Jesus Turned All of Humanity Around

Here’s today’s Celebrating God’s Good News: Jesus Turned All Of Humanity Around

Why You Sometimes Feel “Lost” and at Other Times “Found”!

Feeling “lost” means you know, WITHOUT A DOUBT, that you have a place where you belong - a home!!! Feeling “found” is an indication that you are somehow already at home! Now, let’s see if we can sort out where (Who) home REALLY is, and why you can or can’t see or sense it!

Have you ever wondered, “Who am I?”, “Why do I exist?”, “Why am I here?”, “What am I supposed to be doing?” or, “What will happen to me after I die?” Of course you have!!! Here is a basic, practical, real life, Christian response to those questions (that you already know deeply within your soul by God’s grace (I John 2:20-21!!)

The truth is, you can only be “lost” if you already KNOW you have a home! Lost doesn’t make sense otherwise! The problem is, like a drunk staggering around in his own hometown, we get confused IN God’s Life when we don’t see ourselves according to Jesus Christ, and Who he is in His relationship with the Triune God (Col 2:8-10!) So, Who is God?

The Triune God Who created us is a Union of 3 Distinct or “Different” Persons – The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit. The Father is not the Son, and the Son is not the Father. The Holy Spirit is not the Father or the Son, and the Father and the Son are not the Holy Spirit. God has distinct Persons but each Person has the same motives, intentions and love – the same Essence and Being (Gen 1:26, Matt. 28:19, Luke 3:21-22)!

The thing that is so amazing about Triune God is that the 3 Persons of God give themselves to each other so freely, openly and willfully that God is in total unity! He is so close and intimate in His Being, that when you see one Person of God – you really see the other Persons. This is why He reveals that He is only One God and what we should mean when we say that there is only One God! The only way to speak of their closeness, humanly, is to say that the distinct Persons of God actually live IN each other!

To think of the three Persons of God as anything less than One is to betray God’s Union and Intimacy! In other words, the three Persons of the One God share every thing AND every thought He has. The Father, Son and Spirit have no secrets from each other, and never do anything behind each others backs. This is why God is sometimes called “The Trinity” or “The Triune God.” Trinity and Triune both mean “Three in Unity.” To know one of the Persons’ of God the Trinity, is to know the others, that is how intimate and close He is in His One Being! (Mark 12:29) Isn’t that beautiful? This Triune God created everything that exists and that is why you and I long for such relationships ourselves! Haven’t you ever noticed that even animals and pets can’t stand being alone??? This relational God created them, too! (Gen 1:1-26, Job 38, 39, 40:1, Heb 11:3)!

Whenever the Bible speaks of “God”, it does NOT mean a single, individual “old wise man with a pointy beard, hat, and professor glasses” called God. Sometimes we do call God the Father, “God,” but we understand that He is equal in relationship with the other two Persons of God – the Son and the Spirit. When we say “God” we are always talking about 3 distinct Persons – The Father, The Son and The Spirit, Who are in permanent, relational union! It is kind of like understanding the words “family” and “team” (One unit with multiple, yet equal, members.) This doesn’t mean that there are three Gods, because there is only One God, but it does mean 3 distinct Persons in the ONE BEING, or Relationship of God (I Cor 12:4-6, II Cor 13:14)!

“One” in the Godhead means “Oneness”. This Triune God is so loving and giving in His relationship that God has always been completely fulfilled and has never needed a thing. Triune God has never needed anyone or anything else in order to be completely satisfied, happy and filled with joy (Acts 17:24-25.) There never was, never is, and never will be anything negative, bad or “dark and shady” in Triune God’s relationship (I John 1:5.) There always has been, and always will be a Spirit of Love and Sharing in God’s relationship that is positive and good (I John 4:16.)

God the Trinity enjoy such a perfect relationship that He decided He was not going to keep this Relationship to Himself. It’s too good! As we might say on the “street”, God’s relationship is “all that plus a bag of chips!” God the Father, Son and Spirit wanted to share Their One life freely with, and give it to others as a pure gift.

Pay attention, cause this is where our “lostness” and “foundness” come in!

Triune God wanted to adopt others into Their One union so that others could experience God’s EXACT relationship. This is what the bible means by the term “Adopt” and this is what the New Testament means by the word “Adoption.” Triune God was intent on including us in every part of God’s life (and have already done it in Jesus - Eph 1:3-5!) Because God the Trinity existed before there was anything called a Creation, He was going to have to make creation in order to adopt it. The first thing He decided was that He was going to make distinct beings who could share His life with Him - US!

But the fact and question arose: How could Triune God get Creation into Their One relationship?! After all, if you are not God, then you can’t somehow become God! Something created CANNOT become something uncreated! The only thing God could do without turning you into a robot (which would be the end of the real you!) would be for God the Trinity to somehow become a Creature. God would also have to remain a Creature (while also remaining God), if God was going to get other Creatures into His One Relationship and keep them there, permanently. That makes sense, doesn’t it?

That is where Jesus, the God/Man, comes in, but we’ll fill in more of those details in another post! For now, know that you can only feel a sense of lostness because you come from, and are included in, the life of the Triune God Who created you. You are home in God, and your soul knows this! But for many different reasons, you simply aren’t experiencing your union with God in Jesus as Jesus is experiencing it - thus a sense of “lostness”. On the other hand, when you feel “found” to any degree, this also has its roots in your union with God in Christ, in Whom you have been found and included before you were even born or had a chance to ”vote”! You are home in God and your soul knows this, and because this is the truth of your life, you are rightly experiencing it to some degree!

What the Bible Cannot Ever Be Saying…

…is just as important as knowing what the Bible IS saying!!!

Inquiring minds want to know, don’t they? From the time we are children we enjoy a great game of hide-and-seek. We find (only to run and hide, count to 10 and seek yet again)! There is a real thrill in seeking because, deeply, as creatures involved in a relationship with the Father, Son and Spirit, seeking speaks to us of more good things in relationship to discover and enjoy forever! And who doesn’t want to enjoy more good things in relationship, forever and ever?! Even the evil creatures want other people who think like them to relate with (Mark 5:9)!

King Solomon notes that seeking is part of humanity’s share in God’s glory! In Proverbs 25:2, he writes, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.”- NASB.  In other words, part of being who we are as distinct creatures is the hope in our hearts that comes from wanting to discover more heavenly treasure EVERYWHERE and FOREVER! Triune God’s glory is for us to find His riches hidden in the Love of His Creative Imagination, and it’s no wonder we are able to experience Jesus’ pleasures forevermore!!! Psalms 16:11!

I REALLY LIKE how the Douay-Rheims bible translates Proverbs 25:2. It reads, “It is the glory of God to conceal the word, and the glory of kings to search out the speech.” I actually think that translation is more faithful to how we are to be interpreting the bible, based on what Jesus demonstrated (Luke 24:25-27)! The glory of God is Jesus, the Word, Who is mysteriously, and not so mysteriously, hidden everywhere and in everything  (Matt 13:33)! The glory of we Kings (and we all ARE Kings because Jesus has taken everything He created and sustains into Himself, His Kingdom, and His Relationship with His Father and the Spirit in His own Human Body - Revelation 1:5-6), is to search out the Word, or Speech of Triune God! Ha-Ha! FAN-TASTIC!

Briefly, here is the good and bad in all of this. The Good is:

1.) Everything and Everyone, including you, lives in Jesus (Acts 17:2 , Who created and sustains everything, so we will all be around forever to discover and seek out more new and good things in Him!

2.) Because Jesus placed us in his relationship with His Father in the Spirit 2000 years ago, there is plenty to find everywhere in everything, RIGHT NOW! (If you believed there was REAL gold underneath your house, RIGHT NOW, would you wait until you got your car paid off in 5 years to start digging it up and enjoying it?! Ha-Ha! Hardly!)

3.) Even if you can’t see or find the Treasure of Jesus in too many places just yet, you don’t have to be too discouraged, because you will always have tomorrow to keep searching! To be Gospel honest, Jesus is the ONLY ONE Who is really searching for good things in and through you (Phil 2:13) and He will continue to share His exact faith with you for tomorrow (and have faith for you Gal 2:20) so you don’t stress out too badly before tomorrow’s search arrives!

4.) We can read every passage in the bible knowing that whatever the scriptures may seem to be saying about apparent darkness, separation, hell, weeping and gnashing of teeth, pain, suffering, and bad decisions we can make provoked by lies and evil, THE SCRIPTURES DON’T, AND CANNOT EVER MEAN THAT SOME PEOPLE ARE NOT INCLUDED OR IN UNION WITH THE FATHER, SON AND SPIRIT! WHEREVER JESUS IS, HUMANITY AND ALL THINGS ARE (2 Cor 5:14)! WE ARE WHO WE ARE IN JESUS AND WE CAN NEVER ESCAPE THAT REALITY! NO PARABLE, ILLUSTRATION, WORD OF JESUS in RED, OR STORY IN SCRIPTURE IS EVER SPEAKING OF A PERSON LIVING OUTSIDE OF A CONNECTION WITH CHRIST! IF SOMETHING IS IN EXISTENCE, IT IS IN PERMANENT UNION WITH GOD IN JESUS (Col 3:3-4)!

It can only be talking about how we are existing with in our union with God in Christ! In fact, I believe this is the Truth that will forever bug people in hell (opposing UNION); they won’t be able to REALLY get out of their relationship with the Triune God Who Loves and passionately pursues them, and includes them in Jesus, forever!!! This will be their saving grace as well!

Here is the bad:

1.) Because of all the good Truth mentioned above, when you don’t believe the Truth of Who Jesus is, AS JESUS DOES, you can get overly frustrated in your searching and begin to experience and believe every good thing in a negative way - EVEN THE BIBLE (John 5:39)!! Haven’t you ever seen a little child play hide-and-seek and NOT be able to find anyone? They get all frustrated and negative and start crying and getting mad at those who are hiding; sometimes screaming “I quit!” and then all the fun and games, literally, “go to hell” and no one is having much fun anymore, especially the little seeking child!

BUT THEN, what happens so many times after that (at least if there is a mature adult around?) The “hiders” will come out of hiding or allow a piece of themselves to be seen so that the child doesn’t get overly discouraged. They will say things like “You found me!, or “It’s alright, you did good!”, or “Don’t ever give up searching, because we are out there!”, or “Now you know where the good hiding spots are!”, OR, they will literally pop out RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SEEKER’s FACE (maybe under some leaves), where the seeker was searching hopelessly, or almost trouncing on!!

Jesus said it best reagrding his children (all of us!), as recorded in Matthew 7:7-11 in The Message bible, “Don’t bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn’t a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we’re in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn’t think of such a thing. You’re at least decent to your own children. So don’t you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?”

I wrote all of this to say: DON’T be overly frustrated by the scriptures that seem to oppose your adoption and inclusion in the life of God! They can’t possibly oppose the fact of Jesus, and you’ve got a lifetime in Jesus to share in His understanding of how they make sense! The bible does not come from a relationship of confusion, but the harmonious relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit! Simply ask God to help you see the Truth, and He’ll reveal His Son, Who is intimately involved in everything and everyone! The Father, Son and Spirit are GOOD! And if we, being evil, reveal ourselves in a game of hide-and seek to a frustrated child, how much more will the Triune God reveal Himself to those Who seek Him????????????

Our Passion To Find Lost Things!

Here’s today’s Celebrating God’s Good News: Our Passion To Find Lost Things!

An Exciting Gospel Conference is Coming Near You!!!

IF you REALLY want it to (and can get other congregations and people near you to join Jesus in His self-giving and make it happen!!)

Yes, I just returned from the single best Good News Conference I have ever been too (Perichoresis Richmond), and believe me, I have been to a lot of them!! Everyone I personally know who attended and I have talked with agrees with me, too! The excitement of it all was still so palatable on our Gospel receiving tongues, that more members from my local congregation piled into my house the Wednesday after tho share in more of it together!! 

It really was a pretty affordable event, and at only $35 a person for adults (under age 18, $10 each), which included 2 great meals from Jason’s Deli, and lots of snack time, fellowship time, and late starting times, and early finishing times - how could it go wrong?! We got LOTS of good feedback on a more relaxed scheduled that allowed time for eating and relating with others, sleeping in, 3 to 4 hours of celebrating Triune God’s Good News of our Adoption and Inclusion (without all the “ifs”, “buts”, “maybe’s” and guilt trips that seem to follow so many “gospel” presentations), and plenty of time to rest in the evening!

I have received many calls and e-mails agreeing with how good it all was! What made it so? Don’t we mean, WHO made it so? Well, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit of course, in an Incarnational way through Dr. Baxter Kruger, of Perichoresis Ministries, Paul Young, author and writer of the national best selling book “The Shack”, Vanessa Kersting, Psalmist and singer of the Good News, Umoja, a gifted group of dancers from a WCG congregation in New Jersey (24/7 Community Church), and, Richmond Grace Fellowship, our host church for the conference!

Paul Young came BLAZIN out of the gates as one of the most FREE Men in Jesus I have ever seen (and stories of the Hell it took to get him there!!!) Indescribable! You must get the DVD when it comes out and see for yourself what I mean! Those of us who attended now know what a stomping Paul “grapes” Young experienced for the Holy Spirit to pour out the good wine of the Gospel in what many of us know as “The Shack”! 

Dr. Baxter Kruger continued educating us for the next two days, enthusiastically narrowing our Gospel focus to Jesus Christ, the Light of the World, which took us to the breathtaking beauty of the Trinity and Humanity and Creation, bound together in Relationship forever in Himself!

Vanessa Kersting and Umoja were living expressions of the Great Dance and Music that flows from the harmony of the Triune God!

And I cannot forget to mention Jeff McSwain of Reality Ministries, who made a very bold and public stand recently regardng the Good News of our Adoption in Jesus and was recently interviewed by the Worldwide Church God. You’ll soon be able to see the interviews here! We talked and are looking to work together in the future, especially around youth camp stuff!

I could go on and on, (and if you want to talk about arranging a similar event in your area, get with me, and I WILL go on and on, and even  try to help you make it happen!), but one member serving in the DC Metropolitan area probably said it best with this e-mail I received, the day following the conference:

“Many thanks to you and to the Richmond congregation for hosting the Trinitarian Conference this past weekend.  Your hospitality created an atmosphere where attendees could enjoy the camaraderie, renew old friendships, meet new acquaintances, and best of all, hear the speakers and the Q & A panel.

The effect of Paul Young’s presentation was beyond words. As Paul opened his soul to us regarding his own personal “Great Sadness,” I became even more convinced that God chose the correct author to pen that book, and I am confident that the movie will be blessed in a similar manner.

Baxter Kruger’s presentation was outstanding.  He is not only researcher, theologian, and scholar, but also has the ability to present his material in a manner all are able to grasp and appreciate.  

It did not go unnoticed that even though the members of the panel represented four separate, unrelated organizations, each member seemed to “be on the same page”:

Windblown Media (Publishes a product which powerfully reveals the Trinity to the unsuspecting reader and/or moviegoer)
Reality Ministries (a ministry committed to reaching youth)
Worldwide Church of God (an international church with a history of following the lead of the Holy Spirit at the expense of established paradigm)
Perichoresis (a ministry with well-researched, well-developed publications supporting Trinitarian concepts)

I am very thankful and excited to be able to participate in this event, which just might develop into a major collaborative effort. The Shack could be described as a seed, Baxter’s research supplies nutrients, and the WCG  along with Jeff McSwain and Reality Ministries provides…(a safe place to grow?)?  This plant has the potential to grow very, very tall, and very, very wide.

Triune God is good. Triune God is also very, very big.”

Amen, my friend!! For more Gospel Resources to get you fired up about planning such a conference, make sure you check out this site, this site, and this site! And of course, keep checking back in here! There were people from 3 different churches in my local area at the conference who preach the Good News of Humanity’s Adoption into the Relationship of the Trinity, and we’re going to start getting together around this Good News in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. Come share with one or all of us!

The Lord’s Vineyard  - Poema  - New Creation Community Church

Are You Putting Relationships and People Ahead of Things?

I hope so! Talk about negative, self-imposed pressure!! I’ve been under it lately regarding my blog, because, if you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you KNOW that lately I have been far off of my proposed schedule for posting things! Understatement!! And, YES!, it was bugging me for awhile in the ”perfectionist”, “tight and right”, “Integrity minded”, “legal” side of my fallen nature, until….

…the Father, Son and Spirit reminded me that I am in Jesus, Jesus is in Me, and Jesus is in His Father (in the fellowship of the Spirit) (John 14:20)…and…

…when He is putting people and relationships ahead of things in and through me, all is as it should be!! After all, He did say that we would be His PEOPLE and that He would be our God (Hebrews 8:10)! He DIDN’T say that we would be His things, that do a bunch of things, under the burden of things called self-imposed pressure! In fact, he says the opposite , “Come unto me, all you that labor, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:28)!

As my good friend Dr. Baxter Kruger points out, we often neglect verse 27 of that scripture passage I just noted which says that, “…no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son…” (Matt 11:27)!   So that’s my problem (yours, too!! :-)) We REALLY don’t know how to to put relationships FIRST, on our own, do we?! The ONLY ONE Who knows what Relationships are all about is Jesus Christ, which means that if we can see the logic in putting people ahead of things, then that is proof to us that Jesus has already reached us and is in fact sharing His EXACT experience and knowledge of Relationships with us!!

Ha-Ha!! How about that!! We are, all, already included in the Life that Jesus shares with His Father in the Spirit, and that is why we know deeply that people are more important than things and why this article is hitting a good nerve and resonating with all of us!

Here is a brief rundown of what has gotten me “off schedule” recently: Helping a person locate their spouse who was missing for two days, relating and praying with sick people who wanted and needed my encouragement, supporting a family experiencing the death of a spouse, spending more time with my wife and daughters, renewing an extended family relationship and helping that person through a crisis, answering the e-mails and phone calls of friends who wanted to relate with me personally around the Gospel (cell phone depleted numerous times), serving companies who use my share in the Holy Spirit’s voice skills to serve others, helping to coordinate and organize people around an awesome Gospel conference, and visiting with my mother who lives 12 hours away but came into town to visit me and my family!  

Compare that schedule to what I had wanted to do with this blog THING: write on it 2 times per week, and do two 15 min. audio blogs a week!   

Ha-Ha! In the Light of Jesus and my Adoption and Inclusion in the Triune God, I think it is a no-brainer as to what I should have done! And I did it, and am doing it, in the grace of Jesus!!! :-)  Relationships and People are coming ahead of things - sometimes! Wheeeeeeeeeee!!! I’m really FREE in HIm!! You are free in Him, too! Are you experiencing Jesus this way in your life, too, in His grace? Great! That means I can post whatever I want, whenever I want, and we’ll all be fine!!!

Back at you with more Good News….whenever!! Ha-Ha!!

The REAL First Three Laws of Human Relationships!!!, part 3

This article is about the third, and final of the first 3 commandments given to mankind by the Father, Son and Spirit. In this brief written series I have tried to give you a fresh perspective of commandments we have tended to overlook in our enthusiasm to live and promote the Ten Commandments! In knowing Who Jesus is, we are actually being instructed to take these 1^st few commands even more seriously than the Ten handed down through Moses! After all, Jesus fulfilled those and IS the law of the New Covenant! Let’s continue to emphasize the most important relationship - the Relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit - and understand better Who Jesus is and who we are in Him!!

Here is the scriptural passage in Genesis 1:26-28, we have been looking at in the NRSV:

The third command Triune God gives humankind in Verse 28 is to RELAX, or “have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

1:28

God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

 

Did you notice that the third command out of God’s mouth was NOT “Ignore and make fun of people trying to save whales”, “Don’t ever skip church services for a fishing trip”, or “Work and never, ever, take a vacation – cause you’ll have an eternity in heaven to rest!” Aren’t those some of the leisures many of us have desired to participate in but were pressured out of in the name of religion, religiosity, and sacrificing and working to please God?

We need to learn to take more seriously the fact that that EVERYTHING the Triune God made was made by Jesus, the Son of God, and IS SUSTAINED by Him (John 1:1-5, Acts 17:28, Col 1:15-17)! Scriptures are a testimony to Jesus, the Word of God Himself, Who encourages us in the good care and feeding of animals - even on a church day (Proverbs 12:10, Matt 12:1-12)!!!  

I know that it is kind of hard for us to conceive of animal care being a relaxing endeavor now because of sin having entered the world (unless we go to a zoo), but walking among animals is really supposed to be a relaxing thing, not a fearful burden (Isaiah 11:6-9, Romans 8:18-23)!!!  

Maybe it is helpful to remember the definition of Relaxation, which is, “The act of relaxing or the state of being relaxed. Refreshment of body or mind; recreation: (played golf for relaxation.) A loosening or slackening.”

http://www.answers.com/topic/relaxation?cat=health

To be frank, we live in a world where people, including MANY religious people, do not yet embrace the truth of Jesus’ connection with all of humanity and all of creation! This unbelief has a very negative impact on creation! When you do not believe that the animals are included, or that certain other people aren’t included in God’s life, then you give all minds of permission for evil to happen to them! In essence you are saying that it doesn’t matter what happens to them (good or bad!) because eventually God is just going to get rid of them anyway or send them to hell! That is most certainly NOT the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!! Jesus’ Good News is that He sustains and cares for all creatures - human or otherwise!! (Luke 12:22-31, Matt 6:25-33, Heb 1:14)!

In this Christ context, it is important for us to help animals relax when they are burdened also (assisting beached whales, helping seals and birds escape in oil spills, etc.!) And how in the world could a congregational fishing trip during worship service time not be church when the people ARE the Church, the Community who embraces the Triune God?!

Most of us have tasted the negative experience and truth in the saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy!” C’mon! What fun is there in life when we aren’t having any fun?! J Please take seriously that your desire for relaxation and play is because of your union with the Triune God in Jesus Christ! The Father, Son and Spirit enjoy the most relaxing and refreshing relationship in all of creation, and He shares that relationship with us in Jesus! That is the relaxation we REALLY want to experience and why we want to experience it, isn’t it?!

Can you guess the 4^th commandment?! It is simply to obey all three commands as one!! You don’t have to obey one command at the expense of the other three, because these three were REALLY given as one command in 3 distinct parts in one sentence!! Now that’s Trinitarian thinking!! J

Well, if those are a few commandments you are interested in taking more seriously RIGHT NOW in Jesus, we are on the same page, because I am a wholehearted “legalist” on these Good News terms! Ha-Ha!!!

The REAL First Three Laws of Human Relationships!!!, part 2

This article is about the second of the first 3 commandments given to mankind by the Father, Son and Spirit. In this brief written series I want to briefly discuss the commandments we have tended to overlook in our enthusiasm over trying to fulfill the Ten Commandments as handed down from God through Moses! In knowing Who Jesus is, we are actually being instructed to take these 1^st few commands seriously, again, as we understand the Relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit better, and as we understand Who Jesus is and who we are in Him!!

Let’s review the first three commandments that come from this passage in Genesis 1:26-28, which say in the NRSV:

1:26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind F3 in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, F4 and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

1:27 So God created humankind F5 in his image, in the image of God he created them; F6 male and female he created them.

1:28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

Here is the second command I see in verse 28:

The second command Triune God gives humankind in the same sentence is to REPRODUCE, or “Multiply, Fill the earth and Subdue it”

Did you notice that this second command is NOT, “Make sure you always use birth control!”, “You MUST be celibate to walk right before me” or “Be self-centered and keep all this property to yourselves!”?

Let’s be real! Our violation of this commandment has pushed far too many us into the self-centered and cold icebox of empty high-rise condominiums, where we peer at life behind frozen gated communities through plastic and frigid personalities! Yikes! This doesn’t sound like the outward, self-giving nature of the Triune God with Whom we are united!

Aren’t we learning that self-centeredness, fear and hiding is NOT the experience of Jesus the Divine/Man in His relationship with the Father as a human being (Mark 10:45, Acts 20:35)? Self evidently, many have gotten so “burned” in relationships that were dead and fake that we all know that to be so phony and unreal HAS to be a participation in a lie about the Father, Son and Spirit and who we are in Him (Eccl 2:1-11, Matt 4:1-10)!!!

We have experienced and written from our guts the saying, “Money is like manure; it’s not worth a thing unless it’s spread around encouraging young things to grow.” - from “The Matchmaker”

The joy we hear in the Father’s voice as He gazes at His children “in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6) is what we REALLY want to experience as parents and grandparents in the reproduction process! We want to leave a legacy and an experience with our children and grandchildren that says, “with you I am well pleased!”, (Mark 1:11)! Hey, I even want my potential great-grandchildren to experience that, too, don’t you?!

And here is the BIG DEAL about honoring these commandments and taking them seriously NOW: Jesus says that in His Body of Resurrection shared with us in the future that we won’t be able to marry and reproduce as now (Matthew 22:30), but will be like the angels in heaven! You’ve got to get this good stuff going while the going is good!!! J

Well, tune in for the next post on this subject where I will discuss the third of the first three commandments given to mankind. I also see a 4^th command that I will mention as a further way of helping you to think more Trinitarian about this all!

Because the character of the Father, Son and Spirit changes not (Hebrews 13: , He still Loves and Likes you Very, Very Much, TODAY, and indeed, He still Loves You, and Loves all of US, MORE than He Loves Himself!

Will Jesus REALLY Deny and Disown People?!

Well…..

…that depends not only on what Jesus said, but what Jesus MEANT by what he said!

One objection to this theology of everyone’s Inclusion and Adoption into God’s Family in Jesus is noted by pointing to scriptures like this one in 2 Tim 2:11-13, which says:

“11 The saying is sure: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.” (NRSV)

You can find other such passages in the bible, including a quote from Jesus himself in Luke 12:8-9! Passages like these also don’t seem to jibe with my motto which states that we are embraced by the Triune God in Jesus and that He will never let us go, do they?

So how are passages like these to be reconciled with passages like I Timothy 4:9, 10, or 2 Cor 5:14-21 for example?

Well, I am glad you asked that question PROPERLY! These questions ARE to be reconciled WITH those other “scarier” passages, NOT discarded because of them! That also begs another question - so HOW do we reconcile these passages with the other ones while taking both sides seriously?! These scriptures MUST have some reconciliation because we believe that God the Holy Spirit inspired the ENTIRE set of scriptures to be written, preserved and canonized (2 Tim 3:16), and, Being God, the Holy Spirit is not double-minded, confusing, hypocritical or schizophrenic and disconnected from God the Father, and God the Son (2 Cor 13:14)!

The key to interpreting this passage is to reason according to the Person of Christ, the Reconciler and Light of the World Himself (John 8:12, Rom 5:10-11), and to remind ourselves of the Christ-centered basics! Being the One Who is noted scripturally as being both God and Man, and the One Who has created and sustains all things (Col 1:15-23), we already have the best possible start in seeing how the apparent contradictions can be solved. 

In verse 11, of 2 Timothy, Paul confirms what he also wrote in 2 Cor 5:14 “For the love of Christ urges us on because we are convinced that one has died for all; therefore all have died.” In the Light of Who Jesus is this HAS to be true and matches up with the Christian basics. Whatever happened to Jesus had to have mysteriously happened to that which he sustains! He died. It died. We died. You died. He rose. It rose. We rose. You rose.

Whatever verse 12 is saying, it is obviously NOT contradicting verse 11, but is something happening DESPITE the fact that we are alive with and in permanent union with Jesus! Do you grasp that?!

Verse 12 can’t be saying that Jesus is actually denying YOU (the one He chose to adopt in Himself before he created anything Eph 1:3-6), because he has bound himself to you and everyone else permanently in his own divine/human existence! You, literally, in the most fundamental sense cannot get away from being embraced by him! However, being created in the image of God with connection AND distinction, you can deny this truth of your inclusion. If you deny your inclusion (and you CAN deny it - as this scripture and your own life experience proves out), then Jesus MUST and WILL DENY YOUR DENIAL of Him!!!

As long as you stand against the Truth, Jesus MUST stand against your stand against the Truth! After all, He IS the Truth and He can’t deny Himself!! Which is why in verse 13 this verse follows up with that exact ending!!! Do you get it?! Really get it?! So….

NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Jesus will never deny YOU! To do so he would have to deny himself!! He never means by denial that you will not be his child and that he is totally reactive and submissive to your thoughts about him! Jesus is NOT trying to coerce you into loving him “or else” (cause that’s NOT love, is it?) and He IS Love, isn’t he?! He doesn’t put a thermometer in your mouth to take his own temperature!!!! You are not His God!!!!

Yes!!!!! Jesus will ABSOLUTELY DENY your denial of Him!!! To not do so he would have to deny himself!! He Loves and Likes You, and he has passionately seen to it in his own humanity that you will never be able to forget and totally ignore his embrace!! Yes - his wrath is always against those things that are against you!!

Lesson: stay away from those things that are against you so that you don’t mistake his being against those things as his being against you - the Child He always wanted!!!

Miracle of miracles!!! In the grace of God we have honored and believed the totality of scripture and still come out with the Good News intact!! Isn’t God the Trinity AWESOME?!!!

2 Timothy 2:7: “7 Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in all things.”

The REAL “First Three Laws” of Human Relationships!!!, part 1

This article is actually about the first of the first 3 commandments given to mankind! If you think I am referring to a portion of the Ten Commandments given to the children of Israel through Moses, you’d be wrong! There is another refreshing take on laws, I am happy to say! I want to talk about the 3 commandments given to humankind BEFORE humankind sinned.

I want to briefly discuss the commandments we have probably overlooked in the scriptures! We are actually being instructed to take these commands seriously, again, as we understand the Relationship of the Father, Son and Spirit better, and as we understand Who Jesus is and who we are in Him!!

The first three commandments come from this passage in Genesis 1:26-28, which say in the NRSV:

1:26 Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”

1:27 So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

1:28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”

First, did you notice the language denoting distinct Persons within the Oneness of God in verse 26? Did you also notice how it said we were created in the image of this Triune God in verse 27 (distinct from God BUT in Union with God)?

Did you see the 3 commandments noted in verse 28 that match up with Who Jesus is and Who we are in Him?

Here is the first command I see:

1.)    The first command Triune God gives humankind is to RELATE & ROMANCE, or “Be Fruitful and Multiply”

This first command is NOT to “Get a job, earn money, get clothing, worry and struggle!” (the main things we tend to be worried about in our fallen flesh! - see Luke 12:13-31)!

Knowing Who Jesus is instructs us that RELATING with Him, our neighbors, and with ourselves as we really are in Him (INCLUDED in His relationship with His Father in the Spirit), is the REAL, first command to be obeyed!  We already know in a bad way the saying that “No one on their deathbed ever wished they had spent more time at work!

All of us REALLY want to experience great relationships!  We especially want to see multiplied the abounding fellowship of the Triune God, Who IS Love!

This first command from the Triune God is also NOT, “Stay away from thinking or talking about romance and sex – that icky, bad stuff!”? J We all know better than that (whether we are married or shacked up!) This is one part of the commandment we weren’t going to disobey, no matter what! J

Or were we?!……

Knowing Who Jesus is teaches us that there is A WAY of thinking and talking about romance that is NOT congruent with the Father, Son and Spirit Relationship (John 8:1-11, Eph 5:1-1 ! Painful!  There is also a way that IS congruent with God’s Triune Relationship (Eph 5:18-6:1-9)? Pleasureable!

When it comes to romance, many of us believe or have experienced the negative relational saying, “Why buy the cow when I can get the milk for free?” In other words, we may “like” not being committed to others, but we sure don’t like it when they aren’t committed or faithful to us! We may “like” treating others like an object, but we sure don’t want other people treating us like objects! We want others to treat us like human beings!

Because we are all included in the exact Love, Faithfulness, Openness and Creative Imagination of the Father, Son and Spirit, in Jesus, what we all REALLY want to experience in our dating and sexual relationships is the Harmony and Trust of the Triune God!

In a very subtle way, can’t we also see that this first commandment is NOT for us to love God but for us to BE LOVED by the Triune God?! He is clearly saying that He called us into being to share in His image and to experience His glorious creation with Him. Let’s face it – he doesn’t say “bow and scrape before Me 24/7”, but we also know that apart from Him we have no possibility of existing and enjoying anything! He created AND sustains us all!! (Acts 17:28, Heb 1:1-3!)

Well, tune in for the next written post, where I will discuss the second of the first three commandments given to mankind. In the gracious education of the Holy Spirit, we really can learn about and experience with understanding more of the restful life Jesus shares with all of humankind, RIGHT NOW, in the Spirit!

Meanwhile, remember that the Father, Son and Spirit Love and Like you Very, Very Much, and indeed, God the Trinity Loves You, Loves US, MORE than He Loves Himself!