Tag Archives: God

May 14, 2012 · 10:24 pm

Seeing Christ in the Mirror Pt. 2

 So let’s continue our discussion of gathering evidence of God’s Kingdom. In my last posting “Seeing Christ in the Mirror” I introduced you to the mirror as a tool for not only gathering evidence but for detecting the spiritual aspects of the Kingdom of God (KoG). Since we know that the KoG is within each person, then one of the images in the mirror must be looking inward for evidence of Christ.

 

Theology of the Mirror – 4 step process.

  1. How does a mirror work?
  2. What do you see in the mirror?
  3. Are you willing to be a mirror?
  4. Are you willing to be changed by the image you see in the mirror?

 As we continue with step 2 of this process which I have titled the Theology of the Mirror, let us take a closer look at how we are able to see spiritually. To see spiritually simply means we are awake to the existence of the spiritual realm to the point that we can interact with it. Anyone can simply believe in something they cannot see. However, it is only when we change our behavior in relation to the things of the spirit realm that we show true evidence for the existence of the things that are invisible to the material realm.

John 14:6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 Our ability to see spiritually depends on our ability to see Christ. Jesus is the way between the material world and the spiritual world. To unlock any door or mystery you need a key and Jesus is that key as well as the door. Jesus is the icon of Christian faith but sometimes He is limited only to the role of figure-head for the religious and material kingdoms of this world.

 As we learn to live a more spiritual life we must use the tools found in the spiritual Kingdom of God. As we use them we provide additional evidence establishing the existence of the KoG to the jury of our peers. The more we make contact with Christ that lives on the inside of us the more we remain conscious and connected to God and His Kingdom.

 Philippians 2:4-6 Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God,

 Matthew 14:35-36 He went a little farther, and fell on the ground, and prayed that if it were possible, the hour might pass from Him. 36 And He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will, but what You will.”

  The mirror is a metaphor for the Word of God who is also the person of Jesus. As Christians we understand that God, His Spirit and Jesus the Son are one. Therefore since God has place His Spirit in us we are being made one with God as we give up our hold on living out our desires more than the desires of our Father in heaven. The Word of God shows us an image and an example of how our Brother Jesus, who was the first human after the fall of Adam, first live for God will more than His personal interest.

 When we look into the mirror of God’s word we see the image of Christ and an image of ourselves that falls short of Christ Image. With an understanding of God’s love we begin to get a vision of our self as Christ. We take that image and go into the world and try walk in a way we envision Christ would walk today. A good example of this is when Michael Jordan was at the top of his game all the basketball players would try to imitate him. The circumstances in life give us plenty of chances to do what we would imagine Christ to do. By faith we attempt to walk in the truth of the Word of God and we study the image of Christ so we can so we can take our life to the level of Christ.

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

At the moment of our new birth “It is no longer the little “I am” that lives, but it is the great “I am of Christ” that has become available to our conscious” At that moment the transformation process begins. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 says we start out as children beholding dimly the images of Christ, our self and others. But as we move to maturity our understanding increases and by faith we begin to see spiritually until we stand face to face with Christ which is our destiny.

 God loves has been revealed as “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” As we walk in forgiveness, repentance and the other strategies of love we become transform and are able to move closer towards the image of Christ and able to partake in the resource of the Kingdom of God.

 Finally as members of the Kingdom our goal is to bring forth spiritual truth as evidence into manifestation in this material realm. We are known for our love because we can see the spiritual Christ in ourselves and in others. We are not looking for material icons like buildings, jewelry or Sunday morning people who are all in their places with bright shiny faces. We behold the Christ that this world knows not of.

Luke 17:21 Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’[a] For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Theology of the Mirror — YouTube Video link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lux0hHEHais

 

 

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April 22, 2012 · 8:20 pm

The Spirit of Physical Evidence

So far we have discussed two types of evidence, exculpatory and testimonial.  The next type of evidence I want to discuss is termed real (physical) evidence. This type of evidence is a material object presented to prove a fact. Real evidence can be authenticated by other evidence to establish its chain of custody.  As you know the fact we are establishing is the Kingdom of God, which is spiritual and not physical. So the question is can there be real (physical)  spiritual evidence?

John 6:26-27 Jesus answered them and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled. 27 Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.”

God our Father understands that we are materially oriented.  God sent His Son Jesus from the spiritual realm to appear in the flesh so He could provide physical (real) evidence to us citizens of the earth realm. Flesh and blood, bread and wine are material things that are presented to us as physical evidence so we can experience spiritual reality. The transition of our understanding from its material orientation to a spiritual one is not easy. Even more difficult is living in that realm where everything that we need here on earth for life and godliness is supplied from the spiritual Kingdom of God (KoG). Adam lived this way before the fall and Jesus the last Adam demonstrated that we also can live, not by our physical power or might, but by the Spirit of God.

John 6:57  As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me.

John 6:60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

John 6:66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

In John Chapter 6 we witness a dialog after Jesus performed a miracle by feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish. The big picture and the purpose of this real evidence is to change the minds of all who review this testimony. Upon hearing this testimony we are all forced to judge by either accepting or rejecting the KoG which is the object of this physical (real) evidence. In order to operate in the Kingdom we must transition or mindset from carnal (earthly) thinking to spiritual thinking. 

John 6:30-32 Therefore they said to Him, “What sign will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.

John 6:42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”

John 6:53-54 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

Carnal thinking people are always trying to get more food or earthly stuff. To think from earth’s point of view is natural but to think from a spiritual point of view is to live in God’s Kingdom or presence. Jesus who is Spirit put on flesh and blood and called it bread and wine. Then He takes it a step further and asks us to eat and drink His heavenly bread and wine. His physical body was beaten before death and Thomas one of the Disciples pressed his finger in the hole of Jesus’ hand after His resurrection. This supporting testimony establishes a chain of custody authenticating the evidence of Jesus our Brother in flesh and blood form on earth.

Today we make up the jury of peers and as we share this testimony others join the jury pool. Each person must decide for themselves to live spiritually or turn back and live by the sweat of their work. Feeding five thousand is spiritual living. Turning water to wine, opening blind eyes, healing deaf ears, freeing people from bad relationships and reconciling them to our Father in heaven is normal spiritual living. Causing situations where stage four cancer leaves a body and witnessing the restoration of non-working or missing limb is all part of a joyful spiritual lifestyle.

If you are reading this blog I believe you are a child of God and an heir to the KoG. I know that once reconciled you will begin to believe the evidence presented by the Spirit of God and live up to our Father’s full expectation for your life. We were born for a time such as this and Father has placed His Spirit inside of us so that failure will not be and option. So go in His authority and may signs and wonders follow you always as you live out the scripture below. 

Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

 

 

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April 8, 2012 · 11:41 am

A Perfect Witness of Truth

I want us to look at an exchange in scripture between a judge and a witness giving testimony. The previous post to this blog discussed the concept of testimonial evidence and was titled Testify of the Invisible. So let us look at a scriptural account of testimony given to a judge. The judge in this case is Pontius Pilate, man working for Rome who is the lead in civil authority as Governor of Judaea. The witness is Jesus who is accused of being a King of people who are subject to the Caesar and we all know there can only be one king. So Pilate is forced to judge as to whether Emperor Tiberius is king or whether Jesus is King.

 John 18:33-38  Then Pilate entered the Praetorium again, called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered him, “Are you speaking for yourself about this, or did others tell you this concerning Me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” 37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” 38 Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, “I find no fault in Him at all.

 Jesus clearly states, ”My Kingdom is not of this world”, “You say rightly that I am a king”, “I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth” and “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” This blog is all about presenting evidence to establish the fact that the Kingdom of God (KoG) exists to a world that cannot see the truth of it. In a world where there can only be one king, Jesus is found guilty for His testimony and is sentenced to death. Jesus mission is simply to reveal the truth concerning an invisible Kingdom to this world of flesh and blood.

 Any person that has realized the fact of their citizenship in the Kingdom of Christ has in essence has been given authority to carry out this simple mission. At His crucifixion a sign was placed on His cross with the charge of being a King of the Jews who were also subject to Rome a kingdom of this world. In fact the religious establishment who wanted Jesus dead argued that the claim of being a Son of God is punishable also by death. But to get Pilate to execute his secular authority the Chief priests testified also testified that “We have no king but Caesar and if you fail to convict you are no friend of Caesar” causing a conflict between the Roman kingdom of this world and God’s invisible Kingdom. Pilate looked for a way out offering to set one person free as a custom during Passover but the religion establishment chose another person instead of Jesus.

 The world provides witness protection to those that provide evidence for the state. Many persons in America confuse Kingdoms and argue that America was founded on Christian principles. The nation of Rome was established before the KoG was revealed by Christ and America is also a kingdom of this world just contemporary of the testimony and revelation of Christ. The evolving constitution of America reflects a lot of that understanding but it falls far short of our goal of bringing heaven to earth. In my opinion it is the best kingdom on planet and over time more people are today receiving the benefits of its citizenship.  But here is the test. From America’s point of view, America has enemies because its sovereignty does not extend to all citizens of earth. In fact America is very exclusive when deciding who gets citizenship and what nations are considered its allies.

 From the point of view of the KoG the only enemies are those that have not yet been convinced that they are citizens. In fact as KoG citizens we are commanded by our King to love our enemies in hopes that they will become fellow citizens. When our King says we will be known by our love it is because we have the understanding that the boundaries of His Kingdom have no end and by grace we have been made joint heirs with the King and potentially every human on earth. All citizens of the KoG have been given authority to reconcile any person into the Kingdom. If we understand how to use Kingdom authority to that end then our witness is true and God will release power as a sign or a signature of His Kingdom.

 There are many in the world claiming to be citizens of the Kingdom but because they misunderstand the purpose of their authority they are trying to extend an exclusive club-like membership. When Jesus testified that He was a son of God the religious authority at that time held a world view, not a kingdom view, and thus decided to take up allegiance with the Roman world kingdom. It would be easy to cast that same accusation on all religious people today that are claiming to be Christians but that too would be a misuse of Kingdom authority. Forgiveness, love, truth and mercy are the characteristics of our King and they are the foundation of His Kingdom. Having the testimony of Christ is evidence of His Kingdom.

 The old testimony of the KoG used the law to bring knowledge. The desire was to establish an awareness of God’s presence by separating the things of the world from those things of God. God’s presence was taught to be recognized in specific places. Some things were holy and some things were not. The Jewish children placed a wall around their city and God gave them victory over the walled cities of the world. David’s famed city of Zion was supposed to be impenetrable by its enemies yet he captured the city. Those who continue to hold this old testimony put God in one city and continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem above all other cities.

 John 17:22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one

 Now today we have a greater testimony and the desire of God is for us to see and experience the unity of being with God and each other. Every human is a vessel capable of realizing the presence of God internal to their personal being. This is not a new desire of God it has just taken us a while to realize the reality of the Kingdom within. One of Jesus’ last prayers was for us to become aware of this unity. Today anyone accepting that truth has inherited the Kingdom and the authority to reconcile any person into the KoG. If we do not understand love for from Gods point of view we will not attempt to win over Kingdom enemies and they will remain blind to the truth their potential citizenship. Those who build walls and keep people out of the Kingdom are missing our purpose in the Kingdom.

 Matthew 16:13-16  When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

 The KoG is vastly different from any other Kingdom in the materialistic world. If we use worldly interpretations for God’s Kingdom then we through ignorance have missed the mark and yet we are forgiven for that which we do not know. So daily when faced with the questions we answer wrong as to who is our neighbor and who is our brother or sister. If we cannot see Christ in others is because we failed to see Christ in ourselves.  If we have the mind of Christ, when we meet a flesh and blood human for the first or fiftieth time do we possess the Spirit of the Kingdom to answer the question “who do you say that I am?”

Luke 2:48-50 So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” 49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them.

 A true witness sees life from the point of view of the KoG. I encourage all who read this to revisit and meditate on the words of Christ and noticed that He was not talking from the flesh and blood kingdom point of view but from the KoG point of view. Christ had a consciousness of Father and His Kingdom and he testified in that authority. He revealed that we are siblings and joint heirs and that we can be one with our Father and each other.

 John 14:9
Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

 John 14:19
“A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.

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