Last night, I was reading John Crowder's new book, "The Ecstasy of Loving God," and I came across this really insightful part. John highlights the different stages of a typical Christian's growth process. He speaks both of the ethical stage (when interest or zeal for Jesus manifests in extremely rigorous rule-keeping) and the spiritual stage (which you enter into after you realize you are utterly powerless to keep all the rules in your strength). Check out what he wrote:
"Although the ethical stage has taught me to deny self for the greater good, I have also learned to rely on its moral constructs instead of the person of God. I have learned to rely on an ethical framework of right and wrong. I know the difference between good and evil--but I am not called to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Instead I am called to eat from the Tree of Life, which is the living person of Jesus. The law is not alive. Ethics cannot intoxicate me. We should not live for goodness in general, but we live for God. Many people like a system of do-gooding, but God Himself is left out of the picture...In the ethical sphere, one is constantly faced with his or her own inability to fulfill religious obligation. But there is a place of faith and grace and intimate relationship with the Creator that lies beyond this realm."
In essence, what John is saying is that as believers, it is extremely easy to fall into a pattern of religious ritual and morality completely divorced from the intimate relationship with God that we are invited into. While likely it springs from a pure heart of devotion, the fruit is never good. Jesus came to pave the way back into the holy place of intimacy with God...after 4000+ years of separation from God, finally man was invited back into the union, fellowship, abiding that was lost in the garden. I often hear alot of talk/questions about the laws of the Bible--specifically New Testament "laws". Most people are ok with tossing out the Old Testament because they've convinced themselves somehow the New Testament is "more true" or "more applicable" than the Old. But then you're still left with questions like this: "If you believe the whole Bible, why don't women have to wear hats in church today?" And here's the answer: God did not replace Old Testament law with New Testament law. God replaced Old Testament law with relationship--which is what He has really longed for all along. We no longer live by any written law AT ALL!!! Not New Testament, not Old Testament--we do not live by ANY law, other than the law of the Spirit, which is written on our hearts by the living, moving, breathing spirit of God. The Bible--law, prophet, wisdom, whatev--is THE PRIMARY escort into the intimate knowing of God--if you read with discernment and a spirit of revelation, it will teach you things about who God is. BUT! The Bible is not meant to replace GOD Himself. Jesus is the one we want to know...not just the words on the page.
So as I was praying last night, the Lord started unfolding a good bit of new revelation for me on this...and I am just so pumped I had to share it!!! Jesus is a PERSON! Not a robot...which is how we often treat Him. It's so fun to get to know Him as He truly is. Below is an excerpt from my journal last night!
"The epic battle in the heart of man--the most primitive battle that man faces--the most basic, most vile, and most prevalent, most difficult to get rid of, the most ancient struggle is that of pride. Which is ultimately idolatry springing from selfishness. It is this sin that caused Satan to fall. It is this sin that lured Adam and Eve to fall. It is this sin that caused Israel to be captured, taken away, and dispersed--multiple times. It is the sin that brought condemnation upon the Pharisees. As contradictory as it sounds, it is the Spirit of Religion, which is the opposite of a Spirit of Sonship. Religion glorifies the law and our self-righteous attempts to live up to it. Sonship submits to the Father and listens for His voice, and obeys out of love. Why do we have a tendency to make religious rules, codes, etc. (not referring to governmental laws--but extraneous religious protocols and restrictions)? Because this detaches us from life/love--which is uncomfortable to our flesh. Our flesh has been trained since the fall to desire KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND EVIL--to achieve perfection and divine status on our own--as Satan said to Eve--"that we would be like God, knowing good and evil." It is built into our sin nature--to yearn for an impersonal force to open our eyes to truth--ultimately so that we can glorify ourselves for "figuring it out" or "making it" or "being self-sufficient." We want to make it on our own, without help, so we can be like God--it is ancient!!! We don't want to be utterly, totally, helplessly dependant on anyone!! Unfortunately (to our fleshly pride) whether we like it or not, we are dependent on Him--for godlness...as well as our next breath! And everything in-between. Praise the Lord He allows us to stumble so that we realize we need Him before we truly believe we can do it alone. Praise the Lord He stops us before we finish building our towers of Bablel!! It's His mercy!! And wouldn't you know--if we would just calm down, submit to our Dad, and rest in our position--dependent, as a son, not striving as a slave--it's alot easier, more fruitful, and soooo much more pleasurable. Who knew it was actually fun to just talk to God and get to know Him as a person and not as an ethical code serving as an expedient to my self-glorification?! Who knew Eden was alot more fun when they just ate from the tree of life?!"
-stuart
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The Great Commission
in matthew, it reads, "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..."
in mark, it reads, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature..."
if i were to combine the two, i'd say something like this:
"Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all of creation, making disciples of men..."
The Lord has given me this revelation of redemption and restoration of all creation. I'm not going to focus on the "making disciples of men" part...we all get that, or at least have heard it. I want to focus on the first part. It would be easy to read mark's version of the great commission and ignore the fact that he specifically says, "preach the gospel to every CREATURE" (look it up in the Greek on blueletterbible.com...it means all of creation...not just humankind). I think as humans, and especially Americans with a materialistic mindset largely patterned after a Greek philosophical worldview, we almost think of "preaching the gospel to creation" as some new-age, heretical junk--and yet Jesus told us to do it! What does He mean?
The same Greek word translated "creature" in this verse is found in Paul's letter to the Romans, when he writes, "the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God...the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now." Paul paints a picture of nature--trees, birds, all of creation--everything around us waiting and longing in an unbearable tension for the redemption.
The gospel is salvation for men...clearly...but it does not stop there. The gospel is salvation for the earth, for the universe, for creation!!! Peter spoke of Jesus returning to the earth, not only for the redemption of humans, but the "restoration of ALL things." Read Psalm 148--the psalmist is calling for all of creation to step into its intended place of glory. Or Psalm 19--creation isn't out there to just do whatever it happens to do...it REJOICES to glorify Jesus.
I've often tended to think of "environmental" people who are all concerned with "saving the planet" as just cheesy, distracted people who ignore the so-called "deeper" or "more important" things of the spirit (I apologize if you're one of those people and I've judged you in the past). But my error simply stems from my lack of revelation that God LOVES His creation...all of it...and can't wait to see the lion lay down with the lamb--literally, not just metaphorically. His plan is to "gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him"
In perfection, the spiritual and the physical are not two distinct realities, but are dynamically interactive. Often we have the religious mindset that "spiritual" is good, and "physical" is bad--this not only leads to an idolatrous worship of "spiritual" activities like prayer and worship, but to an unhealthy disdain for "physical" activities like recreation or relationships. In reality, He intends for prayer to be very natural, and for relationships to be very spiritual--He desires for it all to be one--for things on earth to be like heaven, and for heaven to invade the earth!!!! This is what we mean when we pray, "Your kingdom to come on the earth as it is in heaven"--it means we want all of heaven and all of earth to come together as one in universal restoration!!!!
...but back in the real world, the question remains, how do we "preach to creation" on a day to day basis? I definitely don't want to get weird and go around hugging trees and eating grass. Shoot, I'm allergic to most of the stuff out there (but I will be healed in Jesus' name!) We definitely don't want to start talking to nature in order to reach some sort of "oneness" or "harmony" with all things in the mystical Eastern sense. Don't get weird! These are all perversions of the true Biblical doctrine of redemption--which is why there really is a limited amount of life and fruit in the lives of people who practice those religions. Though I lack sufficient language to adequately even describe the tiny little bit I think I get about this, the best way I can put it is this: we should walk around daily with a soft spirit towards creation, with a love and respect for all that is made--knowing that the only thing distinguishing me from the dust on the ground or the flower of the field is the breath of God inside of me. We should look at creation not as some strange, cold, distant, phenomenon, but as a fellow worshipper, pointing to, existing in, and waiting for Jesus. The truth is we DO find harmony in creation--but only as part of the world-wide symphony that lives moves and breathes in Him--and eagerly waits for our restoration.
stuart
p.s. for more revelation on this, study those Bible verses and the life of St. Francis of Assisi.
in mark, it reads, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature..."
if i were to combine the two, i'd say something like this:
"Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to all of creation, making disciples of men..."
The Lord has given me this revelation of redemption and restoration of all creation. I'm not going to focus on the "making disciples of men" part...we all get that, or at least have heard it. I want to focus on the first part. It would be easy to read mark's version of the great commission and ignore the fact that he specifically says, "preach the gospel to every CREATURE" (look it up in the Greek on blueletterbible.com...it means all of creation...not just humankind). I think as humans, and especially Americans with a materialistic mindset largely patterned after a Greek philosophical worldview, we almost think of "preaching the gospel to creation" as some new-age, heretical junk--and yet Jesus told us to do it! What does He mean?
The same Greek word translated "creature" in this verse is found in Paul's letter to the Romans, when he writes, "the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God...the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now." Paul paints a picture of nature--trees, birds, all of creation--everything around us waiting and longing in an unbearable tension for the redemption.
The gospel is salvation for men...clearly...but it does not stop there. The gospel is salvation for the earth, for the universe, for creation!!! Peter spoke of Jesus returning to the earth, not only for the redemption of humans, but the "restoration of ALL things." Read Psalm 148--the psalmist is calling for all of creation to step into its intended place of glory. Or Psalm 19--creation isn't out there to just do whatever it happens to do...it REJOICES to glorify Jesus.
I've often tended to think of "environmental" people who are all concerned with "saving the planet" as just cheesy, distracted people who ignore the so-called "deeper" or "more important" things of the spirit (I apologize if you're one of those people and I've judged you in the past). But my error simply stems from my lack of revelation that God LOVES His creation...all of it...and can't wait to see the lion lay down with the lamb--literally, not just metaphorically. His plan is to "gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth--in Him"
In perfection, the spiritual and the physical are not two distinct realities, but are dynamically interactive. Often we have the religious mindset that "spiritual" is good, and "physical" is bad--this not only leads to an idolatrous worship of "spiritual" activities like prayer and worship, but to an unhealthy disdain for "physical" activities like recreation or relationships. In reality, He intends for prayer to be very natural, and for relationships to be very spiritual--He desires for it all to be one--for things on earth to be like heaven, and for heaven to invade the earth!!!! This is what we mean when we pray, "Your kingdom to come on the earth as it is in heaven"--it means we want all of heaven and all of earth to come together as one in universal restoration!!!!
...but back in the real world, the question remains, how do we "preach to creation" on a day to day basis? I definitely don't want to get weird and go around hugging trees and eating grass. Shoot, I'm allergic to most of the stuff out there (but I will be healed in Jesus' name!) We definitely don't want to start talking to nature in order to reach some sort of "oneness" or "harmony" with all things in the mystical Eastern sense. Don't get weird! These are all perversions of the true Biblical doctrine of redemption--which is why there really is a limited amount of life and fruit in the lives of people who practice those religions. Though I lack sufficient language to adequately even describe the tiny little bit I think I get about this, the best way I can put it is this: we should walk around daily with a soft spirit towards creation, with a love and respect for all that is made--knowing that the only thing distinguishing me from the dust on the ground or the flower of the field is the breath of God inside of me. We should look at creation not as some strange, cold, distant, phenomenon, but as a fellow worshipper, pointing to, existing in, and waiting for Jesus. The truth is we DO find harmony in creation--but only as part of the world-wide symphony that lives moves and breathes in Him--and eagerly waits for our restoration.
stuart
p.s. for more revelation on this, study those Bible verses and the life of St. Francis of Assisi.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Heaven Suffers Violence
here is something i wrote in my journal the first week i was in mozambique that i love to re-read. rest was a huge theme of my whole time in africa and really made a gigantic difference in the way i was able to receive Jesus and minister to others. its simple but so huge for me. so i'd like to share the little excerpt:
The violence is found in rest and hearing God. Rest is the opposite of how the devil works. Violence in God's terms doesn't necessarily mean yelling and screaming. Resting in God builds faith and opens our eyes to see clearly. Restful communion with God is violence. It gives us peace and confidence in Jesus to see His glory and know how He really loves us. In this rest and communion with the Holy Spirit, with Jesus, with the Father, we resist the devil and His Kingdom comes.
-taylor g
"Until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence,
and the violent take it by force."
-Matthew 11:12
and the violent take it by force."
-Matthew 11:12
The violence is found in rest and hearing God. Rest is the opposite of how the devil works. Violence in God's terms doesn't necessarily mean yelling and screaming. Resting in God builds faith and opens our eyes to see clearly. Restful communion with God is violence. It gives us peace and confidence in Jesus to see His glory and know how He really loves us. In this rest and communion with the Holy Spirit, with Jesus, with the Father, we resist the devil and His Kingdom comes.
-taylor g
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Jesus washed my feet!
Hey guys,
This is Stuart, I just wanted to post this real quick to kick off the glory chamber.
So last night, me and Andrew Golden were just worshipping Jesus at the Fulness prayer room. It was stinking AWESOME!!! I actually played the guitar and sang for like 15 minutes and didn't feel ANYTHING at first. And I was eventually like "shoot Jesus, what's the deal, why can't I feel your presence when I worship?!?!" I was really getting discouraged because it's been a while since I'd really just been hammered in the spirit, and it seemed like nothing was really getting me there.
And all of a sudden, at about minute 20 or so, the Lord just opened up and showed me a vision. It was literally just a picture of Jesus stooping down to wash my feet. And I kept focusing on the fact that HE WAS BOWING BEFORE ME!!!! AND HOW RIDICULOUS THAT IS!!! I mean, JESUS is our KING (not to mention actual GOD), and yet He BOWS down and washes my feet. How anti-religious is that? God bowing at my feet. And yet that is what He did, and what He does. All this time I point fingers at Him and blame and judge Him for things in my life that don't go the way I expect them to...and all the while He's down there washing my feet, forgiving me though I don't deserve it or even really realize I need it. About this time I just got DRRRUUNK in the spirit and the Lord just broke in. Here's the little chorus He kept giving me:
still you wash my feet
on bended knee
how can this be?
You are my king
You are holy holy holy,
You are worthy worthy worthy...
amen, thank you Jesus!!!!!
-Stuart Jones
Welcome to the Glory Chamber!!!!
Hey EVERYONE!!!
So, the recent AWESOME and ENCOURAGING postings by Samuel and Rob on Facebook have sparked this idea. Basically, I was super encouraged by reading their somewhat simple posts about what the Lord had been showing them and doing in their lives, and thought, "hey, I wish I could read these things every day!" One thing led to another, and eventually the glory chamber was birthed (I think the Holy Spirit might have had something to do with it!)
Anyways, basically, I just think it would be awesome if we all have a place to post revelations, insights, dreams, visions, encounters, testimonies, encouragements, WHATEVER JESUS DOES!!! Post it! Short, long, insightful, boring, happy, sad, if Jesus did it, let's post it. Comments will allow us to respond with more insight, interpretations, more encouragement, whatever!!! Like in 1 Cor. 14:26 where Paul tells us all to come together with a tongue or a psalm or a word, let's have a sort of "DIGITAL CHURCH" here, where we can 1.) Be encouraged, 2.) Have a platform to release encouragement, 3.) Give glory to Jesus!!!!
So, of course anyone can join this little group. I'm gonna send out the password to some people I know, y'all send it out to people you know, and we'll all have an awesome little community going! I'm not gonna post the password here, but if you want it, just ask one of the people involved or just email me: stuartjones@ihopu.org. So that's all there is to it!
Welcome....to the GLORY CHAMBER!!!
-Stuart
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)