The Best News I Ever Heard!, pt. 3

 

Here, I continue with part 3 of my series of posts about the Gospel as interpreted by T.F. Torrance in his book The Mediation of Christ; a book in harmony with Who Jesus is and the ancient Church’s view. This time I will tackle only paragraph 3, which says:

“Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and has thereby already made you his own before and apart from your ever believing in him. He has bound you to himself by his love in a way that he will never let you go, for even if you refuse him and damn yourself in hell his love will never cease. Therefore, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.”

This passage is loaded yet again with the tremendous Good News about Jesus and all of Humanity in Him!

Suppose you were in a life and death situation, and you desperately wanted to live! You could only grab either a strong chain, and survive, or grab a weak chain, and die. Which one would you grab in order to live? Isn’t it EASY to evaluate what you would do in order to live?

In another scenario, what if your small child was hanging precariously from a cliff, and their only options for survival were to a.) grab your hand with their small strength, or b.) have you grab their small hand in your HUGE strength (by comparison). What would YOU do to see them saved; to see them be who they already are in their relationship with you, forever?

That’s easy, too!! YOU WOULD TAKE A HOLD OF THEM AND SAVE THEM! Wouldn’t you?!

In the above statement, Torrance is trying to make this dynamic in our relationship with Jesus clear! By definition, sin means being “weak!” – or having no REAL purity of strength; being powerless and tainted! It means humanity hanging precariously from a cliff toward permanent death and non-existence (as Athanasius might have put it).

Now, what is God, being good and gracious to do? Is he to be seen as worse than you? Would he give his child only the option of grabbing His Huge Hand and holding on for dear life, or else? Or, is our Father to be seen as he is revealed in Christ? One who knows and sees that you and I are utterly incapable and unworthy of Him; as the Father who knows that if He is to have us permanently with Him, He must take a hold of us?!

Just as our “natural” reaction to our child in the above predicament would be to grab them and not present them with or even ask them which option they wanted, we, too, have been taken hold of by Jesus apart from our believing and doing anything! And, in fact, wouldn’t you (if you had all strength and power) grab a hold of your child and NEVER LET THEM GO?!

C’mon now, be for real!!! If for whatever reason you can’t think of your child in this way, then substitute any person that you REALLY love and care for!! After all, God SOOOO LOVED the World (cosmos) that He gave His only begotten Son…” – John 3:16! In other words, the Father, Son and Spirit put His full weight and strength as God behind securing us from disappearing forever down the gaping “sin hole” in Jesus – the fullness of God in a human body!!” Col 2:9!!

For one who already believes in Jesus Christ, we believe that with the exception of Jesus Christ, or the Son of God made flesh, everyone has sinned in human flesh! This makes everyone too weak to be saved by their own decision, belief or faith doesn’t it? If God requires 100% faith for salvation from someone who obviously can’t offer it, then it stands to reason they could never be saved, right? All humans, by scripture, are in just such a position! Romans 3!

How then are we all to be saved UNLESS Jesus saves us? Unless Jesus steps into into our exact position and lives and does for us what we obviously cannot do for ourselves? And if what Jesus did to save us was done 2000 years ago, doesn’t it stand to reason that it had to be done to all of us – then?! How can we escape such clear and godly logic as revealed in Jesus and through careful discernment of the scriptures?

Finally, Torrance concludes this paragraph with the proper and Trinitarian Who is Jesus logic! If the Triune God has thrown His weight behind grabbing a hold of us in the Person of Jesus Christ, who could dare escape such an eternal grip?! I mean, this is THE Father grasping us in HIS Son, in THE Spirit! This isn’t some human fable about Superman, Ironman or, God forbid, the Incredible Hulk!

I have seen some women leave an audience of many people with their child bound firmly in their grip while the child was throwing a tantrum of the most violent sort! You have probably seen or even done this, too! Solely because of the child’s temper and action, combined with the parents fury (and pride because of the public spectacle), that child was NOT going to escape the parental grip, no matter what! They might hurt themselves TRYING to get out of the parents embrace, but it was them, the child, who was going to get hurt, NOT the parent or the parents pride!! No Way!! 🙂 You can feel me, can’t you!! Ha-Ha!! 🙂

God’s grip on humanity is similar to this real life scenario! Because Jesus (God!) has taken hold of us in his godly pride, and will not have us be a spectacle of the enemy, he has taken hold of us in such a way that he will NEVER let us go! The only thing that is going to happen, that can happen, to us, if we don’t ever line up with our embrace in the Father’s arm is get hurt! Experience hell! Be damned in God’s grip!

But God will be damned before that should ever happen! We will be who we are, and He will have us with Him – embraced and in His arms – regardless!! Therefore, we might as well repent! We might as well respond to the loving nature of the grip and live in proper alignment with it, and not live alien to it! It starts hurting too badly to keep flinging our elbows in anger and breaking our own jaws and bones in the process! The Father’s grip on all of humanity, in Christ, is NOT going away! He will be our God and we will be his people!

Believe in His Love, therefore! Be and Live in His embrace with obedience! Do not Be and die in His embrace in disobedience! BUT – whether we live or whether we die – we are the Lord’s – forever and always! Romans 14:8!

The Best News I Ever Heard!, pt.2

I hope you were excited and thrilled from head to toe with what the late Thomas F. Torrance had to say about the Good News of Jesus Christ in my last post! Honestly, I never get tired of reading, hearing, thinking and speaking about it! I have received much personal feedback from others who appreciate it as well. Thanks to each of you!

I promised to follow up on the last post by elaborating on and clarifying the rich things T.F. Torrance was trying to get across to us about Jesus the Christ. I would like to clarify, and put in my own words, the first two paragraphs from his writings on pp.94-95 out of The Mediation of Christ. Here are the first two pararaphs of his writing again:

“How then is the Gospel to be preached in a genuinely evangelical way? Surely in such a way that full and central place is given to the vicarious humanity of Jesus as the all­ sufficient human response to the saving love of God which he has freely and unconditionally provided for us. We preach and teach the Gospel evangelically, then, in such a way as this:

God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ his beloved Son, and has thereby pledged his very Being as God for your salvation. In Jesus Christ God has actualised his unconditional love for you in your human nature in such a once for all way, that he cannot go back upon it without undoing the Incarnation and the Cross and thereby denying himself.”

Wow! What a delicious Gospel mouthful! Here is my translation of what Torrance is trying to get across to us:

In his first paragraph, Tom Torrance is stressing that there is a genuine WAY to preach the Gospel, and by implication, a disingenuine way to preach it. To me, Torrance’s writing is reminiscent of the words of the Apostle Paul in the book of Galatians where he writes in chapter 1, verses 6-9,

“6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are confusing you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that one be accursed! 9 As we have said before, so now I repeat, if anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that one be accursed!”

T.F. Torrance is emphatic that in the Gospel, Jesus must be given His proper place and be seen as the Gospel Himself!! The Gospel is not primarily a doctrine, creeds, or statements and words trying to describe Jesus! Jesus, or the Son of God made human, IS the Gospel in His own literal Person and Being! Your best friend is not the words “best friend” written on a piece of paper, or the words “this is my best friend” that you say to other people when describing your best friend! Your best friend is ACTUALLY your best friend – him/her, the person to whom your words and writings are pointing!!!

Torrance understands that because Jesus is the one who created and sustains all things, when he stooped and stepped into our actual humanity, he was actually living out our humanity for us, and in us! Literally in our full blown and carnal humanity! Just as Adam had some type of literal impact on all of us when he sinned as a human being, so Jesus Christ had an impact on all of us when he undone Adam’s sin as a human being! Romans 5!

Jesus not only became part of his creation, he is the One Who perpetually sustains everything in creation! If Jesus doesn’t sustain it, it can’t, and doesn’t, exist! Therefore, Jesus’ influence on everyone and everything is vastly greater and more significant than a mere sinful man like Adam’s influence!!!! In the exact same sense, what you do with and in your life does NOT have as much influence as Jesus’ life has on your life!! You ARE who you are in Jesus!!

In the love of the Triune God, Jesus did all of this for us, and TO us, without asking for our input and waiting to see what we would decide about it. He cast God’s vote FOR us before we could even think about trying to have a thought about it. He lived our life for us, AS US, graciously, freely, and without our having to change our current and bad ways first! Before YOU, literally, were born, Jesus lived your life for you, before the Father, as an acceptable life and loving response to the Father’s Love!

In the 2nd paragraph, Torrance is emphasizing that the Father’s problem with you was not that you disobeyed his laws! We have all disobeyed his laws, but the Father, Son and Spirit are not legalists who care more about rules than relationships! They don’t care more about things than they do people!! The Father doesn’t care more about Himself than he cares about you!! The Father loves you and I so much He decided that our rule breaking and fleshly and weak tendencies would NEVER keep Him from US – the people, the relationship He values!

The Son made us from dust and knew we would fall on our faces!Therefore, the Triune God planned to send Jesus before the foundation of the world to become our humanity for us, and remain forever a human for us, so that our perfect humanity would always be upheld in Him, even if we inevitably broke some of the rules!!

Torrance reveals in this paragraph that God will never undo what he has done for you, and you will always be acceptable and alive forevermore in Jesus! In order to undo His love and life for you, God would have to change Who he is and undo everything he has done in the Life of Jesus on our behalf, and that simply ain’t gonna happen!! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and today, and forever!! Hebrews 13:8! Because Jesus is exactly like His Father and the Spirit, there is NO chance that any Person of the Godhead will think differently of you or love you any less!! Colossians 1:19-20!

Because of Who Jesus is, you and I don’t ever have to fear that we will never exist again after our physical death, or that our loved ones who have died will be snuffed out, permanently! There is no such thing as being annihilated! The only time we would have to fear having no existence at all is if we can imagine Jesus having no existence, because our lives are upheld, literally, in His!!! The Father, Son and Spirit have decided that you and I will live forever, regardless! God has pledged and given Himself to us, in the human being Jesus, as our eternal guarantee!!

Again, to undo all of what He has done, God would have to deny Himself, but that is IMPOSSIBLE because God CANNOT deny Himself or he would NOT be God!!! 2 Timothy 2:13! None of this is theory or based on fallen human reasoning! This is what we see Revealed LITERALLY in Jesus the God/Man! The Triune God is ACTUALLY and UNCONDITIONALLY our Salvation in Jesus’ own Person and Being!!!!!

Chew on, and rest in, all of this for a little bit, and I’ll be back to tackle another paragraph or two on the next blog post!! 🙂

The Best News I Ever Heard!, pt.1

 

In this blog post I want to share with you my favorite passage out of all the books I have ever read so far! It completely and positively transformed my entire experience of life when I first read and understood it! I was freed and liberated for life in ways that I cannot fully describe with words! In other words, I was floored!

THIS passage is an example of how the Gospel of Jesus Christ REALLY should be preached, and what is REALLY meant by the Good News! I hold it up as my prime example for preaching God’s Good News, and am striving to say this same thing in all of my communication on this blog! To understand this is to understand why it is called Good News – period!!

It is taken from pp.94-95 out of the book entitled, “The Mediation of Christ“, by the late Thomas F. Torrance. He writes in a very deep and profound way, and this is more of his “simple” writing! 🙂  Most of you should be able to read and understand the words just fine, but I don’t want to leave it to chance. Therefore, I will take the next few blog posts to elaborate on this passage in more explicit detail, to help you see the richness and practical expression of what is being communicated.

Here is the passage:

“How then is the Gospel to be preached in a genuinely evangelical way? Surely in such a way that full and central place is given to the vicarious humanity of Jesus as the all­ sufficient human response to the saving love of God which he has freely and unconditionally provided for us. We preach and teach the Gospel evangelically, then, in such a way as this:

God loves you so utterly and completely that he has given himself for you in Jesus Christ his beloved Son, and has thereby pledged his very Being as God for your salvation. In Jesus Christ God has actualised his unconditional love for you in your human nature in such a once for all way, that he cannot go back upon it without undoing the Incarnation and the Cross and thereby denying himself.

Jesus Christ died for you precisely because you are sinful and utterly unworthy of him, and has thereby already made you his own before and apart from your ever believing in him. He has bound you to himself by his love in a way that he will never let you go, for even if you refuse him and damn yourself in hell his love will never cease. Therefore, repent and believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour.

From beginning to end what Jesus Christ has done for you he has done not only as God but as man. He has acted in your place in the whole range of your human life and activity, including your personal decisions, and your responses to God’s love, and even your acts of faith.

He has believed for you, fulfilled your human response to God, even made your personal decision for you, so that he acknowledges you before God as one who has already responded to God in him, who has already believed in God through him, and whose personal decision is already impli­cated in Christ’s self-offering to the Father, in all of which he has been fully and completely accepted by the Father, so that in Jesus Christ you are already accepted by him. Therefore, renounce yourself, take up your cross and follow Jesus as your Lord and Saviour.

To preach the Gospel of the unconditional grace of God in that unconditional way is to set before people the astonishingly good news of what God has freely provided for us in the vicarious humanity of Jesus.

To repent and believe in Jesus Christ and commit myself to him on that basis means that I do not need to look over my shoulder all the time to see whether I have really given myself to him, whether my faith is at all adequate, for in faith it is not upon my faith, my believing or my personal commitment that I rely, but solely upon what Christ has done for me, in my place and on my behalf, and what he is and always will be as he stands in for me before the face of the Father.

That means that I am completely liberated from all ulterior motives in believing or following Jesus Christ, for on the ground of his vicarious human response for me, I am free for spontaneous joyful response and worship and service as I could not otherwise be.”

Please tune in to my next few posts as I clarify what is written here, and hopefully in a way that really reaches you where you live, move and have your daily being! 🙂

Are You “Lazy” (in the Truest Sense?!)

 

I recently visited another community of the Church gathered, and proclaimed the Good News that All of Humanity is Included in the Life of the Triune God in Jesus! I especially honed in on Jesus’ comments in John 6:27-29, where he encouraged all of us in the fact that the work of God is to believe in Him Whom God has sent! This set of scriptures becomes even more plain and clear  when you look up the word “work” in the Greek and discover that it is the word “ergon” and that this word REALLY does mean “action, labor, deeds, toil, etc.”

So, what must we DO to act on the labors and deeds of God – to do his works? BELIEVE IN (EMBRACE) JESUS! In other words, trust Who Jesus is and who we are in Him! Talk about HARD WORK!!!

It seems that most of us would almost rather do ANYTHING than work that hard!!! 🙂 We would rather DO things we can “see”, such as creating and marking off things on a dutiful checklist – pray today, fast today, go to church today, read the bible today, etc. We would rather create elaborate vision and mission statements for our organized gatherings. We would rather engage in creating huge programs with lots of classes for learning the practices to sustain and grow those programs. We would rather spend millions on architectural plans to build a huge building for the church to meet in, with the possibility of growing to hundreds of thousands of people in attendance, so that we can get lots of tithes and build an even larger facility! And on and on!

I think you get the point! In truth, I think we would rather be “lazy” than REALLY work! 🙂 (Please, please NOTICE that I said “we would RATHER do other things than believe”, I didn’t say we don’t believe!! I also did NOT say we shouldn’t or couldn’t do the things mentioned above but that we “would RATHER do other things than believe!)

Now don’t miss another point in all of this (and stand unecessarily condemned!) Remember, there is NO condemnation to those in Christ – Romans 8:1! I am using the word “lazy” in parentheses for a reason! I am doing this to make the point that we believers are not really lazy at all but that we sometimes think we are (or at least KNOW that others are!), and that we need to rethink and reconsider this entire subject of works in the light of Jesus Christ!

Let’s begin with the Gospel to sort all of this out in a clear way.

In Ephesians 1 and 2 we learn that the Good News, or Gospel, is that in Jesus Christ, God the Trinity, Humanity and Creation are NOT separated but bound together in Eternal Union and Communion – forever!

In Christ, all of humanity is reconciled, adopted, and saved, and sits at the right hand of God blessed with all spiritual blessings! God the Trinity included and adopted us all, mysteriously, while we were still sinners and still dead in our transgressions and sins. All of this means that Humanity’s Inclusion in the Life of the Triune God is solely by Grace, AND literally happened to each of us, 2000 years ago, in the Divine/Humanity of Jesus!

Understanding this Good News gives us the proper perspective on Jesus’ comments about work in John 6. Because Jesus knows Who He is, and Who we are in Him, He is encouraging us not to engage in trying to pay for things twice!! 🙂  No sane person would pay for their house again AFTER it was immediately paid off and the debt was fully cleared, would they? No sane child would try to pay their parents for conceiving them and foul up good parent child relationships until the parents accepted the arbitrary payment, would they? These things are RIDICULOUS!

In John 6, and in my own translation,  Jesus is saying, “All of you ARE who you are in me! You are included in the Eternal Life of the Father, Son and Spirit in me!, Don’t try to get into this life in your own way, which is no REAL way at all! Stop trying to do physical labors, deeds and acts in order to get and stay included in God’s Life! You don’t have to pay for things twice, cause I have paid for everything once for all!

Now, don’t get me wrong, I want you to work! I am the God Who IS and DOES! However, I want you participate with me in my doing and trust that I AM God’s work, living in you! That is enough work for each of you for the rest of your lives because you are yet in Adam’s sinful flesh, making it very difficult for you to believe the truth about Me being your Work!!”

Isn’t that so true????? It is not hard for you to believe that “you” are doing God’s work when you engage in the things so highly emphasized by the church today; things such as church attendance, tithe paying, evangelism, etc. That seems status quo and easy!! It’s like lifting toothpicks for exercise! BUT it is EXTREMELY difficult for us to believe that Jesus is God’s work and that there REALLY is nothing we HAVE to do!!! That’s like trying to lift 1,000,000 lbs.!!!! That is HARD WORK!

In reality, the hard work of believing and embracing Jesus is IMPOSSIBLE WORK apart from Jesus working in us to will and do it!! 🙂 We are simply too sinful and weak to lift that much weight! We are addicted to the steroids of our own human reasoning and the rampant legalism promoted by religiosity! But even that weight has been lifted in Jesus, because Jesus shares His actual and strong faith with us! Galations 2:20!! 

In conclusion. let me wrap up with two final thoughts on this subject.

1.) Because we are who we are in Jesus, we are all working hard everyday! Jesus works and his Father works, therefore we HAVE to be working in our union with God in Jesus!! Just look at the hours HE puts in everyday on your job, at school, with your family and friends, in your exercise program, into cooking, your donations to the poor and service organizations, in the church, etc.! You surely weren’t arrogant enough to think that you were doing that all by yourself, were you???? 🙂 There is ONLY ONE Who is Good and that is God! “Your” good works are only a participation in His Good Works! We are His Workmanship, created IN CHRIST to do HIS GOOD WORKS!!! You live, move and have your being in God!

So, we should STOP pressing people so much about working at the church building or in religion with us!!! Rather, we should encourage them in the work Jesus is already doing in them daily, almost everywhere they go, along with us!! They are blind about His good work in their daily relationships and lives, and are burdened under the illusion of thinking that they haven’t done enough and have to do more – and it is killing them!!!!! Good Grief! Jesus’ burden is LIGHT and his yoke EASY!!

2.) Most of us aren’t REALLY lazy because the Reality of our life is Jesus, Himself, and He is always Working in us in His Rest!!! 🙂 I believe we appear to be lazy because we concentrate too much on appearances, and appearances ARE laziness!!! Also, for a person to be TRULY lazy would mean certain physical and social death in a short period of time. Think about that – DEEPLY!!! 🙂

So don’t be overly discouraged that you haven’t met your spiritual goals! Jesus has met them all for you and will continue to meet them in and through you in a way that is meaningful to you AND OTHERS!

So, are you lazy (in the truest sense?!) In Adam’s flesh, most certainly, and especially as we are too focused on appearances, attendance, and working to get others included rather than living in the REALITY of Who we and others actually are already in Christ! Jesus, Himself, is proof of our laziness! We could not get the work of God done without Him coming to Be it and Do it!

However, as we are believing and embracing Jesus in His grace, we are absolutely NOT a lazy person because believing is the hardest work of all (in the sinful flesh of Adam) but, in Jesus, believing is the Work that brings the greatest experiences, rewards, and spiritual “muscles” ultimately!!! John 6:27-29!

Gospel Panic and Exhaustion…

 

…is often the first thing that takes hold of you when you begin to take seriously that God’s Good News is better than you ever thought! The reason for this is that there is no good thing in our fleshly humanity, apart from Jesus Christ! Therefore, when we are confronted with the weight and burden of God’s goodness and glory (in contrast to our sinfulness), it is very difficult to believe and embrace.

Often times, when proclaiming the Good News of Humanity’s Inclusion in the Life of the Triune God, solely by God’s grace, the accusation is put forth that we are not calling a person to “repentance and change!” Nothing could be FURTHER from the truth! This is proven by the fact that when people are called to think of God in all of His goodness and Inclusive grace, the last thing a person wants to do is believe that and repent (change their mind radically, resulting in a radical change of action)!

By the way, changing your mind IS an action and DOING something, too!! 🙂

 

In God’s ever-present grace, I preach the Gospel in unbounded joy and increasing zest and freedom – NOW! It wasn’t this way at first! See more of my personal story, entitled “Nothing Less than Radically Shocking!” here. Being as lost we all still are in the clinging flesh of fallen Adam, there is no such thing as not being called to repentance when we hear the Good News of the Gospel proclaimed! We are either found believing the Truth about Jesus and ourselves in Him, or we are found not believing it. If found not believing it, we are placed in a crisis of belief IN AND APART FROM ANYONE SAYING “Repent and believe this Good News!”

When hearing the Gospel, which says confidently and unequivocally that, “In Jesus Christ every person, dead or alive, has been Embraced, Saved, Included and Adopted into the Life of the Triune God, and always will be!”, our fallen flesh begins to go into a denying panic! I’ve noticed that it typically follows this same pattern for most people trained in religion: Shocking disbelief, leading to “fighting mad” or, if embraced as truth, “descending” to total embarrassment and humility, and finally, progressively accompanied by great liberating “can’t shut up about it” joy!

Up to this point, it may seem as if I am just spouting out a bunch of theology and thoughts on my constant Gospel theme of Humanity’s Inclusion in the Life of the Triune God. But, I was reminded of this process and experience when re-reading an e-mail I received in the recent past after sharing the Gospel and a few resources with a fellow Pastor! I want to share his response with you. I keep it tucked in the back of my bible to encourage me in the suffering and joy that comes with sharing and being confronted by the Good News of the Person of Jesus Christ!

May you be encouraged and strengthened by this REAL LIFE interaction I had with a Pastor as you begin to embrace God’s Good News, continue to repent and embrace it more, or participate with Jesus in sharing it with others. Like the panic and exhaustion that I hear women discuss regarding pregnancy, as the “baby” of the Good News is being birthed from the inside out, it is not always joyful at first!  🙂

 

Here is the response and experience of the already Christian pastor, verbatim, with ONLY the name of the pastor being excluded for anonymity:

“Tim,

I hope you are asleep as I write this but I can’t sleep. I just spent the last 3 hours reading my sermon notes for tomorrow and trying to find my Augustinian influence and writing it out.

I need those web links for the free books please. I am ordering “On the incarnation of the Word of God” and “The Forgotten Father”

Did you weep over any of this? Because I found myself on my knees in tears tonight asking God to break me down and rebuild me into a REAL preacher of the true Gospel. I’ve decided that I am going to seek the true Gospel no matter what the cost.

I suddenly feel like my relationship with God has been superficial all these years. I’m not discouraged. Oh quite the opposite I am more excited about God than I have ever been because I think my experience and relationship with Jesus has been and is awesome and now I see that I have not even scratched the surface.

I can’t wait to know Him more. Its like that song “In the secret” I do want to know Him more.

This is all fresh and new and I am trying hard not to panic. I am praying a lot tonight but I just wanted to email you to say I think I am going to get it, I don’t believe God would tease me. If He has introduced me to this theology I know it is because He wants me to understand.

I am ready to commit to learning the real Gospel, the Gospel with power and lifechanging authority.

Last year I read “Making a difference in Preaching” and now I see that the real way to make a difference in preaching is to discover the real Gospel and preach that and then let the power of God’s Word make the difference.

So again please send me links to the free books I can read. I feel like I am in the middle of the desert and all I want is water. I have 200 books on my shelf but none of the ones I desperately want to read. 

Whew,

This is exhausting,

I’ll keep in touch.

PS I loved the rap. May I play it at my church? “

God and German Chocolate Cake!

 

Honestly, it began as one of the scariest experiences of my life so far!

I was talking to a fellow pastor on the phone when the blood-curdling scream took place! “Tim! Tim! Tim! Come here NOWWWWW!”, my wife, Donna, yelled in a strained and scarey voice! I almost dropped the phone mid-sentence and felt the impending fear of having to confront the unknown! “What’s the matter?”, I responded as I scrambled out of my seat and headed toward the stairs. “Hurry! Hurry! Hurry! I need your help!!! Nowwwww!!!”, she compelled me!

That was all my heart could take and I was, quite frankly, ready to hurt someone or kill something! Maybe the “rat” (that I had suspected was living in the garage for all these 9 years in this house), had finally come out to tangle!! Well, he was going DOWN! Or should I say I was going to send him UP to his home with Jesus!! Ha-Ha! 🙂 You know how those needless and worrisome fears about the “boogey-man” are! 🙂 (NO! There is no “rat” in my garage – Donna wouldn’t allow it!)

I told my phone guest to hold on (or screamed it in their ear), as I zoomed down the stairs ready to defend, protect and serve my woman and family!! As I bounded from the last step to the main floor and rounded the corner towards the dining room, I got the surprise of my life and almost went to see Jesus in the shock! There in the dining room stood my immediate family and a couple of the neighborhood children, peering around the corner with glee and delight, as they yelled out “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!”

Arrrggghhhh – The deception! Oooohhhh – The lie of misperception!!!! Aaaaahhhhh – the needless fear!! And……Yes! Yes! Yes! – the FUN and JOY of my Inclusion, and the toothy smile radiating from beneath my “Happy Birthday” dunce cap!!!! 🙂

Talk about one of the greatest, fun, inclusive and enjoyable family moments we’ve ever had!! My phone guest heard every scream and word, and enjoyed it all immensely!! All this explained the “weird” moments I had experienced throughout the day and the elaborate cooking and cake-baking Donna had been up to! You may be asking why this birthday celebration came as such a surprise to me. Well, besides just being clueless sometimes, my birthday was actually about a week earlier where we had been serving others and enjoying each other at Higher Ground camp. We can’t forget the “tom-foolery” my family had engaged in to throw me off as well! 🙂

Now to God and German Chocolate Cake. Besides preparing some of my favorite food, my wife fixed my absolute favorite dessert – a huge German Chocolate Cake! For as long as I can remember, whenever my birthday had been celebrated in childhood, someone had always prepared me a German Chocolate Cake. In my marriage of 17years, and primarily due to religiosity, we really hadn’t celebrated birthdays as much as we SHOULD HAVE! We’ve been trying to change that lately and celebrate the Father, Son and Spirit’s destiny for each family member to exist in distinction and inclusion with Him and each other.

Not only did this cake stir up many wonderful, childhood memories, it was the most delicious version of the cake I had ever eaten!! I am not joking when I say I could taste the love in it! The entire cake was almost devoured within the first two days by anyone who got a taste of it, and that’s no joke! I had to play guardian and protect it so that I might savor its sumptuous, out-of-this-world, deliciousness for as many days as possible, and I DID!! 🙂

This cake was sooooo subtly distinct, and filled with sweetness and love, that I have been unable to refrain from remarking positively about it ever since! My wife is used to hearing my compliments on her food (and everyone else’s compliments!), and she REALLY IS a gifted chef, but she is not that good and gifted BY HERSELF!! That cake is so memorable that I not only preached about it, but am now writing about it!

How is it that I could be so apparently obsessed with, thrilled and INSPIRED by, the taste of a German Chocolate Cake? It’s just a physical thing isn’t it?  Here one day – gone the next! How is it that I could say with such certainty that my wife is a good cook and baker but not as good as that cake tasted?! How come wonderful memories and joy-filled emotions were released in my human body, giving me a sense of ecstasy, after eating that cake?

BECAUSE GOD THE FATHER, SON AND SPIRIT ARE IN CHOCOLATE CAKE!!! IN FACT, THIS TRIUNE GOD CREATED, SUSTAINS AND FILLS ALL THINGS, INCLUDING GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE!!! THAT’S WHY!!!

That is the simple and complex reason behind the joy that can be found IN everyone and everything! The Father created every piece of food in existence, including the taste buds, saliva and eyeballs to enjoy it with! Jesus sustains every atom in the universe in His very Being and Person! The Holy Spirit is present everywhere to share the Communion of the Father and Son with all people and things!

Enjoy how Eugene Peterson describes this beautiful Truth in “The Message” version of the scriptures:

 15 We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen. We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created. 16 For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, rank after rank after rank of angels – everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him. 17 He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment. 18 And when it comes to the church, he organizes and holds it together, like a head does a body. 19 So spacious is he, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper place in him without crowding. 20 Not only that, but all the broken and dislocated pieces of the universe – people and things, animals and atoms – get properly fixed and fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of his death, his blood that poured down from the Cross.

You Don’t Have to Twist God’s Arm…

 

in order for Him to Love You, Like You, or Accept you as His Adopted Son or Daughter forever! He Loves You, Likes You, and has Adopted you purely because he wanted to share his life with you!

(Actually, the Father, Son and Spirit, in their pure Essence and Being as God, have no arms! 🙂 The Son, however, in the fullness of His PRESENT humanity in Jesus Christ DOES NOW have real human arms, but there is no record of them ever having to be twisted in order to force him to love you, the World or anyone else!)

In fact, I want to suggest that trying to twist the arm of the Father, Son and Spirit is DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH, and you ought not even attempt it!!!

One reason for saying this is that God IS love and His character as Father, Son and Spirit cannot be changed or split in any way! Scripture says He is everywhere and in everything! The Father, Son and Spirit are One! God is the same yesterday, today and forever! His Word goes out and does not return empty, but fulfills all that He has set out to accomplish. The reason behind all of creation was the Plan of the Father to Include it and everyone in His Eternal Life and love, through Jesus Christ! When Jesus accomplished this Adoption and Inclusion of Creation into God’s Life, it brought God great pleasure! Ephesians 1!

With those foundational thoughts in mind about the Father, Son and Spirit, let’s use a physical illustration to demonstrate how dangerous it can be to try and twist God’s “arm” and get him to like and accept you!

The EMPIRE STATE BUILDING, when it was completed in April 1931, broke every record in the book for tall buildings. At 1250 feet, it topped the Chrysler Building by 200 feet and the third tallest, the Manhattan Company Building at 40 Wall Street, by more than 300 feet. Gargantuan in SCALE, its five-story base covered two acres and its eighty-five floors of offices boasted more rentable space — 2.1 million square feet — than the Chrysler Building and 40 Wall Street combined.

During the short twenty months it took to design and complete, the foundations and grillages were dug and set, 57,000 tons of structural steel were fabricated and milled to precise specifications. Ten million common bricks were laid, 62,000 cubic yards of concrete were poured, 6400 windows were set, and 67 elevators were installed in 7 miles of shafts. Interiors were equipped with 6,700 radiators, 2,500 toilets and sinks, and 51 miles of plumbing pipe, and were finished with 10,000 tons of plaster and 328,000 square feet of marble.

Contrasting Fact: The average North American adult has a mass near 100 kg!

Now imagine a LOONY human being gripping a corner of the Empire State Building in order to lift it, move it,  turn it, or twist it! You know that I am telling the truth when I say that someone who STRAINS to do this is going to get HURT in all kinds of ways – and the Empire State Building is NOT the someone!! 🙂

The absurdity of trying to twist such an immense and immovable object as the Empire State Building with such a puny human force is laughable (for those of us who wouldn’t even dare to try such a dumb thing)!  For the one who does try, hernias, and all kinds of other troubling physiological, mental, psychological, spiritual and relational problems naturally await them (depending on how long they keep straining to do it!!)

Notice, also, that all the pain and suffering in trying to do such a foolish thing does not happen as a result of the Empire State Building punishing the puny and weak human being!! The suffering comes NATURALLY from trying to even attempt such an impossible deed against something so unmoveable in its basic character!

Another Contrasting Fact IN CHRIST: Jesus Christ Created and Sustains You, mysteriously, in His very Being, therefore, whatever happens to Him, happens to you. When he was baptized, you were baptized! When he died, you died! When he rose, you rose! When he ascended to His Father in the Spirit, you ascended to His Father in the Spirit with and in Him! You have been adopted and included in the life of God your entire life, because Jesus did all of the aforementioned stuff around 2,000 years ago! You can’t do anything to get out of it because Jesus lives eternal, and you live eternally in Him (1 Corinthians 15:22)!

One LOONY thing you can do, in your distinction, is to TRY and oppose and “twist” God’s arm! So, how are you trying to twist the Father’s “arm” so that he will accept and include you on your terms?:

Are you trying to “twist” God by paying your way into his favor through tithes and offerings, or a success program to build and amass wealth? Through “your” moral and ethical works, good health, or wearing a particular style of clothing? By pretending to be an Atheist so that he’ll PROVE Himself to you on your terms? With uncontrollable rage and anger, hurting everyone and everything around you till he responds as you see fit? By being lazy and forcing him to “make the first move”? With church attendance, bible study, prayer, fasting, baptism, etc.? With fake “upper lip” optimism and positivity even though you are hurting deeply inside? With a “Woe is me, I am worthless and only deserve the worst” mentality?….  and on and on the illusions go!! 😦

Please STOP IT! Jesus lives in you and You are ONLY GOING TO HURT YOURSELF (and you weren’t created to hurt yourself and like it for very long!) “Twisting” God’s arm will only be pleasurable for a season, and then you are still going to have to face the Truth:

The Father, Son and Spirit have embraced you in such a way in Jesus Christ, that they will never let you go! You are included, adopted and acceptable in Jesus! You always have been, and you always will be! Jesus IS the Required Work, Toil, Labor and Effort of God – Embrace it, and enjoy His unchanging Love! (John 6:28-29!)

Overcoming Your Greatest Weakness!

 

What Is The Greatest Weakness of Man?

That is how the question was posed to the character, James Farmer, Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), in the movie “The Great Debaters“, by his father, James Farmer, Sr. (Forest Whitaker). Junior’s father was a pastor and was preparing a sermon when Junior walked in the door and had that question thrown at him.

So, how would you answer the question, “What is the greatest weakness of man?”

In life I have heard many answers to this question. We have all heard or thought answers such as, “Greed!”, “Laziness!”, “Just not thinking!”, “Lust!”, “The Devil!”, “Simply a limited physical being!”, “Death!”, “Sex!”, “The opposite sex!”, “Money!”, “The love of money!”, and there are potentially a “million” more reasons.

Junior looked a his father in a thoughtful way, and in just a few short seconds came up with the CORRECT, Christ-centered answer, in an ironically doubtful way:

“Not believing? Doubt?”

“That’s it! Thank You Jr.!”, said his father, “Matt 14:31!”

This is a Christ-centered answer because it is the point Jesus Christ kept making about humanity’s fall, time and time again! Matthew 8:26, Mark 4:40, Luke 9:41, John 16:9 .

Now, don’t be too discouraged if you know that you lack faith in Jesus! You could ONLY lack faith in one area of life because you have STRONG faith in another! You definitely have faith in something, even if it is in the false belief that you have no faith! 🙂 You also need not be discouraged because EVERY human being, except Jesus, lacks sufficient faith apart from Jesus sharing his with us! Luke 18:8!

The Encouragingly Good News is that you do not have to worry about trying to work up the faith that satisfies God! It has been given to you graciously in Jesus, Who is having faith for you, and sharing that measure of faith with you even now! Romans 12:3, Gal 2:20, Hebrews 12:2!

Can you believe and embrace that?! Yes, you can! Because, in Jesus Christ, you have been given nothing less than every spiritual blessing! Ephesians 1:3-6! “Every spiritual blessing” certainly INCLUDES Jesus’ exact faith! Ephesians 2:4-10!

Here is a link to the most popular post on this site, which further emphasizes this MAJOR point! Be encouraged!

How to Deal With EXTREMELY Difficult People!

You have probably heard MANY answers and responses to this question and concern. I know I have! But it has only been since I have learned more about Who Jesus Christ is, and who humanity is in him, that I am finally starting to KNOW what the answer to this question REALLY is. And here it is:

JUDGE extremely difficult people!!!

(Or as Jesus said “Do not judge by appearances but judge with right Judgment!”)

I can almost hear the religious brakes squealing as I write! 🙂  It seems the ONLY parts of scripture about judgment that stick in our minds are the ones that say things like “judge not that you be not judged” (Matt 7:1). We almost totally neglect the other part that says, “for with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged!” OR, if we do include that section, and other sections of scripture on judgment, it is almost always totally negative and not reconciled with a proper view of Who Jesus is!

The point of this post is NOT to go into all the finer points of that passage of verses, other than to say that what Jesus is saying is absolutely true and has probably been experienced by most of us – in the negative! I’ll never forget the day my wife pointed out how she was sure that Jesus was REALLY saying something like, “If you judge people in a certain way, with certain rules, and then you inevitably break those rules yourself, people will judge you the same way you judged them! If you judge people in and with grace, then people will judge you in and with grace!” I wholeheartedly agreed with her!

In other words, if you proclaim the Gospel as “not breaking any of God’s holy laws”, and then you inevitably break one of them (make that almost all of them – repeatedly!!), then people you have proclaimed this Gospel to will judge you as a lawbreaker and condemn you. If, on the other hand, you proclaim the Gospel as “the Adoption of Humanity and Creation into the Life of the Triune God, in Jesus, regardless of our rule-breaking or rule-keeping”, people will judge you according to that. They may call you out, properly, as doing something you shouldn’t have done, but they will also still judge you as adopted, or according to the standard (gospel) you promoted! It’s sinful human nature!

BUT, knowing Who Jesus is in his Person helps us sort out the subject of judgment properly AND how to deal with difficult people.

Because Jesus is God, and God is our ultimate Judge, AND, Jesus, in our humanity with us, has judged our sin as conquered and overcome in His human life, death, burial, resurrection and ascension, humanity (you and I) have been judged in Jesus as cleansed of sin and adopted! The Judge has ascended with all of humanity to the right hand of God as the Second Adam, where we are seated with him and blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places!!

Whoa!! I NEVER get tired of hearing that! In fact, “judge me, judge me, judge me” according to that Truth in Jesus ALL THE TIME!! Please!! And, of course, because Jesus is permanently human for and with us, He DOES judge every one of us this way, ALL THE TIME!! And within that truth lies the ability to deal with extremely difficult people, and the ONLY hope for becoming extremely lovable and loving people!

Karl Barth, one of the great, if not greatest, theologians of the 20th Century put his answer to “How to Deal with Extremely Difficult People” in this kind of heavy, Christ-centered way:

“On the basis of the eternal will of God we have to think of every human being, even the oddest, most villainous or miserable, as one to whom Jesus Christ is Brother and God is Father; and we have to deal with him on this assumption. If the other person knows that already, then we have to strengthen him in that knowledge. If he does not know it yet, or no longer knows it, our business is to transmit this knowledge to him. On the basis of the knowledge of the humanity of God no other attitude to any kind of fellow man is possible. It is identical with the practical acknowledgement of his human rights and his human dignity. To deny it to him would be for us to renounce having Jesus Christ as Brother and God as Father.” – The Humanity of God, p. 53. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982. (The Adopted Life)

In my more simple way of putting it, Karl Barth is saying that when we see Who Jesus is, and Embrace Him seriously for Who He really is, we take seriously that Jesus lives in everyone! This is to our advantage in EVERY CONCEIVABLE WAY with a difficult person. We can KNOW, up front, that they are only so difficult, not all difficult! We can appeal to the Jesus that indwells them. If they know about this Jesus in them or have forgotten it, we can “ring their bell” and be a helpful reminder to them of who they REALLY are. This is one way you could call them out in the Gospel: “Why are you being so extremely difficult _____________ ? That’s not who you really are and we both know it! Jesus Christ lives in you!! BE that!!”

If they do not know who they are, then you are compelled to tell them who they are! We can KNOW IT WILL HAVE SOME GODLY EFFECT, because Jesus Christ DOES live in them! Call them out more like this: “_____________ , I know the real you, and you are NOT this EXTREMELY difficult person in Jesus Christ, Who lives in you!! Good Gravy! The sooner you begin embracing that fact, the sooner you will stop creating misery for yourself and others! Now change your mind and believe the Good News before I have to restrain you in love so you don’t hurt anyone else, including yourself, until you can see Jesus more clearly!!”

To not think about and deal with EXTREMELY difficult people in this way is to deny Jesus Christ as our Brother, and to deny God as our Father in the Holy Spirit, because there is no one Who is not in Jesus! Colossians 1:27! Yikes!

Help us Jesus!!! (He has and He will!)

The Best Prayer I Ever AND Never Heard…

 

…was uttered on a recent visit I had with an older couple from my church, in their home, on a HOT summer day. At the conclusion of the visit, I prayed. Then the wife prayed. The husband then began his concluding prayer, and early in his conversation to the Triune God, uttered these unforgettable words…

“And thank you Father that Pastor Tim wore shorts!!!”

And, YES, we all began to laugh in our communion and talk with God uproariously!! Ha-Ha!! The “white elephant” in the room was revealed and he was not as big, or mean, or as visible a creature as we had all suspected! Someone had whispered a HUGE lie to each of us in that room that it was not possible to REALLY relate with the Father, Son and Spirit, and with each other, without our “religious robes” on, and we “Elephant stomped” him with laughter!!

If you have ever gone to meet with the church, almost anywhere, I am sure you have wrestled with this dilemma, too: “What should I wear? (because of what you believe others will think!)” versus “But here is what I REALLY want to wear so that I can BE ME and be comfortable!”

As much as I am learning to live in the Freedom of the Good News of Jesus, I am also learning to put off religion at the same time, and it is a real struggle! Yes, this story has a back story riddled with struggle, and that is why we all laughed in a very relieving and freeing way after that man’s prayer!

You see, it was HOT in Virginia that day, and it was a Saturday. Not a day of suits and tuxedos, but a day of shorts, pajamas and relationship with family. I got dressed in the spirit of the day and prepared to go and meet these members of my extended local church family! All is well and good, right? Unfortunately no!

What started out as a growing religious whisper soon turned into a condemning SHOUT, “You are a Pastor! These people are older! You can’t wear shorts! You know the Apostle Paul – ‘You are free to do all things but all things are not profitable!’ Those long pants over there are what would be most acceptable for pastors in this situation. AND what if they happen to have family members visiting them who attend other churches?!” I even went so far as to ask my lovely wife what she thought, and she was at least free enough from the Senior Pastor role I play to say “I think you are fine!” Whew! Thank you for a wife filled with freedom from the typical expectations of that Senior Pastor family role, Jesus!!! 🙂

So, off I went, BUT not in complete peace I am sorry to say! Oh how persistent the lie is! All the long highway there, the thought kept creeping back into my mind that I might not have on appropriate clothing (a suit or long pants versus the nice shorts and shirt I was wearing on that hot Virginia day. And, after all, my shorts did come down to my knees! Ha-Ha!! 🙂 ) .

The One good thing about that trip is that it was a struggle BECAUSE Jesus was with me and kept saying that everything was well and for me to stop “Future Trippin!” After all, Jesus whispered in the Gospel, “If I could lower myself to the status of a REAL human being in fallen flesh, and remain fully human forever for your sake (everyone’s sake), couldn’t I help you bear the potential scorn of others that may come from wearing a pair of shorts instead of other more acceptable religious robing?!!” Of course, He could!  And, of course, in His unceasing Grace he DID and DOES!! Hebrews 13:13!

Finally, I arrived at their home. I got out of the car and walked up to the door. I rang the doorbell and heard a friendly shout that said, “come in Pastor Tim, we’re in the back”! I walked in the room where I joyfully, delightfully and in the freedom of Jesus, observed that the couple was WEARING SHORTS, too!!!! On the inside of myself I think I went into every religious tradition I had ever been exposed too, “Hallelujah!!” “Praise you Jesus!” “Thank ya! Thank ya!” “We believe in One God, the Father…”. I think I even spoke a few things in tongues (my mom and dad used to be Pentecostal),”Rondodo seekamathos rrrrondeedeehey nononoko – translation  = Shorts! Shorts!! Shorts!!! Shorts!!!!” Ha-Ha!! 🙂

As happy as I was (and as happy as I found out they were later), the invisible, lying, “elephant” was still hiding behind our good conversation about the Gospel, our families, the Gospel, our challenges, the Gospel, our dreams, the Gospel, our church and denomination, and the Gospel! Finally, before leaving we prayed together and Jesus exposed the lie, shared his freedom with us, and let us off the hook by praying in and through the man: “And thank you God that Pastor Tim wore shorts!!!”

After finishing his prayer we all clapped and tore that lying “elephant” to pieces! We each shared our stories about wanting to participate in the freedom of Jesus and wear shorts but were somewhat hindered by wondering what the others would think! Evil creatures had whispered lies and placed burdens on our souls, saying we could not share in the freedom of godly relationship without a certain type of religious and traditional clothing on, but the lie was exposed and crushed in the prayer and laughter of Jesus!!

So, here is the BIG question: Why is the type and style of clothing we wear such a relational barrier in the light of our forever inclusion and acceptance in the life of the Father, Son and Spirit in Jesus Christ? How is it that humanity has gone all the way from the liberating freedom of fellowshipping with the Father in complete nakedness, and without shame, to being concerned about clothing and hiding at every point? Gen 2:21 – 3:13!

The answer is: we have all sinned and think wrongly about Who God is! Romans 3:9-11! Our perspective about Who Jesus is and Who we are in Him has gotten cloudy and dark! John 1:5! 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am NOT advocating that we should wear no clothing!! 🙂  I think that clothing is appropriate to wear under our circumstances. Wearing clothing is actually a type of open admission that we REALLY are sinners and personally don’t have a proper perspective of God in and of ourselves! Yet, as we believe the Good News of Jesus, in our clothing (of whatever type), we can know that we are still included and adopted into the life of God, in Jesus, even IN OUR DARKNESS!! Hebrews 2:14-18