George Floyd Knew The Solution

Hate and prejudice are ugly and have been a part of humanity since Adam and Eve were removed from the garden. It is an ugly side of human nature. No societal outrage, no laws, no Goodwill can change the heart of a person.

That is truly the sad part about the death of George Floyd, my brother in the Kingdom of God. We can accept a death when it has a purpose, when there is some greater good involved, but when it is pointless and preventable we are left angry. This was a wasted death like so many before it. There is no higher purpose here. There is no great change about to happen.

There are marches, protests, speeches, even riots but nothing will change. How many times have we seen this? If there had ever been an opportunity to see things shift it was when evil showed up and killed all those kids at that school in the US a number of years ago. But if society is not going to make the change after such a heart wrenching and horrifying scene, why would it shift over yet another death of a black man?

Are we shocked? We shouldn't be, not if we have been paying attention. Are we horrified? I hope so. The death of any innocent person should be horrifying to us but even more so when it is another innocent man taken from the Black community. They have faced too much already.

Yesterday I expressed my heart felt sorrow to the black members of my church family. They are my family by birth in the Spirit and I mourn with them. I sit in the public square with them and I bitterly weep because my heart is broken. But I can't feel what they feel. I can't know what they know because I have not faced what they face.

I can walk through my neighbourhood without being looked on with suspicion. I don't have people crossing the street to avoid me from fear. I don't have store security following me around the stores I shop in. I am not randomly stopped and questioned by the police just because I am alive. I don't have to educate my sons on what to do when they are stopped by the police. I don't have to watch my kids leave my house and have that nagging thought in the back of my head, will I ever see them again.

Saying that "I am not prejudice" is not making me part of the solution. In fact., it is saying that this has nothing to do with me. I am a product of my society and so are you. We have been taught prejudices even if we are not willing to admit it or aware of it. Instead I need to decide to become aware of how I see the world and why. All is not hopeless and there is a better way.

Anger and vengeance is often the result of a feeling of hopelessness and lack of power to be able to change anything. But George Floyd was not powerless and he knew the solution and from what I understand, he was working with the right people to see change brought to his beloved community. There are many more people out there just like him who are working the solution for their neighbourhood.

The solution is not found in laws, police, education, food banks and make work projects. These things can help but they are not the solution. The only thing that can change the heart of humanity, transform the minds of people is reconciliation with the One who designed us and created us with a great capacity to love. 

Certainly love is the solution but humanity is broken. We have all kinds of books, teachings, wise sayings, seminars and great schools of thought but we have a problem with application. The reason is because we need a love that we are not capable of generating in our brokenness. We need a love that manifests in forgiveness, redemption, mercy, grace, compassion; a love that applies all these even in the face of hate.

Jesus gave his life for the sake of the redemption of humanity because only such a sacrifice could provide the reconciliation and transformation that was needed. The humanity our Father created is broken and almost unrecognizable from his design. George Floyd knew this powerful transforming love and he desired to see his community transformed by it as well. But then the always destroying hatred and prejudice reared its ugly head in the form of the authority that is meant to serve and protect. That authority, twisted by hate, snuffed out a bearer of hope in a very dark world.

The Kingdom that George and I belong to is a Kingdom of honour and respect. Because of the great foundation of love, each life is valued and cherished, be it friend or foe. We belong to a Kingdom that holds out hope for every heart knowing that nothing is impossible for our Father. We belong to a Kingdom that, out of honour, loves our enemies and prays for those who persecute us. We belong to the Kingdom that tells us to do to others what we want to see them do to us (be the change you want to see). We belong to any awesome Kingdom that is governed by an awesome King, who remains the hope of this world; the only hope. 

Transformation is possible.                 

Does Jesus Make A Difference

Are we any better as a person with Jesus than we are without him? Christianity is not about knowledge; it is about relationship. Knowledge about Jesus is important but it amounts to nothing without relationship. It is the relationship that defines everything.

This is not a relationship like you have with a friend. Jesus said that he wants to be one with us. As he is one with the Father he longs to be one with us. He wants to be so intimate with us that he has chosen to dwell in us by the Holy Spirit. That is the most intimate relationship in our life. It makes intimacy possible but not if we don't understand, don't desire or decide to do our own thing.

This intimacy that Jesus desires does not leave us the same. It changes us so that we become like him; in obedience, in power, in compassion. We cannot be in Jesus and Jesus in us and remain the same. And therein lies the problem.

Too many of us are trying to conform ourselves on the outside with no real change on the inside. Before there can be any conformity of behaviour there has to be an internal transformation provoked by the intimate relationship we have with Jesus through the Holy Spirit. It is not something we can fake.

I always consider the outward expression of Jesus' love to be sign posts in our lives that we are on the right track. If they aren't there it means something is wrong with the relationship. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures as well as the Christian we discover the uniqueness of Yahweh's heart: Look at this from Leviticus of all places:

"If one of your fellow Israelites faces financial difficulty and is in a shaky situation with you, you must assist them as you would an immigrant or foreign guest so that they can survive among you. Do not take interest from them, or any kind of profit from interest, but fear your God so that your fellow Israelite can survive among you. Do not lend a poor Israelite money with interest or lend food at a profit. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from the land of Egypt to give you Canaan's land and to be your God." (Leviticus 25:35-38)

Compassion, generosity, kindness, concern, love are all great parts of our Yahweh's character. Jesus taught and demonstrated this to an even greater depth. Just consider this simple command to those who would call themselves disciples of Jesus:

"I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other." (John 13:34-35)

That sets the bar pretty high because we all know how Jesus loved us. Don't downplay this. Study and understand what Jesus commanded us and the example he set by loving us to the depth he went. This makes it a legitimate question to ask ourselves: Are we any better as a person with Jesus than we are without him? Do we know what it is to love our brothers and sisters in the Lord with that same love? Do we know how to reach out and heal the broken people of this world with the same compassion and power?

If you can live the same way with Jesus as you did without him there is a problem with the relationship. You should look into that today.

Why Are You So Different From Everyone Else?

There are some Bible verses that have an ability to shift our understanding so dramatically that we are unable to see life in the same manner ever again. Or, those same verses can blend in with all the other verses as we read them over again and again with no affect. It really depends on our expectations and attitude as we approach the Word of Yahweh. Let's pick Galatians 2:20 as an example:

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Now either that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up or it didn't. It either just reminded you how different you are from everyone else or it didn't. It either put all your problems in perspective or it didn't. Christianity is not a religion like other religions. We are not trying to achieve some goal or some point of happiness or bliss. We have received everything we need in Jesus and the only thing that is happening is that we are growing into that relationship.

What other religion declares that all it's subscribers are dead, no longer living? What other religion declares that all of it's followers are possessed and only have life because it is shared with them by the one who possesses them? What other religion declares that the object of worship gave up his life so those who believed would gain a life eternal through him?

Christianity is not a code to live by, a set of rules or regulations, or a philosophy to understand. Christianity is the death of one thing and the birth of another. It is the death of all we were, a cutting off, a casting out, a separation from the old so that we can become the new, reborn, clothed anew, changed for eternity by the one who laid down his life so we could gain it all. Christianity is about dying in what we were and now living something entirely new in Jesus.

We have no life outside of Jesus. His desire has always been obedience to Father and so now that has become our desire because we live in him. What is important to him is important to us. We possess his mind and his heart because we are possessed by him. We voluntarily gave up our old life to gain this new one and now everything is new, everything has been changed, and we will never be like we were ever again.

So yes, some Bible verses open our eyes in a dramatic way to understand what has transpired with the surrender of our life. Now we are in the deep fellowship that Father has desired to have with us from the beginning. We cannot live like those who belong to this world because we now have the mind, the perspective of Jesus Christ. We have been crucified with Jesus. We no longer live but Christ lives in us. The life we live in these bodies we live by faith in the Son of God. We have been changed, transformed. We will never be like we were ever again.

Without Jesus We Stink

We need to talk. I think we all do. There is an actual reason we need Jesus. Sometimes I sense that many of us are just caught up in the Church culture and don't understand the reality of our situation or our need for Jesus. Many of us enjoy the music and the friendships we have developed. We even feel the depth of the sound bites from the sermons we use as status updates. It feels great to belong to something bigger than ourselves. And if that is all there is to it I hope and pray that the entire Church culture scene would be flipped over and the promoters of it thrown out on their ear.

We need Jesus, not culture. We need Jesus because without him we smell like decaying flesh. Have you ever smelled decaying flesh? If you have you know it is a smell you never forget, it's that powerful. This is what we are like without the life giving blood of Jesus:

Being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful. (Romans 1:29-31)

That's us in the natural, when the facade is torn down and our heart revealed. That is what we are like without the resurrection power of Jesus coursing through our veins. This is why we need Jesus and why Church culture can't do a thing for us. Nothing but the blood of Jesus can change our natural make-up. The change Jesus brings to us is like turning straw into gold, or more like a decaying carcass into a living, breathing person.

Without Jesus we stink and all the self help, image improving books and seminars will not help us. It is like dressing up a dead body. It may have clothes but it is still without life. It is like spraying perfume on a corpse. It may help the stink for a minute but the smell of death is far too powerful. Culture tries to conform, to cover up what we are but Jesus offers total transformation, so what was dead is made alive. We need Jesus not culture.

The Truth About Sinners And Salvation

You may not agree with what I am about to say but I hope you will search the Scriptures first to see if it is true. If you are a Christian it is important that you have a correct view of the world, the Church and your place in it.

If a person is without Jesus Christ it does not matter what they do. It doesn't matter if they are a murderer, liar, or cheat. It doesn't matter if they are straight, homosexual or are confused about their identity. It doesn't matter if they are druggies or alcoholics. It doesn't matter if they are bank robbers, prostitutes or white collar crooks. All that matters is that they are without Jesus:

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:18)

In case you didn't know it, those are Jesus' words. He told us the judgement will be based on whether we believe or not, not based on behaviour. We are all sinners. The difference is that our sins are covered, forgiven and forgotten when we choose to believe Jesus.

The reason this matters is because this is the foundation of Christianity but we are actually preaching something different. When we spend so much time on people's behaviour we come across as if they can save themselves by changing their behaviour. It becomes about living a good life and not about the spiritual act of believing.

We can't save ourselves; only Jesus saves. It is only by the blood of the Lamb. It is all about the sacrifice on the Cross. We cannot justify ourselves by modifying our behaviour. A prostitute who stops being a prostitute is not any closer to salvation because of her changed behaviour. She still needs Jesus because:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6)

We need to stop criticizing sinners for behaving like sinners, the rebellious for rebelling, and instead learn to love them as Jesus loves them. I am no liberal in my theology. Judgement Day is coming but our attitude in serving this suffering world is not going to help in the salvation of the dying masses.

The behaviour we should be concerned about are those who claim to have Jesus but act as if they don't; those who think they can still participate in the pleasures of sin while testifying to the goodness of Yahweh. They are spiritual in their talk and carnal in their thinking and behaviour. These are they people who have been deceived and are deceiving.

We speak the same truth to the world as Jesus did but we must also love as he loved. He did not concentrate on their behaviour but instead dealt with their heart condition. Behavioiur changes after encountering Jesus, not before. People need Jesus before they can stop sinning, rebelling against Father; they don't stop sinning in order to come to Jesus.

We need to stop being offended by behaviour and attitude and start telling people how they can have peace, real joy and the empty place of their heart filled with real life. We need to tell them how the burden can be lifted from them and how they can discover what real unconditional love means. Stop being shocked that sinners sin and be more amazed that Jesus died for them as he died for us. Let us stop demanding conformity and allow the Spirit to bring in real transformation.

Don't Conform, Be Transformed

It is not what you say or what you do that are the most important thing in your life, but who you are. It is from who you are that everything else flows. This is why trying to change our behaviour is an exercise in futility. We may be able to change for a short period of time but eventually we will slide back to the nature of our heart. It is not unlike healthy living.

There is a difference between healthy living and dieting. Dieting is a short term solution for a long term problem. It doesn't deal with the underlying problem of an unhealthy lifestyle. It deals with a symptom instead of the disease. Healthy living goes to the heart and changes perspective and attitude. It is a complete change of lifestyle with a change of eating being part of it. It cannot be applied from an outside pressure but must be a personal conviction that everything has to change. It is a good metaphor of the Christian experience.

Christianity is not about "dieting"; a short term solution for a long term problem. It is not about conforming our behaviour or our vocabulary under the pressure of an outside force. That is just an act of self-improvement and soon enough a person will slip back to their natural selves. Our problem is our nature, the condition of our heart. There needs to be a change of perspective, a change of attitude, a change of heart and that only happens with the transforming power of Jesus Christ.

We cannot hide our true colours, our true nature for long, and it soon becomes evident to everyone, although not everyone will admit it. We tend to like people even when we know that things aren't quite right. We consider if they are going to church everything is okay but we have a lot of "conforming" people in our pews who need to be told that they need the transformation of Jesus. The reason their condition is obvious was taught by Jesus:

For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. (Luke 6:43)

A healthy tree is going to give you healthy fruit. A diseased and dried up tree is going to give you diseased and dried up fruit. The life filled and led by the Holy Spirit is going to bear the fruit of the Spirit. The life filled and controlled by sin is going to bear the fruit of sin. Not everyone attending church is bearing the fruit of the Spirit and there is a reason for it. There is no getting around it. One is a transformed life, the others is attempting conformity.

For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. (v. 44)

We are known by our fruit. It is not the fruit that defines us but we who define the fruit that is produced. An apple tree produces apples, not an apple that makes it an apple tree. Behaviour and words do not make us a sinner, it is being a sinner that produces behaviour and words. An apple tree cannot produce oranges just because it wants to; there would have to be a transformation of its nature. A sinner cannot be righteous just because he wills it. We need the transformation that Jesus offers.

A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. (v. 45)

We have sayings such as, "a leopard can't change his spots", but still we fail to understand it. We were born a sinner. By nature we are sinners, in complete rebellion against Yahweh. We see the evidence of such rebellion all around us today but fail to recognize it in ourselves. Knowing that we do bad things we try to improve ourselves, change our behaviour, our vocabulary, our attitude. But we can't for long because our true nature is always going to reveal itself. The only way to become a "good man" is by the blood of Jesus Christ. No other way will do; not conformity, self-will, self-improvement, thinking good thoughts, or acts of kindness. Jesus said he is the only way.

Jesus told us:

For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. (v. 45)

It isn't about what we say or what we do but instead who we are. Who we are determines what we do and what we say. It is out of the abundance of our heart that we speak. If that abundance is Jesus' righteousness then these words will be righteous. If the abundance is from a non-transformed heart then it will be evil that we speak. It's as simple as that.

Faltering In Our Beliefs

It is a hard life to be an indecisive person, always struggling over choices and decisions. These people tend to waiver even after they have decided, doubting the choice they did make and if it would have been better to have chosen differently. It reminds me of Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken":

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth."

You notice the title is not "The Road Taken" but "The Road Not Taken". Obviously the emphasis was on the thought of the path that he did not choose, wondering, speculating. We are this way with so much in our lives. Perhaps not to the point of being indecisive but often times regretting not having made decisions differently.

Sometimes such an attitude hampers us in the decisions we have made and so we only put a partial effort into the journey we are on. We are robbing ourselves of the glory of the path we have taken. The worse of it is when we try to take both paths and make a mess out of everything. Throughout the Scriptures we are told to make a decision about who we will serve because, as the apostle Paul said, we will end up serving something.

We all remember the famous "As for me and my family" speech from Joshua and it is spot on. Make a decision people, who will you serve: Yahweh or some other god? Make a decision and give it your full effort. Some of you may protest and say that we are not to put in an effort, that it is all by Yahweh's grace. Salvation is by his grace but our walk with Jesus is with effort and determination. Yes, his grace covers us when we falter but if we do not understand our responsibility in the relationship we will do more than falter, we will drop off. We need to be determined every day to choose Jesus, to walk in his ways (directions, commands, instructions, laws), to not fear and trust him for all we need, to spend time in relationship building (prayer, worship, Bible study), and to carry out the mission (to make disciples).

Yet, Joshua's speech is not the only example of being told we must make a decision. Examples are scattered throughout the Word. One is found in 1 Kings 18:

Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing. (v. 21)

Elijah was fearless and bold in demonstrating to the people that, although there was a choice, there was only one that was obvious. But people do not like choosing Yahweh, even with the promise of eternity because of the intimacy of the accountability. They would rather find a system that would demand less out of them; something that would benefit them but with low risk, low cost and low effort. We are such a lazy people.

Jesus told us that we would have a choice and that he had come for those who would make the decision to believe the good news he was revealing. It's a decision. We can choose to stay as we are,  in our rebellion and be slaves to sin or we could choose to accept the loving relationship with Yahweh and be slaves to righteousness. Paul used the term slave to describe something with a term that we could understand because it is hard to translate the spiritual into a language the non-spiritual may comprehend. When we make a decision for Jesus we are compelled to walk in righteousness in the same way we were compelled to walk in sin without him.

Now let's be clear on this, we can't serve two masters. We can't choose two paths. You can't choose Jesus and still do whatever you want. There is a distinct way of living when we choose Jesus and many of us are choosing with our mouth but our heart still belongs to the other path. It can't be made any clearer than this: when you choose Jesus you let everything else go and you give yourself completely to his path. You don't get to argue and negotiate certain aspects with him. It is like when Moses presented everything to the people of Israel and then told them to choose. Jesus told us to count the cost, check out what you are agreeing to. Yahweh hides nothing but he says that if we are to follow him these are his clear expectations and demands of those he calls his children. It is not a free for all.

Salvation is by grace but the rest of it gets worked out in us daily as we are transformed by the Spirit, transformed with an obedient and willing heart. Too many of us are choosing with our mouth only but it also requires a belief of action in our hearts. The question is simple: who will you serve? Which path do you choose? What is your decision?

You Can't Do It Alone

All sin can be traced back to a selfish heart. Every offence against someone is because someone considered themselves more important. Everything we have ever done against God happened because we considered what we wanted more important than what God wanted. We are a people who say we want to love God but we don't know how to let go of ourselves to do it.

We can look at all the socio economic reasons why we behave the way we do but at the end of the day it always comes down to the self-centeredness of the heart. Love is the opposite of selfishness. Perhaps not the thing that passes as love these days but the love that God describes:

Love is kind and patient,
never jealous, boastful,
    proud, or  rude.
Love isn’t selfish
    or quick tempered.
It doesn’t keep a record
    of wrongs that others do.
6 Love rejoices in the truth,
    but not in evil.
7 Love is always supportive,
loyal, hopeful,
    and trusting.
8 Love never fails!   (1 Corinthians 13:4-8, CEV)

Use whatever definition you want but this is the one that counts. This is the one that made a God who says he loves us, take action to show that love. This is the love that Jesus told us to have for God and for each other. A love that automatically puts the concerns of the other person ahead of our own and where sacrifice is a normal way of life. Imagine what the world would look like if this love permeated the hearts of everyone.

But it doesn't.

We were all born with a sinful nature that puts self ahead of everything and everyone else. As much as we try in ourselves to keep this love on the surface, what lay in the heart always rises up and dominates. This is why Jesus said the heart is key. It is the heart that will always dictate our actions, as hard as we try to work against it, because we know in ourselves what we want to be but we can't get there. Paul described the struggle of a religious heart without Christ:

I know that my selfish desires won’t let me do anything that is good. Even when I want to do right, I cannot. Instead of doing what I know is right, I do wrong. And so, if I don’t do what I know is right, I am no longer the one doing these evil things. The sin that lives in me is what does them. (Romans 7:18-20, CEV)

We must recognize that this all important love can only be produced in us supernaturally. If at any moment you think that you can do it without Jesus, you have stepped outside of the design of our Father and have taken your destiny into your own hands. It is an act of rebellion.

There is no good thing in us, everything having been tainted by that sin nature with which we were born. If we really want to live like Jesus and do what he did, there has to be a complete abandonment of everything and a bear hug on Jesus. It is only in the total surrender that we are able to be possessed and controlled by the Holy Spirit. Outside of that we are just playing games. Paul understood his condition and the only one who could save him:

With my whole heart I agree with the Law of God. But in every part of me I discover something fighting against my mind, and it makes me a prisoner of sin that controls everything I do. What a miserable person I am. Who will rescue me from this body that is doomed to die? Thank God! Jesus Christ will rescue me. (Romans 7:22-25, CEV)

If you really want to be a follower of Jesus; if you really want to do what he did; if you really want to have everything he promised; you have to give up everything else. You have to turn your back on everything you knew and surrender to the Father's embrace. What you were incapable to do he is capable to do through you. There is no other way. You have to decide between the world and the Kingdom; yourself and Jesus. By nature we are a sinful and self-centered people. By God's nature we are like Jesus. I end with this:

People who are ruled by their desires think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit thinks about spiritual things. (Romans 8:5, CEV)

Faithful, Loving And Easy To Get Along With

It seems these days that socially awkward nerds are in. In my day we were just picked on. Being socially awkward is no joke as it leaves people feeling on the outside. Often it is just a matter of being unsure what is acceptable behaviour in a new environment. It happened to me when I went from elementary school to junior high school. In elementary I had all my friends I had grown up with. We knew what to expect from each other and we accepted each other. Bigger school, lots of kids I didn't know, not many friends and no idea how to conduct myself. It left me standing on the outside looking in, which made me a target. This also happens in the Christian family more than we realize.

Imagine knowing what is acceptable behaviour for most of your adult life. You have your friends, family and all the various activities you enjoy. You have a certain way of talking, certain language you use. Suddenly you are introduced to Jesus, you are gloriously saved, born again and now everything is different. The difference is as great as a baby going from the womb to the world. Big shock. How does one behave in this new setting? What is acceptable? What isn't?

Unfortunately too many churches take these people under their wings and teach them how to conform to the acceptable behaviour of that particular church. But it isn't about conformity. Jesus Christ is all about transformation. We need to be teaching new Christians how to hear and obey the Spirit so the Spirit can continue with the transformation process. God does not want us to change our behaviour; he wants to change our heart which will affect our behaviour.

Yesterday we considered Paul's instructions to Timothy to run from temptation and to do what is right. These instructions should always be understood as our actions in cooperation to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. In and of ourselves we are not capable of righteousness but, because of the ongoing transformation in us, we are capable. Consider this instruction:

Be faithful, loving, and easy to get along with. (2 Timothy 2:22, CEV)

Consider the words carefully. Weigh them against your heart and your behaviour. This is what is acceptable behaviour in the Kingdom of God. This is the crowd you hang out with now. The Spirit of God in you desires this in you. He is working to make it happen but we have to make the decision to cooperate, to make these our daily goals. It is only possible when we are determined each day to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Jesus. The moment we allow "self" to start getting in the way is the moment we fail.

Be faithful; to the covenants that we make; to Jesus and to each other. Be faithful to the promises that we make. Be faithful to relationships. Be faithful to the Church and the leaders Jesus has placed us under. Be faithful to what is good, holy and pleasing to God. Be faithful.

Be loving. I am constantly stymied by this. If we are not honest with ourselves we will gloss over it with "Of course I am loving" but when we really examine God's love against our hearts then we are overwhelmed by our failure. I am tired and allow "self" to get in the way as I correct my child. The words come out harsh and unkind. Correction is very necessary but harshness is not. My wife asks me to turn off a light she forgot. She just got into bed and I have been there for ten minutes, almost asleep. "Self" would tell her to do it herself. Love would only be too glad to serve my wife. If I do it with resentment in my heart it is not love. This is a major thing to realize that God's transformation means a cooperation to be loving. And if we aren't then we had better examine ourselves to see if we understand how he has loved us.

Be easy to get along with. We could spend a long time on this one. Don't be argumentative. Make people your priority. Don't judge behaviour when it is the heart that matters. Don't develop a protectionist attitude that will separate you from the world. Don't accept sin but don't allow it to keep you in your house either. Jesus told us to "go" and make disciples. We can't do that hiding in our house. If a brother or sister sees something in the Word a bit different from you that's okay. God teaches all of us. If that thing is going to take them away from Jesus then speak to your pastor for advice on what to do and what to say. Most importantly, listen to the Spirit and follow his lead. Whatever you do, be loving and easy to get along with.

This whole section is pretty solid in instruction on Kingdom behaviour. We would all be in a better place if we studied this and asked the Spirit's help in implementing it in our lives. Remember, it is already in you through the desire of the Spirit to see this completed in you, it only requires our cooperation. Walk in the Spirit today my friend and see how much of "self" needs to be kicked to the curb.

Rules For ...

In my Bible I have a section in Colossians 3 that some editors thought it would be good to title "Rules For Christians Households". I have a problem with that. I have a problem with anything we title as "rules" in the Bible. Perhaps "rules" in the sense of being compelled by love. "If it is really love then this is what results" is how we could phrase it. There are things that are born out of love:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)

Paul is not giving us a set of rules here but is telling us the natural results of love. When we are possessed by the love of Jesus we are compelled to live in this. When we are possessed by his love we can't bring ourselves to hate our enemy. We can't yell at our spouse or children. We can't harbour resentment or hurt feelings. Our natural reaction is to forgive. It is not something we work at; it is something we are.

It annoys me when people try to get others to conform to "rules" they have picked out of the Bible. Jesus said if we love him we will obey him. He didn't just say obey me. God said that we needed to love him with our entire being. Love is what comes first, followed by a desire to obey, because obedience is born out of love. If you don't love Jesus then you are just going to be another religious nut trying to conform people to a set of rules.

Under that title in Colossians 3 we find these instructions:

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. (Colossians 3:18-21)

People do treat this as a set of rules. They say "The Bible commands us to love our wives" but if that is how we see it we will never manage it. Love cannot be dictated. Instead, be possessed by Jesus and you will be compelled by that love to love others. In this way wives will respect and love their husbands. Husbands will love their wives and never abuse them. Children will obey their parents, not out of fear but out of love and respect. Fathers will be consistent in their application of love to their children and thus never embitter or discourage them. Not because of a set of rules but because they are compelled by love.

People only struggle in their walk with Jesus because they haven't learned to be possessed by his love. They are treating Jesus like Gandhi, with a set of rules and good sayings to hang on the wall, publish on the internet and they honestly try to follow them. When we are possessed by the love of Jesus the Word will be written on our heart, becoming part of us and we naturally live it in love. There is a difference between conformity and transformation. The love of Jesus does not conform but transforms.

Christ Is All, And Is In All

Looking at the history of the Church it is not hard to tell that transformation was not always understood. For far too long the Church was used by powerful men to get what they wanted. It was a tool used to hold power over the masses. Much of our history is a thing of shame. Remnants remained but the vast majority of people had no idea what it was to be alive in Jesus. This is seen in the dark parts of our history when men and women were judged because of their nationality or the colour of their skin.

I think one of the most beautiful, poetic and truly wonderful verses of the Bible is this:

Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Colossians 3:11)

I think Jesus demonstrated this fact when he chose Matthew, the tax collector, and Judas, the Zealot, to be his disciples. When we are in Jesus, it does not matter our trade, nationality, skin colour, education, financial situation or position in society; we are all his disciples and all that matters to us is Jesus.

There are really only two groups on the face of this planet: those who are a new creation and those who are enslaved to their sin nature. That is all that we should see as a people alive in Jesus. We should know God's heart for those who are enslaved and we should share that heart. All of our focus and desire should be to see the enslaved set free because that is all our Father desires and it is the reason Jesus died. It is why you are where you are right and our desire should be to see everyone come to the same place of freedom.

We accept and believe with all our heart what John 3:16 says, that "whoever" believes will be saved. There is no prejudice in the Body of Christ. There is no judgement. There is no special or select group of people. Everyone has been called to repentance. Everyone has been called to Jesus. He was lifted up that all eyes would look upon him and be saved. Salvation is for everyone and to everyone we must bring it.

You don't need to go out of your country to find those who are enslaved; they exist on your street. In my province 0.3% of the population are born again Christians. There are a lot of people enslaved on my street, in my town and I have been given the responsibility to lift Jesus up to them. It doesn't matter the language they speak or the religion they belong to. It doesn't matter their age or sex. It doesn't matter if they are rich or poor. They need Jesus and I have to tell them about him.

What is your focus? Where is your heart? What is your mind set upon? Do you possess the mind of Christ? Do you share God's desire? Have you been transformed or conformed? Are you on a mission? Do you want to see the captives set free? Then go, make disciples of everyone.  

Liar, Liar

The habit of lying is a hard thing to stop once we have started. Why did we start? There are all kinds of reasons why people start. Sometimes it is a self-preservation thing. It started young when our mom's would ask us questions like "Who left the milk out?" Then there are the embellishment lies with our friends; the proverbial "fish story". These lies make us look good. There are the vengeance lies, to get an enemy in trouble. There are lots of different lies and lots of different reasons why we lie and once started it is hard to stop.

However, lying does not belong to the children of God. Our God hates falsehood and part of our transformation is to destroy the need for lies. It was part of our old nature, but now we are a new creation, with new and better habits; ones that glorify Jesus:

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. (Colossians 3:9-10)

The reasons for lying have been taken away. No longer is self the center of our being. We have no reason for self-preservation. We do not need to make ourselves look good. We have no hatred or ill-will toward our enemy. Jesus has become our everything and our only desire is to bring him glory and to allow his character to shine through us. Everything has changed. What once was is no more. A creation never seen before stands in its place; a blending of God and us; transformed by the power of God. Our hearts and minds have been changed forever, and our bodies will soon follow.

Yet, you might still be stuck in that habit. The reason for it is gone but the habit remains. It is similar to smoking. There is usually a reason why people start. Could have been a rebellious act, a thing to still nerves, a response to depression or stress. The reasons are gone but the habit is fixed and hard to break. How do you break the habit of lying? By telling the truth.

Every time you catch yourself in a lie, stop and tell the truth. Apologize and reverse course. Yes, it is embarrassing but after a few embarrassing incidents you will start avoiding the lie and the Spirit of God will lend you strength. "I'm sorry, I have no idea why I said that. The truth of the matter is ...." "I'm sorry, that was a le. The truth is ..."

Take off the old self with it's practices and put on the new self.

The new creation that we are is made in the image of our Creator. The transformation happened and is continuing to happen. The cross changed us and gave us the capacity to carry God's image so the transformation is ongoing. As we gain more knowledge of him we become more like him. We are being renewed in this knowledge. Now you have the knowledge that lying does not belong to our new nature; go and sin no more.

Waking Up To Holiness

It seems for the last week the Holy Spirit has been pushing the point that we are to be transformed not conformed to the righteousness of God. Perhaps it is because of the fasting many people are doing. I really hope that everyone is participating in the fast with the right motivation and understanding and aren't doing the old Lent thing people used to do for Easter. People would give up something minor to identify with the suffering of Jesus. As if giving up coffee or television could ever help us identify with the beating, suffering and crucifixion of Jesus.

Fasting should help us see the things that need to be changed in our life so there can be more of Jesus and less of us. There should be a throwing out of things to make room for the Holy Spirit. There should be a throwing off of things that do not belong to our new nature so the glory of Jesus can shine in us. But, as we discussed yesterday, it is only possible when we have died and been raised to live in Jesus. The transformation must have started in order for us to possess the power and authority to "put to death" the things that belong to the old nature from which we were just transformed.

If you have been saved, put to death with Jesus on the cross, and raised with him according to your faith in the power of God to do so, then you have the power to get rid of those things that have had authority over you for years. We read in Colossians 3:

You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. (Colossians 3:7-8)

Again, it must be stressed, this cannot be done from a self-help, self-improvement mentality and perspective. If you have tried to improve yourself, and failed, it is because you are not doing it within the power of the transformation. It means you are trying to do it in your own authority and without Jesus you have no authority over your sin nature. You honestly have to die with Jesus and be raised to life as a new creation in the power of God. Christianity is not something to be trifled with; it is a transforming power that changes what you were. Christians are actually a bunch of aliens walking around on this planet, no longer natives to this world, no longer fitting in.

If you have gone through the transformation, you possess the power and authority of Jesus to put to death these things that no longer are part of you. You can get rid of that anger that once possessed you, the rage that overwhelmed you. Malice and slander no longer feel natural to your lips and actually leave a sick feeling in your stomach. Filthy language tastes like bile so that even in the worse moments of your day only praises of our King occupy your tongue. If any of these things still belong to you I suggest you examine closely your relationship with Jesus, whether it is an honest one or not.

We no longer belong to this world so we do not conform to its patterns, its way of thinking, its perspective. We no longer try to go with the flow or fit in. Being popular or accepted is no longer our goal or concern. To live our transformed lives to the glory of Jesus Christ and to walk in obedience to his purpose for us is what we desire. And it is to a re-awakening of this understanding that I hope your fasting is moving you toward. Through the transformation of your life in Jesus, you have been given the power over sin in your life and for the sake of your relationship with Jesus I pray you are exercising that power.

These Are Improper For God's Holy Children

I have preached it hundreds of times and I will continue to push it: The Church is not about conformity but transformation. We preach too many sermons that resemble self-help, self-empowerment seminars. Christianity is not about positive thinking. It is not even about possibility thinking. It is not about conforming to a certain set of principles and rules. It is a difficult thing for some people because Christianity is about the transforming love of God forming us into the image of the Son. It is about a force other than self-will re-birthing us into something new.

Wherever we find lists of what we are not to be and what we are to be as followers of Jesus we need to see them as road signs. It is reminding us that if we see these things in our lives that we know something is wrong in our relationship with Jesus. For instance, we read this in Ephesians 5:

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. (v. 3)

I appreciate how Paul states this so simply: Because these are improper for God's holy people. If you find these things in your life there is a problem in the relationship. The power of God's transformation has been blocked and we have allowed sin to take the throne again. Without Jesus we have no power of our own to refuse the authority of these things over us, but with Jesus we have been freed from such authority and have the power to reject such things from our life. Emphasis here on the authority of Jesus.

You can try to stop sinning all you want, you can approach it from will power, and self-determination, but the only thing that prevents sin is when we allow the character of Jesus to assume the throne of our being. As the character of Jesus replaces our character, as the power of the Spirit permeates our every fibre, as the love of God becomes the motivation of everything we do, things change:

Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. (v. 4)

What once belonged to our sin nature is evicted in favour of the character of Jesus. Thanksgiving should be the theme of everyday and it is, when we allow Jesus to be our everything. If we hold anything back we are giving a foothold for our old nature to get back in. Our part in the transformation is to permit it to happen, to surrender every day to God's will, to daily die to ourself, seeking the control of the Spirit. Seriously, the only thing that should matter to us every day is Jesus and our obedience to him.

We live in an age where people excuse away what is "improper" for God's "holy" people. We see double-mindedness, hearts that are divided, and a lot of carnal attitudes. Sexual immorality is accepted in the Church under the pressure of society. Let's be clear on this, sex outside of marriage is not acceptable among God's holy people, neither is homosexuality nor anything else that is birthed from the self-centeredness of sin. People can lie to themselves all they want, they can harden their hearts to the conviction of the Spirit but the sign posts are there for a reason. If you have any part in these things you have no part in Jesus.

The fact remains, when we live a surrendered life to the glory of Jesus the transformation process continues. We are a new creation. The old has gone; the new has come. We have thrown off the old garment and have been clothed in the new. We no longer think and act like those who belong to the darkness but instead are now possessed by the mind of Christ. We need to remember this because as we work with the Father in the rescue of the lost, the power of sin continues to call to us, selfish attitudes creep in, sin threatens to overwhelm. We must, at all times, keep our eyes on Jesus and surrender ourselves daily to his authority and power. We do not control ourselves but instead allow the Spirit of God to control us. We are the holy children of God, given to the transforming power of God, not the conformity of man.

We Need The Holy Spirit!

The Body of Christ has a similar problem to a lot of North American bodies. Don't you find it strange that after all these years of diet products the rate of obesity is still climbing. Worse yet, now that we have had a couple of generations of this problem, and with the dawn of video game systems, child obesity is reaching epidemic levels. Aside from the original problem of people not eating and exercising properly, the solutions are the wrong solutions for people who are obese. Like everything else in life we look for short cuts and that one elusive miracle product. We follow one plan but it isn't working fast enough so we switch to another one, and then the new craze hits and we grab hold of that. The fact is there is only one real solution, complete life-style change. Food intake has to change; an healthy active life must be developed; regular, purposeful exercise must be done. I find it interesting how this relates to the Church.

A problem in the Body of Christ is our attitude toward quick fixes, short cuts, "x number of steps" books and programs that promise us instant spiritual success. We fail to understand that the Church is not some kind of system for self-improvement but is instead a relationship which we must immerse ourselves in completely. To be a Christian requires an acceptance that everything is going to change. In Matthew 3 we are introduced to John, the cousin of Jesus, who is the prophet sent to prepare the way for Jesus. We find him baptizing people for repentance. A great many people were coming to experience this baptism, desiring to turn their lives around and come closer to God. However, John had a warning for people if they thought this was the quick fix:

"I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matthew 3:11)

This is an important point to make because some of the problem I see is that parts of the Church are getting obese from the attitude that all that is required is repentance. It is fine to say you are sorry about your offenses but what are you going to do about it? Many people have been sorry in the past and repented, making offerings to God in the desire for forgiveness, but the change was superficial. This is my fear that much of the change we are seeing in people is superficial as they repent, seek forgiveness but fail to allow God to deal with the root of the problem. The root, being the heart, can only be dealt with when we are baptized with the Holy Spirit. This is when our entire thinking and feeling changes as we are made into a new creation. We are born a second time and the transformation begins in earnest.

Consider Peter for a moment. He was a great follower of Jesus and he was a great failure. He made tons of mistakes even though he was being taught directly by Jesus. We know that there were some changes in Peter while he was with Jesus but they were not as deep as they needed to be. It was not until Peter received the Holy Spirit that we see the remarkable change in this fisherman. There is a huge difference between Peter of the gospels and Peter of Acts. The difference being the baptism of the Holy Spirit.

There is a great danger of people staying on the surface with the acts of repentance and forgiveness. As important as these are even John knew that we require more. As the Apostle Paul was coming into Ephesus for the start of his great ministry in the region, he came across a group of believers. But there was a problem:

While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?"
      They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?"
      "John's baptism," they replied.
Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. (Acts 19:1-6)

The Body is growing obese on repentance and is failing to plunge into the full transformation and power that Jesus Christ offers us through the Spirit. We need to leave behind the milk and desire solid food, healthy food. We need to stop searching for diet products and systems and be transformed into a healthy life-style. God has called us to healthy and productive activities that will see us changed and the world impacted for Jesus Christ. There is no other solution for a life spent in service to Jesus, we have to plunge in, from head to toe, with nothing held back. We must go beyond repentance and desire to live in the power of the Holy Spirit. It is in this transformation that we are taught how to love, forgive, have compassion, live mercy and serve with no reluctance. Without it we are only playing around at the edges, repenting and trying to make ourselves feel better about life. There is a big difference between dangling your feet in the water on the edge of the pool and diving in the deep end. This is the difference between John's baptism of repentance and Jesus' baptism of the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit!