What a world!

This will be short. I just wanted to note the decision of our President to forgo any White House activites for the National Day of Prayer. He has opted to "pray in private". I simply note this decision an one more step towards removing spiritual things from our public life. How far from our Judeo/Christian roots are we willing to go. At what point will our Government begin to actively oppose religeous expression. It's sad.

These Times

This past week has been something hasn’t it? If you are retired like I am and dependent on your investments for your standard of living you face a pretty certain adjustment in the days ahead. We have experienced the worse decline in the stock market in history and our portfolios reflect it. Unfortunately that adjustment may not be over and certainly the recovery time is quite unknown. It is easy to pass this off as something that will soon pass, but the severity of the event and the reaction by governments all over the world say that this is may last for a time.

Scripture informs us that there will be a time of sorrows. Some say we are in those times. Some Christian prophets have pointed towards this financial melt down in very specific terms for years.

These times test our Christian resolve and demonstrate as nothing else could where our true loyalties lie. Have you found yourself focused on your losses and their devastating effect or have you had a sense of the Lord and His presence in you during this time of testing? I have to admit that I have experienced both. I have lamented the losses we have accrued (only paper losses at this point), but I have also been conscious of Christ in me and that my small “fortune” is not where my security lies. I believe Jesus is in both our desire to preserve our storehouse and our knowing that He is the source of all things in our lives. Mourning our losses is a real emotion that I am certain the most dedicated among us is feeling. Being a Christian in hard times does not demand that we deny our humanity.

The fact is that the harder the times the closer we draw to the Living God who indwells us. The negative feelings and events help us to see all the more the power of God in our lives. His Spirit brings to us comfort and wisdom and even joy in times that seem absolutely hopeless and impossible.

You will hear all kinds of “Christian” advice over the next weeks and perhaps months. Job got a lot of advice also. Very little of it helpful. Most of the advice we get can be dismissed with a smile and a nod as regurgitated religious speak.

Pray for wisdom in the coming days. True Christianity is far simpler than what you will be hearing. God does not desire sacrifices or any of our good works, he desires vessels in which to dwell and through which He can act. Remember you are always and forever near God because He is in you.

As we move forward accept your emotions your fear and anger and loss. Above all do not condemn yourself for these troubles. And while you work through your feelings look for Christ to manifest himself in ways that will surprise and delight you.

Perhaps there is a new move of the Spirit coming. It will be manifested in ways we have never seen before. If indeed these are times of sorrows, then we are ever closer to the coming of our Lord.

May the Lord bless you mightily in these times that test us.

A Song From Norman Grubb's Book "Yes I Am"

IF THE LORD SAYS I AM, YES, I AM

If the Lord says I’m a Christian, yes, I am, Acts 11:26

If the Lord says I’m made new, yes, I am, 2 Cor. 5:17

If the Lord says I’m one spirit with Himself, 1 Cor. 6:17

If the Lord says I am, yes, I am.

If the Lord says I’m a son, yes, I am, 1 John 3:2

If the Lord says I’m an heir, yes, I am, Rom. 8:17

If the Lord says I’m a citizen of His kingdom
here and now, Eph. 2:19

If the Lord says I am, yes, I am.

If the Lord says I’m a vessel, yes, I am, 2 Cor. 4:7

If the Lord says I’m a branch, yes, I am, John 15:5

If the Lord says I’m a temple of His
Holy Spirit in me, 1 Cor. 6:19

If the Lord says I am, yes, I am.

If the Lord says I’m a saint, yes, I am, 1 Cor. 1:2

If the Lord says I’m elect, yes, I am, 2 Tim. 2:10

If the Lord says I’m a partaker of His
divine nature, 2 Pet. 1:4

If the Lord says I am yes, I am.

If the Lord says I’m a priest, yes, I am, Rev. 1:6

If the Lord says I’m a king, yes, I am, Rev. 1:6

If the Lord says I am seated in the heavenly
places in Christ, Eph. 2:6

If the Lord says I am, yes, I am.

If the Lord says I am holy, yes, I am, Eph. 1:4

If the Lord says I am blameless, yes, I am, Eph. 1:4

If the Lord says I am unreprovable in His sight, Col 1:22

If the Lord says I am, yes, I am.

If the Lord says I’m complete, yes, I am, Col. 2:10

If the Lord says I am perfect, yes, I am, Phil. 3:15

If the Lord says that I am as He is in this world, 1 Jn. 4:17

If the Lord says I am, yes, I am.

If the Lord says I am filled, yes, I am, 1 Cor. 4:8

If the Lord says I am strong, yes, I am, 1 Jn. 2:14

If the Lord says I am more than conqueror
in this world, Rom. 8:37

If the Lord says I am, yes, I am

If the Lord says I’m not I but He in me, yes, I am, Gal.2:20

If the Lord says I’m the world’s light, yes, I am, Matt.5: 14

If the Lord says I’m a god to whom His word
has come, John 10:34-35

If the Lord says I am, yes, I am.

*******
Do we really know who we are in the Lord? Do we know Christ as us?

Obedience

What a word. That word just sits there and demands that we do something. We learn from a young age to obey our parents. That means that we learn that we have to do what we deep down don’t want to do and if we don’t obey we suffer consequences, a slap on the bottom, or no TV for a week. We think of obedience and we think of pain and suffering and growing up. We think of a hard boss and a demanding spouse. When asked to obey we find no willingness inside us to do so. Much of our obedience is given begrudgingly, or only on condition of a substantial reward.

Of course we grow up. We see some benefit in obeying. We join the military and obedience becomes automatic, someone says jump and you jump. You hear a command and you do the command. It is a simple life, but not a very free one. We do grow up and we make rules for ourselves, rules that govern our behavior, rules that affect our ethics and our moral choices and we obey them as best we can. We become meticulous in our fervor to be good. We find God in our lives and we read his commandments and we hear the Sermon on the Mount and we have a higher sense of what is demanded of our obedience. This is religion.

The New Testament put an end to religion. It ought to also put an end to our perverted view of obedience. James Fowler on his web site Christ In You Ministries outlines the biblical concept of obedience hupakoe. Part of his outline is extracted as follows:

Legal context
a. Nowhere in the New Testament are the words for "obedience" or "disobedience" used in direct connection with the Law or any corpus of behavioral rules and regulations. (cf. Isa. 42:24)
b. Yet, "obedience" developed a Law-based interpretation
(1) rule-keeping
(2) commandment compliance
(3) performance according to precepts
(4) "works"

We need a definition at this point, what does HUPAKOE mean.
Obedience, HUPAKOE means to listen under.
Disobedience means to listen around.

The word is relational. It pictures two persons talking to one another. One hears, while the other talks. The hearer responds to the talker in a positive, obedient, way or in a negative way (as though he had not heard) therefore in a disobedient way.

Let us be clear. This is not a coming under authority. There is another Greek word for that where we place ourselves under the authority of a slave master or a Governmental agency. In those circumstances there is no exchange in the same sense as HUPAKOE. You are told to do something and you do it period.

The New Testament view of obedience is ontological, the word to be heard and obeyed is a Person, it is God Himself in the person of Christ (Jn 1:1-4).

Christ dwells in us and expresses His life in and through us. God speaks to us in that process. “He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” His presence in us is a law written on our hearts, and it is a dynamic for expressing what God wants to do in us. We listen and when we know what we have heard is from God and is for us then what we heard is met with a willingness within us to respond. That willingness to respond is not of our own making. It comes out of our trust, our faith, in Christ who is in us ready to express Himself through us.

Obedience in these terms is not a religious act. Obedience comes in a Christian’s life because he worships a God who is willing to speak to him and he worships a God who is willing to dwell in the hearts of men in a way that accomplishes all that He asks of them.

Do you experience this freedom in your life? Have you discovered the wonder of obedience of faith?

Christ in you the hope of glory.

Dr. James Fowler's site is Christ in You Ministries.

Mr. Obama

No I am not entering into a political discussion. That is not the purpose of Christian Epignosis. My writing here is focused on what we know (epignosis) as Christian’s. The corollary is to talk about what we do not know.

The world presents us with a wide variety of things Christian. This buffet that is spread before us is tempting, appealing and often not Christian at all. We as Christians ought to know what it is to be Christian and in simple terms be able to express what our faith is about. Central to our faith is Christ.

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. (Mat 16:13-17 ESV)

Christ means anointed of God. He is God’s Son. He stands before the disciples fully man. He is God become flesh living in His creation. He is far more than a prophet or a teacher or a great man living his life more fully than other men. We know who Christ is only by the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. We know it because God the Father reveals it to us.

I am quoting from a 2004 interview with Barach Obama found here:

“Who’s Jesus to you?

(He laughs nervously)

OBAMA:

Right.

Jesus is an historical figure for me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher, and he’s also a wonderful teacher. I think it’s important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.”

This is not the Christian understanding of Christ. Obama says that Jesus “serves as that means of us reaching something higher”. He is a wonderful teacher.

Is there some truth in these words? Yes. Jesus did teach wonderfully. Much of what He taught was that man was in desperate need of a Savior. People point to the Sermon on the Mount as His greatest teaching. A major point of this teaching was that man did not have within himself the means to change, to act as God intended for him to act. Man was fully affected by sin affecting his thoughts, his will and his actions. Man required far more than a good teacher to get them out of their dilemma, they required payment for their sins, thus they required a Savior.

Jesus demonstrated that man’s reliance on himself leads only to God's judgment. Jesus offered Himself as the only way for man to avoid that judgment. Jesus taught clearly that man had rejected God and instead relied on his own view of the world.

Jesus did not give us teaching that could provide a path to something higher based on his teaching and a responding human endeavor. Man's works have no standing in God's sight. In fact Christ brought an end to any delusions concerning such schemes of self improvement.

Another quote:

Do you believe in sin?

OBAMA:

Yes.

What is sin?

OBAMA:

Being out of alignment with my values.

What happens if you have sin in your life?

OBAMA:

I think it’s the same thing as the question about heaven. In the same way that if I’m true to myself and my faith that that is its own reward, when I’m not true to it, it’s its own punishment."

Obama's understanding of sin is that it is being out of alignment with his values. The point of reference for Obama is himself.

The reality is that at its heart sin is man's reliance on himself and a rejection of God. Obama's point of reference for sin is not God, or the Word of God. or God's moral law, or God's character. Sin for Obama is defined as not being true to self which is the the very root of sin.

This is not a judgment of Mr. Obama. It , however, saddens me that he holds to a false gospel that is represented as Christian.

The Church needs to be discerning. The world needs the true Gospel desperately. Many are following a false gospel today. A gospel with man at its center. A gospel where we are free to establish our own values and rules. A gospel that provides a means to God no matter what your faith. Be fully aware that this gospel is empty of hope. It can not satisfy a righteous God.

Salvation is found only in Christ. If you are looking for God's approval by your good works and good intentions, you are lost in your sin. Your salvation will come only when you give up on your self and turn to Christ as Lord and Savior.

Read the interview. You will find that Mr. Obama rejects such a narrow gospel.

My prayer is that you do not.

Hope

http://www.christasus.com/

Hope
Fr. James Keller, M.M.,

HOPE opens doors where despair closes them.
HOPE discovers what can be done instead of grumbling about what cannot.
HOPE draws its power from a deep trust in God.
HOPE ''lights a candle'' instead of ''cursing the darkness.''
HOPE regards problems, small or large, as opportunities.
HOPE cherishes no illusions, nor does it yield to cynicism.
HOPE sets high goals and is not frustrated by repeated difficulties or setbacks.
HOPE pushes ahead when it would be easy to quit.
HOPE puts up with modest gains, realizing that ''the longest journey starts with one step.''
HOPE accepts misunderstandings as the price for serving the greater good of others.
HOPE looks for the good in people instead of harping on the worst.

May the GOD of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, that you may overflow with HOPE by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

By: Fr. James Keller, M.M., Founder, The Christophers

Christ in you the hope glory.

Our only, true and lasting hope is found in Jesus.

What does it mean to be spiritually dead?

One of the crucial tenants of Calvinism is "total depravity". There are two words used to quantify this condition, one is extensiveness and the other is intensiveness. If you compare the Calvinists of today to Calvin or to the Westminster Confession you find a change. The extent of depravity is pretty much the same. All aspects of man are touched by the fall including our mind, our emotion, our nature and our will. Where the change is most notable is in the intensity of the depravity of man. Calvin and the confessions hold that man is utterly depraved. He can do no good. Current writers go to great lengths to assure us that unsaved man can indeed do good.

If man's depravity was absolute, then society would have fallen apart long ago. This softening of the view of depravity opens the door to a discussion about where to draw the line. How depraved is man? What capacities remain in him to allow him to do good even though he is in a fallen state.

The Calvinists hold that fallen man is unable to make any move toward God. He is totally incapable of reaching out to God and His offer of Salvation. Man is only saved when God reaches out to those He has elected and regenerates them so that they might give assent to God. Even though man's depravity is not absolute as the modern apologists argue, man still requires God to initiate the process of salvation by regenerating that person so that they might believe. This view is scripturally awkward to me.

The Armenian view is that God provides a prevenient (preventing) grace that allows man to believe the Gospel message and thus be saved. Pressed too far the Armenian position opens itself to a semi-pilagian heresy where man is saved by a cooperation of effort between God and man.

The Biblical view is somewhat different. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. In Christ God presents the truth propositionally with full knowledge that man can respond to that truth. John wrote his gospel in order that we might believe. He presents the truth rationally knowing that his hearers and readers could rationally process God's truth and make reasonable judgments about what was being said and taught. The Scripture makes clear that God's Spirit is an essential part of that process. God also arranges the circumstances of our lives to drive us to His feet. God is truly the "Hound of Heaven". Man was made in the image of God and that image was not destroyed at the fall. The extensiveness of the fall was severe, but the intensiveness was limited by God.

There exist orthodox and sound approaches to the concept of depravity that avoids the issues raised by hyper-Calvinism and by an overly humanized Armenianism. What is required is a refocus on the Scriptural models that are readily available.