Diving Into the Unknown II - an Act of Faith

If you have not read  Diving Into the Unknown - An Act of Faith , you might want to, in order to understand this post.

C.H. Spurgeon is quoted in the picture to the left, and he is speaking of a theological concept called Sufficiency, or in other words, Jesus is all you need, and he can and does fulfill the need you have.

This last week has been horrible for me.  My wife and daughter had students who freaked out and caused strife in our lives, one of their landlords for the karate schools suddenly became unreasonable, I attended a 2 hour Christmas presentation (I get messed up in public settings), I showed up to teach Sunday School, as I was supposed to, only to hear "Why are You here?"  For someone with TBI, any of this would be sufficient to make my injury and it's accompanying illness go nuts, and drag me down.  

I would like to tell you that I was not dragged down, but I was.  To the mat.  Still down.  Feels like I am drowning, and reaching for the surface, but nothing I do can make a difference.  Normally, I can talk myself into action, but this time my entire body is fighting.  Migraine headaches that worsen with movement, light or stress.  Loss of desire for anything, including fluid, which only makes the migraines worse.  Dreams with my eyes open, with colors and shapes I do not understand. Everything that can happen with TBI  is happening.  I am reaching out to control the situation, being the man and all, but only find out that there is nothing I can do.  I have to depend on others.  I hate depending on others.  It makes me feel useless.  Yet, here I am. Again.

So I repeat to myself over and over again:

Isaiah 41:10 - (ESV) "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you,    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

Waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.  Waiting.

Credit: Free images from acobox.com

So where is Jesus.  


I look behind me, and I don't even see my foot prints, so I can't say that Jesus is carrying me, as in the famous poem by Mary Stevenson.


So where is he, and is he really enough for all situations?


My faith says yes, but my body and mind say no. NO. NO. NO.


So let's explore the faith side.


For sure, for my salvation from my sin is secure in Jesus, and he alone.  That much is certain.

John 10:7-10 (AMP):  So Jesus said again, “I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that I Myself am the Door for the sheep. All others who came [as such] before Me are thieves and robbers, but the [true] sheep did not listen to and obey them.  I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved (will live). He will come in and he will go out [freely], and will find pasture. The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

Notice, however, that Jesus is NOT talking only about eternal life.  He goes off the reservation to tell us he came that we may have and enjoy life in abundance. Enjoy life in abundance.  ENJOY LIFE IN ABUNDANCE.  


Wow ...  So, I am off the reservation when my brain injury is making me live a life without joy and abundance.  No wait.  My brain injury does not make me do anything.  What is really messing me up?  Fear that what I am will not be enough for those who know me and depend on me.  Pretty stupid when you think about it.  I am what I am, as Popeye used to say, and more than that, I am a new creation in Christ Jesus, so if God is happy with his creation, shy should I not be.


Nice.


Freaking useless when you are at the bottom of a pit looking up, or you know your hand is in the air, but your face is underwater, and you are going down, for the last time, but nice.


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You see, that is the problem with TBI.  Sitting in a chair, stairing at the world go by, knowing all the things you have lost, looking for someone to blame is not good for feeling joy.  But that is what I do.  Count the poop spots in my life.

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: (ESV) “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

That is what I have to count to get from where I am taken, to where God wants me.  Be thankful.  In order to be thankful, you need to be specific.  That means you have to count the things you need to be thankful for.

Count your blessings.

COUNT!

Count right now!

Book Review: Good News for Those Trying Harder by Alan Kraft

I came to this book because I longed for an emotional & spiritual experience which I perceived that other followers of Jesus the Christ all had, or said they had, when they became followers of Jesus. I was literally crying out for something more, something deeper, something real from my faith.  If you would like to know more about my spiritual journey, and why "crying out," is not something that would surprise me, read my article on my conversion experience called Diving In, an Act of Faith.

It was actually recommended by Amazon when I finished another book, The Barbarian Way: Unleash the Untamed Faith Within by Erwin Raphael McManus, so I bought it. It rocked my world.  It rocked my spiritual world first, but it ripped the foundations off of my life in the "World."  I will never be the same again.  

Before I tell you what I learned and what else I thought of the book, let me tell you a little about the author.   Alan Kraft is the lead pastor of Christ Community Church, Greenly, Colorado, and he is both a husband of many years and a father of several ages of children.  He has lived life, made mistakes, admits them, and is willing to share what he has learned with us. 


I recommend this book  to anyone who does not believe that they have not yet experienced “brokenness, faith or a personal relationship with Jesus" at the levels they once expected or hoped for. If you long for the “Peace of God that surpasses all understanding,” (Philippians 4:7) then this book is for you.

I recommend this book with even more urgency if your life is full of fear.  I don't mean spiritual fear, (like fearing God, fearing you are not worthy, fear of death), though it will help with that too.  I mean fear of anything in your life that is tangible or not.  If you are tired of being chased by the same anxiety; if you think a lot, "I can not catch a break," or you are having trouble sleeping because of the pressure in your life, this is a MUST READ.

If you have the world by the tail, and you really are "all that," you won't like this book.

In the reading of "Good News for Those Trying Harder,"  I discovered three things that I was lacking and looking for.

1) A personal relationship with Jesus.  I had asked friends at two churches in two states what a "personal relationship with Jesus," was, and what it felt like, because I was tired of the "Jesus Speak," I always heard from Christians like myself when speaking about Jesus.  I really did not know what it meant.  One church, only members answered.  Even though it was a monitored page and the pastors read it, no one who was trained answered.  The people said things like, "it's just like your relationship with other people." and the like.  NO IT IS NOT.  It is mind blowing and emotional, and it is all over the Gospel and can even be found throughout the old testament.  This book tells you where it is in the Bible and even shows you how to start down the path.  It will make you cry.  It will make you happy.  It will make you safe.

2) An Emotional Recognition of my Brokenness beyond the technical definition of sin we have all heard so many times before.  I discovered just exactly how I could discover what my sins really were, and that brought me to the floor, face down, several times.  Way past mind blowing.  Deeply soul stretching.


3)  An understanding of the roles of the Holy Spirit, Jesus and God the Father in my prayer life and in my mortal life.  I have always wondered what the deal was with the Trinity.  Why the doctrine was created by man, justified by scripture and memorized by millions, but not understood by anybody.  I discovered the sameness of God.  I discovered the Power of grace in the three parts of God, and most importantly to me, I discovered the universality of the Gospel.  How it applies to my life in all its aspects, every moment of the day, and just how amazing grace really is.

I don't know if these things were the intended messages of the book, but I do believe that the Holy Spirit and the Bible support the messages that I got for my life, and I suspect it will in your life as well.

The Bible Lies for Tomorrow we Die

And if there is no resurrection“Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!” wrote Paul to the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians 15:32b

Just so you know what Paul was talking about, when he was suggesting we party, I read this basic description of ancient middle eastern parties or feasts in the Sacrilege of Belshazzar: "Great feasts were characteristic of antiquity. Persian kings frequently dined with as many as 15,000 guests," and "It was the custom at Ancient Near Eastern feasts for the king to sit on a raised platform, apart from the guests. Excessive drinking after the dinner was common in this period. Many feasts became drunken orgies, since people who are overly excited by alcohol are apt to lose control of their thoughts and actions." 

So Paul is suggesting that if the Gospel is NOT true, we should party hardy, and do it now. 

For more on Persian Feast, check out Ken Raggio's bible study.

If the Bible is wrong in one place, it is wrong, since its claim is that it all true.  If it is wrong, we die.   Here is one of the classic examples of where the bible is wrong by contradiction, and therefor our ticket to drunken debauchery.

Paul writes in Romans 3:24 “being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” – NKJV  Pretty clear.  Justified means making a sinner righteous before God, or leading a life that God approves of. Pauline Doctrine of Faith IS saved by Grace. We get to go to heaven, according to Paul, because we are justified "freely" by God's grace, or unmerited favor.

Paul does not stop there though, just in case his readers in Rome don’t get it yet, in Romans 5:1 he writes “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”  So God reaches out to you, because he wants to, and gives you GRACE, and you reach back and accept it with FAITH.  Clearer yet. Yea.  Life with God is good.

Then James shows up, and writes, James 2:14 “Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” NKJV  

Ok James, I really want to thank you.  Paul says Grace and Faith, God reaching to us, and we accepting.  You, brother, say that Faith without Works is dead. Way to contradict Paul, invalidate the whole bible, and call on the party of all time.

Ouch.  Hope not. 

So, let us explore what else this might mean, starting with a pretty fair assumption. 

Jesus, Paul and James did not speak English or write English or think in English.  They wrote in Greek.  So let us see what James said in Greek.

The word that is used in Romans 5:1 and James 2:17 for "faith" is the same greek word and it means: assurance, belief, faith, fidelity, for them that believe (Studylight.org Lexicon) – drum roll please ….. sounds like a contradiction and we all get to die … 

But let’s look at what James actually says before we start the party.

The subject of the sentence is “Faith,” thus it is Faith that is dead, not us. 

What does James mean by dead?  The Greek word used either means physical death, (but since Faith is NOT corporal), and the second definition is what he was using the word for.  

It is a metaphor for Spiritually dead, or destitute of a life that that is devoted to God or inactive as respects doing right or destitute of force or power, inactive, inoperative. - as taken from http://www.studylight.org.

So it is seems James is saying that once you have been justified by Grace and Faith, you will do good works.  If you do not, you still have faith, but it is inactive, destitute of force or power (from God) in active, inoperative, destitute of a life that recognizes the Lord, and you seem to have given up.

Looks like we are Saved (as in we don’t have to pay the ultimate price for our sins) by Grace, a free gift of God through the life and death (sacrifice) of his son Jesus.  Yet, by faith we accept that gift, thus accepting the free gift of eternal life.  

So why did James write that thingee he wrote about faith and works (behavior – actions)?

Let’s look at what comes after – James 2:18 – 22 (NLT) -  “Now someone may argue, ‘Some people have faith; others have good deeds.’ But I say, ‘How can you show me your faith if you don’t have good deeds? I will show you my faith by my good deeds.’  You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. How foolish! Can’t you see that faith without good deeds is useless?  Don’t you remember that our ancestor Abraham was shown to be right with God by his actions when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see, his faith and his actions worked together. His actions made his faith complete.”

James is saying the Proof of your Faith is your good works.  They are like the “fruit” of your salvation.  Just believing in God and Jesus can’t be enough, for even the demons do that. You need to "believe" in Jesus, that he paid the price for your sin, he died for it, he rose from the dead proving his words were true.

Wow.  So, if you are saved by faith, your behavior changes.  If you behaviors has not changed, you have issues, like stubbornness.  HIS ACTIONS MADE HIS FAITH COMPLETE. 

Justified by Grace; Saved by Faith in the Grace of God; Fruits that prove the Faith, that James calls works.

Darn No Party after all, for tomorrow we live.

Wait a minute.  Tomorrow we live.  Party Time!!!

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God is a Genie

So seriously, if you run a business, you have friends, you work in a church or your have family members, this simple rule will help your life move in the right direction.  It is NOT about you, It's about THEM.

The first thing we were told by a speaker named Zig Zigler way back in the '80s was, and I quote, "If you help enough other people get what they want, you will get what you want."  He really could sell ice cubes to the eskimos. This is a basic business statement, and as far as it goes, it is dead on.  If you have something other people want, they will pay you for it.  This will really work.  If what you want is:

1) Money,
2) Money and God,
3) Money and family,
4) Money and Power,
5) Money and friends.

Most Christians strive for number 2, because, after all, the bible promises that God will take care of us if we only worship him. "Give us this day our daily Bread," from the Lords prayer Luke 11:2-4.

Let me digress, for a moment.  When we were young, we learned that there is a powerful rule in science called cause and effect. Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.  What you do echos in eternity. Our actions cause things to happen.  Yes.

Let us take an example.  You have learned a powerful incantation where if you say a certain spell, while singing a certain song, while wearing or not wearing certain cloths, you could change how someone felt about you.  A powerful love charm.

Wow.  Except it is either a fairy tail or demonic, but in no case is it Godly, right?  Of course it's not Godly, for if it were, that would imply you can invoke God. If you just say the right thing, (a prayer), at the right time (at church, in bed, in the shower, when in need), while you listen to Godly music, (Christian radio), you can change how God behaves and "give you what you want."  Let me be more direct.  You give God what he wants, treating your neighbor as yourself, and he gives you what you want, Money. Right?

Really.  You have a spell that can not only invoke God, but compel his actions? My daughter gave me the best illustration or mental picture of this I have ever heard, when she attended Eastern University a Christian University outside of Philly.  She said they looked at this type of faith as "making God a Genie," as in Aladdin, the movie.  It makes me laugh, now, but tomorrow when I need God to solve one of my never ending daily problems, it scares me, since I act like this.

So if you don't get what you want by doing what God wants, why do what God wants?

Simple.  If you have accepted Jesus as your Savior then you already have what you want.  You have the hope for eternal life.  You get to live forever, and with God.

God does serve you, but you need faith to believe that his actions, plans and results are better than your thoughts, plans and actions.  Good things happen, things you expect, because you are prepared and perhaps you have prayed for them.  Good things happen because God thinks it is time, and you did not expect it, did not know it was coming, never would have asked for it, but there it is.

God Serves you for sure, because he loves you, but he is not your Genie. He is your lord.