You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

1 Peter 2: 9

This is a truth statement about you and about me and about everyone who knows God; for a relationship with the Creator involves a total change in all of our core forms of identity and expands our connections and affinities by an unimaginably large factor. As we are in Christ, we are also included in this very select but substantial family that occupies God’s household; thus, we are among a group of people that God has decided to love and to protect despite our lack of worth or our unloveliness.

When the Lord possesses a person, He doesn’t just grab us and hold us captive; rather, He wins us over by showing us that He has a love for us that penetrates to the depths of our need and that His love is the only truly unconditional and unchanging one that exists. As we allow the Lord to possess our hearts and our minds, His Spirit works on them to transform us into people who also understand and who act out of righteous love. It is a part of our human nature to fight back against God’s possession, to hold on to parts of our old ways of viewing life and of living it, but darkness tends to fill these areas where we hold back.

The best thing that we can do to eliminate these dark corners from our hearts is to express our praise for the Lord. This needs to become a daily part of how we live until it is an important part of who we are. Consider the goodness that Christ brings into your life, read of God’s mercy and grace in His word, thank Him for the ways that He has touched the lives of those around you, and develop your own thoughts of the ways that God’s presence infuses your world; then, start to talk with Him about it. As you let God know how much you notice and value who and what He is to you, He will speak these same truths back to your heart in ways that will make them even clearer and more understandable. The best way to fill your day with light is to continually speak praise for God from your heart; then, He will shine the warming light of peace, joy, and freedom onto every step of your path.

“…proclaim the excellence of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
1 Peter 2:9

Thought for the Day:

You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. Psalm 8:5

 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

 We are unsure of when King David wrote the words of Psalm 8. It could have been written while he was on the throne in Jerusalem, or it could have been while he was on the run from one of King Saul’s murderous rampages. His present location isn’t clear, but his mindset is.

I imagine David writing this Psalm as he thought back to simpler, safer and easier times in his life. Times when his biggest enemy was loneliness as he sat in the hills of Judea watching over his father’s sheep, and his biggest fear was an occasional bear or lion or other enemy attacking the sheep when he least expected it. The words of this Psalm could very easily have come to David during his time as a shepherd, only to be written down later.

Imagine laying in the soft, cool mountain grass during the stillness of the night and looking up into the vast array of stars that make up our universe. While staring into space David is reminded of God’s great love for him. A love that is so great and enduring that God not only loves us, He honors us. He lifts us up and esteems us! To think a frail, weak, rebellious human such as I would be honored and esteemed by the ruler of the universe!

Years later, the Apostle Paul is writing his letter to the Romans and he too is reminded of God’s great love. He candidly shares with the Roman disciples his own shortcomings and struggle with sin and with failure. In the midst of this he reminds all of us that God’s love is directed to us on the basis of who Jesus is and what we do with Jesus, not on whom we are or what we can do for Him.

If the God of the Universe loves us so much that He honors and esteems us above all other things then how could He be any less anxious to bring his very best into our lives? We may not always understand the struggles we are going through or why God allows things to come into our lives. But we can know that in the end He will work everything for good in our lives.

Your Heavenly Father wants to do great things in your life. You may not understand all that is going on in your life right now, but you can know that your Heavenly Father can take even the toughest times of our lives and use them for our good and His glory.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father. I have to admit I don’t understand why you do what you do, particularly at this point in my life. I thank you for the promise that you love and honor me even though I’m so unworthy. Help me grow more in my love for you as you lead me through the tough times of life. Amen.

…This is the Christian hope: God is redeeming the world through his Son, Jesus the Christ. We believe God is putting his creation to rights and will accomplish this purpose no matter how gloomy life sometimes appears. So, does God control this world? Sure he does, just not in the mechanical, unconscious way we may have always imagined. I don’t think he is pulling levers and punching buttons dictating the minutia of life. He seems to have left a great deal of autonomy for us his creations. See, in the greatest act of grace short of the cross itself, God has given us a role to play in the redemption of creation. His good pleasure is, amazingly, to do his will and work through us.

That God is all-powerful over his world, masterfully cooking in his kitchen, does not diminish, negate, or marginalize our role and responsibility in the least. God will do what God will do. You and I must do the same. Now, if I was God, and you should thank God I’m not, I would have never entrusted my good creation to beings so irresponsible, so short-sighted, so corrupt and depraved. Yet, this is exactly what God has done. We haven’t earned this glorious responsibility. We don’t deserve it, but it is ours. What will we do with it?

Frodo, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic “Lord of the Rings” series is that little hobbit on whom the One Ring falls. He and only he must bear this terrible possession to the fires of Mount Doom to save Middle Earth. He protests his assignment, having not asked for this awful burden that has fallen into his hands. He says to his mentor and guide, Gandalf, “I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.”

And how we wish our world was different, just like young Frodo. But Gandalf wisely responds, “So do all who see such times. But that is not for us to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that we are given.” If given an audience with God we might be so bold as to ask him, “Why don’t you do something about starving children, genocide, the violation of the innocent, and unending war? Why don’t you intervene in your world?” Such queries are dangerous. Not because God can’t handle it; he certainly can. But he just might ask us the same questions.

My experience walking with God tells me something that I never saw coming and only can see now when looking back. It is that God has been with me leading me in and through all of my despair and uncertainess throughout all of my life. Whatever lens of understanding or revelation I happened to be seeing him through didn’t matter.

He was with me when I was convinced that my salvation depended upon my own holiness. He was there with me when I was running away from life and God because of failure in relationships and feelings of rejection.

He was there when I have let my self go in sin because I had given up trying to live for Him. He was there when I was more interested in pleasure and doing things for me. He was there when I felt trapped, struggling and scrambling to get out of situations through my own efforts that I had found myself in because of bad decision making on my part, He was there when I felt all alone and continually contemplated suicide because the thought of it brought pleasure because it meant release from deep and seemingly unending emotional pain.

Through it all He was there. He never left me, He never forsook me. I don’t say that simply to recite what Jesus said in Scriptures as a comforting thought, but because this is the God who I have experienced in my own life.

He was there through it all. Through the ugliness through the pain, through the tormenting fear, through the exceeding joy and laughter, through the really good times and through the really bad times. Through my moments of “God I want to live my life for you!” and my moments of “God I hate you!”

What I have come to realize is that grace is something that is outside of me. He loved me from the foundation of the world, He loved me when I was at my worst, He loved me at my deepest place of despair, He knows every hidden thing about me and yet He still loves me completely without caution or regret and He will always love me not because of me, but because He has chosen to.

Psalms 139:1-18

“O LORD, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.

You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you. For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you.”

“The virtue of the candle lies not in the wax that leaves its trace, but in its light.”
-Antoine de Saint-Exupery in The Wisdom of the Sands

I can’t really say why everybody wishes they were somewhere else
but in the end the only steps that matter are the ones you take all by yourself
-You Can’t Go Back Now, the Weepies

The dust settled, and the mornings of 2010 find me feeling like myself. I have time to read to the children of my friends. My runners get a lot of play. I write. I make food. I eat. And I take photos. Not a day has started this year wherein I found myself breathing “thank you,” a steady rhythm of gratitude fueling the way a lot of days are going. I don’t have a lot to say. I’m just thankful. For those who’ve journeyed with me the past few years, thank you for your patience and love and kindness as I worked out how to be fully present here. Thank you for understanding when that meant moving away from church work. Thank you for believing that in me, for perusing my work, for loaning me your kids and faces for photos.

The dust settled, and I am amazed, amazed, amazed that this is the life I get to live. God is infinitely kind. All is grace.

Yesterday Carla, my bestie from my traveling days, gave birth to her first baby girl. Later in the week I will take my third trip to the West Coast this year to be with them for a little while. The fruit of this change of pace looks like a fresh canvas for being with people in their daily lives. Where the 9-5 creates the stability of a regular paycheck, it left me with the impossibility of flexibility in schedule. The ebb and flow of these days is busy, busy, busy at times, but the busy comes with s p a c e. So I get to go. To be there for a few days in Lucia’s early days. To kiss her fuzzy forehead. To learn her baby noises.

The gift, perhaps, that photography affords is the possibility of being fully present in these amazing moments. Sometimes the click of the shutter makes permanence. Life is fleeting. And I get to be there.

All is grace.

Is roller coaster one word or two?  I’m lazy this afternoon, so I refuse to look it up.  And man, my throat hurts! What gives?

Anyway . . . life has gone chaotic on us and I will share more as I have something to share . . . right now I don’t really have anything to really share except we’re learning to just trust God.  Much much easier said than done day in and day out, that is truth.  But I keep speaking it and it will be our reality.

I liked my devotional today asking if I really knew the cost of sanctification.  Or did I just pray for it during an emotional high?  When the roller coaster is on the down grade and you feel your life is going to shatter at any moment . . . where is your trust when your heart is in your throat.  Where is your attitude and viewpoint then?  I’m asking myself those questions, not you.  I’ve found myself negative and in my natural problem solving mode, which usually includes much grousing and whininess, a lot this week.  I don’t get what is going on with this “plan” of ours and I’m ticked its not going my way . . . but at the same rate I’ve got this amazing God that holds us in the palm of His hand and He has provided all that we need . . . and when the “plan” isn’t in focus, we still gotta trust He’ll lead us right where we are suppose to be.

Lessons well worth learning . . . now just to keep tapping into that grace that is sufficient!  Thank you, God!

Proverbs 23:26 (NIV) ~ My son, give me your heart. 

The heart is where our emotions come from, it is where we feel and are touched by the things of life. The Bible says in Psalm 86:11 (NIV), “Teach me your way, O LORD, and I will walk in your truth; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.” It is with the heart that we believe in Jesus, and it is with a willing heart that we follow Jesus. A heart full of love for God that flows with compassion is what God desires to work with; a heart full of kingdom living principals, with pure holy motives.

Yet, the heart can be very fragile, it can be easily broken. Though we see pictures of a heart and the shape of it as a romantic gesture, the truth is the natural shape of someone’s heart from their body is just a muscle with many valves to pump the blood around the body. However, life flows from the heart.  It is better to have a heart of flesh than a heart of stone. The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:5 (NIV), “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” Notice if you will that to love God begins with loving Him with all your heart. The Bible also says in 1 Peter 3:15 (NIV), “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord.” 

God cares about your heart. He cares about the deep things from your heart and the things that cause your heart pain. The safest place for your heart to be is within the hands of Jesus, who is the Healer of the broken-hearted. 

My friend, in our text for today, God is kindly saying in all wisdom from Proverbs 23:26 (NIV), “My son, give me your heart.”  And more than that, He’s saying, “Give me your heart and let me keep it safe.” Will your response be as the lyrics of this song by Darlene Zschech: 

This is my desire, to honour you; Lord, with all my heart I worship you,

All I have within me, I give you praise, all that I adore is in you,

Lord, I give you my heart, I give you my soul. 

God bless you my friend, Matthew

I have a hard time sharing my testimony- the story of grace that God has given me.  Not because I don’t want to, but because, in comparison to so many stories I’ve heard, mine seems pale.  Or so I thought.  I’ve shared it so many times between leadership with Campus Crusade and Bible studies that I’ve been part of, and mission trips that I’ve been on, and just in talking to people, but it still never seems quite as dramatic and exciting as the others.

Tonight I was told that I’d be sharing with some of the other people involved in Agape, and it freaked me out.  Not because talking in front of other people, or even sharing my testimony is that scary in itself, but knowing that my testimony isn’t something that I thought could really change someone’s life.

So I told Jamal this (since he is the one who informed me that we’d be sharing).  I told him it scared me, and I talked it out with him, and he encouraged me to just sit with it, and to think through it, and reminded me of what I’ve been reminded of before-  it’s a blessing that I’m not a drug dealer and that I’ve never had cancer and that my parents aren’t divorced, and that I have always been loved unconditionally and that nothing notable has ever happened that would alter my well-being in a major way.

All the way home, I thought about it.

Then I realized.

I realized some incredibly important parts of my growth and life that have shaped my relationship with Christ.

I realized that Jesus died for me.  He was the sacrifice that I am required to have to spend eternity with my Creator.  Just like he was the sacrifice for the Disciples.  And for the prostitute.  And for the thief.  And for you.

He took me from an eternity spent separated from Him to an eternity of communion with Him.  That’s a miracle!! AND that’s life changing!

Have you ever felt so utterly overwhelmed that all you can do is sit dumbfounded, wondering when the feeling will pass?

I’m having one of those moments right now – actually for the past 3 hours.  I should be sleeping, but I can’t shake this overwhelming desire to run around outside, screaming in order to wake the neighbors and tell them that Jesus is Lord of all creation and that he loves them – and me!  How can I not proclaim Christ, when to remain silent pains me so deeply?

Can the solution be that simple or has all this PhD research finally turned my mind to mush?

I’m having my own little evangelical melt-down here.  And to top it all off, I can’t get this song by Matt Maher out of my head.  Listen to it, really listen!

Mercy. It is undeserved favor.  That makes it grace.  I don’t deserve it.  But I need it.  I can name you many times that God granted me mercy & grace.  I probably don’t even know of some of the times that He allowed mercy instead of consequence.  Like the time I was playing with matches and the ensuing fire got bigger than I could handle.  I got disciplined by my parents but the house didn’t burn. Mercy.  How about when I pestered a little girl in elementary school because I thought she was cute.  I was humbled but not broken when she told the teacher.  Mercy. 

The time that I was so lonely, and asked for a wife.  Becky and 3 daughters were the answer. Mercy.  When I didn’t know how to be a good husband.  Yet my wife stayed.  Mercy.  My ignorance in raising children didn’t produce dysfunctional adults.  Mercy.  When money didn’t flow at the rate I wanted, yet all our needs are met.   Mercy.

Oh, we’ve had job losses, money losses, trust losses, broken bones, hurt hearts, and love stretched to the breaking point.  But Mercy has followed us like a Father follows His little child to protect, teach and hold when the hurt came anyway. 

Why?  Why has Mercy followed us?  Why does the Merciful One extend His helping, loving arms when we most need it.  I have no answer, except to look at the beginning and the end.  The Alpha and the Omega.  When God opens the 1st act of this strange play staged on Earth, He creates a world with me(n) and Him.  Then I fail Him.  But after the Acts are completed, the final curtain comes down only after He re-creates a world for me(n) and Him.  Wow!  I’m beginning to think that He wants me with Him always.  Even when things aren’t perfect.  Even when I mess up.  Even when I don’t listen. 

Have Mercy on me, O Lord, for I have missed the Standard you set for me.  I don’t value others like you value me.  I don’t give my life, like you gave yours.

Mercy.  Also known as….. Jesus!  I think I need to get to know this One who loves me more than I love Him!

Yes.� The entire day was devoted to learning how to answer questions on the NANC certification exam.� It was all blown away by the wonderfully encouraging sermon by James MacDonald, entitled, God is in Control.� I’ve tried to reproduce my notes below – but to be honest, I was just passionately listening to this sermon as God used His Word to penetrate His truth deep into my heart.

Text: Acts 12:1-23

• God is in control, even when I suffer (Acts 12:1-5)
  • God’s sovereignty is not diminished by my suffering.
  • Herod was wreaking violent, intentional, intense suffering on the church (persecuted the church, killed James and arrested Peter)
  • There was intense prayer being made on Peter’s behalf.� Suffering will bring us to lay our tears in the carpet.
  • Even in intense suffering, there is not a single detail that is outside the intense gaze of a sovereign God.
  • There should be no circumstance that shakes the core knowledge that God is in control
• God is in control, even when it’s midnight (Acts 12:6-11, 18 & 19)
  • “on that very night” (the very night Peter was about to die) “Peter was sleeping”.
    • Peter was so confident of God’s control that he was sleeping hours before his impending death
    • Perhaps he wanted to be sure to be rested for his first stroll down those golden streets?
  • The angel has to “strike” Peter to wake him up (same word used of Peter cutting off Malcus’ ear)
  • Point: the answer came at the last possible moment.
    • God is never late, but rarely is He ever early
    • When I say, “I can’t go on another day!”, God says “Yes, you can.� My grace is sufficient!”
    • Perhaps what we are really saying is that we really fear that it is too late for us to do anything about the suffering we’re in.� Now it must be all up to God.
  • What happens when Herod finds out that Peter is gone? (v.18-19)
    • “no little disturbance” among the soldiers
    • Herod personally searches for Peter in the prison
    • Herod takes a vacation
• God is in control, even when my faith is weak (Acts 12:12-17)
  • Do you see Peter nervously knocking at the door of Mary’s house?� He just “escaped from prison”
  • Do you see Rhonda just hear his voice and in her excitement leaving him outside and running to tell the others?
  • Do you see the prayer meeting going on – all of them praying fervently for his release?
    • they don’t believe Rhonda – “it is his ghost”
    • what they are saying is that “he is already dead”
    • they are praying that God do something, but believing in their heart it is too late
    • their faith is weak
    • I’ve been there – that is so me
  • Blessing: Sovereignty trumps weak faith!
  • Peter keeps knocking
  • They come out and see him and are amazed!
  • Peter gives the glory to God!
• God is in control, even when the wicked Prosper (Acts 12:20-23)
  • Have you ever prayed that God would pour out His vengeance on someone?
    • “C’mon God!� Do something!� Can’t you see this evil doing this?!?!”
  • That day is coming – God’s patience will not last forever.� Revelation 6:15-17
  • Herod was angry with Tyre & Sidon, people were starving and they needed food from him
  • Herod comes dressed all fancy and delivers an arrogant, pompous speech
  • The people call out (to appease him), “He is a god!”
  • Herod takes the acclaim, does not divert the glory
  • God sends (sovereignly) and angel of the Lord to strike Herod with worms, and he dies
  • NOTE: God’s plan doesn’t suffer in the midst of our suffering
    • end result: the Word of God increased and multiplied

May God remind me of His control in the middle of these things.

Additional Resources:

• Walk in the Word
• Churches helping Churches
• Mars Hill Church – Mark Driscoll
• Harvest Bible Chapel, Rolling Meadows, IL

Be Still . . .
Devotionals for Daily Living^©

The LORD is righteous in all his ways
and loving toward all he has made.
The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry and saves them.
The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
(Psalms 145:17-20 (NIV))

What is your picture of God?

Is He the loving Creator or do you picture Him as a vengeful destroyer?

Out of the eight lines of the passage, only one line refers to God destroying anyone. Seven lines sing praises of God’s love, righteousness and mercy. The only line that speaks of anything other than God’s love talks about how He will deal with the wicked. Unfortunately, too many people ignore God’s love and focus on His promises to judge those who are wicked in His eyes. What is interesting is the fact that He has even offered a way for the wicked to repent.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.”
(John 3:15-21 (NIV))

Are we, as humanity, so blind to what is being offered to us? Many of us simply chose to focus on what will happen if we do not turn from our sin instead of turning from our sin. Are we so attached to our sins that we don’t want to give them up? Instead, we get angry at the very one who created us and lovingly tells us to turn toward Him. We focus on the repercussions of our actions instead of changing our actions.

What do you focus on?

Copyright 1998 – 2010 Dennis J. Smock
Daily Living Ministries, Inc.
http://www.dailylivingministries.org
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On many an idle day have I grieved over lost time.  But it is never lost, my lord. Thou hast taken every moment of my life in thine own hands.
Hidden in the heart of things, thou art nourishing seeds into sprouts, buds into blossoms, and ripening flowers into fruitfulness.
I was tired and sleeping on my idle bed and imagined all work had ceased. In the morning I woke up and found my garden full with wonders of flowers.
~~Rabindranath Tagore

Are you a church leader, you know, pastor, elder, deacon, or a board member? Have you ever offended anyone in your church? NO, are you sure? Never you say, well then, to my question; If you have never offended anyone are you preaching the truth of God?

Pastor, do not grieve over the ones who get offended. Don’t waste your anointing on the ones who leave. Feed the ones who God has appointed to you to shepherd.  If you grieve over the ones who leave, you open yourself up to compromising the truth of God’s word.  You will try to please man and not God!

Elder, Deacon, and  Board Member concern yourself with what God has given your church, not what you don’t have. To say it another way; it’s not about numbers, it’s about real live people. Offended people move around and there is nothing you can do about it. Pray for their restoration.  

Please read John Bevere’s book ” The Bait of Satan”. It will help you deal with offense.

Selah  סֶלָה‎  Let those with eyes see, and ears hear

Pastor Michael

There are people out there in our world who cut themselves (self-mutilation).  I used to cut myself when I heard Truth, was depressed, mad, anxious, suicidal, when things in life weren’t going well, etc.  I haven’t cut myself in about 2 and a half years only through the power, mercy, and grace of God.  Today, I am still learning why I did this to myself.

I went on a retreat and we were talking about “self.”  Self is your “flesh.”  Basically, what ever you do to please, or gratify yourself is “fleshly,” or selfish.  Sorry if you are confused.  Here we go: self is basically anything you do that involves yourself.  We hear: self-mutilation, self-absorbed, self-respect, self-esteem, etc.  A lot of these things that involve “self” usually do not benefit you.  There are a lot of things I do not like about myself and sometimes some circumstances, events, or things that happen in my life; I have difficulty accepting these things. 

When I cut myself with a razor, I was “cutting” away my “self:”  things that I did not like about myself.  I hated being depressed, hated being rejected, hated how low I thought of myself, hated how un-masculine I was, hated how people treated me, hated how I treated others, hated how I drank so much, hated how much I did drugs, hated who I was becoming, etc.  As I lived a life in homosexuality; I began to hate myself and “cut” away at my self.  I would cut myself and BAM; there was my release from all of my pain and myself.  After cutting myself, I could live with myself a little bit more and soon enough; I would have to cut myself again.  I was cutting away things that God needed to be “cutting” away.  Through me, I could not pick up a razor and get rid of the things that God wanted out of my life.  The devil is deceitful and he will lie as much as he can until he begins to destroy you and that is what he was doing to me.  If you are listening to his lies, don’t bother with them.  His lies and deceit will only leave you breathless and eventually end in death.  Look to Christ…the TRUTH and hope that you need.

After accepting Christ; I didn’t have to cut on my bodily flesh because God took over the process.  Once you accept Him into your life, He will TAKE AWAY your pain.  You are able to lay everything down at His feet and say, “No more!”  God will “spiritually” cut away at things in your life that you need to be rid of and you, yourself will no longer have to physically cut your bodily flesh.  God has “cut” unforgiveness, depression, homosexuality, sex addiction, masturbation, food addiction, drug addiction, alcohol addiction, pornography addiction, nicotine addiction, hate, bitterness, etc. out of my life.  He is still working on some things such as: judgement and criticism, but I am sure that those will not be the last things He spiritually “cuts” from my flesh.

I cut myself from the age of 18 until I was 23.  If you are now cutting yourself; seek counsel from Godly people.  Also, get in the word of God and extinguish those lies and deceit from the devil.  You will and can OVERCOME cutting with God.

“Wherever we find the Word of God surely preached and heard, and the sacraments administered according to the institution of Christ, there, it is not to be doubted, is a church of God.” John Calvin

“Jesus spoke truth to every audience he encountered.  [But]We often attempt to apply directly to our lives every word Jesus said, without considering his audience and purpose.  Jesus was born under the law.  His audience was under the law, and they needed deliverance from it.  Jesus exposed the futility of life under the law.

He exclaimed, “Gouge out your eye” and “cut off your hand” if you truly want to keep the law (Matthew 5:29-30), so that his Jewish listeners would reach a crossroad.  They would decide to try harder or to give up.  Once they gave up, they could consider a radical new way.
Jesus’ impossible teachings of “sell everything, sever body parts if necessary, be perfect like God, and surpass the Pharisees with your righteousness” are not honestly compatible with salvation as a gift from God.
Couldn’t we resolve all of this by realizing the dividing line in human history?  Peter, James, John, and Paul wrote epistles about life under the New Covenant.  Years earlier, Jesus was teaching hopelessness under the Old.  The audience wasn’t the same.  The covenant wasn’t the same.  And the teachings aren’t the same.

Jesus’ harsh teaching aimed at the religious kill you every time.  One thing about distinguishing the Old from the New – it always liberates.
Jesus was born under the law.  As Hebrews tells us, the Old wasn’t replaced by the New until Jesus’ death.
Trying to mix Jesus’ teachings directed to Pharisees and zealous Jews with the epistles will inevitably result in confusion.

Buy “The Naked Gospel” HERE.

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- My Review:

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Yet another great addition to my library.  I thought I’d pretty much read enough about grace, freedom from law, freedom from  religion, and living daily in Christ.
I was wrong.
With all the ground that has been covered by previous readings, this book managed to cover new ground.  It really helps show how religion has added so much to the gospel that the true gospel is considered heresy by much of the “church.”  It’s amazing how far we’ve fallen from truth.
One of my favorite sections is called “Crossing The Line.”  It, alone is worth the price of the book.  It discussed how the dividing line of time, and covenants, was not Christ’s  birth, but his death and resurrection.  I, of course, knew this, but I hadn’t considered the full ramifications; especially concerning the teachings of Jesus under the Old Covenant.
There are some areas that are at opposition with my personal beliefs.  Andrew believes, like many, that Father-Son briefly lost fellowship at the cross. Despite what Jesus felt on the cross, the Father didn’t turn His back on Jesus.  God cannot turn God’s back on God’s self.  (For a great understanding of this, read “He Loves Me” by Wayne Jacobsen.)
But, reading a book like this, and disagreeing with one or two points is no big deal.  I will add this to the short  list of books that I will give away multiple copies of.

I can see why earlier versions of this type of material were banned and burned by organized religion, and why the promoters of said material were tortured and killed.  Of course, Jesus was tortured and killed for pretty much the same reasons.   Anyway, thank you, Andrew Farley.

– dave
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Here are more excerpts from “The Naked Gospel,” by Andrew Farley

Buy “The Naked Gospel” HERE.

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“There is no greater test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than this, that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to this, that because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do; you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will redound all the more to the glory of grace.  If my preaching and presentation does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel…There is this kind of dangerous element about the true presentation of the doctrine of salvation.” – D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. -
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One hindrance to understanding the real gospel as life restoration is an obsession with “book knowledge.”  The life of Jesus in us is what matters most.  We shouldn’t equate “Bible smarts” with spiritual maturity.  They’re certainly not one and the same.  As in Jesus’ day, it’s often those who are puffed up about their good handle on what the Scriptures say (not what they mean!) who resist the counsel of the Holy Spirit.
(Jonh 5:39-40).

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Buy “The Naked Gospel” HERE.
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Adam and Eve didn’t eat from a “tree of evil.”  They ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.  They weren’t pursuing sin as we normally think of it.  They were pursuing a form of godliness.  God never intended for humanity to take upon itself the burden of developing and following a code of ethics.  Adam and Eve reconsidered their confidence in God’s way and opted for morality instead.
Today, we can be deceived by the same offer.  We may find ourselves pursuing the knowledge of good instead of listening to our heartfelt yearning for an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
Fulfilling the law is something that God did in Christ.  Its fulfillment isn’t an ongoing event in the lives of believers today.  God set us free from the law, so that we’re not under it or supervised by it (Galatians 3:25).
The Holy Spirit isn’t motivating us to keep the Mosaic law, nor do I think we should consult the law as our guide in daily living.  This is why we have the Holy Spirit in us instead:  “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:18).  Furthermore, if God were motivating us to adhere to the law, it would be the entire law, not just part of it (James 2:10). [By the way, God did write His laws on our hearts, not the law of Moses.  God's law, according to Jesus, is "love God, love people."]
I believe it’s quite clear that believers should have no relationship with the law.  Romans 7 explains that we’ve died to the law, and we’re now married to Another.  God views a return to law-based living as spiritual adultery.  Living by rules is cheating on Jesus!
Christianity was never rooted in the Law, not even in the Ten Commandments.  The commandments aren’t intended to supervise Christians (Galatians 2:19).   In fact, the law causes more sinning (Romans 7:5,8).
Paul warns that if we add even a pinch of law to our life in Christ, He’ll be of no value to us (Galatians 5:2-3).  It’s preposterous for Christians to adopt portions of the law of Moses as our guide for living.  We’re presuming that God grades on a curve.  But the law is completely incompatible with our attempt to “do our best.”  Law is a pass-fail system.  And one strike means you’re out.  The law only breeds two things: defeat if you’re honest and hypocrisy if you’re not.

[I've always heard people say "I know we can't keep the law, but we should try and do our best."  WHAT?!?!?  Scripture never says "Try to keep the law."  It never says "Do your best."  It says "Keep it all.  Period."  The very scriptures they quote completely negate their proposal.  Neither do the Scriptures teach that we do what we can and Jesus does the rest.  God didn't say that to make us try harder, but to raise the bar so high, we can never do it.  Thank God, Jesus did it for us.]
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Buy “The Naked Gospel” HERE.
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Christ is the end of the law (Romans 10:4).
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Buy “The Naked Gospel” HERE.
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Sure, the flesh is delighted to coerce us toward obvious evil.  But the flesh is equally satisfied to initiate religious or moral living admired by others!
Don’t believe for a minute that the flesh is limited in its scope to producing ugly behavior.  The flesh will build any kind of identity, as long as it gains love, attention, and acceptance from someone.
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The Sabbath:  The reality is Christ, and a genuine Sabbath-rest is found in Him; ceasing from the dead works we thought would gain us favor with God.
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The Tithe:  The same law that mandates a tithe doesn’t allow the pastor to own a home, own property, or own possessions.
(Also read “Tithing and Clergy Salaries.”  Click HERE.)
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Buy “The Naked Gospel” HERE.

how you climb up the mountain is just as important as how you get down the mountain. and, so it is with life, which for many of us becomes one big gigantic test followed by one big gigantic lesson. in the end, it all comes down to one word. grace. it’s how you accept winning and losing, good luck and bad luck, the darkness and the life.  - philosophy

That’s the quote on my perfume that I wear everyday. That’s the quote on my perfume that I wear everyday. amazing grace. It’s able to inspire me whether I am in the best or the worst moods… at one point (12/2008) I wanted to get ‘grace’ tattooed on my wrist to remind me of a quality that is very important in life. I never did get the tattoo but I’ve been able to remember this concept almost daily. It helps to create the balance and the serenity that can be missing… whether you’re happy or sad it’s important to be graceful about it all.

I am writing tonight from the beautiful Tampa Bay area.

Wednesday’s section of this week’s SS lesson asks the question, “It’s one thing to acknowledge that we are sinners, in need of grace, and that our good works cannot save us. At the same time, why must we be careful not to use this teaching as an excuse to live in the flesh?”

The first thing we must remember is Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” So while we are saved by grace it is those who live after the Spirit who escape no condemnation. There is still condemnation for those willfully walk after the flesh.

Secondly, while it is true we are saved by grace, what is it we are saved from? Many want to say we are saved from the penalty of sin which is true. However, Grace is so much more powerful and actually saves us from a life of sin, and following after the flesh. We are very familiar with Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” So there you go, we are saved alone by grace. However Paul does not stop there. He writes on in verse 10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.” So God’s grace also creates in us good works.  “When we live by faith on the Son of God, the fruits of the Spirit will be seen in our lives; not one will be missing.” –Desire of Ages, p. 676 

By reading the verses in Ephesians 2 prior to verses 8-10 we read that God’s grace saves us from living after the desires of the flesh. Many want to use God’s grace for a cloak to cover sins they are willfully and knowingly committing. “No repentance is genuine that does not work reformation. The righteousness of Christ is not a cloak to cover unconfessed and unforsaken sin; it is a principle of life that transforms the character and controls the conduct. Holiness is wholeness for God; it is the entire surrender of heart and life to the indwelling of the principles of heaven.” –Desire of Ages, p. 555

In Zechariah 3 Joshua has his filthy clothes removed before the robe of righteousness is put on him. No, he does not remove the filthy cloths himself, grace does it for him, but they are removed nonetheless before the righteous robes are put on.

So grace and grace alone justifies us and frees us from the penalty of sin which is death and is our title to heaven. Grace and grace alone also sanctifies and frees us from the power of sin and is our fitness for heaven.

When Martin Luther wrote the favored Christmas Carol, Away in a Manger, he added in the final verse, “And fit us for heaven to live with you there.” Martin Luther, who is the champion of grace, understood sanctification by grace as well as justification by grace.

Grace is not a license to live in the flesh. Grace is a license to escape the flesh and live in the Spirit! Paul illustrates the point in Romans 1:5, “By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.” and Titus 2:11-12, “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” So in Ephesians 2:10 Grace gives us good works. In Romans 1:5 grace gives us obedience and in Titus 2:11-12 Grace denies worldly lusts and helps us to live victoriously in Spirit even in this present world! Praise God for His amazing Grace!

When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions
eclipsed by glory
And I realize just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

i love the phrase “afflictions eclipsed by glory”.  i remember as a kid, eclipses being such a cool thing. we’d make those viewers out of boxes and poke a hole in the box to watch the eclipse without actually having to look at it. but watching the moon block out the sun, it’s just crazy.  apply it to life? it’s really easy, especially for me, to let things in my life take over.  sometimes i deal with it by just suppressing it (to which it will explode in another way) or sometimes i wallow in it until i feel that i have given enough of my time to that particular problem.  neither of these solutions is really all that great. but that phrase, “afflictions eclipsed by glory” is an amazing picture of how my response should be. we should be so in awe of the glory of God, that it by far surpasses anything else on this earth. everything we are dealing with is nothing compared to the beauty of the Lord.  his glory eclipses our afflictions – it blocks it out. it blocks it out so that we don’t see it anymore. wouldn’t it be so great if this was an easy place to get to?

made perfect in weakness.

really, an eclipse isn’t that impressive unless the two things involved are stark opposites.  i mean, if the moon eclipsed another, equally bright moon… what difference would it make? no. the reason why eclipses are so cool is because it’s literally black and white. night and day.  so really, how impressive would it be if our afflictions were just eclipsed by more afflictions? … not that impressive. it’s like… hiding a grass stain with a dirt stain. but, afflictions eclipsed by glory, the difference is huge.  it’s like… taking a completely dirt-stained shirt, and pouring tide on it (like in those commercials) and seeing the difference between dirty and clean. its when our afflictions are the greatest, that his glory is unmistakable.

CK had this verse as her profile status today.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10:

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

this verse encompasses everything i was feeling last night. i had a short but sweet chat with A during family dinner. our conversations at some point always touch on going through struggles and uncertainties in life, but being able to know that the Lord has something amazing in store for us.  she had asked how i was doing, and to be honest, it has been a really rough past couple of days.  i just felt like my life was becoming more and more crazy, things added on to me, deadlines, applications, financial stresses, relational stresses, and still having to function in school… and then hearing that friends had loved ones passing away. it just felt like everything was getting to a boiling point. but what this verse reminded me, and what i mentioned to A, was that the one solace in my life was that even if my life gets crazier (which i can’t imagine it being that way right now), God will bring me out of it. and, like the verse says, his power is made perfect in weakness. so when i am at my weakest, his power is made known to me as incomparable, unexplainable, and unsurpassable.

resting.

so what do i do now? wait? yes. rest? yes (at least as well as i can). hope? yes.

i’ve come to realize that there are a lot of things in life i cannot control. worrying about it and stressing about it will never do any good. in fact, it can only do harm because you lose sleep, start to think of worst case scenarios, and stop trusting that God knows what he’s doing. it’s in times of frustration and confusion that we need to let our afflictions be eclipsed by God’s glory.  we’re not called to be total robots or to completely ignore things going on around us. but the line is drawn between where we accept where we are, faithfully continuing to follow the Lord’s leading and when we allow it to control our lives. i’m not gonna lie, i’m excited for when a lot of this is resolved (or in the case of all the school stuff, when its done). BIG sigh of relief. but at least for now, i am going to try to learn what i can from this (patience… can i say patience anyone?). knowing what i know about God (and goodness knows it is NOT alot), his grace IS sufficient. always.

as J likes to tell me, “take it one day at a time”.

**just when i think i can’t take on anymore… it happens. and life dumps more on top of my already growing pile of crap**

That’s what Jesus Christ did: he loved the unlovable, and he calls his disciples to do likewise.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)

“‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”  (Matthew 22:39)

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”  (Luke 6:27–29)

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”  (John 13:34–35)

A few weeks ago Pastor John emphasized in his sermon the true nature of Christian love: that it loves the unlovable.  I haven’t been able to get that out of my head.

Jesus set the example by dying on the cross for my sin when I was so totally unworthy and undeserving.  Honestly, it’s still really difficult to remember God’s grace has covered over my sin – especially when I see all my failures and wrestling against what God wants from me (and FOR me, too).  But God’s grace is sufficient for me.  I know I’m not worthy of God’s love, and I never will be.  Thanks be to God that His love is not like a reimbursement check for godliness we’ve acquired.  It’s a gift – freely given…

… but as a gift that’s freely given to us, it also demands that we pass it along.

God loved me when I was unlovable (and I still am most of the time!).  Am I loving the unlovable, passing along that grace?