Category: Discipleship

Under Pressure

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

“But comprehend this, in the last days, at precise moments, various seasons (kairos time) of intense pressure will come. ..” (2 Timothy 3:1a Fuller Translation)

I believe that we are, right now, in the midst of one of the “kairos moments” of pressure that the Spirit warned us would occurr as this age draws to a close. And I also believe that the Enemy is using social media and an inundation of news as catalysts in this “opportune” moment.

We must understand that the Enemy is seeking to distract and discourage followers of Jesus by soliciting strong, carnal, emotional responses regarding content that is being strategically presented through both social and news media. The constant stream of negative stimuli, whether it be political or social in nature, is part of a scheme designed to “wear down the saints” in this hour. There is an effort to bring about hopelessness and an overall emotionally pressurized sense of heaviness.

Distraction is also an objective in this season of pressure. As we feel the pressure of this season, the Enemy desires that we concentrate more on the things we see and hear instead of living life in/by the Spirit of God. We must not forget who(se) we are in this hour. We must not forget that which the Lord has called us to, both as individuals and as the corporate Body of Christ. We must remember that the “anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” And make no mistake, the pressure of this hour is being used to provoke carnal anger which distracts us from the things of God.

As Christians, we must never bury our heads in the sand or adopt an escapist mentality. But as we seek to minister the love of God to the world around us, we must also have wise, discerning hearts. It has been said that knowing that there is a trap is the sure way to avoid it. In this kairos season of pressure let us not be ignorant of the schemes of the devil, but by constant practice train our senses to discern between good and evil.

Eleven

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

I have this recording that I made waaaaay back when I was 11. I had one of those old 70’s cassette recorders, and it was important for me to leave a “witnessing tape” so that if I died my family and friends would listen to it and all come to Jesus. Anyway, there’s this point during the first few minutes when I say, “I lived in sin until I was 11.” That is both hilarious and, in a way, so sad to me now. Because man, was I wrong!! There were 30 years of addiction and pain that lay ahead. My intentions were good, but I had the perspective of an 11 old year old child. Not necessarily good or bad, just limited by my own personal context at the time. I couldn’t see past 11.

When we as men and women chose the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil over Life and intimacy with our creator, sin invaded like cancer. It warped the very fabric of creation, bringing death and separation from God, and forever altered our perspective about God and ourselves. We fell for the lie that we could be like God without God. And from that time until the present mankind has set up governments, programs, institutions, religions, and whatever else you can think of to fashion himself into the being he has only a distorted notion of that he should be. The way seems good, but the end brings only more death. Enter Jesus. (I have to be honest, when I wrote that I thought of “Enter Sandman” by Metallica.)

Through the redemptive work of Jesus: his life, death, and resurrection; we have been reconciled to God. In the person of Jesus, God has provided healing for our brokenness. Salvation is so much more than our proverbial bible-belt prayer, “Lord, I confess I’m a sinner. Please save me now.” It is holistic in its “efficaciousness,” affecting every facet of our being. Through intimacy with Jesus we have been invited to come and take part in the Life and Love of God. In Jesus, we become a “new creation,” all things become new. The Spirit of God actually indwells us and begins to change us, molding us into the image of Jesus. And as we grow in the Lord, our perspective which sin had left warped and distorted begins to give way to a new one. Or at least it should.

Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda…One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, ‘Would you like to get well? (John 5: 5,6 NLT)

I used to read this passage and think to myself that it was strange that the Lord would ask the paralyzed man if he wanted to be well. After all, who wouldn’t want to be healed of an infirmity that had rendered them an invalid? What person in their right mind would want to remain in a paralyzed condition? The truth is that sometimes, as crazy as it may seem, even after we come to Jesus we can actually remain at ease with our “disease.” Sadly, many of us are guilty of not allowing Jesus complete access to the pain and hurts we have encountered in life. When this happens, our thoughts and behavior can be dictated by the flesh, and we often feel justified in using our infirmity to manipulate others. I wonder if perhaps that is why Jesus asked the man lying beside the pool of Bethesda that day if he wanted to be healed. Maybe the man had actually begun to see his illness as a way to manipulate others into giving him money. Have you ever met someone who has actually begun to “romance” their pain and hurt? It’s crazy, but sometimes, we can prefer the familiarity of our suffering over the prospect of being made whole.

Maybe part of the reason we as believers are experiencing such angst and frustration in this “kairos moment” in history is due to the fact that we need to allow God to change our perspective from the natural to the spiritual. Perhaps the truth is that while by this time we should be mature sons and daughters of God, we have been held back by desires and thoughts that originate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil- our old, carnal thought patterns and perspectives. Could it be that we, all of us, have been largely deceived by that which seems good, but is in reality a fruit from that old tree? We can’t and shouldn’t be freaked out by the world’s reactions to current events, but our perspectives as lovers of Jesus are to be shaped by his Spirit within us. And I guess ultimately, it is by the Spirit that each of us can discern our own motivation.

When I was a boy, I couldn’t see past 11. I had all kind of thoughts, but my perspective was that of a child. May I ask some questions without coming across as insensitive? Are we as Christians honestly coming before the Lord, laying down our hurt, our pain, and everything we think we know? Are we willing to allow the Spirit to expand our perspective beyond the natural? Are we willing to see beyond our own ethnicity and personal context? It may be impossible with man, but not with God. Let’s grow up in him together!!

 

 

 

 

Eye Of The Pneuma

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

He [God] said [to Abraham], “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”

[And Jesus said to the Jews who argued with him],”Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.”

My wife and I are walking through a “strange” time right now. Questions concerning ministry and employment, just what and where God has for us are foremost on our minds. Anyway, we both woke up around 4:30 this morning, and neither of us could go back to sleep. So we prayed, snuggled for a while, and then figured we’d go ahead and get out of bed since it was obvious that we were up for good. I put on a pot of coffee and told her I was heading out for my morning “ralk.” (That’s when you run a little bit and walk a little bit, run a little, walk a little, etc…)

As I made my way through my course, I began to pray and still my heart before the Lord. I was thinking about everything that’s happened over the past little while, the conversations I’d had with my wife and others, wondering what was going on, trying to believe that God was “up to something.” Then, in my heart, I heard the Spirit whisper,” Abraham saw my day and rejoiced.” Now, at first glance, you’re probably wondering what in the world that has to do with the situation at hand. But the statement prompted me to ask a question: “How did Abraham see?” Now we’re getting somewhere.

One of the most challenging things for us who live in physical bodies, who occupy time and space, who walk in the “natural,” and interpret life empirically is to see in the spirit. And so much of what Jesus said/says is multidimensional. During his “earthly ministry” he consistently made statements that could only be interpreted through means of spiritual revelation (“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life..”). Think about it: “Destroy this temple and I’ll raise it up in three days.” Or, “Ask me for the living water and you’ll never thirst again.” Or how about, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees.” This is a great one, “Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you.” Was Jesus speaking of the physical temple that stood in Jerusalem at that time? Was “the leaven of the Pharisees some kind of rank bread the disciples needed to avoid? Would he produce this living water from some secret underground spring? Was he offering his body for some kind of weird “Walking Dead” cannibalistic cult ritual? No, these are just a few examples of things we have to “see” by the Spirit.

Jesus is still challenging us to live by the Spirit today. And while it is true that revelation is something that we receive by the Spirit of God, frequently it is in those situations that make absolutely no sense or even run contrary to the natural mind that the Spirit uses to bring understanding. And that’s where the “Abraham saw my day and rejoiced.” took me this morning.

We know from reading the Bible that it never entered into God’s heart to demand human sacrifice from men: “They [ancient Israel]have built pagan shrines at Topheth, the garbage dump in the valley of Ben-Hinnom, and there they burn their sons and daughters in the fire. I have never commanded such a horrible deed; it never even crossed my mind to command such a thing!” So, God’s testing of Abraham was not to see whether or not Abraham would really sacrifice Isaac. Besides, if God is truly God, he already knew what Abe would do. (Perhaps we need a more complete understanding of God’s “testing” or “tempting” as some translations regretfully put it.) I believe that it was here, in this strange and even hurtful context, that Abraham gained a revelation of what God intended to do through Jesus, the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. That which made no sense in the natural brought increased intimacy, illumination, and joy.

So, where does that leave us? What’s the application as they say? As children of God we can rest assured of the kind intentions that the Lord has towards us in Christ Jesus. He is committed to bring us through the entirety of our lives and present us to himself, holy and blameless. His desire is that we might have spiritual wisdom and insight so that we might grow in our knowledge of God, that our hearts will be flooded with light so that we can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called.” And we would do well to remember that wisdom, insight, and knowledge are often derived from revelation that has been produced in patient endurance and trust in the midst of circumstances that make little to no sense in our natural minds. Circumstances that provide us with spiritual eyes through which we may “see and rejoice.”

“Stratego”

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself.

When you’ve been around church and church people for a while you can’t help but become fluent in “Christianese.” You learn all the catch phrases and all the theological presuppositions of the various camps within the Tribe. And sometimes, if you’re not careful, you can ignore a legitimate spiritual principle as a reaction to the abuse of said principle you have witnessed. Reading about King Hezekiah this morning, I was reminded that while no, there is not a demon behind every bush; there is an Enemy, and He does employ definite strategies to attack and discourage God’s people. Let’s talk about one of those.

If you’re not an astute student of the Bible you may have never heard of King Hezekiah. But way back, when Israel had been split into a Northern and Southern Kingdom, Hezekiah ruled the Southern kingdom of Judah(a southern man like me). He had been one of the few good kings who had followed the Lord with all of his heart. He cleansed the temple, organized the priests, and restored temple worship. And there had been, what we call in “christianese,” REVIVAL!! And then, “after these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself.“

One of the things the Enemy loves to do is to attack immediately following times of spiritual renewal. So often, after God has brought revival into our lives or following a time of spiritual breakthrough or when prophetic words of promise and encouragement have been spoken in/to us; the Enemy will launch immediate “counter measures.” His hatred for God and we who bear his image is provoked when he perceives that spiritual renewal has “fortified our cities.” He comes like Sennacherib and blasphemes God, seeking to bring discouragement, doubt, and eventual demoralization. He tells us that our faith in God is misplaced, that we will fall before him like countless others have before us. But he lies!!

And Hezekiah prayed this prayer before the Lord: “O Lord, God of Israel, you are enthroned between the mighty cherubim! You alone are God of all the kingdoms of the earth. You alone created the heavens and the earth. Bend down, O Lord, and listen! Open your eyes, O Lord, and see! Listen to Sennacherib’s words of defiance against the living God.”

Through the cross of our Lord Jesus, God has disarmed all spiritual rulers and authorities. He has already won the victory, and in Him nothing can separate you from God’s love. “Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And he will lead you into victory, fulfilling his words spoken in/to your life. Thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere!!

And the Lord sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword.  So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side.

What About Bob?

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

I received a text yesterday from someone who, for the sake of anonymity, we’ll call Bob. The text read simply, “I’ve lost my way.” The moment I read it I knew what he meant. You see, Bob has had experiences with God and has as we like to say: “Made a profession of faith.” But his whole life has been in again, out again, in again, out again, and now-he’s pretty much “out.”  Shortly after receiving Bob’s text, we talked on the phone. We talked about many things, and I don’t feel like I did a particularly extraordinary job in giving my counsel. So Bob, if you’re reading; this one’s for you. (And all us other “Bobs” out there as well.)

When it comes to having “lost your way,” you are not alone my friend. I have been EXACTLY where you are!! Even now, after walking with Jesus all these years, I still lose my way. There are times in each of our lives when we blow our own minds and freak our own selves out. We look around and ask ourselves, “Where am I, and how did I get here?” Sometimes, it’s nothing we’ve done or haven’t done, it’s just life. The way gets dark and confusing. It happens to all of us. But there is a reason why He’s called the Good Shepherd Bob- He comes to seek us out! He loves you and desires you to be filled up with His love. The mere fact that you reached out to me proves He’s still working, and that you’re not too for gone. This time in your life is one more instance in which He is saying, “I love you Bob. Follow me.” Let Him, bring you to Himself. He wants to.

So, what about the addiction problem. Bob, you know I KNOW.  I can’t count the times in the past when I threw the drugs away, out the window of the car or whatever and then turned right around to find them. And yes, the complexity of addiction encompasses a lot more than I can go into in a single blog article. But I’ll give you the first thing that comes to mind, from one addict to another if you will. Ready? Here goes: the drugs aren’t your problem. The drugs are the way in which “the problem” manifests itself. And like I said, the complexities of addiction are vast, but allow me to TRY and simplify it.  Our lives are made up of things others have done to us and things we’ve done to ourselves, and in some of us the hurts play out in addiction. But Bob, let me tell you, addiction is no match for the love Jesus has for you.

The Holy Spirit can heal you of the hurt and the pain that has lured you into addiction in the first place. I know it has become a “stronghold” in your life, but he can demolish it, along with all the other strongholds. You don’t have to be ashamed. Let the addiction be a reminder in your life that you so desperately need the grace and love of God. And remember, his grace can shine through your weakness. And as He keeps on freeing you, saving you, and LOVING you, you will be used by Him to show others the way. This brings me to the part where we talked about relationships.

Like I said on the phone, I know the Enemy is whispering in your ears, telling you that if you give yourself to Jesus you’ll have to forfeit the relationship you’re in. I know the deceiver is paralyzing you with fear when it come to this issue. You can’t imagine letting go, and perhaps you’ve told God, “I won’t let go.” Well, whether or not it will come to that, I don’t know. But I have observed in my own life that the things I “instinctively protect” and make off limits to God are definitely areas that need addressing. This may sting a little. The Bible calls it idolatry. Again, I don’t know, but I’ll bet that you do. It would seem that we always do. But I do know that whatever giving yourself to Jesus entails, His love will empower you to do it. Know this: this person can’t fill the place in your heart that was created for the Great Romance. That is a fact.

Lastly, you said on the phone that you didn’t know how to “give it all” to God. Well, it’s really not all that complicated. It’s another lie we tell ourselves. Let me ask you, how have you given yourself to addiction? How have you given yourself to your “person”? Think about it, we all know how. And the cool thing is that He will give you the grace and faith and love required to do it!! He is able to do more than you can even imagine. And believe me, I know first-hand how great an imagination you have.

I love you “Bob.” And any faithfulness, loyalty, compassion, gentleness, etc… that you’ve seen in me is only a small reflection of the perfect LOVE He has for you. You will make it. He is working in you RIGHT NOW. Give yourself over to Him. Just say, “Yes.”

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Homeland

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.

No, this is not a review of the upcoming season of the Showtime series “Homeland.” I’m sure that Carrie, Quinn, and Saul will continue to strategize, lie, cheat, seduce, and “disappear” the necessary bad guys in order to preserve homeland security. Instead this article is a result of my pondering on the verses displayed above and how they may apply to us 21st century American Christians, many of whom have forgotten just what/where their homeland is. And nowhere is this “lapse of memory” more evident than when it comes to American politics.thCK82J2W1

It doesn’t take too long a visit to the popular social media sights to figure out that many of us have forgotten who/se we are and where we’re going. I think it’s safe to say that a vast number of American Christians no longer see themselves as “strangers and exiles on the earth” and have fallen in love with the “American Dream.” Instead of being Christians who happen to be Americans, they tend to see themselves more as Americans who happen to be Christians. Consequently, they eagerly support the political candidate they think will best keep the dream intact, i.e., please no one come and take all my stuff. I honestly do think it’s our “stuff” that we are so earnestly trying to guard, and we have forgotten that “strangers and exiles” are transient, rarely holding on to anything too tightly.

One also has to be saddened by the divisiveness politics reveals among Christians. So called leaders will vehemently endorse or oppose different candidates, their acolytes will rally behind the leader, and carnal arguments play out on Face Book for all the world to see. And it seems that nowadays, racism of all colors, shapes, and sizes figure into the arguments, creating further division and bitterness. I even read an article the other day in which a pastor blamed the “Left Behind” series for paving the way for a Donald Trump presidential candidacy. Now while I don’t subscribe to Tim Lahaye’s eschatological paradigm….REALLY!!!!?????  I could go on, but I think you get my point. Brothers and sisters, all of whom love the Lord, arguing the politics of a homeland that is not even their own.

We know that God works through, in and among the nations of this world. He sets up kingdoms and removes them. And the writer of the book of Hebrews tells us that men and women of faith have been used of God to “conquer  kingdoms, enforce justice, obtain promises, stop the mouths of lions, quench the power of fire, escape the edge of the sword, made strong out of weakness, become mighty in war, and put foreign armies to flight.”But I would submit to you that most of what we see happening when American Christians become political today is a result of a people who have ceased walking by faith, looking for “that city whose builder is God” and have instead embraced the United States as their ultimate homeland. And out of a disposition of fear, they desperately desire a political leader who will shore up their treasured kingdom.

So, what is the answer to dilemma? First, we must remember that as Christians, our true Homeland is a “better country, that is, a heavenly one.” While we are of this world, this nation, we are now first and foremost citizens of the kingdom of heaven. But we are not merely holding on, waiting for Jesus to come snatch us away from all this trouble. No, in Christ we are men and women of faith who know that TRUE FAITH sometimes mean that the people of God have also “suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.”

Finally, it is our abiding intimacy with Jesus that ensures our proper understanding of homeland. He who is the author and finisher of our faith, the One who will rule over all the nations of this world, is the overcoming Lord who sits at the right hand of the Father until all his enemies are made into a footstool for his feet. We do not put our trust in political leaders. Nor do we allow nationalism of any kind to separate us from others in the Body of Christ. In fact,  I would say that perhaps it is nationalism itself that we American Christians must lay aside as “a weight and the sin which clings so closely,” hindering our walk with Jesus and his people.

Homeland. Home, the city prepared for us by God himself.

And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.  And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.  By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it,  and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there.  They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb  through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

 

 

From Glory To Glory: Pain In The Process

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another…”

For followers of Jesus, I think that the verse quoted above (part of a verse actually) has to be one of the most exciting passages in scripture concerning glory. Here, the Apostle Paul brings us into direct contact with the glory of God. The glory which was veiled to the Israelites during the time of Moses and remains hidden to those not in relation with Jesus has now been revealed to those who have experienced the freedom of the Spirit.

BRIEF RABBITT TRAIL: It is not my intention to spend a lot of time quibbling over the correct translation of κατοπτριζόμενοι (beholding). It is a fact that the Greek word could mean seeing as in a mirror or reflecting as a mirror. I think we sometimes force ourselves into an “either, or” definition when in all actuality it could be both at the same time. If you asked me, “So, which is it, seeing as in a mirror or reflecting as a mirror?” My answer would be, “Yes.”

As we who are in Christ are experiencing the glory of God, both seeing it and reflecting it, we are told that we are also being transformed into that same image of glory (Jesus), from one degree to another. That sounds wonderfully awesome to me. But what in the world does it mean, and how is it accomplished? I’d like to discuss one aspect of this process with you. It’s something we all experience (go figure) and none of us enjoy. PAIN.

There are many who believe that upon coming to Christ we are to be completely delivered from all pain and suffering. All of our distress is attributed at once to the enemy. I fear that at times we may have been “rebuking the devil” when actually our discomfort has been part of our transformation into glory. We insist that we want to be like Jesus, that we truly desire his glory, but somehow we have forgotten that in bringing many sons and daughters to glory Jesus himself had to experience much suffering. Is a servant greater than his master, or a messenger than the one who sent him? Of course not. Then we would do well to understand that our participation in glory will hurt at times. It was Jesus’ assumption of humanity that required even the author of salvation to learn obedience through what he suffered. So it is that the recipients of salvation experience pain as we are transformed from glory to glory into the image of the Son.

Lastly, we must never forget that the Father disciplines those children that he loves. Our “Western mindset” seems to always possess connotations of punishment and anger when considering the “discipline of the Father.” But discipline does not necessarily imply that sin has been committed and that punishment is being meted out. No, like any good father, God sometimes trains us, molds, shapes, and directs us in what is painful that we might bear the peaceable fruit of righteousness, that we might share his holiness, that we might be transformed from one degree of glory to another into the image of Christ.

Be encouraged today!! As a follower of Jesus, your pain and suffering are not in vain. You are experiencing the glory of God, being transformed into the glorious image of him by whose stripes you have been healed.

“ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

 

Glory

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

“[Father,]the glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one,  I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

I’ve been thinking about “glory” a lot lately. Whenever I’m in the Word it seems like I’m always being drawn to passages about glory. Or, I’ll go somewhere and someone is talking about glory. My wife & I led worship at a conference last Saturday evening, and guess what; yep, the message that night was about- glory. In the past, when I’ve contemplated glory it has had to do with God’s Shekinah Glory or “Christ in you the hope of glory” or “Man, we got on up in the glory today at church.” For me, glory has always been some illusive, intangible thing that God has, and every now and then we get a little taste of it. Then finally one day we’ll be with him and literally see his glory. It had never really dawned on me that, in Christ, we are partakers of glory. Not only later, but right now.

One of the wonders, and an “aspect” of the glory of the Triune God is the “agape-knowledge” shared by Father, Son, and Spirit. Within God there is complete disclosure, intimate knowledge, mutual adoration, and unified participation- God is love. And this love, this intimate knowledge, this glory has been given to us by God, in Jesus. “No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. “In fact, it is this knowledge, this revelation of God through/in Christ that IS eternal life itself (John 17:3). Not only later, but right now.

This glory of the “agape-knowledge” of God does not exist merely for our personal benefit. Another aspect of the glory is that as the Son came to earth and glorified the Father through the manifestation of his name, we too as partakers of glory declare the reality of God in Jesus. As the world beheld the glory of God in the person of Jesus, so it is that we who are the fullness of him who fills all in all make known the manifold wisdom of God, the eternal purpose that has been realized in Christ Jesus our Lord. Not only later, but right now.

“But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.  To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

 

 

“Surprise, Surprise, Surprise”

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

I can’t help but think that as Christians, our Americanized mindset often hinders us in our walk with God. It’s drilled into us, “Work, work, work!” We have to have a “five year plan.” We feel guilty if we’re not on the move towards a well thought out destination with clearly defined goals. We have to do our research, get all the facts, and only then are we to make our move. When it comes to life, we definitely don’t like surprises. Everything has to be well planned. The trouble is that God doesn’t always work within our accepted parameters. Sometimes, he lovingly says, “Surprise, surprise, surprise!”

What father is there that doesn’t enjoying surprising his kids with gifts he knows will make them happy? The thrill, the joy, is watching the reaction of the one receiving the surprise. They never saw it coming, never knew that it had been planned all along, and never suspected the loving intentions of their dad. Why do we have a hard time believing that our DADDY would do such things in our lives? Why must we make him into a stern, hateful God who demands constant work and striving? I think it has everything to do with that Americanized mindset I mentioned earlier. Oh, I don’t think we have Him figured out nearly as much as we would like to believe. And I believe we miss so many of his surprises because we don’t know how to simply be a child and let Him love us. Not convinced?gomer

Think about it, the whole Bible is filled with stories of how God surprised people. In fact, Jesus himself came as a complete surprise to many who assumed they had it all figured out. The Apostle Paul even says that God’s whole plan concerning Jesus, his work for, in and through us was a surprise (a mystery) that God had held back from all of eternity to be revealed at just the right time. And we are further assured that, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him…” He shows us these things by his Spirit, but surely we can’t think we know it all right now, at this moment. No, he reveals and unfolds life to us as we walk with him, as we give up control and rest in him.

I know it’s hard (at least it is for me), but don’t buy into the lie that you have to have it all figured out. It’s okay if you don’t understand it all, if you don’t exactly know where you’re headed. There is One who does, and he wants to share himself with you. Life is indeed a journey, and the wonderful thing is that in Jesus, this journey is filled with awesome surprises from the God who invites us to call him DADDY.

 

 

Violent Love

Posted on by Kyle Fuller

When we think of the word violence, more often than not, it is in the context of brutality, behavior that is designed to bring harm or hurt someone. But violence can also be defined as strength of emotion. Love can be violent. God’s love can be violent.

How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel…?
My heart is turned over within Me,
All My compassions are kindled.

If you read the verses above in their context you’ll find that these words are what God said as he was yearning over his people. He had delivered them, healed them, fed them, and loved them; but still, they turned away from him. If you’ll allow me a bit of anthropomorphism:

God was hurt, angry and upset with the way he had been treated by those who should have loved him. He knew and would be directly involved in the consequences their hard hearts would bring about, and he was moved with emotion. He was pained and grieved.

But he decided that he would not come to them in anger or wrath. Instead, he chose to respond with violent love. In the midst of the turmoil their faithlessness was to incur, his love would sound off like a roaring lion, and his people would tremble as they returned to him.

In the book of John, we again see God overcome with emotion. As Jesus stood by the tomb of his friend Lazarus, “he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.  And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept.” Jesus stood there, observing the scene, overcome with emotion, and cried out with a love so violent that the dead came back to life.

Probably all of us have people in our lives, people we care for deeply who are set about on a course that is bringing them heartache and destruction. We know that if they do not change the end will be devastating. We experience the whole gamut of emotions as we stand by, seemingly helpless to do anything that would help them. Anger. Frustration. Disbelief. Longing. We are taken by these emotions with such violence that it literally causes us pain. While these emotions are inevitable and natural, it is only violent love that can affect change and bring deliverance. But how does this violent love express itself in and through us?

As in the instances of God’s grief over Israel and his emotion at Lazarus’ tomb, the one who loves violently is moved by the suffering of others. We do not merely recognize the pain in the lives of others- we “assume” it. We invest ourselves in their predicament and become a means by which they can experience freedom in the love of God. Our natural inclinations towards frustration and anger are tempered by the grace provided through our union with Jesus, and we are willing to accept the vulnerability love demands. Though we are pained by the realization that our loved ones are bound for heartache and suffering should they persist in their destructive behavior, even though we know that the process of their freedom will be painful (for them and us), the violent love of God moves in and through us, roaring like a lion. In the Spirit, strength and love of Jesus, through prayer, intercession and relationship we violently throw ourselves against the stone that has been rolled over their hearts to entomb them. We never stop believing, hoping and enduring. Violent love, expressing itself through unyielding faith and hope cries out, “Lazarus, come forth!!!”

For those who, like Israel of old, have become bound, desolate and feel forsaken, the violent love of God proclaims:

Because I love Zion,
    I will not keep still.
Because my heart yearns for Jerusalem,
    I cannot remain silent.
I will not stop praying for her
    until her righteousness shines like the dawn,
    and her salvation blazes like a burning torch.
2 The nations will see your righteousness.
    World leaders will be blinded by your glory.
And you will be given a new name
    by the Lord’s own mouth.
3 The Lord will hold you in his hand for all to see—
    a splendid crown in the hand of God.
4 Never again will you be called “The Forsaken City”
    or “The Desolate Land.”
Your new name will be “The City of God’s Delight”
    and “The Bride of God,”
for the Lord delights in you
    and will claim you as his bride.
5 Your children will commit themselves to you, O Jerusalem,
    just as a young man commits himself to his bride.
Then God will rejoice over you
    as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride.

6 O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls;
    they will pray day and night, continually.
    Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord.
7 Give the Lord no rest until he completes his work,
    until he makes Jerusalem the pride of the earth.
8 The Lord has sworn to Jerusalem by his own strength:
    “I will never again hand you over to your enemies.
Never again will foreign warriors come
    and take away your grain and new wine.
9 You raised the grain, and you will eat it,
    praising the Lord.
Within the courtyards of the Temple,
    you yourselves will drink the wine you have pressed.”

10 Go out through the gates!
    Prepare the highway for my people to return!
Smooth out the road; pull out the boulders;
    raise a flag for all the nations to see.
11 The Lord has sent this message to every land:
    “Tell the people of Israel,[e]
‘Look, your Savior is coming.
    See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.’”
12 They will be called “The Holy People”
    and “The People Redeemed by the Lord.”
And Jerusalem will be known as “The Desirable Place”
    and “The City No Longer Forsaken.”

(Thanks Liz.)