A love letter to the brokenhearted: Part 1

Isaiah 61:1 HCSB The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners;

This blog is going to begin a new series, and take the blog in a new direction. In the past, I have ministered to those who think they know God's will, think they have correct doctrine but are sadly on the wrong path. My heart breaks for the state of religion and the church. Too many people are too religious, and too busy trying to establish their own righteousness to really apprehend and benefit from the love of God.

However! If you are brokenhearted, tired of the struggle to perform, feel as though you have been a failure, this blog is shifting to be a beacon of light and love for you. Yes, there are those out there that will read this blog post, realize that they are unsatisfied in their spiritual life and desperate for an answer. If this is you down deep inside, be encouraged. The gospel was NEVER meant to provide a self help solution to your moral dilemma. The gospel was meant to provide a bridge over the gap you feel in the separation between you and the creator of the universe that loves you so much that you cannot even comprehend it!

I'm reminded of the beatitudes. Jesus said blessed are the poor in spirit. The Greek word that is translated poor is POCHOS... it means destitute, beyond hope. The reason that Jesus said the poor in spirit was blessed was because they were the substance of the kingdom of heaven. Yes my friend. If poor in spirit, destitute in spirit describes you way down deep in the recesses of your deepest most secret self, then indeed you are the stuff the kingdom of heaven is made of.

The verse from Isaiah that I have quoted at the top of this post is Jesus' mission statement. He said so when he quoted it in a synagogue in Luke chapter 4. The really good news is that He wants to heal your broken heart, no matter what your current situation is. Throw away the demands that the religionists have saddled you with and concentrate on the love of the Father demonstrated in the earthly mission of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you are brokenhearted because you can't seem to measure up to religious standards that have been foisted on you by ignorant people who are without understanding when it comes to the real gospel and the true message of Jesus. You need to just simply believe. Now belief is not just a mental assent to an idea. Belief is an apprehension of the depth of the love of God. If you are having a hard time believing what I am writing here, just go back through the many blog posts where I have shown over and over in a multitude of ways why those who put the focus on religion are wrong. I have article after article of chapter and verses that prove how wrong the religious are. But I suggest that you simply listen to the words of the Apostle Paul that I am going to quote below.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 HCSB (17) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. (18) Everything is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: (19) That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed the message of reconciliation to us. (20) Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, certain that God is appealing through us. We plead on Christ's behalf, "Be reconciled to God." (21) He made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Read that over and over and over until you understand exactly what it is saying to you. No matter what you see, feel, or hear, if you have turned to Christ,  YOU ARE a new creature! Think about the ramifications of the following... God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, NOT COUNTING THEIR TRESPASSES AGAINST THEM! Further, read that He made Jesus, the one who did not even know sin to be made sin for us.... why, so that we could in-turn be the righteousness of God in Him.

It is simple... YOU ARE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD!.  Believe it, apprehend it with every fiber of your being, rest in it and BE ENCOURAGED! More to come in this vain so stay tuned.....

Read Part 2 here

The New, "Politically Correct"

I think it was a right wing talk show host who originally coined the phrase "politically correct." It was a reaction to the left wing's effort to acknowledge and control sexism and racism in conversation. It certainly fell within the category of trying to impede free speech in favor of being socially polite. Yes, it was carried too far many times. And yes, sometimes it was down right silly.

However, now there has broken onto the scene a "political correctness" that is sinister and seeks to control free speech on the part of those who want to be socially sensitive and inclusive. It is the "politically correct" standard espoused by the far right and it is enforced by bullying and vulgar badgering. Yes, a new day has indeed dawned, and the pendulum has swung so far to the right that I fear we are in danger of repercussions that could be very damaging to the fabric of our society.

The new "political correctness" is touted by ignorant puppets of right-wing radio talk show hosts who have fomented this vitriol speech while making themselves mega-millionaires, many of whom cannot possibly believe what they say. Adding to this, politics itself is being taken over by these types of individuals. It has developed to the point that now our countries President is spewing this new form of political correctness on twitter. It my view it is disgraceful

The problem is there is no middle road. The factions in this country are so polarized that it is impossible for Congress and the Senate to get anything done. Healthcare needs a drastic overhaul and it needs to be reformed. The Affordable Care Act became anything but that. The reason in my view is that it was a one party effort. Had the moderates of each party been willing to work together they could have achieved something that would have really helped to change the broken system. Instead, they continue to force the pendulum to swing endlessly from left to right and then back from right to left. When will we realize that neither side of the ideological spectrum can really help. It can only truly be changed by compromise. A good solution has everyone a little upset. Why, because it is the fair solution. However, with a good solution, everyone can overlook their concerns because on the whole, it works for everyone. That is completely missing today in the current political arena.

While the politicians, (both sides of the isle) and the radio personalities, (again both sides) understand that a lot of their message is political rhetoric, and hyperbole, the crazies on the fringes do not. This breeds an atmosphere that will almost surely explode into violence at some point. The ugliest side of this conflict can be seen daily on social media. However, I believe that there is a "silent majority" (never thought I would be using that phrase) that really would like to see our government actually govern with compromise, forging acceptable solutions that would ultimately be acceptable to all. Again, not loved by all, but acceptable to all.

Further, those in political power need to tackle head on all of the areas of conflict. There needs to be discussions of race, gender, and class that actually acknowledges and seeks to address and improve the situation as it currently exists. I believe that if politicians in general would heed this advice and behave in this manner that they would not have a problem at election time. Likewise, politicians need to have the courage to reform election funding. Corporations are given an unfair advantage in the current system and need to be brought under control. With the current structure of financing campaigns. Corporations, and the uber wealthy have an unfair advantage in the actual legislation process.

I am calling for moderation and not a president who cannot quit tweeting and a house and senate that cannot ever compromise with the other party.

The Word

John 1:1-17 HCSB In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was with God in the beginning. (3) All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. (4) Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. (5) That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it. (6) There was a man named John who was sent from God. (7) He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. (8) He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light. (9) The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. (10) He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him. (11) He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him. (12) But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, (13) who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.

(14) The Word became flesh and took up residence among us. We observed His glory, the glory as the One and Only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (15) (John testified concerning Him and exclaimed, "This was the One of whom I said, 'The One coming after me has surpassed me, because He existed before me.'") (16) Indeed, we have all received grace after grace from His fullness, (17) for the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Every time I hear someone speak about the word, realizing that they mean the bible, I cringe. It hits me deeply in my Spirit, and not in a good way. Moreover, when one refers to the bible as the word, it gives it a status that puts it on par with God himself. First of all, it is necessary to understand the use and meaning of language from the first century. It was a time where Jewish Religion and Greek Philosophy had reached its zenith. Paul Tillich, the Lutheran Theologian stated that Christ came on the scene at the ripe time in history. It was the time when the gospel message could properly be understood. In Greek, the word is the logos. Greek philosophy had defined the logos as the divine seed. The logos was much more than the spoken or written word. It was the creative force in the universe.

In essence, the New Testament teaches that the word, logos was Jesus Christ. It is absurd to put Jesus on the same plain as a book. I know that theologians have meant well. They wanted to elevate the bible over other books. The fact is though, and I have proven it over and over again in the posts of this blog, that Jesus and his first century followers defined the word of God as the gospel. It is the good news of Jesus Christ the word made flesh. If you look at verse 14 of the above passage, it can readily be seen that the creative force became human flesh and made his dwelling among humanity. It was for a purpose however. The purpose was to bring for the gospel (good news) of God. Jesus was the gospel of God. He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He was before the world was, before creation. Paul, in Ephesians explains that God chose BEFORE the foundation of the world, BEFORE anything was created, to bless humanity with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

So you see, that not only is the bible not on par with Jesus, it is not on par with the gospel. In fact, Jesus stated in John 5:39-40 that the purpose of the scripture was to point to, prophesy about, and proclaim the gospel. When I say gospel, I do not mean the books written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. I mean the fact of the good news. That is, God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. And, in Ephesians, Paul explains that it was God's plan from before creation. There is so much misunderstanding in evangelical Christianity about this. It is time to awake and see what God has done in Christ. I mean what really God has done in Christ. He has completely restored the creation. That's why John writes in verse 17 of the above passage that the Law was given through Moses, but that GRACE and TRUTH was brought about and through Jesus.

Had the law not been given, there would never be an understanding of grace. It was necessary to give the Law to establish the wondrous aspect of grace. And furthermore, Grace is the TRUTH. Grace is the very nature of God. Yes, Jesus was God manifested in human flesh and verse 14 of the above passage says that he was full of GRACE and TRUTH. He was the exact image of God the father so that means that God is grace and truth.

This is precisely the reason that so many of the Jews rejected Jesus. It too was part of God's gracious plan. Romans 11:5-6 HCSB In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace. (6) Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace. God had given the Jews the Law to underscore the meaning of grace. They mistakenly thought that they had received it for righteousness. So then, Jesus came on the scene, full of grace and truth to introduce the heart of the Father concerning His creation. The Law was never meant for righteousness. In fact, that is why Paul said in Romans ten that Christ was the end of the Law for righteousness. The purpose of the Law was to show us how truly great grace was! It was to show us how to be at peace with God by grace, and just how fortunate we are that God is full of grace and truth.

Back to the word... I love the scripture. I know that it is God breathed. It is not a legal constitutional document however. It is a love story. It is God's love story of redemption that he had planned, purposed, and put into effect before creation. This is truly good news. My prayer is that the church will wake up to the real gospel..