Receiving Our Sight

The gospel of Jesus is the gospel of reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-21), however, we have made it one of conciliation. Conciliation is crisis management demonstrated by a dividing of assets in an equal value: thus creating a self-centered perspective. "Were the assets divided equally?" If I went into business with a man named Bob. We made widgets. We had a separation in our relationship and so go to court for conciliation. The judge would assist us in dividing our assets equally. Who gets what and how much. That is the best justice our human court can give. Reconciliation is the restoring of relationship and the business back into it's original intent. Bob and I would be restored relationally and the widget business would be back.

The way we present the western, evangelical gospel is conciliation. We have been separated from God and now He is being nice and wants to rescue poor sinners. But we never ask what is the original intent for God creating us? What have we been restored too? Conciliation produces a vision focused on the end result, in this case, heaven or hell. Reconciliation restores the original purpose lost and therefore the vision of who we were always created to be.

Vision is central to transformation. Most Christians are never transformed into Christlikeness because the vision we have is focused on the end result not the purpose of our existence: thus we live as orphans surviving because we never grabbed the vision of our original intent; to be God's sons.

God has created us to be sons but we have lost our identity (vision of oneself). Therefore, Christ has come to bring "recovery of sight to the blind." Jesus has restored us to our original intent and even provided us with a clear vision of how a son lives. He has restored our vision back to the original vision. Come let us pull the blindfolds off and receive our sight: a vision for who we are and why we are here!

We are a part of a ancient royal priesthood that extends throughout human history including Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Job, David, and more. We are a holy nation that will clearly put Christ on display that the world will have a clear vision of what the Father is like. We are being built into the house of God that will be filled with His glory and set on a hill for all to see. The nations will come to us and ask us to teach them the ways of the Lord. We are a family, of kings and priest, sons of the Most High God. We will not live to survive, provide, or protect ourselves- that is not the family way- we will live courageously selfless, love unconditionally, and speak the truth boldly. The glory of our Father will be seen upon our faces and we will be known in heaven and feared in hell. We are the sons of God, sent here to be an ambassador of the Kingdom of God, to show the world how extravagant our Father is.

This is the dawn of a new day that brings fresh light to see. Come and see from heavens perspective!

Word of God and the Present Tense

Jesus continued in John 16 by saying, “However, when He, the Spirit

of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth”

( John 16:13). Notice that He does not say when the Scriptures come, or

when the New Testament is finished, or when the cannon is closed

you will understand. No, He says when the Spirit of truth comes,

He will guide us into all truth. Truth is always revealed by the Holy

Spirit––never stumbled upon but guided to.

Why is this important? Glad you asked. It has been pointed

out, “Faith comes by hearing, not by having heard.” Faith is based

on hearing God in the present tense. Let me give you an example

that will show you the danger of misunderstanding layers of truth.

God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, but later God said the opposite,

“Do not lay your hand on the lad” (Genesis 22:12). I bet Isaac is

glad Abraham kept listening to God!

If Abraham would have kept doing what God had said at the

expense of what God was currently saying to him, he would have

been guilty of the blood of Isaac. In the same way, when the church

clings to what God has said at the expense of what He is currently

saying, the church sacrifices its future on the altar of its traditions.

The church then becomes guilty of murdering its young and its

future. The church then dies and looks to God and wonders why

He would allow such a thing. Or we create a theology that makes

our defeat and ineffectiveness “God’s will for the end times,” which

in turn eases our conscience and removes any responsibility away

from us and makes fruitlessness somehow pleasing to God.

God was saying something in the Old Testament and built on

that in the New Testament, which made the message different—

complete. The Old Testament message was incomplete; it needed

Jesus. For example, the Old Testament pointed out how horrible

sin is; the New Testament pointed out how powerful grace and love

are. It is incorrect exegesis to look at an Old Testament principle

without seeing it through the lens of Christ. For example, David

sinned with Bathsheba, and God struck his child with sickness, and

the child died. The principle is simple: the wages of sin is death. Yet

to look at this story and conclude that today God gives sickness and

kills babies is an incorrect interpretation. The correct one would

be seeing this analogy in light of redemption: “My sin deserved death,

but Jesus died for me and as me; therefore, God does not kill

babies, because it is unjust to pay for a sin twice. If we cling to the

guard rather than embracing the guide, we will be guilty of killing

our future!

My son is Up!!

This morning I heard Judah was up so I got up and made him a bottle. By the time it was ready for consumption he had fallen back asleep. So, I waited in the living room for him to wake up. Finally I heard him "talking" and was so excited I thought to myself, "My son is up!" As I ran into his room to see him and feed him I had this overwhelming thought that God thinks the same towards me. I like to think of myself as a good father... thats better than thinking about the alternative, but I am NOTHING like my Father-God. God is so amazing. And He is crazy in love with you. He delights in you...

Later in the day I took a break from my office and went into our auditorium. I was taking some time to worship Him when I was overwhelmed again. (Jehovah sneaky... He likes to sneak up on me) This time I was overwhelmed by the simplicity of the gospel. There is Father who loves His children. But His children have been lied to. They are deceived into thinking they are alone as orphans. The gospel is the pleading of the Father, through sons who have returned home, to sons who are lost and lonely. The plea is simple... There is a wonderful, loving Father who is in deep pursuit of you. He first sent His only begotten Son to redeem you and now sends all those who have been restored out to the ends of the earth to proclaim this wonderful news... "You have a Father who has never forgotten you and who has never for one moment stopped loving you. He is pursuing you and will never stop... will you stop running and turn and come home? A Ring, a robe, and family awaits you."

People love to tell good news... People love to hear good news... When did the good news stop being good?

"Papa, I am up now!"

AT

The Sons of God

The bible is clear that those who believe in Christ have become sons of God. (Gal. 3:26; 4:4) The problem is we still think like orphans. An orphans root identity is one of being alone. Therefore, they are preoccupied with provision and protection. Sons have this foundation of being loved and accepted, therefore, their Father is their source of provision and protection. Jesus gives us a great insight into the inward working of a orphan in Luke 12. He tells in my own paraphrase "do not worry about your life. What you will eat or how you will be clothed because your Father knows you need such things. However, seek first the kingdom and all these things will be added to you." Because orphans are preoccupied with provision and protection they cannot have the priority of the kingdom. Sons trust the Father for their provision and protection, therefore, are free to recklessly seek their Father's Kingdom.

What in you distracts you from seeking the kingdom? What in you competes with the presence of God? Orphans hoard; sons trust. Orphans control; sons yield. Orphans seek approval; sons impact nations. It is time we not only have the theology of sons but start thinking like one!

All of creation is waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God! (Rom. 8:19)

Real Reality...

Just because you believe something is real does not make it real. It even may appear and feel real to you but still does not make it real. That would be a good lesson to learn and relearn: Just because it appears real or feels real does not make it or mean it is. The Greeks had no word for reality. Actually "reality" is the best understanding of the Greek word translated into english as truth. Truth is void of lies or void of things/stuff that is "un-real." Truth is void of distracting "un reals" so truth is ultimate reality or real reality. The Bible declares that what God says is truth. (Jh. 17) What God says is ultimate reality or real reality no matter what our experiences, sight, or touch tell us.

For example: I can tell you my name is Rich. You can experience me introducing myself as rich. I could be wearing a name tag that you see and read "R-I-C-H." Others may even call me rich. But that does not make my name Rich. The reality is my name is Aaron. It is what my Father calls me! So, your experience, sight, and even others would have given you false information. Even if I believed my name was rich it still does not change the reality... my birth certificate reads Aaron.

So the million dollar question is what is our birth certificate? And what does it say? What is the standard from which truth is derived? God! The devil is a liar. His main goal is to distort truth! To pervert "reality" or at least our perspective of reality. If all the devil is armed with to come against you is the lie... then all you need to have power over him is truth! I may be simple minded I been accused of that before.

What does God say about you? Find out and reckon yourself whatever He says. Romans 6:11 says reckon yourself dead to sin. I do not reckon myself dead until it becomes true but because it is true! I do not reckon myself a son of God until I start acting like one. NO! I reckon myself a son because I am one. That is who I ultimately am. What I experience, see, touch, and hear others say... is simply a perspective shattered with untruths and false realities.

May the Lord wash you with the water of His word... His ultimate reality,

AT

I can do nothing...

Jesus said in John 5 He could do nothing. That is a remarkable statement. The God man so restricts Himself that He lives not being able to do anything. Jesus could not heal the sick or raise the dead. He could do nothing. Everything He did He did because the Father was doing it and He joined in. He did not come to show us what God could do in the flesh but what one man could do when rightly related to God. Jesus lived completely abandoned to the Fathers will.

Jesus the man who had ever right and ability to prove to us who He is and what He could do restricted Himself to complete dependence on the Father. After His statement "I can do nothing" He says, "He does only what He sees the Father doing." Allow me to suggest to you that realizing apart from Jesus you can do nothing opens your eyes to begin to see what the Father is doing. Try it. It is so refreshing to admit I am not smart enough, bright enough, talented enough, strong enough to do anything of any eternal value. So, Lord show me what you are doing and I will join you and as we co-labor You can do Your stuff in and through me.

In Acts 4: 13 the bible says, "when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized they had been with Jesus" Are you willing to let people see what you are not so they might see who you have been with? Do not hide inadequacies but use them to practice vulnerability. Remember the great lesson of 2 Cor. 12: when we are weak He is strong. As we are aware of our weakness we will see His power rest upon us. I encourage you to practice the presence. Live with the awareness that apart from Him you can do nothing... but you are never without Him again... so listen and join Him in the Fathers business.

Becoming childlike

Spiritual maturity is the process by which God makes us more and more childlike!

One of the most important and yet seemingly lost qualities I have seen to be crucial to Kingdom living is childlikeness. Children do not worry about provision or protection nor are they concerned with their faith, their holiness, or their obedience. They hear, trust, obey, and trust some more. Oh! may God restore to His church the innocence of a child. May the simplicity that is in Christ become the focus of our daily lives.

Some where along the way I believed a lie. I do not think any one person taught it to me as much as I learned it through life in the western church. Some where I was taught that sophistication and intelligence were the qualities of the mature. But most likely the clearest and most genuine mark of maturity is childlike trust. The "ability" to lose self-awareness in a head-long jump into the Fathers arms!

We spend so much time trying to cover up our inadequacies to prove our maturity while losing humility! You see the sophisticated church goers, who know "how to act in church" i.e passionless think by sophistication they please God. But He enjoys all of His children simply because they are His children. This does not mean God does not enjoy the "sophisticated" "proper" acting christian but it to say He loves them in spite of these things not because! I must say I have climbed up the tree of knowledge and peered from its branches and saw a greater more fruitful pleasant tree: the tree of life. Delighting in the Lord and He in I is the only way to live each day!

I must insert here a much needed disclaimer; faith and intellect are not mutually exclusive. But seek first understanding with your intellect and you will miss out of the joy of faith. But seek first trusting God even when you do not understand and God will give you understanding. Faith is the only real way to understanding. Spiritual maturity is the process by which God makes us more and more childlike! Come as you are just do not let the titles, what you know, or what you do not know keep you from the joy of Sonship. If you are in Christ you are a Son and the Fathers arms are wide open ready to delight in you simply because you are His son.

May God grant you a childlike heart!

AT