Which are you?

Your testament living will determine whether you live spiritually as an achiever or a receiver.

He Came For Me

Matt. 9:9-13 "As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

This Scripture is appropriately called “The Calling of Mathew” but, really, couldn’t we, all of us, slip our names into that title? We’ve fallen short more times than we care to admit. More times than we care to admit even to God or Jesus, and yet, He came for us.

We were part of His agenda, His life and His sacrifice.

Through God’s amazing grace we are counted worthy of Him. We are forgiven, we are justified. It is as if we had always been perfect; Always from eternity past without sin. The reality often times escapes us. We find that we can’t quite wrap our minds around this complete unconditional forgiveness. “There has to be something,” we cry out in frustration. “There’s always a condition, always something to do, always a goal to reach.”

But we find none. We are left with the remarkable words of Jesus “For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

A revelation as bright as the morning star; He has come for the tax collector, the thief, corporate executives, street people, athletes, hookers, addicts, IRS agents, AIDS victims, farmers, used car salesmen and most amazing of all…

He came for me.

Horse Fly

Well, its break time so I can take my nose off the grindstone long enough to share this with you... On my way in today, a heard an amusing story about Lincoln and his brother.

"One day my brother and I were plowing. I was driving the horse and my brother was holding onto the plow. The horse was usually lazy, but all of a sudden he ran across the field so fast that even I, with my long legs, had trouble keeping pace with him. When we got to the end of the furrow, I found that an enormous horse-fly had fastened upon him, causing him to bolt. I knocked the fly off. My brother asked me what I did that for, and I told him I didn't want to see the old horse bitten like that. My brother protested, 'that's the only thing that made him go."

It reminded me just how often we think we need that kind of stimulus from religion. Something to "bite" us and cause us to run in the "right direction". Some new teaching, some 5 step program, some special visitor so that we can realize what we need to do to move to "the next level" in Christ. Just give us something to do, we cry!

Thankfully, God's grace, has "knocked the fly off" so that we can stop and rest in Him. Not because of what we did, but because of what Jesus did.

Forgive Yourself

Grace upends, collapses, ruins, explodes, disassembles every single structure we devise to capture grace in. It cannot be contained within our thinking. It removes every explanation. Grace set the captives free. Grace healed the sick, raised the dead, pardoned the thief, walked on water, fed the hungry, welcomed the children, gave site to the blind, died on a cross, fulfilled the law, rose from the dead, and will return for His bride, the hope of glory!! You are forever loved, forever forgiven. Forgive yourself in His grace!

Open Cell

I’m sure you've heard this phrase more than once; “The prison doors are open, why are you still inside?” It brings to mind the mental picture of a small cell, a metal bench, with you (or I), sitting on that bench while the jail door sits wide open. No guards, cameras, barbed wire, nothing.

We are free to leave the cell… but… we don’t!

At first the reality of this behavior is impossible to grasp. Why would anyone stay confined within the cell when, we know, we’re free to leave at any time?

Jesus has set us free, yet, by our own decision, we choose to remain captive. Sounds completely nuts but…Inside the cell there is something that keeps us there. We find the cell comfortable, sensible, reassuring. We understand that we’ve entered the cell through Adam and therefore we must spend our time paying for our transgressions. We understand this “if, then” mentality. If I do this, then this will happen. The cell is conditional and we are so very used to conditions.

“Eat your vegetables, then you may have dessert.” Study hard, work hard, marry the right person. Don’t rock the boat or be prepared to face the circumstances.

Inside the cell there is the comforting reality that “I must” pay for my wrongs. That’s how it works, I do this, and this happens. It makes “sense” because an equal an opposite reaction occurs while I am confined by my condition. It is how our entire world operates.

It’s fair, it’s sensible, it’s less challenging, it shouts impartiality, but, grace bursts on the scene and blows up all our conditionality. It messes up everything and we cry out, “THIS IS RIGHT!” This doesn’t work around here!

Inside the cell, everything works the same way. There’s no difference, conditionality is what works, everyone on the same page, everyone “paying it forward.”

But, what about Luke 17:11-19?

“Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy[a] met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

HEY, WAIT A SECOND – This can’t be right! This doesn't work! Only one was grateful and they all were cleansed?

Not only cleansed, but when Jesus instructed them to “show themselves to the priest’ what He did was return them to society. Once the priests saw they were no longer unclean they were free to return to their families, to earn a living and stop begging, to hug their wife and children whom they hadn’t seen in years!

Jesus healed there sickness and He gave them back their dignity. Not just the repentant one. Not just the one half breed Samaritan who ran to Jesus to thank Him. Not just one but ALL TEN.

All ten received unconditional grace. All ten went home.

That’s not conditional love. That’s not “I will if you will” theology. That’s the way the world works. That never happens in our safe little cell!

God’s grace does not depend on our gratitude! God’s grace does not depend on anything we can do. God’s grace doesn't depend on our work because Jesus did the work on Calvary.

Thank you Jesus for paroling me. For setting me free from the bondage of conditional love.

Hyper-Grace rocks!!

The term “hyper-grace” is often used to discribe those of us who believe that when Jeremiah said, “No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." Jeremiah 31:34 and its EXACTLY what He meant.

Or when Almighty God said, regarding our sin, "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more” Hebrews 10:17, and again in the book of Hebrews, “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And their sins will I remember no more” Hebrews 8:12.

And then, perhaps the “best known” declaration of God regarding the sacrifice of His Son and how it applies to our sinful behavior can be read in these two powerful declarations…Micah 7:19 “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea (sea of forgetfulness)” and Psalm 103:11-12 “For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.

The word “fear” used in this passage means to love and reverence.

His grace is immeasurable!!

So, what about this “hyper-grace” definition given us by various religious groups who feel that grace in and of itself is not “really” sufficient (read 2Corintians 12:9).

Webster’s definition of the prefix “hyper” is “HIGH-STRUNG, EXCITABLE; also: highly excited. Webster also defines “grace” as “UNMERITED DIVINE ASSISTANCE GIVEN HUMANS FOR THEIR REGENERATION OR SACTIFICATION; also: a virtue coming from God; and: a state of sanctification enjoyed through divine grace.

So it certainly seems that while our religious brothers and sisters in Christ meant to belittle our understanding of God’s grace they have actually better defined our reason for rejoicing in it.

Hyper-grace…The high-strung, excitable, or highly excited belief in the divine virtuous assistance given to humans, coming from God, through sanctification attained through the life, death, and resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ.
WOO HOO!! I COULDN’T HAVE SAID IT ANY BETTER!!

Thanks Charisma Magazine and all those who feel that grace isn’t sufficient without works and condemnation.

Remember Cain and Abel from your Children’s church? Cain brought his efforts to God and Abel brought a blood sacrifice. God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice but not with brother Cain. As a result Cain grew angry, dejected and jealous. Soon his fierce anger led him to commit murder. So….as we relate this story to the Law and Grace we see that our works (dirty rags) are not nor will they ever be acceptable. Only when we bring the blood of Jesus to God are we made righteous and forgiven eternally. No wonder all those “Cain’s” out there, who are our brothers and sisters in Christ, want to “kill” hyper-grace teaching!

BTW…Here’s a few Scriptures for further study…

Romans 7:1-7 “Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to [her] husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of [her] husband. So then if, while [her] husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, [even] to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not [in] the oldness of the letter.What shall we say then? [Is] the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
John 17:17 “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.”
John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
John 3:36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
James 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one [point], he is guilty of all.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:”
Galatians 5:2 “Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.”
Romans 8:1 “[There is] therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

Rejoice!

When a non-Christian is convicted of sin, he/she sides with his sin. When a Christian who has yet to understand or accept grace is convicted of sin, he/she sides with God, against himself. When a Christian who is finally free and walking in grace, free from condemnation, he/she repents, and rejoices with God. Philippians 4:4 "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Selah!