And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 1 Corinthians 15:49

Saturday, January 29, 2011

What Is Uncommonly Taught

It has been a couple of weeks since my last post. I have begun writing the post I had in mind to write several times since then, and for some reason it seems to refuse to be written! With every post that I have written up till now, each one would almost write themselves so to speak. Even if it changed course from what I had originally thought to write when I sat down, by the end of writing, I was sure I had written what I was supposed to write after all, and any changes I made after was only to clarify some wording.

I have been more busy as of late with my job now requiring much more of my time, but I do not think that is what is preventing me from posting. As I have written from the beginning, there has been an inner witness within that has prompted me not only to begin this blog, but also with every post that I have written. And while I was sure of the topic for the next post, as often as I have tried, I cannot seem to get a confirmation within as to how to put into words what is in my thoughts.

As soon as I can be at peace about what I need to write, I will post it soon... I hope.

I can say that the topic  is WWJD. Simple enough, if only I was to write what is commonly taught, but if you have read any of my posts by now you would know that I write What Is Uncommonly Taught!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

The god Of This World

II Cor. 4:4 "In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them."

If you study the life of Paul the Apostle, it won't take long before you come to know that he was a very Orthodox Jew; one who held himself to the highest standard of keeping the law. Little did he know, he was blind to the fact that he could not keep the law without fault, and that all of his efforts were not going to make him righteous in the sight of God.

The Law demands perfection, not just the highest effort! Do you see that? Fullfilling the Law is not graded on a curve! I remember growing up and being told that we are just to do the best we can and that will be good enough. God looks at your sincerity. He knows we are not perfect, and so He will judge the evil people like Hitler and send them to hell, but as long as you keep most of the 10 commandments the best that you can, you will get to go to heaven.

Many Evangelical Christians believe that you must accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior before you can go to heaven, and that God is hoping to get as many people saved as He can before He decides to end it all, and give up on the rest of creation. The thinking is that He is expecting the Church to spread the Gospel to the world, to give everyone a chance to hear, so they can make a decision to accept or reject Him, before He can be justified to send them to hell, for their rejection.

I know these things because I spent many years in the church system! Not unlike Paul, I was blinded to the truth of a religious system of works. Blinded to the truth of the Absolute, Unfathomable, Irrevocable, Unchangeable, Mercy, and Love of God for ALL of His Creation!!

As you read on in the book of Acts, you will see that Paul (who was called Saul at the time), with great zeal, was intent on stopping this new movement of believers in Jesus as the Messiah! He believed that he was doing a great service for God. On his way to Damascus, filled with purpose to kill more of these believers, Jesus appeared to him, and changed his heart so dramatically, that he became the greatest spokesman for the Gospel that ever lived!

I used to wonder how that was fair?? I thought that if God appeared to everyone the same as He did to Paul, then who would ever reject Him? Every incident in the Scripture where we read of even an angelic presence appearing before someone, we see them falling prostrate on the ground! I used to wonder how God could appear before some, and they would be saved, and not appear before most, and then send them all to hell for rejecting Him, ...who they do not know...and consider that fair? If He was so interested in everyone being saved, then why wouldn't He just appear to everyone the same and then see if any would reject Him?

Some would quote Jesus and say John 20:29 "Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." Okay, but what about those who have not seen and not believed? How is that fair to send them to hell? Some would say that satan battles God for their soul, and wins what might be considered the majority of creation!

Now, the explaination I have heard about the verse I quoted at the top, is that Satan is the god of this world, and that it is he who has blinded the hearts and minds of men so that they would not believe. But I have come to know that is NOT the truth.

For the purpose of this post, I will not discuss now what I believe about Satan, but I do not believe Satan is what is referred to as the god of this world. Simply put, I believe Adam is referred to as the god of this world!

Think about it. When God created Adam, He gave him dominion over all of creation! Dominion! Not meaning to dominate creation in a servile manner, but rather to look after and care for the needs of creation. God created man in His image and likeness... cut from the same substance as Himself... created to be a god (small "g") like Himself and given charge of creation to dress it and to keep it. That dominion was never taken away! Instead, the so called fall took place, and the bonds of relationship were broken, and man was then forced to till the ground by the sweat of his brow. There is so much here to comment on; so many spiritual truths; but let me say that man was not cursed, the ground was cursed, it was just that the man now had to work it with labor instead of  just keeping it.

For further proof, I will quote two other passages. The first from the Old Testament, and the second is confirmed by the words of Jesus who quoted the Old Testament verse.

Psalm 82:6 "I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High."

John 10:34,35 "Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;..."

This post would exceed its intent to qualify these verses as being in context, and proof of my point, I will let the reader prove or disprove for themselves. One only needs to seek the answer from God to see if these things be true.

Having said all of that, since Adam was given dominion, and then a "wall of separation" was put in-between God and man, so that man was not able to exercise that dominion in the way in which it was designed, then man ever since has been blinded by the fact that they think their own labor and works will get them back into fellowship with God! THAT is the religious nature!

Religion is the greatest sin of all! When Paul said that he was the chiefest of sinners! 1Tim. 1:15 "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."  Was he exaggerating? No, he was talking about his trying to justify himself to God blinded to the truth by having confidence in his flesh because of his religious works. That is what made him the chiefest of sinners. He recites those things in the following verses to make a point. Phil.3:4-7  "Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ"

The god of this world, the Adamic man, the natural man, the vail of flesh; however you want to refer to it; this is what blinds the eyes of man so they cannot see the Truth. It is only when God sheds the light of revelation upon each individual will they ever be able to overcome that blindness and have their eyes open to see the Truth. No need to blame satan for unbelief! No need to suggest the devil made me do it! Now you know why there is unbelief.... it is because the Adamic man is The god Of This World.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

The God We Worship

As I have said from the beginning in these posts, that we worship the God of our understanding. The idea is that we can only worship the God that we know. Most times the God that we know comes from an incomplete understanding of who He is based upon a faulty understanding of those who would pass on to us those short comings which they themselves possess. Their short comings founded in traditions, and prejudices etc. come from their teachers, and so on down the line.

Consider a pastor who has gone to a particular Bible College. The classes that he attends; the things that he is taught; the learning that goes through are specifically designed by whatever belief system that school puts forth in its curriculum. That makes sense of course, but consider this... a mathematics teacher from one school teaches the same mathematics as any other teacher in any other school. 2+2=4 is the same no matter who teaches it. However, a Biblical professor from a Baptist school will teach a different theology than a professor in a Catholic school, or a Pentecostal, or any of the others.

Each teacher passes on what they themselves have come to believe as truth about God. Saying so, betrays the fact that I also, in the cyber pages of this blog do the same. These things I write are that which I have come to believe with full conviction of their truth. And of course the reader him or herself, will also have to come to a conviction of what they believe to be true as well.

The one saving grace in all of this is that it is indeed the will and purpose of God who gives unto each of us the measure of faith that we possess, and what ever measure of revelation He has deemed to be good in His eyes. Line upon line. Precept upon precept. Here a little. There a little. Each revelation of  truth compounding on the revelation preceding it. One thing for certain is that God will let us believe what He wants us to believe in order to bring us to the place where He desires to bring us. Ultimately it is to Himself so that He will be All in All. But in the mean time, there is no limit to the creative ways and means He uses to accomplish His objective.

What I did not consider in all of this detail until earlier this evening is what about those who claim to NOT  believe in God?  Of course they are mistaken. But not just about the reality of God's existence; most, I think do believe in a God of their understanding, yet they do not recognize that truth. What do I mean by that? Simply put, many who say they do not believe in God, or who deny the saving power of Jesus Christ are not so much rejecting God nor Jesus, but rather they are rejecting the distorted image that is presented to them!!  This distorted image of God does not coincide with what ever measure of truth that is within them, and they are rejecting the distorted image, still looking for that which is true.

This is something that we must consider when we "witness" to others. Are they rejecting Jesus, or just your message about Jesus? Is what you are telling them biblical truth, or just church doctrine? Does what you share about their relationship with Jesus reflect His unconditional love, or is it conditional based on something they have to do in order to reap the benefits? Oh, it doesn't have to be much, things like: go to church; read your bible every day; pray a sinner's prayer; pay tithes; quit smoking; no swearing..... the list goes on and on. And while all of these things are good, none of them are necessary for salvation!

The fact is that as Paul the Apostle says, we are saved by Grace THROUGH FAITH and THAT not of ourselves, NOT of works lest anyone should boast. Now, most Christians would whole heartily agree with that, and even quote it, yet how many times would they think it was THEIR own decision to follow Jesus that saved them? Don't you see, that it would be boasting in your choice if it were so that saved you? Don't you see that it is even FAITH that is a gift of God!

Okay, then if God is responsible for even giving the faith needed to believe before someone could be saved, then what about the people who God did NOT give saving faith to? Ah, good question. I am glad you asked.

There are two schools of thought about this. No actually three! The fact is that I have even gone through the process of the first two in order to arrive at the third. I will explain in more detail in another post, but I will say this... One thought is that we make the choice to believe or reject God, and if we reject God then we are lost for eternity. Another thought is that God created some "elected" to be saved aside from any choice on their part, and the rest He purposed to be lost for eternity. The third option, and the one I whole heartily support with great conviction, is that there will NOT be one single person created that has ever lived, nor will ever live that will ever be lost for eternity!!

The first two doctrines get it wrong because they believe in error that God's love for mankind; God's commitment to salvation; God's dealing with His creation all ends with mortal death. Meaning that once we have breathed our last, then in whatever spiritual condition we find our self in at that moment is the way we will remain for eternity, and if we are saved, then we go to some place called heaven, and if we are not believers, then we go to a place of eternal fiery torment!

The third choice, and the one that I have believed since about 1993 when I first learned of it, is that God is not finished dealing with us during this mortal life time! God will lose NONE of His creation! EVERY knee in heaven, and on earth, and beneath the earth, shall bow and every tongue shall joyfully proclaim that He is Lord! That does not leave anyone out. And it is simply not true, nor is it reasonable to suggest that once some knees have bowed, that God will reject them, and say that it was not soon enough!

Our understanding of who God is comes from the degree of revelation He has purposed to give to us. The degree of revelation He has purposed to give to us is determined by His own design and plan for our lives. The fact that the revelation we have is incomplete, does not mean that He will not also give us more understanding, and at each stage of the process we continue; to the measure that we are given; that we would worship the God we understand, and more so to understand The God We Worship!

Saturday, January 1, 2011

The Dawning Of A New Day.

New Year's Day was not always celebrated on January 1st. Here are a few facts to consider:

  • The early Roman calendar designated March 1 as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. September through December, our ninth through twelfth months, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months (septem is Latin for "seven," octo is "eight," novem is "nine," and decem is "ten."
  • The month of January did not even exist until around 700 B.C., when the second king of Rome, Numa Pontilius, added the months of January and February.
  • The new year was moved from March to January in Rome in 153 B.C. because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the two newly elected Roman consuls—the highest officials in the Roman republic—began their one-year tenure.
  • In 46 B.C. Julius Caesar introduced a new, solar-based calendar that was a vast improvement on the ancient Roman calendar. The Julian calendar decreed that the new year would occur with January 1, and within the Roman world, January 1 became the consistently observed start of the new year.
  • In medieval Europe, however, the celebrations accompanying the new year were considered pagan and unchristian like, and in 567 the Council of Tours abolished January 1 as the beginning of the year. At various times and in various places throughout medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on Dec. 25, the birth of Jesus; March 1; March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation; and Easter.
  • In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1 as new year's day. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was only gradually adopted among Protestant countries.
So, what did you do on New Year's Eve? How did you celebrate the ending of the old year and the bringing in of the new; the changing of a Decade; the changing of a Year; the changing of a Month; the Dawning of a New Day? While Cindi and I did not doing anything other than watch the ball drop on TV, we will still remember such insignificant actions because of the significance of the time.

 New Years Day is a time that is recognized as a chance to start over, a time of new beginnings. A specific time that bookmarks in our memories insignificant events. Sometimes resolutions are made to make positive changes in order to make the event significant along with the time. A laying aside of past regrets, filled with determination and new hope for a better future, and New Years Day will provide the time frame to mark the occassion. Where were you New Year's Day when we went from 1999 to 2000 on the calendar? On that day I was skydiving at a Drop Zone in Simcoe Ontario.

 But we don't have to wait to turn the page of a year on a calendar to mark a change of direction. We don't need to use a significant time to measure an insignificant occasion, we can use a significant occassion to mark an insignificant time. Where were you when the first man landed on the moon? Where were you when Kennedy got shot? What about when planes flew into the twin towers? That is the most glaring example of an occasion marking a day so much so, that all anyone has to say is the numbers 9, and 11 together, and it makes that date significant by the significant events of that day.

A birth or a marriage; a promotion or an accident all makes the time and date memorable, but the anniversary of those times and dates make what ever events that transpire on those dates memorable. A gift received on your birthday makes both the gift and when it was received memorable.

And how about this for a remembering of times and occassions: One year,Cindi's son got a watch for Christmas, and it had an alarm that could go off every minute. After the clock struck midnight New Years day, and every everyone shouted "Happy New Year!" one minute later his watch alarm went off and he shouted "Happy New Minute." So that is an event remembered by a time remembered by an occassion remembered by a time! Whew.

The bible has lots to say about time, which I don't want to take up too much of your time, reading about all of the times that I could take the time to list.... so, I will just take the time to list a few.
 
 Psalm 39:4 “O Lord, help me understand my mortality and the brevity of life! Let me realize how quickly my life will pass! 5 Look, you make my days short-lived, and my life span is nothing from your perspective. Surely all people, even those who seem secure, are nothing but vapor"

Ecclesiastes 3:1 For everything there is an appointed time, and an appropriate time for every activity on earth: 2 A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot what was planted; 3 A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; 4 A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance. 5 A time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; 6 A time to search, and a time to give something up as lost; a time to keep, and a time to throw away; 7 A time to rip, and a time to sew; a time to keep silent, and a time to speak. 8 A time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.

Ecclesiastes 3:9 What benefit can a worker gain from his toil? 10 I have observed the burden that God has given to people to keep them occupied. 11 God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time, but he has also placed ignorance in the human heart so that people cannot discover what God has ordained, from the beginning to the end of their lives. 

“Time” is the Greek word kairos. In contrast to chronos which may refer to elapsed time, or to the duration of time, kairos more often looks at fixed or definite time, and especially of the quality or characteristics of a particular time with its accompanied events. Kairos is used 85 times in the New Testament and 30 of these by Paul.

Kairos time is most significant when it marks an event by which God uses to change the course of your life! Many Chronos years may have transpired before a Kairos moment takes place, and you become a believer in Jesus Christ as your savior. As a believer more Chronos time takes place and then God marks another Kairos moment in your life and you have a deeper revelation of Truth that changes your relationship with God to something more significant than ever before!

It is sometimes that Chronos marks the significance of Kairos, and other times Kairos marks the remembrance of Chronos. Chronos can mark the Dawning Of A New Day as far as the passage of time on a clock goes, but what is more significant in our lives is when we can mark those Kairos moments; the significant events that mark a spiritual Dawning Of A New Day!