him go. And as the dancers continue the empty steps of their pantomime, the Spirit of God dances on out into the streets.

He wanted to turn their empty religious movements into heartfelt, joyous dancing. He wanted them to exchange the grip of the Law for the freedom of the dance. But they thought He was a clumsy dancer, always bumping into their traditions and stepping on their pious toes. He even danced with the wrong crowd, in smoke-filled rooms and on messy floors.

Chris Sligh – Empty Me – Lyrics

Empty me of the selfishness inside
Every vain ambition and the poison of my pride
And any foolish thing my heart holds to
Lord empty me of me so I can be filled with you.

Imagine you and your husband/wife gave birth to a little girl and you loved her dearly. You held her, cuddled her, you taught her to walk, you repeated things over and over to her so she could talk and you even spent endless hours feeding her obvious desire to draw and paint such that she became a rather accomplished artist.

But then, that fateful day came when your little girl, with face downcast, walked up to you and said:

“Mommy/Daddy, I suck. I’m really an awful person. I think I’m totally filled up with evil, disgusting and terrible qualities and there’s not a thing good in anything I have ever painted. Mommy/Daddy, could you please erase me and make me like you?”

Would your heart break? Would you move heaven and earth to find psychological help for her? Would you tell her in no uncertain terms that you thought she was fantastic, wonderful and totally amazing and that you loved her just as she is? Would you want to strangle whoever it was that planted that thought in her brain?

So then, exactly what is it that makes us imagine that the God who created us exactly as He wanted each of us to be, loved us enough to die for us and moved the gates of hell to give us a new, pure and washed heart would see us singing our Evangelical self-centered-contempt in the form of, “Worship,” songs in any other way?

KUTV.COM

SAN ANGELO, Tex. – A Texas appeals court said Thursday that the state had no right to take more than 400 children from a polygamist sects ranch, a ruling that could unravel one of the biggest child-custody cases in U.S. history.

The Third Court of Appeals in Austin ruled that the state offered “legally and factually insufficient” grounds for the “extreme” measure of removing all children from the ranch, from babies to teenagers.

The state never provided evidence that the children were in any immediate danger, the only grounds in Texas law for taking children from their parents without court approval, the appeals court said.

It also failed to show evidence that more than five of the teenage girls were being sexually abused, and never alleged any sexual or physical abuse against the other children, the court said.

It was not immediately clear whether the children scattered across foster facilities statewide might soon be reunited with parents. The ruling gave Texas District Judge Barbara Walther 10 days to vacate her custody order, and the state could appeal.

FLDS spokesman Rod Parker said sect members feel validated, having argued from the beginning that they were being persecuted for their beliefs.

The legal geniuses have spoken. Contrary to this foundation of American marital law:

[W]e think it may safely be said there never has been a time in any State of the Union when polygamy has not been an offence against society, cognizable by the civil courts and punishable with more or less severity. In the face of all this evidence, it is impossible to believe that the constitutional guaranty of religious freedom was intended to prohibit legislation in respect to this most important feature of social life. Marriage, while from its very nature a sacred obligation, is nevertheless, in most civilized nations, a civil contract, and usually regulated by law. Upon it society may be said to be built, and out of its fruits spring social relations and social obligations and duties with which government is necessarily required to deal. In fact, according as monogamous or polygamous marriages are allowed, do we find the principles on which the government of the people, to a greater or less extent, rests…

[P]olygamy leads to the patriarchal principle, and which, when applied to large communities, fetters the people in stationary despotism, while that principle cannot long exist in connection with monogamy…. An exceptional colony of polygamists under an exceptional leadership may sometimes exist for a time without appearing to disturb the social condition of the people who surround it; but there cannot be a doubt that, unless restricted by some form of constitution, it is within the legitimate scope of the power of every civil government to determine whether polygamy or monogamy shall be the law of social life under its dominion.

…[T]he only question which remains is whether those who make polygamy a part of their religion are excepted from the operation of the statute. If they are, then those who do not make polygamy a part of their religious belief may be found guilty and punished, while those who do, must be acquitted and go free. This would be introducing a new element into criminal law. Laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious belief and opinions, they may with practices. Suppose one believed that human sacrifices were a necessary part of religious worship; would it be seriously contended that the civil government under which he lived could not interfere to prevent a sacrifice? Or if a wife religiously believed it was her duty to burn herself upon the funeral pile of her dead husband; would it be beyond the power of the civil government to prevent her carrying her belief into practice?

So here, as a law of the organization of society under the exclusive dominion of the United States, it is provided that plural marriages shall not be allowed. Can a man excuse his practices to the contrary because of his religious belief? To permit this would be to make the professed doctrines of religious belief superior to the law of the land, and, in effect, to permit every citizen to become a law unto himself. Government could exist only in name under such circumstances.

- Reynolds v. United States, 98 U.S. 145, 165-67 (1878).

…The court of Texas now feels that their belief system does not, in fact, influence those around them or damage children and that it has no interest in offering protection to the rest of society…

It ignored the reality that they COULD prove that 5 girls were being sexually abused, that this abuse was not some random uncle sneaking in under the cover of night but, rather, a socially accepted act carried out under the premeditated sham of an illegal marriage unto which the young girl had to have been forced — seeing as she had no legal ability to consent to such. This is something that the entire community participated in through participation in the ceremonies.

It also ignored the reality that, while these marriages were not declared as such, they did, in fact exist. (It’s really only through an adherence to a legal sham of state sanctioned marriage that they could be ignored in first place…) Thus they were permitted to ignore the actual illegality of the actions in question.

The most striking irony, though, is how they are talking now — having been schooled by an army of lawyers: “We’re being persecuted for our beliefs.” Really? The Texas authorities knew the compound was there for decades — and did nothing. The seizure of children was done because the violation of children reported and discovered was a socially accepted set of actions which then left the other children there defenseless.

They admit that their beliefs advocate something contrary to American law (Though they can lie like troopers on Larry King about having no husbands…) and there is solid proof that some children were illegally married to and sexually used by those older men, yet, the connection between belief and support of action seems to have no legal credibility.

It’s a strange bending of really: “You may believe you are married but we refuse to accept that those marriages could exist. If they can not exist, then no laws have been broken and no one could be harmed by what we just decided does not exist. All that is present here is a group of people believing in a fiction and beliefs can’t harm anyone either (COUGH 911 COUGH) so they should get their children back to continue teaching them to engage in what we have decided doesn’t exist.”

Only a lawyer could make that one make sense…

Welcome to People to People Ministries

An attitude that is prevalent among Christians today is: “God’s grace gives us the ability to live up to His law.” We recognize that we are saved by grace and would even call someone a heretic who said otherwise. But when it comes to living the Christian life, many think it is done through obedience to the law. What we are doing is commingling law and grace.

You see, God did not intend for us to try to live up to the standards of the law. He knew that it was an impossibility for us. Because we can’t, the law continues to condemn us by showing us our sinfulness. That is what Paul meant when he said in Galatians 2:18, “If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker.” The law condemns us before salvation. And if we try to live up to it as a Christian, it continues to condemn us. That is the law’s purpose.

This was sent to me earlier today. I haven’t read the whole site but what I have read is refreshing. Bob George seems to be a rather remarkable exception to the legalism driven reconstituted-Judaism that passes as Christianity in about 95% of Evangelical churches in North America. (And I’m being charitable at 95%)

He’s clear, blunt, loud, unswerving and he appears to be taking it onto the airwaves — where he’s not flinching as he publicly renders Christians permanently uncontrollable to the pulpits of their former slave drivers.

Now, if we could only find about 5000 more of him in all different nationalities to drown out the noise of Rick Warren, Ted Haggard, Chuck Colson, Steve Arterburn, Doug Weiss and their ilk (And perhaps raise up a lynch mob or two as well…), the conversion of the entire world would be nearly a forgone conclusion. The Gospel is just too good to resist — that kind of love is irresistible…

But, that would require untold thousands of ministers to somehow manage to get over the grief of loosing control of their congregations to Jesus…

Q&A: Lording it over your faith:

“Does he want you to know that you can hear from God for yourself, and that no one else can hear from Him better than you … or does he tell you that God speaks to him on your behalf?  Does he create a tension between dependence upon God vs. dependence upon himself?
 
You know what I think?  I think you ask me because you already know, but are afraid you might be hearing it wrong.  That’s what I think.    Connie, you have the life of Christ within you.  I wrote what I did as a witness to what you already know, but may not have been able to put words to.  You hear from God very well and I hope to encourage you to trust what He speaks to your heart!!
 
Please feel free to write back soon, for I hope to hear from you, and to know that your confidence in HIS working within you is strengthened.”

This is a very encouraging brief article on the definition of spiritual abuse/hurt and it’s root origin. When people grow up feeling unimportant through lack of attention, affection, validation they may set themselves up as those who preach themselves. This is in contrast to Christ/His Finished Work. When others demand, it often can be because they are hiding the fact they should not be trusted. I pray all we touch know that their confidence in God’s working in them is strengthened.

Q&A: Legalism has caused me to lose my closeness with God.:

“When you read Paul’s letters, for example, make sure you notice how he always establishes the reality of who the believers really are. In Ephesians 5, Paul is addressing the believers as ”beloved children“ (v1), ”saints“ (v3), NOT ”sons of disobedience“ (v6&7), ”formerly darkness, but NOW you are light in the Lord“ (v8). His admonition was for the believers to live like the believers they were.”

This is an excellent article encouraging others not to feel legalism has forever stripped them of their feeling of the closeness of God. It reminds us to not put it on our children as it may lessen their natural love for the Lord.

Q&A: Tell me about your prayer life!:

“ I count on God’s Spirit to interpret the desires of my heart … for it is one with Christ.  The fact is that we are already IN the throne room of God all day, every day.  From within my heart – that new one created in Christ – I am always in communion and communication with God.  As I grow in this confidence I am recognizing how much a part of my life this is.  Here I was trying to make this ”prayer“ thing happen … and it had been already happening.  To have thought that my ”praying“ caused me to enter God’s throne only conflicted with the work of Christ in having already done it for me!”

Q&A: Formulating an argument against the responsibility guilt tri:

“Of course, even when believers are ”guilted“ into something our Father is able to cause this to work out for their good. This doesn’t make it ”okay“ for leaders to do such things, but actually makes it evident that such leaders are motivated and motivating by the flesh. But God is not hindered by the flesh … for His grace is only made more obvious against this lifeless backdrop!!
I have a question though: Why do you think God is in the business of convicting believers of disobedience when, in fact, He only ministers grace and life to us in Christ … because He has ALREADY made us slaves of obedience? Were you not aware of this? Somehow, we have misread the passage in John 16:7-11 so that we have assumed that this ”conviction“ is directed toward those rescued OUT of the world, instead of toward the unbelieving world itself.”

This is a fantastic article that talks about what obedience means to believers and unbelievers! I pray the churches would give the truth about the difference. Focusing on sin CANNOT TAKE SIN AWAY US, JESUS ALREADY DID FOR BELIEVERS.

Q&A: Chastisement in view of development, not shortcomings!:

“WE are the ones who have a problem recognizing it. Just because His dealings may SEEM to line up with injuries or trials or what-have-you, we are the ones who will try to figure out what GOD might be doing by things that may have no connection whatever!!
Some thoughts:
Do your back injuries really have to be considered as ”chastisements“ at all? Could they not just be a weakness and/or an injury? Then again, might this incident not end up being a ”gift“ as our father works all things together for your good? I think we have been trained to be very, very superstitious in our ”Christian“ upbringing.”

This is a good reminder that God sees us/others according to our reality in Christ, if we believe in Jesus/His Work for us. We are the ones who have the problem recognizing it.

Q&A: Are we still chastened by the Lord?:

“I can know, good or bad, that He loves me and is not thwarted by all that crap. He didn’t bring us into a life that needs to be made better … but into a life that is connecting to everything I am and everything I do!”

THIS IS AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE THAT WE DO NOT HAVE TO TRY TO BE better. God seemed to say trusting Him is the OUTCOME. HE DOESN’T MAKE US LOVE HIM.

Q&A: Did Paul write this letter to unbelievers, too?:

“But he made no mistake about those who were born of the Spirit and had the mind of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, where Paul could have slammed the believers for their sinning (because they were indeed manifesting many of the things he mentioned) he instead says this incredible thing, ”And such WERE some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God.“ Remember what Paul had said near the beginning of the letter? ”For I determined to know NOTHING AMONG YOU EXCEPT CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED.“ (1 Cor 2:2). He brought up examples of their day-to-day existence to tie it in with the mindset of the world so that they would be shaken from their stupor! These believers were having an identity crisis!! (Our brother) is correct in saying that, ”ALL Believers by birthright, love the Lord“.”

This is an incredible article on not letting the wisdom of the world/religion DULL THE REALITY OF THE NEW MIRACULOUS WORK OF JESUS/LOVE IN THEM FOR BELIEVERS . WE ARE JUST TO FOCUS ON HIM AND NOT SIN. This is my prayer. Amen.

Q&A: How do I know my questions aren’t from having “itchy ears”?:

“ Most who hang with me STILL have a lot of personal differences, but we have discovered that those things are not the reason why we are one in Christ and so it is ok to not have to resolve everything. Heck, most of it just kinda fades away in view of the life that we have our eyes open to. Those who turn away do so because of a desire for something OTHER THAN CHRIST. It is so sad to see this happen, but it happens often. Your desires are obvious. You got beat up by man’s religion and finally realized that you couldn’t do or be what they preached. I’ll bet you also realized that those who were doing the preaching weren’t meeting up to the standards they preached! So, if it doesn’t work for the preacher why would you think it’ll work for you? This is how the law operates. It’ll tear you up and spit you out and you’ll go back for more until you finally break. Then the good news sounds FANTASTIC! As it should.

”

This is an encouraging article on only focusing on Jesus and His sufficiency. It is not about being stimulated intellectually enough or being recognized for doing good enough, especially in churches. This is true love and acceptance. It enables us to stay in relationships even though we are different.

Q&A: If I don’t understand the scriptures am I not saved?:

“Understanding the scriptures never saved anyone. Actually, it was those who thought they understood the scriptures who rejected Christ the loudest. Your fear comes from the intimidation of the religious self-righteous mindset. You have felt that suggestion that if you don’t know it then you don’t know God. But we know God because His Spirit is in us and not because how much Bible we know or don’t know. That part is actually irrelevant. The Bible declares Jesus … and Jesus declares us righteous. The fear is not of God, so don’t believe it.

”

I pray there would be no shame about not reading the bible or fear one will not go to Heaven. His love is in us and that is Him. I feel if we believe in Jesus we will be there. May it be so.

Children’s Services | Sibling Rivalry:

“Sibling rivalry is less about the relationship between your children, than it is about their relationship with you, their parent. Each of them wants you to love them and them alone. They don’t want to share you.”

Children’s Services | Turn Your Words Into Gold:

“Don’t come back to the room until you can show some respect!Feel free to come back to the room as soon as you can be respectful!Stop arguing with me!I’ll be glad to discuss this with you as soon as the arguing stops.If you forget your lunch, you’ll just have to go hungry.”

These are good grace-based communications so kids will be more open to listen when you talk.

Q&A: Using the Bible to promote bogus religion:

“We have come to speak in terms of ”believing“ when the word ”opinion“ would more accurately describe our relation to the concept or idea that is being discussed or declared. But we don’t usually want to say we ”THINK“, or that this thing is our ”opinion“ because it sounds less authoritative or less personal or perhaps, less godly and more scientific.  The fact of the matter is that our religious world has presented us with the idea that our ”beliefs“ consist of the teachings we hold, instead of IN WHOM we believe – and this has created MANY bogus ideas.  Are you following me so far, ”

This is a very good article that outlines the problems with why people blindly follow what they think the Bible says. It seems right. When we claim a verse we are standing in agreement with God. We were taught we had to believe the Bible so we would know what was true — but we were never taught to think over what it is, who it was written to or what it was written to accomplish.


Fear of infidelity towards God causes so many people to hang on to lies that others have told them.

God give us Your discernment to give You the fear. Cleanse us from it completely. Amen.

Q&A: but what if our perspective is wrong?:

“nderstanding ”truth“ and understanding the Bible were the same thing. Maybe that strikes you odd coming from someone who so clearly holds to the teachings of the Bible. It would have appeared so to me at one time … and still does every now and again, believe me. But we know ”truth“ for one reason and one reason only, and that is because Christ has become wisdom to us. We know Christ, who IS the truth. ”But you have an anointing from the Holy One, AND YOU ALL KNOW. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, BUT BECAUSE YOU DO KNOW IT, and because no lie is of the truth.“ 1 John 2:20&21 ”

This is a good article that states as we grow/rest in confidence in Christ who is truth/set us free, we will not be so concerned about misunderstanding the Bible. May the life of Jesus that is uncovered be clearly and accurately spoken. Amen.

Q&A: How do you read the Bible and get what you do out of it?:

“When I see Christ as my life I see Him in everything in my everyday life … I even see Him in the Bible! hahaha! How’s that as flip-flop kinda way to view Biblical interpretation? Just remember, the stuff you have read from me has been the same kind of stuff you are wondering about. I just KNEW there was something wrong with so many of the accepted viewpoints, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I’ll be honest, I NEVER thought that I would uncover so many things in the Bible. But know this: Bible knowledge does NOT equal true knowledge. Actually, true knowledge, which is what we have received already, is what MIGHT allow us to understand some of the PERCEIVED Biblical contradictions. Just realize that what you end up discovering by seeing the original intent of the written word is the SAME REALITY that you KNOW in your heart to be true: that you are REALLY free in Christ through what He did for you in His death, burial, and resurrection.”

This is an excellent section stressing to focus on Christ/His freedom in us!

Q&A: The Damned Oldness of the Letter:

“ mostly hear bondage in the so-called ”defense“ of the ”inspired word of God“.  That damned oldness of the letter!!!  I can hear so clearly the words of the religious as they stood upon the inspired words of Moses!!  Hypocrites we were, huh?  Written words, written standards, written modes of comparison, written traps of logic, written formulas, written principles – all supposedly brought to completion in one leather-bound volume that is said to be the only source by which we can know God and/or truth.  Yuck, puke, vomitous lies all intended to bring us back under a ”written in stone“ kind of relationship with God that never worked before and can never work in any circumstances!!! 
 
Law came through Moses, Grace came through Christ!!!”

The is a excellent, bold, and brief article explains the difference between law and Christ. I pray the lies of only knowing God and His truth from the Bible would be replaced in believing Him/His Finished Work in us. Believers are new/soft/willing at every moment in our heart and not sinners. Although we do have the choice to live under the law which seems to create hardness/disobedience of the heart. This tends to leads to sin.

Q&A: How do I tell my kids about different religions and beliefs?:

“every group has its problems because every group is made up of other people who are just as confused as you and I are, and that the reason you favor one group over another is that, at least in what you can determine, there is a stronger general leaning toward the miraculous reality of Christ, and that this is the only reality that will cut through our confusion.* Don’t be afraid to tell them that many groups are simply built around the name and concept of Christianity and have become social clubs … and may be pretty good social clubs if you were to ignore the religious factors.* religions will often shift and sometimes do things simply to protect itself.* are you prepared to go elsewhere if the group is causing more harm than good in your family?

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This is a good article on questions to consider about church/regligion and Life being found in Christ alone. It is not solely in a group.

Q&A: My daughter just told me she is a lesbian:

“also realize that grace does not teach us that we are supposed to be accepting of perverse behavior, but that this is what we have been delivered out of. In Christ, ALL OF IT has been condemned EQUALLY. Christ’s death and resurrection did not make it OK, He put it to death and has raised US to new life.”

This is a really clear brief article that encourages us to say when we feel hurt/fear, the impact, over others choices, as this is our heart, and that we do love that individual. As well we can ask for limits so their free will has less of an affect on us. This is the treasure of grace and honesty in the freedom of Christ’s work on the cross. I pray we can all do it.

Q&A: Christ and my job:

“Just remember that we are not bound by the rules of the world,
including the (company) world. Their rules are THEIR rules, they are not OUR
rules. I have found I can submit to THEIR rules simply because I know
who I am because of who is my life. They want me to take out the trash,
I can take out the trash. They want me to fill out a form, no problem.
My freedom is not found in resisting their sometimes silly or
superfluous rules, my freedom is found in the reality that I am truly
free in Christ.  I have discovered time and time again that the life of
Christ has blown away the idea that I need their rules in order to
truly accomplish the real stuff.”

This is a good article on the difference between living under the law vs Christ. Unrealistic demands and definitions will not produce love for God, others or ourselves.

Q&A: Learning grace:

“ I wrote to him quite a few times after that but never heard back from him till this day.It was a very hurtful, but VERY strengthening time of my life. As much as I had learned from it, I saw how systematic theology was easily maneuvered to establish a measuring stick to judge another’s spirituality to determine if someone ”gets it“ or not. I have come to see that ALL spiritual knowledge is exactly that: spiritual. No one achieves a higher level because they understand more. You know what I have learned from all my understanding from Him? That in Him there are no differences because His Spirit has truly made us one!! True understanding comes as my ”measuring sticks“ keep getting snapped and I once again have my eyes opened to the measureless life of Christ who is MY life. Wow!! < << God has worked on my heart (he is so patient!) for many years, teaching me his precious grace. I am a slow learner :-) >>>It sounds like you and I have MUCH in common. It has taken a LONG time for me to learn of this grace … but I think that this is the only way we really learn it. Oh, some may learn an awful lot of ”information“ about the grace of Christ (I’ve had that happen from time to time), but since grace is NOT a ”doctrine“ but LIFE itself it is slowly being worked through us. It truly is so much better than just getting some kind of ”degree of achievement“, isn’t it? ”

This is a great article on only judging all truth by God. May it be so.

Q&A: Where did you learn all this about grace and the Bible?:

“That something that keeps drawing you back to the truth that seems frightening is the very life of God within you. You have already made it obvious to me that something seems wrong to you about the fear-based teachings you have learned. Who do you think really makes you know that? Yeah, the Spirit of God within you. The reason that the freedom of Christ makes a connection with you is that it speaks to the real you … the one who has been set free. His Spirit witnesses with your spirit. Book knowledge will always be something that you try to apply, but the knowledge of God actually works within you.”

This is a solid article on encouraging us not be satisfied with finding an answer to have one or sticking to basic teachings of the “Christian” religious faith. This security/safety may not be of God.

Q&A: Fearful of the stigma for believing a certain truth:

“When it all comes down to the bottom line our
”beliefs“ and ”issues“ (even a belief labeled ”the completeness of the
cross“) are usually shown up to be little more than our intellectual
leanings at a given time … and real faith is revealed as being the
miraculous reality of Christ that it really is.”

This is a good brief encouragement. I pray we wouldn’t be afraid of stigmas for believing certain truths. Lord give us the freedom to share for connection, knowing that you are constantly renewing our minds.

Q&A: Trying to find that magical place of filling:

“Like you, I have seen that cold, clean and empty ”doctrinal“ stance taken by many who talk as if receiving the Spirit is merely technical, or ”positional“, and not really real … when you get down to it. I have also seen the desperation that comes from trying to reach that magical place that might be called ”filled“, etc. Neither ”side“ has exclusive rights to that desperation, either, for I come from a non-charismatic background and we tried over and over again to ”get IT back“ … whatever ”it“ may mean … devotional, filled, sold-out, mature, vibrant, ”a man after God’s own heart“, etc. You know much of the terminology.”

This is an excellent description of what it means to “try” rather than “resting” in believing in the Finished Work of Christ.

Q&A: What about those who don’t get it yet?:

“When those who are born of God are confronted with this freedom of Christ they are being hit with so many ”Christian“ concepts that are in opposition to it. Remember your own experiences … and remember who REALLY got the reality across to you: the Spirit of God.So, speak the life of Christ … and plan on being misunderstood … but know that HE is the one who is working all things together for our good!Jim”

This is an encouraging article for discernment. The thing that we didn’t think we/others got was that we already got and have it, the reality of the freedom of the Finished Work of Christ!

Q&A: Why do I still feel rejection when I know better?:

“ It’s going to hurt when it is
being demanded that you are inferior, less-than, below, beneath, of no
value, etc.  The good news is that the feeling brings focus and clarity
to the specific manifestation of the lie’s insistence.  You are put in
the most wonderful place of recognition of the life Christ, as it is
being demanded that even in this exact place where condemnation once
held you have you been set free!!  These wonderful feelings pinpoint or
undercover those former places of fear, shame, guilt, and condemnation,
etc so that you are being made aware of how all-emcompassing this
reality of life in Christ really is!”

This is a good article on our response to feeling a lack of love. We do not have to retaliate/judge. We just use it to grieve the past and give up lies that we are inferior.

Q&A: So many opinions thrown at me because of Christ:

“The answer to your dilemma is NOT found in being able to answer all the Biblical questions that are used to contradict the life of Christ in you … because those questions will NEVER stop. Having said that, realize that there ARE NO BIBLICAL CONTRADICTIONS to the life and freedom we have in Christ … they have only appeared to be so because the written words have been forced into our religious perceptions”

This is a good article that outlines the fears of the religious in order to be empathetic.

Q&A: Can a believer live any way he pleases?:

“Can a born again believer live anyway he wants to and still be saved? >>>
This is a very common question. So common in fact that you may wonder why you don’t find it listed somewhere in the Q&A section. I suppose there are two related reasons.

1) There is a whole section (one of the very first added to the Shovel web site) devoted to the matter, and
2) The question pops up either rephrased or as an unspoken but underlying premise to many of the questions I hear.
The questions you’ve asked all pertain to a ”Christianity“ based upon a SOMETHING and not a SOMEONE. Being ”saved“ may include a lot of somethings, but only in relation to the one who has not only done these things but has also become the life of those who are ”saved“.”

This is a very clear article that we are to judge only by the spirit and not the flesh. We only see believers with Jesus in them period! I pray so.

Q&A: My “foothold” in dealing with slippery matters:

“You commented on my ”foothold“ in dealing with slippery matters, and it got me to thinking about how I have come to such a place.  I can tell you that it didn’t happen because of all my attempts to get a handle on it, but in spite of them!!  ”

This is a refreshing article that states the only answer we need it Jesus when asked about the hope/answer we possess.

Q&A: Is Romans 7 our continuing reality in Christ?:

“ The mind of the
flesh cannot see past its own demise, extend beyond its own
confinement, nor understand a choice it cannot make. No wonder
something within us balks at fleshly interpretations of the expressions
of another dimension, that is, from the real.

You are absolutely correct, Romans 7 does not define or lay out our
continuing reality in Christ. Instead, it describes ”the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus“ that cannot nor will not be contained,
controlled or defined by the delusion brought on by the fleshly mind.
It demands that who you really are in Christ is not made up of a blend
between the two, but of a life that cannot help but see through the
conclusions of ”the law of sin and death“.”

This is a good article outlining the confusions of the law. I pray we see that our struggle to figure it out may be the flesh. May God allow us to rest in His Spirit.

Q&A: Can we help or hinder the work of God in our own lives and others?:

“ regarding your situation with your wife. What does your heart desire toward her? Do you often feel stifled from holding back from sharing life with her in some form or another? Do you keep your mouth shut in fear of screwing things up? Believe me, I understand all this.
I mean, it’s obvious to me that you don’t want her to get into a ”frenzy“, but I suspect you would love to share the life together with her in a very real and living way. True? But you often wonder, ”What’s the use?“, because you know God has to take care of it in His own way. But ”God’s way“ involves US into the sharing of His life. And you have known this desire in a powerful way.”

This is an excellent article regarding the difference between the religious meaning of ministry and the powerful desire of talking about reallife. Even though we are afraid to promote error, it seems to be God’s way that involves us into the sharing of His life. Our knowing the Lord is the one who does the real work truly frees us to be confident in our sharing.

Q&A: Can someone “walking in the Spirit” believe he has 2 natures?:

“it’s not surprising to discover that even ”scriptural“ points of view will get infused with the very same fleshly attitude of the one telling it.  As a prime example, I’m sure both of us have heard God’s wonderful grace incorporated into an arrogant doctrinal stance where those who ”hold“ it will somehow see themselves as if they deserve it.  Well, enough of that, you had another question, didn’t you?  ”

This is a good article that explores two senses of walking the Spirit.
1.) As believers we are always in the Spirit 2.) We either live by the frame of mind that we walk by our efforts or by grace. I pray God allows it be clear for all of us.

Q&A: How do I allow Christ to live thru me?:

“”I was trying.“ Through repeated attempts, I was failing again and again. >>>I don’t think we ever really get to an end of our ”trying“, but our Father builds within us a quicker recognition of these vain attempts. It’s cool to find yourself thinking, ”Been there, done that!“ as you become more and more convinced that everything else is futile, except Christ … who is in us.”

This is a very good article regarding focusing on thanking God for giving us continued insights. this is to cause us to recognize the difference between trying and God’s doing in us. It is also a good discussion on the desires we have within us to please/love our parents and God. The fact God loves you has also been embedded in us.

Q&A: Does sarcasm have any place in the truth?:

“The INTENT of both Jesus and Paul was NOT to put down or insult, but to build up and encourage. They spoke in ways that caused the hearers to hear the truth by seeing the absurdity of the ”wisdom“ they grew up with. There are many instances of a ”subtle“ or ”witty“ use of reasoning in the language of Paul that might be described as ”tongue in cheek“.”

This is a good article discussing the purpose of giving truth. I pray that as we listen to the ears of the Spirit that all believers possess we allow God to infuse the understanding of Christ into all.

Q&A: Are NT commands the Lord’s “to do” list?:

“It seems your friend has grossly misread what Jesus actually said, but
it is a common mis-perception based upon a mind of legal expectations.
For it is not upon every word that PROCEEDED or CAME out of God’s mouth
… but every word that PROCEEDS or COMES from God’s mouth. A big, a
huge, a colossal difference!

Now, as the son of man, Jesus lived according to what he quoted. He
could do nothing other. However, it was not the words of God that had
been written on stone that Jesus lived by, for the dead letter did
nothing for him. In fact, the Pharisees were often offended by his
flagrant disregard of what they had considered ”Every word that CAME
out of the mouth of God“.

Jesus himself saw his father’s doings and did what he did; he heard his
voice and spoke his words. He lived by every word that was coming out
of the mouth of his father.”

This is an excellent article on not using the Bible as God’s to do list for us. I pray all would knock themselves out (come to the end of themselves) trying to “do it” so we all can be open to listening and doing His true will His way.

Shovel Writings: 1 Timothy 1:15-16 in context:

“the bottom line of the good news of Christ is ”love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.“  As I had already summarized these in a previous Shoveletter I’ll just paste it below:
LOVE FROM A PURE HEART: Would Paul be referring to anything other than the love that flows from a heart that has been purified by the power of the risen Christ and indwelt by the Spirit of God? Timothy already knew this from having learned from Paul himself. It is in hearing the good news of Christ that our hearts are stimulated to real love for one another for it declares WHO our real life is and WHO is also our real connection with one another.
A GOOD CONSCIENCE: This is nothing less than a conscience that has been set free from sin and made alive to God through Christ. This is the conscience of one who is given confidence through the good news of Christ that there is NO MORE remembrance of sin.
A SINCERE FAITH: Sincere means genuine or real, and it has nothing to do with that pathetic ATTEMPT at sincerity that is often thrust upon us by the religious mind. The only ”sincere“ faith that has ever occurred has been the faith we have received in Christ. It is REAL because something has been done to us to cause us to actually be DEPENDENT UPON God – Christ has become our life. Paul was drawing a contrast between REAL faith and PROFESSED faith. In other words, one was the real stuff, the other, merely hot air.”

This is an excellent article for those dealing with conflict. Yes the law keeps order for the unbelievers. However I pray we can show the mercy of God as he did for Paul, one of the worst of sinners. No one is too far gone. “God do not allow us to hold back Your grace towards unbelievers. ”Do not allow us to see believers as sinners.“ The have just forgotten who they are in You.

Shovel Writings: 1 Corinthians 11:

“”For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep“
I think he was referring to their obvious conditions during the celebration (something you had asked me about as I remember).  These were probably all-day affairs.  Some came hungry and left hungry.  Others ate and drank all day.
Many were weak – it was in direct relation to the arrogance of those who despised them. Many were sick – while some had nothing, others were gorging themselves on food and drink. A number sleep – drunk and passed out.
All because of how they viewed themselves and each other.  The coming together for judgment is the very real performance-based judgment they were manifesting toward one another.  If we judged ourselves rightly this wouldn’t be happening among us because we would be viewing one another through Christ.  But even when this happens God is not forsaking us but is continually disciplining (training as children) us.  For if He didn’t stay with us in this we would be condemned along with the world.
Listen to the simplicity of this one thing that Paul suggests: wait for one another.  It is a message of their common unity in Christ.”

This is an exciting article on the meaning of true communion! It offer hope that sin is no longer an issue for believers or unbelievers! The Good News of Jesus raises those still dead and convinces those who have been alive as to the life of Jesus in them!!!

Shovel Writings: 1 Corinthians 5:

“grace, wonderful grace. For here we have the privilege of reminding one another what Christ has done for us and is doing IN us! And in this, we ourselves are blessed for we end up reminding ourselves of our true ”righteousness“ at the same time. And then, when that brother (or sister) is ”restored“ all are encouraged and reminded that this life is indeed miraculous.”

This is a great article on where our encouragement for restoration needs to be and the way it is achieved. It is only through reminding one another of their and our righteousness in Christ. May He do it through us.

Shovel Writings: What about God’s anger against the churches in Revelation?:

“Attention can be given to discernment while forgetting the simplicity of Christ (Ephesus). It is important to realize that suffering is all part of life in Christ (Smyrna). When the stumbling block -law- is taught, sin is produced (Pergamum). Be careful of those ”ministers“ who promote themselves (Thyatira). ”Form“ can give the illusion of godliness but there is no life in it (Sardis). Encouragement to hold fast is worthwhile (Philadelpia). Looking at ourselves stimulates a self-righteousness (Laodicea). There is much more in this. I do believe it gave much encouragement to the believers as they went through the great persecution that followed. It reminded them that the blessings of ”the overcomers“ (this only fits in the context of the miraculous work of Christ … see 1 John 5:4&5) would eventually be revealed. ”

This is an excellent synopsis of hearing what the Spirit says to the churches.