BoldGrace

I do have a question or 2….or 3. If our sins were covered on the cross, hence, redeeming all men, how are we held accountable for the actions we do earth? (Murder, adultery etc etc) Is there no longer a moral right and wrong? If there is, in our limited understanding, what does it matter then what I do? I am not justifying the notion that we can or should do what we want, but how are we held accountable for stuff that goes against the goodness of God? Does sin still exist? Is there temporal punishment?
I could think of a million more but I am on journey right now with 2 broken legs slowly dragging myself.

I WELCOME THE WRATH OF GOD!

Romans 1:18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Abraham Lincoln once said: “The best way to destroy an enemy is to make them your friend.” That’s exactly what God has done with all of us and he demonstrates his plan in the gospel.

1 John 4:18-20 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

1 Tim 1:12-17
12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners — of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

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

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

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.