Indagatio Veri

Read this out-loud to yourself. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as HE chose me in Him before the foundation of the world, that I should be holy and blameless before Him.  In love HE predestined me for adoption as a son through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of HIS will, to the praise of HIS glorious grace, with which HE has blessed me in the beloved.  In HIM I have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of my trespasses, according to the riches of HIS grace, which HE lavished upon me, in all wisdom and insight making known to me the mystery of HIS will, according to HIS purpose, which HE set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in HIM , things in heaven and things on earth. In HIM  I have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of HIM  who works all things ac...

'These signs will follow those who believe. . . (Mark 16:17)' 'He confirmed His word with the signs that accompanied it. . . (Mark 16:20)' 'You will do even greater things than I have done. . .  (John 14:12)' 'Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons; freely you have received freely give. . (Matthew 10:8) The very idea of God revolves around the understanding that there is something, or someone, supernatural (above nature).  Jesus, the incarnate God, is supernatural intervention itself. His life was marked by the miraculous because He was a walking miracle; God in human form. In the verses above, Jesus commissions His disciples to walk in the miraculous power of God.  In fact, when He ascended back into heaven He instructs them to 'wait until you have been imbued with power from on high (Luke 24:49).' Here is the principle; miracles will always be where God is simply because He is 'super'natural' himse...

April fools day, the 1 st day of the month of April, is a day where practical jokes are not only expected but encouraged. It is where you try to outwit, mess with, and prank those around you. Of course the best pranks are those that you don't see coming. In order to truly make a fool out of someone, your prank needs portray them as silly, incompetent, or stupid. . . at least that is how we traditionally view it. Some classic April Fools jokes include, but are not limited to, the rubber band on the spray nozzle, a bucket of water above the door, rearranging a room, or saran wrap on the toilet seat. Yet there is something, or someone, that has made the population of the world over look like an even bigger bunch of fools. The greatest April's fools joke of all time is still offending the proud and overly serious to this day. Besides April Fools, the month of April is also when we celebrate Easter, the death and resurrection of our Lord! Some of you may be calling me to stop...

It is the kindness of the Lord that renews our minds, the forgiveness of God in the face of our self-condemnation that ultimately sets us free. God passed all judgement to the son who came not to judge the world but to save the world. We are saved by grace so that no one may boast. The only way to miss out on the eternal party is to hold steadfastly to the idea that you can somehow dictate your s tance before God. The Gospel is offensive; it offends every religious idea of self-ascension, good living, and winning in this life. Jesus came to save the broken, the losers, the sinners, in fact He died for us while we were still sinners. It is not those who are broken that get left behind but those who cling to the idea that they can fix themselves up. There is restoration but it comes in a way that we don't expect, in fact it has nothing to do with us at all. Life out of death, strength out of weakness, wisdom out of foolishness (1 Cor. 1). Trying to grasp onto life, to make something ...

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...