Currently, I am attending an Exodus Conference here in Marion Indiana. Exodus is the largest information and referral ministry in the world addressing homosexual issues. Let me clarify that I am not battling the struggle of homosexuality, but I have noticed a few things being here:
1. Quite frankly, I am not much different from many of the attendees here who are in bondage to sin that they simply cannot overcome by themselves. Though Exodus does address homosexual issues, it's message is universal - that those who are struggling with bondage, pain, hurt, and brokeness, can find healing, HEALING, in what God has to offer them in Christ Jesus.
2. The Church, sadly, has dropped the 'ball' when it comes to compassion. President of Exodus International Alan Chambers put it this way, "I would absolutely love to have the priveledge of closing our doors one day, because the Church picked up the slack and was ministering the healing and compassion Jesus Christ lived out in the Gospels." I've discovered something that might seem striking to some people: Homosexuals aren't the only ones going to hell - there are heterosexuals who are too.
3. Exodus IS NOT about turning the homosexual community into "straight, law-abiding, Christians." Exodus is about KNOWING God and His healing power that helps us overcome adversity and life's "ouches," as Pastor 'Hutch' Hutcherson said. As followers of Christ, we are called to compassion - not affirmation - but compassion.
There are many more things I've been learing here that I hope to post on this blog soon. If you are reading this and are in bondage to homosexuality, let me say to you - YOU ARE LOVED. YOU ARE WORTHY. Jesus Christ DOES want you. To everyone else in bondage to any form of sin (who isn't right?) let me echo those words to you. God is not a God of condemnation. He is not looking down his nose at you. He is running to you with open arms.
Grab your Bible and Read Luke 15.
Blessings,
Joe
Friday, June 30, 2006
Monday, June 19, 2006
Points of Crisis
As I've mentioned before, I'm listening to a series of discourses by R.C. Sproul's on Contemporary Theology. In it, he is painting a picture as to how we have gotten to our current state of thinking in contemporary thought. In one section, he describes 4 points of crisis that brought about the disintegration of the classical synthesis of orthodoxy. These 4 points include the breakdown of church authority, the scientific conflict, what Sproul's calls the communication crisis, and what he calls the philosophical crisis.
He goes into great detail in all four points of crisis. The one I find most interesting - among all of them - is the philosophical crisis. He cites Immanuel Kant as a major player in creating difficultie's in understanding whether we can know God at all. Immanuel Kant said there were 2 realms of knowledge: the 'numinal' realm and the 'phenominal' realm. The phenominal realm was made up of the world in which science is concerned with and which can be observed by the senses. In the 'numinal' realm he placed 3 things: God, the self, and the essence. In short, what Kant was saying was that we cannot use normal tools of knowledge to gain an understanding of God - God and the "self" are inaccessible to theorhetical thought.
This got me thinking. Maybe we cannot 'grasp' God intellectually on our own. But what if God was able to make Himself known to us? Maybe we cannot cross the barrier Kant talked about intellectually from the 'phenomenal' realm to the 'numinal' realm, but can God?
I think so.
Paul, the New Testament writer, also seemed to think so. He talked quite a bit in the New Testament about the visible things of this world manifesting themselves in the invisible character of God. The Psalms also talk about this too. Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God."
And then the most important example of God crossing that barrier is Jesus. This goes against a "deistic philosophy" in which God is indifferent to what happens in His creation. God actually comes down to earth through the incarnate, in order for us to not only have eternal life, but for us to enter into a relationship with Him.
To me, it seems God has given us the tools to intellectually "discover" Him and has taken it upon Himself to make His existence known.
Blessings,
Joe
He goes into great detail in all four points of crisis. The one I find most interesting - among all of them - is the philosophical crisis. He cites Immanuel Kant as a major player in creating difficultie's in understanding whether we can know God at all. Immanuel Kant said there were 2 realms of knowledge: the 'numinal' realm and the 'phenominal' realm. The phenominal realm was made up of the world in which science is concerned with and which can be observed by the senses. In the 'numinal' realm he placed 3 things: God, the self, and the essence. In short, what Kant was saying was that we cannot use normal tools of knowledge to gain an understanding of God - God and the "self" are inaccessible to theorhetical thought.
This got me thinking. Maybe we cannot 'grasp' God intellectually on our own. But what if God was able to make Himself known to us? Maybe we cannot cross the barrier Kant talked about intellectually from the 'phenomenal' realm to the 'numinal' realm, but can God?
I think so.
Paul, the New Testament writer, also seemed to think so. He talked quite a bit in the New Testament about the visible things of this world manifesting themselves in the invisible character of God. The Psalms also talk about this too. Psalm 19:1 says, "The heavens declare the glory of God."
And then the most important example of God crossing that barrier is Jesus. This goes against a "deistic philosophy" in which God is indifferent to what happens in His creation. God actually comes down to earth through the incarnate, in order for us to not only have eternal life, but for us to enter into a relationship with Him.
To me, it seems God has given us the tools to intellectually "discover" Him and has taken it upon Himself to make His existence known.
Blessings,
Joe
Monday, June 12, 2006
What is it Really All About?
Recently, I went to a non denominational church and some thoughts entered my mind regarding this idea of unconditional love that God has for us.
We learn all the time from our pastors, our Christian friends, our church "family" that God loves us unconditionally and that once we are sorry for our sins and seek God out for forgiveness, we are instantly cleansed from all sins we have committed. When I thought about this concept in depth, it makes perfect sense to me why we as humans cannot grasp the idea of unconditional love. Think about it. When was the last time you sought out another individual who has wronged you in some way, shape or form and told them, "you know what, I forgive you and I love you" and with that pretended as though that person never did anything to damage the relationship you two had together from the beginning? I know for a fact that I cannot even do that to the people I care most about at times; it is so difficult, almost impossible for us as humans to do.
The fact of the matter is that we cannot understand what unconditional love is because we do not believe it ourselves. We do not believe that someone could love us unconditionally because we do not love each other unconditionally. What a profound statement that becomes when we search within our own lives. Why would God forgive me when I have a hard time forgiving others? It is so hard to forgive those who I thought would never harm me. I don't understand, if we are made in God's image, wouldn't He be furious with us when we wrong Him, or another?
The answer is no. God loves us unconditionally because He is perfect, and no matter what we do, He has the ability to instantly forget any wrong-doings we have committed.
One of the first passages we read this past Sunday was Hebrews 4:15:
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathsize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin."
We look at the what is impossible for us to do, such as love unconditionally, and say that God loves us unconditionally because He was perfect, yet for us as humans this is difficult for us to do because we sin against God and each other. We forget the mere fact that Jesus Christ, who was God's Son, was not only that, but he was a human as well. Jesus Christ could have easily said to Himself, "These people have wronged me so many times and done against my Father, so I will not carry the burden of their sins on my shoulders and die for them." No, instead Jesus Christ came and fulfilled what we see as a task unmeasurable. Think of the person you love dearly. If they spat on you, cursed at you, whipped you, beat you, made you to carry a heavy cross for miles and miles, nailed you, and left you to die- would you still love them dearly enough to die for their sins against you and all mankind? It is an unbelievable and amazing thought isn't it?
We see the torture that I had mentioned done to Jesus Christ when we watch The Passion of the Christ, but we forget one large component. Even a movie, such as The Passion could not give us a full picture of what Christ actually went through when He died for us. The pastor at this church asked us if we knew what else came about during a true crucifixion. Did you know that when Christ was crucified, He was stripped of His clothes and made to carry His cross for miles naked in front of many bystanders? We look at nudity as shameful and do not want to present ourselves in front of others in this manner. But to have to walk this way in front of strangers? How horrifying. Also, did you know that while Christ was whipped, while He carried His cross, and while He hung on the cross to His death, that he was spat upon, and deficated Himself? It was commonplace for those who underwent so much pain and torture to often urinate and deficate upon themselves because they could not control bodily functions. People do not grasp the concept of what torture Christ really withheld in order to die for our sins.
The main point of Jesus Christ was that He was tempted, just as you and I are, and still stood on the solid rock of His faith. He went through the same things you and I do. He struggled with impure thoughts about the opposite sex, He was tempted to strike back at those who struck Him. He was tempted to disown and forget us-- the difference? He didn't disown and turn away from us. This right here proves that we as humans should be able to do all that God asks of us. I am not saying by any means to think that you can be exactly as Jesus was, after all, He was God's Son. But God wouldn't expect from us what He does not think we can do. He wants us to be able to stand on the solid foundation He laid for us. He believes in us that we can do it! Believe in yourself! And even though you do not understand the concept of loving unconditionally, trust that God does, and He loves you unconditionally. Put your complete trust in Him. That is what faith is truly about.
"He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory." 1 Timothy 3: 16
God wants us to say "My Kin is The Rock!" God wants us to share His love with others, unconditionally, as hard as it may be.
We learn all the time from our pastors, our Christian friends, our church "family" that God loves us unconditionally and that once we are sorry for our sins and seek God out for forgiveness, we are instantly cleansed from all sins we have committed. When I thought about this concept in depth, it makes perfect sense to me why we as humans cannot grasp the idea of unconditional love. Think about it. When was the last time you sought out another individual who has wronged you in some way, shape or form and told them, "you know what, I forgive you and I love you" and with that pretended as though that person never did anything to damage the relationship you two had together from the beginning? I know for a fact that I cannot even do that to the people I care most about at times; it is so difficult, almost impossible for us as humans to do.
The fact of the matter is that we cannot understand what unconditional love is because we do not believe it ourselves. We do not believe that someone could love us unconditionally because we do not love each other unconditionally. What a profound statement that becomes when we search within our own lives. Why would God forgive me when I have a hard time forgiving others? It is so hard to forgive those who I thought would never harm me. I don't understand, if we are made in God's image, wouldn't He be furious with us when we wrong Him, or another?
The answer is no. God loves us unconditionally because He is perfect, and no matter what we do, He has the ability to instantly forget any wrong-doings we have committed.
One of the first passages we read this past Sunday was Hebrews 4:15:
"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathsize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are- yet was without sin."
We look at the what is impossible for us to do, such as love unconditionally, and say that God loves us unconditionally because He was perfect, yet for us as humans this is difficult for us to do because we sin against God and each other. We forget the mere fact that Jesus Christ, who was God's Son, was not only that, but he was a human as well. Jesus Christ could have easily said to Himself, "These people have wronged me so many times and done against my Father, so I will not carry the burden of their sins on my shoulders and die for them." No, instead Jesus Christ came and fulfilled what we see as a task unmeasurable. Think of the person you love dearly. If they spat on you, cursed at you, whipped you, beat you, made you to carry a heavy cross for miles and miles, nailed you, and left you to die- would you still love them dearly enough to die for their sins against you and all mankind? It is an unbelievable and amazing thought isn't it?
We see the torture that I had mentioned done to Jesus Christ when we watch The Passion of the Christ, but we forget one large component. Even a movie, such as The Passion could not give us a full picture of what Christ actually went through when He died for us. The pastor at this church asked us if we knew what else came about during a true crucifixion. Did you know that when Christ was crucified, He was stripped of His clothes and made to carry His cross for miles naked in front of many bystanders? We look at nudity as shameful and do not want to present ourselves in front of others in this manner. But to have to walk this way in front of strangers? How horrifying. Also, did you know that while Christ was whipped, while He carried His cross, and while He hung on the cross to His death, that he was spat upon, and deficated Himself? It was commonplace for those who underwent so much pain and torture to often urinate and deficate upon themselves because they could not control bodily functions. People do not grasp the concept of what torture Christ really withheld in order to die for our sins.
The main point of Jesus Christ was that He was tempted, just as you and I are, and still stood on the solid rock of His faith. He went through the same things you and I do. He struggled with impure thoughts about the opposite sex, He was tempted to strike back at those who struck Him. He was tempted to disown and forget us-- the difference? He didn't disown and turn away from us. This right here proves that we as humans should be able to do all that God asks of us. I am not saying by any means to think that you can be exactly as Jesus was, after all, He was God's Son. But God wouldn't expect from us what He does not think we can do. He wants us to be able to stand on the solid foundation He laid for us. He believes in us that we can do it! Believe in yourself! And even though you do not understand the concept of loving unconditionally, trust that God does, and He loves you unconditionally. Put your complete trust in Him. That is what faith is truly about.
"He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory." 1 Timothy 3: 16
God wants us to say "My Kin is The Rock!" God wants us to share His love with others, unconditionally, as hard as it may be.
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