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Following God:
Hey,
this is Paul, an enthusiastic follower of The Way and of
Jesus the Christ coming to you on assignment, with all
the backing of the other disciples to share with you all that
God is doing, and will do, with His people. I write this
letter to all of God's friends in Rome.
God’s
Word contains the thinking of the Prophets about God's
Son; the fact that he was related to David and he is the
Son of our God. The Spirit showed this when Jesus was
raised from the dead, proving he was the Christ and our
one true Master. Because of this, we received the
fantastic gift of life and of spreading the word. This
gift of life made you who you are, and I greet you with
all the love of God and Jesus the Christ, the one we
follow.
First
let me express my thanks for you being you. Tons of
people are telling me about you and your desire to
follow The Way. God, who we love, worship, and serve,
knows that I pray for all every day. My prayer? I pray
for a clear message, and the ability, to visit you all
again. The longer I am away from you, the deeper the
pain. I desire to visit because I see this as a great
learning experience: you learning from me, and yes, me
learning from you.
It
seems like every time I pack and get ready for a road
trip, something happens and I am unable to get going.
It’s enough to drive you crazy. I know that it would
be an incredible experience to get connected with all,
as it has been for me with so many other towns and
communities who do not follow The Way. As I mentioned before, something always comes up to stop it
from happening. But something has always come up and
prevented it. No matter who I meet, those who are nice
or snotty, those who are smart or slow add to and deepen
my understanding of faith and my walk in The Way. That
is one of the main reasons I strongly desire to hook up
with you in Rome, and share and grow in the incredible
good news given to us by God.
Nothing
makes me happier than to share the news of The Way, and
the great plan God has for everyone’s life. That plan?
Trust in God, follow The Way and be rescued from a life
of chains – cultural.
God has this incredible way of getting people
right -- right with Him, right with life, right with
each other. God’s way of hooking people up is found
squarely in Scripture: “Those who let go, and let God
really live.”
People
lie, cheat, and steal. When people lie, cheat, and
steal, God can -- and will -- get ticked. It is in this
human condition where we disconnect with God. But we can
reconnect with God by opening our eyes and seeing His
life plan. Some people like to hide the truth from
others; but followers of The Way have been able to see
through such garbage and find God path. When we take a
deep look at all of what God has done, we always see
God’s hand at work. We see this in the expressions of
life, in life everlasting, and mostly in the divine
mystery of being. Because of this, excuses don’t hold
water. You see, people like to play games and cut deals.
People knew, and know, God’s plan -- it’s in their
bones -- but they ignore His desires for their own
limited gain. These people pretend to have all the
answers, but they simply don’t have a clue. They mix
culture with faith and screw it all up. Then, when you
say something to them, they pretend to not know what
you’re talking about or they misquote Scripture to
support their view. Like “Christian Merchants” who
peddle that “Jesus Junk” in “Christian
Bookstores,” they are willing to sell it all for some
cheap crap you can get from any roadside stand with a
smiley face and a “Jesus Loves You” slogan on it.
So
in effect, God said, “Cool. If that’s what you want
to do, go for it.” But, it was their actions that
caused them to live in a dump, filled with garbage both
outside and inside. They kicked out all the good stuff
God had for us for a few pennies, some fast times, and
maybe a little pleasure. They took the true God and
flipped Him for a fake god, and they loved and worshiped
this fake god. They traded the God who created us for
the god who created nothing. It’s amazing how little
they have, because of how little they give.
But
worse was to come. You see, when they disconnected from
God, they disconnected from their humanity; by not
knowing God, they did not know themselves -- men and
women mixed their sexual roles and all kinds of sexual
abuse started to happen. They confused lust with love --
lust coming from the human-made god, love coming from
the one true God. Empty of God, empty of love, they soon
found that their lives were empty godless wrecks.
What
was the most interesting is that because they didn’t
even acknowledge God’s existence, God didn’t
acknowledge them either and let them run ragged. Over
time it hit the fan big time; people killing, evil
running all over the place, people stealing what they
could get and killing for what they wanted. Gossip and
vicious backstabbing were natural for all people. All
people became vicious, cruel, mean-spirited, hell bound,
lying, backstabbing, and envious creeps who cared for no
one but themselves. No sooner was one lie created than
they found a way of creating another. They would get rid
of their parents if they got in the way -- they were
stupid, slimy, bloodsucking creeps with no redeeming
qualities. They knew from the start they were spitting
in God’s face, but they didn’t care. What’s even
more amazing is they honored the people who were best at
spitting in the face of God.
God is no softy:
Yes,
these people are on a deep decline in life -- but
that does not make you any better. If you think
because these people are so bad, you are so good
-- guess again. Every time you point a finger at
another person, you have three pointing back at
you. It’s the old saying, “It takes one to
know one.” What I have always found interesting
is that the one who points the finger at others is
the one you need to watch out for the most. When
you accuse others, it is a way of escaping
accusation yourself. It’s easy to compare
ourselves to those in need, but how do you stack
up next to Christ? You may think you are getting
away with something, but God knows everything. You
can’t hide from God.
Did
you think that you could point out the problems
others have and misdirect God from what you were
doing? Or maybe you figured God was such a nice
guy He would let you off the hook? Man, did you
miss the boat on that slap of reality. We need to
remember that God is just and kind, by God is no
pushover. God is teaching us, and at times that
takes a firm hand to lead us to a totally,
radically transformed life.
You
may think you’re pulling a fast one, but
you’re not getting away with anything. Every
time you think you “cut a deal” with God, it
is adding to your account. Someday, that account
will need to be paid in full and God will take
what is His. Don’t forget, in the end God will
take what is His. The choice is this -- real life,
found in the one true and real God, or bankruptcy
found in the god of your culture. You choose.
If
you play in traffic, you are going to get smacked
by a truck. It doesn’t matter who your mommy or
daddy is; it doesn’t matter how much better you
think you are; it doesn’t matter what school you
attended -- stupid actions have consequences. When
you embrace the way God does things, life is so
much easier. You see, it doesn’t matter to God
who you are, where you’re from, or how long
you’ve been a follower. Being a Christian
won’t give you a free ride. Just because
you’re Christian doesn’t mean God gives you a
“stamp of approval” to walk away from His
path. God doesn’t care what others say or think
about you and your righteousness -- God determines
for Himself.
Don’t
get me wrong; if you sin and you don’t know
you’re sinning, God will take that into account.
But if you sin knowing you’re sinning, God will
take that into account also. Merely hearing God's
law is a waste of your time if you don't do what
He commands. Doing, not hearing, is what makes the
difference with God.
When
those who do not claim to follow the teaching of
God walk in His way by instinct, they prove God is
real. These people show that God’s grace is not
something strange or impossible to follow, but is
truth at every level of life, found coded in our
DNA. It is something deep inside each and every
one of us, a core DNA that mirrors God’s love
and grace, yes and no, right and wrong. They will
know it more clearly when God acknowledges them
for doing His will. The truth of Jesus Christ is
found to uphold all these differences, and to
guide us in our walk.
Just
because your mommy and daddy brought you up in a
Christian way, don’t think for a second you can
just kick back on your religion and take life
easy, feeling smug over everyone else because you
think you have an inside track to God’s truth;
an expert on the best things of God, informed on
the latest, greatest doctrine; because you read
the latest authors!
Ok, here it is for all of you who think you
got the inside track watch out.
Just because you think you know God’s
scriptures inside and out, and you feel qualified
to help others get their lives set in God’s way
and help them deal with confused emotions; while
you’re going this for others, who is doing this
for you? No, I’m very, very serious. While
standing and preaching, “Don’t steal!” are
you in turn robbing others blind? After all, who
would ever suspect a good little Christian like
you? The same can be said about some other things,
like adultery and idolatry. The reality is this;
you can do and say almost anything you want, as
long as you hide it with twisted and fancy talk
concerning God, His grace and your inside tracks
on the whole deal. The old line the prophet Isaiah
gave us, “It’s because of the acts of the
Christians that those outside are so down on
God,” shows us a real problem that isn’t going
to go away anytime soon.
Then there is baptism, the water ritual that marks you, as a follower of Christ, is wonderful – but you still have to live in accordance with God’s grace. Because if you don’t, if you chose to be baptized and follow and you don’t, it’s worse than not being baptized at all. The reverse can also be very true: if you are one of those unbaptized who happens to keep God’s ways then, you are just as good as the baptized -- in fact, I would say better. If you remember anything I write, remember this, it is so much better to keep God’s grace unbaptized than it is to break it baptized. Can’t you see: It’s not the dip in the water, no matter how long, how deep or how often, that makes you a Christian. You become a Christian by who you are inside, a changed life, a desire to follow the teaching of Jesus. It’s that mark of God on you, not how deep the water is that makes a person a Christian. Here’s an added bonus, recognition of your walk comes from God, not from legalistic rituals, or others who claim to know better.
Who is and is not
So,
I guess the questions become, does it matter who is and
who is not a Christian, who has, and has not had all the
training in the way of God?
Well, it seems it matters a lot, but not the way
so many people think it should matter.
First
things first, there’s this little matter of caring for
and writing down God’s revelations, His Holy
Scriptures. OK,
so what if in the course of keeping track of it all a few
Christians abandon their post?
God did not abandon them, did He?
Do you think for one second that their
faithlessness causes God to walk away from His
faithfulness? If
you do, you need to get a grip.
Count on this as absolute fact, God will always
keep His word, even when everyone around you is lying
through their teeth, God will remain with you.
Remember it was written long ago in the Psalms:
“Your
words stand fast and true”
“Rejection
doesn’t faze you”
OK,
so someone else could ask, if when we do wrong it only
underlines and confirms God’s right doings,
shouldn’t we just be complemented for helping God out?
In other words, since our “bad actions and
words” can’t put even the slightest dent in His good
actions and words, isn’t it just wrong for God to back
us into a corner and hold us to a particular standard?
Believe it or not, these questions come up. But the answer to them is “no way.” In fact, it’s a big “in your face and get a life” no
way. Think
of it this way, how can we know how to walk and where to
walk if we did not have the hand of God to guide us?
It’s just wacky to say, “if my lies show off
God’s truth in a greater light, why blame me?
I’m doing God a favor.”
Some people are even trying to say that this is
what we are teaching, and all we have to say to that is,
“NOT.” They
are claiming that we are teaching, “the more evil we
do, the more good God does, so let’s just do it.”
All we can say to that is it is one big fat lie,
and I hope you will agree that it is a lie.
So
then, where does that put us? Do Christians get a better break then others simply because
we are Christian? No,
not really. You
see, all of us start out in identical conditions; that
is to say we all start out as sinners.
The teachings of the Psalmist, Moses and Isaiah
leaves no doubt about that fact:
“No
one lives right, no one, nobody who can keep the score
for God.
Everyone
takes a wrong turn, everyone has wondered down dark
alleys.
I
can’t find a single person who is living right
From
their mouths come lies and gossip
Every
word that comes from their mouths drip with poison.
When
they speak, all that comes out is foul odor.
They
seem to be trying to out do each other with their sins.
They
abuse each other, emotionally and physically
They
have no idea what it means to live in community
They
don’t turn to God for his love and grace.
Seems
to make it clear, right? You see, when we read scriptures we think God is speaking to
others, but in reality God is speaking to us.
God is speaking directly to you and me, the
people the Scriptures were written for to start with.
Let’s be honest with ourselves, we know clearly
that we are sinners; each and every one of us is a
sinner. We
are all in the same sinking boat.
So you see, our connection to Gods revelation
doesn’t put us right with God.
What it does for us is it forces us to face our
complicity in everyone else’s sin.
Now,
here’s the cool part; in our world, God has added
something wonderful.
What all those who came before us, Moses and the
other prophets, told us would happened, happened.
When we read about God wanting to set things
right with us, we know it means that Jesus had done just
that – set things right between us and God.
The very cool thing is that it is not just us,
but everyone who believes in Jesus.
Keep in mind, there is no difference between
others and us in this matter. Because we were unable to live the wonderful life God had
planned for us without sinning and messing it up, God
did it for us. Out
of His love for us He put us in good standing with
Himself; totally free from charge. God got us out of the mess we got ourselves into with God and
He restored us to where He always wanted us to be, and
He did it through Jesus the Christ.
God
sacrificed Jesus, a willing sacrifice, on the altar or
humanity, to save humanity for all their sins.
Having faith in Jesus sets us in that saving
grace. What’s
totally radical about it all is God did it for all to
see. God
chose to save all humanity by the willing sacrifice of
Jesus. Jesus took the all the sins of humanity and endured the pain
for us. This
saving grace is not only yesterday – it is now, right
here, right now, this very moment as you are reading
this. God
set this on the right path for us all.
So,
the question becomes, where does that leave those
prideful Christian insider claims and counterclaims? Gone, yes totally and completely gone. So you see, what we have learned is this:
it is not that God responds to us, it is that we
must respond to God.
It took forever, but we finally figured it out;
we live best with ourselves, and others, when we live in
step with God. We
miss it all when we try to control the pace and push God
out of the picture.
Now,
where does that leave our prideful Christian claims of
having a “corner” on God?
Out the window:
God is the God of everyone, Christian and
non-Christian alike, how can it be any other way, there
is only one God! God
welcomes everyone into His family, and He saves everyone
who seeks His forgiveness.
This is true for all of humanity, those who know
of God’s ways and those who do not know of God’s
ways.
By
shifting the focus from what we do, to what God does,
aren’t we getting rid of all our careful keeping of
the rules and God’s commands?
Not in the least.
In reality when we place our life in the proper
place and walk, we actually confirm that way of life.
Romans
4
trust:
So,
the question then becomes, ‘how do we fit Abraham (the
first to follow God) into this new way of looking at
life?’
I mean, if it’s all about Abraham and what he
“did” for God that got him on the in with God, then
we can give all the credit to Abraham for being a
“good little follower.”
But if we did that, we would miss the whole idea
behind the story.
You see, if we place it on Abraham, it’s a
Abraham-story – but this is a God-story, and not an
Abraham-story.
Moses himself tells us this in Genesis,
“Abraham did ‘what God was doing for him’ and that
was the point where it all changed.
He trusted God 100% to get him on the right path,
because he knew he could never do it himself.”
It’s
like if you spend your whole day working hard and doing
a good job, you should get a paycheck; no one in their
right mind would say, “your check is a gift” – you
earned it.
But, if you look at the job and realize that
there is no possible way you could ever do it, no matter
how hard you try.
You realize, it’s a “God job,” so you trust
that God will do the job.
Well, that trust, that trusting God to do the job
is what sets you right with God – it is a gift from
God to you – a pure gift.
In
the Psalms, David backs that up.
He is saying that if you can trust God 100% to
help you in life, and not try to control the outcome –
then you are a wise person.
“You
are one fortunate person knowing that your sins and
crimes are carried off and wiped clean.
You are one fortunate person knowing that God is
not keeping score.”
Here’s
something for you to think about, do you think – even
for a second – that this great blessing of God is only
for those who think themselves “religious” and
“baptized?”
Think of it this way, is it possible that God
intended this blessing for people who never even heard
of God, His ways or ever stepped foot in one of His
churches?
I think we would all agree that it was
Abraham’s welcoming what God did for him that made him
fit to be before God.
Think
of it this way, did God welcome and accept Abraham
before or after all the “legal” stuff was done?
If you said before – you would be right on the
money.
This is important, because it puts relationship
before requirements.
Meaning?
That God was working in his life long before he
did anything for God – God embraced him, long before
he was required to do anything.
This
means that Abraham is an example of faith for all people
who are looking to embrace what God is doing in the
lives of people inside and outside the church – even
those who are not baptized.
You see, it is these people – the lost and
hurting – that God is seeking and who Abraham is an
example for and he is an example for those who have been
baptized as well.
Think about it again, God embraced Abraham long
before he underwent any ritual.
The
promise God made to Abraham, you know the one Moses told
us about – that he and his children would hold the
earth – was not given because of what he did or was
going to do.
It was given because God wanted to bless Abraham,
and Abraham believed 100% that God would live up to the
promise made – complete trust in God.
If we think, even for a second, that God will
bless and give to only those who ‘fill in the form
completely’ signed and dated - those who follow every
letter of the law – as if God were some cheap lawyer
drawing up a contract with hidden clauses and supper
fine print.
When that happens, we remove personal trust and
create an ironclad contract – and if that is the case
there is no promise, it’s just a cheap business deal.
Fine print, legalize, and punishments – that
could never be defined as a ‘promise.’
God does not need to, nor did God intend to
create a contract.
God simply gave us a promise – and that’s
that.
You see, a promise from God is unbreakable, and
no contract is required.
This
leads to a very interesting fact in our relationship
with God – trust.
We must trust that God will fulfill God’s
promise – we need to trust and embrace God and know
that God’s promise is a pure gift, with no strings
attached.
Seeing God’s promise for what it is, a gift, is
the only way we can be assured that everyone –
everyone, those who hold to traditions and those who
never heard of them – knows they are part of the
promise.
When Moses tells us that God called Abraham
“father of all” it is not a racial thing – it’s
a faith thing.
If we think it is a racial thing we are seeing
things in the wrong light.
Abraham
was no saint – and God selected him, not because he
was a saint, but because God could make something out of
Abraham that no one else could ever dream of.
Isn’t that what Moses tells us in Genesis when
he writes what God told Abraham, “I will make you the
father of many people.”?
See the flow?
Abraham was FIRST called ‘father,’ THEN he
became ‘father.’
Simply by God’s word did God make something out
of nothing, all because he trusted God for God’s
promise!
Raise the dead?
No problem.
Make something, from nothing?
Again, no problem.
When everyone else had doubts, Abraham stood fast
and trusted God.
Think of this, Abraham lived life not based on
what he could not do, but on what God would do for him.
Moses relates in his story in Genesis that
because of this, his trust, God told Abraham, “You
will have a huge family.”
Abraham
did focus on all his “problems” and say, “Oh
hopeless me.
There is no way this old, very old (100 plus
years), body will ever father children.
There is no way that my old, very old, and
infertile wife could ever have children.
I think I will give-up.”
No way, he trusted God’s promise.
In fact, he jumped head on into the promise and
took it by the horns; he had no time for hypothetical
“what ifs.”
By doing so, he came up strong and ready to move
forward knowing and trusting that God was good for the
promises made.
That’s why Moses in Genesis says; “Abraham
was cool with God because he knew God would set him
right.”
Guess what?
It’s not just Abraham that lives by the
promises of God – we can also.
We can have the same stuff told about us when we
accept and embrace and believe the God who gave life to
Jesus when all was hopeless.
What Jesus did for us, sacrifice himself, set us
right with God – and that’s a good thing.
Romans
5
Patience:
By walking into a faith with God, something he always
wanted to do for us – get right with him on all
levels – basically, we have it all with God
because of what Jesus did for us – wait,
that’s no all, there’s more:
get ready for this, as we kicked open the
door to God, at that very moment – not a second
after – we found that God had already opened his
door to us. All
of a sudden, we found that we were standing right
where we always wanted to be standing, in the
middle of God’s love and grace, singing his
praise from the top of our lungs.
Yea, but there is more to come; we actually continue to
shout and sing praise, even when we are stuck
between a rock and a hard place and life is
feeding us garbage – because we know that God is
with us and that fire can temper iron and make it
harder. Troubles
help develop a deep passion for change and a deep
understanding of patients.
Our tempered nature develops a solid place
for virtue to set and grow, which keeps us awake
for what God will do next – meaning we never
feel left out of God plan; we know God would never
short change us in live.
In fact, there is no way we could get
enough big baggies to catch all the blessings God
is giving to us; life poured out in great
qualities with the Holy Spirit as the one pouring.
It is so cool to know that Christ arrived right in time to
make all this happen.
You see, we have to remember that he
didn’t wait for us to get ready, which would
never happen.
Jesus stood ready to give his life for us
when we were not even close to being ready; we
were too weak and rebellious to understand what
was happening.
Besides, even if we were not weak and
rebellious, we would have no idea what was
happening anyway.
You see, we can see a person dying for a
person who is worthy, but to die for us – people
not worthy – that’s hard to understand.
Because of this we have been set right with
God, now we are no longer at odds with God – we
can count on the sacrifice of Jesus for us.
Think about this, this is just too cool –
if, and get this, if we at our worse and God gave
his Son for us, now that we are in a deep
relationship with God, he has expanded our lives
and offers to us everything we could ever need.
Now that we walk in a relationship with God
we are no longer satisfied to just “live
life.” Now
we desire to live life to the fullest, shouting
and singing praise with great joy.
Ok, you might know the story of Adam in Genesis and how he
got us in a mess with God?
It’s death, sin and destruction and not a
single person exempt from the actions of Adam.
It was because of Adam’s actions that sin
came between God and us.
Yet, the extent of this “relationship
disturbance” was not truly understood until God
shared it all with Moses in Pentateuch (first five
books of the Jewish Scriptures).
So, this huge abyss, this cavern between
God and us filled the lives of all people between
Adam and Moses.
Even people, who did not sin in a
“precise” way like Adam, did by disobeying a
command that God had given – and this cause a
separation between God and us.
But God is just so cool, just as Adam cause
this mess, Adam also pointed to the way we would
be save and placed back into a relationship with
God.
Think of this, and you will be amazed at God’s love for
us; one persons actions placed us in a separation
relationship with God; causing the abyss that we
strived to fill.
Then God’s wondrous gift in Jesus Christ
got it right! To see them as equal – the sin and death gift of Adam and
the life and love gift of Jesus – is crazy.
If one persons actions cause that much sin,
and for that long of a time; imagine how wonderful
the gift of salvation is when we see that God’s
own son gave his life for us to break the bondage
of sin.
All right, this is as simple as I can put it, ready?
One person messed up and did mega-wrong and
got us all caught in sin and death, then another
person did mega-right and got us out of all the
garbage; but even more – besides getting us out
of the garbage, he got us into life.
One person said “no” to what God wanted
and got other messed up, and one said “yes”
and fixed it all.
In fact, it’s all Christ. All the laws passed did nothing except create lawbreakers. We need to remember that no sin can ever outdo or overpower the greatness of God’s love and grace. In the battle between sin and grace, grace wins hands down. All sin can ever do is threaten us with death, nothing more. But, because of the love and power of Christ over sin, grace lives and abounds in the world in massive ways – it’s never ending and always around.
Freedom?
Ok,
what do you do now?
Do you keep acting the same way you did before?
Man, I would hope you don’t.
Think of it this way, if you moved to another
location can you still live in your old house?
If you look around, you find yourself in a new
place. That
is what coming to a relationship with God through Christ
is like. It’s
like this, when you choice to be baptized into a
relationship with Jesus Christ, you moved from your old
dirty house, into a brand new house.
Think of it this way – your old house was sin
and your new house is grace.
You’re a new person living in a new house,
cool! That’s
what it means to have a new life in Jesus Christ.
When you got dunked, it was like being placed in
the tomb with Jesus, when you came out it was like the
resurrection. When
this happens, each of us is raised into a new
relationship with God, this way we can see the grace of
God – our new home.
Could it be any easier to understand?
When we walk in the light of Jesus Christ our
“old ways” are nailed to the cross with him. When
this happens each of us is given a light-filled life
with God so that we can light up our new house.
Again, could it be any easier to understand?
Our old ways (those sin ways) got nailed to the
cross with Christ – which ended our tortured sin life.
This helped us break the call of sin in our
lives. So,
what that means is this; if we moved from our old hose
of sin and darkness, we now live in a new house of grace
and light. We
know that when Jesus came back to life, he included us
in that gift of eternal life.
This is the cool part, never again will the
darkness of death have control on us.
That’s because when Jesus died for us, he took
all our sins with him.
Then, when he came back to life he brought
God’s grace to us. Think of it this way, right now you here sin talking, but you
just don’t understand what it is saying; but God
speaks and you know God’s voice and you understand
God’s words – and you want more.
You are free from sin, because you are alive in
God – that is exactly what Jesus Christ did for you.
This means you need to live in your new house
with grace, love and light not giving sin a place to
live. Not
even a small room, sin has no place in your life.
Because you live in a new house, you should have
no desire to return to the old neighborhood.
So,
the question becomes, if we are now living in a new
house can we make some part of that hose the same as our
old house? Can
we, if we desire because of our freedom, create a room
in our new house that is a little dark?
The simple answer; no.
Come on, our own past has shown that some “acts
of freedom” actually destroy true freedom.
If
you decided to move back to your old home, a freedom you
have, it’s actually your last free act.
But, if – by your freedom – you stay in your
new home and live in relationship with God your freedom
never fails to grow.
All our lives we let our old way, our sinful way,
control our actions.
Now I thank God that you moved to a new house and
have a new landlord.
This new landlord is the one that allows us the
freedom to live life in total freedom!
I hope the way I am explaining it makes it easy
to understand.
Think
back in your life.
Remember when you could do as you wanted?
You could treat people the way you wanted.
You can remember when you did what you did
without caring at all for the feelings of others, never
mind your even thinking of God.
So, the question is, “what kind of freedom wa
that?” Let’s
be real, the worse your life, the less freedom you have.
But now that you moved into that new house and
know the freedom of God, all is cool and life is good.
How different is your life now?
When
you could do as you wished, ignoring God and not
listening to his touch on your heart, you did not have
to bother with thinking what was, or was not right –
you just did as you pleased.
So, look back now, what do you have to show for
it? What
did that old house freedom get you?
Anything you are proud of today?
It’s simply a huge dead end.
Now,
with living in your new house, you don’t have to go
back to your old address. You don’t even have to pick-up your old mail.
God is sending you new messages.
God has you hooked into his “instant
messaging.” When
you get the “you’ve got mail” from God, you get
stoked because you know God is talking to you.
So, you naturally want to do what God is telling
you to do. Think
of it this way, if you work for some company your whole
life called sin, what you get is a gold watch and death.
But when you work for God – you get it all and
eternal; an eternal life given to you as a gift from
Jesus Christ.
Romans
7
Form the old house to the new:
Let’s
look at it in light of a marriage.
For example, when a man and a woman marry, they
do so for life – this is how God planned it.
If the man dies, the woman is free to select a
new husband. But,
if she does so before he dies she is an adulator. This
is how you were tied to your old life, your old home.
When Jesus Christ died, he took the whole
“law-controlled” way of living with him, basically
setting you free to “marry” (if you will) to a new
life. Now you need to produce children (disciples) in the faith.
When
we lived in the old house, and tried to change our
lives, we could not – because old habits kept coming
back. The
walls of our old house kept us from seeing the world
around. All
that did for us is drive us crazy and make us try
anything to get out – breaking more rules.
So, to put it another way, now that you are free
from the emotional pain of an abusive spouse, from the
oppression and demanding nature that controlled your
life, we are free to live life to it’s fullest in
God’s grace and freedom.
But now I can hear you ask, “If the law was so
bad, could we say that it was no better then sin
itself?” No,
not really.
You
see, the law had its place – just as you loved the
person you married before they were abusive.
It was that love that gave you the guidelines for
a good life and set forth certain behavior.
But the problems started when the abuse started.
It’s been like pretending that all is all right
with the marriage, and hiding the abusive scars.
Don’t you remember that?
I sure can.
Just as a marriage, the law code started out
pure, but people messed it up big time.
So,
what happened was this; sin found a way to creep into
the marriage, as it did into the law.
It turned a list of “do’s” into a list of
“don’ts.” It
made the law more important then the people the law was
to serve. To keep the metaphor going, it took the marriage and made it
list of “requirements” and not a marriage of love.
In my case, the law produced a “love for the
rules” and not a love for the people.
The
deeper I got into the law, the further I fell into the
trap. I was
fooled, and left stranded by the law.
The very thing that was suppose to help me walk
in the light, was actually used to trip me up –
causing me to crash and burn.
While the rules where fine and growing, I was
sick and dying. But
the law itself is from God and is good and sane –
it’s just when people get control of it that messes it
up.
I
know what you’re thinking, it’s like I can hear the
questions: “Ok,
so that means I can’t even trust what is good in the
law?” “Is
what is ‘good’ just as dangerous as what is
‘bad’?” Well,
no. You see
sin simply did want sin does, it uses “good” to
overplay temptation.
You see, when sin entered God’s law it did not
“destroy the law” as much as it twisted it into
something that was not of God.
By blending in with God’s good commands it had
a twisting effect and caused all kinds of problems.
I
know what your thinking next, “God is spirit and
God’s commands are spiritual, but I am not, don’t
you feel the same way?
Sure. If there is one thing I can say for certain is that I am full
of myself. Come
on, think about this, I spent more time in the twisted
law then in God grace – I was locked in my old house.
What use to drive me crazy is that I would want
to do the right thing, but would soon find myself doing
the wrong thing – even when I did not want to, I did
things I did not like doing.
Now,
if I can think of all the good things I should be doing,
but I am unable to do them, I don’t need to be slapped
in the back of the head to know I need to follow God’s
way. Then I
get the kick again, I know the “law” but don’t
want to follow it, and the power of the twisted sin
keeps me from doing what I know is right – I need
help, big time. I soon come to realization that I do not have what it takes
to do what I need to do.
I can wish it, but that won’t work.
I could decide to “do good,” but I never do.
I could say I will do “no bad,” but then I do
anyway. My
feeble and limited attempts to do what is right never
result in the desired results.
I have to admit that something has gone wrong
deep inside of me that keeps me from doing the good I
know I need to do; and it happens all the time.
The
second I decided that I would do well; sin comes along
and trips me up – every time. You see, I truly want to follow, but I just have a hard time
doing what I need to do.
Parts of me want to be rebellious – and just
when I think I have that part under control, it pops up
and takes control.
I am ready to give up.
“Is there anyone, or anything, I can do?”
Isn’t that the question you have at this point?
The
answer to that is – YES, and I thank God there is
Jesus Christ to come to my aid.
It was his actions that set things right for me,
and for all of us.
I want to follow God, I want to walk in God’s
light, I want a spiritual life and a lasting
relationship with God and I know I need a solution to
bring about a change in my life.
Romans
8
Just
so you understand, if you are waling in Christ, no one
can condemn you. You
see, when you are walking in The Way God’s spirit
frees you from all the crap that holds you down and
leads you to death.
The Law could not hold us, because of all the
garbage in our lives.
So, God kicked in a different plan to get us to
be in relationship with Him.
God send His only Son, in a fragile body like
ours (except ours is filled with life garbage).
With that, God destroyed the hold all that crap
has on us. When
His Son, Jesus, died for us – as a sacrifice – He
cleaned all that garbage out of our lives.
He did this so that the Law would be fulfilled,
and we would not continue to in our garbage filled human
lives, but we could walk in the spirit of God.
Remember,
people who live in the garbage think about garbage all
the time – they have come to love it; but those who
are walking in The Way and in the Spirit find life’s
peace. If
you allow the garbage to fill your life, you die.
But if the Spirit is your guide, life is yours to
the fullest with peace.
Keep in mind that a life filled with garbage is a
life that is no in God.
People who live in garbage have no understanding
of God or God’s way, and maybe they never will.
This is one key reason why those who live with a
life of garbage can never please God.
But,
because you are waling in the light of The Way, you are
not filled with the garbage of life.
You have taken in Jesus and pushed out the
garbage, so you now live under the Spirit (and just to
be reminded, if you live in the garbage, you can not
live in the light of The Way – it’s impossible.) Now, just because you live in The Way, that does not mean
your body will live forever – that’s impossible.
But, you will live forever, that’s a promise. You see, garbage kills the body, but walking in The Way
brings eternal life to the Spirit.
The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead,
lives in you where the garbage use to be.
So, just as the Spirit raised Jesus, it will
raise you when the time comes.
Your “garbage bodies” will rot, but your
spirit will live forever.
So
my friends, because we give-up the garbage, we do not
need to do as the garbage dictates.
Our past garbage does not guide our current life.
Because, if you want you can fill your body with
more garbage – and if you do, you will parish with it.
But, with the power of the Spirit you can get
past the garbage and live a life that is in The Way –
and you will live.
Remember, everyone who walks in The Way and
follows God is one of God’s children, and God loves
His children.
Given
all that, you should stand-up and be counted as valued
humans and not live in fear.
You should stand firm in your walk and know that
you are in the arms of God.
You are part of God’s family – a child of
God. You
get to call God “Daddy” – now, that’s close.
When we are in The Way we hear the voice of
God’s Spirit speak to us and tell us we are loved and
are part of the family.
And because we are God’s children, we share in
everything that God has to offer – both the good and
the bad – and we do so with peace.
You
have to remember that anything that the suffering we may
feel now, is nothing compared to the blessings that are
coming our way. All
creation is waiting for the time when God reveals His
children to all. Remember,
all of creation has been smacked with the garbage of
life, and it waits for the time when God will remove the
garbage from everything.
Creation has been in great pain, but the time is
drawing near.
Even those of us who are following The Way are
crying for this garbage to be removed.
We wait that day when we have pure spiritual
bodies and live with God in glory.
You see, because we know of the freedom, the
garbage free life and the joy of living in The Way we
want it for everything and everyone.
And because of this great pleasure, we want what
has not yet come – but is coming.
Don’t
get me wrong, we will still have some hard time – but
God’s Spirit will help us when life garbage fills us
with distress. You
know what I mean. It’s
the kind of distress that causes you to question
everything and you lose your focus on prayer.
Don’t worry, when that happens God’s Spirit
knows, and prays for us.
What we cannot express in words, God’s Spirit
knows as our feelings, then takes them to God for us.
Because God knows all hearts, he knows what the
Spirit is saying and works in us to help us get through
it to God’s end.
To this end, God takes the pain and turns it into
a blessing. Remember
that God is not in the pain, but God is in the healing.
This will bring about a change in you that will
be of God’s choosing and of God’s direction. Keep in mind that God does know what is best for you in your
life. We
may think we know better, but God knows far more then we
do – after all, aren’t we striving to live in His
glory for us?
To
me, that’s a wonderful reality.
If God has your back, what more can you want?
Think about that for a second – who can do
anything that can affect you if God has your back?
Think about it this way, God gave up more then
you can ever think about for us, His Son, what makes you
think God will turn His back on us now?
If
you are walking in the way, who do you think has the
right to stand against you?
Do you think God will?
Guess again.
God allows us to stand with Him.
Who can stand against us?
How about Jesus himself?
Way off. Jesus
is the one who did this all for us and is standing with
God telling God that we are his and followers of The
Way.
So
think about this. If
no one can accuse is before God, can anything remove the
love God has for us?
Does it mean God no longer loves us if times get
hard and we suffer a bit? What if we lose everything?
Keep in mind what the Psalmist says, “for the
sake of God we die daily.”
Remember, regardless of the problems of life God,
and Jesus, will always love us – no matter what.
I
am completely convinced that there is nothing that will
take away God’s love for us, and remove us from our
walk with God. Nothing.
Not even death, angels, demons, our fears, our
worries, our doubts, not even hell itself can.
Not even distance, time and space can remove us
from God’s love.
Noting in all of creation can ever remove God’s
love for us – noting.
Romans
9
My
heart is heavy with hard sorrow and a powerful
never-ending grief for my fellow Christians.
I would personally give-up my eternal
relationship with God, if they would simply wake-up to
the teachings of The Way. Keep this in mind, I am telling the truth; I would never lie
about this stuff. Besides
God’s Spirit confirms everything I am saying.
Those people, “self-confessed Christians,”
are God’s children and God revealed to them a great
glory and blessing.
God set before them a new deal to get them past
the law. They were given the privilege of worshiping God and receiving
such wonderful promises.
They counted as their ancestors some of the
greatest people of God.
Christ himself is counted among them – God in
flesh –and still they don’t get it.
So,
I think the question becomes, “Has God failed his
promise to the Christians?”
Not on your life.
Remember, one is not born a Christian; one
chooses to become a Christian and follow in The Way.
Being a Christian is not a birthright.
Just because they count followers of The Way
among their ancestors, does not make them a follower of
The Way. Keep
in mind what Moses writes in Genesis, “Isaac is the
son that will be your ancestor.”
Keeping in mind that Abraham had other children
also. What
this is saying is that a physical relation is not
important to a Spiritual relationship with God.
You see, it is not blood, but promise that makes
us children of God.
So,
the question is not who your ancestor is, but how your
heart is. Remember
that Isaac had twin sons, Jacob and Esau and, Moses
shares with us that God then said, “I love Jacob, but
I reject Esau.” Wow,
is that harsh? Is
God so unfair that God can love one more then another?
Think about it for a second, God is not being
“unfair.” Remember
what God told Moses in Genesis that God told Isaac, “I
will have mercy on who I choose, and I will show a heart
of compassion on who I choose.”
So, getting the promise of God is not up to us,
it is totally up to God.
Remember
the story Moses shares with us about how God saved His
people from slavery in Egypt?
God told the Pharaoh, “I made you to be right
here at this point and time so that others can see my
glory.” So
you see, God selects people to see The Way, and others
to walk away.
Ok,
I can here the question right now, “So, why does God
punish those who do not follow Him, if He makes some
people to follow and others not to follow?
Aren’t they simply doing what God made them to
do?” No,
you can’t think that way – remember we are human and
we think small. And
when we think we know more about what God is doing
– we are just so wrong.
If you build a house, and a person comes along
and starts asking you why you did it the way you did it
– you would get angry.
Our thought would be “who are they to question
me, I created this house and I decide what happens.”
Just as you have every right to do what you think
best for what you create, God reserves the right to do
as God pleases. This
is God’s ballgame and if God says, “two strikes and
your out” – that’s how it works.
God can give to whom he wishes, and take from
whom he wishes. Consider
what God said through the Prophet Hosea about those who
do not follow The Way:
“Those who were not mine, I will call to be
mine. I
will love those I did not love before.”
Or, “someone once told them, ‘you are not
God’s people’ but now they will say, ‘you are now
the children of the living and true God.’”
Isaiah also cried out to the people, “even
tough the followers are as many as the sands, few will
be saved. Because
God will act quickly and in His way.”
Isaiah also added, “If God had not saved a few
of us, we all would have been lost.”
So, here’s what I think about all this. Those who are “outside” the faith can be made right with God by faith, even when they are not seeking him. But those who claim to be Christian, who try so hard to “get it right” by following some old law will never see it all. Why? Because they are they think they can get right with God based on rules and regulations – and that is not how it’s done. As God said through Isaiah, “I am putting a big rock in the way of Jerusalem so people can stub their toes and they will trip over it. But, if you see the stone, you will not be disappointed.”
Romans
10
My
friends, my heart goes out to other Christians that they
might get it and be saved.
I know they have a deep love for God, but they
are lost in their zeal.
They think that following God means you must
follow some old laws.
They won’t connect to God that way.
We need to remember that if it’s the law,
Christ died for no reason.
It’s all faith – and nothing more.
You
see, as Moses told us, it’s and all or nothing deal
with the law. You
cannot pick and choice what you will and what you will
not follow. But The Way teaches us something very different.
You don’t need to do anything, or go any place
to find God and a relationship with God.
Simply want one and follow The Way, and you are
there. Remember
what is taught in Deuteronomy, “The message is close;
it’s on your lips and in your heart.”
All
you need do is confess, with words, that Jesus is who he
said he was, and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead and you too can walk in The Way.
We have to remember that it is not just the act
of “believing” that but it is the act of
“saying” that brings us to a saving relationship
with God. Remember
what Isaiah told us, that if we believe in him we would
not be disappointed.
Everyone is equal in that simple truth, everyone;
both those inside the church and those outside the
church. We
need to realize that we all have the same God who wishes
nothing but the best for us, and has a strong desire for
us to be in relationship with Him.
So,
the question becomes, “how can they call on Him to
save them, unless they believe in Him?”
Which leads to the question, “how can they
believe unless they are told?”
Which leads to, “how can they know about Him
unless someone tells them?”
Which leads us to ask, “How can anyone tell, if
they are not sent?”
It’s enough to drive you crazy thinking about
it, but that is why Isaiah says that the one who carries
the message of God has beautiful feet.
Even when God sends you out, remember that not everyone will accept the message you bring. Keeping Isaiah on our mind, he said, “God, who even listened to us?” Still, the only way to get people to know is to tell about the Good News. So, what about those Christians? You can ask, have they actually heard the message? I think they have. Remember what it says in the Psalms: “The good news is everywhere and has gone to everyone, all over the world.” The question is not if they heard, the question is did they listen? I think they did, remember what Moses wrote: “I will make you jealous by blessing other people. I will make you angry by blessing non-believers.” Then Isaiah said, “I was found by people where not even looking for me. I showed myself to others who were not asking for me.” Then Isaiah adds, “All day long I opened my arms to them, but they kept pulling away and arguing with me
Chapter 11
Let me ask a rhetorical question, “Has God rejected His
people the Christians?”
He has not.
Keep this in mind; I am a Christian, a child of
Abraham and a member of a large church.
God is not “rejecting” His people.
Keep in mind what Elijah had to say about all
this, “God, they have killed your messengers, and
ripped apart your altars.
I am the last messenger and they are trying to
kill me too.”
Do you remember what God said back?
“Get real, your not the ‘only one left’ I
have thousands of others who follow my way and are my
messengers.”
Well, nothing has changed from that time, not all the
Christians have turned from God.
There are a few who get it and are walking in
relationship with God.
Keep in mind that they are doing so out of God
kindness, and not out of anything they do for
themselves. You
see, it’s because we know that God is kind that we
understand that it all starts with God and it is
completely free and undeserved on our part.
Here’s the scenario, most Christians, even though they
are looking with all honestly, have not found favor with
God. Don’t
get me wrong, there are a few that have, but many are
unresponsive to God’s message. Remember what Moses wrote about this, “God put them all to
sleep. Even
today He closes their eyes so they do not see, and
closes their ears so they do not hear.”
In fact, even David back-up what Moses had to say
when he said, “Let all that is on the table be a trap,
one that will trick them.
Let the blessings cause them to fall.
Let them go blind, and let them get weaker and
weaker.”
Given all that, did God’s people “stumble” beyond
recovery? No
way. The
plan was to make His grace and forgiveness available to
everyone. This
would cause the Christians to get ticked – even
jealous – because they believed that gift should not
be shared with outsiders.
Here’s the best part; if this gift is so great
and so powerful right now, imagine how great and
powerful it will be when God’s people the Christians
finally get it.
Keep in mind that I am saying all this for those outside
the church. Remember
that God selected me to be a messenger to those outside.
I really want you to understand, because my
hearts desire is to find a way to teach the Christian
what you outsiders all ready know, so that they just
might understand this great gift of God’s.
You see, when the Christians rejected God’s
offering, God simply offered it to the rest of the
world. This
gift will explode in greatness when the Christians
finally get it! Think
of it this way, they will do from death to life is a
second.
Remember that Abraham, and the other who came before us,
were holy, it stand to reason that their children would
be holy. I
mean, if a tree has a solid root base, the branches
should be strong, right?
But that’s the kick.
Some of the branches have been broken off.
So, God – as a great gardener – took the wild
branches of those outsiders and grafted them into His
solid tree of faith.
Because of this, God’s gift is open to even
those outside the church.
This is great, because the same water that feeds
the “regular” branches also feeds the “grafted”
branches. In
fact, the tree does not know the difference.
But that does not mean the grafted branch can
“brag” about being on the tree – remember, you are
a branch and not the root.
I can hear it now, “But those branches were broken off to
make room for us.”
Sure, but does that matter?
Think of it this way, those branches, the
Christians, were broken off because they rejected the
teachings of God and you were added because you did
believe. Don’t get cocky; remember this simple fact, if God can snap
off the branches that grew on the tree, what makes you
think He can’t break off a grafted branch?
Don’t fall into the same trap as the Christians
– remember to believe always.
This, to me, is very interesting.
Notice how God is fair.
He acts on those who disobey Him, and He blesses
those who follow Him.
So, if you stop trusting God will snap off your
branch. But is the Christians turn back to God and see His ways, God
will graft them back into the tree – because God can
do that. Think
of it this way. If
God is willing to take you – outsiders – and graft
you into His tree, which is not something done every
day, He would be far more eager to graft back the
Christians into the tree.
I tell you all this because I don’t want you to go around
thinking you are “better” then anyone, your not. Some Christians have a very closed heart, but that will only
last until more and more outsiders come into a
relationship with Jesus Christ.
So, the entire world will be saved.
Remember what Isaiah wrote, “A deliverer will
come to the world and he will turn to the Christians for
there ungodliness.
Then, God will keep His promise to them and take
away their saints.”
It sounds harsh to say, but many of those who profess to be
Christian are actuality enemies of The Way.
But this is not something you need to worry
about, because God has given his gift to you the
outsider. Keep
in mind; the Christians are still light in God’s eye
because of all that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob had been
promised. You
see, when God makes a promise, God never takes it away.
At one time you outsiders stood against God, but
when the Christians decided to go their own way, God
sent his gift to you.
Keep in mind, someday the Christians will wake-up
and get it right. God
allows people to stand in their own garbage so that they
feel free when He takes them out.
All this tells me one very important thing; we have a great
God, smart, kind and loving.
It’s impossible to understand all God does, and
does not do. Think
about it for a second, who can truly say what God is
doing? Who
knows more then God so that God calls them for advice?
Which one of us can give God so much, that God
has to repay us for our actions?
Everything we have comes from God; everything
that is, is because of God; everything that is, is for
His glory. To
God we must give all, and shout that he is God.
Chapter 12
Listen to this; everyone should live to keep themselves
acceptable to God.
That means in all areas of your life, including
your body. After
all, think of all the God has bone for you, it is the
least you can do for Him.
Don’t try to live like every one else.
Keep in mind that God’s ways are not the
world’s ways. When
you are open to God you will know what God wants of you,
and then you can do it.
Remember, being open to God allows God to share
with you His will for you – and that will is perfect
and pleasing.
As someone sent by God, I have an important message for you
from God; do not over estimate yourself, measure your
value based on your faith.
Now, let me explain what I mean.
When we think of the human body, we think off all
its parts. We
also think about the function those parts have.
Well, it’s the same way with Christ’s body. When you think about it, we are all part of that body, and
each one of us has something different to do.
But the cool thing is to realize, we are all
still one body – united and joined in Christ.
No one can function without the other; we need
each other – a true community, depended on each other.
You see, God gave each one of us a different
talent to do certain things better then someone else.
So, if you have the talent to know what God is
saying, speak out when you know that God is speaking
through you. If
you have a talent for serving others, do your best to
serve them. If
your talent is to teach, teach away.
If you have the talent and ability to encourage
people, encourage them.
If your talent is with money, then use that
talent for the benefit of all.
If your talent is to be a Discipler, then take
people under your wing and guide them in the faith.
If your talent is for kindness, then be as kind
as you can be.
You see, if all you do is pretend and say you love others
you are lost. To
be found, you need to truly love others – truly love
them. Don’t
love what is wrong; always standing with what is good.
You see, genuine love is what you all must have
for each other. That
means you love it when the others succeed, and you are
overjoyed by their abilities.
When you are doing God’s work for others, do it
with excitement and with energy.
Never be lazy in doing what God has called you to
do.
Be happy in the talents and gifts God has given you, and
use them for the benefit of others.
When hard times come, remember God is with you
and will work it all out in God’s time, so be patient.
Also, remember to always be in prayer.
When other members of the community are in need,
help them. Here’s
a great way of helping, invite people over to your house
for dinner and other activities. Do it on a regular basis and not just on certain, special
occasions.
If people give you a hard time because of your faith, blow
it off. Don’t
get angry with them or wish them harm.
Here’s a tough one – pray that God blesses
them. When
people are happy, be happy for, and with, them.
When people are sad, share in their sorrow and
feel their pain. Get
along with others and live to understand their hearts.
Don’t think you are better then anyone else,
you are not. Enjoy
the company of everyone you meet – get to know them
for being them. And
please, don’t play “mister know-it-all” – that
is just not cool.
If someone does you wrong, don’t think you have to “get
even” because that will never happen.
You need to be the kind of person that shows you
are a person of honor, not of vengeance.
Give it your best shot, and live in peace with
everyone around you. You see, it is not your place to “get even”
with others. That’s
God’s place, and God is better at it then you will
ever be. Remember
the words God gave to Moses, “I will be the one who
takes revenge. I
will determine who deserve what punishment.”
What you should be doing is what is told to us in
the Proverbs, “If those who hate you are hungry, feed
them. If
they need water, given them water.
This way they will see that what they have done
to you was wrong.”
You see, if you give in to the hate, the hate
wins, but you let love take over the hate – then love
wins. And
love will always win over hate.
Chapter 13
God put the government in place, so we should all obey the
laws of our respective governments.
We should listen to those who are our leaders.
Think of it this way, if you refuse to obey the
laws of your government you are refusing to obey God,
and God does not like that al all.
Keep this in mind; it is not the place of the
government to frighten the people.
If you are, then what did you do wrong?
If you did wrong, you should worry, but if you do
good you have nothing to worry about.
God gave the government of you land the authority
over you, and you should obey the laws they create.
Keeping in mind that God has given them the
authority to punish those who break the laws.
Also, please pay all your taxes.
Let’s be real, the government needs funds to
operate. People,
who work for our governments, need to get a fair wage,
so don’t hold back what is due them.
When you do pay your taxes, do so with a open and
positive heart.
Pay all that you owe.
That is all except all the love you owe others,
that can never be paid in full.
You see, if you truly love those in your
community then you are living in the true meaning of
God’s law. You
see, all the commandments of God dealing with cheating
on your spouse, killing people and taking what is not
yours come to complete unity in the idea of love. All of the commands can come together in the idea that we are
to “love others as we love ourselves.”
Think of it this way, when you truly love someone
you wish them no harm, and you do them no harm.
Here’s one more reason why you should be living a life
that honors God; time is running out.
Open your eyes and look around you.
The end is closer then you think.
The time of this world is almost over, and the
time of God’s Kingdom will soon be here.
So, don’t live for this world, live for
God’s. You
need to get rid of all the darkness in your heart; the
evil deeds of your past.
Take them off like dirty clothes, and then put on
new clothes given by God – made light and bright by
God’s bleach. Every
one of us needs to treat people with decency and
compassion. You
see, when you do others will be taken by your kindness.
Stop all the wild partying, getting drunk,
cheating on your spouse, fighting and jealousy.
You need to let Christ take control of your life,
and stop thinking or ways to get out of living a Christ
filled life.
Chapter 14
Do me a big favor, don’t treat people whose faith is
weaker then yours as wrong; don’t argue with them over
what is right or wrong.
Think of it like this, one person may believe
that it’s cool to eat everything under the sun; while
another may think you can not eat certain foods like
only vegetables –
for what ever reason they have.
If you are one of those who think it’s all
right to eat everything, don’t look down on those who
eat only vegetables – and the same is true the other
way around. You
have to remember this, God accepts both, and has no
problem with either thought.
So, if God accepts both, who do you think you are
to question them? They only have to answer to God and not to you.
God will guide them to do as He wishes, not as
you wish. Some
even think that one day is better then the next; while
some think all days are the same.
Think of it this way, those who set aside on day
as a “special day” are simply trying to honor God.
Those who eat everything are trying to honor God
also, because they give thanks to God before they eat.
And those who eat only vegetables are doing do in
honor of God. Remember
that we are not in control of our lives – none of us
can truly control when we were born or when we will die.
We may think we do, but we don’t.
You see, in all things we do everything because
of God. We
live our lives for God, when we die to go to God –
everything we do we do for God.
Christ did all he did for us for that very
reason. He
died for us, he rose for us, and he lives for us –
powerful stuff. So
then, if all that is truth (and it is) why should you
give a fellow follower a hard time because they think
differently then you?
Think of it this way; when the time comes we will
all stand before God.
Remember what Isaiah had to say, “just as sure
as I live, said God, everyone will bow before me and
everyone will tell others that I an truly God.”
I guarantee that each and every one of us will
stand before God and share our life story with Him.
So, don’t give each other a hard time over
anything. Make
a positive choice to live and accept each other.
I am pretty sure I can stand on the teachings of Christ on
this, that no food it bad on face value.
Yet, if a person thinks it is wrong to eat
certain food, then for them it is wrong.
And if your eating it causes them to freak-out,
just don’t eat it – if you do, you are not acting in
love. Why
do you want to cause distress to a fellow faith walker?
You see, you will not be condemned for doing what
is right.
If you think that God’s kingdom is what we eat or drink,
or don’t eat or drink, then you are missing the boat
– big time. It’s
all about how we treat others in peace, love and joy
through the power of God’s spirit. If you are in service to Christ with a good attitude, you
will know the peace of a loving God.
Guess what?
Others will see that and know that you follow a
loving God. So,
we should shot for a unity in our communities of faith
and work to build each other’s community up and not
tear it down. We
should not be tearing apart what God has developed over
something as trivial as “food.”
You have to keep in mind that in them, there is
nothing wrong with any food.
But if it is driving another follower crazy to
see you eat something, don’t eat it – lift them up,
don’t knock them down.
Don’t eat meat or drink wine or anything else
that would knock down a fellow follower.
You may be strong enough to know that there is
nothing wrong with what you are eating, but keep that
between you and God.
Believe it or not, God will bless you deeply when
you go out of your way for others. So, if there is any doubt in your spirit about certain foods,
don’t eat them – it’s that simple.
If you do anything you think is wrong, you are
sinning before God.
Chapter 15
You may think doing something makes no difference in your
life or in the lives of others, and that may be true –
but we cannot simply do what we want because it pleases
us. We
truly need to take into account the fears and doubts of
others who see it as wrong.
Because we strive to please others, we need to
keep their feelings in mind. If we are not trying to help them then we are not doing
God’s will. You
see, if we take the time to please them then we are
building them up in God. You have to remember that Jesus, himself, did not try to
please himself and remember what the Psalmist said about
that, “if they insult you, they insult me.”
Those words were written long before Christ came,
and they held a promise for us in God through Christ
Jesus.
I pray that our God of love, harmony and patience will be
with you and guide you in this hard life path – to
support one another and not bring each other down.
When that happens, we can all join in complete
unity in praise and glory to our God through Christ
Jesus. The
best thing to do then is to accept each other just as
Jesus accepted you for who you are, this way God is
brought to the front and given all the glory and praise.
We all need to remember that Jesus can as a
servant, not a boss.
He came to serve all followers and make them
aware of the promises of God.
He came for everyone – those on the inside and
those on the outside – so that all the glory could be
directed where it belonged, to God.
That is exactly what the Psalmist meant when they
wrote: “I
will always sing praise to you and your name among those
who are outsiders.”
And, “Everyone outside the community of faith
should rejoice, and the Christians should rejoice.”
And, “All people, insiders and outsiders, over
the entire planet will give praise to God.” And the prophet Isaiah added this; “Those who are descended
from David’s house will rule over the outsiders, they
will place their dreams on him.”
Because of all this, I keep you in my prayers and
I pray that God will keep you on track and happy.
I also pray that God will fill you with peace,
hope and power as you walk in His way.
Basically, I think you all have a good heart.
I think you know everything that I have and will
share with you, and you have been teaching these things
to others. Given
that, I felt lead to share all this with you.
I felt that a little reminder never hurt anyone.
You see, I believe that through the grace of God
I have been chosen to be a messenger to you who are
outside. I
am trying to bring the message as a breath of fresh air
to a world that is filled with garbage.
Because of this, I can get very excited about the
message and the possibilities.
I get excited when I think of all that Jesus has
done through me to the people I meet; and I have no
desire or ability to boast pass that.
I was the one who brought the message to the
outsider, and I am blessed.
Through me, they have seen God work in the lives
of many people who were hurting, sick or dead.
God’s spirit came through me and opened their
eyes to the message I brought.
From one town to another, people heard me speak
the truth and changed their lives to Christ.
My desire has always been to do just what I am
doing, to share the message of Christ with hurting
people. I
have no desire to share the message with people who are
already there – I am looking for the lost.
I have taken to heart the words of Isaiah,
“people who have never heard of God will see, and the
people who do not see will understand.”
To be honest with you, the reason I have had such
a hard time getting to visit you was because I was
preaching to the lost and the hurting. But, now I am finished in those areas and am looking forward
to visiting with you all in the future.
My plan is to visit on my way west.
I will spend some time visiting and getting to
know old friends again, and make new ones.
Then I will be on my way west.
Before I do that, I am going to have to head south for a
visit and drop off a gift from some followers to the
communities there.
A few communities in another city took time to
collect an offering for the communities in the south.
I felt it was important to bring the offering
because those who collected it were in a hardship
themselves. But
they felt that the communities in the south helped them
in their walk, they felt it was only right to repay
their love and grace with a special offering.
I love it, a community that is “new” is
taking an offering to help a community that is “well
established.” God
is good. As
soon as I drop off the offering I will be heading your
way and I know I will be blessed by my time with you.
Now for a little personal request, please keep me in your
prayers. Please
do it because you love me, not because I asked.
Pray that I will not fall into the traps of those
who wish me harm. Pray
that those who wish me harm will see the love of God
through Christ; so they can have a happy heart filled
with love, grace, joy and peace.
With that, I give you peace.
May your hearts be filled with love and joy.
Amen.
Chapter 16
Please do me one last favor. Tell Phoebe I will be coming to visit you soon.
Take her in as a follower of The Way, she is
worthy of all honor.
She is a dear friend who has helped me over the
years, so please, for my sake and the sake of God, treat
her well. Also,
greet Priscilla and Aquila, both have been equally as
valuable to me in my ministry to the world.
They even risked their own lives to help me.
But they have done the same for other outsiders
as well. Tell
the community that meets at their house I send my love.
Also greet Ephenetus, a very dear friend.
He was the first people to follow Christ in all
of Asia. Greet
Mary, who works hard for all of you.
I can’t forget my family in this, so pass my
greetings to Andronicus and Junia, both were in prison
with me for a time.
All the other Disciples have a great respect for
both of them. In
fact, they became followers before I did.
Say hi to Ampliatus, who I love deeply and
Urbanus, our co-worker in the faith, and our beloved
Stchys.
Pass on my greeting to Apelles, a very good man who is
approved in the eyes of Christ.
Let’s not forget my friends in the house of
Aristobulus. Say hi to Tryphena and Tryphosa and dear Persis, all workers
for God. Greet
Rufus and his dear mother- selected by God as His own.
Let’s not forget Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas,
Hermas and their families.
Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister,
and to Olympas and all the communities of faith in the
area. Give
them all a big hug and pass the peace of Christ onto
the,
I need to make one last appeal. Be careful of people who want to divide you and cause you
pain. They
work to upset people and get them mad at each other.
They do this by teaching things that are not part
of God’s word. These people are not servants of God; they are serving their
own human needs and desires.
They use smooth talk and misguided scripture to
get people to follow.
But I know you will not be fooled, and that makes
me happy. I
just want to make sure you see things in the right light
and to not be pulled into the games.
Timothy,
Lucius, Jason, and Sosipater all send their
greetings and love.
I, Tertius (I am the one writing Paul’s words
down for him) send my greetings as a fellow follwer of
The Way. Gaius
also says hello, we are his guests and the community
meets at his house.
Erastus and Quartus also say hi.
I know God is able to make you strong.
I know this because his Word tells me that it is
truth. I
love the fact that the message of Jesus Christ is plan
and simply to you who are outside.
It was all in God’s plan, a secret plan from
the beginning. But
not the cat is out of the bag and as the prophets told
in the past the time has come.
His plan was to tell you who are outsiders of the
love of Christ, so you could understand and follow.
So, it it to God – who alone has all the smarts
– be all glory, peace, praise and honor, forever in
Christ Jesus. Amen.