Mick Turner

In the Christian’s journey of faith it is foundational to understand the following biblical principles before we travel very far down the road of spiritual formation:

 God has provided everything we need in order to develop and evolve spiritually. It seems he has done this in ways that are highly mysterious but also highly effective. One way of looking at it is that he has provided all that we will ever need on the spiritual level and also he has provided, through the person of the Holy Spirit, the power we need in order to contact these spiritual blessings and bring them down from the spiritual world and into manifestation in our daily lives.

 Once we understand this fundamental reality, the logical questions now center on what our responsibilities are in this process. Some advocates of the “everything is by grace” school would insist there is nothing we can do to grow in the spiritual life, but even a minimal check of the reality of the situation would prove that position untenable. There is plenty for us to do as the process of our spiritual development, what is called our “sanctification,” is a joint venture.

 Our part in this is first, to place ourselves into a position of receptivity and obedience. We can increase receptivity by practicing the classical spiritual disciplines, especially meditation, prayer, lectio divina, and contemplation. In terms of obedience, we do not need to make this process overly complicated. Most of God’s will for our lives in revealed in Sacred Scripture, but many of us ignore this aspect of obedience by looking for God’s “specific will,” which is fine, but can also be an exercise in self-absorption.

 The other aspect of practical Christianity involves advancing God’s kingdom through service to others. That service, motivated by compassion and fueled by kindness is our main task. If we are to be truly obedient, we start right here.

 So you see, here we have three aspects of practical faith before us:

 Receptivity

Obedience

Service

 The fourth element I might add to this is Sacred Character. The formation of sacred character is the goal of any path of spiritual formation. Sacred Scripture informs us that we have the mind of Christ and few of us it seems realizes just what a blessing this is. In addition to our own mind, we have operating in us the same mind that operated in Jesus when he walked the earth. We find that mind through quieting our own internal chatter enough to encounter Sacred Silence. The disciplines of meditation and especially contemplation are highly important here. It is through the transformative encounters we have with Sacred Silence and our Inner Light that the foundation stones for our journey of spiritual formation are laid. Encouraged by our increasing contact with the Divine Source, we are better equipped to walk boldly in the world and deal with the vicissitudes of life.

 Sacred Character is synonymous with moral integrity. We know who we are, how we are supposed to live, and with the power of the Holy Spirit, we live consistently with those values. Sacred Character means that we have a highly developed, internalized worldview and concomitant value system and that we live accordingly. In this way, Sacred Character becomes a bridge that connects our receptivity and our obedience with our service to the world. Here, then, we have the dynamic of our four responses to God’s grace and equipping:

 Receptivity

Obedience

Character

Service

 If we seek a workable model of a person who integrated these four aspects of a dynamic relationship with the Father, we need look no further than Jesus. If ever a person was receptive and obedient to God, it was the Master. A deep, abiding sacred character was also evident in all Jesus said and did. And as far as service is concerned, Jesus gave us a great example in the 13^th chapter of John when he introduced the disciples (and us) to the ministry of the towel.

 I am certain you are aware of Paul’s idea, repeated in one way or another throughout his correspondence with the fledgling churches, of the relationship between Jesus and God. Paul tells us that all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Christ, which meant that God and Jesus were in some mysterious way the same being. In the Jewish culture of his day, Paul was making an incredible claim here. Jews were not supposed to make any image of God and even to speak his name was considered a capital offense. Now, here was Paul echoing Jesus by implying that the great and mighty Jehovah was in essence a loving, creator who was not only the Father of Jesus, but was also Jesus himself. And the reverse was true. Jesus was not only a great teacher and a skilled Rabbi; He was not only a great healer and the leader of a band of shady-looking disciples; Jesus, according to Paul, was Jehovah Himself.

Standing alone, that sort of statement was enough to give the High Priest a major migraine. Paul, however, wasn’t finished. In fact, he was just getting started. If you take a look at Ephesians 3:19, the Apostle tells the early church members that he prays “that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (NSRV) Here Paul was pulling no punches; instead, he went straight for the knockout. Paul basically was saying that he prayed for and believed that, as Christians, the new believers were expected to become like Jesus.

No wonder the religious establishment saw Paul as a dangerous, if not demented, man. Equating Jesus with God was a reach. Saying that a human being could become like Jesus was beyond the pale of comprehension and acceptability.

 Yet is precisely the character of Christ that we are charged to develop within ourselves. In order to accomplish this great mission we have a divine partner in the Holy Spirit and our Christian brothers and sisters for power, guidance, and support. An open, honest relationship with the Holy Spirit is where we must place our energies at this time, even though much confusion and lack of knowledge about the Holy Spirit exists. We are told by Jesus that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, is where we are to focus our efforts for learning and guidance. Unfortunately, many of us refuse to get too close to the Spirit, as we operate primarily out of fear and ignorance.

 Part of our process of appropriating the divine gifts already provided by God in the spiritual realm involves claiming them. This process is not so much “name it and claim it” as often espoused in the so-called “Prosperity Gospel,” but does involve a similar principle. We are not claiming something that is not rightfully ours, but instead, we are claiming the free gifts of grace provided to us and for us as joint heirs with Christ. In this sense, we do “name and claim,” – we name and claim what scripture tells us we should name and claim. In fact, if we fail to claim these free gifts of God’s grace we are, in essence, rejecting much of what Christ achieved on our behalf.

 One other aspect of this also needs to be mentioned. By naming and claiming the gifts of character that are rightfully ours by virtue of our new status of being “in Christ,” we are not pushing God to act in our behalf and do our bidding. Instead, we are recognizing, accepting, and appropriating what God has already done through Christ. This may seem to be a subtle distinction, but it makes all the difference in the world. By recognizing and claiming our scriptural status as new creations in Christ, we are exercising our faith in God and praising him for what he has already accomplished.

 Unlike the prosperity preachers, we are not turning God into some sort of cosmic bellhop who fetches at our command. Instead, by claiming his free gift of a new heart, a renewed mind, and a transformed character, we are recognizing God for what he is, a loving Father who has provided everything we will ever need to live the kind of life he desires for us.

 As new creations in Christ, we are blessed indeed.

 © L.D. Turner 2009/All Rights Reserved

     The Gospel means Good News(1) so why do some people find it offensive? This is the topic that was up for discussion at our last “Next Level” meeting. We talked about a great many things concerning this topic, but for this article I will only talk about three of the things people find offensive. One is that people get offended when the bible tells them that we are born with sin – before we even have our first thought. Another is that God sees sin as sin – no sin is greater than the other. Probably the biggest one is that living a good life and doing good deeds is not enough to get into the Kingdom of Heaven. Are these reasons alone enough to conclude that the bible is offensive and – more importantly – should it be?

     Adam and Eve committed the original sin(2) in the beginning. Because of this first sin, all men and women are born into it. Many people feel that why should they be held accountable for something two people did so long ago in a place so far away. It is just not fair that we are held responsible for what two people we have never met did.

     There are no levels of sin in God’s eye.(3) Therefore someone telling a white lie or a huge black lie are the same thing in God’s eyes. In our society’s law, there are different punishments for different crimes that are committed but this is not so in God’s law. People have a hard time believing that they would be in the same classification as someone who murders someone just because they look at another woman (or man) with lustful intentions. Two tremendously different things in man’s law but in God’s law they are just as bad.

     The hardest thing for people to accept is that they are powerless on their own. We would like to think and believe that when we put our minds to something we can accomplish anything. “We also like the good things we do, and we think we ought to get credit for them.”(4) The Gospel pretty much tells you to your face that you cannot do this alone. No matter how hard we try we all fall short of the glory of God.(5) We may consider ourselves good people but the truth is no one is guiltless.(6) This is exactly what people do not want to hear.

      There were many other reasons people find the Gospel offensive that was discussed during our meeting and based on these three we can easily conclude that yes . . . it is offensive. The only question now is, should it be? In scripture, Jesus offended people all the time. He wasn’t timid or mindful of their feelings, he told them the way it is and he didn’t just do it to non-believers. He also offended religious people.

      The Pharisees – the religious leaders of the day – were constantly being told off by Jesus who called them hypocrites constantly. They followed the law of God but not with their hearts. He called them hypocrites for the way they gave to the poor,(7) for the way they prayed, (8) for the way they spoke, (9) how they kept the Sabbath(10) as well as many other things.

     So we concluded that people do get offended by the Gospel, and Christians, but when we are dealing with eternal life and eternal suffering don’t you think we should be? The kids gloves have to come off cause we are dealing with people’s salvation. We are dealing with the fact that people might have to endure eternity suffering. Jesus had no problem telling people the truth without sugarcoating it because “small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”(11)

      So should we as Christians worry about being offensive when we talk about the Gospel? Well, let me use the words of Penn Jillette – from the magician/comedian duo of Penn & Teller (an atheist I should add) – to answer that question. He said, “. . . I don’t respect people who don’t proselytize” (to convert or attempt to covert) “. . . if you believe there’s a heaven and hell and you believe people could be going to hell or not getting eternal life or whatever . . . and you think it’s not worth telling them this because it would make it socially awkward . . . how much do you have to hate someone to not proselytize?”(12)

 Come join us next time when we will be discussing “Spiritual Leadership in Culture.”

http://www.facebook.com/events.php?ref=sb#/event.php?eid=290785980496&index=1

“If there is no God, and you bet your life there is, you’ve lost nothing.  But if there is a God, and you bet your life there isn’t, you’ve made the greatest mistake imaginable.  -Blaise Pascal

 NOTES:

1 Translated from Old English: God Spell

2 Genesis 3:1-7

3 James 2:10

4 “The Faith” by Charles Colson & Harold Fickett page 114,

5 Romans 3:23

6 Romans 3:10

7 Matthew 6:2

8 Matthew 6:5

9 Mark 7:6

10 Luke 13:15

11 Matthew 7:14

12 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JHS8adO3hM&feature=fvsr

“Media ought to apologize to Harper for ‘wafergate’This small article that puts the blame on a small eastern newspaper for the story about Prime Minister Stephen Harper pocketing the wafer at Romeo LeBlanc’s funeral is an example of what is wrong with the media today. Every media outlet in Canada took great glee in reporting this story when the prime minister was at an important meeting in Europe. More and more Canadians are getting browned off with mainstream media. The political bias they show towards the left wing parties in Canada is obvious and blogs have become the main source of coming close to the truth whether it be federal, provincial or municipal politics. What a pleasure it would to see an apology to Harper for this embarrassing lie by the likes of the CBC, CTV and even your newspaper for carrying it as true because it disparaged the prime minister. Regardless of your political leanings, an untrue accusation against our country’s leader deserves a national apology and not just passing it off on a small eastern newspaper when it was repeated across the nation. What happened to the prime minister can also happen to any leader of the opposition if journalists in this country do not have the integrity to make sure a newswire story is true before printing it. As the media found out, most Canadians, including Roman Catholics, thought it was a non-starter. G.D. Gurr Nanaimo” http://www.canada.com/Media+ought+apologize+Harper+wafergate/1847934/story.html

The apology, which ran on the provincial newspaper’s front page on Tuesday, said the story that ran on July 8 that accused Harper of placing a communion wafer in his pocket was “inaccurate and should not have been published.”

“There was no credible support for these statements of fact at the time this article was published, nor is the Telegraph-Journal aware of any credible support for these statements now,” the apology said.

“Our reporters Rob Linke and Adam Huras, who wrote the story reporting on the funeral, did not include these statements in the version of the story that they wrote. In the editing process, these statements were added without the knowledge of the reporters and without any credible support for them.

“The Telegraph-Journal sincerely apologizes to the prime minister for the harm that this inaccurate story has caused. We also apologize to reporters Rob Linke and Adam Huras and to our readers for our failure to meet our own standards of responsible journalism and accuracy in reporting.”

During a news conference at the Group of Eight summit in L’Aquila, Italy, on July 10, Harper slammed the allegations that he had pocketed the wafer.

“I think somebody running a story — and I don’t know where responsibility lies — somebody running an unsubstantiated story that I would stick communion bread in my pocket is really absurd,” Harper said.

“First of all, as a Christian, I’ve never refused communion when offered to me. That is actually pretty important to me,” he said.

“And I think it’s a real, frankly, a low point. This is a low moment in journalism, whoever is responsible for this. It’s just a terrible story and a ridiculous story, and not based on anything, near as I can tell.”

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister’s Office told CBC News that Harper “appreciates and accepts the apology.”

“It doesn’t matter which political party one supports or the editorial bias of the particular media outlet. The first obligation of journalism should be honesty.”

In this case it appears that an overly-eager or politically-biased editor simply decided to make things up to embarass Prime Minister Harper. Shame on him or her…he or she should be fired and drummed out of the profession.

It has often been said that newspapers write for those with a Grade 6 education. It seems that they have taken to hiring reporters and editors who are at that level themselves.

Congratulations to the paper for owning up to its error (albeit a long time coming). Shame on those who created the false and biased story.”

” After all the Liberal leaning rags and the left-leaning CBC jumped all over this story about a communion wafer, you would have thought that someone would apologize for using the funeral of a respected man to further their cause in attacking the PM.

Frankly, this “story” about the communion wafer was as newsworthy as reporting what the PM throws away in his trash. Nothing but tabloid journalism and the people involved in reporting anything other than the man who passed away should be ashamed.”

I’ve been meaning to post this for a while, so here it is!  This is an amazing prayer site that walks you through about 10 minutes of prayer and reflection.  Everyone should try this.  It’s run by the Jesuits and they do a great job!

In yesterday’s Times Online, Ruth Gledhill reports that  according to a cross-party group of Christian MPs “The primary cause of unhappiness in Britain is not lack of material wealth but a loss of faith in God and religion”. In a new report on wellbeing, the MPs say that the Christian voice is not being respected properly because it comes across too often as “negative”. Not exactly a rocket scientist conclusion is it?

The report claims that despite the recent emphasis on “happiness” studies in some schools, and the debates on British identity and wellbeing, Britain is becoming increasingly miserable. It says: “One impetus behind this project was our sense that there is a strong feeling of disaffection among the inhabitants of these islands. It seemed to us that our national sense of wellbeing is at a low ebb; people are wanting something more out of life.”

The MPs say that all legislators, charities and companies should subject decisions to a fivefold test, such as whether the action will encourage people to develop positive relationships in their families and communities and whether the action is socially and globally responsible. The authors argue that if values related to relationships, responsibility, trust, self-esteem and potential – all with their roots in the Judeo-Christian beliefs that once underpinned Western legislative philosophy – were to have greater emphasis in society, everyone’s wellbeing would improve.

I supect many  politicians (regardless of religious conviction) will be concerned with relationships, responsibility, trust, self-esteem and potential when they get a kicking in today’s Local and Euro elections. I wonder if the church is sending a special flying squad of chaplains to help them cope, or are they already getting expensive life coaching sessions paid for on expenses?

Flip your second home, vote in the house of commons, clean your moat, redecorate your house, tell a few lies, claim your expenses…surely there must be more to life than this?

For Ruth Gledhill’s full report see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3913720.ece

Tonight I am off to a murder mystery evening. I have never been to one before but I know that someone will be killed, yet at the end of the evening they will be back to take their bow- it is make believe, the death will not really happen and we will all be just acting out a story for a purpose. Today is Holy Saturday-Christ is dead in the tomb, the disciples are bereft, and the world is ignorant of hope. We sit here over 2,000 years later and we know how the story ends and, because we do, there is a real danger that we fail to forget the significance of the day in between - the time he was dead and all hope was dead, the mission was over. To the people and the disciples and to the religious leaders of the day Jesus  had failed to bring in the new kingdom he talked about and was no different to  any other holy man or prophet that had been before.  As Nick Fawcett’s entry for Easter Eve in his book Daily Prayer says; ” Jesus was dead…He was laid limp and lifeless in a tomb, and a stone rolled against the entrance. Humanly speaking it was over, the end of a wonderful ministry and an unforgettable man. He had shared our life; he had shared our death. If the story was to continue, it was out of human hands- it was down to God.”

The mystery of what Christ achieved in death I will leave to the theologians, but Tarjei Park suggested  in his reflection of the crucifixion; “He was crucified, dead, and buried: He descended into hell. What was Jesus doing in hell? He was looking for his friend Judas Iscariot. Judas had done something so wrong he could not forgive himself, and feeling incapable of being forgiven, in bitter tears of regret, he hanged himself. Well, Jesus went looking for him, and in hell he found him. He walked over to him and kissed him, and took his hand. Miracles occur in hell.”

Inscribed on a cellar wall in Cologne where some Jews has hidden for the entire duration of the Second World War were these lines:

I believe in the sun, even when it doesn’t shine. I believe in love, even when I don’t feel it. I believe in God, even when He is silent.

On that first Easter eve ,God fell very silent and many wondered if they would ever here from him again. No word, no sign, no hope.

Station 10- Jesus is stripped-He has arrived. finally. Tortuously. they strip him. What is it about love that can be so intensely hated? “Play the prophet, which one struck you?” (Luke 22:64). That was it! In their simplistic ridicule they had unwittingly affirmed his role. he was indeed a prophet. he stands stripped. No heralding angles. no worshipping magi. No shining star.

Station 11- Jesus is crucified- They attack him with metallic savagery. the hammer. the nails. Condemned in his innocence, he is crucified in his love. they stretch him out. On the paten of the cross. “My hour has not yet come” (John2:4). his honour is not to be cheated. It is now. It is total sacrifice. An offering as intense as it is cosmic. The Word that spoke the universe is now the Word of consecration.

Station 12- Jesus dies- He hangs there on the cross. “Philip, he who sees me sees the Father” (John 14:9). The closeness. The intimacy. The oneness. “The Father knows me and I know the Father” (John 10:15). “All that the Father has belongs to me ” (John 16:15). “The Father and I are one” (John 10:30). “I can never be alone; the Father is with me ” (John 16:32). The union of purest mysticism. We are never alone. God is always God- with-us.

With thanks to the Rev T. Ronald Haney from his book The Stations of the Cross.

I hope you enjoy Frank McGregor’s adaption of Psalm 121 as much as I do.

In the Name of Allah[swt], Most Gracious, Most Merciful, I Begin.

May the Peace and Blessings of Almighty Allah[swt] Be Upon All.

The Israeli-Innocent Lives conflict based in Gaza has been on the news 24/7 for the duration of the Holocaust thus far. It should be noted that due to Israeli propaganda, news correspondents were not allowed into the Gaza strip. All of the information the News Agencies give to you all are given by Israel as getting information out of Gaza is a hassle. Now it isn’t.

Hamas and the UN as well as the BBC all based in Gaza have taken upon themselves to reveal the truth to the world. From my trek through this maze called the interweb, opinions vary greatly but there is a general ’split’ in the overall views. On one side you have the greatly misinformed and brainwashed crowd, included with the atheist crowd living up the death of innocent lives.

Website like DIGG.COM, as well as FACEBOOK.COM (groups), are rife with anti-Islam, anti-Allah fallacies. With information literally pouring out of the Gaza side of things, and absolute lies flowing like the Niagra Falls from Israel, it is quite literally astonishing the things some people ‘think’ they ‘know’.

Most people believe that Israel was always there, that Palestinians are being cruel with launching rockets and trying to steal land. Then you have the sympathizers with Israel.

You know what’s funny? Only those who have something to hide have a point to prove. In every single group created on Facebook or a comment on a Digg story, someone has to ‘defend’ the Israelis on stories clearly indicating clear Holocaust material. These internet ‘trolls’ purposely try to get a Palestinian supporter angry by stating the worst of things about Palestine and Muslims.

Surely they are succeeding, we are all angry and filled with emotion, so they do get the better of us. However we too are succeeding, the world has opened it’s eyes (although not seen online that much), but on the 24/7 hour news channels and statements by numerous nations, it is certain that Israel’s decision to kill the Gazans has failed already.

With growing hate and dislike for Israel throughout the Arab world, Europe, the Americas and Asia, one must see the truth. We cannot hide the facts anymore. Israel is backed by an ailing US Government who is in no position to physically/ financially back them, but who’s influence on the UN Security Council can only delay ’some’ action from being taken.

I personally thank President Hugo Chavez for kicking out the Israeli Diplomatic Convoy from Venezuela. Well done Sir! Let’s hope Arab leaders learn from your kind act.

May Allah[swt] Guide Us all and May His Mercy Be Upon All.

Allahu Alam.

The Word became flesh… and moved into the neighbourhood.

“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14 NIV

“The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, Generous inside and out, true from start to finish.” John 1:14 The Message

This is what Jesus did. John 1 says The Word became flesh and dwelled with man. Jesus cam and lived with normal humans, as a human himself.

Then he left and returned to heaven and sent The Holy Spirit to live within us. So now the Spirit of God dwells in flesh, and our flesh continues to dwell with man. In other words the Holy Spirit moves into us and thus continues to live in the neighbourhood – JUST AS Jesus DID. Yip. We are meant to be ambassadors and representations of Jesus here on earth. We are meant to demonstrate the same love and grace and holiness and truth as Jesus did while he lived on earth.

The Word became flesh first and then passed on the same mission to us.

How will the people around us know about the love and grace and salvation of God unless they hear it and know it through our lives, through what God is doing to us and through us?

We are called to be witnesses to our family, our friends, and complete strangers we meet. God has placed us in our neighbourhood, with The Holy Spirit alive and active and living in us, to give us power to live for Him.

Jesus assosiated wtih fishermen, tax collectors (servants of Rome! outcasts!), lepers, prostitutes, adulterers, relgious men, children, women, servants, soliders, mothers, fathers… He assosiated with people. He loved them and revealed the love of God to them. Can we do the same to those around us???

My buddy Steve placed this comment at the bottom of a posting from a while ago.  I figured we could bring the conversation up top here.  This is what Steve had to say:

Is any motivation good motivation?  If someone is motivated to perform out of the spirit of competition, the desire for glory or position, or just plain a plain ole desire for control, power or money is that motivation good?  Does any driving force qualify as a “good” or “right” driving force?  I’ve heard that so long as the fruit is good then it doesn’t matter.  I would question if that fruit is lasting fruit. 

I’ve been contemplating this question because I feel that doing the right thing for the wrong reason is still wrong.  As I always, I take it to the authority on such matters…the Bible.  These scriptures are from the Message Bible.

Proverbs 17:20
A bad motive can’t achieve a good end; double-talk brings you double trouble.

Proverbs 21:2
We justify our actions by appearances; God examines our motives.

Proverbs 21:8
Mixed motives twist life into tangles; pure motives take you straight down the road.

Philippians 1:15-21

It’s true that some here preach Christ because with me out of the way, they think they’ll step right into the spotlight. But the others do it with the best heart in the world. One group is motivated by pure love, knowing that I (Paul) am here defending the Message, wanting to help. The others, now that I’m out of the picture, are merely greedy, hoping to get something out of it for themselves. Their motives are bad. They see me as their competition, and so the worse it goes for me, the better—they think—for them.   So how am I to respond? I’ve decided that I really don’t care about their motives, whether mixed, bad, or indifferent. Every time one of them opens his mouth, Christ is proclaimed, so I just cheer them on!

So Paul said he didn’t care about motives as long as Christ is proclaimed.  Interesting.  As Proverbs says, if your motives are off you will get off course.  If your motives are off then you cannot achieve a good end.  And God examines our motives; our hearts. 

So why do you do what you do?

Tonight was a transitional evening for us at H20 Student Ministries. We have wrapped up our summer small groups experiment, but have not started fall programming.  Our church held a corn roast/potluck dinner and we rolled into our programming after dinner was over.

It was an interesting evening. We had a few regular teens, some that we see randomly, and a couple that we have not seen in nearly six months. We started out in the youth room (which is in the midst of a reboot, so the paint is really all over the place) with our announcements, then we walked to the narthex to show them the new four month calendar setup and to tell them where they will be able to find announcements this year (church website, facebook group page, myspace page, narthex bulletin board and youth room bulletin board). Last year we spent far too much time trying to get information out in group gatherings. Then we went to the Prayer Room to begin our evening in prayer. After that it was into the Library to hear stories of how the summer small groups went, and off to the Sanctuary to meet new and upcoming students and got to hear a little of our volunteers’ hearts concerning why they volunteer and what they are excited about for this year. We finished up in the Middle School room were I shared why I am here, and what I hope to see happen this year within H20.

Not a complicated evening at all. Totally Spirit-led (I had nothing concrete in place at all up until 2 minutes before we started), and it gave us some great community time together. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for our teens this year.

   That the resurrection is an essential aspect of Christianity seems to me to be a ‘no brainer’.  But recently I had a dialogue with an individual who does not share this view.  As I have thought about that dialogue I have come to realize that this person is not entirely wrong, though still, I think, confused.

Let me explain.

The resurrection is necessary to Christianity. Without the resurrection we would have no assurance that the death of Christ satisfied the justice of God.  We would have no way of knowing if Christ’s death paid the price of the debt of our sin or not. We would not know if he was a mere man or not.  Therefore, we would live, at best, with a presumptive hope, but no faith, no actual trust, that we had been reconciled to God. 

Actually, had Jesus not been raised from the tomb we would have serious reason to doubt anything positive had happend at all, since Jesus predicted his own resurrection. (See Matthew 12.40-41 & Luke 11.29-32).   Had he not raisen, he would have been shown to have been wrong.  And as good as he may have been otherwise, had he been wrong about this he would not have been perfect.  In fact, he would have himself been guilty of sin by making claims about himself – and about God – that just were not true. (That’s called blasphemy.)  And if he had sinned, even in this one instance, he could not have been God.   And if Jesus is not God, and was in fact himself a sinner, he could not reconcile us to God.  He would not even have been able to reconcile himself to God!

So, without ther Resurrection there is no Gospel.

The resurrection is so essential to the Christian Faith that the Apostle Paul wrote:

If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.  More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead… If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

Clearly the Resurrection is an aspect of the Gospel essential to Christianity.

Why, then, you may ask, did I say that the person who does not consider the Resurrection to be an essential part of Christianity is “not entirely wrong”? 

What that person sees, I suspect, is the beauty of the life and teaching of Christ. Even if the resurrection had not occured, the life Jesus lived, and the life that lives in conformity to his teaching, is beautiful.  That is somethng I have to concede. And in that sense what some might call Christianity, even without the resurrection, has value. 

The Christian Gospel is not only the promise of forgiven sin, but also the promise of the power to grow to become more Christ-like. In other words the Gospel includes the power, subsequent to being forgiven, to live a more and more beautiul life. These truths are like two lanes of the same highway.

Sadly, it seems too many who call themselves Christians are willing to embrace the saving grace of the Gospel, but fail to take seriously - who don’t even really desire to adorn themselves with - the beauty of a life lived in accordance with the model & teaching of Jesus.  And I suspect that glaring absence is what leads some to embrace, what I will call, a Gospel-less Christianity.  

If some are willing to accept that Christianity can be salvation apart from a correspondng holiness, I suppose it is not diificult to understand why others would assume it OK to accept morality without a corresponding redemption to also be Christianity.  Both have simply divided the highway.

But that is as far as I am capable of going with this thought.  Because beautiful or not, Paul is right, Christianity without the resurrection is futile. It is a mere fragment, and not Christianity.  Christianity is the whole revelation of Christ. It is the whole Gospel, or it becomes something entirely different. To pick out bits and pieces is inauthentic, even if well-intentioned. 

Let me illustrate it this way: If my house is disassembled for some reason, and someone attempts to rebuild it using materials from the orignal, yet does not use all the material, and build it according to the same design, it is not my house any longer.  It may have many of the same pieces, but it is not the same thing.

Likewise, a Christianity rooted in the moral principals and example of Christ, but that does not include the redemption accomplished by Christ through his death and resurrection, may look nice, but it is not Christianity. 

The resurrectionis essential.

But while I was thinking about this, something struck me.  What Paul is emphasizing in 1 Corinthians 15 is not only the resurrection of Christ, but the promise of the resurrection to come.  It is the promise of our resurrection!  In fact, it could be, should be, said, that our future resurrection is an essential element to Christianity.  

That’s just awesome!  It is the promise of Heaven!

I’ve been pondering the following assertion from Ron Sider’s Living Like Jesus:

“Still, the modern church prefers to accept only half of Jesus. They willingly accept him either as model or as mediator – but not both.  Some urge us to follow his example of love and social concern, but they forget about the cross. Others emphasize his death for our sins, but fail to imitate his actions. But Christianity is strong only when we embrace the whole Christ.”

First Things First.

God is love, (1 John 4:16), full of compassion and mercy, (Ps. 86:15), no respecter of persons, (Acts 10:34), and does ONLY good, Luke 18:19)! God DID NOT put sickness on you! It IS Gods’ will to heal… YOU! (He is just waiting for you to catch up). Will God heal you? Yes, it is His will, if it is your will. The ball is in your court. 

What about faith?

[Mat. 17:20] …If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
How many of us have tried this one out on one of our local mountains to no avail? 
I always thought this scripture to be a little odd, seemingly rubbing our noses in how little faith we have. What is it? Where does it come from? Do we have ANY faith? 

What is it?

(Heb 11:1) Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Where does it come from?

(Rom 10:17) Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Do we have ANY faith?

(Rom. 12:3) For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. 

If we believe the word of God and have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and are reading and hearing that word, then we DO HAVE at least the faith of the mustard seed! Yes, even if our measure of faith is tiny, we do have enough! So then, why does the mountain not move!? Because, this scripture is an analogy… a very important analogy. I had been going to church and a student of the bible for over 25 years before I understood this! 

What a revelation to realize that ‘this mountain’ is analogous and symbolic of whatever seemingly huge, immovable problem, (or even some terrible illness), that is blocking our way in life! And, this wonderful scripture tells us exactly what to do! We are to step up and face ‘this mountainous problem,’ and SAY to it “Get out of my way… and Go jump in the lake!” Using language similar to casting out a demon, and to do this by the power and authority of the name of Jesus. 

(Mark 11:23) “For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall SAY unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall BELIEVE that those things which he SAITH shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he SAITH.
Mark 11:24: Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, BELIEVE that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
Have what? You shall have whatever you SAID! 

Faith, is not your “religion” or a state of mind. Faith is more than believing IN God and Jesus. Faith is more than belief that God or Jesus can or even will do something! Faith is the BELIEVING, that we ALREADY HAVE, what we SAID, we were asking for! (And the SAYING is just as important as the BELIEVING). Faith is belief that God has ALREADY done something because his word said he would! Because, faith is BELIEVING God, and then ACTING on it. When I learned this, I immediately got better, but still kept having symptoms. I was sure that I was still missing something, so I kept looking until I found the answers. 

You see, faith is not just something that you have. It is something that you have to use! (James 2:14-26) 

You vs. The devil.

Jesus stripped, (spoiled or disarmed), the devil and his demons of all their weapons, all their armor, all their power and authority, (Col 2:14,15). Jesus then humiliated all of them, (vs. 15), and even took the devils’ keys! (Rev 1:18) 

On the other hand, Jesus has given us the authority to use His Name in authority over “all things”. He gave us “Power of Attorney”, to use his name to do all that he did. That Name, the name of JESUS is above ALL other names, (Eph 1:21 & Phil 2:9). (Note: Christ is NOT Jesus’ last name. But that is a whole other subject. Just remember that Jesus is the name.) ALL other names must bow, (i.e., submit), to the NAME of JESUS. (Remember: Everything has a name. i.e., cancer, the devil, etc..) His name, “JESUS”, has power! This authority, gives our words power. 

The devil no longer has any power or authority of his own, it’s only a bluff, like a bully on the school yard. He has to use YOUR own authority against YOU, by using your own, negative words. If you refuse to allow the devil to talk you out of your healing, then there is not any way that he can cause you not to be healed. 

Stand on the Word

God sent His Word to heal you, and His word works! He keeps His word. So (this is important), don’t let lingering symptoms discourage you. Your healing may be instant, but if not, don’t let doubts arise just because you do not see immediate results. It may take time for you to feel completely healed. So what do we do in the mean time? 

1. God’s word is the final authority.
The Word says: that by His stripes you were healed! [1 Peter 2:24], (past tense), (quoted from [Isa 53:4-5], future tense). Receive your healing as already taken place. 

2. Refuse doubt and unbelief.
When the devil pokes and jabs you to make you think you are still having 
symptoms or when the devil whispers words of doubt and unbelief into your mind, deal with it immediately. Cast them (and the devil), down, rebuke and bind them, in Jesus name, (Mat 16:19) (Mat 18:18), praise God for your healing. Don’t dwell on them, don’t accept his arguments, deception and lies. Anything that is a stumbling block to your faith, is darkness and of the devil. They may come through your own body and mind, family, friends, doctors or even pastors, I do not care where you hear or see them, do not accept them. (Rom 14:1) Receive him that is weak in the faith, but NOT to doubtful disputations. 

3. Refuse to believe what you see and feel.
If what you see or feel contradicts the Word, Only believe the Word. What you see and feel are not always real, but may be manifestations of the devil, to cause fear, doubt and unbelief. 

4. Meditate God’s Word.
Concentrate on the Word, not on the illness. Immerse yourself in the Word, reading out loud, particularly the healing scriptures. Even listen to tapes of the word as much as possible. 
Do you need faith? (Rom 10:17) Faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. Fill yourself through the eyes and ears with the Word of God until it fills you up, and overflows out of your mouth. This will release faith, and faith releases grace and healing. (Luke 6:45) …for, out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

5. Do Not Fear!
What did Jesus repeatedly say? “Fear not!”, “Do not fear!”, (Luke 8:50). What do the angels say, every time they appear? “Fear not!”. If you ask for Gods’ protection, He will place a hedge about you. But, fear is a gateway in that hedge, that allows the devil to get to you. This is because ‘fear’ is the devils counterfeit of faith and is part of darkness. Light, (faith), cannot coexist with darkness, (fear). The devil will use every trick, lie, and deception, to cause you to fear and to open the gate. He is ever watchful of that gate. Therefore, keep it closed and locked, by consistently, renewing and increasing your faith! 
(Rom 8:15) …you have not received the spirit of bondage, again to fear… 
(1 John 4:18) …perfect love casts out fear… 

6. Praise God for your healing.
Praising God for your healing, before you see a manifestation, is the highest form of faith. (This IS the shield of faith!) And afterwards, thank God every day that you are healed. 

7. Do Not Waiver!
(James 1:6). James said that the person who waivers in his faith should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. (1 Tim 6:12) …fight the good fight of faith… 
{Eph 6:12-) …For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness. 
(Eph. 6:13) Therefore put on the whole armor of God and stand your ground. And having done all to stand… STAND! 
In this context: Salvation. Righteousness, Truth and The preparation of the Gospel will provide you with protection.; The Word of God, (“It is written: …”), is to offensively rebuke the devil, (your sword).; and Faith is to defend against the manifestations of the devil. Once the manifestation has been rebuked, and then it ’seems’ to return, begin to praise God. (Father, I praise You, and thank You, that I no longer have to believe what I see or feel.) This kind of Praise is your defense, (your shield), and seems to be even more effective against darkness, than using your sword. 

8. Speak only the positive!
Speak only words that are in agreement with God’s will for your healing. You have to BELIEVE you are healed, and it is difficult if you are constantly talking about your sickness. (If Jesus bore your sickness, then your sickness is gone! What is on you now, does not belong to you! Do not lay claim to it! Remember, your words have power to do both good and evil! The devil uses your negative words against you! That sickness belongs to the devil!.) Therefore, every day let God, the devil, and your body know , by what you SAY, that you believe that you have received your healing, (Mark 11:23). What you SAY is important! 
(Mat 12:36) In the day of judgment, men shall give account of EVERY idle word they have spoken! 

If you are not sure how to pray for healing, you might recite or pray something like the following: 

“Heavenly Father,
I thank You for Your Word that says that by the stripes of Jesus I am healed. I choose to believe that Your healing power went to work in my body the very instant that I believed Your Word.
Jesus Christ is Lord over my life – spirit, soul and body. I have received the power of God to make me sound, whole, delivered, saved and healed.

Sickness, disease, pain,
I resist you in the Name of Jesus. You are not the will of God.
I enforce the Word of God on you. I will not tolerate you in my life.
My days of sickness and disease are over!
Jesus bore my sickness, weakness and pain, and I am forever free!

Father,
thank You for watching over Your Word to perform it in my behalf. I thank You and praise You in Jesus’ Name!