BoldGrace

For the greatest part of my adult life I have repeated the famous prayer of Jesus Christ that he taught to his disciples.  It is the first part of that prayer that I want to discuss here.

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth.

Why is the Father Jesus spoke about OUR FATHER?  Is he our Father because we believe in Him?  Is he our Father because we have confessed our sins and followed a religious formula for salvation?  Is He our Father because we go to church? 

We must all ask ourselves this important question:  IS HE OUR FATHER BECAUSE OF ANYTHING WE HAVE DONE OR BELIEVED?

When Jesus taught this prayer he was indicating that God being our Father is a fact not a belief.  Now the FACT that He is our Father means it can never change.  He is our Father when we believe and he is our Father when we don’t.  And being OUR FATHER was a way for Jesus to give the greatest testimony to our hearts as to where God stands in our lives. 

I am a father and some would say a very good father.  As a father of four beautiful children I can not fathom there ever being a time or condition where I would reject my children.  If I found out that one of my children committed the worst crime imaginable I would still stand by there side.  Even if my children rejected me for some reason I would never reject them.  I would gladly lay down my life for any of my children and each of them know I would do this. 

My point in all of this is very simple and I believe Jesus was making the same point.  He knew what the word Father met to those he was teaching and he was trying to tell them that God can be counted on, not just to be God, but also to be OUR FATHER. 

Is is conceivable to think that I would be a better Father then God.  And yet by the church’s teaching I am exactly that.  The church teaches God is our Father but at some point if we don’t get ourselves straight our Father will send us to a place of utter torment.   Does that sound like that kind of Father is better then me as a father?  

Isn’t this simple?  If you are a father or a mother you know in your heart what I am saying is true.  God is OUR FATHER and He is a Father we can ALL count on to stand by our side.  He is a Father who would not only give up his life for us but in fact HE DID. 

Some say I am bitter toward the church and I say they are WRONG.  I am angry at the message of slander toward OUR FATHER.  The Gospel message is good news and there is no bad news in the good news.   The good news is that OUR FATHER loves us, always has, and always will.  WHEN WILL THE CHURCH TELL THEIR PEOPLE THE TRUTH? 

Instead, I am the one who often gets attacked by church members because I proclaim that God is OUR FATHER, not just the Father of the faithful, but the Father of us ALL. 

Eph 4:4-6 4 There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism;  6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Yes, the good news is that He is OVER ALL, THROUGH ALL, AND IN ALL.  How much plainer can it be made? 

Now you have to read this and decide what kind of a Father he is.  If you choose the Father described by the church then it is obvious we are in disagreement, but if you choose He is the Father who will stand by his children no matter what then all I can say is "WELCOME HOME, THE FATHER IS HERE!

Over the last week or so, I’ve been keeping track of some things I’ve said in conversation with others. These are by no means original thought. They are sayings that have rattled around in my brain through the last few years, some coming from my friends, some from various books, and some from my heart. But, sometimes I write something, and find the resulting verbiage remarkable! Sometimes, I’m not really sure where it came from, but it was the perfect thing to say at that time. So, I jot them down so I can remember. And now, I share them with you. Use them freely in your own conversations, and please add you own through the comment section! Thanks!

• Freedom is only for the free.

• If your salvation is determined by "what you believe", doesn’t that make you responsible for your own salvation? And if only God can save someone… doesn’t that make you God?

• You can only know if your love for God is genuine if you understand that he loves you completely and deeply, and without expectation or requirement.

• Love is a response, not an action.

• If you think God doubts you, then you will doubt God.

• If you know that God loves you, then nothing else will matter. If you don’t know that, nothing else will make any difference.

• Is God’s love so fickle that he only loves those who love him first?

• God in me loves God in you.

• Only love can birth love.

• Christ was the greatest teacher of the Law. He expanded on the depths of its purpose to the point that everyone had to admit that complying with it was far outside their grasp. He pushed and pushed and let them fester in their fears. Why? Because he needed to set the stage for a redeeming event! He used their religion against them to show them their self-righteousness and cause them to cry out for a savior!

• The definition of "self-righteousness" is when we think we can influence God’s thoughts for us, or against us.

• The concept of Universal Reconciliation doesn’t imply that God forces everyone to choose him. It simply states that God chose us! Why? Because he created us in perfection, and loves what he created.

• God says that we should love others, even when they fail us. It is possible that he holds himself to the same standard?

• If you think God will hate you because you don’t believe the correct things, you will give yourself license to hate others because of their incorrect beliefs.

• True belief can only exist when the requirement to believe is removed.

Out in the blogging community, there are a number of blogs I frequent, and interact on. In a recent exchange, I wrote this to someone who was not very happy with me and my concept of God. My ideas do not fit well with that individual’s religious beliefs and after a string of comments, this came from my fingertips. I liked what was said, and thought it would be good to share with you all…

——————————————————–

You sound so angry. And I’m sorry you have to live in that illusion. But, it is truly not who you are. I know that underneath it all, we are exactly the same. Our spirits connect on a base level that cannot be explained. I don’t see you as religious person. All that, is baggage that was added on to your physical reality at some point… maybe at your own choosing, maybe not. But, that doesn’t matter. You are not what your baggage makes you appear to be. You are much, much more than that. Deep down, you are a beautiful child of God, a glorious participant in the Kingdom, created by the Source of all spirit, the giver of Life and the perfect Lover of souls. Because He loves you, I love you. There is no truth beyond that.

God is Love. If that is the truth, then nothing else matters. If it is not, then nothing else will make any difference. No religion, no doctrine, no faith, no rituals, no ceremonies, no icons, no rites, no stained windows, no flying buttresses, no… well you get the idea.

All I’m saying is, I encourage everyone to stop looking at the flesh, and try to see people as the true spirit of God within, made perfect by the Cross of Christ (whether they know it or not), a participant in the Kingdom of God. Look for the light in everyone you meet, and if you don’t see it, assume it is there anyway, because it is. Love will birth love. It all started with God, and it continues through Him in us. Look past the trappings and baggage that the world has hung on us, and peer into the inner heart of those around you, and see that it is good.

Just as God has judged us as "good", judge others as good. Even if they don’t appear to be, give them the benefit of the doubt… because God gave us the benefit of any doubt. He redeemed us to Himself while asking nothing of us. Give others the same gift of incredible love. Forgive and forget. Love deeply. Because you are loved deeply.

The trip out to California last week was a long one. All the seats were full, three across leaving no wiggle room for a big guy like me hahaha! It was a two-part trip with a change of planes. The first leg was Pittsburgh to Phoenix, which was 4 ½ hours. And only 25 minutes from the time I got off one plane to get to the other. Needless to say I just made the connector. Then a 1 ½ hour flight from Phoenix to Burbank, Ca. where I picked up my vehicle and drove to Corona, Ca to the hotel. The week was uneventful except for the California Freeway traffic! What a cluster !@#$%^&>:?<!!!!!! So that brings me to the reason of this post. After a week in California I was now not looking forward to that 5 ½ hours plane ride! But one thing was for sure I wanted OUT of California! I boarded the plane and sat beside a young man who looked to be in his early to mid thirties. He on the window side me on the aisle with a seat waiting to be filled in the middle. If you have never flown SWA I will tell you the seating is NOT assigned it is first come first served. So as the plane began to be filled I keep thinking, please no one choose the seat between us so that I have some of the before mentioned wiggle room! Hahaha And no one did! WOW! What a relief. So as the plane was leaving the ground the guy in my row says to me he doesn’t like planes especially take offs and landings. To which I reply, Don’t let it bother you because you are not leaving this life until your time has come and anyway its not the plane going down that is the problem it is that hard crash that is the issue! We both laughed and he said, you know I believe that about life ending only when your time is up and not before. Then the conversation went silent until we reached cruising altitude. And then we made small talk about where we were from, sports teams and occupations. He was from a beach city in California was a in the tile business and lived on a boat. Again after a few minutes the conversation went silent. Then I don’t remember how it came up but he said he was in a 12 Step Program for Alcoholism. We talked of that and of his progress to which I congratulated his on his sobriety. Then he proceed to tell me how his brother was this weird evangelical Christian who had figured out the world was going to end in thirty two months. He said his brother claims to have it down to the very day! Well then that opened the door for me to tell him the REAL GOOD NEWS! That the world already ended 2008 years ago and that his brother was redeemed and that he also was redeemed regardless if he accepted Jesus or not Jesus accepted him and lives in his heart! He said, so you believe my higher power is Jesus even though I don’t call it that”? “Yes I do”  I responded. And he said that’s cool. “So you think Jesus is in everybody”, he said. “YES I do “, I responded. They just don’t know it yet. And that is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about I told him announcing to people what has already taken place. WITHOUT their acceptance or belief! Of course we went on to discuss many of the same things we talk of here on Bold Grace to which he said, “I wish my brother was here to hear this”! I can’t wait to get back from my trip to talk with him about what you have told me! I love my brother he said, but on this topic of religion he is a nut! I wished him well and requested that he always look within himself and follow his heart because that is where God is. He is not out there somewhere waiting for you to follow Him. He is inside waiting to be let out!
I was going to write of both of my encounters on this trip but I will post of the encounter with the Hollywood Pastor’s Wife in another post. Just as a little taste, we talked from Phoenix to Pittsburgh non stop for four hours!

Stay Tuned
To be continued…………….

Grace & Peace   
Geo

All of my life since I was a little boy I wanted to understand God.  I use the term God because it is the easiest for me.  The reality for me now is that God can’t begin to fit into any word, so I will just use that word until I can communicate the magnitude of what God really means to me. 

A few days ago I wrote a post called "My Last Post".  What none of you could possibly know was I was at the end of all things.  Almost a year ago on September 22nd my wife and best friend suffered a complete psychotic breakdown.  She had been living most of her life in a secret torture as a result of being molested as a child and then being overcome by that darkness as a young woman.  Despite all of her hidden torture she still somehow was an incredible mother and wife, but finally the darkness prevailed and her mind broke. 

During this past year we both fought to overcome the effects of the evil that had visited her in her young years.  Oh, the Doctors gave her medication that helped and her and I did our best to deal with her painful past but it seemed we weren’t going to ever truly overcome it. 

Her greatest challenge was to let all of the darkness out and my greatest need was to face it.  After almost a year I had come to the conclusion that she would not be able to share with me her complete heart and so I resigned myself that the best answer, maybe the only answer was to move on to what ever is next.  I was not afraid because I truly do believe God loves me under any and all circumstances.  I very calmly began to plan in my mind what I needed to do to prepare those who would be left behind.  On 9/11 I even e-mailed my brother to wish him happy birthday and at the same time call in a loan that he & my other brother owed me.  I was determined to make sure my departure was as painless as I could make it and that all things were in order.

And then a true miracle happened.  My wife had left work early that day on 9/11 and when I got home we had planned to have a very sensitive discussion.  I was still holding out some hope that she could free her mind and fully trust my (God’s) unconditional love but up until this point it hadn’t happened.  When I got home she was sitting in the dark with total fear in her eyes.  We began to talk, mostly me begging her to give me her complete heart.  She could barely speak and what she did say was the darkness was so dark her mind could not conceive any possibility of telling me what I so desperately needed to hear. 

I stayed very calm because I had already reached the point in my mind where the end was near.  Once again I begged her to please let go of all the darkness that had tortured her relentlessly most of her life.  And then she began to speak.  She let it all out.  She finally for the first time in her 56 years cleared her mind of all  the horrible dark lies that had resulted in almost destroying her and me.  For the first time in her life she trusted someone with her darkest secrets. 

In that moment my heart melted and her and I looked into each others eyes and we knew without a doubt that we had experienced a miracle.  God touched us both.  We have always loved each other deeply but we were taken to a place of intimacy on that night that didn’t seem possible.  For the first time since she was a 10 year old child she was able to lay her head down that night without feeling like she was a liar and a horrible person.  The change I witnessed in her that night was nothing less then a miracle, but the miracle didn’t stop with her.  I too, was overcome with indescribable peace and joy.  My best friend was not only back but without the torture of her inward darkness. 

Since that moment on the evening of 9/11 we have both shed a lot of tears but they were tears of joy and humbleness for the power of unconditional love.  This love is not ours to give because it has always been a part of who we truly are.  It is simply ours to enjoy if we so choose.  Saturday evening she sat on my lap and I cried so hard i couldn’t bring myself to stop.  I was crying because God had changed my mind.  He changed her mind.  He healed us.  He freed us.  As she held my weeping and trembling body I felt like it was God holding me.   In reality she was God because Nancy had finally found the God within. 

Perfect Love casts out ALL fear.  WOW!  Those aren’t just words they are reality. 

So, the bottom line is that God Changed My Mind and I will be continuing to post. 

Nancy & I are so grateful for all the kind and loving comments that have been made.  TRULY, THE GOD IN US SALUTES THE GOD WITHIN ALL OF YOU.

I have added a music video that is my song to my beautiful and cleansed wife.

I so respect what Cliff wrote in his post "My Last Post"

And I too have felt that way for a long time. Then yesterday The Airplane Trip from Califorina to Pennsylvania gave me something I have not had in a long time. The opportunity to share with open minded people in public. One was a 12 stepper one was a wife of a pastor in California who heads a church with some well know Hollywood actors as members and friends. I am still processing the whole thing and when I have the trip sorted out I will post about it and how one 5 1/2 plane trip gave me hope for the future. Let me just say that the Message of Bold Grace is spreading! Until that post…..

From our friend Carlton Pearson:

First they Laugh at You

Then they Ignore You

Then they Fight You

Then You WIN!

Peace & Love

Geo

I have been posting on line for about 3 years and at this point in my life I have said all I want to say.  I appreciate all those that have listened and shared and I wish all of you the best.  I sincerely hope that others on this site will continue to post but for me the time has come to a conclusion.  The message is either true or we as human beings are to be most pitied.  I no longer believe the message needs me to proclaim it because I believe at our core we will either see it or live blinded to the light.  Blessings to you all.

Cliff

In posing the question above one must first understand what a believer is.  For me, "A True Believer" is someone who believes God, never wavering in unbelief.

Eph 2:4-9
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved.
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith — and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

The majority of those who claim to be believers today stop short of giving Jesus all the credit.  Oh yes they will speak of HIM in great admiration giving him much of the credit for their redemption but where they stop short is when they make the claim that HE couldn’t save them without their help.  They claim HE is powerless to save them without their consent and in most cases along with consent comes a whole array of obedience items that THEY must do to secure a place in God’s Kingdom.

Their message makes the claim that a TRUE believer must first believe, repent, confess, be baptized, go to church, give of their money, etc..  Now what I have just listed is only a very few of the items that goes along with their version of being a believer.  The facts are that over 33,000 different brands of these type of believers can’t agree on what their part is in helping Jesus save them.

Now let me give my version of a True Believer.  JESUS is the only TRUE believer.  He came to earth and never wavered in His belief of God the Father.  His belief fulfilled the law.  His belief broke down the barriers.  His belief drew ALL of Mankind into HIS Body at the Cross.  His belief took away ALL of our Sins even while we were still sinners.  His belief does not require our belief or anything we might do to ensure our redemption.

Now we know that Jesus is the PEACE that passes all understanding and just who can have fellowship with this JESUS (PEACE)?  It is the one who believes what I have just described about the TRUE BELIEVER.   Yes, our belief can bring us into fellowship with the TRUE BELIEVER, but our belief does not make anything HE did come true.  What HE accomplished was accomplished by HIM, not us. 

We can live our entire lives here on earth without the fellowship of the TRUE BELIEVER and we will live in doubt, guilt, self condemnation, and a lack of peace.  By the way if you go to church you will hear messages that bring all those things into your life because you know that you can never measure up to what the preacher is saying.

Or you come into fellowship with the ONLY TRUE BELIEVER, JESUS, and begin to live in the freedom for which HE set us FREE.

Rom 11:32-36
32 For God hath concluded them all in unbelief , that he might have mercy upon all.
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!
34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor?
35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

Listen closely to Paul talking about this very subject.

2 Cor 6:14-18 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?  What harmony is there between Christ and Belial?  What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever?  What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols?  For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be my people.  "Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty."  

When Paul says to come out from them and be separate he is talking about coming into the fellowship of the TRUE BELIEVER, which is Christ.  He is the LIGHT.  We are the TEMPLE OF THE LIVING GOD.  I no longer have to walk with the SELF RIGHTEOUS who believe that Christ is only as strong as THEIR BELIEF.  God walks where perfect righteousness abides and there is ONLY one who lived a perfectly righteous life, JESUS. 

So, can a believer have fellowship with an unbeliever?  The answer is NO.  Maybe that’s why so many in organized religion have rejected me and branded me a false prophet and servant of the devil. 

The good news is that there are some in organized religion who have not rejected me and it is my hope that down deep they truly have accepted the ONLY TRUE BELIEVER, JESUS. 

Jesus loves ALL, but ALL have not accepted Him.  Jesus redeemed ALL, but ALL have not yet believed.  Regardless of where a human being stands on any of these things we speak about it will never change what Jesus has done and His position of Perfect Power.

Heb 2:8-9

In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

Just because we CAN NOT SEE EVERYTHING SUBJECT TO HIM does not mean it isn’t SO.  I am convinced that ALL will see this GLORY OF JESUS, THE ONLY TRUE BELIEVER, and when we do our only response will be to fall down in complete and perfect praise of OUR PERFECT GOD AND SAVIOR.

I’m not sure how to describe what "EVIL" really is especially since for me I believe at least in theory that the universe is perfect.  This I do know, that man’s mind has been contaminated with a great deal of misunderstanding of GOOD & EVIL and that contamination often leads us down pathways that are very unproductive.

For me, one of the worst kinds of evil (unproductive pathways) is organized religion.  I say this because organized religion (the church) has the appearance great good.  Men and women preaching with such beauty and grace and yet hidden in their message is the greatest of evils.  They speak of God’s love and then they do their best to bind the people with fear of HELL FIRE if they do not comply.  Paul spoke of this great evil in the passage below:

2 Cor 11:14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

If you study the chapter Paul was speaking from he’s talking about those who were preaching another gospel, one mixing Law and Grace, and Paul clearly stands against such a complicated false gospel.  He reminds them of the simplicity of the Gospel of Christ.

2 Cor 11:3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

The mind that has been freed from law finds it’s peace from the simplicity that is in Christ.  Can anyone out there who is still involved in organized religion (the church) really say in all seriousness that the gospel the church preaches is simple? 

Again, the word Gospel means "GOOD NEWS", and the good news is simply that Christ died for ALL.  He didn’t just die for those who think they figured out the magic formula, and by the way I have yet to have a Christian who could explain what that magic formula is. 

Yes, I believe the worst kind of evil is an evil that is shrouded in good and that describes the organized church to the T.  Are there exceptions to this?  Absolutely, and KUDOS to any organized group of Christians out there that is preaching the gospel of grace and peace that includes ALL that Jesus died for, and HE DIED FOR ALL.

Recently someone told my grandchildren that they don’t believe in Jesus because of their grandfather (me).  This person attends church and has obviously judged me because I won’t conform to the status quo.  I’m just glad I live in a day and age where that same type of person would have me burned at the stake for my belief in a God who loves us ALL (even that person) regardless of our performance.

When will we all wake up from the nightmare created from the tree of the knowledge of good & evil?  When will we all come to the beauty of the simplicity that is in Christ, and realize that He has set us free?  As I said earlier, I believe God is Perfect and so is the process we are all going through and some beautiful moment in each of our futures we will be awakened and our response will be to fall down in utter praise for a LOVE that is beyond words.

Until that time I will continue to preach this simple gospel of grace and peace to all who will listen.