“Contrary to the popular thinking of Christianity today, the Lord did not reach down and save us from sin and death so that we might be merely happy, healthy and wealthy. Those who teach this have invented another gospel and portray a false christ- the god of this age rather than the God of the Bible. A gospel without a cross is no Gospel at all.” ~ K.P. Yohannan
getting over it
“God is asking me, the unworthy, to forget my unworthiness and that of my brothers and dare to advance in the love which has redeemed and renewed us all in God’s likeness. And to laugh, after all, at the preposterous ideas of ’worthiness.’” – Thomas Merton
Get Real.
And you — being dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh — He made alive together with him, having forgiven you all the trespasses, 14having blotted out the handwriting in the ordinances that is against us, that was contrary to us, and he hath taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross; 15having stripped the principalities and the authorities, he made a shew of them openly — having triumphed over them in it. 16Let no one, then, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths, 17which are a shadow of the coming things, and the body [is] of the Christ; - Colossians 2:13-17
In Galatians chapter 3 Paul says the the law was a tutor to lead us to Christ. In the above passage Paul also speaks of the the law and the habits of old testament tradition as being a shadow of what was to come, namely the Christ.
A gigantic shift occurred from Old to New Testaments, the physical positioning of a religion took on new life from the life giving messiah, Jesus Christ. No longer having to study the shadow, the Christ has now arrived. No longer is there distance between God and man that would need men to remind themselves of who God is; God, through Christ has given Himself to the people to be in and among them. No longer is it about a single location of religion, it transitioned into an eternal multi-dimensional Kingdom being established right here and now. (Matt. 10:7)
Often times, Jesus taught of living out our love for God in the secret places. He said in Matthew 6, “When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” Jesus was teaching that what went on in the unmentioned places of our hearts was more important that in what happened in public.
Jesus did not go to the religious and and perpetuate their religiosity. He went to the lowly and broken, the drunkard, and the slut; the sinner. One time the religious saw Jesus hanging out with these folks and they said, “Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?” I believe that they were really baffled by the way Jesus cared for people.
Damned if you do; damned if you don’t.
You gotta be a lotta’ called and a lil’ crazy to help shepherd God’s flock.
“I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
The Apostle Paul - 1st Corinthians 9:27
With
John 5:39 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me.
I just left the book store a few moments ago. It’s one of the things my wife and I like to do on Saturdays. As I was gleaming at the rack of books I had to choose from in the religious section of the used book store, I found myself struck by all the angles folks were coming from in what they had written. At one point in time I’m sure that I was opinionated about each and every topic. As I stood in front of the rack today I was strangely disconnected and uninterested. Unhooked from the draw of the rack, not looking for it to provide me some insight in the form of a person’s opinion, I had a moment of clarity, these folks are sharing perspectives about God and that is a good thing.
When searching through someone else’s thoughts about God it’s an amazing experience. Some things seem to leap right off the page and testify to the truth you already know, and others written works seem to be deader than the dictionary. But the experience has the potential to be divine.
Before I came to follow Jesus I didn’t read hardly at all. Only when I had to, or had to use the bathroom, either one. But when I began to discover the life of God that seemed to communicate through His 66 books of the Bible and the testimonies of those who have walked before, I had to became a reader. But it wasn’t for the sake of the book itself, although I’m not sure I wasn’t able to see it this way at first. I was searching for the Truth and the Life that was behind the words.
In recent years I have grown more and more in love with the Bible, but not really. See, I’ve come to discover a greater understanding of God each time I read the Bible. And that makes me want to pray and experience the love of God. I’ve been trying to read a certain number of chapters a day, but most of the time I read a couple passages and then find myself saturated with a hunger to express myself to God. I’m not a very productive “religious” person these days.
I guess the thing is with a book in the book store or a book of the Bible, it’s the process of coming to know the Author through the writing that is the exciting part. When hanging out with my wife, whom I love, I don’t write down what she says and underline certain things making sure to remember them. I talk with her, I share responses, growing in my relationship with her. I value her… and what she says.
I wonder what would happen to the level of peace in our lives if we let the scriptures be the catalyst of relationship with God?
Role Reversal
And all their works they do to be seen by men, and they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the fringes of their garments, they love also the chief couches in the supper, and the chief seats in the synagogues, and the salutations in the market-places, and to be called by men, Rabbi, Rabbi. `And ye — ye may not be called Rabbi, for one is your director — the Christ, and all ye are brethren; and ye may not call [any] your father on the earth, for one is your Father, who is in the heavens, nor may ye be called directors, for one is your director – the Christ (Matthew 23:5 – 23:10 YLT)
Jesus had to know that this was going to be a hard standard for men to keep. I mean Jesus instructed for men not to let others call them Rabbi, or Director, or even Father. I have a lot to say about the major sentiment of these passages, that I’ll save for later. But for today I want to comment on one of the surface level implications.
Jesus didn’t want His followers to hang leadership over each other’s heads. You know the feeling right? Where you’re being held under someone else’s rank. You’re limited in what is shared with you. You’re made to feel inferior and lesser than. You wish you could be more, like them…one day.
Jesus reversed that order He washed the feet of the lesser men. He laid down His life for the smelly sheep. He values us above all other things. He longs for a meeting with us, where He cares intently about every detail of our lives. And He taught His disciples to do exactly the same.
Let no one call you leader, or pastor, or father…
I am my own slave driver
26 Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. -Ezekiel 36:26
18 Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind, 19 and not holding fast to the head, from whom the entire body, being supplied and held together by the joints and ligaments, grows with a growth which is from God. -Colossians 2:18-19
I guess it all started a few weeks ago. We had an encounter with God in one of our group meetings that dislodged one of the major components of my religious engine. I’m not sure how to describe the transition as it was a divine one, but I can tell you that it came as the gospel of Christ was further revealed to my soul.
I woke up the following morning in what felt like a depression. And as I usually do, I went to my bible and began to read, and the depression-like-thing didn’t leave. Then I mustered up the faith to call on the person of Christ, and it was as if He walked in the room, and instantly I was righted. This came about 5 minutes into my allotted time with God before my day started.
Instantly as I was righted by the invited presence of God, I began to have compassion for a friend and was given some divine insights into their current circumstances.
Ever since that day I’ve noticed the absence of what use to give me great comfort, my religiousness. It’s been like losing a tooth and running my tongue over the empty spot. My religiousness use to have a position in my life that made me different than other people. It use to give me an identity that others could look up to and revere. And now it’s not there, sometimes I’m overlooked in a room, my presence is not as felt as it use to be. It’s honestly been kind of awkward. But at the same time liberating. This makes perfect since because the new testament is all about everyone having access to the fullness of God, not the religious who have earned the right, but to all who call on His name He gives the right to be sons of God.
All of a sudden I’m beginning to trust in the heart that God has given me. I’m doing what I feel God wanting to do, instead of laboring over what He has said or is saying. It’s all so new to me.
Today, I went to a prayer meeting that I have been orchestrating with a handful of friends of mine. After getting there and beginning to pray, I realized that my heart was not in it. I was not wholly there. It’s not that I didn’t want to commune with God, it was as if I was being released from being my own slave driver and making myself do this religious thing that God was not mandating.
Somehow as a result of all this I’m finding myself even further in love with God in this new found freedom. It’s as if the union He desires for me comes with a shared desire with Him. As if He knows that my ability to create my own freedom is futile. It feels like I’m being shown what’s it’s like to be friends with God. It’s as if He loves me for me…
giving to this ministry?
I’ve found it to be a necessity to remove money and the plea for donations from being associated with my ministry.
For one, many ministries are in ministry for the money and have given ministry a bad name because of the association with money. I have to be honest, it gives me a bitter taste in my mouth anytime I see the two together, and I have taken the route that if I am doing what God has called me to do, then He will make sure that I am provided for. And God has proven Himself to be faithful in this to me and my family. We have not been in need of anything, often times He has provided in ways and from sources that can only be explained as a miracle. I love that about the way God works in my life. There is a freedom that comes with trusting the creator and sustainer of all things, there’s nothing like it.
As it stands the only way I have found peace with myself in doing ministry is to give freely as I have been given. I don’t charge for anything and I don’t plan on it, it’s a rarity that I even mention my need at all (some would say to my own failure, but they don’t have to live with my conscience).
As it stands I lead a couple weekly and biweekly meetings, I’m writing a book, I’m mentoring and counseling, and I’m living constantly “clocked in” to the needs of others. Study, prayer, and conversations with those that surround me is the life I find myself in. The best way to describe my life is that instead of trying to gain and achieve in life, I live to give it all away. Some call it downward mobility, others may call it insanity.
Nonetheless here I am. In the coming months I’m going to take on a part time job to help pay the bills and help pay for the expense of doing ministry. And I was wondering if you would like to help me pay for some of the expenses I need to give myself away. If you would like to donate just once or become a monthly donor I welcome that.
Until Formation receives it’s non-profit status, the best way to give is to send checks to Jason Goodnight at 157 Water Oak Drive Pineville NC 28134, you can put For Local Missions in the subject line. If you decide to become a monthly donor you will receive frequent ministry updates with details of all the excitement and a few testimonies.
Thanks for your consideration, and may the Peace of Christ guard your hearts and minds.
