Grace and Truth

John 1:14-18
            And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
15 John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”
16 And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.
      
            Book of John chapter 1 is just packed full of nuggets of wisdom and enlightening scripture. In fact, there are so many keywords in this text that it would be easy to just glaze over some of these nuggets of truth, without actually stopping and considering; "What might this mean?" We see a couple of these nuggets of wisdom in verses 14 through 18 posted above. The other day I wrote about the word being God and the word becoming flesh and dwelling among us and how this shows us that Christ was and is God who came in the flesh and became like us. But what is meant in the second half of verse 14 where the Scripture tells us full of grace and truth?

            Well, truth is truth. That means there is no lie in it. It applies and is relevant whether you believe it or not. To make this simple, a person can believe the 2+2 equals five, and hold that belief to the grave, yet the truth is, it equals four, regardless of what a person may believe, yeah that oversimplifies things I  agree, but the point is still the same. Truth is truth whether we believe it or not. Jesus taught the truth. He says in John chapter 8, if my words abide in you, you follow me, become my disciple, you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. Truth is not relevant. In other words you can't take a simple mathematical equation and say well it's true for me, whether it's true for you or not. The way I see it, 2+2 is five. Who are you to tell me that it's 4?

            As we look in verse 17, we can deduce that this portion of Scripture is talking about the law of Moses, when referring to truth. And the Scripture says that Jesus did not come to do away with the law but to fulfill the law. (Mt. 5:17-18) The fulfilling of the law comes through this other little word we find called grace. So what is grace? Sometimes I think it's like that word "love" where everybody has a different definition or a different perspective on what grace really is. The New Testament word for grace comes from the Greek term “Charis” and when we go into Greek. We see oftentimes that words do have several meanings in other languages. What the word really means is power to conquer sin or to equip us for ministry. Grace also means unearned undeserved or unmerited favor.

            Verse 17, says the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Verse 14, says he was full of grace and truth. As I was reading this the other day it dawned on me, this is a powerful way for the apostle John to start this book out. Powerful because he is illustrating to us that one of the reasons Christ came was to give us the strength, power and the favor we need to fulfill the sanctified life in which we could not do on our own without being born of the spirit. This is such great news! This perspective gives us something wonderful because it tells us that there is more to being a Christian than just being religious, that there is power available for changing our lives! Say goodbye to hopelessness and helplessness. Say goodbye to blaming our birth by saying that we were created this way or that way and blaming our parents or genetics for who or what we are. Jesus said we could be born again, born of the spirit and with this experience of rebirth we become empowered to conquer the strongholds of whatever life we lived before and to strive through the process of sanctification where God molds us and shapes us into the person that he created us to be. True identity is found in becoming the person that God made you to be.

            The only road to satisfaction is the road that leads us to becoming the person who God has created us to be. God has created us for relationship with Him and changeable like a lump of clay in the potter's hand. He's always working on us but he never asks us to become something that he won't empower us to be! And that my friend is a work of grace.

The Foolishness of Preaching

1Corinthians 1:17-2
            17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
18 For the preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written:
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”
20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

            Isn't it incredible the technological advances that mankind is made in just the last century? The rate at which technology and medical knowledge has advanced in just the last decade is phenomenal. When the pages of the Bible were written they still weren't even aware of how big our world is. It took weeks just to travel what we can do in an hour now. In the days the Bible was written when somebody was ill or facing death. They had to believe God for a miracle or they would die. Now you can go across the street and get psychological, emotional, mental and physical attention when something goes wrong.

            In light of this knowledge, I think the validity of this Scripture has even greater relevance. I say this because it's easier to forget about the power of God today than it would've been during a time when you could die without it. However, I declare to you that the power of God is very much as real, alive and active pulsating through the church and through some of his believers today as it was during the time that the Scripture was written!

            Paul acknowledges that it was Christ who sent him to the Corinthian church and he follows that acknowledgment with stating that he wasn't sent to preach works, such as baptism or words of wisdom that would entice people with philosophical impressions. He declares. However, that he came to preach the cross of Jesus Christ over as he stated Christ and Christ crucified! Which in a logical mind could too many seem like foolishness. Remember the prophet Isaiah in chapter 53. I won't quote that chapter now for time sake. However, I encourage you to look it up and read it on your own. Christ in Luke chapter 4 quotes from Isaiah as well. Declaring the reason why he came was to set the oppressed free, heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives!

            The preaching of the cross is foolishness to those who perish but to those who are being saved it is the power of God. To many it may seem crazy or far-fetched even a fool's faith to lay hands on the sick can see them recover to pray with faith that God could heal or deliver, or even break the bondages of addiction through the power of prayer and the cleansing of His word. I have witnessed firsthand the power of God to set an addict free from harrowing cocaine, alcohol, even nicotine on various occasions throughout my ministry. Sometimes this miraculous phenomenon takes place with simple prayer, other times it starts with a simple prayer and requires some work, diligence and dedication on the part of the person who is addicted. However, there is still power in the cross to deliver from such an apparently hopeless situation as addiction. (As well as many other physical, mental, spiritual and socio-economic issues)

            I am an advocate of education and I believe that higher learning can only strengthen and empower the human being to do greater things. However, I submit to my readers today that we begin to contend for the power of Christ's resurrection to flow through our lives and not to let higher learning, wisdom, and excessive knowledge hinder us from entering union to the dynamic power found at the cross. In verse 20 Paul asks where is the wise? Where is the scribe where is the disputer of this age has God not made foolish the wisdom of this world? Then he goes on to say that it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe! I close with this thought throughout the Bible, Old Testament and New; how many occasions throughout the Bible, do we see where God chose and called a person to do something beyond all reason, logic and human knowledge, only to blow the minds of all those who witnessed the occurrence when God honors their faith? A portion of the answer to that question is found in Hebrews chapter 11. I encourage you to read them on your own.

            God bless you until next time.

The Root of Righteousness "Cannot be Moved"

Proverbs 12:1-3
            Whoever loves instruction loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.
2 A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of wicked intentions He will condemn. 3 A man is not established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous cannot be moved.

            There is a parable in the book of Matthew, where Jesus tells the story about a wise man who hears the word of God and does it. This man was likened to a wise builder who built his house on a sure foundation that was solid and secure. The parable also shares about the foolish man who hears the word of God and rejects it. Jesus compares this man to the fool who built his house on the sand with no foundation. As the story goes, it tells of how the storms of life came, the winds blew and the rains fell and the house that was built with no foundation fell and crumbled, it was washed away, yet the house that was built with a sure and true foundation withstood the storms that pounded against it and stayed intact.

            One of the keys to Christian success is to find relationship with somebody who's further down the road than you and allow them to minister to your life. As part of the great commission is to go and make disciples of all men, there is an inference of disciple maker and the one being "discipled". The wisdom that comes in verse one is that it's important to place people around your life who can speak into your life and that can help you grow in your gifts and calling.

            A good man obtains favor from the Lord, but a man of wicked intentions, the Lord will condemn. This is one of those statements that only the Lord can judge for only the Lord knows the heart of a man, it's easy to conceal and hide the motivation of your heart from other people, yet the Lord sees and knows our true motivation. As well it's easy to assume the intention of another person without really knowing what motivates their heart. Sometimes a person may not even be aware of the things that motivate them as many times we find ourselves repeating patterns, habits, or relationship issues, not knowing why we find ourselves in the same position again and again. This is why having mentorship from outside perspective helps us break through these patterns. Perhaps this is why the psalmist wrote. Search me O God, and know my heart and if there be any wickedness in me expose it and remove it. Far from me! For God is the only one that truly knows the heart of man and the Holy Spirit, by the word of God, is the only way a heart can truly be transformed.

            A man is not established by wickedness, but the root of the righteous cannot be moved. Sometimes we want to take a shortcut and life sometimes we want to skip the path altogether. It can be tempting to follow the path of easy money, even though it's gained with impure motives or to sway from loyalty to a relationship or friendship for a moment of pleasure. But remember, there are no shortcuts. Sooner or later the house that is built with unrighteous methods will come crashing down. But on the positive note, the man or woman who establishes their life, upon the precepts and principles of the word of God by the leading of the Holy Spirit will find himself unshakable and unmovable in their faith and rewarded with eternal blessings as well as temporal. However, it's important to remember that those blessings are not always gauged by material gain, for there is nothing more valuable than a good relationship with fellow man, and with our Creator!

Preaching the Gospel and Healing Everywhere?

            In the following chapter and verse, Jesus called together the 12 disciples. Then he empowered them and sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and cure all manner of diseases. As you read the following text from the Bible, ask yourself what was Jesus trying to accomplish or to teach the disciples to do? I don't believe that anything Jesus did was random or by mistake. Rather, I believe that this act of empowerment and vision was meant to teach the disciples something powerful about the destiny that God was calling them to. As well as to impart something to us, the readers of this account thousands of years later so that we could understand what we are called to do. Let's read the following six verses before we continue with our discussion.

Luke 9:1-2
Then He called His twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority over all demons, and to cure diseases. 2 He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick. 3 And He said to them, “Take nothing for the journey, neither staffs nor bag nor bread nor money; and do not have two tunics apiece. 4 “Whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And whoever will not receive you, when you go out of that city, shake off the very dust from your feet as a testimony against them.” 6 So they departed and went through the towns, preaching the gospel and healing everywhere.

            When I read this text I ask myself, how does this apply to today? Could it be possible that Jesus Christ also intends for us, the modern disciples and followers of his kingdom to heal the sick and preach the gospel everywhere we go? Hebrews 13:8 states that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever more. This indicates to me that it is the will of Christ for his followers to be ministers of his gospel and bring healing to our generation. As we read through the midsection of the gospel of John see several scriptures that point to Christ wanting us to be empowered with the Holy Spirit, to be led by the Holy Spirit, instructed by the Holy Spirit and to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

            We see throughout the book of Acts, the disciples carried through with this message, pretty much on a daily basis. Everywhere they went, they preached the gospel and it was confirmed with signs and wonders following. I do contend though that signs should follow the believer and the preaching of the gospel, but we should not be following after signs. However, if we are going to accomplish the destiny of God to evangelize our world with the gospel message of Jesus Christ, we desperately need to be empowered by the Holy Spirit! I challenge whoever reads this to ask God in your daily prayer life; "God what would you have for me to do?" Can your power live within me will you impart your faith to me, God, so that I can walk with the fullness of your power into the destiny that you plan for my life?

            If the word of God truly will never fade or pass away then the promises that God makes in his word are relevant for today. I find it disheartening to see so many people bound and distressed by so many different ailments and diseases and disorders all around us while pharmaceutical companies are raking in billions of dollars every year. Meanwhile the church sits idly by thinking that the power of God that enables us to bring answers, solutions, deliverance and healing to this generation were promises made for some other time, in some other world so many years ago! I'll close with this question. Can we as God's church be empowered to confront the spiritual forces around us? Can we have discernment to know what is spiritual and what is physical? Ephesians chapter 6 and second Corinthians chapter 10 allude to the fact that what we see in the flesh and blood are actually spiritual warfare taking place around us. If this is true then many of the elements we see people suffer from today, addiction and depression, mental health disorders and physical diseases could still be healed by the laying on of hands and the prayer of faith!