Have we squeezed Jesus into a box?

Excerpts from "Beautiful Outlaw" By: John Eldredge

What if we could experience everything we've seen about Jesus in this book? What if it were available? Why, then, don't people talk more about this? Where are the encounters with this magnificent Jesus? Permit me to attempt an answer with a parable.

One day a man decided to board himself up inside his house. He sealed off the doors, the windows, even the chimney. He left only one opening - the kitchen window - through which anyone who wished to speak to him was forced to speak. Fortunately, there were people that still wished to speak to him, so they called on the man at his kitchen window.

Over the years this fellow came to the conclusion that the world was such a place in which people only speak to one another through kitchen windows. He wrote a book in which he argued that human discourse cannot and does not take place in any other way than through kitchen windows.

The Kitchen Window School was founded shortly after his death.

Our experience of Jesus is limited most often by the limits we put on him! A painful truth, but also a hopeful one. Perhaps we can take down some of those barriers.

Most of the limits we put on Jesus happen unconsciously. Some times we place the limits intentionally. And of course a trainload is dumped on us by our context (in which case the parable could begin, "One day a man was boarded up inside his house by his past," or "by the leaders of his religious community"). But I'm not looking to fix blame. I'm trying to help us find Jesus. As I said at the beginning of the book, though Jesus has been vandalized by both religion and the world, He is still alive and very much Himself. He's still the same beautiful outlaw, with the same personality - though it does require removing some debris nowadays to know Him as He truly is.

Step one to a deeper experience with Jesus is knowing what to look for. That's why we have been looking at His personality, setting Him free from the religious marshmallow. If you can hang on to this, an entire new world will open up for you. This is a Jesus you can actually love because this is who He is.

Step two invloves removing some of the debris that has been piled in the way, so that we can begin to experience Him, share our lives with Him. For example, if you believe, for whatever reason, that "Jesus doesn't speak to me," it's going to be hard to hear Him speaking to you. Or believe it actually was Him when He does. For the very same reasons, if you hold in your heart that "Jesus doesn't really love me," then it will be awfully hard to experience the love of Jesus. Are you following me?

It is a stunning realization: You will find Jesus pretty much as you expect.

Not because He is exactly as you expect him to be, but because He would be known by you, and you have insisted He act only within the boundaries you've set. You've insisted He call at the kitchen window. Jesus will accept those terms of engagement for a while - like a loving parent will do with their teenager - because He wants relationship with you. He'll suffer these limits for years. This explains why one denomination experiences Christ one way, and another denomination experiences Him differantly. And why both are missing massive portions of His personality. They created rules, outside of which they forbid Him to act.

Peter tried this at the Last Supper, when he farbade Jesus to wash his feet. Friends, you don't want to be telling Jesus what He can and can't do. So, the best place to begin and one of the most powerful things you could ever pray is this:

I renounce every limit I have ever placed on Jesus. I renounce every limit I have placed on Him in my life. I break all limitations, renounce them, revoke them. Jesus, forgive me for restraining you in my life. I give you full permission to be yourself with me. I ask you for you - for the real you.

For more on this amazing book go to www.ransomedheart.com or visit the exclusive Beautiful Outlaw website where you can watch a trailer for the book, download small group video's and user guide for free at www.beautifuloutlaw.com

The fault line in the church

The Baptism of The Holy Spirit

There's a division in the body of Christ. I bet that you were already on one side or the other of this chasm, without even knowing it. I'm referring to the topic of the baptism of The Holy Spirit. Up until about 8 months ago I had never even heard of it. Whether you have or have not, I feel that it's very important for all of us as members of the One Body to take a closer look at this issue.

One of the reasons I became so curious about this subject to begin with was because of the deep divide that exists between the different denominations within Christianity. A rift in the Body of Christ is an automatic red flag to me. We are told numerous times in the New Testament that we have all received One Spirit and therefore should be of One Mind.

Another red flag is the nature of what is being disputed. If you've ever researched anything biblical you'll see that there are a number of different interpretations on all sorts of topics. My bible (NKJV) lists at least 8 different "theories" regarding the book of Revelation and end time prophesy. For some reason, this particular difference of opinion struck me as unusual.

Before I go any further, I'd like to put the cart before the horse and tell you why I believe it's so important for Christians to earnestly seek the truth about this issue. I preface this entire writing by saying that I am still seeking understanding on this from God. I have a very good idea of what I think He has been showing me, but would not claim in any way to be an expert on the subject or that my thoughts are the end all and be all. At best, I hope to inspire some thought and conversation about this, and get others thinking about their stance and the implications that come with it.

The Holy Spirit is the Helper that Jesus sent to be with us during these "end times". The New Testament tells us that we have been sealed by the indwelt Holy Spirit. He is our down payment, or promise that the work God has begun in us will be continued until the day that Jesus returns for His bride. It is by the power of The Holy Spirit that we are transformed, from glory to glory, into the image of Jesus. I feel almost frustrated right now because I can't possibly convey or relate to you all of the things there is to be said about the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives, hearts, and minds. There are many excellent books and resources available if you are interested in learning more about Him, but for the sake of the subject at hand I'll continue on with the point.

Just as to us, Jesus is everything, The Holy Spirit is also everything. Without Him (just as with the Father and Son) we'd be totally bankrupt. The Holy Spirit's coming was so important that Jesus actually said it was better for us that He left so that The Helper (Holy Spirit) could come. It was the last thing that Jesus said to His disciples before He ascended to Heaven.

The last thing....

Jesus is about to leave the earth. His disciples are a bunch of ramshackle, rough around the edges, mostly blue collar workers, who always misunderstand Him and miss the point. Peter is prone to compulsive outbursts, Thomas won't believe anything you tell him, John is a teacher's pet. I'm not so sure if I'd leave this bunch unattended to assemble a bookshelf (in their defense, I wouldn't leave myself alone to try and follow instructions like that either).

Not only is Jesus leaving them, but He's leaving them in charge of His church. The Son of God becomes flesh, forfeits His rights as the God that He is and humbles Himself to become a fish and live in the fish bowl as one of us. He endures exhaustion, hunger, betrayal, the fickle acceptance of the crowds. He does miracle after miracle, heals and raises from the dead. He lets Himself be taken captive and humiliated, falsely accused, beaten, spit on, abandoned. Jesus practically drives the nails into His own flesh......for one purpose. EVERYTHING He has done has been for this one thing. His Passion, His Purpose, His inheritance, is us. Listen as Jesus talks to the God

"Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world." John 17:24

"For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him." John 17:2

 

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent." John 17:3

The whole point is to bring us eternal life. That by intimately knowing God and Jesus we will be able to "be with Him where He is, and behold His glory, which was given to Him by The Father."

To say the disciple's task is important is an understatement. Since the fall of man, the whole plan has been to restore us to eternal life.

So here we are, standing on Mt. Olivet with the risen Lord just before He ascends to the right hand of The Father. I imagine this scene to feel something like leaving my kids at daycare when they were little.

I'm about to leave for work, and I can see the tears welling up in their eyes. Olivia, the oldest, tries to hold it together. She doesn't want anyone to know she's scared and sad and feeling abandoned by me. Makayla, the little one, is now clinging to my leg asking in broken sentences, "Mommy, why you can't stay? You no go to work today." My heart is wrenching. I want nothing more than to scoop them up, put them back in the car and take them with me, but I can't.....I have to go to work. It's going to be better in the long run for them if I go, because that will mean that we can continue having electricity and chicken nuggets. I know that they don't understand right now, and I also know that while seperated from me, the skills they learn will be instrumental in their growth and will help prepare them for all that is to come in life.
I kneel down and wrap my arms around both of them, pulling them in close. And I look each of them in their little eyes, full to the rim with uncried tears, and I say, "I know you don't want me to leave. I wish I could take you home and snuggle all day, but I have to go to work. It's only for a little while and then I'll be back to get you, and I promise, when we get home, we'll eat pizza and lay in Mommy's bed together, ok?" (Sniffs and snorts) "OK." they answer.
"Now, while I'm gone I want you to hold on tight to your lovies (this is what we called their favorite stuffed animal of the moment. They rarely go anywhere without one, but they insist they've gotten too old to call them this anymore. Now, it's just toys.) and whenever you feel sad or start missing me just give your lovey a big hug and kiss and I'll be able to feel it all the way at work."
I tell them how much I love them, squeeze them both as tight as I can, and a million glances back on my way to the door, waving and blowing kisses.

Did you know that this is how Jesus loves you? Only, Jesus didn't just leave you a warm fuzzy stuffed animal to self soothe with, He left you His Spirit.  How many times have you wished you could send your Spirit to go with your children when they are away from you? To be able to guide them, empower them, influence and comfort them in your absence? This is exactly what Jesus has done.

The most important thing to Jesus is the ones the Father has given to Him and bringing ALL of them safely home. We are His children. And the disciples have been given the privelege, the responsibility to search the globe and share this good news with the rest of us. It's the very first "No child left behind" initiative. The beautiful part is that even though his fesh is leaving them, He's not. They aren't alone, and neither are we.

This mission that has been given to the disciples, is it not the same commision that is also given to us? Once we are saved, once we accept our boarding pass to return home, is it not also our privelege, our responsibility to share this good news with every other brother and sister we meet? Even the ones who don't know yet that they belong to Him? Then why would it be that Jesus wouldn't give us the same tools, the same power, that He gave to them?

The argument that this endowment was strictly for the early church just doesn't seem to stick for me. The disciples and early church lived in treturous times, yes. They were persecuted, they faced grave danger and seemingly insurmountable obstacles. They were reaching out to a cold and hardened people, who desperately needed a cure but didn't believe they were even ill.
But, that's the same world we find ourselves in today. Sure, in America things may not seem so bad. We have freedom of religion. We can go to church every time the doors are open and don't have to fear being captured or killed for it.....right? What about the two ministers who were shot inside their own church a few weeks ago in front of their congregation? What about the subtle pervasive movement sweeping through our contry to remove God from our schools and off our money and out of our governemt? Or how about the judge in Alabama who was forced to remove the ten commandments from his courtroom? How would you clasify the numerous allegations of sexual abuse streaming from the Catholic church? Just because the enemy has disguised himself in a sheep outfit doesn't make him a sheep, and it doesn't mean we aren't under attack.

When was the last time you payed attention to God's church in the rest of the world? Christians are dying for their faith all over the globe; being taken captive and tortured in an effort to make them renounce their beliefs.

The bible tells us that in the "end times" apostacy and evil will become pervasive and grow. It also tells us that these "end times" are the time period spanning from Jesus' ascension until the day He returns. We live in a world at war, and as the battle intensifies and the end nears we are becoming more and more at risk.

The only life line we have is our connection to The Father. The only hope we have of making it out alive is the promise He has sealed us with, and the only chance we have to help save others is the power that Jesus has made available.

There is also a 3rd group of believers in this matter. They believe that this baptism happens at the moment of conversion. They may not totally disagree with the concept but they do  not believe that it is a seperate, distinct event. This group's constituents may or may not believe in the continuance of the gift of speaking in tongues and the other "charismatic" manifestations.


Ok, now after all this, let me share with you where my belief falls on this spectrum. If you look at all the scripture concerning the baptism of The Holy Spirit as a whole, you find that different people had different experiences. Some people received the baptism the moment they believed (at conversion), some during their water baptism, some directly following water baptism with the accompanied laying on of hands and prayer. Some received it directly proceeding their water baptism. The disciples, previously born again, did not receive it until the day of Pentacost.

When I took a poll of the people I knew who said that they too had experienced this fullness, I found that their experiencs paralleled those of the believers in the bible. Different times, different places, at different stages in their Christian walk. No two experiences were the same. Some of these people spoke in tongues right away, some didn't for several months or even years. Several of them said that at the moment they prayed to receive the Spirit's fullness, they experienced nothing out of the ordinary at all. Only later did they begin to have an increased hunger and thirst for the things of God and began to desire to talk about Him more, talk to Him more, and moved to do more for others in His name.

In fact, this is much like my own experience. I prayed to receive the Holy Spirit Baptism, telling God that I wasn't sure that it was available to me, but that if it was, if there was more power, more help, more of Him and less of me, then I wanted it, or rather I wanted to want it. Before I prayed for this, God had been drawing me closer to Him. I was beginning to actually want to read scripture and becoming more curious about things that concerned Him. I was still having a hard time with my flesh. I couldn't make myself want to obey Him, want to live as He called me to live, but I had reached the point where I wanted to want it. I believed in my heart that His way was better, that it would make me really truely happy, but I couldn't make myself actually love His way.

I had reached the end of myself; the end of my rope; the end of my ability to make progress; and  I layed it all down at His feet. I'd been studying about desire, and I made a list of the desires I wanted to have and the ones I wanted gone. I put the list in my biblle and prayed about the list whenever it came to mind. I had done what I could do.

Shortly after my prayer for the baptism of The Holy Spirit, I began to notice a definite change in me. The things I used to find enjoyment in, I now saw them the way God did. I recognized them for the imposters they were and a new desire began to bloom. I hungered and thirsted for more of God. More of His presence, to learn more, to hear Him more, to love and worship Him more and please Him more. But not because I thought doing these things would put a check mark on the board in my favor.... simply because I loved Him more, and His heart began to matter to me in a way it never had before.

I cared more about sharing Him with others than I did of what people would think. I find myself in a state of rest almost all of the time now. Not necessarily physical rest (my kids still expect to eat atleast 3 times a day, and laundry must get done because they still wont let kids go to school in p.j's) but a mental emotional rest. I'm not drug around by my emotions anymore. More of God, more of The Holy Spirit, and more of Jesus is like having God's love and truth, peace and mindset poured into you. It can't help but come out.

I believe that this encounter with The Holy Spirit can happen at any time in our walk with God. The bible tells us to be continually filled with The Holy Spirit. I think it can happen more than once. Just as God gives us more responsibility as we grow in Him and our character is proven by trial, I believe He also pours out The Spirit as we need, if we are seeking Him and if we are willing to accept Him. It's a choice of free will as to wether or not we allow The Holy Spirit to enter into our hearts and minds and continue His work of making us more like Christ.

I also believe that God gives the spiritual gifts as He sees fit. I have not spoken in tongues, or healed the sick, or cast out demons........yet. But I know that if The Lord places me in that situation and The Spirit leads me to, then I will have all of the power and authority available to me to accomplish what He has willed for me to do.

It's important to remember that a relationship with God is not about the experience. The feeling you may get from an an ecounter with The Holy Spirit is not the point. You speaking in tongues or healing the sick is also not the point. These may be things that God leads you to do, but they aren't the reason behind it all. It's all about a minute to mintue, hour by hour walk with Him. God isn't a vending machine that you run to to get what you need and then run off to accomplish your mission. The gifts are just that, a gift, from a Father who loves you more than you could ever know. The gift without the relationship with the giver becomes just another thing to posess.

However it happens, whenever it happens; No matter what you want to call it, or what your current doctrinal beliefs are......we all need to take this matter before the throne and ask our Father for ourselves, "Is this real?" Especially if you aren't experiencing the real fruit of a life infused by Christ. If you struggle with your flesh or find it difficult to stay focused on or even feel like focusing on Him, tell Him. He knows already anyway, He's just waiting for you to come talk to Him about it so He can fix it.

God's design for each of us is to live in the victory that Jesus died to bring us. If your not seeing the fruit of that in your life, in your heart....then something is snagged, and only He can fix it.

If this Baptism of The Holy Spirit is real and is available then we have the right, the privilege and the responsibility to seek the truth and lay hold of it.

What if the only thing that stands in the church's way of being totally sold out for God, reaching the lost, spreading the Word and being transformed radically is receiving more of The Holy Spirit? And what if we reject it because our denomination says it doesn't exist, or we are so worried about what people would think or say if we were to speak in tongues (or God forbid, cast out a demon or heal the sick)?

Are we really prepared to say that this doesn't happen anymore? Are we ready to say that all of these Christians living today experiencing these signs and wonders are faking it, or even worse, receiving their power from satan?

Are we really willing to risk our own transformation and growth without deeply investigating the truth according to God?

My prayer is that all of us would be urged to prayerfully discern God's truths. That The Holy Spirit would make Himself known and that God's children will accept the offer when He calls. I pray for the total and complete unity of all believers and the body of Christ as a whole. Crossing all lines of theology and denomination, and that we would be fused together by the One Spirit and One Mind, and lay ourselves totally bare to the perfect will of God.  
 

Desire

I read a book a while back by John Eldredge, entitled Desire. It's a great book, one that I would recommend to anyone. It was about reawakening our hearts to our desires and how the effects of sin in this world have caused us to either shut down our recognition of desire altogether or to misinterpret our desires and thus see to fill them with the things of this world.

It got me to thinking about how this was true in my own life. How I have followed after so many false loves in search of fulfilling some nameless need that seemed to never be satisfied.

As I looked more closely at the heart of my desires I saw that each "false" or sinful thing I persued was really all rooted back to one thing.....trying to fill this void or trying to numb the pain of it.

The namless "thing" inside of me was like a vacum. The more I tried to fill it, the bigger it became. I alternated between feeble attempts to satiate it, and supress it. I settled into a self medictaing cycle of numbing the ache. I found a few avenues that fed it just enough to release the pressure, and then I deadened myself to the pain of the remaining emptiness. Essentially, I was slowly, progressively killing my heart. I've spent more than 2/3 of my life trying to to feel. The pain of the broken world we live in is often times so hard to bare that all of us at one time or another attempt to lessen the blow.

The more I traced it back, the closer I got to the source. Through the process of elimination, I discovered that the hole I was trying to fill was a God shaped hole. We are all born with it, and because we all live in a sinful world, we are all born disconnected from the one thing that can fill it.....close intimate connection to God. You see, when Adam and Evev were ousted from the garden, they weren't just removd from Eden. Their sin had severed the tie that bound them in relationship to God. It is the spirit's very life line. Like a computer can't function properly when it's disconnected from the internet, neither can our hearts. Sure, their are some base functions that can still be performed, but nothing close to the information and connectedness that "logging on" initiates.

What my heart was missing was intimacy. We were born for a deep, close, intimate relationship to God. Just because sin happened and we got "unplugged" doesn't mean that our hearts have forgotten what they were made for.

So why, if this need is coded into our very DNA, do we wander so aimlessly in search of something false to meet it?

To get the answer I knew I'd have to go back to the beginning. Like any story, if you start in the middle, you risk being lost the rest of the way. Genesis is the beginning for mankind, but the beginning of this particular dilemma goes way back before we ever came onto the scene.

Intimacy means to be joined, knit together with someone in our very soul. The first place that we find intimacy is within the Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, 3 in 1.
We all desire this closeness. To be known, appreciated, and really truely seen by another, and loved by them for the things they find there. Wha is it about being totally continuosly discovered by another that evokes such powerful feelings of fear and ecstacy alike? It's the connection you see between two people in love, to people bound in real friendship. This intimacy is spiritual intimacy, it goes way beyond the surface to the depths of the core of who we are.
It is because of this spiritual intimacy shared between the Trinity that we were given a physical representaion of this in the form of physical intimacy. God gave us a picture when He created sex. It is the at of joining, knitting together two bodies. Becoming one flesh within the holy union of marriage. (My how we have perverted this beautiful gift. The one thing on this earth given to us to show us a shadow of the closeness of the Trinity, and we have defiled it to the point of being almost unrecognizable).
We are familiar with these two forms of intimacy. At some point in our lives we will likely experience both. But what if there is more to them tha what we are seeing? What if every desire we have ever had or ever will have can be traced back to this one thing?

Intimacy by definition requires pure holy and righteous honesty and truth. You can neither be discovered and charted nor travel to the deep recesses of another if either person is carrying even a pocketfull of deception.
It may be small in your hand, but a lie is a dense thing, and it spreads it weightiness throughout the soul. It is a perishable substance in an imperishable realm and with it you can not pass through the walls of the heart. The masks we erect to conceal ourselves must be removed and set aside for both parties to enter into the holy room of unity.

If intimacy is pure truth then it is not of te devil and it is somethin that is unattainable for satan, and therefore unattainable for anyone wo bares any residue from him and his lies.

I imagine that intimacy is something that secretly satan must miss and therefore envy and begrudge us. Not that he misses the close connection to God, but the spiritual power supply that comes with being filled with the Spirit of God. If God is the power source then he Holy Spirit is the cord that connects us, and satan lost that access a long time ago. He traded intimacy for her souless imposters: dominance and narcissism.

Intimacy invites humility, vulnerability and tenderness. It fills you utterly and completely like wax being poured into a mold, and it binds you to the other spirit by the flesh of the heart.
Dominance and narcissism, on the other hand, demand; they invite nothing. They force submission and slam the locks shut on all entrances into the souls inner most chamber. Narcissism cares nothing for seeking anything from it's target other than compliance. It force feeds you prideful lies about itself. It wants you to swallow down this pseudo-reality of it's granduer and then reflect it back to him like the wicked stepmother infront of the mirror.
These things do not fill you the way intimacy pours in and coats everything to completion.
Dominance and Narcisiism increase the size of the mold of a man, puffing him up bigger and bigger, but in return the hollow space with in becomes larger and larger like the expanding of a black hole. The puffing up and growing enables more domination and in turn more delusions of granduer, and the hollow space grows, consumming anything that it can find to feed on.

If the soul feeds on intimacy, is nurtured by it, the narcissism is in a ravenous state of affair, and like the angels of old, will soon have to turn to strange flesh to be satiated.

I believe that this very thing is the beginning of the beginning of our problems with our own desires. Before the fall in Eden, was the fall of satan and his angels, the first of creation to be severed from unity with God. The desire to fill the void, became the battle plan of those evil spirits bent on destroying God's beloved and elevating themselves as gods.

The fallen angels, starved and dehydrated from the severance of intimacy with God, scoured on hands and knees for any trace of moisture to quench their dry and bleeding thirst. Imagine what being immersed in the intimacy of God must be like. Swimming in the very spring of Living Water itself and having it flow thrugh every pour, every cell, every fiber of your being. Then imagine being cast down the the dessert. Sand and bazing, hazy heat coming up from the ground and down from the cruel stare of the sun.
Like a starfish calcifying in the mid-day sun, still close enough to the waters edge to see the waves lapping at the shore, but utterly incapable of moving even one centimeter closer to it.

I can almost see lucifer's humiliation and seethin rage radiating off of him as he fights the reality of the spiritual wasteland he has been banished to. His pride bites and tares at his fesh from the inside out at the defeat he has endured, and he lashes out at the pitiful excuse for an army that lay helpless and dry before him. They are no doubt just as thirsty and parched as he is, filled to the brim with a bleeding sorrow and emptiness where once the communion of the Trinity resided.

He also knows that unlike us, he will never be offered forgiveness. He will never find hope in a redemption. We are the chosen recipients of God's mercy and grace. No wonder he hates us so.

In his fit of rage lucifer strikes out at one of his fallen soldiers and fear rises up off of it like smoke from a fire pit. Breathing in, satan pauses. Savoring this new mysterious delight, never tasted before as fear had no womb in heaven. It's not fullness in the tangible sense, but it does permeate the insdes like smoke fills a room. There's no substance like what he knew before but it lines the insides of the hollow cavern tickling the walls like a phantom limb can almost convince the brain it's still there.
Sata knows that this stench of fear is only a mirage in a barren wasteland, but at the momnt it's the best he's got, and it will have to do.

This is a pantomyme of the original, the true intimacy created by God to feed and nourish and fill the inner chamber; the spiritual food that is good and pure and holy. satan now thirsts for intimacy with this imposter because it is all he is left with. And now he battles to convince us that it's all we are left with too.
This is the true identity of all those idols we try to fill ourselves with. We become intimate with th lie, the false, and we trade the solid and substantial for the smoke and mirrors.
When we zone out to tv; when we use sex outside of the context of marriage; when we deceive with false impressions; settle for a relationship that we know is not right; spend money, amassing material things; give creedance and time toidle nothingness; or turn to drugs or alcohol, we are engaging in intimacy with (fellowship/relationship) a false god. We are knitting ourselves to a lie, birthed and manifested by satan himself.

We have to begin to ask ourselves, "What am I joining myself to?" Ask God to show you. Follow the trail your desires lead you down, and don't be suprised if you find more than a few mirages along the way.       

The Living Word From The Beginning - Part 2

"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."

At this point, after looking at what it meant for God to actually create, I have to pause and ask the 5 W questions that any diligent researcher would. Who, What, When, Where, & Why? I think the first 4 are pretty self explanatory. (who)God (what)created (the divine capacity of carving, or cutting out; creation by bringing into existence and creation by fashioning existing matter into something new) the (what)heavens, and the earth (when)in the beginning (where) <everywhere>.

But why? Isn't this truly the question at the heart of every human being? Why am I hear? What is all of this for? What's the point? 

If you stumbled upon a machine that no one had ever seen before, you'd want to know what it did and what it was invented for. The best place to start would be with the inventor. By learning about him you could find out why he made it and then you'd understand what it was designed to do. 

We can't tell from Genesis 1:1 alone why God chose to create. We will have to dig deeper. Take a look at John 1:1. This New Testament text was written thousands of years after the passage in Genesis, but it the continuation, or rather the missing pieces, of the original.

"In the beginning was the Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God."

The Word was in the beginning. The Word was not only with God, The Word was God. Now, if the written bible was written down by man, then obviously John is not talking about your KJV bible here. Revelation 19:13 tells us exactly who The Word is.

"He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which He is called is The Word of God."

It is Jesus Christ who wears that blood soaked robe riding on a white horse at the 2nd coming. It is His name that is called The Word. It is Him in Revelation; It is Him in John 1:1; and it is Him in Genesis.

So often we think of Jesus as coming onto the scene in the New Testament, sent to redeem the human race, and ransom them back to their Father in heaven. While this is completely and profoundly true, it is not the whole story, it is not the beginning. And to start in the middle of any story is to risk being totally lost the rest of the way. 

"In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:1-5

Jesus was there, with God, as God, at the beginning moment of creation. When the first proton attached to the first neutron forming a nucleus, attracting electrons and holding them in orbit, making the first atom (6 days before the first Adam) Jesus was there, He was in the lab, He was the Lab, and the scientist and the particles themselves. 

Genesis 1 only specifically mentions God and The Spirit, but from reading John 1, we see the completed picture of the Trinity.

We, as Christians, believe that God is 3 in 1. The Holy Trinity, as it's called, is made up of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They have always been together.

In other religions, like Greek and Roman mythology, we see this idea of the "gods" making people to have something to worship them. The Greeks even go so far as to depict their "gods" as needing the praise and worship of the people to sustain their existence and strength. Our God, The Trinity, does not. They existed together in perfect harmony and unity before the creation of even the first atom. If God somehow "needed"  or selfishly desired our worship to sustain his strength and power then it would stand to reason that He would not have given us the gift of free will. He would have made a little army of drones set on autopilot who had only one pre-programmed agenda, which would be to "love the Lord their God with all their heart, mind, and soul."
So I think it's safe to say that we can cross this one off our list of possibilities.

If God didn't create us out of necessity, or selfish desire, then what's left? Unselfish desire, which is, at base, Love.  

One early mystic said that "we were created out of the laughter of the Trinity." Our story begins in Genesis with "In the beginning" just as all great fairy tails begin with "Once upon a time". We find ourselves in the middle of a great story. Its the story that God is telling throughout all of creation. The "why" of creation tells us that we are not in the middle of just any story, but we have been written into a Great Romance.

Our story doesn't begin with God alone, sitting at a desk with pen and paper, longing for love. The Great Author is already in relationship, intimacy beyond our wildest imagination. The Trinity is at the very center of the entire universe's creation and so perfect relationship is the heart of all reality. If God is love, then the Trinity is love in motion. Father loves Son, loves Holy Spirit, loves Father and on and on. We love, because He loves and we are created in His image.

Why do couples desire to have children? Children are born out of the abundance of love flowing between a man and a woman, just as we were born out of the abundance of love already flowing between the Trinity.

It's important to understand this amazing truth because it sets the stage for everything else. It's the basis for your existence. It's the why behind who you are and why your here. It's the reason, the why behind everything else that happens in the story. Keep this in the front of your mind as we move through the rest of Genesis Chapter 1. 

"God does not need creation in order to have something to love because within Himself love happens."  (Frederick Buechner)

In John 17 Jesus says "Father, I want those you gave to me to be with me, right where I am. I want them to be one heart and mind with us."

Overflowing with the generosity that comes from the abundance of real love, He creates us to share in the joy of this intimacy.

The heavens and the earth and all the rest of creation (the first 5 days of creation) were all done for us. We were the subject of all of God's creating. ALL of it is for us. A place to inhabit, beauty to behold, wonder and amazement, plants and animals and seasons and rain and snow.... all of it for our benefit.

"The earth was without form and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters." Genesis 1:2

I could write a novel on the treasure chest of truth and mystery contained in this one verse, but for now I will stick to how it pertains to the topic at hand. Just to recap, the 5 W's here are as follows: God created everything for us, because He loves us, because He is love.

When creation started, we are told here in verse 2 that it was "without form and void". We are talking 'heavens and earth' and the Trinity. Raw matter shaped into the universe and the earth. The two Hebrew words used here for "without form, and void" are tohu and bohu. Tohu is translated as "in vain" a worthless thing; a waste; a formless chaotic mess; confusion, unreality. Bohu translates as "void" emptiness; waste.

This is a very unique Hebrew phrase. Not only do these words seem like catchy rhyme, they are only found 2 other times in all of scripture. Hebrew is a very unique language in and of itself, which is why I look to the original words so much to gain a deeper understanding. There are more than twice as many words in the Hebrew language than in English, so it would naturally stand to reason that it is much more descriptive and exact. It is also the language that God chose to give to His people to communicate. If you've never looked at the Hebrew definitions I suggest that you investigate it for yourself. (Strong's concordance is an excellent source and can be accessed via "blueletterbible.org")

This words "tohu and bohu" are synonyms coupled to describe a scene of disorder, confusion, and lack of arrangement. They suggest "sheer emptiness" as opposed to order and balance. The heavens and earth described in Genesis 1:1-2 was lacking the order and beauty that characterize our planet today. 

(Just for the sake of expounding on the ability of the mind to perceive the things of God, think for a moment what tohu and bohu suggest scientifically. Our planet sustains our life. Food, shelter, oxygen etc. There are at least 40 different variables that make life on earth possible. Without just one of these factors, we, and everything around us, would not continue to exist. I'm going to list just a few to give you a general idea.

• Our atmosphere: it has exactly the right combination of gases to make it breathable for us. It has a filter called the ozone layer that blocks the harmful rays from the sun, and lets through the good rays that we need to survive. 
• Water: 3/4 of the planet is water. Water is the only substance found on earth in all 3 forms (solid, liquid, gas). Our water is clean and without toxins. The different layers of rock and sediment that water seeps through act as a natural filtration process, and rain (via evaporation and condensation) filters and cleans the air we breathe.
• Moon: controls the tides. The gravitational force of the moon on the waters (i.e. the tide) pulls the impurities from the shorelines, rivers, and streams into the deep sea where microbes feed on them.
• Non-Sterile ground: because our ground is non-sterile it contains microbes which support plant life. Without plants we'd have no food source as many animals eat plants (which we eat) an so do we. Plants are also vital to the breath ability of our atmosphere.
• Seasons: The 4 seasons provide the cycle plant life requires to exist (grow, produce, die, hibernate etc.) fun fact: we have a lot of 4's. 4 seasons; 4 regions (N.S.E.W); 4 elements (earth,wind,fire,water); 4 kingdoms (mineral, veg., animal, spiritual); 4 winds (N.S.E.W); 4 divisions of our day (morning, noon, evening, night); 4 phases of the moon (1st 1/4, new, last 1/4, full).
• Earth's spin: 24 hours. If it were even half that time, the days would be too hot and the nights too cold...killing most plat life.
• Earth tilt on it's axis: This allows the 4 seasons. It is cause by the orbit of the moon. The moon controls the ties, but it also holds the earth's tilt to maintain the 4 seasons required for plant life.
• Earth's orbit: 365 days to orbit the sun. Just enough time for all 4 seasons.
• Distance from the sun: If we were 1 degree closer or further.....just 1 degree......life could not exist.
• Distance from moon: 1 degree closer would raise the tides so high that every 24hours it would totally flood the earth and pull upon the earth's crust so hard that we'd have constant earthquakes. Further away and it could not hold earth on it's tilt, also it couldn't effectively pull the impurities in the tides away from shore out into the ocean.
• Moon's orbit: Th moon's rotation is synced or locked to be the same as it's orbit, which is the reason we can only see one side of the moon. It's orbit is so precise that it holds earth on a 23 degree tilt, which does many things for the sustainability of life.
• Earth's gravity: It is calculated down to an inconceivable decimal point....the exact force of which is the ONLY one on the spectrum of gravity that allows for life. Our gravity also allows the moon to stay where it is.
• Sun's gravity: It is stable....a sable sun is required for life on earth.
• Sun's consistent temperature: If the temperature of the sun rose or decreased by just 5% it would be catastrophic to life on earth.
• Magnetic Field: Our planet is the exact right size, thus having the exact right magnetic field to protect our atmosphere from solar winds. not so fun fact: our magnetic field is weakening  

These facts I listed above where the exact things missing when the writer of Genesis said tohu and bohu. I also think there are some spiritual implications surrounding this description, which I won't fully go into depth about (yet). To give you  a general idea of what I mean.... We know from the bible that the angels were present at creation. We also know from the story of Adam and Eve that satan was already cast out of heaven by the time the garden of Eden comes on the scene. Because of the literal meaning of the words used in vs. 2 I feel pretty confident in saying that the "darkness" over the face of the deep is referring to the "abyss" which is a word used throughout the bible in reference to the place of the fallen angels and evil spirits, which is something I'll revisit at a later date.

This earth and heavens were not yet inhabitable for man, God's crown of creation. (remember, it's all for us).

What happens next is really simply amazing. The Holy Godhead, as if taking a breath, swells with energy.

"and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

Like a conductor standing upon a platform before a massive rapt orchestra with all eyes on Him, instruments lifted and pressed to pursed lips. The white conductors wand is raised, The Holy Spirit is hovering, literally fluttering over the face of the waters, peeking with potential energy like a race horse yearning eagerly from behind the gate.

"Then.....God......Said"

With 3 small words, our lives are made possible. God, as if slicing the conductor's wand through the darkness, releases the Word into action.

Remember that John 1:1 and Revelation 19:13 declare Jesus as The Living Word of God, the Living Logos. Logos is the Greek word used in the New Testament for The Word. It is defined as a transmission of thought, a communication, a word of explanation, a divine decree, promise, doctrine and declaration. Jesus is God's divine declaration . He is a living communication to us of all that God wishes to tell us, and He is God's divine promise.

Now, God is 3 persons in one. Man is also 3 in one, in a different way. We are a spirit (1), who lives in a body (2) and has a soul (3). I'm not insinuating that God is spirit, body, and soul like us, I'm merely pointing out that all of God's creation displays great layered depth and sing the praise and wonder of the unity of the trinity.

God's Word is also this way. There are 3 distinct parts to the Word or Logos of God. And as with the Trinity, each part of the Word is distinct, and also wholly united so seamlessly that they are one.

Jesus is the Living Word (John 1:1) The Bible is the written word (Hebrews 4:12) take note of the lower case "w" here. That connotes that the bible is not as Christ is, the Living Word in the flesh, but rather Christ poured out on the pages, as God's written word. The Word is also the 2nd person in the Holy Trinity as the Son. This facet of Jesus is the one we encounter in Genesis 1. Let's go back to where we left off to find the truth about the Son within the story of creation.

"Then...God.....Said"

God is about to speak for the first time in our human record. This is bound to be an important phrase.

"Let there be light."

And there was light. I can almost here it now. The symphony begins with the powerful harmony of singing instruments, the conductor has begun the sonnet, and we are amazed. But....I bet you've missed something. God said, let there be light, and there was light.... but the sun and moon and stars that separate the day from the night weren't created until the 4th day in Genesis 1:14-18. So then what is the "light" spoken into existence in vs. 3?

Hebrews 11:3 - "The world was framed by the Word of God." the word framed here is the Greek word katartizo . It means to arrange, set in order, adjust, complete what is lacking, make fully ready, repair, prepare. Jesus Christ, The Word of God who was in the beginning with God, framed the world, set it in order, and completed all that was lacking.

When we speak a word, what are we doing? We are simply releasing the word from our mind action. We are transferring energy to manifest the word and all that it means and represents, into the physical realm. I can have a thought in my head, but until I transfer energy to my mouth and speak it, it is not yet in the physical realm.

"Then....God.....Said"

Then.....God.......released the Word into action. Transferring the energy of the Trinity to manifest the Word and all that He represents into the physical realm.

"Let there be light"

This.....The Light......is the physical manifestation of all that Jesus is and represents. John 1:4-5 says "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in he darkness, and the darkness did not overwhelm it." Genesis 1:3 is the Father's grand declaration and introduction of The Son to the world. Christ's life exploding forth from the center of the Trinity is what framed the earth, setting all things in order, completing all things that were lacking. His life was the light of men. It is Christ's life that shines in the darkness, and the darkness could not overwhelm it. Christ has been giving His life for us, standing in the gap of what is lacking, separating light from darkness, shinning brightly for all men, since the beginning of the beginning. With this first utterance of the Trinity, Once upon a time, God brings complete and perfect order out of the chaos of the formless, void and dark.

Jesus, The Word, going yet further to reach us, became flesh, died on a cross, and rose from the grave to do the same thing inside of each of us. To this very day, very second in time, Jesus is giving Himself to frame our heart and minds. He is about the business of setting things into perfect order, confounding the darkness, yesterday, today and for eternity.





The Living Word From The Beginning - Creation 1

In the short time that I have been studying the bible I have discovered that every story has at least three applications:

• The actual story that is being told;
• The lesson that you can apply to your own life;
• And a picture of Christ.

As Christians, we tend think of the bible in two parts. Old Testament & New Testament. The Old being everything that happened before Jesus, and the New, everything after. But I have discovered that not only is Jesus written into every page of the Old Testament, He is also alive and involved in every scene.

Beginning in Genesis with the Creation of the world, we read some of the greatest most memorable lines ever written:

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth."

Let's go back and take a closer look at "the beginning" and see what it has to tell us about the God who loves us so desperately, and the brother who gave His life to rescue us.

In the beginning God created.... the hebrew word used here for created is bara' .This word is a verb that is only used with God as the subject because it means not only to shape and form (like a sculptor) but also to create the very raw materials used to sculpt. When a potter creates, he uses clay. He may even go so far as to make his own clay, but it consists of raw materials that are already here. God literally materialized his medium and then shaped and formed it into the multifaceted creation that we live every day. If  you think about this from the perspective of what science has taught us, it's even more amazing. Matter is the building block of everything we know. Made up of tiny rotating and orbiting particles like protons, neutrons, and electrons, all of which maintain a carefully balanced electrical charge, making them either repel or attrack other particles....somehow joining to form a chair, or tree, or human body. Matter was God's clay. Creating this small universe of tiny electrically charged particles and orchestrating their every move is enough to boggle the efforts of even the smartest man alive, but for God it was literally only the beginning.
This fact alone....the very first sentence written to us in His Word, ought to tell us something about our Father. The more science learns about the world we live in should only stand to remind us of how "big" our God is, how magically intriguing are His thoughts and ways, and how small our understanding really is.
If the creation of the whole entire world was mine to undergo I would imagine the scenery would be a lot like something from a stick figure drawing, let alone totally compiled of microscopic moving specs that have to be kept in order every second of every day or else all life and substance would cease to exist.

It makes me think of computer code. As far as my brain is concerned, HTML code mine as well be the intricate code of human DNA or some complicated 12 page mathmatical equation. Just when I think I know why there's a ":" here or a" ><" there, I look down a few more lines and see that I basically have been staring at the screen for 2 hours and still know nothing. Now, imagine if I was put in charge of a streaming database of code the size of every stitch of code on every computer in the entire world. I would have had to create it, understand it, make it produce what I wanted, amd consistently maintain it's structure 24 hours a day 7 days a week. This is only a drop in the ocean compared to the structure and maintainance that God brings to our world every moment of every day.
Remember, God made matter, He knew what He was creating. He knew the gravitational pull reguired and the exact magnetic level needed to keep everything in order.... and it was as easy and effortless for Him as uttering a word. For all His closeness and accessibility to me, He is more awesome and amazing than my mind will ever understand (atleast as long as I'm still here on earth).