Thoughts

A Perspective on Ravi Zacharias

/ RB May IV / Leave a comment

In response to the scandal now coming out around Ravi Zacharias, we merely wish to say: It is deeply troubling, heartbreaking, enraging, and sickening at the same time, and for many different reasons. If you know me (RB) then you know I taught martial arts for a long time, and one specific avenue of martial arts in which I heavily focused was self-defense. To the point, I took my own training to people who had worked with law enforcement agencies and specifically looked at violent assaults. We had an acronym for the system we were working within that time, called S.H.A.R.P. This acronym stands for Sexual Harassment, Assault, and Rape Prevention and the people who put the system together had looked through the darkest studies on the Earth. Learning this stuff was not easy, it was inherently edifying at the time of learning, but as I was able to teach men and women how to defend themselves it became much more edifying.

When you start to study the information around sexual harassment, assault, and rape you start to see really what is wrong. First, the victim did nothing wrong! There are so many who, sadly, put the blame on the victim (even when they do so unintentionally) with words like, “Well, if she hadn’t gone there,” “If she hadn’t worn that,” or many other epithets. But, the victims have done nothing wrong! The perpetrator carries all blame, whether they are psychologically sick (needing psycho-therapies), or merely the perpetrator of the vile deed. It is only they who are guilty, the victim bears no guilt nor should be treated as such. This information brings us to the scandal around Ravi Zacharias.

I, as a fellow Christian, will not judge whether or not he was truly saved, that is between him and the Lord God, however, I am totally sickened by his perverse, predatory acts. In my mind, there is a divide, between the speaking, writing, and apologetics work he did and the acts which he committed. However, this is not acceptable. I agree with what many have said: The actions he committed do not make what he said wrong. However, several people I highly respect have put the nail in that particular coffin: He was not the only one to have said what he said. In two thousand years of Church history, this is nearly an impossibility. According to the open letter from Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM) Board and the report they made public (which I highly recommend you read all of it) Ravi Zacharias was not merely a sinner in the typical sense of the word but was a sexual predator. And, barring any further evidence which may come forth, he went to his grave as an unrepentant sexual predator.

The Church has no right to use the materials of such a person. He wrote books on all topics, some of which are hypocritical in light of what has come forth. There is a difference between a repentant sinner and someone who is keeping a secret life. When we look at the lives of believers, they are supposed to marked by one important thing: They don’t reflect the world, but their Lord Christ. This is mentioned several times throughout the Scriptures. Most significantly we see it in Romans. We know God is active in conforming us into the image of His Son (8:28) and we need to continually be active in our transformation (12:2). We also know a believer is washed, regenerated, and renewed (Titus 3:5) at our conversion. The story of Ravi Zacharias shows just how important it is we take these things seriously. Again, I will make no judgments on the man’s status before God, I am not God, I can only look at the fruit which is now so publicly on display. The Church and specifically among Christians should be the safest places for people to be. We have seen, however, how much corruption is within the Church over the past decades. Rich and powerful personalities have fallen consistently. Between Catholic Priests to mega-church pastors, through to televangelists. So, many people have been put in places of power where those under them felt as if they couldn’t speak out.

We need to make the Church a safe place for these people. The Church should be a place where the light shines. All actions should be visible and open to everyone. This doesn’t mean all things, should be completely open. If someone is receiving private counsel form the leadership their privacy and confidence should be kept, but what it does mean is actions are clear. We are to abstain even from the appearance of evil, living quiet and peaceful lives, protecting each other. Sadly, something like this brings reproach upon the name of Jesus, and to His Church. These victims should be able to find their greatest, safest place being in a relationship with God, and by extension within His Body. However, these actions hurt and turn people away instead.

Let us pray we will finally learn from this scandal rather than continuing to perpetuate this problem. It is so important for people to be under Biblical leadership who will be able to admonish and teach, removing the dross and polishing the gold.

These are my broken, rambling thoughts. In whatever you do, or say in regards to this, think it through, before you say it. Bring no harm. There are victims who have been horrendously abused. Take care of them! It was not their fault a sexual predator took advantage of them.

If you are looking for more info, I highly suggest you watch the video of Mike Winger, of BibleThinker.org.

New Year’s Thought – 2020

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Today’s thought is not merely a New Year’s Thought but a New Decade’s Thought. Most of my day has been given over to thinking over the last decade and looking forward to the next. As I think of this last decade, I see the bounty of the Lord God in my life over this time. I see how the Lord fulfilled so many things and answered so many prayers (even secret prayers)*. My marriage, my daughter, our house, and my being in ministry are the largest ones I think of, but there are really too many to count when it comes right down to it.

The Lord has been so gracious to me. But when I think of this next decade, I’m saddened. I see trends which as I look at the previous two decades started when I was still a child. I see these trends continuing even as I pray over them with tears flowing down my cheeks. The first issue I am thinking of is the preeminence of culture over the preeminence of Scripture in the Body of Christ (the Church). This one is a huge one for me. I love the Word of God. I am in it daily and am continually learning more and more about it.

This trend has brought in so much pain and will bring more. It won’t stop, but I fear it is going to continue to the Lord Jesus’ return. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,” (NKJV). This apostasy from the Body will first take place within the Church and this is what we are seeing, and it breaks my heart. We need to stand firm on the Word of God as we come into this third decade of the third millennium.

Now, let us remember how we are to go about this. To be clear truth (which could also be called doctrine) is important! However, love is the primary doctrine. We must make sure we speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). I want to repeat that: We must make sure we speak the truth in love. Staying silent is not loving someone. Staying silent is allowing someone to run after the lusts of flesh rather than the Spirit. At our assembly, we are in studying through Romans. In Romans 8 we see the difference between someone the mind on the flesh and the mind on the Spirit.

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:5-8 ESV) This is what is so important for us to see. Are we focused on our rebellion – our sin? Or are we focused on the Spirit – that is God?

Let us focus on this as we move into the new year and the new decade. May we see a beautiful returning to the Word of God on which we must stand firm. We cannot give up the Word for our culture. If we take the culture over Scripture how soon will it be before we give up Christ as the only way to the Father? Or give up our ability to call people to come to Christ? Let us remember the history of the Church and how in early centuries they found trouble for themselves because they would not say, “Καῖσαρ κύριος” (Caesar is Lord) but instead said, “Ἰησοῦς κύριος” (Jesus is Lord). Can we admit we are submitting ourselves to the Lord Jesus’ will – which is to do the will of the Father – when we bow our knees to the secular culture of the day?

Beloved, speak the truth in love and stand firm on the Bible. Maybe we will see a revival in our day and people returning to God rather than a continued apostasy!

*          To be clear I believe God answers all prayers, but what I mean at this moment is
answered the way in which I asked, or answered in the affirmative.

Christmas Thought – 2019

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My thoughts turn to evangelization this year. As always, I am thinking not merely of Christ’s birth, but His life, death, and resurrection, or Christ’s complete work. The means, I am thinking of Christ’s paying the atonement for all the world (1Jn 2:2), and how I have been commissioned by Christ to go to all nations and make disciples. With all this put together it leads me to this evangelization.

With every holiday, I think of all the families getting together and how we all tell our families, “I love you.” Yet, we’re not willing to share the Gospel with them. This hypocrisy goes against why Christ came in the first place. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him.” (John 3:16–17 BOGV)

We should be loving our families in the same way God does, the same way Christ does. We should worry not about temporal peace, but the eternal destinies of our families, friends, and loved ones. Now, to be very clear, I am not saying we should pick fights at Christmas dinner. What I am saying is all year we should be trying to witness to our loved ones, not just during the holidays.

This is not a new message from me. It is something I’ve put forward before. Something we need to remember in this is the admittance of our imperfections. We need to not be hypocritical in our beliefs, but sincerely point to the relationship it is based on. When witnessing to our families and loved ones, we need to try to point out something better to believe in than religious dogmas.

Finally, we need to pray! Pray you will shine forth the light of Jesus into the life of your loved ones. This, really, is one of the more important things. We need to bring the message of Jesus and allow the work of the Holy Spirit to take place. This, truly, becomes a way for us to love people as Jesus does. Live people in such a way where we are willing to give up comfort for their salvation.

Shine the love of Christ!

Show people what Christmas means!

Merry Christmas, from Believe Better Ministries!

The Purpose of Creation

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What is the Purpose of Creation? This is an oft-debated question by some of the most brilliant minds in Christendom throughout the ages and, before Christendom, also in Judaism for Millennia before Christ. We have received only a couple reasons for the purpose of creation. The most common answer given by scholars throughout the ages is to glorify God (or some synonymic phrase thereof). I think this particular answer is not entirely accurate. I’ve hinted before at this thought and now wish to fully put it forward.

One important fact, before heading further into this subject, is the Triune God is the only form of a monotheistic god which would create as we have seen it. A unitarian god either has no reason to create, or is simply a creator god and therefore cannot stop creating. Dr. Michael Reeves in his short book Delighting in the Trinity has the best argument for this and rather than taking up valuable space to rehash his argument I will simply direct you to his book. Suffice it to say we can take solace in the fact of creation as one proof of the Trinity, and we will return to this fact later.

To return to our main purpose in writing: Catholic and Orthodox minds have provided the main answer to this question. The Catholic Church in their catechism gives the answer to this question as “Scripture and Tradition never cease to teach and celebrate this fundamental truth: ‘The world was made for the glory of God.’ ” The Orthodox Church is more complicated than the Catholic as there is not one leader, but it is a confraternity of different churches. In its American version besides calling this a mystery, it goes on to say “The first purpose of man is the glory of God.”

This has been the working premise since very early on in the history of Christendom. However, the problem is, is there is a deeper meaning. If we take a look at the whole witness of Scripture, we have something else being presented. While, yes, the creation does bring glory to God (see Gen 1:1–2:3; Ps 19:1; Is 6:3, 43:6-7 among others). However, this is not the main purpose of the creation. I would say Christendom historically and in the present age has missed the boat on the purpose of creation. Now, I have seen some try to rectify this problem by explaining the how of bringing glory to God, but even this tends to fall flat. If glory – which is defined as 1. very great praise, honor, or distinction bestowed by common consent; renown; 2. something that is a source of honor, fame, or admiration; a distinguished ornament or an object of pride; or 3. adoring praise or worshipful thanksgiving – is the purpose then we leave ourselves open to arguments which are impossible to rectify.

If we define glorifying God as the New City Catechism does in their sixth question “We glorify God by enjoying him, loving him, trusting him, and by obeying his will, commands, and law” then not only do we fall flat but we also define the word glory in a way which is outside the definition of the word itself. And the only supporting verse which is quoted is from the Old Testament law (Deut 11:1) something which we know we are unable to actually keep. However, I wish to point out to you the most important thing in this creation is the purpose of this creation. That is relationships, as far as creation is concerned this would be the all-important relationship with the Lord God. We can see the witness of this in God’s creating them in Genesis 1 and the expansion of this in Genesis 2. God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” God is not alone but in the perfect relationship of all eternity as the Trinity. So, God made us for a relational reason then as well. I would say God exists eternally in the Trinity, in perfect unity and eternally as love (1 John 4:8). If God exists as such then He does not need anything. He created out of a desire to spread this love further and to have others participate in this love.

This is the purpose of creation! This is the whole reason for Christ’s incarnation, to bring about this relationship. A relationship which was lost at the fall. Humankind was created to be in a full relationship with God. If we see this, it changes everything about how we look at the Scriptures. Key passages start coming forth as a clue for us. First and foremost: What are the greatest commandments? The greatest commandment was not Deuteronomy 11:1 “You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always,” which is used to support how we are to bring glory to God by the New City Catechism. But the first and greatest commandment is Deuteronomy 6:4–5: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” And the second is from Leviticus 19:18: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus says the whole of the Old Testament depends on these two commandments and Paul says all of the law is summed up and fulfilled in the second one (Rom 3:9-10; Gal 5:14). There is nothing in these two commandments about obedience, or glory. It is about love.

In one step further the Apostle John – the only one to record the upper room discourse – gives us the one and only commandment Christ gave us during his earthly ministry: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” This is not really anything new, however, it is a narrowing down of the second greatest commandment. We go from neighbor to specifically our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. This commandment is so important John tells us “Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling.” (Stumbling here being sin.) And “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (So, our expression of the second commandment confirms the first.)

We were not put here to bring more glory to God. How much more glory can the omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal God receive from the impotent, ignorant, singular, finite creation? We were created to take part in a wonderful relationship with God. To add one final point. God also wants a mature relationship. This is the purpose of our growing and maturing in this physical life. If He didn’t want such a relationship, we would merely be robots preprogrammed for whatever will God desires. This, in many ways, is the reason Believe Better Ministries was named such, and we use the phrase “Believe in Something Better.” This is better than all the religious dogma available to us. I truly do hope you can come to believe in something better, and have a wonderful, beautiful relationship with God. I’ll leave you with the words of John Piper on the purpose of creation: “God created us to know him and love him and show him.”

Easter Thought – 2019

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A song has struck me. The title of the song is “Reckless Love”. The chorus of it really explains exactly what God’s love is. His love isn’t reckless, but from our finite point of view it seems that way. The chorus says:

“Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God
“Oh, it chases me down, fights ’til I’m found, leaves the ninety-nine
“I couldn’t earn it, and I don’t deserve it, still, You give Yourself away
“Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God,”

This is so powerful! This is God’s love. We can’t earn it and will never deserve it. Yet, God still loves us eternally. This is what we are supposed to be celebrating every day. Moreover, this is what we celebrate today, on Easter. We celebrate the culmination of this love in a specific series of events.

Jesus, the Christ, the very Son of God, came to Earth, clothed in human flesh. He lived a life, perfect, before the law of Moses. Finally, at the appointed time, He went to the cross and died for us, as the atoning sacrifice for all the sins of all the world. That wasn’t the end. All other prophets, and religious leaders died, and remained dead; Jesus, on the other hand, rose from the dead on the third day. He rose from the dead so we might have eternal life with Him.

This is what we are celebrating, today. This is the message of the Gospel. This is the point on which we stand. I continue to be awed by this, year after year. I read the book Prodigal God by Timothy Keller and love how much his words line up with this. I recommend the book to you. He will reinvigorate your faith!

This reinvigorated faith has enlivened me to want to share the Gospel. Today, as you celebrate the Lord’s resurrection. Love your neighbor as your self and share with them this Gospel. The message is simple and easy. All we have to do is share it.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowships of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

Happy Easter.

New Year’s Thought – 2019

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2019, who would have thought it would be 2019 already? Certainly not me. This is a big year for me, I turn thirty this year! With the looming approach of my third decade, I’ve had a verse be brought to my mind by the Holy Spirit. This verse is going to walk me through this new stage of life.

The verse is 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (ESV) This is a wonderful statement for this time of year. For me, some really hard, and downright terrible things happened this year. But, does that mean the year itself (2018) was terrible? Does it mean 2019 is going to be terrible? The genuine answer to both of these questions is, of course, “no”. There is so much positive to look at, so much to learn, and so many ways I have grown.

I am a new creation in Christ and the Lord is growing me into this new creation. In the new year, I need to set my heart on the things of this new creation. I need to set my heart in the good times and the bad times on this. This is hugely important because “we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 ESV).

This is the promise which we need to hold onto in every situation. Our good God does not allow us to have purely negative – or bad – things, but in the end of every situation, there is good. This good is not happiness, riches, or necessarily physical goodness of any kind, but spiritual goodness does come in every situation and is almost more important than physical goodness. We may find the Lord, then, has been teaching us to lean on Him more, teaching us patience, or bringing the fruit of the Spirit to greater prominence in our lives.

Follow God this year. Because the new creation God has made you. Look to Him and how He has worked all things together for good. Let’s check our attitude and follow God and look to Him to take care of us. The Lord does and will always take of us, for He will never leave us nor forsake us. Let’s make 2019 centered around how He takes care of us!

Christmas Thought – 2018

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My thoughts at this year consistently turn to my Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God. This is common for many, but my thoughts turn not to His birth, but to His death, resurrection, and ascension. This mixed with the celebrations is where my heart stands. This is, now, my fourth “Christmas Thought” since I started this blog (which I did in March of 2012) and each time I’ve put effort into a Thought on Christmas the same truth comes back to me: Christmas is worthless without the end result!

I want to be clear: I am not saying His birth is worthless. What I am saying is the end result is what brings the value to His birth. This is where my mind sits. It also brings the important Gospel message out in my heart. I have come to understand something, regardless of its origin Christmas is important as it is a time in which the Gospel message is put forth by even secular media. It is a time when people are more receptive and open to the message of the Gospel.

It is a time for being with family and friends, yes of course, but let’s not forget to give His message during this time. Bring your family together. Call on His name, pray for your loved ones. Don’t forget we’ve all sinned (Romans 8:28) and no one is good (Mark 10:18; Luke 18:19; Romans 3:10). So, lift those closest to you to the Lord, and during this time of year, when so many are so receptive to the Gospel, bring it to the them. Tenderly, softly, give it to them just the way our Savior would.

The old, beautiful hymn “Softly and Tenderly” is how we want to call our families and friends to Jesus! Give them the beautiful message of the Gospel and pray. Remember the Lord will give you the words to say. Celebrate His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, and the eternal life He has give us freely. This Christmas season make the time about more then just presents and food, make it about Him!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I truly hope your Christmas is merry and you have a blessed new year!

The Key in Philippians 2:5-8

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Phil 2:5-8 BOGV
5 Have this mind in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross.

This passage is a key to Jesus’ divinity. Jesus is the very eternal God a single member of the Triune Godhead. It is a passage which has been disputed as verse six is rather vague in both the Greek (which is the same in the NU, Majority, and Textus Receptus: “ὃς ἐν μορφῇ θεοῦ ὑπάρχων, οὐχ ἁρπαγμὸν ἡγήσατο τὸ εἴναι ἴσα θεῷ,”). Paul, here, is not being vague, however. He is rather clearly stating Jesus innate deity.

The first thing to notice is in verse six Jesus in His preexistence was in the form of God. Now this God is one member of the Trinity, God the Father. Typically, in the Bible (and specifically the New Testament) the word God refers to God the Father. Jesus in His preexistence was in the form of God. It is important to see this verse as Jesus’ preexistence as He has not been incarnated. If we continue to read on we see Jesus has not yet been made in the likeness of men (the end of verse 7 and beginning of verse 8).

So, before Jesus existed on the Earth as a man He existed in the form of God (that is the Father), but – and this is a big stopping point – He didn’t consider equality with God as a thing to be grasped. This is where a little of the debate happens. “a thing to be grasped” is hard to interpret. There are two main ways this is interpreted:

1. Something Jesus did not have but was reaching for
– or –
2. Something Jesus did have but not holding on to

Well, this doesn’t really make the debate easier, it merely shows the two sides. Was Jesus God and wasn’t worried about holding onto His godhood? or, Was Jesus merely a man who didn’t consider it right to reach for godhood? If this text ended there or Paul changed the subject at this point we could debate each other round and round without really giving a statement other than what lines up with our own doctrines. Thankfully, however, Paul didn’t stop there! The sentence continues in verse seven and we are given the linchpin which opens the whole statement and it really only allows this statement to be interpreted one way: “but emptied himself” (Greek “ἀλλ’ ἑαυτὸν ἐκένωσεν”).

If we interpreted the previous phrase the first way above, then what did Jesus have to empty Himself of? How could Jesus possibly empty Himself? He is merely a man and equality with God is not something He is going to reach for anyway. However, if we interpret it the second way then emptying Himself makes sense. First, Jesus has something to empty Himself of. Second, He has the ability (or power if you will) to empty Himself. This is the key which the whole argument stands on. Both sides must reckon with.

This one little logical flow then can open our eyes in this passage to who Jesus is. We have part of the passage speaking on Jesus’ preexistence, another part speaking on his existence and in the middle a wonderful section which tells us what happened in the incarnation of God the Son.

Note: This is the first in a series around the Doctrine of the Trinity. You will be seeing more writings coming out over the next year. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments feel free to get in touch, via e-mail. Thank you!

Thoughts on Relationships – 2018

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Well, here I am, again, speaking (or writing as the case may be) on relationships. If you haven’t figured it out, yet, I feel relationships are vastly important. This is the whole point behind Believe Better Ministries: To help you – our reader – to come into a full relationship with the Triune God. I want all my readers to move past the religiousness which tears us down and start Believing in Something Better.

So, with this in mind I’ve been meditating on relationships recently. I love verses like 1 John 2:10-11, because they really do show the great importance placed on relationships. Think about what the Lord Jesus Christ said about the greatest commandment, or His stating of a new commandment. Both statements come back to relationships. If I were to condense the Christian life into a phrase it would be a paraphrase of our Lord:

“Have a full, complete relationship with God, and have a relationship with the people around you, especially your fellow believers.”

This is the essence! (While I know without definitions these words do not totally capture the full Christian life, however for the sake of brevity let us lay aside the arguments for the time being.) The Lord brought a verse to me while I was listening to a sermon on the radio, recently. You will soon (hopefully) see a much longer paper on the subject of this verse and its ramifications upon this ministry, but being immersed in my study I wanted to prime the pump, so to speak. This verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:14 “We urge you, brothers, admonish the disorderly, encourage the fainthearted, support the weak, be patient toward all” (BOGV). These are the simple directions for our relationships with fellow believers.

This is all about helping those in need, and if there is not a visible need (or there may be a difference of doctrine) being patient. Paul intended this verse (and the whole section of 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22) to be applied to the believers and their relationships with each other. I want to go a step further and apply this to the relationships we have with unbelievers, for we are called to evangelize to them. Now, I am a shy person. I have always had a hard time speaking to people on difficult subjects. The Lord, however, is growing me and conforming me to the image of His Son.

Recently, God has placed a call on my heart to share the Good News (the Gospel). This is the relationship which is scariest to me. It is the relationship which God wants me to cultivate. We need to be speaking the Gospel, His Gospel. This Gospel is a message of free, limitless grace. This Gospel presents a God who loves us so much He personally came to Earth in the form of a man so He could sacrifice Himself for us and bridge the gap (the chasm, really) between Him and us. It is a Gospel of total forgiveness from everything and anything we have ever done. Finally, it is a Gospel which brings us into a full, beautiful relationship with God, no strings attached.

This Gospel does not preach a religion, but a relationship! We need to preach the Gospel tenderly and with great care to everyone who will listen. With gentleness, then we bring order to the disordered, encouragement to the discouraged, support to the weak, and are patient with everyone. This will be an effective witness, and a breath of fresh air to those who have been turned off by the arguments they are shown in the media. Having a tender attitude will bring forth a softer response.

Go forth, build relationships with those around you. Have a full, wonderful relationship with our glorious God. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Easter Thought – 2018

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We come to the season, again, of celebrating Christ’s resurrection. When I approach this holiday (my favorite by far) in my prayer time with the Lord, I constantly find myself at a loss for words. What can I say? The only thing I have to say is “thank You” to go or His working. The Lord Jesus, the Messiah of the whole world, came here to do what we – humankind – could not. He reached down from heaven in order that we could have a relationship with Him.

I heard a quote a couple years ago and wrote it down so I would never forget it. The quote is:

“Religion is man trying to reach up to God;
The Gospel is God reaching down to man.”

—Unknown

Humankind has been making religions (even the Christian religion) as monuments trying to stand on them to reach God since the time of Babel. It continues today, is a steeple not simply a tower to reach God?

Christianity wasn’t meant to be this. Jesus’ teachings are scarce on the subject of the Church and corporate worship of Him, focusing rather on the day to day lives his followers. We do have the “Upper Room Discourse” in John 13–17. This preaching is familial, relational, and about love. Love for one another (fellow believers) as He (Christ) loves us (the Church/Believers) is laid out as a new commandment. We are to love one another and through this we show our love for the Lord!

Paul’s clear mission for the Church was unity and love as well. (Paul refers to this in Colossians 2:1–2 by hoping our hearts might be knit together in one heart through love.) This is the theme repeated time and time again through the Bible – let alone the New Testament. This is the call: Not to a religious experience, but to a relationship. Let us dwell on our relationship as we go through our day. Jesus’ resurrection provides for this relationship. This is the whole point.

Praise the Lord!

I hope you all have a happy Easter.