"The entire law was based on the performance of man. The new covenant is based on the performance of one man, Christ."
- Susan Woods Avello
Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Mirror, Mirror.
We mirror our understanding of what God's nature is.
If our understanding is that God is angry, judgmental, schizophrenic, a conditional lover and discriminates, we become that.
If our understanding is that God is love (without any but's), we become that.
Pray without Discriminating
"There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28 NIV
If we are praying regarding the crisis (which has abated for the time being) in the Middle East between Israel and the Palestinians, let's pray without discrimination, for everyone - the Jews, the Palestinians, the victims and the perpetrators.
"God so loved the world…" That 'world' includes the "other" side, the side we see as the "enemy", depending of who we side with (or not) in this crisis.
Jesus said, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,.."
We may love our labels, the traditions, the Bible, our interpretations and all the associated religious activities. All those things may identity us with a religion or a denomination, but love is the only thing by which people will see that we are the disciples of Jesus.
"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - Jesus (John 13:35 ESV).
Married to Jesus and Sleeping with Moses
"Preaching a "mixed" (grace & law) message is a form of spiritual adultery . . . . married to Jesus, and sleeping with Moses."
- Ted Nelson
"If we presume that we are to somehow get stronger and more capable over time, then we set ourselves up for disappointment, even despair. The truth of the matter is that if we see ourselves growing weaker and less capable over time, then we are right on schedule. Christ's resurrection power is only made perfect in our weakness, not in any illusion of strength."
- Andrew Farley
Free From the Yoke of Slavery
by Bob George
Under the law we become hypocrites. The word comes from the Greek theatre. A hypocrite is not an imperfect person; a hypocrite is an actor, a pretender. What made the Pharisees hypocrites was not their faults: It was their pretense that they were righteous. It was teaching one thing and doing another. But that is what law will always produce: people who are always hiding their real selves, always acting, always pretending, and never being real.
But what happens when we are set free by grace? One of the most common testimonies I hear is, "For the first time in my life, I am free to just be myself! I'm free to be me."
The ultimate consequence of living under law is outright rebellion when you give up because of the hopelessness of ever making it.
Time and time again, I have seen these people who have been branded as "rebels against God" or "back-slidden Christians" come out of their chairs in excitement and joy as they learn for the first time about the incredible grace, love and acceptance of God in Jesus Christ.
In all my years as a Christian, I have never heard anyone say, "I've had it! I am sick to death of the love and grace of God. I'm sick of other Christians loving and accepting me. I'm giving up this Christian life." No I've never heard that. But I couldn't count the number of Christians I've known who have given up because of being under law, who have been broken by the crushing burden of trying to be good enough to earn God's acceptance, who have been mangled by the competition, the judging, and the demands to conform to some group's standards. "We'll accept you if you look like, walk like, talk like, and act like us." And the implication is always, "And God will, too." So what are we to do?
Jesus Christ came to free us from the burden of the law by calling us to a life united with His. We are beloved, accepted children of God, who have been called to His "banquet table" to experience Jesus Christ living in and through us every day. Abundant life is not "pie-in-the-sky" or nebulous theory. It is real, and it is ours for the taking if we will only believe. Let's not settle for anything less.
From: Classic Christianity. Eugene: Harvest House Publishers. ©1989.
Is God an Abusive Husband or a Deadbeat Dad?
"The main problem I have with the mainstream Christian view of hell is that it's starting place is that God's wrath must be satisfied against sinful man.
I think before we can come to any conclusion about hell, our starting place needs to be "God is love." God's wrath needs to be defined in the context of love and our view of hell needs to be set within the context of love. God's very nature is love and he cannot violate that.
If our view of hell turns God into an abusive husband (marry me or else) or a deadbeat dad (some are predestined for eternal torture), it can't be the right view because love is never abusive nor does it force itself on anyone, nor would love ever bring children into the world that it did not want and that it wouldn't die for."
- Annette Hunsberger Presley
Who was the group that hated Jesus the most?
If the Church ever desires to be relevant to those outside the Christian bubble, she needs to love, unconditionally. Not the self righteous and judgmental "love the sinner, not the sin" kind of love.
The group that hated Jesus the most were not the "sinners", but the "men of the Word" of the day. To those rejected by the religious club, he was a magnet.
Related post:
Love Trumps all the -isms
Knowingly or unknowingly, everyone is associated in some way, shape or form with an -ism. Arminianism, Calvinism, Universalism, Atheism, etc.
Without love, however, our isms have zero value, regardless of how well researched we think our findings are.
Love trumps all the -isms.
He may not speak in Christianese, but with love, an atheist experiences and becomes a conduit of God, without him being consciously aware of it.
Love is God.
God is Love.
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