THE NEW HUMANITY IN CHRIST

"For neither is circumcision [now] of any importance, nor uncircumcision,
but [only] a new creation [the result of a new birth and a new nature in
Christ Jesus, the Messiah]." Galatians 5:6

courtesy of thehumanityproject.com

I love the Epistle to the Galatians. It Is a very inspiring book. One of the major points that Paul tries to point out in this letter is the believers freedom from the need to appear holy outwardly through rituals and religious practices. We have been set free from the basic principles of this world. We live by a higher law, a higher power.

The Jews took great pride in being circumcised. It was the sign of their approval with God. Circumcision meant they were in. They had a covenant with the living God and every other person was a heathen who would eventually be destroyed by their God. It meant that God would send his anointed one (Messiah) to them in order to rescue them from all their troubles and establish Israel as a world power. Even though the Old Testament prophecies speak of a New World of peace for all. They interpreted it to mean a new world where they would be the ruling class This was the climate that the early Christians lived in. And many early Jewish Christians still had this idea.

Sure enough, the Messiah comes and he dies for sins and rises again as King. But instead of focusing on Israel, the apostles seem to be talking about the gentiles too. That Jesus died for both Jews and non - Jews. This was
strange.Even some of the apostles resisted this revelation as God began to show it. Enter the judaizers; "apostles" who went about the churches preaching that Jesus saved the gentiles in order to make them Jews. They couldn't shake off the pride they took in their race. This pride was symbolised in their being circumcised. They insisted that whoever wanted to have a part in the Kingdom of God had to be circumcised. In other words they had to perform the ritual that makes Jews partakers of the old covenant. To this argument, Paul screams a resounding NO!! Circumcision or Uncircumcision doesn't matter, what matters is the New Creation.
The full scope of his mission on earth was to create a new humanity in Christ. One where race, gender, or occupation were meaningless. all that matters is Jesus, he symbolises the creation of a new humanity fully in union with the living God, 

The Early Christians had people who insisted on circumcision; we have people who insist on denomination, circumcision, observance of certain Jewish practices e.t.c. We all have our isms and schisms; reasons for which certain people are disqualified from the favour of God, To all these arguments, this word still stands
"For neither is circumcision [now] of any importance, nor uncircumcision,
but [only] a new creation [the result of a new birth and a new nature in
Christ Jesus, the Messiah]."

Jesus is the Logic of God telling us we are in!!!!

Grace be with you

HEALING TROUBLED HEARTS BY DR. BILL DAY

Dr Bill day is an inner healing practitioner. When I first got this book and realized it was about inner healing I was skeptical. I have come to associate the words with two things:

1.      New Age Religion and 

2.      Ultra spooky charismatic Christianity

I find neither of these two very palatable so I prepared myself for a very annoying read. Much to my surprise, it’s not bad at all. It is counseling, psychology and psychiatry from a Christ centered point of view. In this book, Dr. Day uses his personal life experiences and the testimonies of his patients to highlight some very important points

·        We all have baggage and are damaged because we have come to believe lies about ourselves and about God

·        These lies are so embedded in our subconscious that we sometimes don’t even realize it

·        Conventional counseling techniques, which majority of Church counselors also adopt can neither reveal nor dislodge those lies from our minds

·        It takes the HOLY SPIRIT to not only reveal them, but to shine the light of Jesus into the darkness and replace the lies with the truth of Jesus

As I read the book, I realized the very salient point he is making. Christian counseling and psychology should be just as Christ-centered as every other aspect of the Christian life. The most beautiful part of this is that he has seen it all; been through different types of religions and all forms of spirituality. In his quest for personal fulfillment and emotional stability, he went from Secular Humanism to learning New Age spirituality in San Diego and here’s what he has to say:

“In San Diego I had learned that self-actualization could be achieved without much conflict, that the intrinsic goodness of the human self would come through once people saw the truth and light of innate human goodness.”

“In this system of thought (and I ran across many expressions and varieties) there was no need for a Savior. Suffering and evil were seen as resulting from ignorance, avoidable by learning and applying true knowledge”

In hindsight, he shares with his conclusion on these schools of thought:

“Reflecting on this time in my life, I think it was a robust round of whistling in the dark. After all my study, striving, practicing meditation, and other spiritual exercises that promised enlightenment, no significant transformation had taken place”

I must be honest, I really like this book and I would recommend it for anyone who is being led by the lord into the ministry of counselling and therapy. I would also recommend it to all people in general. He gives practical tools to inviting Jesus into our baggage to heal and transform us himself.

Dr. Bill points out that we cannot relegate God to just the opening and closing of therapy sessions; We pray to at the beginning of the session and then use our educational and professional skills for the whole session, and when we’re done we pray to him again. He believes that God must be allowed to actively run the session; directing, speaking and healing. The counselors job should be to facilitate this engagement and make the client aware of the great physician’s presence.

“The finished work of Christ will be finished when these ultimate intentions of God are realized. Redemption is God’s story; it is about His ultimate intentions. The whole panorama is about Him, for Him, by Him, and in Him…and especially in Jesus”

Selah 

The Heart of the Matter

Guard your heart above all else,

for it determines the course of your life “ (Proverbs 4:23 NLT)

I like to share a brief testimony that deals with the issue of the heart. I struggled as a Christian with various habits.  I knew I was free from these things in Christ but I wasn't experiencing that freedom. Until I realised that I was allowing things into my heart that don't belong there; Messages and images that reinforced such behavioural patterns. The admonition to guard your heart is key. The bible teaches that as a man thinks in his heart so is he.

Jesus tells the parable of the sower who sows the word of the Gospel in different kinds of hearts; not heads or minds. The reason some reaped a harvest and others did not wasn't because the word isn't powerful, but because the word had no space to sink into the hearts or was choked by other things. What you allow to sink in your heart matters a lot. What you focus on will determine your life. Paul advised that we focus on the things above (Colossians 3). He also said we should only think on lovely, worthy of praise things. Guard your heart and fill it with the Gospel and you will bear it's fruit effortlessly, fill your heart with the contradictions and principles of this world and you will work the works of the flesh.

The Danger of Exclusion

 "They zealously seek you in no good way. No, they desire to alienate you, that you may seek them." (Galatians 4:17 ISV)


There is something about humanity that eagerly seeks that which is running away from it. It is a sign of a deep brokenness on our part. We are increasingly attracted to things that are constantly unattainable or unreachable. We find the person who is disinterested in us more attractive than a person who is by our side and loves us for who we are.

I see this a lot in romantic relationships. Exclusion is used as a tool for manipulation. One party makes him/herself constantly unavailable emotionally or physically. He/she knows that it increases the other party's cravings. This drives the other party to want to pursue him/her even more.

Sadly, preachers and so called apostles have been using this same technique for millenia. In the passage above, Paul tells the Galatians that the Judaizers who had come to them were using the same tactic. They were painting the picture of a distant God; one who still had a few requirements for them to enjoy him. Of course, they were very conversant with these requirements and will be sharing it from time to time.


Tragically, once people are drawn to such messages, the cycle will never stop. The exclusion message will continue. You will always have one thing missing in your life. There will always be something you're not doing or are ignorant of that will disqualify you from God. And you're not doing the ones that you are doing well enough or long enough or something. What a shame.

To the person that has been told this kind of message. Know that Jesus loves you and has paid the full price for your salvation.  There is nothing more for you to do in order to get closer to God, just believe. He doesn't play games with you. He is always there by your side and available to you. Anyone who preaches that you lack certain steps or that you're disqualified is only seeking for you to follow them.

To the ministers who preach the Grace of God. This is a call to relax.  If you're wondering why some people leave your congregation or why your  ministry is not as large as you think it should be. Be aware that people in their brokenness are drawn to exclusion. If the Galatians who were converted through Paul and heard the Gospel of Grace directly from his mouth and deeds, if they could be drawn away by those who claimed that they needed to be circumcised.  It shouldn't surprise you that some fall away. Just keep preaching the Gospel. Some people can't handle freedom

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BELIEVE?

"He who gives you His Spirit and works miracles among you–does He do so on the ground of your obedience to the Law, or is it the result of    your having heard and believed"

(Galatians 3:5 Weymouth translation)

Belief is a powerful thing. To believe is not just to give mental assent to a fact. It is to have that fact be the platform from which you live your life. It is to have your heart so persuaded by this fact that it drives your life. This is what the apostles meant when they said believe.

Many people nowadays view Christianity as some academic exercise; We just know a bunch of facts in our heads so that we can go around arguing with one another based on bible verses. But that is not what it is at all. This life is much deeper. It is to come face to face with the God of the universe and to see him for who he really is. It is to realise that Jesus is the owner and supreme ruler of this Cosmos and to bend the knee and say "your will be done". It is to receive the Holy Spirit in yourself and become conscious of the fact that your body is now the home of God himself.

This means something.  This translates into a life that cannot originate from you; A life of fruit bearing; A life where the mundane and elemental principles of this world cannot hold you or rule you anymore. This is what is meant by believe. Your life cannot be the same when you believe this Gospel. This is the promise of the Holy Spirit. Right believing leads to right living.

COME, LORD JESUS

Hello folks, how has life been treating you? Good, bad or a mixture of both? If you're like me your life has ups and downs, Good stuff and bad stuff, sometimes happening simultaneously. Well, that’s the way things are. This world is fallen and that falleness manifests itself in many ways around us.

But we have a hope, a hope that one day Jesus will return in physical form. He will set up his own government and rule the world with justice and righteousness. He will set the world to rights and wipe away every tear from our eyes. That day, we will look at the universe and see how he has redeemed the pain, the hurt, the mistakes and the evil in our lives. We will realize that he wove it all into the tapestry of his grand design and made it all beautiful. He didn’t plan or wish for you to go through what you’ve been through but he’s going to make it align with his will and everything will be alright.

This kind of thinking seems like escapism to some of our brothers and sisters. For a very long time, many Christians have sat down and avoided contact with their world. Their reasoning is that the world is only going to get worse, so lets just sit down, do nothing and wait for the Lord to come and fix everything. But that is not what the bible teaches. Jesus tells us that we are the salt of the earth and the light of the world. We are extensions, outposts if you like, of the kingdom of God and we are to express the life of the kingdom of God everywhere around us. It is unacceptable for us to sit back, fold our arms, and watch evil reign when we can do something about it.

As a result, many people have rejected this “sit down look” strategy. Some have also gone to the extreme of rejecting the whole idea of the second coming of Christ. At least they don’t want to talk about it. But I see nothing wrong with talking about it. The same Jesus that commissioned us to be his hands and feet also promised to return to us and redeem our bodies. Like Paul states, if we have no hope beyond this life we are to be pitied more than all men. All our believing would be in vain and it would have been better for us not to be Christians at all.

There are many reasons to reflect and long for the coming of Christ. But my favourite reason is this; I long to experience the tangible, unfettered reality of being in his presence;  To be able to hold him; to share a drink with him; to hear him laugh and to see the look of approval and unconditional love in his eyes. That, my friend, is priceless. Major Ian Thomas pointed out that if we can fully tap into the reality of our union with Jesus, there will be no difference between now and our death. God the Holy Spirit has made our union real. He is not holding back in anyway. But the fact of the matter is that we do not fully tap into the reality of our union. No one can say with all sincerity that they are 24/7, 365 always aware of the presence of God or are as aware of our union as we possibly can be and feel like Jesus is always with them. Well, when He comes, we will be able to. we will see him with our naked eyes and hold him in our arms. We will realize that he was never far away, that he loves us dearly. When I reflect on this, I can live my life knowing that everything is going to be alright.

YOU ARE LOVED

You are God’s masterpiece

You are his biggest deal

You carry the very image of the Three-in-One

He knows you like you have never known yourself

He knows you beyond the lies with which you have defined yourself

He sees you and smiles; the epitome of his creation

You are the reason for creation

Everything was made for Jesus, but Jesus is all about you

Standing at the precipice of time and space, he saw you and with great anticipation  and excitement declared “Light, be!”

You are loved

MY APOLOGY

By the Grace of God, I've been privileged to be in a leadership position in the Church. Men who were better than me have realized the call of God on my life and given me opportunities to preach to the people. It seems to me that while it is true that I was called at the time, I had not been sent. I wasn't ready to lead, I wasn't prepared by God enough. I knew very little about God and most of what I knew were lies and half truths.

God is love and I don’t believe any minister is ready until he gets that into his head; that all that God does is motivated by his being Love. Of course, we grow into this, but it must have settled well enough before we presume to lead our brothers and sisters. I remember many sermons I preached and many times I got an opportunity to speak and it was horrible. I was always pointing out how unsatisfied God was with people. I disqualified them from God’s blessings. I berated people for not praying loudly enough; praising vigorously enough or giving largely enough.

Even when the grace of God began to unfold to me, I became a Grace Pharisee. I lost my patience with anyone who refused to see things my way and got into many arguments and fights with my brothers. I look back at some of my encounters with certain people and realize how those meetings could have ended in a more peaceful and friendly way.

I was an angry preacher because I believed that God was angry with me. I have since repented from that error. I no longer feel condemned for my wrong doings, not even for the ones I just pointed out. However, I do want to apologise. To all that have felt condemnation, unworthiness, or disqualification by my words or actions, I sincerely apologise. I knew not what I was doing. And I want you to know that God loves you with an unquenchable love. He does not need you to move an inch, give a cent, or pray a decibel louder before he blesses you. In fact, he has blessed you in the Lord Jesus and he doesn’t take back what he gives.

May the Grace of our Lord continually be with you.

THE NEW COVENANT BY BOB EMERY

Nothing explains complex concepts better than a good story. Jesus used stories a lot. Of course he told parables, whose sole purpose was to conceal his message and make it unclear. But he also told stories that clearly illustrated his point of view. It is with that in mind that i'd like to recommend "The New Covenant" by Bob Emery.

In this book, Bob distils vital concepts of the New Covenant. He revolves the story around the Apostle John and creates a wonderful fiction of John teaching young Christians about the Christological meaning of the Temple, the Jewish sacrifices and several other things

I believe the aim of the book is to reveal that these concepts have serious revelatory truths that are quite lost on the modern Christian. The story teaches us that they are shadows of a greater substance; Christ himself and his finished work.

 He also has John teach on a less emphasised aspect of our spiritual life; the dream of God for his Church. He explores the great vision of God for the Bride of Christ and how she is more than a human institution. The church is an organism of great beauty and worth to our Lord. She is the Eve to his Adam; the one for whom he died, that she might emerge. It is interesting that the Revelation of Jesus Christ by John ends in this picture of the Church. It tells me that all the symbols and signs in the book of Revelations culminate in the Revelation of the Bride of Christ.

#BRINGBACKOURGIRLS!!!!

Its been 31 days since a bunch of cowards invaded a secondary school in Chibok, Borno State and abducted young school girls. Your guess is as good as mine as to the fate of these children. Our nation grieves at this atrocity and I too feel grief. I feel pained, i feel hurt, I feel betrayed by our government and I feel lost and hopeless sometimes.

But I take comfort in one fact, Jesus is with us all. Even now, he is with all those wherever they may be. And he is not hopeless or lost. In his capacity as God and Lord of time; outside of time knowing the end from the beginnning, he knows just how this whole thing is going to end; in glory and redemption. But he's also in our time, living and experiencing now with us and he feels appropriately for now. He is not in the sky looking smug and wondering why we are all sad. He feels just as we feel, he is also saddened and distressed by this and many incidents such as this. He knows the pain the mothers of those girls feel, and he feels it too.

So I pray. That our Father might cause heaven and earth to move in order to bring our girls back. That the God of all comfort may comfort them with the comfort and joy unspeakable that he alone can give. That the Holy Spirit may grant us all comfort in our grief, and that we may be able to grab hold of the faith of Jesus. knowing that somehow, some way, it will all end well, if not now, at the end of this age

TELL ME YOUR RED PILL MOMENT

The scene below is from the first installment of the seminal movie "The Matrix". I love that movie. I was just thinking about that scene and comparing it to my journey into the Hyper-Grace Message.  I remember my first steps into the true Gospel, I call it my red pill moment. It all started from a simple revelation; God has forgiven all my sins, past, present and future through Jesus' death on the cross. That fact led me down the rabbit hole. Little did I know just how deep that hole goes. I have been forced to rethink everything, and I'm still rethinking stuff. I think of some of my friends who also took the red pill and in my opinion have begun to deviate from the true Gospel into some really weird stuff. Others have gone deeper than I have and been a real help and encouragement to me. But it's all good, God is with us all. The base line of all my thoughts is that God loves all of us in a very passionate and unconditional way. That is the fabric of my rabbit hole and its drawing me deeper and deeper

I'd like you to share your own red pill moments in the comments section. When was the wool removed your eyes? And what wool was it? How deep is that moment taking you or have you abandoned it? God bless and enjoy the scene

  

PRETTY HURTS

If you know me, you know I'm not one of those Christians who believe the Devil created certain types of music. I don't believe in listening to only Gospel music (as a matter of fact, many of the Gospel songs promote defeatist mentality and law based theology in my opinion).  With that said, I'm sure many of you will not be surprised by the songs that are promoted on MY blog. 

This morning I saw the video to a beautiful song by Beyonce titled "Pretty Hurts". It's such an insightful song and it addresses one of the biggest problems of our day; self image. We live in a world where everybody is insecure about something; how they look, their weight, their skin colour, the tightness of their clothes... you name it. Take a look around- Television, Radio, talk with your friends and see the pictures of celebrities- they are telling you one simple thing; "you are not good enough, you must-do better, be better, sound better, look better" 

This bombardment leads to us putting all our energies into "bettering ourselves". We take classes, we work on our accent, we do cosmetic surgery, we exercise, we lie about our achievements and so on and so forth. But like the song reveals, you cannot heal the wound of your soul with superficial fixes. No amount of surgery will stop you from feeling indequate, unlovable and ugly. It could mask it and you could bury those feelings really deep, but they will still show up either through blatant self loathing or hateful remarks at others. We fail to realise that these people who keep reminding us of our inadequacies are only projecting their feelings of inadequacy to us. They have found out that it is felt by all and are using it to their advantage; to sell products, set trends and be influential. 

Just to be clear, I have nothing against working on your appearance or educating yourself. What I want is for you to ask yourself 

              "Is my qualification, my appearance e.t.c what I look to determine my worth, or have I      come to realise that I'm worthy, valuable, beautiful, lovely, lovable and loved regardless of            these things?" 

Because that's what the Gospel is about, the Gospel tells us of a God who saw as so worthy, so lovely that he became like us in order to save us. He chose to never be without us and made us partakers of divine nature. We don't have to perform to be valuable, we are valuable because we have been made in the image and likeness of the living God. Yes, we fell, we lost sight of that image, we fell short of the Glory of God and ended up with a distorted image of God and of ourselves. But Jesus came and he saved us and restored the image by making sure that "as he is, so are we in this world". That is the cure to the human condition, that is the assurance of our value. Jesus is our answer.

There is so much more to say about this but i'll just let you enjoy the song. I couldn't get a good copy of the video to add to this blog. But you can watch the official video by clicking on this link. God be with you

FINDING PLAY IN GOD

Children are blessed. I believe they are the ones that resemble our Lord Jesus the most; they are carefree, playful, and full of life; simply put, they are innocent. That is until they start to grow and we infect them with the Law based system of this world.

Being a father has made more keenly aware of the world of children. I look at my son and I see a perfect example of the kind of lifestyle the Lord lives and advocates; a life that is fully satisfied and basking in a loving relationship with the Father. My son doesn’t worry about anything. Somehow, he knows that we will address his discomfort when he expresses it. And he plays, oh my, does he play. His play is wild-eyed, loud, and nonchalant; he doesn’t even care for his own personal safety. He has no cares in the world. When he hurts himself during play, all he does is cry because he’s in pain and then he just resumes whatever he was doing (By the way, child psychologists have discovered that children recover swiftly from emotional trauma once it is addressed quickly)

I believe the Lord wants us to have this childlike state of innocence. Not childishness, childlikeness. A child is not at all concerned with the problems of this world. He just goes ahead playing. I believe God cares for this world deeply and shares that concern and compassion with us. I also believe that being grown-ups, we make wise decisions and calculated risks, with a reasonable concern for our personal safety and the safety of our loved ones. At the same time, we are supposed to grab hold of the joy and play that exists in the Trinity. We are to declare that whatsoever contradictions we encounter will not distract us from the bliss, the joy, the wild-eyed happiness that exists in the Trinity. We are partakers of this happiness in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit and now we rejoice in knowing the unfettered and unconditional love of God the Father.

It’s unfortunate that many of us cannot do this, we are too damaged. I think that’s why Paul tells us to set our minds of things above (Colossians 3:1-3) and to concentrate on things that are lovely and of good report (Philippians 4:8), in other words, keep your mind focused on the Gospel. It is easy to lose focus and be distracted by the bad reports of this world, the general downward spiral of things, the economy, and our personal tragedies. We need to always remind ourselves of the Gospel, always keep our hearts rooted in one unshakeable fact. God loves us and he will never stop loving us. He has our back, He’s on our side, and He’s working to make everything right. When we keep our minds stayed on the Gospel, then we can obtain that childlike sense of innocence and play

Lies Made Flesh by Dotun Fadairo

Here's a nice little poem by my good friend Dotun Fadairo. It portrays how the lies we believe about ourselves negatively impart our relationships. Many people hear these lies from society, from their parents' actions or just from a disturbed state of mind that misconstrues every nuance to mean disapproval. The good news is that Jesus is the Truth. He is the only one who can properly and accurately define you. Therefore any chracter traits or flaws that are not in Christ are lies that you've told yourself. Enjoy

Shards of broken relationships behind; vengeance on the face

With every step the lie proclaims

"They're all the same! Put em in their place"

A family torn apart; walls of division thick and strong...

Anger and bitterness dance away as the lie sings the

"I did it my way" song

A body ravaged by worry,stress and strain

The cocktail seeps to the bone

In all the agony the lie declares

"I am all alone" 

FLYING IN THE FACE OF FEAR

“Fear is not real. The only place that fear can exist is in our thoughts of the future. It is a product of our imagination, causing us to fear things that do not at present and may not ever exist. That is near insanity. Do not misunderstand me, danger is very real, but fear is a choice…..” Cypher Raige(After Earth)

The thing that paralyses us the most from pursuing our goals is fear. We are afraid that we might fail; afraid that people would reject and ridicule us; sometimes we are even afraid that things may turn out bad if we succeed. These fears paralyze us and make us unwilling to take risks.

Some of our fears are highly irrational. Not the natural fear we experience in times of danger. I'm talking about the fear of the unknown; the fear of a possible future that may not happen. It is irrational to let that kind of thing get in our way of engaging in our god-given passions and pursuing relationships. I know many people who have shied away from potentially meaningful relationships out of fear that the friendship will deteriorate if things do not go well. Whenever you hear the voice of doubt telling you: “what if things don’t go well?” reply by saying, “what if it does?”

Moreover, If you want to do anything that will impact your life and that of those around you; if you wish to engage in activities and causes that will bring you satisfaction and make you happy, you must be ready to make mistakes. Rest assured that because you're not omniscient you’ll make the wrong moves sometimes and things won’t always work out as expected. The key is having the tenacity to keep trying and chasing you goals after one or several failures.

It’s interesting that most people who have achieved great things in this world have had great failures. Littering the backyards of the lives of great achievers are failed projects, unaccomplished hopes, and dashed dreams. Unlike most of us, they didn’t let these things hold them down. They learnt from their mistakes and adjusted their endeavors accordingly

One of the greatest things Jesus has delivered us from is fear. He conquered death in order to deliver us from the fear of death. He delivered us from failure by triumphing in every way and becoming a curse that we might be blessed. He also delivered us by making us who we are-accepted, loved, forgiven and resurrected regardless of whatever actions we do. This gives me freedom. It means I no longer have to define myself by what I do or what I have achieved. All that matters is Christ. He is my definition; “As he is so are we in this world” (John 4:17). As a result, I do not care how the outcome of my actions looks. I am free to take risks because my success or failure does not define my being. Neither does it define yours. So get up, get out, and do something. Do not let fear rob you of the joys of going for what you love dearly and potentially succeeding at it.

I’ve heard it said that courage is not the absence of fear, but carrying on in spite of our fear. I think that’s a very apt statement. We all have apprehensions; we all wonder if things will work out fine. But we can’t let that rule our lives; otherwise we might not get out of the bed in the morning. Let’s learn to fly in the face of our fears knowing that what we fear may never come to pass.

COSMOS REBORN BY JOHN CROWDER

If you are feeling worn out by your spiritual life, wondering whether or not God still loves you, tired of the constant struggle to keep all the rules and principles which you've been told must guide your life. Then i think you need a heavy dish of happy theology, and in "Cosmos Reborn" John Crowder serves it up really nice. This is theology that will make you leap and shout for joy. It will make you fall in love with God again as he explores how much God is in Love with you.

Now make no mistake, this is not some mamby pamby, lovey dovey, silly book. John Crowder unpacks a lot of concepts in simple easy-to-read form; this is Trinitarian theology for the regular guy. In Cosmos Reborn John writes about a wide range of topics; from the incarnation to good works to Hellfire and universalism. He explores them from an Incarnational Trinitarian perspective. This is heavy stuff. But he writes it in a fashion that the regular guy can understand. It's not simplistic and dumb, it's just simple

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. People have the idea that theology is just a bunch of abstract thoughts on religion by stuffy academicians who wish to make life more complicated for everybody. The truth is whether you like it or not or know it or not, your life is shaped by a bunch of theological concepts. Theology is nothing more than the logic of God; it's our thoughts on how and why God operates in our midst. The truth is we all have our ideas about how God thinks and the wrong theology will lead you to a life of misery, performance anxiety and constant guilt. The right theology is shaped by one simple fact; Jesus is the one and only template through which we can know God. He is God and there is no sinister GOD behind his back waiting to get us.

This is the crux of Trinitarian theology and it is the principle behind John Crowder's thoughts. The premise of the book is that through Jesus Christ, the recreation of the Universe took place, given the very biblical fact that the whole universe exists in Jesus Christ; the second person of the Trinity (Colossians 1:15-17). With that in mind, he begins to look at all aspects of Christian thought from that perspective. I would suggest you do the same too.  In case you don’t have the time nor the energy to do the same, (which most people don’t) I’d suggest you simply get yourself a copy of this great book. It is very disturbing to me that the word Trinitarian has become a bad word in modern evangelical circles. It’s almost as if to say you’re Trinitarian is to say you’re a heretic. At the same time, all these people pay lip service to the fact that they believe in the doctrine of the trinity. I wonder, are we supposed to say we believe in the Triune God but not allow it to shape our lives? I suspect that many people have not taken the time to really think about that concept and its implications on our spiritual life. This is due in part to the disdain for theology perpetuated by many leaders in charismatic and evangelical circles.

I don’t wish to spoil it for you by delving into any of the topics. I’ll just encourage you to get the book, read it and be happily surprised at just how good this good news is.

Disclosure of Material Connection:

Now I have to say this (seriously, I do): I received this book free of charge from the publisher and writer via the Speakeasy network, I'm not under any obligation to write a positive review and the views I have expressed are entirely my own. I'm writing this disclosure in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255

JUST DO IT

Remember that old Nike slogan, “JUST DO IT”. I feel like that’s my motto right now with this blog. Frank Viola has mentioned that there are two types of writers; the plodders and the crammers. The plodder keeps writing no matter how painful or uninspired he may feel, he just keeps plodding along on the keyboard and then edits it to suit his taste until it becomes gold. The crammer on the other hand waits- even if he’s got a deadline- until he gets a burst of inspiration and then crams all those words in within a shorter period of time.

I think of myself as a little bit of both. However, the side of me that wants to be hip and only do things when I feel like it has been taking center stage for the past couple of months. Alas, there hasn’t been enough inspiration; hence no blog posts of recent.  I must admit that there were little bursts of inspiration every now and then, but rather than take that as impetus and start writing, I would procrastinate until I completely lost that train of thought. Procrastination is indeed the thief of time.

A few days ago I came to a realization; I have to embrace the plodder in me and just write. No more waiting for the stars to align and for my circumstances to be favorable, everything will fall in line as I begin to just do what I want to do. For example, the three paragraphs you have just read came from the simple thought to “just do it”

I think this is something for you to consider too. We all have hopes and dreams. Things we want to do, places we want to go, hobbies and interests we wish to learn. Sometimes it’s best to just get off your butt and do what you want to do. Of course, it’s good to plan things out, especially if you're thinking of starting a business. Be wise, gather the capital and the knowledge you need to make it right. Just don’t spend the rest of your life at the drawing board. Take some calculated risks, put yourself out there, live a little, buy the form, go to the classes; just do it. As you do, more often than not you’ll find things beginning to make room for you to reach your goals.  Just do it

I feel inspired to write more along these lines- so I will. You might be wondering what this has to do with the Father’s love, it does and I intend to explore it later on. Suffice it to say that God’s love is what is exhibited in the things you love to do. You love those things because God loves them and he has placed that same love in your heart. So if theres something you love doing, know that God is on your side and “just do it”