What’s on my mind?

Facebook asks: what’s on your mind?
Answer: Jesus, the Word of God made flesh, the Salvation of the World.
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God gave us Jesus so we could live with Him and He live with us, right where we are.
Jesus said we, those who have received the price of the Cross and now live in Christ, will be known for our love (agape love, loving without expectation of return, loving someone else just because they are) for one another; NOT for our ability to cower in expectation of martyrdom.

Love your neighbor. Turn the other cheek at their offense to you. Occupy until Jesus returns. In the same manner he left, he will return. Occupy, hold the faith, hold the ground, caretake what has been placed in your hands, live your life as one who must give an account.

The kingdom of God suffers violence. Resist it. Dominate it. Have rule over it.

Yes. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal. They are mighty, to the pulling down of strongholds, to casting down vain thoughts and imaginations, and binding evil spirits … yep, he did just say that, too.

The Bible and Jesus did not tell you to love your brother so much you let him punch you in the face and take your stuff. No, the Bible and Jesus said to take up your weapons, because the kingdom of God suffers violence and violent men take it by force. How do you stop violent force against you? Meet force with force plus the God of Creation and overcome your enemies.

Save as many as you can, share the good news of Jesus Christ, but that does not mean you stop engaging in life and allow evil men and spirits to take your stuff. Occupy, caretake, tend what God has placed in your hand, pray for peace – God’s peace, and as much as it depends on you, live in peace with all mankind… however, don’t forget your weapons. Read your Bible.

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It had to be a cross

People over time have looked at Christianity with a question: why a cross? Why would a loving god put anyone through that for someone else? It had to be a cross. It had to be the most horrific example of human cost, inevitable, public, painful, without repentance. The cross made a permanent marker, a line that could only be crossed once: death.

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So, you got saved… now what?

You may have said a prayer like this: “Jesus, I accept the price you paid at the cross for my sins. I ask you to forgive me, come live with me, and let me live with you. Be with me this day and give me Your Holy Spirit. Amen.” If you meant that in the heart of your being, then you are “saved”. Now what?

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They know not what they do

Jesus had come to be one of us, perfect in relationship with God, the Father. Jesus lived his life as example that Man could walk with God in perfect unity. Then, he traded that life to fulfill covenant promises made so that we can have that same life of unity with God, the Father. Because of what Jesus did, we can be one with the Father; if we accept it and walk in it. Many, too many, are passionate in their belief that what they are doing is right; even when it is wrong. Jesus prayed, while on the cross being mocked and ridiculed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”[1]

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11th Hour of the 11th Day

It was as if the world had gone crazy. Young men, the best and brightest, those full of hope, were thrown into a churning machine where many perished as soon as they arrived. Millions of Europe’s best hopes expired in the trenches of the battlefield. It was war at its worst. It was dubbed the “war to end all wars”. It ended out of exhaustion on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.

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The Holy Spirit, God with us

Jesus said to his disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans. I will ask of the Father and He will send a Comforter.”[1] The comfort in this life is God. Because of what Jesus did, and the price he paid, we can be one with the Father just as Jesus is.[2] What Jesus did changed an earthly dynamic Adam created.[3] Because of what Jesus did, Man no longer needs to be separate from God.

There are several theologies and dogma regarding the the Holy Spirit. The Bible has a simpler theology. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Living God. Since Jesus did what he did (preach the kingdom of God, the cross, the grave, resurrection, sit at God’s right hand), there is now an opportunity to return to the right relationship with God – the Creator of Heaven and Earth. At first God and Man were together. They worked together. The Father told Man to tend the Garden, but God was right there with Man the whole time. Man could directly and immediately rely on God for any immediate need. Everything Man needed was at hand. At Man’s sin – act of separation from God, Man was left to rely upon his own efforts.

Jesus changed that. After mellenia of being effectively separate in life from God, Jesus made a way for Man to reunite. Sin was a decsion to separate from God. The price of that is death; death of the spirit. The correction was a decision to choose God, even unto death, without waiver. And, Jesus did that. Now for us, it is a simple choice to walk with God. The judgment price has been paid by Jesus. Because of this, we now have right and access to the living, life-giving Spirit of God.

Who is God? God is the one who created us all, the one in whose image we are created. We were to be His children. Sin separated us. Jesus created the opportunity for us to be back together again, and that by the simple choice to accept and believe that what Jesus did at the cross was enough to repair the breech, to allow God and Man to be one again.

His Holy Spirit is key to that relationship. His Holy Spirit is not a third Christian deity. The Holy Spirit is the essence and life of God manifested to us. Life is impossible without the Holy Spirit, but being baptized or overwhelmed by His Holy Spirit is different. By His Holy Spirit His presence is fully with us, around us, and through us. We can go through, include, and participate in this life with Him in all things. 

The Holy Spirit is not a power to be used by us. The Holy Spirit is not a foreign power within us. The Holy Spirit is not sorcerous or magical or mystical power we control or that comes upon us. 

The Holy Spirit is God, with whom we need to cultivate a relationship. The Holy Spirit is God present with us. The Holy Spirit is the holy, pure presence of God manifested in the Earth to help us get through this life successfully. Success in this life is learning to walk with, rely upon Him, toward an everlasting relationship with Him; measured in now moments.

The Holy Spirit is my purest friend, my One upon whom I rely, my ever present Mighty One, Jehovah Elohim.

Learn to lean on, rely on, trust in Him. Believe on Jesus Christ. Receive the living God’s Holy Spirit. Discover not a power but One who has power, who is power, to change everything in your life. Begin  a new walk with Him. Ask Him, test Him with this. Walk with Him.

[1]John 14.16-18; [2]John 21.21; [3]Genesis 3.17; 

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A Simple Prayer We Should All Pray Often

Almighty God, I acknowledge my dependence upon You; I pray Your blessings upon me, my family, my leaders, my city, my state, and my nation.

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Choice – Judgment – Execution – Beyond

The Church and the World struggle with the message of Jesus Christ because it is too challenging yet too simple. When Jesus paid for all of it – whatever was or is in the way of you becoming one with the God of the Bible – it became too simple. Before Jesus did what he did there were all of these requirements to righteousness: meaning to be in right standing with the God of the Bible. After Jesus did what he did the complicated challenge became “what’s in my heart, why do I do what I do, how does that honor the God of the Bible”?

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Fire and Repentance

Today is Sunday, July 3rd, 2016. I felt it was important to be in church today. As the congregation praised the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus, I listened to sincere praise and adoration being given. I listened to the words being sung. I asked the Lord why would a song like this, of perfected praise, come from Australia, so far away? The Lord answered me: why wouldn’t a song of praise come from the uttermost parts of the earth? I could see His point.

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Beyond the Cross

There is no doubt the Cross of Christ is controversial. Why would a deity have His son die so brutally for others? For others who mostly did not know Him nor really know or acknowledge His son? It was a stopping point in history; a turning point for Man. The God of the Bible made a trade.

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