Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Salvation of All

The objection is often raised that if Father will eventually save all anyway, why bother proclaiming the Gospel? In answer, please consider these:

First, that Father was in Chirst conciliating the whole world to Himself.
That believing is a gift, bestowed at Father's discretion.
That Father will give this gift to every one who has ever lived at their appointed time.
That Father has ordained that through the foolishness of proclaiming, the Word does His work.
The fact that Father will EVENTUALLY bring all mankind to belief, does not preclude Him from opening the hearts and minds of some NOW.

Once the full magnitude and glory of this marvelous truth dawns on the mind and heart (the gift from Father) it becomes fairly impossible to REFRAIN from proclaiming it. Such is the overflowing joy of a heart so changed.  And, since Father and Christ Jesus our Head are the authors and cause of all of this, the full credit and glory go to Them (before whom no flesh shall glory).  And we are privileged to participate in the process!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Of Chocolate and Men

  For the best part of the weekend they had listened with varying levels of indifference to the testimonies of men who had no clue about life in this place. Oh, there were some stories that struck a chord. But the most hardened were unimpressed. Mostly they agreed to participate because the food was known to be excellent and abundant. But now there was hardly a dry eye in the place. I watched with wonder as one of the hardest men I had ever met stared in disbelief. He sat there motionless, unwilling to allow the emotions seething beneath the surface to erupt. He had not seen this coming.
   In this place, where there is absolutely no privacy and most shreds of dignity had been stripped away, everyone has an agenda, everyone is working some kind of con. But this, this came out of left field. It had him by the throat and it wouldn't let go.
   It's not that he hadn't earned his berth here. He was guilty and he owned up to it. As the Chaplain liked to say, "These men aren't in here for singing in the church choir." It's just that he had never experienced anything like this. Or it had been so long he could no longer remember.
   It wasn't really the object itself. It was the idea. And someone he had never met, and likely never would, had taken the time to prepare it, expecting nothing in return. And it had flattened this street-hardened, institutionalized wise guy.
   And when I whispered 'happy birthday' in his ear (strictly forbidden in that place) the dam broke, and I watched a heart of stone turn to flesh.
   The power of unconditional love is irresistible. No one can tell me differently. And when the Author of Life removes the blinders from the eyes of the most hardened, which He will most surely do, the power of the flesh will be washed away in the flood of tears that follow.
   It was not the threat of eternal torment or the promise of streets of gold that changed this man's heart. Nor was it a promise of freedom.  It was a birthday cake with his name on it.
Isn't Father amazing!

O' For a Thousand Tongues!

What a priceless gift, to be given the eyes to see!

When Father says all, He means ALL! And when Father says every, He means EVERY! And when Father says 'no more', He means NO MORE!

All is of God  (I Cor 11:12, II Cor 5:18)

As in Adam all die, so in Christ will all be made alive. (I Cor 15:22)

God, The Savior of all mankind  (I Tim 4:10)

If I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men to myself.  (Jn 12:32)

And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it. And it shall be said in that day, Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, and he will save us: this is the LORD; we have waited for him, we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation.  (Isa 25:7-9)

All mankind will fear; they will proclaim the works of God and ponder what he has done. (Ps 64:9)

God will bless us, and all the ends of the earth shall reverently fear Him.  (Ps 67:9)

Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed. (Rev 15:4)

Every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess. (Isa 45:23, Phil 2:10)

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and underneath the earth and on the sea, and all in them, I hear also saying, ''To Him Who is sitting on the throne-To the Lambkin-Be blessing and honor and glory and might For the eons of the eons!'' (Rev 5:13)

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (Rev 21:4)


EVERY WRONG MADE RIGHT FOR ALL WHO HAVE EVER LIVED! NO MORE TEARS, DEATH, SORROW, CRYING OR PAIN!  Oh that this unworthy had a voice to sing!

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Vessels of Clay

Lydia's father was a potter.  I never met him, he had died before my family and Lydia's became acquainted.  Their home was full of his pottery.  As a matter of fact,  he had built their home as well.  It was made out of stone and it was beautiful.  His workshop was separate from the house and also made of stone. 
I will never forget his pottery.  Each piece was uniquely beautiful.  Some were created just to admire for their beauty.  Some were very clever in their design.  Some were quite practical.  One piece in particular remains a vivid memory even more than forty years since the last time I saw it.  It was tubular like a tire.  It was perfectly round with a hole in the center and had a base, spout, and handle as well.  It was artfully ornate and glazed a gorgeous blueish brown.  I remember puzzling over how on earth he made it.  As he crafted it, I wonder how many times he had to knead the clay into a lump and start over until at last it took the exact shape he had designed.  I have imagined him seated at his wheel shaping the clay as it turned.  To this day I remain awed by his skill.
In a sense,  I came to know Lydia's father through his work.  Both in the things he made with his hands and through his children.  His children are as unique as his pottery.
There is another Lydia whose Father is the Master Potter.  You know the story.  She was from Thyatira, running her business in Philippi.  Paul found her near the river on the sabbath, praying.  Her Father had prepared her heart to receive the Good News Paul was about to present.  The clay was on the wheel, already being shaped.  Over the rest of her life, Father continued to shape the clay.  Sometimes kneading it back into a lump, continuing the process until His design was perfected.  The finished piece will be a marvel to behold.  Completely unique, genius in design, a perfect expression of the Master Potter.
Consider your own life.  You are also on Father's wheel.  Clay in His loving and perfectly competent hands.  Sometimes in the shaping process.  Sometimes being kneaded (Fire is also used in this process.  But for now it is enough to be kneaded. :-) You may have confidence that the outcome will be perfect.
Now multiply all of this countless billions of times and the scope of what Father is doing begins to come into focus.  Every person who will ever have lived becomes a unique expression of Father's Love.  And all of this is happening according to the design laid out long before the first lump of clay ever took shape.

To Him be all the praise and glory!

Friday, February 19, 2010

Love's Triumph

Would Father's unconditional Love (grace and mercy) ever have found expression (been brought to light) if no created being had ever sinned?

Is it possible to experience unconditional love (grace and mercy) not having sinned?

Since all have sinned, are not all, as a result, made capable of experiencing the full expression of unconditional love?

Having experienced the ravages of sin's consequences, what is the opened heart's response to the full expression of unconditional love?  (Ps 107, Isa 25)

Who is it that opens hearts? (Acts 16:14, Jn 6:44-45)

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The demonstration of Father's love needed only one Perfect Expression. (Heb 1:1-4)
 
All will have been made capable of receiving that Love because all have sinned. (Rom 11:32, Rom 3:23)
 
All that remains is the opening of the heart. (Rom 9:14-18)

Each in his own time. (I Cor 15:22-23)

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Toward Liberty

In Brief...

Organized religion (read corporate church) is a God-ordained monument to the flesh (teaching as doctrines the traditions of men) set in contrast to the Ekklesia, the called-out body of believers (the glorious liberty of the children of God, worshiping in spirit and truth).  These are not synonymous.

For the vast majority of believers organized religion is a Divine training ground that sets bondage against liberty, law against grace.  Man's traditions obscure truth.  Most believers are, or have been, professing "members" of some corporate church.  It is the experience of bondage that makes liberty so sweet.

In contrast, all believers have been placed (called out) into the body by its Head, Christ Jesus our Lord.  And in time all will be set free.

Both are a necessary part of Father's purpose.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Toward God

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. (Jn 1:1-2) And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.(Jn 1:14)

The Greek pros translated here "with" is better translated "toward" as in 2Cor 3:4 and 1Thes 1:8.
The use of with here obscures a marvelous truth. Let's explore how "with God" obscures the meaning.

We know from 1Jn 4:8, 16 that God is Love.  That is, Father is selfless, without self.  Father's thoughts are always toward His creation, outward (Psa 145:16, Jer 29:11).  Father does not need (Acts 17:25).  He is complete, whole (Holy). We (creation) have nothing that Father wants or needs. He provides for our every need (Psa 107:9, Psa 136:25, Ecc 2:24). The mistake we make is imbuing our contrived deities with human needs and desires (self).  We create gods in our image.

We find then in Jn 1:1-2 that the Word is "toward God".  As the perfect expression of the Father, Jesus was/is also outward, selfless.  

I believe that in his original state, Adam was also toward God.  However, he was created to become selfish.  And so he became.  Once so oriented, there was nothing he could do to remedy it.  In fact, he had no desire to remedy it.  Self has no use for God (Rom 8:7). Self IS god (I, god - sorry Will Smith).

And every human since has been born in Adam's image (toward self - selfish, Gen 5:3).  The second Adam,  was once again in God's image, selfless, toward God (the Word made flesh).

So the idea that the Word was "with" God completely misses the point and obscures a marvelous truth about the very nature of Father and the Word (Who became flesh). Both are "toward".  That is, outward, selfless, Love. And by the indwelling Life of Christ, mankind will once again become selfless.  But we will all have had to experience the bondage of self and all the attendant torment and suffering.  For every ill is the direct result of the selfish nature in man (I, god).

So John is not speaking of the spatial relationship between Father and the Word.  Rather, Holy Spirit is revealing the selfless nature of both.  Now imagine for a moment future ages shared by countless sons and daughters brought to Glory through the Son, sharing the same selfless nature.  No conflict, hurt, sin or evil.  Consider also the priceless memorials of common suffering that will have proven beyond the shadow of a doubt, that the way of self is not an option, contrasting and revealing the transcendent Glory of Father.