Freedom Is An Illusion

Freedom is an illusion. You are not free to do whatever you want to do, especially if what you want to do is outside of the law. When we are young we all look forward to the freedom of adulthood, but all adults know the many things that destroy any thought of being free. It is no different for those who avoid the "control" of Yahweh.

I have spoken to countless people who believe that religion is intended to control and enslave us. They really believe that they are free without Jesus. Many are so blind that they can't see that they aren't even in control of their emotions or their tongue, let alone their actions and their environment.

Yesterday I couldn't get past this verse from Colossians :

He rescued us from the control of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. He set us free through the Son and forgave our sins. (1:13-14)

We can't mistake the language here, "control of darkness", "transferred", "set us free". Do we trust and and believe the Word? Do we accept the language here that conveys the truth of what Father has done for us through the Son? Then consider what Jesus taught:

“I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave to sin. A slave isn’t a permanent member of the household, but a son is. Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you really will be free." (John 8:34-36)

This is the condition of everyone before the blood of Jesus is applied; we are slaves to sin, with an illusion of control but possessing no control. We can't stop ourselves from doing the things that offend the holiness of Yahweh. Father loves us too much to want us to be under the control of darkness so he set us free through the Son. But that freedom is freedom from the control of sin, not free to do whatever we want. Paul explains it:

Don’t you know that if you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, that you are slaves of the one whom you obey? That’s true whether you serve as slaves of sin, which leads to death, or as slaves of the kind of obedience that leads to righteousness. But thank God that although you used to be slaves of sin, you gave wholehearted obedience to the teaching that was handed down to you, which provides a pattern. Now that you have been set free from sin, you have become slaves of righteousness. (Romans 6:16-18)

Wow! These verses speak life into us as we realize the extent of what Father has done for us through the Son. Indeed, we are set free from the control of darkness and are made alive in Jesus. Sin no longer controls us! So now we lay down our lives in gratitude and love, and are controlled by his righteousness. Look what Paul concludes:

But now that you have been set free from sin and become slaves to God, you have the consequence of a holy life, and the outcome is eternal life. The wages that sin pays are death, but God’s gift is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (v. 22-23)

There is a cost to being a disciple of Jesus, obedience in love. Paul used the metaphor of slavery to paint the picture of what attitude we need to adopt here. Now consider again the verse from Colossians:

He rescued us from the control of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. He set us free through the Son and forgave our sins.

We have been adopted and have been placed in the Kingdom. We have been taken from the enemy's camp and brought into the camp of Light. We are Kingdom dwellers, citizens, followers, believers. So let's start behaving like citizens, throwing off the old slave master and submitting ourselves to the law of righteousness that comes from love. If we love him, we will obey.

The Atmosphere Of Obedience

It seems the constant theme for my life these days is obedience. "It's great to say that we are Christian but if we aren't doing what Jesus told us to do then we aren't who we say we are." "Go ahead and say that you love Jesus but prove it in living his commands." These are the sort of things I have been dealing with for the past month, in the Word, in meditation, in relationships, in work. Obey.

If we are willing to examine it, most of our problems come down to disobedience, whether on purpose or through ignorance. We cause ourselves a lot of grief by not knowing and obeying the instructions Jesus gave us. Most people I see quoting Scripture verses and passing on good thoughts to others know almost nothing about what Jesus taught. But obedience didn't start with Jesus. It is something Yahweh has required of his people since the beginning.

He demanded it from Adam and Eve.

He demanded it from Noah.

He demanded it from Abraham.

He demanded it from Moses.

He demanded it from Israel.

In fact, he laid out all of his expectations to the people of Israel; he taught them his Law. He told them that they were free to go on their way, but if they chose to be his people then he would hold them accountable to the Law. Obedience was not optional and disobedience would be punished. Those are the simple facts.

It isn't that Yahweh is being mean about this. If we want a proper, intimate and blessed relationship with him, obedience must be a given. But this is not a reluctant obedience. It doesn't work with reluctance because Yahweh is looking for a people who will chose to obey because they love him. Jesus said it plainly, "If you love me, you will keep my commands." (John 14:15) And a little further on: "Whoever loves me will keep my word." (v. 23) No wiggle room there. Obey out of love.

Disobedience is a battle in us. It disturbs our peace. It causes problems. It makes us stumble. It keeps us dissatisfied, with an unfulfilled longing. But obedience allows for Yahweh's blessings to flow:

Everyone who honors the Lord,
        who walks in God’s ways, is truly happy!
You will definitely enjoy what you’ve worked hard for—
    you’ll be happy; and things will go well for you. (Psalm 128:1-2)

That's just a sample of the many Scriptures that lift up the benefits of a right relationship with Yahweh. The simple truth is that Father wants to flood our lives with his blessings but no parent can bless disobedience. Disobedience interrupts the flow of relationship, of growing together, of oneness. Obedience creates an atmosphere that allows this relationship to flourish.

If we want to walk in the ways of our God, memorizing the Law will not help, because you can't do it. That's why Jesus had to die in our place. He had to fulfill the requirements of the Law. Instead, concentrate on developing a love for the Lord which will allow for intimacy. This love will provoke you to obey because you want to please the one you love not because you are trying to manipulate him with your actions. As the old chorus goes: "Trust and obey, because there is no other way to be happy in Jesus, then to trust and obey."

Limiting Our Freedom

I have six daughters, five sons and two grandsons. I have experienced a lot of things in and through this small tribe. Yet, they continue to surprise me.

Yesterday my wife came in to say that she had it with my 11 year old son. He is a great boy but he is a typical boy; he is loud and full of energy. Lately, when we have to correct him, he uses the argument, "I'm not free to be me". Yesterday, he was disturbing his siblings. We homeschool through a great Christian school online and part of the day they all have to concentrate to complete their studies. But this one son was disturbing the others by exercising his freedom to be "me".

I explained to him that I love him just as he is; that I am glad God made him just as he is. I told him he is free to be who God made him to be but there are times, because of love, we limit our freedom for the sake of other people.

He didn't quite understand.

I explained that we are instructed in the Bible that we have been given freedom in Jesus, but because of love, we will need to curb our freedom when our freedom brings harm to a brother or sister:

You were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only don’t let this freedom be an opportunity to indulge your selfish impulses, but serve each other through love. (Galatians 5:13)

Paul follows this with one of the foundational characters that has been birthed in us:

All the Law has been fulfilled in a single statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. (v. 14)

I explained to my son that because he loves his brothers and sisters, he will choose to limit his freedom for their sake. This is a tough lesson even for mature adults.

My son took this lesson and went upstairs. A while later he asked my wife what it feels like to be saved. She told him it can be different for different people; some feel great joy at the revelation of Jesus' love for us, others might feel great relief and peace for the forgiveness of their sins. He asked her if it ever feels different in the body because suddenly his heart was tingling. She reminded him that he had already accepted Jesus but he told her that he was now old enough to understand, so he made the decision again, just then.

I seems that, as I spoke to my son, he was given a revelation of love and that revelation provoked him to desire that love in a tangible way. My 11 year old son honestly and openly accepted Jesus as his Lord and Saviour, on his own, with no mediator and no coach. And we have been witnessing the authenticity of this decision by the actions he has been taking ever since.

May we all respond to Jesus' love in this same manner, that we would live lives of sacrificial love for the sake of others.

Controlled or Controller?

So much of our life is spent trying to control our life; the circumstances, consequences, behaviours and people. But control is an illusion in this world. People think they are in control but so many things control people. Just our habits alone exert a great deal of control over us. Food is a big controller. Entertainment also wields control over our thinking and behaviour. If you ever want to see what has control over you, do a 21 day fast, living on only water. It certainly reveals a lot.

It was coming out of just such a Fast that I was reading the passage about Zacchaeus. He was a wealthy tax collecter; a ruler of tax collectors. But he was also a man who had developed an interest in Jesus. Most people would remember him as the man who climbed a tree to see Jesus, because he was too short to see over the crowd. Jesus saw him, the effort he had made to climb that tree, and invited himself to Zacchaeus' home for a meal.

Something happened in that quick exchange, something wonderful in Zacchaeus' spirit. Salvation came to his heart and we can see it in his response to the criticism that followed. The religiously minded always criticize what they themselves have never experienced:

"Everyone who saw this grumbled, saying, 'He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.'" Luke 19:7

Praise the Lord that Jesus sees the heart. In this case Zacchaeus' response demonstrated that there was real change. The thing that had possessed him, controlling him, had lost it's control as he welcomed Jesus as Master of his life. That's what Jesus does, he strips away the things that had control over us and then hands to us the control over these things:

"Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, 'Look, Lord, I give half of my possessions to the poor. And if I have cheated anyone, I repay them four times as much.'" Luke 19:8

This is quite a change for a man who was a ruler of tax collectors; tax collectors being a group of men who were considered traitors of Israel and who liked to line their pockets by charging extra tax. So here this man repents of what he was and offers to give it all away. Jesus' reaction tells the full story:

"Today salvation has come to this household." 18:9

Contrast this to the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and who Jesus told to sell all he possessed and follow him. That man could not give up what possessed him and he walked away still under its control.

I appreciate this imagery that we have of one who was controlled becoming the controller because of Jesus. This is what Jesus has done for us, if only we would understand and embrace it. Nothing in this world has power or authority over you. "Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you really will be free." (John 8:36)

The enemy does not give up easily. He tries to convince us that nothing has control over us, that we are already free. Do circumstances get you down? Do people offend you? Does illness cripple you? Are you limited by finances? Does tiredness stop you? How much time on the Internet / television / music? Are you able to say no to your cravings? I think you may be surprised by how many things have power over you. But they don't really have control, they are only a shadow of what they were before Jesus took over your life. Jesus intends for you to be well with joy and peace constantly.

My friends, it is time to rise up and take control with the authority Jesus has given you through him. Be a Zacchaeus and give it all away; Jesus has something better for you.

Love Must Always Be A Choice

How much freedom is too much? We like to imagine ourselves to be free but our freedom has limitations. We can't do whatever we want whenever we want because we live in a society where certain freedoms must be limited in order to protect other members of the same society. If we ever get to the place of complete freedom we will have arrived at anarchy, and I don't think any of us really want to experience such complete freedom. Yet, this is the freedom that our Creator gave to us.

Yahweh desires true love and love is not true if it is coerced, manipulated or forced. If you want to go out and murder someone he is not going to stop you, even though he has expressed how he is against it. His desire is for intimacy with you, to walk and talk with you, to be your support, helper, encourager, enabler, Father; but you have the freedom to completely reject him and run in the opposite direction. That is the risk of love.

Like everything else, there are always consequences to freedoms acted upon. Very few of us truly understand what we become without our Creator. We were created to be complete in fellowship with him. Without him we do not have what we need and there is a lack for proper understanding and perspective. When we reject him he leaves us to ourselves and that is never good:

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. (Romans 1:24-25)

We need our Creator. We need our Father. We need him and are dependent on him. True freedom is found in him through Jesus Christ; freedom to be everything he intended us to be. We have this mistaken notion that we give up our freedom when we follow Jesus Christ but the fact is we are slaves to our nature without Jesus. We can't do the things our spirit desires to do because our nature keeps us down, oppressed and limits our ability to grow as we were intended.

The world thinks it is free. People think they are doing what they want to do. They don't always understand their distorted desires but they know they can pursue them if they want. If only they knew that those desires are like a cancer eating away at their healthy tissue. They are being deformed, destroyed, and pushed toward death all the while thinking this is their choice, their freedom.

Our challenge is to not fall back into this deception while trying to reveal it to the people we meet. People don't want to hear it; they don't want to believe they have been deceived, that everything is a deformed image of the real beauty that Yahweh created. It is hard to tell a deaf man that he is deaf or to tell a blind man the colour of the sky. But nothing is impossible with Jesus; nothing!

Jesus came to free us up to make a choice because before him we had no choice; we were enslaved to our nature. He cast out demons so people were free to hear his message. He destroyed the power of sin over us so that we were free to hear and to choose. Love dictates that we must have the freedom to choose him or to reject him, and that is the choice that rests in front of all of us. The Church has sinned in the past by trying to force people to love Yahweh but thankfully that is no longer the problem. However, because the Church no longer tries to control people, we see in society the results of the choices that are being made. But this should also mean that the light is as light as the dark is dark. I hope you can understand.

The Problem Of Spiritual Blindness

I cannot imagine what it would be like to be blind for life. I can close my eyes and have a moment of understanding but I also live with the reality that all I need do is open my eyes and I will see my smiling child's face, or the beauty of the sunrise, or the words of my book, or the colours of the day. I cannot know what it is to live with the reality of living in blindness to the wonderful sights of this world. But far worse is the reality of living with spiritual blindness.

Unfortunately spiritual blindness is in epidemic proportions in the Church. We sit next to people every Sunday who have no more than a surface understanding of Christ. They live with a shallowness of faith that perpetuates their blindness while they have no clue, thinking themselves to be mature and in good standing. They may get angry a lot, perhaps even abusive, constantly make decisions to their own profit, focus everything on them, see everything with themselves in the center and experience life according to their emotions, but in their own eyes they are okay because they go to church.

Due to the shallowness of their faith they go no further than adopting the moral benefits of the Scriptures. They even adopt Jesus' teachings and do their best to apply it to their lives. They do it without ever experiencing Jesus himself. It is possible to change things by living on the surface of faith, holding onto a shallow explanation. Behaviours can be changed by human will, we can conform to our environment, we can speak boldly, testify to Jesus' greatness and yet not possess Jesus Christ.

In Matthew 16 we find the disciples in a boat with Jesus. He has just feed the crowd of four thousand and has dealt with the religious leaders who demanded a sign from him. The disciples were talking among themselves because they just realized that they had forgotten to bring bread. At that moment Jesus started to warn them against the yeast of the religious leaders. We read this:

And they reasoned among themselves saying, "It is because we have taken no bread." (v. 7)

It had nothing to do with the bread they had forgotten and everything to do with the mindset and teaching of the spiritual leaders of the day. Jesus was warning them to stay clear of such nonsense because the leaders thought that by following strict teaching on the Law and traditions that they would earn their salvation. But the disciples were too dull spiritually to understand. They reasoned among themselves that it must have something to do with the bread they had forgot to bring. Even though they were taught by Jesus, hung out with him, saw all the miracles, they could not get past the surface understanding. They did not have faith, yet.

It is possible to gain all kinds of moral benefits from Scripture but that isn't the point. The point is to possess and be possessed by Jesus. Salvation requires faith and faith is a gift from Father. Only faith will allow us to go to the depths of the Word. Only faith will give us eyes to see the spiritual behind everything in our day. Only faith lifts us above the physical to dwell in the spiritual. Only faith allows us to see, hear and speak with Jesus.

The Word is not about morality although it contains much of it. The Word is about revealing the heart of Yahweh, his love for us, and his great plan to rescue us. The morality is a fruit of this great revelation, that, as we accept Jesus, we are transformed into a child of Yahweh and the fruit of morality is produced as we take off our old garments and put on the new. I always found that the Spirit spoke the truth with such eloquence through Paul in Romans 12:

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)

The rebirth of our mind, so that we can see, understand and accept the will of Father. The death of spiritual blindness is the embrace of the faith that Father gives to us as a gift. We cannot generate faith on our own, we do not possess the capability. If we ask for it Father will provide it and then we will dive past the shallowness of understand and find great wealth in the depths of faith.

Do not satisfy yourself with the shallow understanding of conformity but instead have your eyes fully opened to the wonders of the transformation Father desires for you through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. Do not find satisfaction in your blindness but desire Jesus with all your heart. Seek his face and you will find him. Step into the light and the darkness will fall away. You will see, you will understand and you will be glad for it. The only problem is that the blind seldom realize they are blind.

What To Do When Sin Keeps Knocking

There is a lot of garbage going on which is shooting holes in the faith of many people. When you start wiping out sections of the Word it leaves you wide open to the influence of the enemy. Without the Word you have no solid ground to stand on. That is going to leave you wide open to all kinds of twistings to the morality taught by the Word of God.

As if things weren't already bad enough.

People have always struggled over sin because they try to take it on themselves. They don't understand that sin was defeated by Jesus on the cross and not by our conviction that it is wrong. Conviction has us turn to the only one who can give us freedom; Jesus. Jesus defeated sin and we have been set free so we walk in that freedom.

But what do we do when we keep being defeated by temptation?

We need to understand the nature of temptation. It is attractive. That is how it is designed, to be attractive. It wants to grab our attention and cause us to look at it. It wants to capture our attention so that our heart and mind are distracted from their intended focus. Just look how it played out for Eve:

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. (Genesis 3:6)

Eve had successfully fended off the initial lie of the enemy. When he suggested that Eve had misunderstood what Yahweh had said, she told him exactly what he said. That would be great for some leaders to remember these days. But then he managed to convince Eve to consider the fruit. Eve saw the tree. She thought about it, set her mind on it and considered that it was good for food.

Rationalization.

It is dangerous when we start to rationalize sin.

As she continued to look on that forbidden thing her rationalization made it become attractive. It became pleasant to her eyes. That rationalization progressed to the point where the attraction became a desire and she convinced herself that it would actually prove beneficial even though it was disobedient to Yahweh. 

All because she gave her mind and her heart to that thing when they actually belonged to someone else.

How do you resist temptation? Cut it off at the roots. Get your mind and heart off of that thing and get them where they belong:

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

Don't make the excuse that the temptation is too strong for you. It has no power over you because sin was stripped of it's power. Now it comes down to your love. Who do you love more, Jesus Christ who died for you, or yourself with all your selfish desires?

Sin has been defeated. Satan has been defeated. You only have one King. Get your eyes off of the "tree" and on the King. Get you mind and heart out of the garbage and get them set on the Kingdom things. Decide who you love and act accordingly. He has empowered you to live a godly life. It's your choice.

Look in the mirror and speak the truth into your life, "I am set free!"

Failing To Fully Possess What Has Been Promised

Too many of us are not fully possessing what Jesus intended for us to possess. We have been offered the fullness of Christ and instead we satisfy ourselves with a few crumbs. We are repeating exactly what the Israelites did when they were offered the Promised Land. They never fully possessed it. Some of the tribes took what was given to them but others never did. Even the tribes that did take their possession did not flush out and destroy the other nations like they were instructed to do. And it came to pass exactly what Yahweh warned them would happen, that if they left any of those he sent them to destroy, they would be influenced to turn to other gods.

It's difficult for us to image what Israel could have been and how Yahweh would have been glorified, if only Israel had obeyed:

Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them. But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance.

Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: “How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?" (Joshua 18:1-3)

How long will we neglect to possess all that Jesus has promised us? When he saved us he made us a new creation; no longer bound to this place; no longer bound to sin; no longer bound to the systems of man; no longer bound to the patterns of this world, we were set free to be fully possessed by the Holy Spirit, to be filled by the power of Jesus Christ, the resurrection power, free to be fully obedient to our Father's will. But we have failed.

We have failed to allow our love for the things of this world to die. We have allowed things to keep residence. We have allowed strongholds to remain and we still sacrifice at the high places. These things continue to pollute us, to influence our heart and mind. They drain goodness from us and cause us to have a divided loyalty. We want friendship with the world and friendship with Jesus, but it doesn't work that way.

To be fully possessed means to have one Master, one Lord, one King. To be fully possessed is to be fully committed to walking in Jesus' footsteps, to doing the Father's will, to obeying the Holy Spirit. It is a commitment to live by the Word of Yahweh and not by opinion. It is a full denial of yourself and a complete acceptance of Yahweh's wisdom.

We are serving in a half measure and expecting full benefits. But there is not half anything in the Kingdom; no half measure, half effort, half hearted, half minded. It is all or nothing:

He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. (Matthew 10:37-38)

I am not exactly sure when or why we lost it but we did. We have allowed the world to possess more of us than we have in the last 100 years. Holiness is almost forgotten as we join in with a society that only lives to be entertained. We are failing to live the powerful godly lives that Jesus saved us to live for his glory, and I am convinced that the only way we can change it is if we encourage each other to turn and seek the face of Yahweh, the presence of our LORD. We need to make the decision to vanquish the strongholds in our lives and place Jesus solidly on the throne, with no hesitation and with all our heart. We need to seek purity in our lives once more that we would be available to be used by our King, to bring salvation to the land and glory to his name.

Say no to being entertained by the sins of this world and yes to serving Jesus with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul, and all your strength. Jesus must be our everything.

People Don't Want To Listen About Jesus

Have you noticed it is harder for people to accept Jesus Christ these days? You can present them with the truth of their condition, share your testimony and even share parts of the gospel to them, but they persist in their disbelief. You are doing all you can but nothing seems to be happening. Well, glory to Yahweh, you are at least planting a seed that the Holy Spirit will continue to work on. But why is it getting harder to share the good news of Jesus?

I believe I found a hint during my recent read-through of Exodus. Moses had already presented himself to Pharaoh and listed the demands of the LORD. In turn Pharaoh rejected the demands and ordered that hard labour of the Hebrew slaves to be increased by removing the provision of the straw for the making of bricks. Pharaoh knew what he was doing. By making them suffer because of Moses the people would turn on Moses.

Moses spoke to the people with the great news from the LORD, that he was rescuing them from their oppressors, taking them to a new land "flowing with milk and honey", and was claiming them as his children. This should have been absolutely fantastic news to them. In fact, they had never known the name of their God and here he revealed it as Yahweh, translated in our Bibles as "the LORD". This was an indication of the intimacy into which he wanted to bring them. But the people didn't want to listen. Life was hard enough. They could not lift their eyes beyond what they knew:

So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage. (Exodus 6:9)

Circumstances are a bit different today but it comes down to the same thing. People are lost in their "anguish of spirit" and their "cruel bondage". We know that bondage today to be the bondage of sin and how it keeps their spirit from the one who created them. I find it interesting that Jesus came with the same good news that Yahweh gave to Moses:

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me
    to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
    and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:18-19)

Jesus read these words of Isaiah as he proclaimed the beginning of his mission. He brought to us the good news. He came to proclaim freedom for the prisoner, sight for the blind, freedom from oppression and to announce the LORD's favor. We, like Moses, take these words to a people who are in "anguish of spirit" and lost in "cruel bondage", only they don't even realize it, just as the people around Jesus did not know.

How did Yahweh get through to the people? With a demonstration of his mighty power. He gave them signs and wonders to encourage them in their belief. How did Jesus wake the people up? With signs and wonders, a demonstration of his might, both to heal the body and the soul. How did Paul present the message of Jesus? By a demonstration of power:

My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power. (1 Corinthians 2:4-5)

What the captives of our age need are messengers who are not afraid to allow the LORD to work through us however he sees fit. Sometimes our testimony is enough to open a person's heart to the freedom of Jesus but other times that heart is so hard it takes a "demonstration of the Spirit's power". Don't be afraid to offer yourself fully to Jesus, to be used by him however he needs you, even if it is to work miracles. This generation is desperate for the Good News because they can't see beyond what they know.

Who Is Killing The Christmas Spirit?

To call people skeptical today is putting it rather mildly. We live in a tangible world where people claim to only believe what they can see and what they can put their hands on. We all think we are intelligent and trust that science will show us the way. But hold on. I am actually only describing a small portion of our society. Most people actually believe there is more than what they see.

Just consider some of the more popular shows on television that deal with ghosts, mediums and other spiritual matters. Why are these shows so popular? Because people want to believe in more than the physical world. There is part of us that we know is missing, that is not being fed, that we are not dealing with, and so we search.

There is always going to be part of us that struggles with believing what we cannot see or making assumptions about what we do see. There is so much about Jesus that people can not get past because of the skepticism that is so prevalent in us. We would rather believe in evil demons, vampires and werewolves then in a God of grace who wants to transform us into what he always intended us to be. People dismiss the Christmas story because of something as simple as this:

Therefore, the Lord will give you a sign. The young woman is pregnant and is about to give birth to a son, and she will name him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)

Only, this isn't found in the gospels but in the old prophecies. But people scoff at the idea of the virgin birth. They scoff at the baby in the manger. They scoff at the cross, the empty grave and the giving of the Holy Spirit. But behind their scoffing I think there is a bit of fear that they could be wrong. So they fight harder against it, attacking it and putting down the people who do believe, just to encourage themselves. Why is it so hard to believe in a Father, Creator, who loved us enough to go through all this trouble to rescue us from ourselves?

I actually don't think it is hard for them to believe as much as it is a desire to keep their independence. That is what the whole rebellion is about; us wanting to be our own gods. We want to be the master of our own destinies. We want to write our own stories. We want to call the shots. But that's because we don't know that we are already slaves. We think we are calling the shots but we are actually trapped by our sinful nature which never allows us to live up to our full potential. We can't live up to that potential except through the one who came to set us free.

So yes, it is getting harder to convince people to consider the goodness of God when they don't consider God to have any relevancy any more in our society. We will accept all other forms of spirituality but not that of a Creator who tells us we have to do it his way in order to have life in its fullest. People will accept the "magic" of Christmas but they will not bring themselves to actually believe in the one who we celebrate. Me thinks the end is approaching as hearts are hardened, eyes grow blind and ears are plugged. These are the things we were told to watch for, that would be obvious to those who choose to believe but hidden from this who choose themselves.

Skepticism is killing more than Christmas spirit.

Must We Sin?

Do we have to sin?

That depends if you are speaking of sins we are aware of or things we do that offend God of which we are not aware. Praise our Lord Jesus Christ that his grace covers all things we are blissfully unaware of so the question then is, are we able to avoid sins we do on purpose. The answer to that is, yes.

People mistakenly misuse the scripture where Paul stated what his struggle was with sin before accepting Jesus:

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)

Paul is describing what it is to be a slave to sin, the sin that is revealed by the perfect Law of God. But earlier Paul also wrote:

Don’t you know that you are slaves of anyone you obey? You can be slaves of sin and die, or you can be obedient slaves of God and be acceptable to him. You used to be slaves of sin. But I thank God that with all your heart you obeyed the teaching you received from me. Now you are set free from sin and are slaves who please God. (Romans 6:16-18)

So why is it that so often we fall back into sin? Why is it that we end up so weak? For the answer to that I think we need to consider king David.

In some ways this is comparing apples and oranges because we are now indwelt by the Holy Spirit and David was not. God applied a lot of grace to David in the same way he did to Abraham but today we live in a constant state of grace because of the blood of Jesus. However, there are certain behaviours that are similar that still get us in trouble.

The big difference between David and us is that David had no choice in his sin; he was a slave to it. His best chance was to avoid situations that would cause him to fall. As he stood on the roof top looking down on a bathing Bathsheba, David was a slave to his desires, but he shouldn't have been there. When you read the scriptures you discover that it was the time when kings went off to war, but David was not where he was suppose to be. He sent off his army and he stayed home, bored. Boredom is never a good thing. If David had been fulfilling his duties he would never have sinned and an innocent man would not have had to die.

Too often we decide to sin because we are not where we are suppose to be. And yes, I chose the word "decide"on purpose. In this age of grace, with the indwelling of the Spirit and the broken bonds of sin, we have to make a conscience decision to sin. We know what we are doing and decide to do it any way. It is not as Paul described what it was like before Jesus. We know him, have been freed by him, have the ability to decide for ourselves and are strengthened by the Spirit to do the right thing.

If we are where we are suppose to be in the Spirit, doing what we have been called to do, serving our Lord Jesus, then no temptation could ever overwhelm us. There is no reason why we must give in to sin, but we can make the decision to do it. When we are weak in our relationship temptation is strong. When we are strong in our relationship, temptation is weak.

Are we where we are suppose to be? Are we bored? Are we lending power to temptations? Then turn back as quickly as you can to Jesus. Who the Son has set free is free indeed.

In The Face Of Our Enemies

If you think we live in a wonderful world where cooperation and desire is all we need for world peace, you are either young or you have your head stuck in the sand. We live in a world where people of power only want more power and people of money only want more money. We live in a world where we do not want to be governed by rules but want to live by the desires of our heart. We are self-centered and hypocritical of our freedoms. We want freedom for ourselves at the same time we deny it to others.

We live in a world where life has no value except for our own. The whole world is hypocritical in it's values and freedoms, stating one thing and condemning another. But don't you dare point this out to anyone or you will become the next target. Is there any authority we can trust?

The answer to that question is yes but it is an authority that most continue to run from because it is an authority that dares say there is a right and wrong in this world and not everything is okay. It is an authority that draws a line and says there is holy and there is common, now be holy. That authority is our Father and our Father has placed all authority under his son, Jesus. What a foolish world we live in.

Our Father stated through the Psalmist:

Why do the nations plot,
    and why do their people
    make useless plans?
2 The kings of this earth
    have all joined together
    to turn against the Lord
    and his chosen one.
3 They say, “Let’s cut the ropes
    and set ourselves free!” (Psalm 2:1-3)

Freedom is a lie, an illusion at best. There is no such thing as freedom. People think they are free but they simply do what the father of lies has seeded in them to do. They think their ideas, their desires, their "freedoms" are original and earned but it is all an illusion. They parade down our city streets, fill the television and movie screens, sing about it and believe their loudness makes them right. They are nothing more than slaves to a madness that drives them further from the only love that can bring real freedom from such madness. But we who are in Christ must understand that we too are slaves.

Jesus did state that whoever he sets free is free indeed but the freedom he proclaimed is the freedom from the enslavement of our sin nature. This sin nature robs us of the ability to choose our Father's love. Jesus broke the power of sin over us so that we would have the true freedom of choice but once we made this choice we became slaves to our Father's righteousness, but a slavery of our choosing:

What does all this mean? Does it mean we are free to sin, because we are ruled by God’s wonderful kindness and not by the Law? Certainly not! Don’t you know that you are slaves of anyone you obey? You can be slaves of sin and die, or you can be obedient slaves of God and be acceptable to him. You used to be slaves of sin. But I thank God that with all your heart you obeyed the teaching you received from me. Now you are set free from sin and are slaves who please God. (Romans 6:15-18)

What an eye opener: Don't you know that you are slaves of anyone you obey? Freedom in society to do whatever we desire is only an illusion of freedom as we are enslaved to the sins that control us. The nations plot in vain; they cannot overcome the righteousness of our God. They can't touch his glory. They can't even approach his holy throne. But his children can; his children who walk in obedience to their Father. How awesome is our God? How wonderful that he would make this available to anyone who would choose to accept it?

Maybe if we saw ourselves in these crude human terms that pale in their explanation of our incredible relationship with our Father and his son, Jesus, we would stop struggling to be who he has crafted us to be. We have a freedom that few can understand. We are free from guilt, shame, fear, worry, mistrust, unforgiveness, revenge, hatred, sleeplessness, and everything else associated with a life enslaved to sin. We are so much more than this world can imagine and so is our Father and our King. So is the Church. So is prayer. So is a life of righteousness.

Stop being so concerned about the plots of this world, the governments, the nations and their people. God knows them and he knows the plans he has made for us, to build us up and not tear us down. The path of righteousness he has set us upon is an excellent path that brings us much joy to walk upon. So I ask you, Christian, who will you choose to serve this day? What freedom will you walk in? Will you lift your eyes to the heavens and declare before your enemies today:

BECAUSE YOU ARE MY GOD!

and walk the path set before you?

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.  

Don'T Let Someone's Opinion Shape You

We are free in Jesus and yet we allow ourselves to be enslaved by the opinions and words of other people. It is amazing and sad to watch people who know the Word allowing themselves to be swayed by someone who doesn't. There is something about man's traditions that still pull at us. Man's traditions tend to lean more to salvation by works than salvation by grace and such an attitude will kill you.

We have been set  free from such things so don't allow yourself to be enslaved again just because people do not know the Word. Your freedom is in Jesus and Jesus alone. Apostle Paul warned:

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. (Colossians 2:16-17)

Anything that God had established before Jesus was just a poor reflection. a mere shadow, of what is found in Jesus. The Temple, the sacrifices, the festivals conveyed a reality that we find in Jesus. So when we have Jesus we have it all. This is why the apostles taught that there is no longer any value in circumcision of the body when Jesus brings a circumcision of the heart. Before Jesus, there was one day set aside to celebrate God. The other days of the week there was not much thought other than work. Now, through Jesus, we are in the presence of God seven days a week and every day is a celebration of our God.

There are some Christians who do not observe Christmas or Easter. They celebrate the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus every day. A person is not more holy if he celebrates them and less holy if he doesn't. The only thing that matters is that everyone is alive in Jesus because everything is made complete in him. The celebrations of festivals is not what matters; it's the relationship with Jesus that does. The day of the week that believers meet together is not what is important; it's the meeting together to celebrate Jesus that does.

Traditions are hard to break out of because they are something tangible, concrete, measurable. We like things that are measurable; money in bank accounts, completed to do lists, report cards. We like to have our works and accomplishments measured and recorded. Our problem with Jesus is that he is all about relationship. Although there are some things that are slightly measurable in a relationship, like the time spent together, much of the quality of a relationship cannot be measured. This is why we measure it through acts of devotions, festivals, observances and traditions. But what was purposed for the enhancement of our relationship often takes away from it as it begins to replace the relationship.

It is like a husband and wife who set aside one night a week for a date night. The idea is to be a little more romantic and have some quality time together. But soon it becomes about the restaurant they choose or which movie to watch. The rest of the week they ignore each other, relying on that one night to make up for it. The purpose of that night, the building of a relationship, soon becomes the destroyer of the relationship.

Our Father completed the relationship through Jesus. We do not need any enhancements. If you are alive in Jesus you already have everything you need. Don't allow someone's opinion to add on to it. Don't let someone's lack of understanding over burden you. Don't permit someone's judgement effect your freedom in Jesus. To have Jesus is to have it all; you don't need anything else.

It's Not Enough To Know We Are Free

What a shame that people give authority to things that no longer have authority in their lives. It's like we hear the words proclaiming our freedom but we don't do anything about it. It's like someone who was enslaved all their lives having their chains removed but remaining in that place of enslavement. They can walk away at any time but they are so familiar with that place that they choose stay in that place.

Too often we are so familiar with what once enslaved us that we are afraid to move out into the unknown. It's not enough to hear the freedom proclaimed over us, we must have the faith to act on it. We must be willing to step away from the familiar and move in God's direction. It is not enough to know we are free, we have to act like we are free.

Listen to how completely free you are:

He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. (Colossians 2:13-15)

"Having disarmed the powers and authorities" means that they have no power over you who are saved by the blood of Jesus. But our Father wanted to make sure it was absolutely clear for us to see, so he put those disarmed powers and authorities on public display. The Word says he made a public spectacle of them. The world looks at the cross and sees defeat. We look at the cross and see the power and love of God triumphing over all evil in all of creation

This means that no matter what the enemy throws at you it has no power over you. No matter your circumstances, discouragements, needs, it has no power or authority over you. Your emotions once had you enslaved along with your intellect, but their authority has been stripped away and you have moved into a place of freedom from such things. Other people's actions and words use to pull at you like a puppet on a string, but those strings have been cut and you are far above those things.

There is nothing that can separate you from the love of Jesus. There is nothing that can force you to do what you do not want to do. Sin and circumstance have no power over you. You have the freedom to choose. You get to decide what enslaves you; sin our the righteousness of God. You no longer have the excuse, "the devil made me do it" because Satan has no power our authority over you. We only have one King and he loves us so much he died for us.

Freedom has been proclaimed over you but you need to trust the freedom giver enough to walk away from that place of enslavement. He has given you joy and peace. If you are not experiencing these things it means you are still in that place of enslavement. Trust God, step out and allow the love of God to be the only thing that reigns over you.

Stop Giving Sin Power

Stop giving power to sin. We do it all the time and we allow it to destroy our incredible relationship with Jesus. Sin has no more power; Jesus cut the power cord. Where once it threatened us with death, Jesus made it a pathetic shadow that quickly retreats when exposed by his light. It is us who are giving power back to it.

Sin used to be our master. We had no choice. We lived it its domain and when it commanded we had to obey. It was a dark, terrible place to be. All of us made a façade, an appearance of good, but our hearts and minds were polluted with the hidden things. We thought terrible thoughts and had terrible desires. We could try all that we wanted to change this but we had no power to throw off the tyranny of our master.

There is only one thing that could destroy the power of sin over us; death.

So Jesus came to represent all of us. When he was hung on the tree he became cursed of God. It was a thing God had written into the law long before that moment, in preparation for that moment. It was the only way that it could happen and the enemy didn't have a clue what was taking place. When Jesus was hung there we all hung with him. When he died we all died with him, just as we will all rise as he rose when we are called home. But it was in that moment of death that God's great grace was made available to all who would accept it.

When we accept Jesus we hang on the cross with him and die. We die and are separated from the tyranny of sin. Then we are raised in Jesus who becomes our source of life, now separated from the power of sin. Amazing stuff.

So why do we still give power to sin as if it still reigns over us?

Because we don't understand God's grace. We don't understand what Jesus has done. We don't understand that we have life only in him now. We are free from the tyranny of sin, although there may still be moments of weakness because our bodies have not yet been redeemed. Our bodies are weak but God is strong. It is the reason apostle Paul said he was convinced that God was able to preserve us until Jesus' return.

We have been called back to an innocent relationship with God. Adam was not sinless. The Word never says he was. But he was innocent. He had no idea if he offended God or did things that were not right. God just enjoyed this relationship, this beautiful friendship, and protected the innocence, telling them not to eat from that tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is only when they did that they felt shame. Innocence was lost. They knew the difference between right and wrong.

So we are called back to this place, made possible by God's grace. We are told to love him with our entire being. We are told to pursue his righteousness. We are told to find out what pleases Jesus and to do that. Stop looking for sin in your life. Stop trying to live the Ten Commandments. Love God and love others, then everything will fall into place. It is only if you become aware of sin, when the Spirit brings it to mind, that you need to deal with it. This is where we mess up.

Because we do not understand God's grace and we worry more about people than we do about Jesus, we make the mistake of hiding our sin. We are giving it back the power that was taken away from it. We become sin conscience. We fill up with worry, fear, anxiety and become tormented. Horrible. Terrible. Stupid on our part. Do what needs to be done. Keep sin without power in our lives:

Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. (Ephesians 5:11)

I know I keep writing on this but it's because people are not understanding. We have nothing to fear. If we are afraid it is because we do not understand or have not experienced Jesus' love. It is experiencing this love that convinces us of God's grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

We have to get our focus off of condemnation and onto the incredible forgiving relationship we have with Jesus. We are free. We have been set free by the one who longs for that friendship to return. Do not become a slave again to sin but instead become a slave to God's righteousness. Find out what pleases God and do that. Allow love to drive out fear. When you are aware of sin, it is a simple matter of confessing it and moving on in God's grace and this relationship of innocence. You are free my friend so act like it. Laugh, sing, shout, dance as you bask in the love and forgiveness of our God. God's grace is that bountiful, full, rich and absolutely free.

You Can Do Whatever You Want

You can choose to believe what you want. You can choose to believe that certain things of the Bible are cultural, no longer relevant and that God's love will win out in the end so that everyone will be saved. You can believe what was considered sin in the past is no longer sin today and that what was important is no longer important. You can believe these things but it doesn't make it right.

You can do whatever you want. For the most part society has thrown off the restrictive teaching of the Church and does whatever it sees fit. Forget society, the same attitude is found in the Church. Everyone wants to live the life they choose and they do not want to be judged for it.

There are Christians who will argue to my face that homosexuality is permitted by God. I visit their tumblr and find it filled with profanity, half-nude pictures and things that fly in the face of God's holiness. They are desperately seeking but never finding. There is no judgement in my heart or thoughts, only sorrow, because their tumblr is also filled with hurt, loneliness, fear, depression. All these things that Jesus saves us from but they have cut off the rescuer and have decided to do what they feel is right. The Church is filling up with these people but is no help to them.

The Church needs help. She does not need help or direction from the world or those lost in the world. She needs help from her source of existence, the Holy Spirit. She needs a cleansing, purifying, renewing moment with the Groom. She needs to remember that she is the Bride and stop prostituting herself.

We are a very intelligent people. God created us well. We can learn great things, build great things, achieve great things. We can honestly pretty well do what we want to do, whatever we put our mind to do. But that doesn't mean we should. We can build a church on our own strength. We can create powerful religions. We can start charities, climb mountains, fly to the moon. 

We can choose whatever path we want to in this life. We can become whatever we want to be. We can do whatever we want to do. We can carry the name Christian while we do it. We can convince ourselves of anything while we do it. We can do terrible things out of desperation and excuse it. It is amazing how the human mind and heart will distort values, truths and reality to preserve our psyche. But it still does not make it right.

We have certain freedoms in God's grace but it doesn't mean we should exercise them. God is very patient but it doesn't mean we should test his patience. We need to remember that even in this freedom we desire to be controlled by the Spirit. Yes, I said controlled. I need to be controlled because I do not trust my heart or mind. I don't trust my human nature. I don't trust my perception. I want to be controlled by the Spirit so I don't fill my life with emptiness but instead with the glory of Jesus.

The Spirit tells us this:

“Everything is permissible for me”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible for me”—but I will not be mastered by anything. “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food”—but God will destroy them both. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord,and the Lord for the body. (1 Corinthians 6:12-13)

There is absolute truth and it is not found in the thoughts of man. Yes, you can do what you want but not everything you do is beneficial. You can think what you want but not everything is truth. You can shape God however you want but it doesn't mean that idol you have created is God. We use to shape gods out of stone, wood, silver and gold. Now we shape gods out of words, thoughts and ideas. There's no difference, they are still not God.

If you face loneliness, depression, and feelings of being lost there is an answer. Set aside your idols and discover the real Jesus. You will discover the real meaning of what he meant when he said, "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed". Everything is permissible for me ( a lie from the enemy) but not everything is beneficial. Too many things in your life are poison to your soul. Discover the healer, the great lover of your soul.

Have Nothing To Do With Lies

Truth. We think we want it but when it presents itself we hate it. We think we want to know it but we really don't. We would rather our version of truth. We would rather reality be what we perceive it to be. We would rather twist truth into something that matches the desire of our heart. We would rather it be something that doesn't have a cost attached to it.

We can't handle the truth. There aren't many sources of truth. There aren't many versions. Truth is not abstract. True is absolute. And what the world can't stand is that truth has one name:

"I am the way and the truth and the life". - Jesus the Christ (John 14:6)

Do you have any idea how many times Jesus is quoted as saying, "I tell you the truth ..."? Look it up.

It is Jesus who said, "If you hold to my teachings, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32)

Truth is not found in the limited philosophy and knowledge of man. It is not even in our laws of "do" and "do not". We have a system that tried to make it a level playing field for everyone but there is no truth in it. There is no equality in our system, as hard as we try to believe there is. But there is a level playing field in Jesus. There is equality in Jesus. There is always equality in truth. There is freedom in truth. Freedom in Jesus.

We must hold to the teaching of Jesus Christ. We must do what he did. We must walk in his path. When we walk in the light we become children of the light. When we walk in the truth we become children of truth and no falsehood can be found in us. We cannot be of Jesus and speak lies. We cannot lie.

Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. From the bonds of sin. From the life of lies. There can be no falsehood in a child of God.

"Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbour, for we are all members of one body." (Ephesians 4:25)

What does it matter that we are all members of one body, the Church? The Church must be the safest place in all the world to bring light to the dark; to reveal falsehood and lies by the truth. The Church is a place of repentance and forgiveness. It is not a place where we accept and tolerate sin but it is a place where sinners find freedom in truth and forgiveness in love. What is truth? We were all sinners. We all have fallen short of the glory of God. While we were still sinners Jesus died for us. Jesus set us free from the bondage of the dark, the bondage of sin, the bondage of lies.

Let's not speak about what we have done to the Church, what we have turned her into but instead let us bring healing to her by speaking the truth of what she is in the Spirit. Let us speak truth to the Church so she will be free from the bonds of man's religious thinking, from fear and judgement, from condemnation and death. Let's live this truth:

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)

Let us allow the Son to throw off the bonds of the lies that keep us from our destiny. Let us speak the truth to one another in love. Let freedom reign in our hearts, minds and Church. Let truth purify our lips. Let us throw away every word and deed that belongs to the darkness. Let us walk in the light, the truth which is Jesus and let us serve this dying world in love.

Truth: His name is Jesus.

Freedom And Confidence

Why do we make it so hard on ourselves? Maybe there is a bit of masochism in each of us, I don't know, but I do know that too many of us make things far too difficult for ourselves. Approaching God is the easiest thing that we can do once Jesus is Lord of our life, yet we create tons of barriers for ourselves and look for methodology. There is no methodology when it comes to our relationship with God.

He loves us when we are angry, joyful, thankful, in a rotten mood, depressed, sorrowful, ignorant, insightful. We don't have to be in any frame of mind to come to him. We don't have to pray certain words. We don't have to be in a certain position. There isn't one physical location in this world more holy than any other. We don't have to climb a mountain or find a cave. We don't have to wear certain kinds of clothes or do anything special. All we do is say, "Father ..." and we are there. Or if you prefer, sit in quietness and allow your spirit to cry out.

As long as we are covered by the blood of the Lamb, the blood of Jesus, we have all the confidence and boldness to come to our Father just as we are, wherever we are:

In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence. (Ephesians 3:12)

A tiny little verse in the context of a bunch of other things but it speaks so well of the simplicity of our relationship with God. I am not saying that the events behind it, the things God did to make it possible, are simple, but God did a complicated thing to make the important thing simple. Simple is good. Simple is exactly what we need. Simple says, "Love me with everything you have." That's God to us.

In fact, Jesus said that everything comes down to those two things: "Love me with everything you have, hold nothing back" and "Love everyone else too". You see, simple is good. We should be spending our lives learning how to do these two things. Forget all the toys and gadgets, the retirement funds, nest eggs, building a career and finding your place in the world. If these two things are not the corner stones of everything we do, our purpose and desire, we are wasting our lives.

It is when we love God with everything that we have, we know we may approach him with freedom and confidence. Freedom, many of us understand but it's the confidence we lack. We think that God is going to hold something against us, that there is something we have done that he has not forgiven. Maybe a sin we have forgotten about, something we hid away. We need to relax and understand that the Holy Spirit brings to mind anything that needs to be dealt with and when he does, deal with it. Meanwhile, relax and enjoy this incredible relationship we have with our Father.

I am not saying our attitude doesn't matter. It does matter. Our Father holds nothing back from us. The promises are all ours but in order for us to actually receive them, to be open to them, to accept them, we need to be a grateful people. Gratitude opens us up to receive. God is holding nothing back but we block the blessings when our heart is hard and cold. Gratitude softens us up and makes us ready to receive. We can approach God with any attitude but if we want to get anything out of it we need to come in love, with the praise on our lips that come from the overflow of a grateful heart.

But come on, stop making it so hard on yourself. Jesus died for a reason. He was also raised from the dead for a reason. He has given you life in abundance. He has flung the gates wide open for you to come to the Father in freedom and confidence, just as you are, covered by the blood of the Son, transformed, adopted and welcomed with great open arms. Doesn't our God deserve all our praise for the great things he has done for us? Then stand in his presence and rejoice always! I will say it again, Rejoice! Enjoy the simplicity of it today.

Are We As Free As We Are Led To Believe?

Imagine a prisoner was just set free after years of captivity. He comes out into the freedom of life, able to work and earn things, able to enjoy family and friends, able to go for a walk whenever he felt like it. Now imagine that same prisoner deciding to turn his back on that freedom, to walk back into prison because he preferred it in there; he would rather be in captivity then enjoy his freedom. There are a number of people like this because the captivity is what they are familiar with whereas the freedom is too strange and uncomfortable.

This is what it is like for many of us who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus came to set us free from the longest captivity known to man. There was not only the captivity of sin but also the captivity of the law. We may think we are free but we have this terrible mindset toward captivity. We allow ourselves to remain a slave to sin even after Jesus has given us a choice. We also enjoy the captivity of the law, preferring to live by rules that we think are earning us something with God instead of accepting the freedom Jesus has given to us by God's grace.

We accept this freedom at first but it feels so unfamiliar that we slowly go back to what we know. We rely on things that we think are earning us favor with God. It could be good deeds, reading the Bible, going to church, paying tithe, being part of the worship band, preaching on the street or even behind the pulpit. If we think these things are earning us anything then we are developing our own law to live by. These things can only be the fruit that comes from our relationship with Jesus, they cannot be the source of our salvation. Salvation is by faith or it isn't salvation. We have freedom because it was given to us not because we earned it.

Paul stated to the Galatians:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

It is good to to examine ourselves to see if we have been slipping back toward that prison life we are so familiar with. There are no church rituals, whether it is baptism or communion, there is no fruit of the Spirit, whether it is speaking in tongues or giving sight to the blind, that can save us. Only Jesus brings us the freedom of salvation and it is only received by faith. By faith I mean simply trusting that it is true and it is done:

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. (Romans 5:1-2)

Justified by faith not by works. Works is the the fruit of our salvation.

So go ahead, check yourself out. Ask God to be honest with you and to convict you of anything that you are treating as a source of salvation. Be willing to see if you have slipped back behind the prison walls of the law. It is for freedom that Jesus has set us free, so stand in that freedom and do not allow anyone or anything to take you back into captivity.