Where Trust Starts

Many Christians live in a state of rebellion. No, not because of the habitual sins that they commit but because they do not fully trust that Jesus provides forgiveness of sins. They do not trust that His grace is sufficient. 

"Whatever is not of faith is sin." (Romans 14:23)

Our forgiveness, righteousness, and holiness are completely dependent on Jesus. His blood cleanses us from acts that lead to death (Hebrews 9:14), also know as "useless rituals" and self-righteousness. People want to believe God for "more", whatever that may be, but simply cannot because they have not accepted the forgiveness of sins. 

"The forgiveness of sins is not the doorway into Christianity. It is the foundation of Christianity." - Adolph Saphir

Jesus hates self-righteousness. Why? Because the righteousness, holiness, and purity are dependent on the individual and not on Jesus. In this belief, we trample on his sacrifice. Ultimately he hates the belief that causes people to not accept his love when they are at their worst, in the depths of their despair, at rock bottom. This belief is built on a foundation of self-righteousness. This thought causes its owner to rely on their own self for validation, strength, purity, forgiveness, and love. These cannot be gained through ourselves but only through Christ in us, providing grace and peace. 

Paul prays that we would understand the depth and greatness of Christ's love for us (Ephesians 3:14-19). He wants us to stretch our capacity and understanding of his love. But Paul doesn't start this letter with this prayer. He starts it with a reminder that we have the forgiveness of sins in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Ephesians 1:7). Notice that it says nothing about the forgiveness being earned or derived from anything that we are able to produce. 

Only Jesus. 

If you want to believe for more or stretch your capacity to continue to receive or believe greater things about Jesus, you must first fully embrace the forgiveness of sins. 

Jesus is Nice

I recently had to buy a new Bible because my dog found his way into my office and tore mine up. I was sad but happy because I like to buy new stuff. When you get new stuff you just want to use it, you know what I mean? Like I recently got a new car and I look for any excuse to drive it. So, I was excited to read my new Bible. 

So I read one of my favorite verses is found in 2 Timothy 1:7: "For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline." What an amazing statement. There is so much in this world that we should or could be afraid of and so many things to worry about. But Jesus decided that he would like to take care of us and, not only that, but that he would also empower us. These three things are knit together:

1. Power
2. Love
3. Self-Discipline

His power allows us to gracefully take control of our lives. We aren't afraid of random circumstances or making the incorrect decisions. His love gives us comfort and allows us to freely come to him whenever we need help. This leads us to self-discipline. We use his power and love to guide our lives in ways that help us and those around us. 

Jesus never stops giving. John 1:16 says, "Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given." This means that Jesus continually gives us new grace. His grace doesn't expire but He doesn't care. He will continue to pour new grace out to you. He isn't concerned about where you have come from or what you have done. He is mainly interested in loving you. 

How To Reciprocate

Love makes us take action. We are motivated to work harder by love. We wake up every morning and see the our loved one next to us. We see our children eating breakfast and we are motivated to provide for them. 

This mystery is easy to solve. We love because we are first loved. People who don't love have been lied to and manipulated into believing there is no love and that no one indeed loves them. 

"We love because He first loved us." 1 John 4:19

How do you love God more? Let Him love you more first!
How do you give more to God? Let Him give more to you!

Jesus was pretty blatant when he said, "I came not to be served but to serve." And Paul later wrote, "at just the right time, Jesus died for the ungodly." He died for those who are seemingly far away. Yet many do not know that love is actually for them. It's sad.

Don't fall into the trap of believing that God will only love you if you can do something for Him. He loved your before you could do anything for yourself. The only reason He wants your love is to see that you are getting His love. 

Dreams Are Complicated

It is amazing how detailed our dreams can be while we sleep. Sometimes I will be dreaming and in my dream I am trying to accomplish something. I can feel frustration in my dream that I can not produce the actions that I am seeking to do. It's so weird because it is my dream! It is in my head and yet whatever I seek to do cannot be done.

You know what I am talking about. You have experienced the first person dream where you just can't seem to reach the top of those stairs. It is frustrating!

Along side of that, we have dreams that have perfectly detailed events and faces. We remember them vividly because they are clear in our minds. There are so many details in them and they often reflect portions of what we perceive to be reality. 

What bothers me is that the dreams of our sleep reflect the dreams and intent of our hearts. They reflect them in the sense that their structures are the same. We have things we want to accomplish but no matter what we try, we cannot. Then there are the dreams that we see as big picture, but in reality, they require a lot of details and step by step processes that we cannot see or don't even realize exist. 

To break it down: 

• We get stuck when we continue to fail even though we know what we want/need to do.
• We get stuck when we know what we want/need to accomplish but don't know the steps. 

I know that these are very basic ideas but there is a reason we know them. They are true. 

There is a reason why Jesus is painted as "The Good Shepherd". Like sheep, we have all gone astray. This means we have gone astray in everyday possible. A shepherd guides his sheep to to where they need to go. Basic stuff... I know.

"Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans."

Proverbs 13:3

"If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." James 1:5

And finally,

"But we have the mind of Christ." 1 Corinthians 2:16

Living in frustration will slowly kill your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and gentleness.  Frustration is an enemy to all of these things and is not included in anything that God gives to you. (Proverbs 10:22)

It's time to realize the power of your heart. It has the ability to believe that Jesus is your savior and source of grace. This promises eternal life. What a responsibility for your heart to have! If it can do that, what else can it do? Nothing in life is as important!

The dreams in your heart can be accomplished by letting wisdom invade it. Be confident in what Jesus can do for you. 

Jesus Isn't Ashamed Of You

Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. (Hebrews 2:11)

That verse sums up all of my theology. 

I could never earn my way to heaven or deserve an afterlife. I could never deserve anything good in this life. But I don't have to deserve anything. I would rather just accept what God freely gives. Jesus is shame free and the love he gives is shame free. Shame isn't a Godly concept.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1)

We became ashamed of ourselves all on our own. Shame isn't a Godly concept. 

How To Hope

Hope is a constant expectation of good, not a "50/50" shot something might happen. Nor is it a prayer for a stroke of luck. We all have believed this way though. How does one "hope" the right way?

Often we only hear half of the Gospel. We hear that Jesus died for our sins. Or maybe that Jesus took our place and got what we deserve. But that is only half of the equation.

Think about the story of the Israelites. They were freed from slavery. Then they marched out into the desert to go and live in a land that was better than anything they could have imagined. But a whole generation never made it through the desert simply because they did not believe that God was good. They lived in between slavery and goodness, forgiven but never making it to their destiny. They completely fell short of what God had for them.  Everyday they saw the goodness of God, literally protecting and feeding them, but they didn't believe that He was good.

The same happens to many believers. We have been freed from slavery only to be found in limbo. We know Jesus got what we deserve but we need to hear and believe that now we get what He deserves.
Some made Him out to be a liar by saying, "You are not able to do what you promised." (Hebrews 3:16-19)

But the truth is that God chose us to have His grace. (Ephesians 1:3-9) We are supposed to know the full richness of His kindness every day. The Bible says that Jesus did nothing wrong but took all of our sin on himself at the cross, literally becoming sin. In this same way, He literally made us righteous.

Are you ready to start hoping? We are supposed to continue in our faith just as we started it, by grace. The full Gospel, or Good News, says that Christ got what I deserve and that now I get what He deserves. Does Jesus deserve to be loved? Yes. So do I.

Resting Is Easy

How does one relax? Typically relaxation occurs when one believes for a moment that all is right with the world. Inner turmoil can only be superseded by something that does not promote chaos or pain. That "something" must promote peace.

Jesus gives two commands which are really actually invitations:

"Do not worry! Look at the birds. They do nothing and still they are taken care of."

And

"Come to me and rest."

Despite the tumult that "life" throws at you, God's Spirit remains intact within you. So that when grace is presented and effort ceases, we find this to be true: anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his.  (Hebrews 4:10)

But to enter that rest there must be a moment of giving up and acceptance that all is right. How can you accept that all is right when all may not seem right? Because Jesus lives forever. He is able to save completely those who come to him. He always lives to intercede for them. (Hebrews 7:25)

That means Jesus' full time job is to intercede for you. Contrary to some beliefs, he isn't too busy for you. Rather, you take up all of his time! You are a part of his body and because of that "all is right". Rest is an all the time mentality. You can be at rest all the time knowing that there is no longer a mountain to climb to God. With grace comes rest.

How effective can a rested person be? How effective was Jesus?