God Stole My Bible!

Of course I cannot prove it, but I'm pretty sure God stole my Bible. It was there one minute, like a faithful, life-long friend, and then it was gone, never to be seen nor heard from again. This post is about what went down that Sunday morning and why I think the Creator of the Universe created a little havoc, cooked up just for me.

In the last post I wrote a little about my life with the Bible -- how important it was in my childhood and how confusing it became to me as a young adult. Well, it wasn't the Bible that was really confusing, it was the over-all application of it, or the lack-there-of, in the world around me. I estimate I read the entire Bible around two dozen times from the day I received it after my 10-yr-old baptism to the time it mysteriously went missing. I was age 31 then. So I had this very same Bible for 21 years! After 16 years it was falling apart; pages marked up and highlighted; edges torn and worn out; and the glue holding the whole thing together was dropping chunks of pages like a gambler drops coins in a slot machine.

I had it rebound during my years in Seminary. I took advantage of the opportunity and asked the book binders to add in extra note pages in the back and five ribbons for marking my place. And of course I sprang for the very best leather. I'll never forget picking it up that day from H.V. Chapman and Sons, in Abilene, TX. I was as a proud of my rescued Bible as would be an award-winning dog owner picking up his once-almost-dead but now-completely-healed dog from the Vet. 'This was symbolic,' I thought to myself. 'This is the beginning a new spiritual season in my life.  I'll take all my confusion over how Jesus says we should live vs. the way I see most of us Christians actually living in America, and just wash it away with a new look at these very old words.'      Fast forward 3 years and I was more of a wreck than ever.

I had recently decided to step out and take a job at a real live community church. I say step out because this was to be a pretty progressive congregation, leading the city in cell groups and worship teams. I was to be the part-time worship leader and youth minister. The other part-of-the-time I was to finish a Masters of Divinity in Bible at Harding Grad School of Religion, and perhaps go on to get my Doctorate in Theology. So I was set. So I thought. Honestly there was so much residue of unanswered questions floating around in my heart that I often tossed and turned at night, like a feverish child having nightmares of visions of things which weren't real. Finally, it got so bad I decided to drop out of grad school (another whole story) and resign from the community church. I just knew God was leading me a different direction but didn't know where or how. And it was very, very painful. But things weren't all bad. That next year I  married April. And I still had my trusty side-kick NIV! I still carried my Bible under arm in hopes that somewhere I would find what I was looking for in those pages. That's when (I think) God decided to relieve me of it.

It wasn't so much as under my arm as it was up on my truck. Here's what happened. April and I were newlyweds, living in an apartment complex in Memphis; only one child. (Imagine that.) That morning we were in a hurry to get to church, running late. We rushed downstairs to the old Pathfinder truck, April with a diaper bag and purse, me with newborn Nathan in one hand and my precious book in the other. Open door behind driver's side. April opened her door. I place Bible on top of truck, then place baby in the car seat (at least I got that part right). We both get in and close doors. We drive away. We pull out of the complex (our apartment was near the exit); we turn right. We drive for about 45 seconds before a sudden flush of blood hits my brain and I yell, "MY BIBLE!!!"

Fortunately I didn't cause a wreck; spun around in a side street and raced back to the only turn we had made. Place vehicle in park. Turn on hazards. Jump out. Search up and down the road -- while quickly doing physics calculations of weight, force and momentum in my head, thereby determining that when it slid off the roof it would certainly have landed..... right here! "But where is it?" There wasn't enough time for anyone to pick it up. "There was no-one behind us. Ok, Ok. I could be wrong." Go back and trace the short distance from the Apartment. Nothing. "What in the world!?!" I shout. "Where could it be!?" Ok, trace it a again; then a time again. Then panic and start searching the places where it certainly couldn't have landed or slid, way off the road. You know how it is when you've lost something you really love! You kinda go crazy for a minute. That's me.  I even took April and the little-red head on to church and came back and searched another hour, up and down. But nothing. Ironic: All around me in the city were thousands upon thousands of people in church services everywhere and I'm out in a ditch by the road looking for an old Bible. It was very quiet that morning. And I felt God's presence.

I finally gave up and drove back to church, utterly defeated and depressed. I mumbled the songs and fake-smiled at my friends. All the time I was trying to figure out how it just disappeared. 'Been with me for two thirds of my life and now just ... just ... gone,' I thought. April tried to console me I'm sure. But I don't remember too well due to the post-traumatic stress! On the way home I sat in stunned silence most of the way -- sort of having a (spiritual) life flash before my eyes moment -- until finally I managed to mutter to my wife the following words: "I think God stole my Bible." To which she replied, "Excuse me?" Long pause..."Yes, yes," I whispered. "God stole it....but why?"

It's taken me another ten years to finally offer a guess as to why God would steal (if He really did - I don't want to falsely accuse - especially when I can't prove it) my Bible. And that is the topic of the next post.


To Be Continued....


Side note: A few nights ago my 4 yr-old Ellie saw me reading my Bible and asked, "Daddy, whatcha reading?" To which I quickly responded, "My Bible, honey." "What does it say?" she asked. I thought for a second. "It says that God loves us,"  I replied.  Then she just leaned forward and gave me a kiss. Nothing else said. Just a kiss.  Perhaps it is just that simple. 



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My Life with the Bible

This last week or so I've been super excited about my Bible, not my iPhone Mantis App (which is an amazing App Gabe showed me; well worth the money), nor my favorite online Bible found at www.biblegateway.com. No, I've been excited about my (second) good-ole, black, leather-bound slimline with the center reference column. When I walked in the house with it a few nights ago April's eyes widened and she said, "Hey, you've got your Bible." She knows the whole story of me and the Bible and completely understands the significance of such a thing. The story of my life with the Holy Book is a long dramatic, narrative, complete with peaks and valleys, awards and tragedies. As I mentioned in a previous post, for several years now, I haven't really been interested. Or maybe it's more that I was just completely burned out. Whatever the case, God has renewed my hunger. 


Part of the returning excitement is no doubt sparked by reading Nee again, as well as Boyd's books, especially Present Perfect. With every page of that one I can feel God's heart beat with Love for me. It's the same for the Bible -- when we read it that way at least. I've also been surrounded by loving brothers and sisters the last few years, all of whom are so incredibly patient with me. I just know they must be filled with the Holy Spirit. No one could "bear with one another" like they do if God were not with them. But mostly it's just God's prefect timing, and His wondrous ways of drawing us near, season after season of our great Life in Christ. The Bible is just the same story of God's perfect love, told by dozens of folks over hundreds of years. Now, God sends these precious words to me once again and they taste so sweet - like a hand-dipped, chocolate strawberry.


I grew up in a "Bible" country, in the "Bible-Belt," in a Bible believing church. The Bible was to my life what fried chicken is to a Sunday afternoon pot-luck -- always there. The great motto of my denomination, passed down from the 1800's, is "Speak where the Bible speaks and be silent where the Bible is silent." That mission statement was the catalyst for hundreds of schisms and divisions, all in just a few short decades. There were One-Cuppers, All Cuppers, Instrumental, Non-instrumental, KJV only, and KJV excluded. There were splits over which Hymnals to use, whether to have one or two Sunday morning services, whether to install stained glass, or whether or not to attach the "Family Life Center" to the auditorium building (long story). The Book of Acts was the "blue-print," Elders where the authority, and change was from the Devil. I could on. Right in the middle of this multiplying mess were the scriptures. The Bible was the book. As important to "establishing" a church as the Constitution was to establishing the United States of America, the Bible was THE book. The careful interpretation of the text determined the "pattern" for establishing traditions, setting them in stone, and calling them sacred. And you don't question that which has been established by the careful examination of learn-ed men with strings of letters behind their names. Enter ambitious, young, visionary, teenage, know-it-all, David. 


I got in trouble as early as I can remember. I couldn't help it. I questioned things; it was (and is -- sorry friends) just part of my nature. For example, at 15, having studied the Bible some for myself, I found some bits of scripture which seemed (to me) to suggest God not only approved of instruments in conjunction with worship but that HE, the Almighty, actually owned those instruments used to praise Him. 


"The priests took their positions, as did the Levites with the LORD’s musical instruments, which King David had made for praising the LORD and which were used when he gave thanks, saying, 'His love endures forever.'" -1 Chronicles 7:6

Cool!! But when I pointed this passage out to one of my scriptural superiors, along with the bit about God being the "same yesterday, today, and forever," I got grey-listed! (Later I would become black-listed, but that would take several years, into my twenties.) That's right, I was put on that naughty list and I knew it. But I was so involved with VBS and Bus-running, and Church-camping, and devo-leading, that I was ok. Little did I know those seeds of doubt -- not in God, but in the role of the Bible in the church -- would grow and grow until one day they threatened to choke the livin' daylights out of me. I was messed up inside, although I was loved all across campus. Age 26, straight A's in Greek, co-founder of the largest Christian club, and destined for gospel greatness... I guess. But it was eating me up inside. The Bible was becoming a foggy mess of miss-applied power. What I read didn't match what I could see. And what I could see was mostly chaos. 


Then one day my favorite, leather-bound, full-of-notes, worn out, always with me, like a faithful Black Lab Bible was lost forever. It was a freak moment of my own forgetfulness. And it was gone. Maybe I would be as well. 


...to be continued

What Can Wash Away My Sins.....?

"Some of us, oppressed by our own weakness, may at times have been tempted to think that there are sins which are almost unforgivable. Let us remember the word: 'The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from every sin.' Big sins, small sins, sins which may be very black and sins which appear to be not so black, sins which I think can be forgiven and sins which seems unforgivable, yes, all sins, conscious or unconscious, remember or forgotten, are included in those words: 'every sin.' The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin, and it does so because in the first place it satisfied God." -Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life

To this day I am stilled baffled as to why the great wisdom and clear writings of Watchman Nee are not required reading for Seminary students. At one time in my life, in 1995, I had a copy of The Normal Christian Life and Release of the Spirit tucked deep in my back-pack, and would sneak around the campus to read it, like it was contraband or something. Not only was it not on any syllabus, it was considered by most to be heresy. Funny. Thankfully, God brought these books to me (I cannot remember how) and they contributed to changing the entire course of my life. In those days I would attend daily Chapel where we'd often sing the song, "What Can Wash Away My Sins." Later, while in the basement classroom of the main Bible building, alone, I would sit and weep over a tear-soaked Bible and a worn out copy of Nee's book, just filled with the thankfulness to God for His real sacrifice for me.

Today the snow is mostly melting but I'm left with a thankful, peace-full, and just altogether full heart. What a great and glorious God we serve! What amazing truth that "while were still sinners Christ died for us." What an amazing gift of unconditional and all together over-whelming LOVE the Father has for us, that He would give His one and only Son as a ransom. Can we really even fathom this gift? Only by faith can we even come close. We cannot comprehend the grand purpose of the Blood, from its incredible beginning with God's Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) to it's justification for our own sins through the death of God's very own son (Romans 5:8,9) . That's why the first chapter of The Normal Christian Life, The Blood of Christ," is one of my favorites. I've returned to the book this morning and it brings back memories; my highlighter is working over-time once again:

• "It is God's holiness, God's righteousness, which demands that a sinless life should be given for man. There is life in the Blood, and that Blood has to be poured out for me, for my sins. God is the One who requires it to be so. God is the One who demands that the Blood be presented, in order to satisfy His own righteousness, and it is He who says, 'What I see the blood, I will pass over you.' The Blood of Christ wholly satisfies God."
• "Now the whole trouble with us is that we are trying to sense it; we are trying to feel its value and to estimate subjectively what the Blood is for us. We cannot do it; it does not work that way. The Blood is first for God to see. We then have to accept God's valuation of it. In doing so we shall find our valuation."

val·u·a·tion –noun 1. the act of estimating or setting the value of something; appraisal. 2. an estimated value or worth.

• "We have to believe that the Blood is precious to God because He says it is so (1 Peter 1:18, 19)."
• "The Blood has satisfied God; it must satisfy us also. It has therefore a seond value that is manward in the cleansing of our conscience." (Hebrews 9:12; 10:22) 
• "A heart of faith and a conscience clear of any and every accusation are both equally essential to us, since they are interdependent. As soon as we find our conscience is uneasy our faith leaks away and immediately we find we cannot face God. In order therefore to keep going on with God we must know the up-to-date value of the Blood. God keeps short accounts, and we are made nigh by the Blood every day, every hour and every minute." 

Wow. Can we really understand the importance of that Blood? I know how important it is to my own physical life. I didn't earn this red fluid pulsing through my body to keep me alive. Nor did I, nor you, earn salvation from God and the removal of our sins, or victory over our sin-nature, by our own merit. (See "Thoughts on Freedom.") This is where I think Nee writes it best: 

• "I approach God through His merit alone and never on the basis of my attainment; never, for example, on the ground that I have been extra kind or patient today, or that I have done something for the Lord this morning. I have come by way of the Blood every time. The temptation to so many of us when we try to approach God is to think that because God has been dealing with us -- because He has been taking steps to bring us into something more of Himself and has been teaching us deeper lessons of the Cross -- He has thereby set before us new standards, and that only by attaining to these can we have a clear conscience before Him. No! A clear conscience is never based up on our attainment; it can only be based on the work of the Lord Jesus in the shedding of His blood." 

The shedding of His blood is so very important for us to understand. We need God to help us. I am aware that some nominal Christians have taken advantage of the Blood in the Gospel and become lazy in their walk, and lackadaisical in the lives. But we should not over-react and throw out the Blood with the bathwater. The Blood is as important to God as it ever was. And it is just as important for us, for without it we do not know who we really are in Christ.

But the shedding of His blood and the redemption of sins was not God's ultimate goal. The cross-sacrifice was merely a means to an end for God. God's desire was, and is to this day, to have A People. We cannot stop short of God's real heart -- He wants to inhabit the Earth through Christ's Body. The Blood is a real thing but it's not the main thing. That our sins are completely forgiven by the Blood of Christ is a grand truth, but it's not the Truth. The Truth is Christ Himself. While dying on the cross, I picture that Christ thought not only just of me as His blood dripped down, but that He thought of a mighty, redeemed group of people where His Spirit would dwell and where a power-full, spiritual army would rise up in the new Kingdom of Heaven and declare together: "What Can Wash Away OUR Sins?!"

Nothing but the blood. Nothing but the blood. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Whiter Than Snow

What a beautiful week, with the snow all around, glistening white. Just makes you smile, and shiver...., and smile. The fluffy white stuff is the source of so much joy (well at least for those of us in the mid-south who don't live with it each and everyday). Even if you're just a window watcher of snowy-land activities you have to admit it is gorgeous.

Ever thought of this: What is that thing in side of us that triggers our brain to say this is beautiful and this is not? Snow is pretty. Mud is ugly. Mountains are awesome. Desserts are... not so much. Where does that come from? I guess God had a reason for us to recognize the wonderful. He created us in such a way as to appreciate beauty and stop and stare. He put that thing right inside of us for a reason.

As I played in it this week I thought of this verse in Isaiah: “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow." God has covered our hearts with the snowy white forgiveness which comes through Christ. God looks down at our little piece of Earth all covered in white and smiles a smile himself, for it is for His own pleasure that He sent His son to die for our sins. He wanted to forgive us our sins and make a way for us to know him, to love him, to be with him forever. And that forever starts right now. Right now God's mercy has shown us ultimate love; and now He is mine and I am His. Why, oh why do we wish to please Him so? Because he first loved us, that's why. Why do we want to labor for the Kingdom? Because His labor of love spilled the blood of his very own son. The scarlet sins are covered now, with the crystal white, and with the glory of God. 

I finished this post the other day with the statement: "building our relationship with God is the most important corporate activity we can ever engage in." Why is this so true? It is true because of where God began, Himself on a cross. That blood was for me. And now I am for Him. What began as a single act of sacrifice for me catapults me into a life-time of service for Him. Once in the Body I see the blood still. I see my own sins buried beneath the white snow. And I love, love, love him. Every turn we make in the Church, we make as forgiven sinners, now co-laborers for Christ. Knowing my our worth to Him, having a daily communion with the Father of a new white-covered heart, makes the corporate life in the Church that much sweeter. It also makes the powerful life of the Church that much more powerful. This is precisely why, "He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a special people, eager to do good works" - Titus 2:14. Our knowledge, and more importantly our full acceptance, of being cleansed by the blood of Christ makes us eager. It's just inevitable. Whiter than snow and ready to work.

God does have a reason for us to recognize the wonderful. He created us in such a way as to appreciate beauty and stop and stare. And there is no greater beauty in all the world than that of Christ's blood washing all our sins away and making us whiter than snow. What a glorious Church!

Let that snow fall! 
And let us run and play and love each other in God, our Father.

Thoughts About Freedom

Still practicing the presence of God the last couple days but it's been busy and so it's been challenging. But I am heeding the wise words of Boyd and not beating myself up for forgetting to remember God more often than I am. Still, it's so good just to pause several times a day and just take Him in, so to speak. I am so excited about the point that God IS always present; it is I who need to be more aware of Him. There is no need to "invite God's presence." God is everywhere. 

Tonight I did something remarkable: I pulled a Bible off the shelf and started reading. (This is remarkable for me because of my long history with the Bible and story after story that brings me here; to the place where I only occasionally read and then it's only on my iPhone. But here is some more on that.) Tonight I grabbed.... ready for this ... The Study Bible!   dun dun dun!  Started flipping through and in seconds landed in Galatians 5. What an awesome (and often confusing) passage of scripture. 

Freedom in Christ

 ¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  ² Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. ³ 

Ok, See! We shouldn't circumcise! But wait a second...

Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. ⁴ You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ 

Here's the real point: "You who are trying to be justified by the law." That's the question. Are you circumcising or not circumcising because you are trying to be justified by the law? And wait again...this is not really even about circumcision. That's just the example which Paul is using. The really, really, real question is: Are we doing ANYTHING in order to be justified? That's the real question. Because if we are, we have fallen away from grace. 

[For a good, concise article on free will and grace see Greg Boyd's Q&A here. In it he states, " I firmly believe that salvation is completely by grace, not works. And I believe the Bible teaches that humans would never choose God on their own, apart from the Holy Spirit. Left on our own, we are “dead” toward spiritual things (Eph 2:1, 5), and corpses can’t do much of anything last I checked. To come to Christ, the Father must draw us (Jn 6:44)."  There is also a really terrific analogy about dancing with God in his post, worth a future blog post, but great to take a look at on this page.]


So this means it's time for some soul searching. Turning the magnifying glass on this heart of mine, I honestly start looking for those areas where I might be trying to justify myself. Are there actions or thoughts which I have which are really just an impulse to make myself right? To make myself righteous? For where those exist I have become alienated from Christ; and I have fallen away from Grace. Paul continues...

For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. ⁶ For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. 

There it is: Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision "  has any value."   In other words it doesn't matter one iota; doesn't amount to a hill of beans, if the Jews back then or if I right now, circumcise. But again, Paul is only using this as an example. What is true is that we can replace the word "circumcise" with any other action word in our vocabulary. Just try it. I'll try "going to church" cause that was the BIG one for me growing up in the denomination I was in.  

• You who are trying to be justified by [going to church] have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ ... For in Christ Jesus neither [going to church] nor [not going to church] has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
  

Now, don't read this wrong. By doing this little exercise we are NOT saying one should abstain from church-going. (Actually, I really dislike this anyway cause we know one cannot "go" to church -- we ARE the church. What we mean then, is going to church meetings.) We are not saying one should abstain from going to meetings. The key words are "trying to be justified by." We are saying that trying to be "justified" by going to church meetings alienates us from Christ and causes us to "fall away from grace." That's pretty serious!  


So we can substitute most any action. How about "serving"? Uh, oh. This is sticky one for sure. There certainly are places in scripture which indicate the faith without works is dead, and I believe that. But if we really believe what God is saying here, through Paul, then we have to be honest about it.

• You who are trying to be justified by [serving others] have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ ...The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
  

Again, we are ONLY talking about "trying to be justified" by serving. That is what Paul is talking about. Bottom line is we cannot "be justified" by anything WE do or don't do. Our actions do not justify ourselves. Period. If actions could in any way, shape, or form do such a thing -- if our actions could justify us -- then we really might not need the sacrifice of Christ after-all. And then we would certainly be able to boast (Eph. 2:9). 

So back to practicing the presence of God. Why do I think God brought this passage to my attention tonight? I think it's because of this tendency in all us to try and be justified by our actions. I can get all excited about this new thing, this very wonderful and spiritual thing, and I can do the very same thing Paul warns against. 

• You who are trying to be justified by [practicing the presence of God] have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. ⁵ ... The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
  

Once we really come to terms with the spiritual truth that there is nothing we can do to justify ourselves we are then set free to do those very things for God, and do them for the right reasons. Circumcision does not justify. Attending meetings does not justify. Serving does not justify. Not even practicing God's presence justifies. Only Christ justifies. And knowing this truth is the Truth which sets us free! If we in any way try to be justified by what we do we are then "burdened again by a yoke of slavery." It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. That is how Paul begins and ends this passage, just to make sure we get the point. :-) And what a wonderful point it is!

 ¹³ You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. 

Life, and Our Real Relationship with the Father

Ok, this Present Perfect book I started is really life-changing. No, it's not the book. It's just the simple reminder that we are, at this very moment, surrounded by the Presence of God. It is life-changing to remember several times a day that God is "right here," right with me in this moment.

Practicing the presence of God was made simi-popular by Brother Lawrence, I know. I read his book over a decade ago. But there is something profound about realizing how much time we do the opposite, how much time we don't think about God, and why. This is where Boyd draws such great attention to the tendencies of our flesh. We tend to think about the past or the future... most of the time. Well, maybe I do more than most, because I'm such a scatterbrain personality. Instead of ADHD I have ABHD: Attention Bankrupt Hyperactive Disorder.  But I bet I'm not alone in the tendency to think about either the past or the future more than the present. I started taking inventory of my thoughts, as Boyd suggests, and I was amazed at how much time I think about the past or the future, in place of the now. And as I took inventory I began to start drawing my focus back to the moment at hand, and then a step further to reminding myself that God is present in this very moment. The results of doing this practice of the presence of God is astounding to me. Here's why I think it is so life-changing.

We are talking about the very essence of our relationship with God. This goes way beyond those prayer times, or Bible studies, or church services. This is a daily walk with the Father, being in His heart and feeling His love, really FEELING His Love, not just knowing it's true but feeling His heart beat for me. And it's ok to feel His love, or to let ourselves feel His love, that is. Many of us won't even let ourselves feel His love, or imagine him speaking loving words to us. Why? Because of religion, because of lies we are told by the Powers, and by our own mind. But even Christ retreated to the quiet times to re-connect with the Father. And we can assume that Christ even practiced the presence of God (or maybe he didn't have to depending on your perspective). But he certainly says he could do "nothing apart from the Father." That's "nothing." Can I do "nothing apart from the Father?" Not hardly. So how do we get there, if you're like me? Boyd says, and I agree, that we get there through practice.

Think of the closest relationship you have. If it's a marriage partner or a best friend you didn't just accidentally end up with a good relationship. It took practice. It took time and questions, and dates, and outings, and conversations, and encouragement, and above all, it took you starting to believe with all your hear that that person truly loves you. It took letting that love in and giving it in return. That's practice. It's work and it's essential. The very same thing is true of our relationship with God.

When we talk about cultivating our "relationship with the Father;" of having quiet times or practicing the presence of God we are often tempted to think this is some idea from man. We think 'that's so evangelical' or that's extremely "charismatic" or pentecostal or whatever. But having a real, active, vibrant, love-relationship is NOT from the mind of man at all. Some denominations might have put there stamp on it, or preached it in a way which is memorable. But having a real relationship with God is from the mind of God, not man. So if it is from His mind then we must then strive to find out what He thinks about it. About how we go about cultivated a relationship with God. This is of vital importance for our own spiritual lives as well as for our role and purpose in the Body. For without a connection to the Father we are doomed to move in our own power and not his.

But how? I've heard it said a hundred thousand times that we need to have a relationship with God. And most of the time it's followed by something like "make time for him" or "read your Bible" or "pray without ceasing." Ok, that's all great and all, and perhaps that's all some people need to hear. But I've had an extremely difficult time with this "building a relationship with God" thing in the last ten years since I ended up with a wife, six kids, a business, and a community full of people. Who has time for those wonderful long times of prayer in the closet or walk in the park with God that we had in our twenties, or in the beginning when you first came to God? My life moves so fast now I can go days and not think about "growing my relationship with God." In comes God's voice through Boyd to stop thinking about the past or the future and think instead about right now, the present. Only the present is perfect. The present is where God is right now.

Listen to God's voice to you right now. Make yourself aware of His presence right now. Recall for just a moment what God did for you on Calvary. Now imagine He is speaking to you - What is He saying? Now say that same thing back. Now keep this moment for another moment. And then another. This is an amazing practice.

Tonight I was with two brothers and we were talking about much to do about nothing. Then suddenly I remembered to make myself aware of God's presence. As I listened to my friend talking, in my mind I thought for a moment about God. Then I asked God in my mind to speak and suddenly I thought about Song of Songs. "Song of Songs?" really. So I brought it up. Suddenly our conversation went deep into the nature and depth of God's love for us, and how we are called into a love-affair with the Father. Wow. That was God's voice to each of us, and so encouraging. For me that was a perfect ending to a beautiful snowy day, talking about God's love with brothers. Which reminds me of why building our relationship with God is the most important corporate activity we can ever engage in. But that's the topic of a future post. "Working on our personal relationship with God is the most important corporate activity we can engage in."


Where can I go from your Spirit? 
   Where can I flee from your presence? 
⁸ If I go up to the heavens, you are there; 
   if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 
⁹ If I rise on the wings of the dawn, 
   if I settle on the far side of the sea, 
¹⁰ even there your hand will guide me, 
   your right hand will hold me fast. 

Myths and Movements

"So you see, the Kingdom has nothing to do with religion- Christian or "otherwise. It's rather about following the example of Jesus, manifesting the beauty of God's reign while revolting against all that is ugly. It's a beautiful revolution that we're all invited to join. But to do so, we've got to lose our religion." 

 "The Kingdom's revolt against religion, including the Christian religion, is on a totally different level. It is a revolt against all attempts to get Life from particular beliefs -- including true ones. For where God truly reigns over an individual or a community, their only source of Life is God, not the rightness of their beliefs."

Myth of a Christian Religion, by Gregory A. Boyd, is not just another book. It is a call to a new movement in Western Christianity. I've read most of Boyd's writings but this work cuts like a knife through the thick layers of self-righteous noise in the Church. That which looks and acts like Jesus is Christian. Period. This is WWJD tattooed on our foreheads. If you desire to read this book for what Boyd really intends then you are being invited to a revolution of monumental proportions. 

Boyd is only the messenger, however, for this is truly a word from God. And it is no less important than God's demand to Pharaoh himself -- "Let my people go!!" 

Writes Boyd: 

"Church history is full of people being tortured and put to death for such heresies as not acknowledging the authority of the Church, baptizing wrongly, and denying the Trinity. Yet we don't have any record of anyone so much as having their hand slapped for embracing the worst heresy imaginable -- namely, failing to love and do good to one's enemies, as Jesus commanded. That leaves me speechless!"

THE FIRST THREE CHAPTERS

Having just finished this book last night I found myself speechless many times over. Had a rough, yet divine start, however. I downloaded the audio version just before leaving for a trip last month, but only the first three chapters and about a quarter of chapter four made the download to my iPhone. Disappointed at first, I quickly began to recognize the possibility of God dealing with me. I finished the first three chapters and the action guides for each and was so overwhelmed that I went right back and listened to them again, and then a third time. While most of my friends were raving about the impact of chapter four, Revolt Against Judgment, I was required to read and re-read "Giant Jesus", Christ and Caesar", and "Revolt Against Idolatry" three times. After finishing the rest of the book I now understand why: If we do not grasp the depth of the premises in the first three chapters then we are destined to miss the call to arms in the rest of the book. This was further confirmed to me by how Boyd closes the book with "The Revolt Against Secularism," giving a clear call to abandon the Western scientific and material mindset in favor of what many would consider a more mystical, yet spiritual, and felt connection to God on a moment by moment basis. Amazing.

At one point in what I think is the crux of the first three chapters I was conflicted. Boyd writes, "If God's estimation of people is based completely on what he has done for people on Calvary, not on what people do for him, then religious people can no longer get Life from the fact that they are set apart from others because of their right beliefs and behaviors." Whoa! This is grace alone. Wait. No it's not. Yes it is. Wait. Ok... take a breath. "If God's estimation....of people .... is based completely..."    There it is!! That is the beginning of it all. There is absolutely nothing I can do to increase nor decrease God's love for me! God places value on us based on Calvary. Life comes from what God thinks of me and not from what I think, feel, do, or say. Life comes from Calvary alone. Life does not ever come from the rightness of my beliefs and behaviors. But far from relaxing into a Christian slumber of once saved always saved, Boyd make is clear that if we truly know the full value of God's estimation of us we will be moved to action. Accepting Calvary Love from God means only one thing: Revolution!!! Truly knowing what it means to be a citizen of His Kingdom causes a revolt against everything else which does not demonstrate Calvary Love. 

THE ACTION GUIDES

To me the action guides are by far the most important parts of each chapter. I can completely understand why Boyd is a fan of imaginative prayer: We westerners are brainwashed by secular thought, by the "Powers," and now more than any other time in history have great trouble embracing that other, spiritual, realm in practical and life-changing ways. It's one thing to believe in God's presence. It's quite another to practice it and actually feel God's presence moment by moment. So the Action Guides are of vital importance for they are the practice we all need. Without this practice this book is just another one to put on the shelf and call "great."

I was particularly moved by Boyd's invitation for me to "imagine you are dead." 'The nerve of the man!' I first thought, as my flesh recoiled. But the mental exercise of picturing only Christ in front of me, and feeling that nothing else in all the world matters but Him and this completion, is indeed life-changing. What do we have to worry about if we truly know our worth to the Father, and if we truly -- in Him -- live, and move, and have our whole being? Nothing.

THE PRESENT PERFECT

When I went to download the rest of the book I happened upon another of Boyd's books which he released about the same time. It is called "The Present Perfect." So I downloaded it as well. About half way through chapter 11 of Myth of a Christian Religion I decided to switch over to Present Perfect and see what that one was all about. 'Wow! This makes total sense!' I thought. 'I see where he's heading with this.' The Present Perfect is the FULL application of Myth of a Christian Religion. In fact, The Present Perfect is perhaps the full application of EVERY book Boyd has ever written. Writes the Amazon book reviewer: 

• Discover: * How to pray continually * What it means to 'take every thought captive' * How to wake up to God's ever-present love God is closer to you than the air you breathe. He is present in every given moment. Wake up to his presence! Turn off the mental chatter that keeps you from seeing his glory. Embrace the holy habit of inviting God's presence into your life, and be transformed! Wake Up to God's Presence! We long to be transformed. Yet our minds are filled with endless trivia and self-centered chatter. To-do lists. Worries about the past. Speculation about the future. We forget to live in the present moment ... and to invite God to be with us there.

I'll have to write another post once I finish Present Perfect but I can already tell you this is the COMPLETE action guide for Myth of a Christian Religion as well as his other books. 

VIVA LA REVOLUTION!

Together, all of Boyd's books are packed completely full of scripture and practical steps toward a life-changing walk with God and a revolutionary change for the Church. In this book Boyd brightly shines a spot light on the myths of our modern thinking and the resulting shallow religion. But it is a Movement which God really wants, one which begins with every believer knowing our true worth and then letting that knowledge alter our lives in every possible way. Then, and only then, will the world take note of what a peculiar people we have actually become and turn their attention to the One True God who make us stand up and stand out in such an obvious way. 

There is much more to write about the ideas in this book, but I need some time to digest it some more before doing so. For now, however, I feel the full power and pounding heart of God with each call at the close of each chapter. 

Viva La Revolution!