May 19, 2013 · 8:02 am

Is Your Evidence a Call to All?

13-05-19_120649_4980If there is an example of the perfect human I would say it was Jesus. Buddha Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Father Joe are all great examples of humans that have made a difference, but for me Jesus stands above them all. So much so I have chosen to be His disciple. Therefore from that moment of decision until now or at any time in the future if you were to conduct a forensic examination of my life it should indicate that I am a disciple of Jesus.

1John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Jesus speaking to God our Father:

John 17:23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Luke 6:40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

It is my belief that every human has a call and it is to attain human perfection. So what is perfection and is it possible? If we understand the components of the human through scripture we see that we are three-part-beings. First and at our core is a spiritual being (the little “I” of our existence).  Secondly is our soul which have capacities of intellect, will and emotions that take a lifetime to develop and understand. Thirdly our spirit and soul are contained in a physical body that allows us to operate and relate to others and the objects of this material realm. 

Together and more importantly, human perfection is about the capacity of our being to carry or host the Spiritual Presence of God (the big “I” of our existence). As we become aware of that aspect of our human make-up, it starts to happen that we develop a soulish-understanding that our spirit is in God and God’s spirit is in us forming human perfection. This is the good news that the divine and the common are once again in unity. Bringing and demonstrating that truth is the ministry of Jesus. His prayer was simply “I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one”.

To me Jesus was perfect because He had this understanding (the mind of Christ). His mission, the reason He was sent, was to make clear to humanity that this state of being is available to all. In my opinion a lot of our religious activity is distracting because it is not reinforcing this main point. Do this in remembrance of me were Jesus words. So what about Jesus should we be remembering?

Matthew 28:19 Go thereforeand make disciples of all the nations…

Matthew 20:21-23 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

When we awake to the fact of our call as humans we become activated to the purpose of our mission. We have been given citizenship into our Father’s Kingdom, and authority to accomplish the mission in this earth realm. The call on our lives and our mission are simple; become perfect and awake others. As disciples we enter a student-master relationship to become like Master Jesus pledging to follow only His example. The Lord is our Shepard and He alone leads us. When we make other disciples we point them to Jesus as well.

The big problem I see with Christian religion of which I take responsibility because I remain a part of organizational leadership is that we got distracted. We started to follow and train ourselves to the traditions of men and lost sight of perfection. I lost sight of Jesus and more importantly I and our institutions have pointed others in a direction that was not developing their student-master relationship. So now I pray, hope and work with the grace of God to restore vision and I repent often for those that I misled, that they find their way toward Jesus again.

I believe our call is worth the effort. More importantly the object of our call, He is worth our attention. Jesus actions was for all of humanity and the reason I say we have been distracted is sometimes the evidence of our call is not aimed at all humans. Sometimes we interpret scripture and feel justified to pre-judge who will answer the call. Our call is to become perfect and become like Jesus and part of fulfilling that call is to go and make disciples of all the nations.

Isaiah 11:3 …And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears;

Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 

Our call is to all humans and not political systems, geographical regions, national borders, or cultural groups. Jesus executed His ministry with none of these distinctions in mind. He saw the possibility for all of mankind to be one with our Father. I encourage us to remember that we are sent by our Father to reconcile all humans to God and His Kingdom. We fail our call if we fail to call all. Whatever door we stand at we have the privilege to activate the awareness of God’s Presence that dwells within them. However if we fail to see God with our spiritual eyes on the inside of other people then the evidence of our call is far short of human perfection. The evidence of our call must be to all.

Luke 10:4-6 But whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ 6 And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you. 

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April 22, 2013 · 10:10 pm

Christianity 3.0 – New Evidence Emerging

2013-04-22_349395_3394What does it mean to be human? In theory the Disciples of Jesus answered that question the moment they choose to become Disciples. At that moment of decision, the journey of personal transformation to become fully human was in process for them. Christianity was established by God as the organization to help people make the free will decision to become disciples of Jesus. In most cases this is the stated goal of every local church group but as we analyze the effort of theses local church groups there appears to be a disconnect from that main mission.

Matthew 28:19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…

Luke 6:40 A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher.

The question is, that after over 2000 years of Christianity has the average person who calls themselves a Christian been fully trained or transformed and are they any closer to being what it means to be fully human as exemplified by Jesus than humans of Jesus generation?  If that is the goal of Christianity then what needs to change to accomplish this goal?

Prior to Jesus the Christ, Old Testament Judaism created the expectation of a savior for humankind that would bring freedom from the materialistic bondage in this earthly realm. As I continue my oversimplification, Peter soon after the resurrection of Jesus established the Church in Jerusalem putting the first humans on the path of transformation, let’s call this Christianity 1.0.  However in 1517 Martin Luther initiated a protest that was aimed to reform this first version of Christianity to move the church from a system of indulgences to one of faith as the new foundation of Christianity. Let us call this Christianity 2.0.  

Now at the turn of this millennium (2000 AD) there is another protest coming out of this post-modern culture that answers “no” with respect to the question have we been transformed as humans and are we more fully human when compared to our human ancestors of Jesus time.   Therefore what I sense emerging from Christianity’s many sectors and denominations is what I call Christianity 3.0.

From my point of view of what may emerge as the newest tenants of Christianity will include 1) the removal of the religious hierarchical structure thus empowering and elevating all individual believers to a place of equality and 2) there will become a new awareness and focus on the spiritual (mystical, divine) primary, vertical relationship between God and each disciple of Jesus and 3) the development of a practical biblical love based relationship between each disciple and the rest of humankind as sisters and brothers.

Christianity 1.0 and 2.0 will remain vibrant and will naturally undergo transformation as it relates to its newest sibling Christianity 3.0. As this new move of God grows and emerges many invested in the current status quo may allow their hearts to become hard toward God and become resistant to the birth of a new movement and miss the true desire of their heart. Revolutionary transition is never easy but there is already a whole generation of 2.0 Christians that felt alienated for a while are ready to embrace the changes in Christianity.

So if the lack of hierarchy and the development of spiritual and loving relationships become a new trend, how will the transition play out? Already new styles of worship services and new types of gathering styles have been developed and are being tried. Meeting that are more community oriented and less big groups following one person will user in new styles of leadership. In fact many of the 1.0 and 2.0 seminaries have begun offering courses to students as they explore this new movement. There is also a trend of very successful ministry leaders taking sabbatical to hear from God and get a handle on growing movement.

If there is one lessons to be learned from the Christianity 2.0 transition, it is that 500 years from now what will Christianity 4.0 want to reform about this move?  The pioneers and forerunners of this move are reviewing and again experimenting with old traditions of the early and middle age church hoping to uncover some lost jewels that may be relevant to the disciples of the 21st  century.  So what we are carrying forward  are those traditions that are biblically mandated and those that are producing good fruit. Christianity 3.0 must ask itself, if the disciples of this move fail to produce disciples that measure up to the image of Christ what will the next generation change and can those changes be made now?

As we look back over the previous versions we have a lot to be proud of. At least we were given a faith and a hope. However as we develop new styles and practices we must ensure that our communities stay focused to make sure we keep to the mission? Individually as disciples we must take responsibility of our personal transformation and determine if change is happening as efficient as it can go. We must question as to whether we yielding to the Spirit of God and allowing ourselves to be changed. We must ask the hard questions as to whether we personally are more like Christ than humankind was at the time of Jesus or have we retreated to just  keeping our religious traditions.

Some would argue that if we could get back to where the early church was this generation would be doing great. But we all must ask why and how did we lose what they had? Disciples believe they can do what their rabbi does. More important if a rabbi selects a disciple to be a follower, it is because the rabbi believes the disciple can become like the rabbi. No disciple wants a bad rabbi and rabbi chooses a bad disciple.

So I believe God’s faith in us is the driver of this reform in Christianity once again. God has made a way for each of  us to be one with Him and that is the hope and faith we share as humans and Disciples of Jesus.

Romans 8:38-39 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

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April 11, 2013 · 12:33 pm

Who Does Our Evidence Include?

2013-04-08_659462_55398312One of the things the ministry of Jesus accomplished was to declare and make available access to the Kingdom of God for all humans. In the garden of Gethsemane there was a scene played out that had been done for many years as part of traditional Jewish weddings. An engagement party or betrothal dinner was held between the two families, where a marriage contract was sealed with a cup of wine.

The Father of the bride and the groom would push a cup back and forth across the table as they negotiated the dowry and other tenants of the marriage contract. Can you imagine the anticipation of the bride and groom as they watch their fathers make the deal. Do you think there was much anticipation by sleeping disciples of Jesus day? Should we blame the average sleeping pew sitter of our day?  But until an agreement was reach this cup would pass back and forth with every offer and counter offer. So I ask you what was Jesus really asking when He wanted the cup to pass.

Matthew 26:39 He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”

Matthew 26:42 Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done.”

The questions left to us are who should received the benefits of that negotiated contract between God our Father, Jesus and His Bride? As we carry out our duties as Daughters and Sons of God who are we making aware of this Kingdom that now resides on the inside of humans?  Who else is eligible to use the benefits of God’s family that was made available by our Brother’s death, burial and resurrection? There is a truth for the answers to these questions and finding that truth in scripture has a lot to do with our perspective as we search scripture.

Our human ego wants to worship a big God because who wants to worship a little defeated god. A lot of human interpretation of God through scripture has more to do with how the interpreter feels about their person and little to do with the truth about God and His will. We often hear “if God is on my side, who can be against me and defeat me”.  Jesus was careful to make sure His ego was not the motivation of His heart when he said “Your will be done” to His Father.

We naturally want to feel justified about our decisions. Choosing to become a disciple of Christ is one of those decisions. One way to feel justified is to perceive membership in God’s Kingdom as exclusive. So if other people do not want in, or are not willing to accept pay the price for entrance (10 commandments in Moses day, 613 laws in Jesus day), who cares if they get in. We are in and that is all that counts. Like the Prodigal Son story of the son who stayed behind, considered all that was left belonged to him because His brother took his portion.

Galatians 3:27-29 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Genesis 22:15-18 Then the Angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time out of heaven, 16 and said: “By Myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld your son, your only son— 17 blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply your descendants as the stars of the heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies. 18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”

When the thrust of our scriptural interpretation goes from inclusive to exclusive I think we have somehow missed the big picture from God’s point of view. The human ego and materialistic perspective has at its core a primary value of survival but God being eternal values love for others and sacrifice. The Kingdom of God is invisible and the people who are truly of that kingdom are ambassadors using creative ways as co-creators to establish and demonstrate the values of God’s Kingdom.

Mark 9:42 “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea

We are the seed, the inheritance, the descendants of Abraham and we now possess the gates of those that consider themselves enemies of God. We have been given the keys to open those gates, with the authority to set fee those that are in bondage, and we can reconcile anyone estranged in their thinking from God back home to our Father. If we are successful  enemies of God are transformed into our brothers and sisters. However if we remain blind or misuse our authority generations of mankind will remain in their belief that they not a part of God’s family or that someone else is God’s favorite.

As we use our spiritual authority to expand our Father’s family and Kingdom we build conclusive and overwhelming evidence that God wants to include all of mankind. It will take a demonstration and a preponderance of evidence to change the mindset of this materialistic world. You and I must present evidence that includes all of mankind. If we pre-judge and exclude any then we are missing the heart of our Father. Earthly fathers have favorites. God our Father so loves the whole world and nothing can separate any us from His love.

Rev 5:9-10  …For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth.”

 

 

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March 2, 2013 · 6:02 pm

Love is Simply Evidence

2013-03-02_24939_7887Out of all the evidence that reveals the heart and motivation of our creator, it is the love for other people. Under Old Testament theology there are things/persons that are good and things/persons that are evil. If one has faith to believe that they are good then one must not come into contact with things/persons of evil. However since Jesus appeared on earth He established a New Testament theology that says all that we touch is made clean if we have a consciousness of God’s Spirit living within our being.

The theology of Love or Fear is a choice every person must make. Under the fear theology we must be made clean whenever one becomes defiled. Depending on one’s religious practices we must go through a sanctification process to restore that right relationship with our Father and others every time it is defiled. Many of the ordinances of some religions of fear are designed to make one conscious as to what makes a person defiled. As a result after many years of practice some religious adherents wind up with the unintended consequences of an overdeveloped faith with a conscious of what is unholy and these adherents tend to mostly speak about what is evil instead of what they love.

Titus 1:15-16 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but in works they deny Him, being abominable, disobedient, and disqualified for every good work.

Love’s Theology (Jesus) on the other hand aims to develop a consciousness of relationship with our Heavenly Father and all of His human children.  As the reality of Jesus living within is given a place all these relationships become pure and sacred. It is no longer us that lives in these earth-suits but the Kingdom of God becomes alive and begins to activate and atmosphere in this earthly realm.

Love simply prefers all others before personal will and desire. As we begin to see the effect we have on others even without speaking a word, we begin to understand the power that is within our very being. Soon a lifestyle of rest from physical work and a release from mental conformance to human belief systems is manifested.

Scripture record in Romans 8:28 that “we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” Love is the operative word in this scripture. Because it is only as we operate in an awareness of Father’s Love can we stand still a see the salvation of the Lord of All.

 There is a peace that begins to become active because we simply choose to love. There will always be a choice to revert back to Old Testament ways and exert personal control over situations. Today in the world the demand for ammo for personal fire arms is a manifestation of this need for human control. However for those who choose loves path there is freedom from fear’s leading.

We are all given the choice to simply love. In God’s Kingdom love offers us a place of trust and rest. Though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we will not fear. Only while our consciousness of our Father presence within is in a process of greater development are we able to rest and trust. We are given a choice of a future that deepens our relationship with God and all of mankind.

Jesus is our example of what a human life can look like when a human mind is continually focused on the Spirit of God that dwell within. His testimony is an encouragement to all of His Disciple’s that choose to walk in the authority that has been transferred to us. Our Heavenly Fathers Spirit within always gives us a choice of life and peace. If we accept his offer then Love is Simply Evidence of our awareness of His presence within.

Roman 8:1-6 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 

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January 7, 2013 · 10:02 pm

Whose DNA Do We Carry?

2013-01-07_606388_72402014I would like to explore the subject of DNA so we can have a better understanding of the evidence that we gather. Since the days of J. Edgar Hoover there has been a move by the justice community in America to use more scientific testimony. Since it has been proven that eyewitness testimony ca be unreliable and subjective to the political influence our judicial system continues work to prevent a miscarriage of justice.

DNA analysis is a tool used to accurately identify an individual but even this process can cause a miscarriage of Justice. If a person receives a bone marrow transplant he or she will produce blood with DNA for the donor. Yet if you check the DNA from a mouth swab of the person receiving the transplant the analysis would indicate their original DNA.

In Christendom the testimony or confession is given as credentials of citizenship in the Kingdom. But now that we know that testimony can be corrupted we in this day also look for a more accurate ways to identify followers of Christ.

2 Tim 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

One of the unique things about Jesus was His conception as a human. Jesus the second Adam like the first Adam also did not have an earthly Father. One of the reasons I believe Jesus in scripture (Mat 23:9) asks us not to call any man on earth our Father is because He wants us to be aware that God alone is our Father. However due too temporal effects on our conscience the purpose and calling of our lives becomes diffused and the memory of original intent for being can actually become lost.

Because we carry the DNA of Jesus we can reproduce the DNA of God. This is one way to we can see God our Father and the effect of His original intent. God has always desired man to freely want to be in intimate fellowship with Him and to help us He recorded His law of fellowship on our heart. The exercise of human free will has rarely worked in concert with the will of God. So time and time again we see recorded in biblical history where God manifested His Presence to impact our conscience for the benefit of mankind.

Today there is an emergence in religious theology and practice trying to better express an understanding of what was revealed by Christ as it relates to God our Father and His fellowship with humans. As humans become aware that they carry inside themselves the Spiritual life force of God they will begin to express that which supernaturally feeds them. Jesus during an encounter with a woman who was considered an outcast of the religious complex of that day, was ask by His disciples if He was hungry and Jesus replied that he eats a spiritual meat which was is invivible in this temporal realm.

My encouragement is for us to continue to seek this spiritual realm known as God’s Kingdom. It is my hope that we learn to cut off our earthly Fathers and connect with our true spiritual Father. I hope that even while we still exist in this material realm we learn to do more than simply acknowledge the existence of the spiritual realm. To live in the Kingdom of God implies that we have the understanding and skill to be sustained from a place that is not seen or understood in this material reality.

Jesus not only demonstrated that it was possible but He made available to us after He cleansed our temples so the very Presence of our Father’s Holy Spirit could live in us. Peter a disciple of Jesus experienced this. While in a trance he saw a vision of religiously unclean animals and he heard a voice say to him kill and eat. However Peter resisted the spiritual instruction and argued defending the status quo of his religious training. Scripture (Acts 10:15) also records that this vision happened three times during the trance and each time a voice in the vision also said “What God has cleansed you must not call common.” This is the second time the bible records Peter denial of spiritual truth for religious tradition.

John 20:21-23 So Jesus said to them again, “Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.” 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”

Likewise today we face the same challenge. Do we remain living in the material world resisting revelation of true spiritual reality and continuew to call sinners unclean, or do we forgive. We have been given the authority to forgive sin and in the name of Christ, declare clean what the material world says is unclean. If we become aware of our true spiritual condition we can become strong sanctifying agents for God’s Kingdom.

God continues to make aware His intention to cultivate deep fellowship with humankind. His eyes roam the earth looking for partners to aid in the knowledge of Himself and our relationship with Him. So the question remains, whose DNA do we carry? When we execute our free will we answer this question. Our actions speak volumes as to which world we are aware of and whose will we desire to see manifest.

…His Kingdom shall have no end.

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December 8, 2012 · 11:32 am

Who Is Going Viral In Your World?

12-12-08_591893_44228499When we say that something has gone viral it indicates that a portion of the culture is experiencing something that is out of the normal status of that culture. In other words there is a change taking place that is evident. YouTube has become a social media site where people go to see and experience the effects of change. Thus the term going viral is measured in how many people view something that has happened.  

Some could say that democracy is still viral because we have recently witnessed four maybe five nation states oust their leaders for a more democratic form of government. Within Protestant Christianity, Pentecostalism remains virulent as the fastest growing sector as it continues to spread the deeper experience of a consciously aware relationship with Holy Spirit. At the same time many in the emergent church movement are participating in a cultural revolution within Christianity as a whole with some observers liking it to the beginnings of the Protestantism reformation.

The bigger question and the personal question is what kind of change are we expecting ourselves and others to experience? Jesus the Christ injected a spiritual strain of DNA (human mother and spiritual father) into the race of mankind that has been affecting the human culture for the last two thousand years. The Kingdom of God extends membership to all who become aware that they carry within themselves a spiritual Presence (namely the Spirit of God, Holy Spirit). And so we are all witness the effect of God’s Kingdom on the religious and secular segments of the human culture.

2 Cor 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon Me, because the LORD has anointed Me …. To proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;

When cultures grow with in existing cultures they tend to feed on the host culture until it becomes the host. So there are waves of growth and resistance that takes place as the states of status quo give way to new states of normalcy. Witnessing the effects of change can be difficult because they happen gradually over time. However as we learn to develop the tools to observe cultural change it is an exciting thing to watch.

For two thousand years the Kingdom of God has been spreading throughout mankind’s culture. Also during this time our understanding of that Kingdom has changed. As we reflect on history we can begin to see patterns as understanding changed so did the growth of the Kingdom expand. The same is true for the host culture, as its understanding about the Kingdom changed its resistance to the Kingdom either strengthen or diminished.

Jesus founded the Kingdom on the principal of love. One scriptural interpretation was that Jesus was freeing people from the bondage in the world to join the Kingdom of His Father. But as we look back through history we see that some of those who have taken up this work used the tools of force and fear to spread God’s Kingdom and in every case the host culture met it with a level of resistance. The same is true when the tools of love and forgiveness were used we see great growth and minimum resistance by the human culture.

From our Master’s perspective we are given the Kingdom to set free those that are in bondage. In those times when terms of revolution was used to set free others than self we see a righteous discharge of Kingdom authority. However when these terms of revolution are used for personal gain or the gain for a subgroup of the culture one can only do like our Master and pray, forgive them for they know not what they do.

As Christians we have become agents of change or ambassadors of God’s Kingdom.  Our local community by definition is not the Kingdom; our country defined by its borders is not the Kingdom. The Kingdom is any place where the Presence of God Spirit is.  A U.S. ambassador is the embassy, any aircraft carrying the President is Air Force One. Concerning the Kingdom Presence is everything. If the Presence of God’s Spirit is within us then the Kingdom is inside of us.

Our ability to see Christ in others even before they can see it in themselves makes the Kingdom virulent. Under the Old Testament when something unclean touched something holy that thing became defiled, unclean and no longer fit for service to God. When Jesus as the Christ established God’s Kingdom, He came and touched things and people who were unclean in order to make them clean, holy and fit for service to God. We have been given that same authority. We are at the point of impact within the culture, we carry within us the Presence of God and all that we touch can become pure. This is true because it is no longer we who live in these vessels of human flesh, we have been transformed, we are the embassy of God, and all that run to us should be glad. One day they will violently try to touch you.

So I encourage us to demonstrate with intent and understanding of what we carry inside of us. Unfortunately many of us are members of religious organizations that continue to put up walls as a defense to stay undefiled from the world. We need to demonstrate to them as well as the world that we are and carry a greater Presence within, than the junk in the world. If there is fear or a need to destroy the world, it is because of a poor understanding of the power of the Presence living within. Scripture reveals that perfect love cast out all fear.

My encouragement to you is to increase your awareness of God’s spiritual Presence that is within us. As that relationship grows we will begin to notice the effects we are having on others and the effect that Holy Spirit’s Presence is having on us. Daily and hourly as we commune with God the two are becoming one. We are all individually being transformed in much the same way the world is changing. So I leave you with my original question, what kind of change are we expecting ourselves and others to experience?

 

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November 10, 2012 · 10:56 am

Evidence of Our Truths

Our life is evidence of what we believe to be true. If we were to ask a non-Christian to give us a one word description of Christianity in North America many of us would most likely hear the word hypocrisy. For me this is very understandable and it shows that for us who have become born to the spirit have truly taken the first step on our evolutionary journey to becoming daughters and sons of God. Even though Jesus says we shall be known for our love, today most of us are seen in the midst of a struggle as we learn deal with our new citizenship. We Christians have become citizens of two worlds and our struggle with this new reality can at times appear to outsiders as hypocrisy.

As Americans citizens of the material world we hold certain truths to be evident. Also as citizens of the Kingdom of God (KoG) we are beginning to become conscious of spiritual truths. Dual citizenship is always tough because loyalty is required from all the groups we are involved with. North American Christianity as a religion and like other worldly organizations tend to define themselves by who they are not. Thus because of our dual citizenship the charge of hypocrite will always stick and rightly so because we are born out of that world.

John 1:14  And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

2 Corinthians 3:16-17  Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

As citizens of God’s Kingdom our journey or pursuit is truly about becoming like Jesus. If Jesus demonstrated one thing it is that it is possible to live free from this world’s distractions, claims and desires and live a life fulfilling the will of His Father. As Americans however we hold these truths self-evident that God created all men to be equal and that we all are endowed with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The question is which system can deliver on its claim?

The American experiment is still wrestling with that question and many Christians in America find themselves caught between two worlds. The advancement of civil liberties to all of its citizens is a beautiful work in progress. We have seen freedom of religion, full citizenship for the African slaves, voting rights for women, equality in the workplace and now our pursuit for equality of people having a differing sexual orientation. This is truly an evolving experiment of bringing to light liberating truths.

The Kingdom of God however starts with the premise that all of creation is good encouraging all of it citizens to relate in a framework of equality and love. We are baptized by one Spirit whether we are Jews or Greek, slave or free or male or female. Our status as children of God and our rights as citizens of the Kingdom has been guaranteed by the work of our first sibling Jesus.  We all have been made joint heirs because of the effort by our Father in heaven.

In some ways hypocrisy is good because it means that the individual is still wrestling with the decision and the reality of dual citizenship. However scripture indicates that a double minded person is unstable and a luke-warm person will be spewed out in the end. We have been given an all or nothing deal between the spiritual Kingdom of God and the earthly kingdom of America. Our choice is simple are we going to be known for love or for our hypocrisy.

As Americans we can focus on our pursuit towards personal happiness and as Christians we can focus on getting in right relationship with our brothers and sisters. Hypocrisy may be our current status but in the end we will be judged by which set of truths our life has evidenced. We cannot afford to live a life solely on the traditions and revelation of those that went before us. Each generation and each individual must make their own choice by pursuing to understand more fully the truths that have been previously revealed.

Hypocrisy and  Love calls to each of us. The pleasures, authority and the will of each kingdom beckons for our heart. I hope my words encourage each of us to examine and take stock of the evidence we have amassed thus far in our lives. Not only will God our Father and Judge review that evidence but the generations that follow us are and will continue to review those truths that we hold to be self-evident. Their acceptance or rejection of that evidence has a lot to do with us who present such spiritual evidence.

James 1:22-25 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. 

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