My Baby Picture!
Ok, it’s time for a little fun. I thought I would share my baby picture with you all. Maybe Jack’s right, but ain’t I adorable?
Required Faith?
Heb 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
Wow! Quite a statement. And upon this statement has been built an entire religion that has often left the adherents to Faith feeling less then pleasing.
· The great tragedy of today is that we have been taught it is our own personal faith that must please God.
· LET’S DISCUSS THAT FOR A MOMENT.
o JUST WHAT IS MY PERSONAL FAITH BASED ON?
WHO RAISED ME, WHERE I WENT TO CHURCH, WHAT COUNTRY I WAS BORN IN, WHAT STATE I WAS BORN IN, ETC.
o HOW COULD THE ABOVE EVER BE PLEASING TO GOD WHEN IT IS SUCH A JUNGLED UP MESS?
· BUT THERE MUST BE A FAITH THAT PLEASES GOD—–AND THERE IS:
o YOU MUST BELIEVE HE EXISTS AND THAT HE REWARDS THOSE WHO EARNESTLY SEEK HIM.
o JESUS SAID IT LIKE THIS:
Matt 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’
38 This is the first and greatest commandment.
39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
· THE QUESTION WE MUST ASK OF OURSELVES CONCERNING OUR FAITH IS:
ARE WE DOING THAT? ARE WE EARNESTLY SEEKING HIM? ARE WE LOVING THE LORD WITH ALL OF OUR HEART? ALL OF OUR SOUL? ALL OF OUR MIND?
· FOR ME THE ANSWER IS NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
· AND WHAT A DIRTY TRICK TO TELL PEOPLE THEY MUST DO SOMETHING I CAN’T EVEN DO THOUGH I HAVE TRIED VERY HARD.
And the reason is we have misunderstood what faith is and our relationship to it.
THERE IS A FAITH THAT PLEASED GOD AND THAT FAITH IS CHRIST HIMSELF.
Gal 3:6-9
6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
LET ME JUST SAY THAT ANYONE WHO THINKS ABRAHAM’S FAITH WAS HIS OWN MISUNDERSTANDS THE MISSION OF THE CHRIST.
IF ABRAHAM HAD A FAITH ON HIS OWN THAT PLEASED GOD THEN WHY DID CHRIST HAVE TO COME?
· PAUL TELLS US IN COLOSSIANS THAT WE ARE DEAD.
Col 3:3
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
WE LIVE THROUGH WHAT CHRIST DID, WHAT CHRIST BELIEVED, THROUGH HIS FAITH.
· AND YES, OUR FAITH IS IMPORTANT TO GOD BUT NOT REQUIRED FOR HIM TO LOVE US.
LET’S LOOK AT ROMANS 4 AND SEE THE KIND OF FAITH THAT GOD SHOWS US THROUGH ABRAHAM THAT WELL SUITS A HUMAN BEING.
4:1 What did our forefather Abraham find according to the flesh? Or what did he learn about himself.
Socrates was walking and talking with his student Phaidrus when the two came to a stream. They decided to take off their sandals and wade into the cool water. While resting on a rock beside the stream, Phaedrus, referring to an ancient Greek legend, asked his teacher, “I should like to know, Socrates, whether the place is not somewhere here at which Boreas is said to have carried off Orithyia from the banks of the Ilissus?”
“Such is the tradition,” Socrates told him. But Phaedrus wasn’t content with his answer. “And is this the exact spot?” he asked Socrates.
“I believe that the spot is not exactly here but about a quarter mile lower down,” Socrates answered.
Still, his young student wanted to know more. “I beseech you to tell me, Socrates, Do you believe this tale?”
Socrates reluctantly began explaining to his young apprentice that the story had many discrepancies and inconsistencies, making it almost certain that the tale was merely a legend in spite of the fact that many believed it to be true. Then on the heels of his lengthy explanation, he said to his young friend,
Now I have no leisure for such inquiries; shall I tell you why? I much first know myself….to be curious about that which is not my concern, while I am still in ignorance of my own self, would be ridiculous. And therefore I bid farewell to all this. Know thyself became his battle cry.
Freud, Jung, Adler, Plato, Chardin, and many others dedicated their lives to trying to understand themselves and what their purpose was, and yet in some degree they all missed the mark.
But Abraham learned something that we all need to understand about ourselves.
1st—-HE LEARNED HIS PERFORMANCE COUNTED FOR NOTHING.
2 If he was accounted righteous by works, he could boast, but not before God.
3 What does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him as righteousness."
2ND - HE COUNTED ON GRACE AND HE COUNTED ON A GOD WHO JUSTIFIES THE GODLESS.
4 Now to the one who works, the pay is not accounted according to grace, but according to debt.
5 To the one who does not work, but believes on him who justifies the godless, his faith is accounted as righteousness,
6 even as David speaks of the happiness of the man whom God accounts as righteous apart from works,
7 Blessed are they whose lawless deeds have been forgiven, and whose sins have been covered.
8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not take into account.
· NOW HE HAD NO CLUE HOW GOD WOULD ACCOMPLISH THIS AND YET HE STILL BELIEVED GOD WOULD.
3RD—-ABRAHAM REPRESENTS A FAITH THAT ALL CAN HAVE AND WILL HAVE.
9 Is this blessedness for the circumcised only, or also for the uncircumcised? We say faith was accounted to Abraham as righteousness.
10 In what situation was it accounted? In circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.
11 He received the mark of circumcision as an evidence of the righteousness of the faith which he had before he was circumcised. In this way he could be the father of all uncircumcised believers, that righteousness might also be accounted to them.
12 Also he is the father of the circumcised, who not only are circumcised, but who walk in the footsteps of the faith which our father Abraham had when he was uncircumcised.
13 The promise to Abraham and to his offspring, that he would be the heir of the world, was not through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 If those of the law are heirs, faith has become meaningless, and the promise has been nullified.
15 The law brings about wrath, but where there is no law, there is no disobedience.
16 Because of this, it is of faith, that it may be by grace. In this way, the promise is confirmed to all the offspring, not only to those of the law, but also to those of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all,
4TH—HIS FAITH DID NOT HAVE TO MAKE SENSE.
17 as it is written, "I have made you a father of many nations." He believed God, who makes the dead to live, and calls things which are not as though they are.
18 Against hope, he believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, as had been said, "So shall your offspring be."
19 When he was about a hundred years old, he was not weak in faith, though he considered his own body and Sarah’s womb already dead.
20 Regarding God’s promise he never had a doubt, but became strong in faith, giving praise to God,
21 being fully persuaded that God was able to do what he had promised.
22 Therefore, it was accounted to him as righteousness.
5TH—YES, GOD WANTS US TO HAVE FAITH IN HIM—FAITH IN A LOVING SAVIOR WHO HAS UNLIMITED PATIENCE AS HE WAITS FOR US TO BELIEVE HE WILL NOT EVER LET US DOWN.
23 Moreover, it was not written for his sake alone, that righteousness was accounted to him,
24 but also for our sake, to whom it will be accounted, to us who believe on the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
25 Jesus was delivered up for our wrongdoing, and was raised for our righteousness.
1 Tim 1:12-1712 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.
SO, ARE WE REQUIRED TO HAVE FAITH? YES, BUT THAT SAME FAITH HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY CHRIST AND WHEN HE WAS LIFTED UP HE DREW ALL MEN UNTO HIMSELF (AND UNTO HIS FAITH).
MY OWN PERSONAL FAITH IS AT BEST SHALLOW AND LEFT WANTING, BUT THANKS BE TO GOD WHO HAS GIVEN ME (AND ALL OF US) THE VICTORY.
PEACE,
Cliff
If We Could Only Understand…..
If we could only understand God would explain. Many come to this site and remind me of myself in younger days. They are full of questions and in great need of answers and I guess that’s what keeps me writing, although I’m not really sure it matters at all.
Let me tell you about my parents. My Dad was Cliff (the first) and my mother is Barbara. They raised my two brothers and me in a very loving and good home. We went to church (churches of Christ) most of my young years. My parents were never happy in the church because they had such loving and honest hearts and it was just too much for them to be phony. When my Dad lost his job at Studebaker’s in South Bend we moved to Richmond. I was 12 at the time. It gave them the opportunity to leave the church since we didn’t really know anyone in our new home town. It was the best choice they could have ever made and even though there were struggles I believe they enjoyed a peace together that few church goers ever find.
At age 22 I went back to church taking my family with me and was determined to find truth. What always stuck in my head was my parents great happiness without the church and I needed to understand what went wrong. And so, I studied. I asked every imaginable question and also sacrificed much time in reading, searching, & looking for truth. Looking back I can tell you that the church is the last place for real truth seekers. I endured much pain through the years because I was unwilling to just accept the status quo and fall in line.
To make a very long story short the point I want to make here today is that it really doesn’t matter if you spend your life seeking all the answers (like I did) or just give up and trust your own heart (like my parents did). You see we can not in this limited physical experience understand and I don’t think we were even created to do so.
Job 38:1-3 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said: "Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge? Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.
Man has written some incredible words throughout the ages but the reality is that at our best our words to each other are dark counsel and without knowledge. I’m not saying they don’t have value. I’m just saying that I have come to a place in life where I am convinced that we need to quit worrying about the answers so much and spend more time listening to the still small voice within. That’s what my parents did without even really understanding it. I guess I did the same thing except I took the long painful road that finally led me back to my heart.
My father has been gone now for almost 13 years. He was so loved and respected by everyone who knew him and yet according to even the most liberal of churches my father is suffering an eternal torment because of his lack of church affiliation. Those that knew him best will tell you that in their hearts they could never believe my Dad is in HELL but their church doctrine says something different. WHY CAN’T THEY OPENLY ACKNOWLEDGE WHAT THEIR HEART TELLS THEM?
The bottom line is that "IF WE COULD UNDERSTAND GOD WOULD EXPLAIN". The fact is we CAN NOT UNDERSTAND and I don’t think we ever will. Oh, that won’t stop me from asking or searching because for some reason He made me (us) that way. It must have a purpose but I just don’t think the purpose is about the answers. I think it’s all about the experience.
John 17:3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Look up the word "KNOW" in the above verse and it means to experience in a very intimate way. It has nothing to do with intellectual knowledge. It comes from the same word used in the OT when it talked about a man knowing (have sexual relations) with a woman.
God is not interested in our UNDERSTANDING. He is interested in US EXPERIENCING HIM.
Please don’t think I mind the questions. That’s part of the EXPERIENCE, but I do want all of you to have the advantage of hearing your still small voice a lot quicker then I did.
PEACE,
Cliff
Why We Are Forgiven
The church will teach you that you are forgiven because of two actions. One of those actions is God’s and the other one is our’s. They teach that God sent Christ to the cross so that we then we could have an opportunity to accept forgiveness by confessing our sins, repenting of them, and then following an obedient lifestyle that will gain us heaven when we die. Of course the problem in that teaching is the same problem mankind has always had and that is our inability to follow through with our part.
With our track record as humans do you really think God (our Father) would leave anything up to us? If we look at the words of Jesus we can get clearer understanding of why we are forgiven:
Luke 23:34 Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
We are forgiven because we don’t know what we are doing. Now that fits fairly well with what I know about the human race. Even now in the age of information and enlightenment look at our world and you will see a human race still in chaos, division, and ugliness. Has the church provided the answers? I think not. The reason the FATHER will forgive us today as well as 2000 years ago is because WE STILL DON’T KNOW WHAT WE ARE DOING.
Paul the apostle told us the same thing about his forgiveness:
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.
Again we see WHY he was forgiven, because HE DIDN’T KNOW WHAT HE WAS DOING.
God made his first covenant with man and God kept his part but man failed completely. Why would God make another covenant with mankind knowing he would fail again? Well he did make a NEW COVENANT but as you read it tell me what part man plays?
Heb 8:7-12 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. But God found fault with the people and said : "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
As you read this NEW COVENANT who is taking the lead to make sure WE WILL ALL KNOW THE LORD?
We received forgiveness because we didn’t KNOW what we were doing and God has made clear he will not leave any of us in our ignorance and unbelief. Sooner or later we will all know because this covenant is based on what God will do not on what we will do.
Answers to Hard Questions for Sue
IF YOU DENY ME BEFORE MEN I WILL DENY YOU BEFORE MY FATHER.
I agree that Jesus will deny us before the Father if we deny him, but just what does that mean? Peter denied him and yet we know he was not denied redemption. What then was he denied? When Peter denied Jesus he was denying himself the fellowship of God’s perfect Love. We can and often do this whenever we look to ourselves for righteousness, but when we count ONLY on the righteousness of Jesus we find ourselves in perfect alignment with who God made us to be. JESUS IS THAT PERFECT LOVE and when we deny him we are being denied the peace that comes from knowing we are one with the FATHER.
IF YOU BELIEVE YOU WILL BE SAVED
This is an easy one. There is a big difference between being saved and being redeemed. Salvation does come from believing the Gospel message. When we believe that God loves us separate and apart from anything we can do or believe our minds are saved from self righteousness (the need to follow law to be right with God) that always ends in failure and a tormented mind. Believing the Gospel (God’s love for us through what CHRIST DID) leads our minds into a Peace that has nothing whatsoever to do with our performance. If you do not believe you are still redeemed, you just don’t know it yet. The time will come that every knee will bow and every tongue will praise God for His UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. And by the way, I don’t think most christians believe. They are too trapped by the false Gospel that they need to believe something and do something to be OK with God.
DEPART FROM ME, I NEVER KNEW YOU.
You can read the following post that deals more in-depth with this subject http://boldgrace.com/2008/04/27/mathew-25-the-judgment/ Let me say that Christ does not identify with our false self. All of us have acquired a false self that is based on the lies we have believed over our lifetime. Most of those lies has come from the church. Certainly Christ is always speaking to the false self inside of us to depart and eventually it will, but the part that Christ does know within us he will never deny. The true self within each of us is that part that can not be destroyed no matter how bad we think we have been. God made us in his PERFECT IMAGE and that IMAGE will always remain.
BELOW IS ANOTHER SET OF QUESTIONS I ANSWERED AWHILE BACK THAT YOU MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN READING.
I received an E-mail this week with the following questions from a sincere seeker of truth. Below is how I answered.
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.
________________________________________
Concerning your questions about being held accountable for our sins. I firmly believe that no human being escapes the consequences of their choices, but what has really helped me be OK with that notion is knowing that God is not only able but willing to take every choice we make and turn it into good. I believe He has set up a perfect process by which each of us will learn what we need to learn while on this earth. I have also come to believe that even his so called wrath is really his perfect love and I welcome it. We don’t have to fret about anyone getting away with anything because the system He has us in is quite capable of giving us exactly what we need in LOVE. Let me share with you a post I did that explains this in more detail.
I WELCOME THE WRATH OF GOD!
The following verse has been used by many a preacher to condemn and put fear in the hearts of their followers, but I would like for us to take a new look at this verse.
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,
Now we know that God was revealing something from heaven that would stand against all the godlessness and wickedness of men but what was it? Was he going to bring down fire and brimstone? Was he going to turn all the wicked people into pillars of salt?
You see we have the advantage of knowing exactly what God was revealing from heaven that would be able to destroy all godlessness and wickedness of men. Paul had already given the answer in the previous two verses.
You see we have the advantage of knowing exactly what God was revealing from heaven that would be able to destroy all godlessness and wickedness of men. Paul had already given the answer in the previous two verses.
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.”
As he says: “In the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed”. The righteousness from God that was revealed in the gospel is Jesus Christ himself. Jesus came to overpower godlessness and wickedness of men by forgiving all their sins. Where sin has gone grace has gone all the more. The LOVE of God and the WRATH of God are absolutely the very same thing. Yes, God loves us enough to destroy all the godlessness and wickedness that is in our lives but the way he accomplishes all of that is through the beauty of his glorious nature which is seen in the life of Jesus Christ. HE LOVES IT OUT OF US.
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.
This is why the apostle John said the following:
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.
God knew he could never bring us back to perfection through threat of punishment and yet so many preachers today are teaching the very opposite of what was revealed from heaven in the Gospel message. The gospel message is the only answer to our godlessness and wickedness and the answer is GRACE. There is a day for all of us when we will recognize this awesome love and on that day of awakening we will fall down on our knees in complete and total praise of this God of Love.
For Paul the apostle it happened when he was on the road to Damascus and he describes what God did for him and will do for all.
For Paul the apostle it happened when he was on the road to Damascus and he describes what God did for him and will do for all.
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.
Paul was a blasphemer, persecutor, violent man, and yet God destroyed all of that darkness within him and turned him into the beautiful man that we all know as the apostle Paul. Yes, that was the Wrath of God that was revealed from heaven to Paul and yet we see through the gospel message that the wrath of God is something that we should all welcome because it really is God’s Love in the purest form.
God will not leave anyone out. The wrath of God is revealed against ALL—-Now that’s something to be grateful for.
Our Father!
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!
Sound bites
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.
A note to a friend
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 Fire Still Burns
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
The Airplane Trip
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
-
Stats
-
