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Let’s get hypergrace into the dictionary

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The English language has about 200,000 words, yet one word is missing from the dictionary. That word is hypergrace.

Why don’t we change that? Why don’t we put hypergrace into the dictionary?

Hypergrace is an important word. It’s a unique word. It’s a word many of us love and many more of us have used. Consider these numbers:

  • books about hypergrace: 40 (Amazon)
  • videos on hypergrace: nearly 10,000 (Google)
  • articles on hypergrace: gazillions (Google)

A word that has gained so much traction ought to be officially recognized. Right?

Ten years ago, no one was talking about hypergrace. Now it has become a shibboleth for the Christian community. If you’ve heard about it, chances are you have an opinion about it.

Grace like snow

If the Eskimos have 20 words for snow, we ought to have at least one word to describe the extreme and radical grace of God. We need a word to capture what the Apostle Paul had in mind when writing about the abundance of God’s grace (literally super-grace) in Romans 5:17 or his abounding grace (literally hyper-super-grace) in Romans 5:20.

Abounding?! Is that the best we can do? God’s grace is so much more than that. At least it was when Paul wrote about it.

The grace of a limitless God is extreme, super-abounding, and over the top. His hypergrace exceeds your wildest dreams.

So why isn’t this word in the dictionary? Are we trying to minimize the grace of God? Are we embarrassed by the riches of his grace? Do we not want people to know how much God loves them and how amazing his grace really is?

Back in July I submitted “hypergrace” to the Oxford English Dictionary. So far I’ve heard nothing back. (I shared the story with patrons.) But this is the OED we’re talking about. They take years to make decisions.

Not so the Urban Dictionary. I submitted hypergrace on Monday and got an acceptance from the editors within 10 minutes. Check it out here, and give it some upvotes!

I have also submitted hypergrace to several other dictionaries where it is pending review. More on that below.

How to get a word into the dictionary

To submit a new word to a dictionary, you have to provide a simple definition of that word. You also have to show how the word can be used in a sentence. This is what I came up with:

Word: hypergrace

Definition (short): God’s super-abounding favor

Definition (long): The extreme favor of God that extends over, beyond, and above what you can conceive or imagine (source: The Hyper-Grace Gospel, p.12)

Use it in a sentence:

  • The cross of Jesus demonstrates the hypergrace of God.
  • The hypergrace gospel is the revelation of Jesus.
  • The hypergrace gospel says all the blessings of God come to us freely as gifts.

What do you think of my definition of hypergrace? Can you come up with a sharper one? Let me know in the comments below. I would love to hear your thoughts.

What next?

I have submitted hypergrace to six dictionaries. If you believe hypergrace should be in the dictionary, head on over to the following dictionaries and search for it. Words that get searched for get recognized.

If you can think of a dictionary I missed, feel free to submit the word yourself, then let me know about it below. I’ll add your dictionary to the list above.

The hypergrace of God was no secret to the Greek speakers of the New Testament, and it shouldn’t be a secret today. Let’s inject some good news into our language. Let’s encourage the guardians of our lexicons to embrace a big beautiful word that means so much to so many.

Spread the word.

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The test of a king

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In recent articles I have explained how every believer is called to be a king – to exercise kingly authority and live from the abundant provision of God’s supply.

Paul said those who receive grace and righteousness will reign in life (Rom. 5:17). So the test of a king—your sword in the stone, if you like—is whether you have taken hold of the Lord’s righteousness. If you don’t receive it you won’t reign. You will toil like Adam and curse what God has blessed. Even though you are free in Christ, you won’t live free. You will bear the heavy yoke of manmade religion and become easy prey for the spirit of intimidation. You will come under the demonic control of others. Something like this happened in Peter’s life.

Dinner for schmucks

Peter had a revelation that Christ died for all people and not just the Jews. This revelation changed him. As he allowed the heart of Christ to be revealed in his own life, Peter began to accept Gentiles even to the point of eating with them.

However, when certain men from James came to Antioch, Peter drew back from the Gentiles in fear. He separated himself because he was unsure of his righteousness. “Am I right? Maybe I’m not. Those Judaizers look the business. They’ve got titles. They’ve got theology and a list of scriptures explaining why I am wrong. I had better listen to them.” Instead of standing up for the Gentiles like a king, Peter stood with the critics like a schmuck and Paul rebuked him for it (see Gal. 2:11–13).

The strange thing about Peter’s behavior is that he should have known better. God accepts people from every nation and Peter knew this. God had given him a dramatic rooftop vision featuring animals and sheets that somehow made everything clear (see Acts 10:9–28).

But when push came to shove, Peter abdicated his kingly role and took himself out of the game. He feared those of the circumcision group because they were more confident of their self-righteousness than he was of his righteousness in Christ Jesus.

The source of our confidence

Kings are confident and that confidence comes from knowing you are righteous with the righteousness that comes from God. When you know that God has made you righteous and that he loves you, accepts you, and is well pleased with you, it changes everything. You no longer hang back on the fringes of the kingdom like a fraud and you no longer tolerate the grace-killing lies of religion. You begin to reign. You begin to walk and talk like a child of the Most High. You begin to live out your destiny.

You don’t need to go to King School to become a king. You just need to see yourself as your Father sees you. You need to receive in your heart what he has said, act on it, and leave the results to him.

The gospel declares that in him you are righteous (Php 3:9). As you walk in this revelation, your confidence will grow and you will start to exercise your kingly influence. You will pray less like a beggar and more like a commander. If someone in your family gets sick, something inside of you will respond, “Not on my watch.” You will rebuke the sickness and appropriate by faith the healing that Jesus paid for.

And after you have seen one or two get healed—after you have killed your lion and your bear—you will have the confidence to start gunning for the giants that terrorize your land.

Then you will be a king indeed.

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Extracted and adapted from The Gospel in Ten Words.

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Walk like a king, talk like a king

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True kings rule. They draw lines in the sand and say, “This far and no further.” They protect and bless those around them and take ownership of other people’s problems.

Jesus is a prime example. He didn’t have to leave the comforts of heaven and die for us but he did. This was a noble and kingly act. Seeing our sorry state he said, “I am going to come and tread upon their problem even if it kills me.”

The heart of this Great King beats in your heart. His Spirit is one with your spirit.

Jesus didn’t hang up his crown after ascending to heaven. He plans to reign until all his enemies have been defeated. Through your union with Christ, you are destined to reign.

For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ. (Romans 5:17)

Adam’s failure to be a king condemned the human race. His sin opened the door to death, disease, defeat, discouragement, and disappointment. But we who were victims of Adam’s disobedience have become victorious through Christ’s obedience.

There is a new king in town and his name is Grace.

Under Adam death reigned, but under Grace we reign. At least, that’s the plan. In truth, not every Christian does reign. Many are racked with guilt and tortured by condemnation. They struggle with sin and live in anxiety. Problems assail them from every side and they are unsuccessful in much of what they do. Although Christ has provided all we need for the abundant life of royalty, they are not enjoying it. They are the paupers in the palace.

Why do some live like this?

This isn’t rocket science. If there is little evidence of the grace of God in your life that doesn’t mean God is tightfisted. It means you have not yet received from his abundant supply. The incalculable riches of grace have been deposited into your account but you have not made any withdrawals.

I don’t say this to criticize anyone or to belittle your faith, but to recognize that most of us have been raised in a culture of unbelief.

We are constantly hearing that God has not provided all we need to rule and reign. We are told that there are things we must do to make that happen. This faithless message is loudest in the church that does not walk in grace.

Ironically, this is exactly the sort of church where you will often hear that you must live by faith, pray with faith, and walk by faith, as if talking about faith had the power to magically make things happen. The trouble is nothing ever does happen and when that happens you’ll be told you didn’t have enough faith. “You gotta have more faith and here is a list of things you have to do to get it.”

Walking by faith is walking in grace. There is no difference. Want to walk by faith? Then learn how to walk in his grace. Learn to receive what he has already provided.

One way to do that is to stop begging God to act, and start thanking him for what he’s done. Another way is to stop voicing your doubts and start speaking his word. Yet another way is to get your eyes off yourself and fix them on Jesus.

The princes of this world walk and talk the language of fear and insecurity, but the kings of the kingdom walk and talk like Jesus. They are constantly acknowledging and praising God for all he has done, because they understand that gratitude is the language of faith.

Even when their lives are going down the toilet, true kings continue praising God. They don’t do this to escape from an objectionable reality, but as an act of defiance. Like Paul singing in the prison, they refuse to believe that all they see is all there is.

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (1 Thess 5:18)

Are you going through tough times? Are you the victim of injustice? Are you being hammered by sickness and oppression? Rise up in your kingly identity and lift up the Name of him who is above all names.

Perhaps you are sitting there wondering what God’s plan is for your situation. It’s very simple: His plan is for you to rule in his Name, so rule!

Don’t judge the circumstances with your own understanding, but lean on the Lord. He has you in his strong right hand and he will never let you go. With your faith assured, let the words that come from your mouth speak to his superior reality.

King down upon your circumstances, then watch as they bend under the weight of his glory!

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Escape to Reality is entirely reader-funded. If you want others to walk in grace and rise up in their kingly identity, help this message reach more people by supporting E2R on Patreon (USD) or Donorbox (other currencies) today.

You are a king (so act like one)

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Did you know that you are called to be a king? It’s true. God told Abraham he would be “the father of many nations and kings will come from you.” Abraham’s offspring—the children of the faith—are meant to be kings (see Gen. 17:6, 16).

This means you. Jesus the King has made you both a king and a priest (Rev. 1:6). Did you even know?

Kingship has to do with authority and power. Adam was given authority over the earth and lost it to Satan. We know this because of what the devil said when he showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world: “All their authority and splendor has been given to me” (see Luke 4:6).

But last Adam took back what the devil stole and before he ascended into heaven, he revealed his kingly glory: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (Matt. 28:18).

The war has been fought and won and the devil is defeated. As believers our role is to represent the Victor and his victory in those areas that remain under the influence of darkness.

We are to fill the earth with the knowledge of his glory by ruling over sickness, demonic spirits, and all the works of the enemy. (Sidebar: For those new to this kingship business, here’s a reading list: Matt. 10:1, 8, 12:28, Mark 16:17–20, Luke 10:19, and John 14:12.)

In our union with Christ Jesus he raised us up with him to rule with him in the heavenly world. (Ephesians 2:6, GNB)

This leads to some sobering questions: Why do bad things happen to good people? Why do people get sick and die prematurely? Why do the innocent suffer? Theologians blame sin, Job followers blame God, but look at what the Bible says:

The highest heavens belong to the Lord, but the earth he has given to man. (Psalms 115:16)

This planet is our responsibility. It was given to us and we were told to rule it.

If bad things happen it is easy to blame God and the government or the Russians cyberwhizzes behind Snapchat. But did you ever pause to consider the possibility that bad things happen because we—the kings called to rule in God’s name—allow them to happen. It was one of us who gave the planet to Satan, and it was Jesus acting as one of us who took it back.

We have far more say in what goes on than we give ourselves credit for.

The problem is not that we lack authority. The problem is we don’t walk in the authority God has given us. We don’t know how.

Perhaps we think we are too young or too old or we don’t have enough training or we need more anointing. Perhaps we are sitting idly by waiting for Jesus to return. Whatever our excuse, the outcome is the same: When we abdicate our kingly role people suffer.

Consider Adam. A treacherous enemy slithered into his realm, Adam did nothing, and humanity ended up on death row. Bad things happen because kings do nothing to stop them.

When industries collapse and companies fold, it’s easy to point the finger at corporate fat cats and sleeping watchdogs. But spoilers and slackers have always been with us and playing the blame game solves nothing.

A better question to ask is, where were we? Where were the kings who rule with wisdom and justice?

Unbelief thrives in a culture of victimhood but faith brings the victory that overcomes the world (see 1 John 5:4).

Passive unbelief stays on the sidelines and doesn’t lift a finger to help, but faith raises its hand—it volunteers, it speaks out, it defends and seeks to administer justice in the name of a righteous king.

Over the coming weeks we are going to learn how to walk and talk like the kings we are. You’re going to love it. Invite a friend.

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Urgent: Last chance to get The Chocolate Gospel!

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Hi friends,

This is just a gentle reminder that you have 24 hours to grab your copy of The Chocolate Gospel.

This book is not available anywhere in the world. You won’t find it on Amazon or Kindle. But limited edition copies will go out in the mail this weekend. Here’s how you can get your copy:

Sign up on Patreon (USD) or Donorbox (other currencies) at one of these recurring monthly levels, and you will get the following rewards:

  • $1 – your name in the acknowledgements (ebook version); this applies to all patrons signed up by Thursday night
  • $10 – an advance review copy of The Chocolate Gospel (ebook) plus instant access to my last two books, Letters from Jesus and AD70 and the End of the World
  • $25 – a bona fide limited edition copy of The Chocolate Gospel, not available anywhere in the world, plus all the above
  • $100 – a personally signed limited edition copy of The Chocolate Gospel, plus all the above
  • $250 – all the above plus a gift box of my favorite Kiwi chocolates. Yum!
  • $1000 – all the above plus a box of 25 Chocolate Gospels; that’s Christmas taken care of!

Sign up as a monthly supporter on Patreon today and in addition to the above you will get instant access to a treasure trove of articles, resources, and books! Being a partner is easy, and you can cancel any time, no questions asked.

You probably know how partners are the funding the spread of this grace message all over the world. What you may not know is that The Chocolate Gospel offer is only good until tomorrow. Once the Halloween candy has gone out the door, this deal is over and the books will be gone. Don’t miss out, sign up today.

I hope you enjoy The Chocolate Gospel.

Paul

The Chocolate Gospel – limited edition available now

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During WWII, Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch Christian, was imprisoned in Ravensbrück concentration camp. After the war, she visited a prison which housed Nazi female guards from Ravensbrück. She went to tell her former captors about the love of God, but these sophisticated ladies refused to listen to an uneducated Dutch woman. Ten Boom prayed for wisdom and the Lord spoke one word: chocolate.

Ten Boom returned to the prison with a rare treat – a box of chocolates – and every face lit up. “All at once we were friends,” said ten Boom. The gift of chocolate paved the way for her to preach the gospel, and many of the women found new life in Christ as a result of the “chocolate” message.

Everybody likes chocolate, and that’s why I wrote a gift book called The Chocolate Gospel. It’s the deliciously good news of Jesus told in the universal language of chocolate. This little book is unique and best of all it’s 100% additive free! There are no fish hooks or price tags – just good news.

You can’t get The Chocolate Gospel in any store. It’s not on Amazon or Kindle or anywhere and won’t be until next year. But we have printed a small number of copies to give away to a few select readers. I’m talking about those who, like Corrie ten Boom, have a heart to reach the lost, and they aren’t afraid to use chocolate to get there.

Are you such a person? If so, I’ve got something that may interest you…

Have you ever noticed how everything on Escape to Reality is free and ad-free? Have you heard how we have given away tens of thousands of books to pastors and people all over the world? This massive sowing of seed is funded by readers like you who have become partners in this message.

I love my partners. They are a huge encouragement and I frequently turn to them for feedback and guidance.

As a token of my gratitude, partners will be getting limited edition copies of The Chocolate Gospel. And if you sign up today, you can get one too.

Here’s the deal: Sign up on Patreon (USD) or Donorbox (other currencies) at one of the following monthly levels, and you will get the following rewards:

  • $1 – your name in the acknowledgements (ebook version); this applies to all patrons signed up by the end of October 2019
  • $10 – an advance review copy of The Chocolate Gospel (ebook); plus you’ll get instant access to my last two books, Letters from Jesus and AD70 and the End of the World
  • $25 – a limited edition copy of The Chocolate Gospel, not available anywhere in the world, plus all the above
  • $100 – a personally signed limited edition copy of The Chocolate Gospel, plus all the above
  • $250 – all the above plus a gift box of my favorite Kiwi chocolates. Yum!
  • $1000 – all the above plus a box of 25 Chocolate Gospels; that’s Christmas taken care of!

For as little as a dollar a month, you can become a partner in this message. And if you are able to contribute a little more, you’ll get a bunch of exclusive rewards in addition to those listed above (e.g., draft chapters, Q&A sessions with me, bonus materials, exclusive articles, sneak peeks, etc.).

Being a partner is easy, and you can cancel any time, no questions asked.

If you like chocolate and you have a heart to reach people with the gospel of grace, this is an unprecedented – and fun! – opportunity. But you’ll want to be quick. Sign up today, before this exclusive offer ends.

Paul

The old has gone, gone, gone

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If there’s one thing I have learned from the movies, it’s that there is no problem that can’t be solved by faking your own death and fleeing to South America.

Think of a wiseguy who is part of a crime family. He is under pressure from his superiors to risk his life by engaging in criminal activities. At the same time the law hounds him on account of the crimes he has already done.

After a while, the wiseguy realizes he is not his own man and life is no fun when you’re not free. He begins to long for a new life but he feels hemmed in on all sides. If he stays with the family he’ll end up prematurely dead. But if he turns himself in, he’ll spend the rest of his days behind bars. It’s a lose-lose scenario. In desperation he begins to make an audacious plan. “South America, here I come.”

The lose-lose scenario describes how life was for us when we were part of Adam’s family. We felt the pressure to conform to the ways of the world and live as children of disobedience. At the same time our consciences bore witness to the law in our hearts that we were unrighteous and guilty as sin.

After a while we realized we were not in control of our lives, and life is no fun when you’re not free. We began to long for a new life but found ourselves hemmed in on all sides.

As members of the family of Adam we were captive to our appetites and enslaved to sin. We wanted to do the right thing but we frequently stumbled. We looked to religion for help but found it was a prison. All it offered was the prospect of a lifetime running on the hamster wheel of self-effort.

Self-indulgence or self-denial, either way was a lose-lose proposition.

Thankfully, God had a better plan:

Through the cross the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. (Gal. 6:14)

And this was no fake death with flaming car crashes and furtive flights to Buenos Aires, but a real bona fide death as genuine as our union with Christ. We really died, which means we are truly and legitimately free:

For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. (Rom. 6:6–7)

Real life is better than the movies. Our fictional wiseguy will never enjoy his new life in South America for he will always be looking over his shoulder waiting for his old life to catch up with him. Not us. Our old life is dead. There was a funeral, a tomb, and everything.

Because the old has gone and we are now free to walk in newness of life.

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Extracted and adapted from The Gospel in Ten Words

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Three things people get wrong about the Laodiceans

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The Laodicean church is probably the most infamous church in history.

Preachers use it as an example of how Jesus deals with slack Christians. “Jesus is angry with these guys and he’ll be angry with you unless you get on fire for the Lord!” Demonstrating their expertise on the subject, they refer to an ancient aqueduct that brought lukewarm water to the city. “Just as that water made people sick, you make Jesus sick when you fail to perform.”

Yet there are three things people regularly get wrong about the Laodiceans:

  1. Contrary to what you may have heard, Jesus did not rebuke them for their lack of zeal
  2. There was no aqueduct bringing hot water from Hierapolis or cold water from Colossae
  3. Jesus didn’t hate the lukewarm Laodiceans; he loved them

Are you surprised? It’s all true! Jesus’s acceptance of us is not earned through enthusiastic participation in church activities; most pastors only know the aqueduct myth because they heard it from someone who heard it from someone; and despite their poor behavior, Jesus deeply loved the Laodiceans. But don’t take my word for it. Look at how Jesus closes his letter to the Laodiceans: “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline” (Rev. 3:19).

Those whom I love.

Commentators typically dismiss the Laodiceans as the worst of the seven churches. If so, the good news is that Jesus loves even the worst of us. The Laodiceans were a pompous pack of poseurs. Smug, rich, and full of themselves, they likely had few friends. Yet here is Jesus, the friend of sinners and poseurs, extending the hand of friendship. It is an astonishing display of grace.

Jesus loves the Laodiceans

Jesus’ letter to the Laodiceans is one of the greatest love letters ever written, yet many don’t see it. They hear the rebuke and they picture an angry God who’s out to punish nonperformers. Read the letter to the end. Hear Jesus speaking to “those whom I love.”

A reader once told me the Laodiceans were disgusting and useless, and perhaps they were. But they were also loved, and this makes all the difference. Many people don’t realize this. It’s like they haven’t read the whole letter. Jesus loved the Laodiceans. That’s why he died for them. That’s why he wrote to them.

This love for the Laodiceans is so inexplicable, so unreasonable, that some imagine Jesus is no longer speaking to them. “The last few verses of Revelation chapter three are for the other six churches.”

But that won’t wash. The Spirit is speaking to all the churches, even the wretched and unlikable ones. Words of correction may be directed to certain individuals, but God’s love is for every single one of us without exception.

The Laodiceans thought they merited God’s love on account of their all-round awesomeness and good works, but love that is earned is not love. Jesus shatters their illusion by revealing their wretchedness. Then he says, “I love you in your wretchedness.”

That’s love.

The letter to the Laodiceans makes many people frown. “Look at those awful people. God hates them and I hate them too.” Yet this letter ought to make us smile and jump for joy. “If Jesus loves these guys, he surely loves me!”

Christ’s letter to the Laodiceans is sometimes interpreted as Exhibit A in the Manual on Church Discipline. “Remember what Jesus said to those lukewarm losers.” It ought to be recognized as one of the greatest displays of divine grace. “Remember that Jesus loves Laodiceans!”

What does it mean to reprove and discipline?

“To reprove is to punish,” says the grim-faced preacher. “Jesus punishes those he loves.”

He does no such thing, and why would he, since he has borne our punishment on the cross? To penalize the Laodiceans, or anyone, would be to diminish his own costly sacrifice.

To reprove means to convict or expose. To discipline means to disciple or train. These activities are connected because one of the ways our loving Father trains us is by turning on the lights and exposing the dangers around us.

The Laodiceans were heading the wrong way. Jesus spoke sharply not to shame them but to save them and turn them around. By revealing the bankruptcy of their self-righteousness and the depths of their wretchedness, he hoped they would come to him for grace.

Pride is a prison. It diminishes us and severs our connection with others and the Lord. The illusion of self-sufficiency fills our mind with falsehoods. “I don’t need anyone or anything.” Thank God for the true and faithful Witness who speaks truth to our lies.

When our conceits have deceived us and our successes have seduced us, thank God for a friend like Jesus.

—

Extracted and adapted from Letters from Jesus.

Paul’s new book, The Chocolate Gospel, is available on Patreon now.

Sneak peek: Paul’s next book (And how to get your name in it!)

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Confession time: I sometimes struggle to tell people the good news. As a classic introvert, the thought of walking up to a stranger and starting a conversation about anything, let alone anything spiritual, fills me with dread. I know some people have a knack for this, but I don’t. It just doesn’t come naturally to me.

Yet I want people to hear the good news. I want everyone to know how much God loves and cares for them. If only there was a way to share the good news that wasn’t awkward, cringy, or weirdly religious.

There is…

What is The Chocolate Gospel? It’s a full-color 118 page gift book that’s perfect for sharing the gospel of God’s love and grace. It’s the deliciously good news of Jesus told in the universal language of chocolate.

Yes, you read that right. Chocolate. Here’s a look inside:

The Chocolate Gospel is a bit of fun. It’s silly, yet serious. Whimsical, yet weighty.

Sounds great, Paul. I’ll take ten copies for my friends. Make that fifty!

Sorry. The Chocolate Gospel is not for sale. Maybe next year.

Next year?! I can’t wait that long. I want my Chocolate Gospel now!

Don’t despair. We have printed several hundred copies of The Chocolate Gospel to give away to readers who support Escape to Reality and share our heart for telling people the good news.

To get your copy of The Chocolate Gospel, sign up today as a supporter on Patreon or Donorbox. There are different rewards for different levels of support, but everyone who is signs up this month will get their name in the book. Full details here.

The Chocolate Gospel is a special book with the potential to reach many for Jesus. You’ll hear more about it next year, but act fast and you can have your very own limited edition copy months before the rest of the world.

I hope you enjoy The Chocolate Gospel!

Paul

How to read the Bible

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The actor Charlie Chaplin once entered a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest and lost. True story.

Why did Charlie Chaplin go unrecognized? Surely it was because we see what we expect to see. No one expected the real Charlie Chaplin to show up, so no one saw him when he did.

Even so, it was quite an oversight. It’s not like Charlie Chaplin was unknown. At the time, he was the most recognizable person on earth. Along with the other contestants, he would have been scrutinized to see how much like Chaplin he was. Yet nobody saw him.

The same principle applies when we come to the scriptures: We see what we expect to see. Or to put it another way, what you believe determines what you see.

If you believe the Bible is full of rules we must keep to please the Lord, you will find rules whenever you read the Bible. And if you believe we must work hard or avoid sin to please God, you will find tasks to complete and sins to avoid on every page. Our beliefs filter what we see.

Me? I expect to see Jesus on every page and in every book from Genesis to Revelation.

Is this not why the Bible was written—to reveal Jesus? Is it not his story? All the histories, poems, laws, songs, and stories of the Old and New Testaments point to him. To paraphrase Augustine, “Jesus is in the old concealed; Jesus is in the new revealed.” Or to quote The Jesus Storybook Bible, every story whispers his name.

How to read scripture in context

Any preacher worth their salt will tell you that we need to read the Bible in context, but what is the proper context? Jesus is. He is the Living Word who gives meaning to the written word.

The word context means weave together. We take the words and weave a story. Try and weave a story from scripture without the central thread of Jesus Christ and you could end up with a bad story. This is why we need to wear Son-glasses when reading scripture. We don’t read the Bible to find principles for success (although it has plenty) or rules for living (ditto); we read it to connect with the Author of Life. We read it to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

This seems obvious, no? But it is not common practice, particularly when it comes to reading the letters from Jesus.

Some interpret Christ’s letters through historical, cultural, or linguistic lenses. Others prefer a prophetic or dispensational approach. A lens, or hermeneutic, to use the proper word, is a tool for constructing a story. If your lens helps you to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, it’s a good lens. But if your lens distracts you from Jesus, it’s a dud.

On the road to Emmaus, Jesus interpreted “all the scriptures,” from Moses to the prophets, through a Christocentric hermeneutic (Luke 24:27). He said, “This is all about me.” If the entire Old Testament, from Moses to the prophets, is all about Jesus, then so is the New Testament, from Matthew to Revelation.

With that in mind, let’s consider the first four words of the Book of Revelation:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ… (Revelation 1:1a)

What is the Book of Revelation about? It’s about Jesus. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Sure, it’s about other things as well. But like the rest of scripture, it is principally about Jesus, who has come and is coming again.

The New Testament was written by people who saw Jesus, and this is true of John’s Revelation.

“I saw one like a son of man,” said John, “and his face shone like the sun,” (Rev. 1:13, 16). The old apostle saw Jesus in all his glory and was told to “write what you see” (Rev. 1:11). When we read Revelation, we are reading what John saw. If we see what John saw—Jesus—we are reading correctly. If we see something else, such as a projection of ourselves and our shortcomings, we are reading it wrong.

It is tempting for us to study the scriptures to find stuff we must do, but a healthier approach is to see what Jesus has done and is now doing. For instance, in one of the seven letters, we find Jesus walking among the lampstands. It sounds mysterious, but it’s a powerful revelation of Christ-with-us. The lampstands, Jesus explains, are the churches. Jesus is walking among the churches.

How does this help us? It sets us free from the false image of an aloof and distant Lord. Jesus is among the lampstands meaning he is with us and for us. It’s good news for those who feel far from God.

We are changed by beholding Jesus, so my purpose in writing Letters from Jesus is to help you behold Jesus. In his letters we see aspects of Jesus that are found nowhere else in scripture. And we hear him say things that are recorded no other place.

In his letters we encounter his heart. While the Gospels record the words and actions of Jesus, his letters reveal his thoughts towards us, and they are good.

—

Extracted and adapted from Letters from Jesus: Finding Good News in Christ’s Letters to the Churches.

How to be content

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Are you a contented Christian? Or do you have a quiet unease that God is displeased with you and unhappy with your performance? Are you resting in his righteousness? Or are you striving to make yourself acceptable to God?

Many churchgoers are zealous for God with a zeal based on ignorance and unbelief. They are working like slaves but in God’s eyes their deeds are incomplete. Like the church in Sardis they have soiled their clothes through works of filthy self-righteousness.

What is the remedy?

Like the Sardisians, they need to remember what they heard (the gospel), heed it, and start making different choices. They need to stop banking on their own futile attempts at right living and submit to God’s righteousness.

I don’t think anyone gets out of bed planning to be self-righteous, but self-righteous is what you are if you are trying to impress the Lord with your offerings and sacrifices.

When we talk about self-righteousness we tend to think of the Judaizers stalking Paul around the Mediterranean with their circumcision knives. But Martha was self-righteous and she was literally serving the Lord. She was a one-woman ministry baking cakes for Jesus.

Martha’s problem was not that she was cooking; it’s that she wasn’t eating. The Chef of Heaven had come to visit and all she wanted to do was make sandwiches.

That’s not how it works. That’s back to front. We’re not saved or made righteous because we bless him but because he has blessed us. The lesser is blessed by the greater.

Jesus never condemns Martha; that’s not his way. But he does say her sister Mary made the better choice.

Do you see the significance of this? The one who made an impression was not the one who came with food but the one who came with an appetite.

We can get so caught up serving the Lord that we forget the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve (Matt. 20:28). And the main dish on his menu is a hefty helping of righteousness. Hear the words of the Heavenly Chef:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. (Matthew 5:6)

The word for filled means gorged, indicating that the Chef of Heaven serves hearty dishes. He is not stingy with grace. When you partake of his righteousness you are filled to the point of satisfaction. When you eat the Bread of Life you get a meal that sustains and nourishes you for eternity. You will never hunger again.

He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35)

When you have had a hearty meal, the last thing you feel like doing is cooking. You just want to sit and digest and heap praises on the chef. This is a very appropriate response to Jesus!

How can you tell when a Christian has submitted to God’s righteousness? They have a look of well-fed contentment. They are not sweating in the kitchen making sandwiches for Jesus. Neither are they singing discontented songs of hunger and thirst (“Oh feed me, Jesus”).

Instead, they are pointing hungry people to the Bread of Life by proclaiming the gospel of his satisfying righteousness.

___________

Extracted and adapted from Paul Ellis’s book, The Gospel in Ten Words

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Is my brother going to hell?

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I get a lot of mail, much more than I can to respond to. But occasionally when reading something I sense the Lord saying to me, “Hit reply and start typing.” This happened to me recently, after a reader asked me the following question:

My brother (a lifelong Christian) was diagnosed with cancer over the last year, and deteriorated to the point he couldn’t eat, talk, or use the bathroom by himself. He couldn’t even drink water without choking. A few months ago, he ended his own life. He was suffering immensely. Some pastors say suicide prevents you from going to heaven. Is this true?

I have written before on What happens to Christians who commit suicide. (The stories under that article will break your heart.) But I felt to respond personally to this reader. This is what I wrote:

Hi ____, I am so sorry for your loss. To answer your question about whether suicide stops you from going to heaven, no, that’s not true at all.

Your brother is with Jesus, and he is not suffering anymore. Have peace that his battle with cancer is over, and he is safe and secure.

Some might say he was a murderer (he killed himself) and that he is lost because he never repented, but the gospel declares the blood of Jesus paid for the sins of the whole world – including the unrepentant and suicidal (1 John 2:2). Can a Christian undo God’s forgiveness by committing suicide? No – it’s impossible. God’s gifts are irrevocable.

Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies” (John 11:25). Whether you die in a house fire, from an over-dose, or go down with the Titanic, Jesus said, he who believes in me will live, even though he dies.

It’s a promise.

Your friend,

Paul

I hope you appreciate I am NOT encouraging suicide. No matter what you are going through, there is always hope. Cultivate your hope in God.

If you have lost a loved one to suicide, may be you’ve heard words of condemnation or hollow comfort. Maybe you’ve been be told that the one you lost is lost for eternity.

If so, find peace in the promises of our loving Father. Allow yourself to be convinced, as Paul was, “that neither death nor life will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rms 8:38-9).

In times of grief it’s natural to feel confused and lost. At such times we can become susceptible to lies and fear. This is why it is so important to settle your heart on the truth of God’s word: Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.

Nothing.

—

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