The Grace Wars Journal

Bridges

2006-06-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

I've been mulling over a sermon given by a visitor to my church, his text was Jesus and the woman at the well (John 4:7-42). What he shared and what I received was simular and different. I have been thinking a great deal about Love and how Love is always actively building relationship. In the story of Jesus at the well I finally saw how Jesus' singlemindedly developed a relationship with the woman. Jesu did not let her sidetrack or blockade the relationship with barriers of culture, religion or her current and apparent character issues (sin). With patient endurance and grace, he overcame those obsticles and built a relationship with her and a great many of her townspeople. Every time the woman tried to seperate herself from Jesus, Jesus countered with building an "US." Love builds "US", love builds relationship bridges. Be patient, love/grace gives people time and space to grow in truth.

Sometimes Jesus burn't a bridge or two. He wasn't very fond of the religeous hiarchy at the time. They didn't like him either. Jesus burn't those bridges for a purpose. Only relationship founded in truth/love survives eternity. In Mathew 5:20 (and elsewhere), Jesus made it clear that the righteousness of the then religeous hiarchy fell far short of what God desired. So Jesus torched the bridge that they (the religeous) were making (not God) and Jesus became the eternal bridge to real relationship.

Go ahead, love the people, and build bridges. Jesus does.

Being a Place for Grace

2006-04-04T20:05:00.000-07:00

I was ruminating on Hebrews 4:16 "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." As a Christian, with Christ dwelling on the throne of his innermost being, the question arises (as I look in the mirror) can people come to me confidently expecting mercy and finding grace.

This raises another more personal question; What kind of life do I express so that the people around me feel confident and expectant that they will not be turned away embarrassed and empty handed when they need mercy and grace, or worse yet, be judged and condemned.

Showing humility I'm sure is a good start. However, more is needed. What can I do to inspire people to have confidence in mercy and grace, nevertheless in Christ in this very humble house of clay? Do they feel love and acceptance? Am I inclusive? Do they feel like they can talk to me? Am I a safe place to rest their weary soul?

Of course all of this means I have to lay down my own problems at the most inopportune times to serve other's needs. Can I, or should I say "Will I" do that? Hmmm.

Lord...Your will be done.

Blessings,

David C.

Jesus Christ, Servant of Love

2006-01-21T19:06:00.000-08:00

Fifth Meeting

JESUS CHRIST THE SERVANT

Question: The bible says that Jesus led a perfect sinless life. How did he do it?

Question: Since Jesus did not follow his own way (act out of his selfish desire), can you see how he escaped from sin?

Jesus did not follow his own will, but freely chose the will of God (Perfect love expressed).
Luke 4:1-13 (Deut 6:5)
John 4:34, 5:30, 6:38, 14:10, 14:31
Matthew 20:25-28
Luke 22:42

This is how John the apostle describes Jesus. John 1:14-18

Question: What do you think John meant by “full of grace and truth.” And how about “of His fullness we have received, and grace upon grace”.

Question: Does this sound like the ministry of a servant? Is being a servant “God-like”? (John 14:9, Philippians 2:5-11)

The greatest in heaven is the servant of all. (Matt 20:26, Luke 22:26, John 13:5-17)

Question: Do you think that heaven will be about serving one another? How about here/now?

The Apostles identify themselves as bond servants (Romans 1:1, James 1:1, 2Pet 1:1, Jude 1:1, Rev 1:1)

Question: The Apostles were important leaders, why would they identify themselves as servants?

Question: How do you identify yourself? What is your expectation of yourself?

The Nature of Sin

2005-12-30T20:54:00.000-08:00

Fourth Meeting

Sin and Death

Read Acts 20:35

Question: Does love give?
Question: Does love receive?
Question: Does love take?

How would you describe sin?

Read Genesis 3:1-24

Question: Did Eve receive or take? What did Adam partake of?

Question: What do you think? Is God's punishment a little harsh?

Question: What did they do that was so bad? Do you think eating a piece of fruit deserves death and separation?

Question: If God is love and He desires our love to be freely given (freewill), then why does He appear to be so controlling?

Question: Is God about command and control? (Genesis 2:15-25)

What is sin?
The Greek translation of sin is “to miss the mark.” This simple translation is still ambiguous (at best) in its meaning. What mark? “The Mark” is likely the holiness of God (Lev 19:1-2), but what is so unholy to God about eating a piece of fruit?

If God is about love, and you cannot love without freewill, then what is this command and control issue we are seemingly looking at???

Here is a definition that should help you understand the seriousness of sin. The definition of sin is this, “the acting out of selfish desire.” What Adam and Eve did was choose their own desire over the desire of remaining in unity with God in perfect love. Instead of living within giving and receiving, Adam and Eve took what they wanted.

Man was born with a free will. He was given the ability to freely choose his way. He was given a choice to trust God with the knowledge of good and evil, or to choose to have the knowledge and face death. The choice God gave man was simple. It was to trust, love, and choose to remain in the circle of His love (choose us), or choose yourself over Him outside of His love. It was as if God was saying “if you love me, you trust me and therefore live in perfect harmony with me.”

When we choose our own way outside of God, we decide to live for ourselves. When we live for ourselves, we no longer live according to perfect love but live according to selfish desire. Once we make our selfish choice, our soul is terminally infected with sin (selfish desire). We become a people no longer capable of perfect love. The soul of man no longer has the ability to commune with God within our spirit. The soul turns to the natural man (natural senses) and responds to the environment naturally instead of God supernaturally. This is the primary difference to living a life by faith. We become a slave to sin (the natural man). We are unable to live a life in response to God and make choices free of selfish desire.

Life by the flesh: Galatians 5:19-21
Contrast life by the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-24
Definition of “flesh” is “the natural man”: Romans 6:16-19, 7:14-25.
The natural man is hostile towards God: Romans 8:5-8
Sin is lawlessness: Rom 6:19, 2Cor6:14, Heb 1:9, 1John 3:4, Matt 24:12

Why is lawlessness contrasted to love? Lawlessness only governs self. Perfect love is subject to one another with God as the head. (Eph 5:21, Phil 2:3)

Sin is always about me..me..me and perfect love is always about us. Because perfect love is eternally communal and sin is eternally selfish, they are mutually exclusive and therefore eternally separated. The eternally selfish is without resource and unable to spiritually commune with anyone else. S/he is a spiritual black hole. (2Cor 6:14)

Question If you could stop sinning today, what difference would that make in light of eternity?
Answer: You would still be a sinner. Eternity does not forget.

Without death we would be in trouble: The grace in death. (Gen 3:22-24)
Death gives us an opportunity to die by faith and fulfill the law of God. (Romans 6:4-7)

Prayer time

Remember: Sin is “acting out of selfish desire.” Sin says, “I choose me.”

The Nature of Man: Free Will

2005-11-30T20:23:00.000-08:00

Third Meeting

The Nature of Man

Opening question: Can you force someone to love you? Is it love when you can't choose?

Created in His image (Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7)

Review last week: God is Perfect Love

What is free will?

Webster's Definition: Free- “not subject to the rule or control of another”
Webster's Definition: Will- “a desire to act in a particular way or have a particular thing”
Wordbook Definition: Free will - “the power of making free choices unconstrained by external agencies”

Contrast to slavery (Romans 6:6, 14)

Created to have free will. (Genesis 2:15-17)

Man was born with a free will. In the likeness of God man was made (Genesis 1:26). If we are to be a people in perfect loving unity with God, then we had to be a people of choice. To love requires choice. To love freely, we must be able to choose freely (1John 3:16). Without choice, love would be meaningless.

For freedom we were set free. (Galatians 5:1, 5:13, John 8:31-32, 2Cor 3:17, James 1:25)

An Eternal Soul:

Question: If you could have done something different in your life, what would it be?

As discussed in the first meeting, man's soul is designed to survive eternity and it will never die (John 5:25-32).

Also, everything you do is painted eternally on your soul. Eternity does not forget. There is nothing you will do that will not affect your soul. Your every thought (Matt 5:27-28) and every action eternally paint your soul. Even our words (Matt 12:33-37) are not forgotten in eternity.

In conclusion, we have seen that man has an eternal soul and that our actions eternally paint our soul. We have also seen that each of us has a free will and that without being free, the ability to love is not possible. Together, by God's design, these two features give man the unique ability to live in eternal fellowship with God as He wanted.

Prayer time: Open requests

Remember: Without free will perfect love cannot be.

Perfect Love, The Nature of God

2005-11-12T22:29:00.000-08:00

Here are the notes on my second meeting.

Second Meeting

2. The Nature of God

In Revelation 4:1-8 the four living creatures cry day and night, “HOLY, HOLY, HOLY is THE LORD GOD, THE ALMIGHTY, WHO WAS AND WHO IS AND WHO IS TO COME.”

The opening question is this: How would you describe the word holy?

What is Holiness? Definition: Apart, sacred
Holiness- Leviticus 19:1-37
In Leviticus we see that God gives examples of “holy behavior.” He set down a pattern that the Israelites were to follow so they could be like Him in behavior. (Lev 19:2)

You could you say that being holy is a constant demonstration of love. (Lev 19:18)

Let's look at what Jesus taught about that portion of scripture.
What did Jesus say? (Matthew 22:37-39, Mark 12:28-34, John 13:5, 13:31-35)

God wants us to be more like Him (Lev 19:2). Since he wants our character to be one of giving love, what would you then deduce of God's character? God is love?

Would you describe God's love as perfect? Would you equate holiness with perfect love? Matthew 5:43-48

My definition of holiness is this: Holiness is the result of acting out of perfect love.

Question: How would you describe love?

Question: Is love relational? Of course it is! God is perfectly relational.

How does the bible describe love? 1Cor13

Question: Is love selfish?
Love gives: John 3:16

God's love is always about service to others, it is always eternally communal in its nature. His love is always about the expression of perfect love and never about His own selfish desires. Love does not seek its own (1Cor 13:5).

Question: Is love fair?
1Cor 13:6 - Justice and Love
Lev 19:1-37 - Different elements to justice

The word unrighteousness in 1Cor 13:6 can also be translated into the word injustice. How it is translated from the Greek is dependent on the translator (bible translation). In this verse we see that justice is a part of love. In Leviticus we see different elements of love/justice in concern to equity and mercy.

In closing we have looked at the nature of holiness and love and have found them to be describing the same expression. We have also seen that God's perfect love has the element of justice to it. In a future meeting we will see that this is an important facet to God's love, important enough to sacrifice His eternal son, Jesus.

In 1John 4:8 the Apostle John says “God is Love.” This explains every motive of God. We have to believe this if we are to trust Him and know Him. His love is the foundation of grace.

Prayer Time: Emphasis on the Love of God.

Eternity Does Not Forget

2005-11-01T21:50:00.000-08:00

This is the start of my bible study. I hope you see and experience God more clearly through it.

BIBLE STUDY PART 1

Mind (truth) guards and strengthens the heart (relationship).

1. Truth:
a. Guides (Psalms 119:105,112)
b. Guards (Eph 6:14)
c. Girds (1Sam17:45)
d. Guts (Proverbs 27:6)

Without truth the heart has no support, the heart does not understand the basis of the relationship it is designed to have with God and people. The truth that leads people into correct relationship with God will be in accordance with the character of God. (1Samuel 16:7, Jer 11:20, Jer 17:10, Rev 2:23)

2. A View of Eternity

Why is eternity important?

Eternity is the final dwelling place for:

God, Angels, Mankind

Here are a few scriptures that deal with eternity. There are many more.
Gen 1:1, Proverbs 8:22-31, Isaiah 43:10-13, John 1:1-3, John 8:56-58, Eph 3:11, 2Titus 1:9-10, 1Pet 1:20, Rev 1:8, Rev 13:8 Rev 22:13

God views all actions through the lens of eternity. It is kind of like looking at an hourglass. You can see the space and all the moments of time (moving grains of sand) within the glass all at once.

God dwells outside the glass and therefore sees the beginning and the end of time and space. He knows the choices you are going to make. They are still your choices, He just knows them. (Eph 1:4)

Question: What kind of choices do you make every day that affect your outcome in the future? (i.e., brush your teeth). How about choices that have eternal implications?

God views your soul all at once. When it comes to your soul all your actions are laid out before Him. If you were to take a stack of sticky notes and on each one was a description of a day of your life, God would not view your actions as one note on top of the next. He sees them all laid out in front of Him at the same time. None of your actions today would cover your actions from yesterday. Since God sees all your actions at once, yesterday and today and tomorrow, there is nothing we can do to cover our previous actions with today's or tomorrow's actions. This is important, because it shows why reincarnation cannot work. Our actions are forever locked up into eternity and there is no changing or painting over them by our own actions. No matter how many times you came back reincarnated your previous actions would still have painted your eternal soul. To God your actions are eternally marked and there is nothing you can do to unmark them.

Because your actions have eternal implications, God is always taking the long view towards your well being. God is not above giving momentary suffering in order to reap eternal benefits (1Pet 1:6-7, James 1:2-4). God does not take joy in your suffering, but in its righteous benefits. His grace considers eternity.

Prayer time.

Remember: Eternity does not forget.

A Relational Gospel

2005-11-01T21:13:00.000-08:00

My next post will be the start of the notes I'm using for my bible study. The focus of the study is to show how central relationship is to the Gospel. Christians talk a great deal about "obeying God," however we often lose the point of the Gospel. The point is that the Gospel is all about relationships. God is perfect love, and holiness is the result of His every expression of that love. If God is perfect love, then the following two things are true. The first is that God is a sentient being. The second is that God is a purely relational being. The bible says we were built in His image.

This bible study I'm posting is to show a bridge between modernism and post modernism. From the head of mechanistic thinking to the relational heart of the Gospel which is the growth and expression of perfect love in God and in all humankind.

This study will take a little time in building a firm foundation. So here we go.

I'm Back

2005-10-08T20:20:00.000-07:00

It's been a very difficult year, not bad just difficult. Last November I was whining to my pastor about my need for a house so that my wife Andrea could get through the doors with her walker. Two weeks later I get a phone call and Andrea's mother wants to gift us a new mobile home. Andrea's mother told us later she thought God wanted her to do this for us. We spent months working with the architect to get the design right. The new home is customized to help Andrea with her many physical difficulties. We then lived in a motel for six weeks while our old mobile home was removed and the new one was installed. We moved back in July and have been "feathering the nest" for the last couple of months. Whew!!!! This process took nearly a year, and it was far to self consuming for my tastes but altogether necessary.

On top of that, I was promoted at work last April. Work has been slowly and surely eating away at my free time. Not good. I'm taking a few days off this next week to see what God wants to do about that and just chill out.

As promised long ago, I will be posting my small group meeting minutes shortly. I've had three meetings recently and I am tidying up my meeting notes before I post them.

I'll be back.

Terri Schiavo, Marriage and Death

2005-04-05T19:55:00.000-07:00

As I think about the Terri Schiavo situation I wonder if those who are trying to protect Terri over the objections of her husband really understand what it means to honor a sacred trust as marriage? I know this sounds harsh, however as the religious right tries to "protect the sanctity of marriage" they intrude into a family situation and apparently negate the very sanctity they are trying to protect. This intrusion into this situation bothers the hell out of me. Why you may ask, it is because of a little bracelet that is on my wife's wrist. On this medic alert bracelet are three profound words "do not resuscitate." With the bracelet and an advanced medical directive she has made it clear that when she is no longer able to speak and act for herself she wants God to have her.

As her husband it is my honor and duty to see that I am her voice when she cannot speak. I am her husband while she lives. By biblical standards the courts rightfully gave her husband custody over his wife. Why oh why did the religious right even get involved? They should of been cheering that her husband had custody. Somewhere in there the courts had some common sense. Why would we want to change that behavior? Here was a perfect opportunity to show that Christians were serious about marriage, whether or not her husband did the perfect thing. He clearly did what he felt was in Terri's interest and we should of trusted his actions. After seven years in the courts, it was clear he didn't make the decision haphazardly.

What the law makers should be doing is making the process clearer not more involved. Why prolong the suffering? Why prolong the financial burden? I have been married to my wife twenty plus years all of which she has endured constant chronic illness and miserable suffering. She is amazingly brave and very tired of her suffering. After twenty years I am still in no hurry to have God take her home to heaven, though she says that she is more than ready. I am hoping and praying that when God takes her it will be without me having to tell a doctor to "pull the plug." If that day comes and I have to make that awful decision the last thing I want is the courts to get involved and second guess my (her) decision. There comes a time when we must die. There is no sin to let nature take its course (just ask people in the third world) and I will fight to let my wife have her way in this. When my wife is no longer able to speak and act for herself, she has made it clear that she is saying this "let me die I am not afraid, and oh death where is thy sting, I am glory bound."

This is her faith (and mine) and as her husband I will help her see it through to the end. As in Terri's case the courts should just let us be the spouses God has said we are. To love my spouse as my own body, it may seem odd that this may be to let my beloved die without interference. Let's keep marriage sacred, till death do us part.

Tithing and Grace

2004-11-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

I have been working on this particular subject for many years. In fact this subject is what sent me into the study of grace. I want people to give rightly, with the right heart. Giving is the legacy of believing and living in grace. Tithing as required by the Mosaic Law, only maintains the Law’s grip on our hearts. We will not experience the complete liberty of grace if we continue to allow the Law to keep its grip on our hearts.

There are many good and even great teachers that hold to the belief that God still requires the tithe. As you read this posting you will see that the teaching has serious flaws which in my opinion undermine faith. Tithing (giving ten percent) was part of the old covenant of the Mosaic Law. As followers of Christ we are now under the covenant of grace through Christ. The subject matter in this letter is not exhaustive, but highlights several key issues.

The dominant issues that many teachers use for required tithing are as follows:

1. Tithing was not included in the part of the law that is now under grace.
2. Everyone was required to give ten percent under the Law.
3. There is a promise of blessing if we tithe, so we should tithe in order to receive the blessing.
4. Tithing was before the Law, Abraham tithed and therefore so should we.
6. Jesus said that the Pharisees should have tithed, therefore we should tithe.
7. We should give proportionally, so everyone should give the same.

These teachings are seriously flawed. My hope is that the following will help you be set free of performance giving.

In Deuteronomy 14:22-29, tithing is clearly spelled out. The tithe (ten percent of crops and animals) was to be eaten by the tither in the place of God’s choosing (Jerusalem) and with a Levite to share in the revelry. In the third year, the tithe was to be placed in the (local) town storehouse and distributed to the alien, the widow, the orphan, and the Levite. I can not see how these God given Mosaic Law tithes reasonably translate into giving ten percent of every earning to the local church. The bulk of these tithes as described in Deuteronomy didn’t even go to the direct support of the local temple (church). It is also apparent that the tithe was to be from the fruit of the land (crops and animals). Nowhere in the bible is it said that the proceeds of manufactured items were to be tithed. Admittedly, they were primarily an agricultural society, but other vocations or ways to supplement a living did exist. With these “trades people” the Lord did not require tithes of an annual wage or a year’s worth of fishing, pottery, garments, or carpentry. These vocations took place back in those times and God did not ask for them to be tithed, nor did he ask for their monetary earnings to be exchanged as He did in Deuteronomy 14:25-26. In fact, it could be argued that the wealthier people were more likely to tithe and not the poor. Those blessed (gifted) with croplands and herds tithed. It is clear God did not ask everyone to tithe on every earning, only those with crops and herds.

Tithing was under the Mosaic Law and it is the only place in the bible where it is commanded by God. As commanded, the people tithed in order to receive the promises/blessings as stated in Deuteronomy and more importantly they tithed to remember (Deut 14:23) that it was God who gave them such blessings. Some current teachers also use Malachi 3:8-10 to show that God blesses the tithe. The blessings and curses in Malachi are under the Mosaic Law (Deut 28). In order to receive the blessings you must follow the whole Law, not just part (Galatians 5:3).

The teaching that Christ sanctioned tithing beyond the covenant of the Law is contrary to the overwhelming bulk of New Testament teaching on grace. Jesus’ comments to the Pharisees (Matt 23:23) on tithing are easily understood, and are in context, as to their position under Mosaic Law. The hypocritical way the Pharisees followed the Law was the entire context of this passage. The tithing Jesus mentioned to the Pharisees was the recognition that they were following the Law (when tithing) as they “should be.” Obeying the Mosaic Law was God’s command to the Jewish believers and remained so until Jesus’ sacrificial death. Following the Mosaic Law is not a religious imperative to Christian believers and is a hindrance to faith (Romans 8:3-4). If we were to follow the “should be” to its logical conclusion, then we should be practicing tithing as written in the Mosaic Law. That was the tithing that Jesus recognized and that God required under the Law. Otherwise, it is clear we stand under a new and different covenant (Hebrews 8:7-13). Our covenant rests in belief in the Lord Jesus and obeying his voice through the Holy Spirit (Rom 8:14). The submission of the believer’s heart (by faith) to the Spirit of Christ will yield the only fruit that is acceptable to the Lord (Heb 11:6).

The new covenant teaching in Hebrews (and Romans) should make it obvious that we are not required to follow previous old covenant requirements. Nevertheless, some teachers insist that we are required to tithe in order to follow Abraham in faith. I would like to address a few things about Abraham and his tithe (Gen 14:17-20).

1. Abraham received his blessing before he gave ten percent (tithed) to Melchizedek. There is no record that God required him to give ten percent, and some historians suggest the tithe might have been a traditional (cultural) gift to a king. The ten percent Abraham gave was likely a freewill offering and possibly in response to the blessing (grace) he received (Gen 14:18-20).

2. Abraham gave ten percent of the spoils of war (Hebrews 7:4). He was still on his way back home from the war (Gen 14:17, Hebrews 7:1) when the meeting occurred and would not have had his entire fortune with Him. There is no record that Abraham made it a habit to regularly tithe from his normal income.

3. Some teachers say we should follow Abraham in faith and therefore tithe. If being like Abraham means more than walking in faith (James 2:22-23), then maybe we should be circumcising all males. God commanded Abraham to circumcise all the men as an everlasting covenant (Gen 17:7-10). In fact, there is a better argument for circumcision than tithing if one was to use Abraham as a focal point to follow rather than to follow as an example of faith (Rom 4:13). Except, that Paul was adamantly against required circumcision because we were free of the whole of Mosaic Law (Galatians 5:1-6).

So, by what reasoning does a church enforce a custom (tithing) that God did not require of Abraham, in light of the fact that God’s previously required act of circumcision is now clearly defunct? The convenient choosing and/or disregarding of the context of Abraham’s life is not good, consistent, interpretive practice. It is clear that there is no record of God commanding the tithe until the Mosaic Law. Any inference that Abraham’s tithe has any bearing on the New Testament church’s requirement to tithe is at best a very poor interpretive practice.

It is quite clear throughout the New Testament (Acts, Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, James) that the Mosaic Law was put aside because a new covenant (of grace) came into effect after Christ’s death on the cross. The Apostle Paul was a champion of grace. Don’t you think that he would have mentioned his endorsement of tithing if this part of the Mosaic Law was carried over into the new covenant of grace? Paul had plenty of opportunity to carve out an exception to his standing on grace in his writings. His silence on the subject of tithing, in light of his teachings on grace, should be a deafening roar to the Church that “Tithing is not required; His grace is sufficient.”

Since grace is unmerited favor, its truest and highest nature is shown when it is given in the liberty of choice. If grace is given with any condition to earn it, it is not grace. Regardless of our spiritual condition, the grace gifts show that God gives freely, generously, and miraculously. Giving is one of those grace gifts. This (unconditional) grace which is now freely given to us must be freely given by us or it is not a true expression of God’s grace, which is the very expression of Christ’s grace. The moment we place a ten percent requirement on giving, the gift is no longer grace but law (under conditions). The apostle Paul stated that by following one law you come under the authority of the whole law (Gal 5:3). We cannot conveniently carve out an exception to the law (tithing) without being trapped by the whole of it. Our new law in Christ is liberty, not to license, but freedom to obey Christ (Galatians 5:1) and therefore to be like Him. We are either free in Christ to give freely and express our liberty (to give) before God as a reflection/expression of His grace, or we are under bondage (of law or sin). Freely we have received and freely (in freedom) we are to give. Without liberty, grace and the love it conveys is meaningless because it is not an expression of a willing heart of love but one under the compulsion of the law.

Many churches require their members to be tithers. I am sure many of them do this because they feel strongly about tithing and have had some positive experiences with it. I feel strongly about Spirit-led grace giving. I personally expect to hear the Holy Spirit talk to me about giving. I ask Him to counsel me because I am a steward of my Father’s possessions and gifts. As a steward, these possessions are mine to invest in His name. I will be held responsible for all that He has given me and I’ll be rewarded according to my faithfulness to Him. Whether giving one cent or one-hundred percent, God will not judge by the flesh (law) but by the heart (faith-obedience) of the giver (Luke 12:34).

Under the New Covenant not all of us are gifted the same (Romans 12:6). Paul likens the church as a body. He says each of us has a measure of spiritual gifts to contribute in order to make the body work as a whole. Required tithing ignores the fact that giftings are disparate. Each person is gifted differently. We leave out the poor (or those less gifted to give) to the peril and health of the church when we require ten percent to be a member of a church. For everyone to give ten percent annually in order to join a church wasn’t even required by God in the Old Testament. Such a standard in a church gives preference and the seat of honor to the financially blessed, and leaves poorer people to a second-class citizenship in the house of God (James 2:1-3). James 2:5 states that the poor are often rich in faith. Wouldn’t it be interesting if that is one of the reasons why we see a lack of faith (Galatians 3:5) in the church? Personally, I would first rather be in a house rich in faith, and then secondly have the money to take that rich faith to the nations.

There is a grace war and it is still going on. This war began at the very beginning of the New Testament Church (Acts 15:1-29) and two thousand years later we are still at it. Our heritage of grace is being challenged. On one front, there is currently a whole group of brethren who think that the grace gifts (power gifts) became unavailable (died with the Apostles) after the first century. On another front, there are brethren who still think that following Old Testament Law will lead us to righteousness and promote greater blessing from God. These are just two (of many) fronts that lay down seeds of unbelief in grace and the Spirit-led life. The Apostle Peter challenges us to grow in grace (2Peter 3:18). As we need air, water, food, and a temperate environment, so does the Spirit of Truth need an environment of grace in order to mature within us. Grace provides the optimal growing environment for God’s truth, and without grace there is very little (if any) opportunity or provision for change or a changed life.

In contrast to grace, following the Law stunts our growth by placing us in a position to teeter between self-righteousness and condemnation. One moment we are proud we can fulfill the requirements and the next moment we condemn ourselves for our inability. Once condemned, we then try harder to do better (or we give up), only to fail because there is no power in the Law to save. We wind up vacillating between two positions of powerlessness both rooted in ourselves. A primary cause of this teeter-totter effect is unbelief in our reliance on grace and this unbelief stunts our growth. If our hearts are compelled to rely on the law or our own adequacy then our faith is compromised at the root. We are relying on powerless sources, the Law or ourselves (Rom 8:3). When we try to rely on both law and grace we are being double-minded and the faith behind our prayers becomes ineffectual.

Continually living the Spirit-led life is the only way to combat this effect. In every arena of life the Spirit must lead and this includes the way we give. Otherwise, we succumb to unbelief in the power and availability of His grace. Do we think that the grace gifts can be effectually ministered under any other spirit other than the Spirit of Grace? With these gifts we confront the world with the unmerited grace of Jesus Christ.

This finally leads to what I think about giving. Here is the very short version:

1. I am not my own. I have been bought by Christ for a price.
2. Since I am not my own, everything I am and own is His.
3. Since everything is His, I am then a steward of my Father’s possessions. Many of Jesus’ teachings revolved around being stewards and stewardship.
4. I will be held responsible for how I invest His gifts and will be rewarded accordingly. Unbelief in this area will be severely judged by Christ (Matt 25:25-30).
5. To give freely is the nature of Christ. Since the Spirit of Christ indwells me, I therefore expect to hear from Him on how and how much to give. Personally, this has been one of the primary ways the Spirit has trained my ear to hear His voice.
6. To the best of my ability, and sometimes beyond my ability, to happily give regular financial support to the church that I attend. This is one way in which I share in the work of Christ.
7. To help support a mission ministry that serves the orphan, widow or poor in Christ’s name.

In conclusion, I just don’t understand how a New Testament church can biblically argue that God requires that everybody should give an annual ten percent (tithe) when the Bible shows differently. I will agree that some people are called (by the Spirit) to give ten percent, but the required tithe many teachers and churches support does not realistically reflect any biblical command. Maybe required tithing is a noble intention, but it is a manmade command nevertheless. I think it is misleading and at a root level fosters unbelief in grace. Giving is a pillar to living a Christ-like life, but its foundation must rest as a freewill unmerited gift of grace as given to us through Christ, or we will likely remain a powerless compromised church.

I pray that you carefully consider these words.

Your Brother in Christ,

D. Cutler

Adam's Dilemma

2004-10-21T19:47:00.000-07:00

By request I've posted this poem that I wrote a few years back. I know this is weird, but I retain all rights to the poem in order that it can be used freely by all. With that said....

Little is said in the bible about why Adam chose to eat of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This is what I feel.

ADAM'S DILEMMA

The fruit she held in her hand
Was disobedience to God's command
Everything we had shared
All between us was laid out, bare
Her hands said eat with me
Her eyes spoke see what I can see
In a moment I saw what she had done
Eaten the fruit of which we should have none
Forbidden it was for us to eat
Knowledge of death its only treat
To see good and evil with our eyes
Only for us then to die
In that instant, again, I was alone
With no one to call my own
Alone as I was when I first stood
Amidst the garden in the wood
Into my soul did memories pour
Of lonely echoes amongst the river's shore
Not all was good on that first day
So God had given me her by His way
Her loving eyes now shown with strange desire
The light in them glowed with a different fire
Her eyes burned into my soul
Till it was blackened like darkened coal
I could not stand again to be alone
She is the only life I want to own
In loneliness I could now look toward
To be separate in obedience was no reward
I will eat of the tree to be as Eve
We would be alike again her and me
The loneliness would not last
We would share as in the past
I took and ate of the fruit in her hand
I choose her not God’s plan
As my eyes opened wide
All I saw was a great divide
Instead of a companion for me
Only nakedness I could see
Fig leaves we sewed to cover our shame
But the leaves could not cover our pain
In the cool of the day I hid
When He called my name and bid
"Where are you Adam, is it good?"
Alone and afraid I was in the wood

Author: DFCutler

Grace Bible Study

2004-09-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry if my postings have been missing as of late, but I think this will be helpful. With some editorial help from my pastor, I'm going to put together a twelve week "holistic" bible study curriculum based on a study of grace. The holistic part means that the bible study will be interactive and not just a talking head. I have a basic outline that is by no means complete but will give an idea of what is to come.

Grace - The Bible Study

1. The Nature of God
What is perfect love?
A Father's love

2. The Nature of Man
What is free will?
Default: Man free of God

3. A View of Eternity
How eternity affects us: The eternal soul
How does God see our actions?

4. Sin and Death
What is stopping a loving God?
Without death we would be in trouble: The grace in death

5. Covered by Christ
Eternal covering
Putting on Christ
A new creature

6. The Gift of Grace
God's liberated favor
A Gift
Not earned-Pride
Not unearned-Condemnation
Legalism: A P-C teeter-totter

7. The Nature of Grace
Empowered opportunity for change/growth
Mercy: The flip-side of grace

8. The Purpose of Grace
Grow in truth
To be like Christ
Being dependent on the Father's will

9. Growing in Grace
Humility
Gratitude: The rejection of entitlement
Showing mercy

10. Faith: The Flower of Grace
What does your heart believe?
Trusting in God's unwavering love
Do we believe/rest in His favor?
Expecting grace

11. Grace Gifts: Part 1
1Cor 12
Romans 12

12. Grace Gifts: Part 2
Expectation
Application

I will be posting the complete format for each bible study as I complete them in hopes someone may find them useful. Stay tuned.

God is Perfect Love

2004-08-08T17:11:00.001-07:00

I was reading a book on grace that I had stopped reading over a year ago. The book was not what I was looking for so I put it back on the shelf. Well, I picked it up again the other day and while I was reading the book I came to the realization that their are very fundamental differences in understanding the "Heart of God."

The difference that I'm concerned about is so fundamental that it sets an impervious boundary between us and God. If we do not believe this one fact, we will miss the "Heart of God" and we will never be the people God wants us to be. What is so important, it is this, that God is love.

I'm not saying that it is one of His chief characteristics, I'm saying that it is His characteristic. Everything, and I mean everything, that God does is rooted in love. Love defines God. He is pure, self aware, all consuming, omnipotent love. He is love, and He dwells outside the boundary of space and time. He created everything in the box of space and time, including the box. Every judgment of God is because His love is perfect and He cannot accept that which does not come from love. Every mercy and every grace of God is because of His perfect love and His love wants us to know Him and be with Him. God's righteousness is because of the purity and authority of His love.

So why is this important? It is important because if we are to trust and follow God we need to believe His intentions. From the definition of God that I have given above, it becomes much easier to follow God's intent for man. It describes why sin is a problem (eternity), why Hell exists (free will), why He loves us despite our failures (made to know Him), why Christ died (He is Love), and His command to us is to love(Matthew 22:35-40, John 15:12) . It is all because of His perfect love.

The judgment of men, women, and angels is because God has to something with eternal free-will creatures not willing to choose the God of Love. To quote a book, love is a choice. God cannot make us love Him, otherwise it is not love. Love would not be love if it was instinctual. Godly love requires choice. Perfect Love has done and is passionately doing everything He can to rescue us from choosing to enter eternity without Him.

This is the context of how I see God, I see His great love doing all it can to help men come to know Him and love Him. Free will is a boundary He will not cross until we ask Him in. Because of sin, Christ is the only (eternal) door He can cross. Christ is the way (the door), the truth, and the life (of life), and God so passionately loved us that He gave us Christ. We must believe and accept His perfect love for each of us, and when we do we will trust him and begin to understand Him.

Cheap Grace

2004-07-20T20:03:00.000-07:00

After the last church service I was ask about what I thought about "cheap grace" and whether I would write something on the blog about it. I responded with an answer that I really hadn't thought much about but it leaped from my heart. I said something like this, "there is no cheap grace, we only treat it cheaply. After that answer I decided to write about it because I started to feel a little convicted about my own response to grace at times.

When people talk about cheap grace it usually means two things to me. The first is licentious behavior, which has very little (if anything) to do with grace. This sounds something like this, "since Jesus died for my sins, I can do whatever I want because He has forgiven me" (Jude 1:4). The second thing cheap grace reminds me of and I am occasionally guilty of is "the little foxes."

These are the little foxes that ruin the vineyard as it is blooming (Song of Solomon 2:15). There are times in my life that I have lost patience and "I just want what I want and I want it now!!" Unfortunately, these are times when I most likely damage the chance for new growth in my life. I trade the "opportunity for change" (my definition of grace) with some momentary satisfaction. I have slowed down my rate of change. It is at these moments that I cheapen grace. I have traded now for some later chance at grace that I did not buy or earn. God's amazing grace is free but not cheap. The price was the sacrificial life of God's son, Jesus.

I show little honor at the cost of God's grace when I trade away an opportunity that I did not buy. Every opportunity to be changed into the likeness of Jesus is a precious gift. The opportunity for change is always now. Now is the time of salvation (2Cor 6:1-2).

The Attitude of Gratitude

2004-07-08T21:54:00.000-07:00

This is my (expanded) outline to a church homegroup I led the other day. It's about the attitude of gratitude.

Opening Question:
What was your most significant highlight for the week?

Question:
As an American what do you think is our worse character trait? My answer is "entitlement." The definition of entitlement is "the right to do or have" (Oxford Dictionary). It seems like Americans are programmed to think that we are entitled to whatever we want or can afford.

Question:
What was the most important character trait that you were taught in grade school?
Sharing
Teamwork
Honesty
Staying Within the Lines

For me it was saying Thank You. I had a fourth grade teacher who taught the class to say thank you and then if we did not say it in time, she would say "your welcome" anyway. Being competitive, I learned how to say thank you real fast. I learned to be polite, but being grateful is another lesson.

Topic: The Attitude of Gratitude
I'm a man stuck on learning to live by grace. In this way I am being taught by grace (Titus 2:11-12). There are enemies to living by grace and one of the most predominant in this culture is entitlement. Entitlement says we have earned (deserved) what we have and it is my right to have it. Entitlement does not acknowledge the gift (grace) or the giver.

Question:
What do you deserve today?
Sustenance- food & shelter
Liberty
Justice

Doesn't a single mother in the Sudan desert have a right to these things? Why doesn't she have them?

Entitlement presumes we are deserving and have earned the right to the things we have and enjoy. If we have earned the right to the things we have then we void grace and stop acknowledging God's hand in the world. Grace is a free undeserved gift not a reward. It is God who supplies.

The attitude of gratitude reminds and reinforces that the things we receive are gifts. It is a grace-tude. The word root of gratitude is gratis. This is Latin for grace (free gift).

Gratitude is more than polite behavior. Being polite is about respecting people. Gratitude is about living in humility and grace. This is where my soul is going to live for eternity. Ultimately, gratitude is a happy response (recognition) to God's love and care for us.

Question:
How do you feel about being thankful for eternity?
Thinking about this is humbling to me.

Gratitude verses: Colossians 2:7, 3:16 (There are a lot more)

Anti Grateful Verse: Romans 1:21

Question:
How do you show gratitude?

My suggestion:
Be appreciative and smile. Look people in the eye and say thank-you. Acknowledge the giver and the grace (gift, service) given to you.
Rejoice in the Lord always, be anxious for nothing, in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God (Philippians 4:4).

Conclusion:
Being grateful and showing gratitude are powerful ways to remind ourselves that by grace God supplies our needs. The attitude of gratitude is the anti-entitlement weapon of choice. Gratitude by its nature helps us to live in humility. With gratitude we become a more able instrument to receive and live in God's wonderful grace.

Worship Time: Two songs

Prayer Time: Pray for needs

Desert Time

Change of Service

2004-07-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was asked to serve the church I attend in a new capacity. I was asked to serve as a member of our Board of Elders for the next couple of years. I do not find such titles very liberating. In fact, for the last couple of weeks I've been "looking over my shoulder" wondering about every movie I rent, every word I say, and every helping of dessert I eat. I'm wondering about how I look, how my actions might be (mis)interpreted, or why someone else wasn't chosen for the position. From not meeting expectations to being too sanctimonious, I wondered what I looked like to others. Obsessing on this kind of stuff is not too good, but I can't just ignore these things because they can be important indicators. How I act can give a peek into my soul and you do want someone of good character in the position of Elder (1Pet 5:1-4). So why do I say yes to this chaos of uneasy feelings (hopefully short lived) and choose to serve in an expanded capacity?

Three things persuaded me to say yes to this service despite the uneasy onslaught. First and foremost was the definite feeling that the Holy Spirit was telling me to say yes and the definite knowledge that He was going to be unhappy if I said no despite my feelings of inadequacy. The second thing that compelled me to say yes is related to the first. Though His son, I am a steward to the Lord and the Master has called and given me new duties. Who am I to say no, as I am His servant. Although I have my weaknesses, it is His grace that is sufficient (2Cor 12:9) and this will be enough for me.

The third thing that persuaded me was my wife. She has been encouraging and supportive of this event even though she has several chronic and debilitating illnesses. Even though she would not be actively involved with the Board of Elders, without her support I would have declined the position. I have no illusions, she is my better half. God has used her as a crucible for my character. Learning to be with her through her suffering (twenty plus years) is one of the most instrumental lessons of my Christian life. She is very loyal, brave and loving. Yet, her biggest gift to me has been the opportunity (grace) to teach me how to grow a loving relationship through and in spite of suffering. I have learned to be a better servant of Christ because of her.

This decision has brought me through a storm of reasoning, emotional chaos, and prayer. After all is said and done, I stand resolved with this hope and prayer, to humbly and lovingly serve the Body of Christ (Luke 17:10).

Your Brother in Christ,

David C.

Emotional Bonsai

2004-06-27T17:35:00.002-07:00

I have a confession to make, I use to be an emotional bonsai. This is not to be mistaken for being a lukewarm or cold Christian, I was just small in my emotional depth, if not completely lacking. I was a fairly pleasant person, but emotionally small. Never too angry, or too happy, or too excited, too compassionate, everything was proportional and quite measured. What I didn't understand was that my experiences were small...bonsai.

I have seen a ten year old apple tree in a three gallon pot that looked perfect. It had beautiful flowers and a wonderfully proportioned trunk and perfectly trained and formed branches. It even gave edible apples in season, but this tree stood 18-24 inches tall. It really was amazing. This was not a pygmy tree or an unusually small variety of apple tree, this was a garden variety tree that would have been a least ten feet tall if it had a normal life growing in an orchard.

So what makes a bonsai? Pruning the top part of the tree has some bearing on the size of the tree, but the real trick to keeping it small (bonsai) is in the roots. The roots have to be pruned and contained. Restrict the roots and you keep the tree from growing to normal size. The life is in the roots. See any parallel to emotional and spiritual growth? My roots were pruned and contained early in life. It was all I knew and I might have stayed that way.

Personally, my lack of growth was due to being emotionally stunted at a very young age. I will not offer details other than I did not receive what I needed when I was very young. By the time I was thirty, I started to figure out that I was a little different. I felt like I was always watching and never really connecting. I didn't cry and my responses to emotional hurt or joy was a measured intellectual response of sadness or laughter. I really didn't feel anything deeply till God changed me.

Eight years ago during a very deep crisis of faith, God healed and changed me. It has been the single most significant event in my life. It truly was like being born again. The person I used to be is no longer. Today, I feel and respond without trying to figure out how. Life is sooo different now than before.

A year before I was healed I was hurting. I wanted to run and quit church, quit my marriage, and start all over. I was suffering and I told God to "change me or my circumstances, but I needed change!!" It was a hard year and I nearly walk away from God, friends, and my wife of fifteen years. Though she loved me dearly, my wife didn't like me much that year. I wasn't a very nice person to live with for most of that year. Though I didn't see it, God used that year to prepare my heart for dramatic change. When I came to the end of myself, I was ready.

During a special church service I was prayed over by the guest speaker and I couldn't stay standing (did carpet time). When I hit the floor, I felt a love and a joy I had not felt before. I began to laugh and laugh and laugh. It emotionally felt like my Father in Heaven was blowing bubbles on my tummy, like a father does to his little laughing baby. I was loved!!! After many sessions of much laughter and joy, I knew that I knew of my Father's deep..deep love for me and from there I started to grow.

It is eight years later and I am still maturing. The laughter has cooled but the joy remains. I'm a bigger tree with much deeper roots and growing fruit. My marriage is stronger and I cry at Disney movies and feel compassion when I see another's pain. I am a loved son of the Father, and over the past few years He has brought me more and more into His business to love people. I find it difficult to otherwise explain what happened to me other than "I was blind and now I see," and I was lame and now I can walk.

Suffering and feeling compassion towards others is now an opportunity for my roots to grow and reach for the deep things in God. I will not say that I am always ready to choose suffering, but I hear God's voice beckoning and encouraging me to trust and send my roots deeper still into Him. I love Him and I will follow. I choose to go on and be healed and be whole. I am no longer an emotional bonsai, I am free to grow.

This has been my story, but we all have fears and hurts that keep us from growing. I know that our Father God wants to help us all to be more than we can ever imagine. His love, His mercy, and His grace are always there to help us grow. Its true, believe it!

Pneumatikos Charisma

2004-06-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

I believe in the spiritual gifts as stated in 1Corinthians 12 and that they are available to us today. The listed gifts (and there are others) are words of wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discernment of spirits, tongues, and interpretation of tongues (1Cor 12:8-10). The following verses (1Cor 12:12-30) then likens those so gifted as parts of a body. If this is so and you still do not believe in the present availability of these gifts, then I would ask (along with the author/pastor A.W. Tozer), "which body part does the Body of Christ not need?" The Apostle Paul defends them all, and sees each gift as necessary to the body.

I want to encourage all those reading this blog to earnestly desire these gifts (1Cor 12:31). The Apostle Paul states in 1Cor 12:6 that God works the varieties of effects (gifts) in all people and that these gifts are distributed to us as the Spirit wills (1Cor 12:11). These gifts are available to all of us, but we must believe. Without belief in them how are we going to have the faith to express them (Mat 21:21)?

In the original Greek language the gifts as explained in 1Cor 12 are pneumatikos charisma. This means spiritual grace gifts. So, the gifts are supplied through the Holy Spirit and are given freely (by grace). It becomes clear then that the gifts are by nature a product of grace. This is important because it shows the underlying importance in believing, walking, and growing in grace.

Jesus states "Freely you have received, freely give" (Mat 10:8). I translate it this way, freely you have been gifted, freely give the gifts. This is the nature of grace, free gifts which supply free opportunities for change. We did not earn these gifts and neither can those who receive them. To earn them or be required to earn them is unbelief in grace and the gift, and a hindrance to their manifestation.

The demonstration of the gifts requires then to believe in them and act on that belief (show faith). The faith required to believe in grace is actually the fruition (flower) of grace. Remember, faith is the manifestation of what you believe in your heart (Heb 11:1). As we grow in grace expect that fruit (spiritual gifts) will (super)naturally manifest as we act (show faith) on each opportunity (grace) that is given to us by the Holy Spirit. As Jesus said, "these signs shall accompany those who believe..." (Mark 16:17-18).

Grace to Serve

2004-06-17T21:21:00.000-07:00

I read today a news article about a four year old boy who was roughed-up a little during a major league baseball game. It seems that a twenty-eight year old man was more interested in obtaining a foul ball that dropped right in front of the four year old than in the little boy's well being. In the process of getting the ball, the man muscled his way around the little boy. The whole event was apparently captured on television. The man was booed by the stadium crowd and even his companions left the game early. Still, the man kept the ball. To the benefit of the four year old, several of the baseball players gave the little boy baseball bats and autographed baseballs to make up for the lost ball.

This outpouring to the four year old was cool to see, but what was of interest to me was the young man. It seems that the news agencies found out who the man was. Apparently, the young man was a Christian, and a former youth pastor to boot. The people who knew him said he was a "nice guy", and that he must of just "lost his head in the excitement." An event that would of been ignored, a four year old recovering a baseball, became a national covered event because of a seemingly selfish moment. I wonder what the man is thinking about all this now? Was is worth it?

I am not above getting "caught in the moment," and I too find myself tarnished in such moments. So, what do I do to recover from such moments. Well, after I go through denial, anger, depression, and acceptance, I humble myself and ask for forgiveness. For instance, after yelling at the "jerk" who recklessly cut me off in traffic, I try to justify my behavior (needlessly angry). First I tell God its not my fault I'm angry, then I get angry that I'm angry, then I get depressed that I got angry again (2nd time that morning), then I find myself saying something like the following. "Dear Lord, I'm mad and I shouldn't be. Please help me be more patient with those around me. Help that person in front of me be a more careful driver and help them safely get to where they are going." I choose to lay down my rights and accept that I would rather be right in Christ than self righteous.

As a believer I have been given the opportunity (the grace) to lay down my rights (entitlements) and be like Christ (humble for starters). "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all" (Mark 9:35). This is how Jesus has ask us to live. Everywhere we go, and this is hard, we are being asked of God to serve those around us whether or not we approve of them. As servants we lay down our rights (judgments, entitlements) in order that others may see and experience Christ.

I willingly choose this servant-like behavior because of the love that God has shown me and placed in my heart. Every day his grace gives me new opportunity and freedom to serve others. Because of His love for me, I am being transformed into being like Christ, a liberated servant.

Mercy

2004-06-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

I am sure you have heard people say "what goes around, comes around" or "you reap what you sow." The bible talks about reaping and sowing, but with mercy you are not reaping what you sow. Instead of reaping punishment for a "bad act" (sin), you do not reap at all. This is a very important to the operation of grace.

Mercy allows us to live freely in grace because we are not required to fix or pay back every bad choice we make. If we had to pay for the damage of every bad spiritual choice we made, we would wind up spending all our time in bondage trying to fix our mistakes. Life would simply become unbearable, because we would wind up living under an endless burden of guilt and shame. Mercy releases us from our burdens and allows us to pursue a fresh start with little spiritual baggage (guilt) to carry. With mercy we are able to take advantage of the new opportunities given to us by grace.

The parable that Jesus taught in Matthew 18:21-35 reminds us to live in mercy and forgiveness. By showing others mercy we ourselves reaffirm belief in God's mercy in and through us. When we show mercy we then open up new possibilities for God's grace to bring change into our lives and the lives of those receiving mercy. This parable shows us that God expects and requires us to be merciful as believers in Christ, not to do so will throw us into the terrible bondage of retribution.

As I close, I am reminded of what Jesus said in Matthew 5:7. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." Go and be blessed.

From Yuck to Glory

2004-06-10T19:53:00.000-07:00

I didn't sleep well last night. After I got up (5:30am), I got dressed for work, bowed my head and...... vomited into the toilet for five minutes. Not a graceful way to start the day...and yet, God's love for me has not changed. How I feel doesn't affect God's perfect love for me, my feeling sick only challenges my heart to trust Him. I am reminded of this passage (2Cor 4:16)from the Apostle Paul "though our outer man is decaying, our inner man is being renewed day by day." Choosing to trust God (and His love) through these light affictions is for me a day by day training ground. Today I remind myself that 1. God loves me. 2. My body will die someday. 3. Today is as good a day as any to tell God that I love Him and will trust him with my life.

This is hard work (exercise)choosing to trust God when I feel abandoned to sickness, but I choose to believe in the steadfast grace he has for me despite my circumstance. Jesus Christ in me is my hope of glory (Col 1:27) and though my body still feels poorly, I continue to sense in my spirit the richness of His presence and love.

Change What?

2004-06-08T18:57:00.000-07:00

I had a lunch with an old friend today. After we were done eating, I asked him this question, "would Christians behave the same in this country if they behaved more like missionaries?" Would we be less likely to involve ourselves in the shaping the cultural behavior of the masses? Would we be more involved with the shaping of individuals? I could be naive, but it seems to me that Jesus spent his time on teaching and developing the spiritual life of the people and not the changing of large governmental and social structures. The changes Jesus sought were not merely societal, but personal and eternal.

Changing societal behaviors has little to do with being a missionary or so it should. Missionaries introduce people to Jesus and hope they will accept and follow him. Missionaries that spend their time trying to change societal behavior will accomplish no eternal change. People do not merely need a better behavior, they need an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. Jesus-like behavior follows those who follow Jesus. Missionaries who show people mercy, grace, and acceptance will show people who Jesus is. The truth that we need Jesus will only be apparent to people who spend time with those who are like Him. Can we intervene to show mercy to those who are condemned and can we give opportunity (grace) to those who are undeserving? Jesus did, for all of us.

A Believing Heart

2004-06-07T18:14:00.000-07:00

I read this description in the book The Real Faith, by Charles S. Price, that "faith is the flower of grace." I would add that without a deep heart felt sense of grace, mountain moving faith is near impossible. Grace, God's unmerited, unrestrained,and unwavering favor (love) towards us is foundational if we are to believe and trust God. How can we show the type of faith that would believe for a miracle if we are unsure that God is for us?

Faith is what the heart believes. If you believe in your heart and do not doubt (Mark 11:23),then our Father in Heaven will answer your prayer. It really is that simple, except our hearts are not that simple. Why would God answer my prayer? How can I believe that God is saying yes when I doubt the intention and purity of my own heart? How can I get my unbelief out of the way? How can God love me when I feel so unpure? These are doubts that compromise faith and many of these and questions like these attack the same place of belief, God's amazing grace. It is often just too good to believe, too hard to practice, and therefore twice as easy to compromise. The apostle Paul fought to preserve grace for good reasons, we have to join that fight.

It's a Start

2004-06-04T23:15:00.000-07:00

I am a follower of Jesus Christ and I'm dismayed. I see the message of Christ's grace being lost amidst a sea of rules and positions that brings fear and stagnation instead of a climate that brings the truth of God's love to fruition. Grace by definition is "unmerited favor", and by its action and demonstration it provides the perfect climate in which truth grows. Truth is the seed, grace is the environment. Grace provides the perfect environment to encourage change, and without change we will not grow.

This journal is about grace and those forces that would hinder its expression. My hope is that you who visit here will find encouragement as we explore God's amazing grace.