God – Page 25

A Man Did Time For Me

October 6, 2015 by Michael Wilson

Prison life has always fascinated me. It’s another world inside those walls behind the fence. I’ve watched numerous prison movies and documentaries. The whole concept of survival in a place like that is interesting to me. I once had a friend who spent eighteen years of his life behind bars. His stories intrigued me as I listened to the things that went on behind the barbed wire.

Prison Bound/Thomas Hawk /BY-NC

As much as I am interested in prison life, I definitely would not want to go to prison!

Just the thought of it brings on a sickening feeling.

I was watching a movie recently about the life of Christopher Wallace, aka Biggie Smalls or the Notorious B.I.G. In the movie, Christopher was running from the police and he was carrying a weapon. As he was running he ditched the gun in a trash can. He was eventually caught and the police found the gun. They just didn’t know if the gun belonged to him or his friend who was with him at the time. Christopher had already done time and his music career was in the beginning stages of taking off. His friend told him he would take the gun charge for him so that he could get his music career going. It would have been a three year sentence. Christopher reluctantly agreed. Being this was a movie, I don’t really know how true the story line is but I do know that there are men and women who are doing time for someone else. That is true friendship and love for a friend.

I wonder if I would ever do time for someone else. I think about my kids or wife and I think I would do it for them. I don’t believe I will ever be put in that position but the point of doing someone else’s prison time is a very curious concept.

In my thought process, I see Jesus as doing time for me. How could the Almighty Son of God become a human, deal with temptations and human issues and then die? How is that even possible? I know that we read about that happening in myths and legends. I also know that many people believe that Jesus wasn’t the son of God. I know that many people don’t believe that Jesus was fully God and fully man.

But I believe it! I don’t know and understand all the intricacies involved in it but I believe it.

Jesus “did time” as a human being. He willingly became “imprisoned” in a human body with human limitations. The most miraculous part of it all was that he chose to do it. He chose to lay aside all his abilities as God and experience life as a normal human being.

The Bible tells us that he was tempted in every way that we are. I don’t think that most of us have ever thought deeply about that. We read about his temptations in Matthew 4, but we don’t see any temptations beyond that listed in the Bible. I believe that he was tempted to lust after women, to steal, to lie, to cheat, to do things that would make life easier for him. I am tempted with those things and so is the rest of humanity.

Temptation is a part of our daily lives. The good news is that God understands our weaknesses as humans because Jesus did time as a human. I don’t understand prison life because I have never been there but someone who has been will understand the harsh realities of prison life . . . because they have been there.

Jesus has been there as a human being! He understands our weaknesses and frailties.

Because Jesus understands he is able to give mercy and compassion. He is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. He is able to come alongside us and help us carry the burden. He is able to pray for us because of his vast knowledge of the human experience.

The things I have experienced in my life bring me an understanding so that I can comfort, help and guide others who are facing similar experiences. However, I have found myself out of my league when dealing with someone who has gone through something I have never experienced. I have no point of reference. I have no understanding.

Jesus isn’t like that though. Somehow, during his time on earth, he managed to experience all that comes against humanity. I don’t think that he experienced every single little temptation that we do, like the temptation to smoke a cigarette. But I think that the basic temptations of life were experienced by Jesus. I believe that Jesus dealt with things that are related to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).

I believe that our entire temptations boil down to a few basic temptations, such as the need to feel loved, the need for acceptance, the need to feel validated, etc. I believe we all do things for a reason. Every time we do something wrong, there is usually a deeper reason for it. I believe that Jesus’ temptations were in the areas of trying to fill needs within his life that would replace his dependency upon God. That’s simply my opinion and it would make a great discussion but that’s for another time.

Jesus did time for me as a fellow human being. I wonder when Jesus realized that He was the Son of God. I wonder if he felt the limitations of humanity. I wonder if he was ever tempted to use his abilities as God to get himself out of situation. I know that in the Garden of Gethsemane on the night of his betrayal and arrest he appealed to God for deliverance. He admitted that he could call down angels to fight his battle but he didn’t. He accepted the mission of death.

I don’t believe that Jesus looked at his time as earth as “doing time.” When you love someone you will go to whatever lengths necessary to help them. That’s what Jesus did for humanity.

The Creator became the created. God became man. The Son became a son. Life experienced death. Jesus did time for me and you. He is the man that “did time” for all of us.

517. Dead to Religious Rules, Alive to God

October 4, 2015 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

As we recognize the identity of righteousness that belongs to us in Jesus Christ, we can put away our own efforts and rest in him. Before the cross, the Jewish people were in bondage to the Mosaic law as it demanded a perfection the people could not attain. Their works were based on pursuing their own righteousness because they did not understand God's righteousness. We are declared perfected, justified and sanctified. As the Apostle Paul stated, "For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God."

In this podcast we mentioned a couple of past episodes in which we talked about how sanctification is not a process, but is a part of who we are in Christ (our identity). Here they are:
506. The Gift of Sanctification
507. As Jesus Is, So Also Are We

Unconditional Love is an Oxymoron

September 29, 2015 by Michael Wilson

All of my life I have heard Christians talk about the unconditional love of God. I’ve heard, and even spoken, about the love of God being without conditions, while people tend to love with conditions. As I think about love and what love really is, I have come to an understanding that “unconditional love” is really an oxymoron.

If love comes with conditions then it is really not love. Love has to be without conditions or else it becomes manipulation.

God does love us without conditions because He is love. Love is to be the standard by which all people will know who the true followers of Jesus are. Jesus tells his first followers to love others as He had loved them.

Think about a parent. Good parents do not love their children with conditions. They love them without conditions. They love their children, not for what they do or don’t do, but for who they are. They don’t love their children in spite of their children. They simply love their children because they are part of them.

Yet, I see so many people within the body of Christ that are better parents to their kids than what they believe God is to them. They will love their kids without conditions, yet somehow believe that God conditionally loves them.

Imagine your child coming to you and saying, “Dad, I know I am so unworthy of your love. I am just a worm. I am just a sinner that doesn’t even deserve to live under your roof. Dad, I am so undeserving of your love.” You’d probably flip out and ask what drugs they had been doing. You would not stand for such nonsensical talk. You would correct them and make sure they knew that your love for them has nothing to do with what they do or don’t do.

Why do we treat our children that way, yet feel God treats us differently? Why do we believe that God gives us a standard to live by but doesn’t live by that standard Himself? Many Christians seem to believe that God is a “do as I say, not as I do” kind of parent. God expects us to forgive others, even if they don’t ask for it, yet many Christians don’t believe that God will forgive unless you confess and repent. God says that we are to keep no records of wrong, yet many Christians believe that God is keeping an account of all our sins.

Now I know that some would argue that He is God Almighty and He can do what He wants. That is true, but I don’t see that manifested in Jesus, who is the perfect image of the Father. In Jesus, I see a God that is loving, kind compassionate and merciful. I also see a God that is tough on religion, pride, hypocrisy and people unwilling to forgive. In Jesus I see a God that would rather forgive and die for his enemies than to live without them.

That is love without conditions. That is what true love is.

True love is always concerned with the other person’s well-being, value and happiness. True love is being willing to put someone else’s needs before our own. True love is always without conditions.

If we believe that God loves us with conditions then how do we know what those conditions are? Some would say that God loves us when we obey. If that’s the case then we need to stop telling “sinners” that Jesus loves them and wants to save them. That would not be true because they are not obeying God.

If we believe that God loves us when we are living right, then wouldn’t that make us worthy of God’s love because somehow we are earning his love by doing what he wants?

If I can do something to make God love me then I become worthy of his love because of my actions. That’s not love . . . that’s reward. Unfortunately that is how many people give out their love….as a reward for other people’s right behaviors.

I don’t love my wife or kids because of what they do. I love them because they simply are! Even when my kids are rebellious, testing boundaries and my patience, I still love them without conditions. I will not stop loving them because of what they do or don’t do.

Love is an emotion that we feel, but more importantly, it’s a choice we make. We love people because we see the value in them. You don’t love what you don’t value.

God values us as His creation, and as His children. Therefore, he loves us. Our value is determined by him not us, our actions or even our right believing. God can love us unconditionally because He places great value on who we are to Him.

I can love others unconditionally when I see their value over their actions. To love with conditions doesn’t benefit the person I am “trying” to love. It only benefits me as the person does what I want in order to get my love. It’s manipulation and it’s not love.

God’s love is never manipulative. His love is perfect and unconditional because He is love and he is the standard of what true love is. May we truly learn to love others as Jesus has loved us.

Scary Stories and the Big Story

September 28, 2015 by Dudley Hall

DUDLEY HALL -- When our grandson Sam was about three years old, he often climbed into my lap and begged for me to tell him a "scary story."

Now, for Sam a scary story did not necessarily include ghosts, wild animals or fearful situations. He just wanted drama, action, surprises and a good ending. He was easily bored with moral lessons and statistics. Even being young, he was already demonstrating the need that we humans have for stories.

We live our own stories. We listen to the stories of others. Even history itself is a big story.

Our culture has been fighting about stories for years. The "Moderns" told their story in terms of rational order. A fruit of the Renaissance was a heightened appreciation for what could be proven with the scientific method. The test tube became the final arbiter of truth. When needing to verify a truth claim, Moderns like to say, "Science tells us."

But the modernist's story didn't produce the fruit it promised and some people who reacted to it were called, "Post-Modernists." Some of their spokesmen liked to use an interesting phrase to define their story. "The incredulity of the meta-narrative" was often used in philosophical discussions and it sounds pretty impressive. It means that there just might not be a big story. If there is one, who can be trusted to tell it? Who gets to say what is right and wrong?

Maybe there are just lots of individual stories. For instance, if Mary decided to be sexually active before marriage and Lori chose to wait, neither is right or wrong. Each story stands alone. Where the Moderns repeated, "Science says," the Post-moderns declared: "Who says?"

A large portion of today's society is so fascinated with the individual's story; there is no appreciation for a bigger one. We live in one big "selfie." The problem is that we actually are a part of a bigger story, and our souls know it quite well. Even though we take up the whole frame in the picture, we aren't big enough to satisfy the deepest longings of our heart. We are the creations of the Master Storyteller. The need for story is stamped upon our conscience.

God not only thought up the grandest narrative of all but he also brought it to life. It is an adventure mystery with drama beyond human imagination, and the climax is not only surprising, but transforming to those who hear it. The hero is revealed in the most unusual twist imaginable. One clue: He is a Lamb/Lion.

There are alternative stories that use some of the elements of the grand story, but tell of something less. These tend to fixate on humanity's role, with Jesus either being ignored or relegated to a supporting position. Emphasis is placed on personality, talent, vision, strategy and knowledge. If God's Son is included at all, he is seen as an assistant in reaching our destiny. His place as Lord of all creation is not showcased.

Bookstores swell with books that tell us how to get better individually. We can lose weight, improve our attitude, dress in style, get rich, live long and secure our legacy. Pulpits that encourage us to think positively and behave nicely draw crowds who are hoping to find a way to be successful, gain blessings and avoid pain. In all the competing narratives, humans seem to be both the subject and the source.

The grand story actually does include you. But it is not primarily about what you have done good or bad, what you should do, or what you can do if you try harder. In fact one of the great surprises is that you are not the central figure at all. It is about who God is and what he has done. Oh, you do play a role right along with the famous ones in history like Abraham, Abel, Noah, Moses, David, Isaiah and Paul. Your story is part of the big story and it is being recorded for eternity.

It works like this. You hear the story and gain a new perspective of reality. That new perspective allows new choices that cause new actions. You discover what God has done for you, is doing in you, and will accomplish through you. As you live in partnership with God, who is the source of all, you tell the story.

Think! Who is the most genuine Christian you know? Ask to hear his/her story. Watch their eyes light up. Listen. You will hear the big story behind the personal story.

It is time to climb into the lap of the Father and let him tell you the scary story. You will come back time after time. Each time you hear it, you will want to know more. You will inevitably begin to connect your story to it. And strangely -- you will find that you cannot stop telling it. It is just too good to be kept a secret. There are millions who have not yet heard the story that makes all stories make sense. They wait in hope. Everyone likes a "scary" story.

Eve: A Novel (book review)

September 16, 2015 by Michael Wilson

As I read my Bible I often have wondered what it would have been like to have been there observing the story as it unfolds — to have seen Moses part the Red Sea, to have seen Elijah on Mt. Carmel opposite the prophets of Baal, to have seen the crucifixion.

For me it’s always good to watch movies about the Bible because it helps bring the
story to life, to help me realize the struggles and issues real people dealt with. Instead of just reading the stories out of the Bible and having to use my limited imagination, I can see what things could have been like. It always gives me a fresh perspective and helps me to better understand what the Bible is saying.

Wm. Paul Young does just that with his latest book Eve: A Novel.

He is the author of The Shack, a controversial yet great book on the love of God and the struggles we have with evil, forgiveness and our own self-righteousness. This time he writes a fictional work about the creation of mankind as seen through the eyes of The Witness, Lilly, a young girl who washed ashore inside a shipping container on an island between our world and the next.

Eve gets the chance to see the creation of humanity. This is a compelling story that gives us a deeper glimpse into the heart of God for humanity. Many times we read the creation story in the Bible but it’s very short without much detail. Young takes the liberty to give us an understanding of what it could have been like. The heart of God, and his great love for humanity, is well depicted in this story.

I believe that some Christians will struggle with the author’s depiction of creation and the storyline. They will cry out that the theology is wrong. But they will not take notice that it’s a novel. As many Christians had issues with The Shack, I am sure they will find issues with Eve: A Novel. For those that liked The Shack, I believe you will love Eve: A Novel. For those that didn’t, well you probably won’t like this one either.

For those willing to read with an open heart and mind they will discover a well-written story that desires to show us the greatness of God’s amazing love, grace and compassion for his creation. It will help you to see the longing God has for man, even after Adam’s fall. It will help you to get a better grasp of our free will and the great risk God took in giving us this gift.

This is certainly not a theology book, nor it is a systemic study of God’s nature. It’s a fictional story. However, from what I understand in my reading about the book, Young took a lot of time studying creation, especially a Jewish perspective. For me, it brought creation alive. It made me feel as if I were there witnessing the creation of humanity out of the very energy and life of the Father, Son and Spirit.

A perfect Being, who needed nothing, willing to create a free-will creation, capable of loving or rejecting Him is masterfully told in a compelling tale of trust, doubt, fear, questions, reassurances, and love.

For me personally, the book helped me to see God’s love in a deeper, more personal way. One part of the book really ministered to me. There is a place in the book where Adam feels lost. God responds by telling Adam that he is never lost because Adam is in God and God is never lost. This spoke to me in a very profound way because of some personal struggles and issues I was facing.

What I liked about the book was the way I could see God’s love for humanity through the vivid imagery the author used to tell the story. I also liked his use of everyone’s struggles, fears, and doubts. His telling of the temptation and the subtleness of the enemy (satan) was a great reminder that the devil is truly subtle and conniving in his desire to destroy humanity.

The main thing I didn’t like about the book was that it took me a while to really get into it. I struggled to get through the first couple of chapters. Unlike The Shack, the story didn’t grab me right off the bat. However, a couple of chapters in I was hooked and didn’t want to put the book down.

Overall, I really liked this book, just not as much as The Shack. I would recommend it as good read.

Rewarded for What We’ve Done?

September 15, 2015 by Paul Ellis

The Bible says that we will be rewarded for what we have done. Not what we have believed, but done-diddley-done-done. So what do we have to do? In this three-part series, we’re going to look at some of the rewarded-for-what-we’ve-done scriptures, beginning with this one: For the Son of Man is going to come in […]

514. Randomly Addressing Commonly Held Beliefs (Part 2)

September 13, 2015 by Mike Kapler and Joel Brueseke

Following up on last week's program, the tables are turned as Joel throws some spontaneous questions to Mike, addressing commonly held assumptions or beliefs found in most Christian circles or church doctrine. Discussions include: Asking for God's presence when we pray, dedicating our lives to God, and faith without works is dead.

How To Have An Enjoyable Relationship With God

September 10, 2015 by Bas Rijksen

Here’s a story that reveals the core-issue as to why many believers are not experiencing the full manifestation of all that Christ has done and given to them. At the same time it reveals the key how to experience an enjoyable relationship with God.

Anabel Gillham, who past away in 2010, has left quit a legacy including some great stories. Here is one of them.

Amy is seven years old. She has a loving mother and dad who have communicated that love to her through the early years of childhood – from her first breath of earth-air.

Her dad, especially, is her close companion – he holds her, teaches her, expresses his love for her in many and various ways – a thoughtful, protective, loving relationship.

But something strange begins to happen one morning as Amy seeks out her dad and asks, “Daddy, do you love me?”

“Why, of course, I love you, sweetie-dearly. You know that. Come let me give you a big hug to start the day.”

“Well, I just wanted to be sure this morning. And Daddy, will you please take care of me today?”

“Take care of you? What do you mean, Amy? I watch over you like a dog watches over a bone. Is something wrong, Honey? Are you scared? Is something going on at school? Have I disappointed you in some way?”

“Oh, no. I just want to ask you to love me and take care of me today. Will you please do that for me, Daddy? Promise?”

“I don’t understand, Amy. You know how much I love you and how very important it is to me to take good care of you. What’s going on in that mind of yours?”

“I just need you to convince me, Daddy, that you really do love me and that you really will take good care of me today…”

Every morning Amy comes to her dad with those same plaintive questions.

What do you suppose that does to her daddy? How does it make him feel?

Now consider this. Don’t we do the very same thing with our eternal Father?

Eph. 1:4 says that we are His children, living within His constant care.

Before the foundation of the world He chose us to become, in Christ, His holy and blameless children living within His constant care (Eph. 1:4, Phillips)

That means that I am living within His constant care. Doesn’t it?

The big question is: Do I believe this?

Do I accept this as truth or do I evaluate it from experience?

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If this is true for me, is it also true for my circle of loved ones who have through faith become His children?

If God has said He constantly cares and protects – this as being a part of my position…the position of any person in Christ Jesus – why do we go to Him constantly in prayer about it?

Pleading with Him, “Oh Lord, watch over my loved ones today?”

Did He stop caring?

Or we implore Him saying, “God, protect us from danger…Surround us with Your angels…Give us travel mercies, blah, blah.”

Or, “God, I’m broke, I need finances, give me money.”

At the same time reminding Him that I am trusting Him, “God, I trust You” – as though He might have forgotten since last night or yesterday.

Doesn’t that sound like a contradiction to you?

God says one thing, “I constantly care.”

We say the opposite, “God, please take care.”

Indeed. this mindset simply reveals a lack of knowledge of the truth, which results in faithless prayers and if that’s the way you are “praying,” than that’s why your prayers aren’t working.

Asking Him to do what He has promised to do?

Extracting more promises, more words of encouragement, insisting that God would tell me – just one more time – about His faithfulness to me, forgetting the days and months and years that I have experienced His constant care?

Wouldn’t this be an affront to God?

An act of unbelief perhaps?

Wouldn’t this communicate a basic insecurity to Him? That I just can’t quite believe His promises?

To have an enjoyable relationship with God is to chose to believe what He says is true.

And to not base your doctrines on what people have told you (even tough we do learn from others) or what you’ve made up out of your own thought processes, but to study the Word for yourself and trust in the Holy Spirit who will lead you into all truth.

Otherwise you might end up using God as someone to come to for cleansing prayers or ask for things that are already a “yes” and “amen” through Jesus.

Or your relationship with God becomes one where you’re always expecting Him to give, to come through, or to somehow prove Himself in your life instead of just enjoying each others company, doing life together while you’re feasting at the table of the finished-work-goodies.

Friend, let’s continue to choose to believe what God says is true.

Life becomes a lot more fun and less boring when you live and pray in line with the finished work of Christ.

Solid,

How To Have An Enjoyable Relationship With God

September 10, 2015 by Bas Rijksen