Indagatio Veri

The promise to Abraham, the liberation of the Israelites, the writing of the Law, and the prophets were all signs that pointed towards Jesus. "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.  For truly, I say to you, until haven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished (Matthew 5:17-20)." John the Baptist was the last of these signposts; his life was devoted to proclaiming in the wilderness, 'prepare ye the way of the Lord.'  He recognized that a new era was at hand and that there was going to be a shift from the new to the old. "Therefore this joy of mine is now complete.  He must increase, but I must decrease (John 3:30)." John baptized with water for repentance while Jesus was to come with power, baptizing with the Holy Spirit and Fire. Something was changing with Jesus, a lifestyle that was going to be released that exceeded tha...

"Then he said to them all: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23)."  This scripture has become a cornerstone of Christian theology and practice where we are urged to die to ourselves, our lifestyles, will, thoughts, and emotions.  We understand the paradigm that 'His thoughts being higher than our thoughts', while accepting John the Baptists proclamation that 'He must increase and I must decrease.' There is truth in these passages and to these teachings, but it is just a part of the whole picture.  We often approach this idea of 'dying to ourselves' in the strangest of fashions, and it is this that I would like to correct.  We tend to emphasize the difficulty, struggle, and even despair that comes from this process, as if we have to reject the 'better' and get the 'worse' instead. That may be how we feel in the moment, but we are just as much coming alive as we are ...

Scripture is not the Word of God. Jesus is the Word of God (John 1). "You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life (John 5:39-40)."  When we say things like, 'I only believe what the bible says'. We are really saying that we believe in our interpretation of the bible. One of the greatest idols in our western world is reason. We have given great authority and control to our ability to rationalize and intellectualize truth claims, by so doing we have fallen into deception. When Christ Himself is our foundation, we interpret everything through Him; which means if a challenging idea comes along, it doesn't make us angry or throw us off, but causes us to abide in the source of all revelation. Having faith in your own revelation makes you unstable, full of fear, frustration, comparison, and bitterness. Faith in the person who is truth, salv...

The religious spirit is something that I am continually becoming free from; and yes, I do believe that it is a spirit and not just a thought process.  I want to describe the ways that I have been influenced by this spirit, in hopes that you can learn to recognize it and become free as well. The religious spirit is powerful and is at work on believers and non-believers alike.  It has one main purpose, to undermine our faith in the Gospel, spreading lies to blind us to what Jesus accomplished on the cross, and cause us to take control of our life with God. The word 'religious' makes many think of the Pharisees in scripture who sought to become righteous in their own power; or the classic 'conservative christian', who lives a compromised life while having a aggressive disposition towards immorality. Both of these 'classic cases' can reveal some truth about the RS, but it is usually much more subtle than that.  You might be surprised by the drastic ways you yourse...

Jesus was the happiest, most joyful, man that ever lived, He even endured the cross for the 'joy set before Him' (Hebrews 12:2)! We have the Spirit of Christ living inside of us, greater is He that is within us than he that is within the world (1 John 4:4).  Mr. Joy is inside of us! We are instructed to 'rejoice at all times' (Philippians 4:4, 1 Thessalonians 5:16), and that the 'joy of the Lord is our strength' (Nehemiah 8:10).  This joy is unspeakable and full of Glory (1 Peter 1:8)!  Paul was so fulfilled with Jesus' work that He was content no matter the circumstances (Philippians 4:11) to the extent that he even learned to rejoice midst suffering (Romans 5:5)! Is this a possible experiential reality that we can step into? Is it fathomable to you? What about worry, anxiety, bitterness or complaining? Did you know that these are 'anti-Christ' attitudes.  "Do all things without grumbling or disputing (Philippians 2:14)."   Is this sort ...

The self-pleasing spirit in our culture is visible everywhere, and it would be laughable if it didn't reveal the bondage so many are in. People are yearning for happiness, joy, peace, and contentment; likewise promises of fulfillment are everywhere, from soap commercials to political agendas. I find this to be true even in Christian circles, no matter how much we 'preach' being detached from the world, we are not satisfied unless our lives match our desire. Ultimately this reveals how unsatisfied we are with Jesus, that may sound a bit harsh, but it's true.  Here is the truth, it is possible to be so satisfied in Jesus that everything else ceases to matter. I don't mean to say this as a pat or surface answer.  I mean deeply satisfied, overflowing with love, peace, and joy; an actual experience of fulfillment. That just like in Psalm 23 you can say, 'I don't need anything'. The Apostle Paul lived in this reality; where no trivial circumstance could kil...

There are three responses one can have when facing a powerless church. 1) We can reset the standard by defining the 'normal' Christian life according to our experience rather than scripture. Thereby creating a culture of compromise, weakness, and powerlessness. 2) We can reject supernatural intervention completely and create a Christianity that is utterly humanistic, relative, and universal. 3) O r, we can become dissatisfied with our experience and keep the biblical standard, thereby relying solely upon a touch of the Holy Spirit to do the impossible. In my opinion 1 isn't far away from becoming 2, and 3 is the only antidote to a form of religion that denies God's power. What is created will always reflect the nature of the one who created it. If we build a ministry based on our own talents and abilities than people will only end up seeing us. True ministry is allowing God to supernaturally work through us, so that people encounter Him rather than only meeting us. When...

My brother and I are putting together a 9 series program purposed to help small groups begin going deeper in their identity, purpose, and calling in the Kingdom.  Each area will be broken up into three seminars each.  Here is the first take for an intro to the first set of seminars on Identity. 1. IDENTITY Introduction: Our identity is the foundation of our life in God, and it is essential for us to grasp who we are.  Satan, the accuser and deceiver, seeks to rob Christians from knowing who they are; he even tried to make Jesus question His identity (see Matthew 4).  It is essential that we agree with God about who we are; if we don't we will continue to live a life in bondage, fail to enter into true intimacy with the Holy Spirit, and never fulfill the purposes that God has for our lives. Starting Question: How would you define identity and why is it important? Identity is at the center of the work of the cross and we see this throughout the sc...

"Do not love the world nor the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him (1 John 2:15)." This is a challenging and very definitive statement, but what does it mean to love the world?  Loving the world in this negative context, refers to the desire and pursuit of fulfillment therein. In other words, it is the belief that possessing, experiencing, and feeling things in the world will in some way sate an otherwise unsatisfied life.  Seeking satisfaction in the world means that we are not satisfied in God alone and therefore will never be content, even if we come to possess the thing that we desire. As we look into this issue further, it is not is a call to the Gnostic approach to life; which is to deny the physical completely to pursue only the spiritual.  God made the world and said that it was 'good', and we are given the blessing of enjoying this world; we just cannot become a slave to it.  Enslavement, being in b...

We are excellent at religiously regulating our lives around a set of principles and practices.  We do it all the time, and manage to hide behind all sorts of theology and practice; but nevertheless, it will not do.  There is something beautiful about being in Christ, a mystery of union that is only supernatural.  We need God to renew our minds so that we can step into a life of power and transformation that supercedes our 'normal' standards and experiences. So, what are we talking about here? Primarily that we are excellent at supplementing and compartmentalizing our lives.  We know intellectually many things about the Christian life and what it means to follow Jesus.  We have many phrases like wwjd, our faith journey, and learning to walk the Christian life.  I believe that many times these phrases are used out of an incomplete revelation that keeps us stuck following principles rather than living a life from the inside out. Let me try to explain that ...

It says in scripture that we shall be known by our fruit (Matthew 7:16). We also read that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control; against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23).  'Against no law' means that we cannot produce these fruits with our own effort. "For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit , nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit .  For each tree is known by its own fruit .  For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes form a briar bush.  The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart (Luke 6:43-45)." Pressure situations will always reveal the true nature of the fruit we bear.  We can put on a good show when things are going well, but it...