Simple Truths about the Gospel: "The way to the Father is open"

Something that I've been reflecting on lately has been, looking to see what Scripture means for God in His relation to people. Christians are very good at understanding Scripture in what is means for us in relation to God which is right and good. But, what has really brought me even greater breakthrough and understanding has been the former, in understanding God's perspective towards people in light of Jesus' death and resurrection. At first glance, they may seem the same, but in reality are actually two different sides of the same coin. Gaining an understanding of both sides will truly help bring even greater clarity and understanding of what it means to be in relationship with God.

As a qualifying statement before I get into this blog today, I want to say that I am still in process, ever growing in greater revelation of the Gospel and Christ. These are my thoughts and rumblings as I engage with Holy Spirit and the Word of God. But hear my heart, my starting point in all of this is Christ. He is the ultimate revelation of God and my conviction is that we must look to Him first and allow His life and ministry to be the lens we use when reading Scripture because He is the exact representation of God (Hebrews 1:3).

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

I used to only understand this verse from the perspective of man looking up towards God, meaning we now have access to God through Christ's sacrifice on a Cross for sin which I still think is right and true. But, on the flip side, this also means that from God's perspective: Right now God the Father is actually looking to the earth and what He sees is Christ's sacrifice for sin and is calling people home.

Understanding God's current perspective brings another dimension to our understanding of the Cross and has some important implications which I will expand on.

Now, what started me down this path was a Holy Spirit inspired revelation to simply ask a couple questions (because questions are always good, but asking the right questions in the right moment/season is crucial): 

• When did Christ actually die for sin? 
• Did Jesus actually die for all sin, for all time?

These simply questions have helped me to begin to see this verse and others from God's perspective because if Jesus paid the price for all sin, for all time 2000 years ago, this means that the sin barrier that blocked the way to the Father was opened and unblocked the day Christ died. I think this is the significance of the veil in the Temple that blocked the way into the Holy of Holies which represented the place where God's Presence dwelt was torn from top to bottom (Matthew 27:50-51). 

This means that since this time way back when, from God's perspective there has been no barrier between Him and Man. 

Pause and think about that for a moment. Come Holy Spirit!

Yes, we all still need to put our faith and trust in believing the Gospel because this reality is not automatically imparted to us. This only happens through believing in the Truth. And rather than the traditional understanding, that when we believe in Jesus the gates of Heaven are opened for us to enter; what I am starting to see is that from God's perspective, after Jesus became sin on the Cross (2 Corinthians 5:21), He died, was resurrected and then ascended into Heaven. In so doing He has opened up the gates to Heaven and has since left these gates open. Are you tracking with me? The way to the Father is open. 

If this is true, than the ramifications of this are huge because this means that since Christ's sacrifice (for roughly the last 2000 years) God has stopped being the "so called" Punisher of Sin because all of God's wrath towards Sin has been propitiated or atoned for. Let me pause here and give you a little food for thought. There is a line of thinking that actually relates the wrath of God to the built in consequences of sin (kind of like reaping and sowing) in which God allows to happen (some may call this the passive wrath of God), rather than a direct emotional response from God Himself. Hmm, interesting thought eh?

1 John 4:10 "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (NKJV). 

I would also add here that the wrath of God was never directed towards Christ Himself, but only at Sin, in which Jesus became (2 Corinthians 5:21). This again changes our understanding of the goodness of God. On the Cross, the Father was not punishing the Son, but rather Sin alone. Maybe He was even allowing the built in consequences of Sin to happen where He redemptively withdrew and in so doing opened the way for evil and the Enemies of God to mete out their punishment because the "wages of Sin is death" (Romans 6:23). 

2 Corinthians 5:21 "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God."

I mean think about, if you believe that God is still punishing people for sin, than what you are implying is that God is both Punisher and Savior. It's like me punishing my daughter Seraphina, so that she would cry out to me to save her. That's kind of twisted, a whole lot manipulative and quite frankly not a very good father. No, God the Father can genuinely call and invite people to Himself because He was never the "so called" Punisher of Sin, but is and has always been our Savior from Sin, who is continually showing us love, grace and mercy, especially if and when we do sin. I will probably also blog on this because it is quite the dichotomy: is God the Punisher of Sin or our Savior from Sin? Can He be both? 

What we need to understand is that there is enough sin and evil running rampant in the world to bring about more than enough pain, suffering, sickness and punishment to people. We must fully believe that God is the author of life and not death; and that we can have complete confidence in the Truth that the death and resurrection of Jesus has fully paid the price for all sin, for all time and that His sacrifice is enough, and we don't need to go on paying for the price of sin with our lives. Is God our Savior or not? Sometimes, is not good enough. He either is or He isn't.

On the Cross Jesus said "it was finished" (John 19:30) and quite frankly I believe Him! Jesus is our Savior always and forever.

Be Encouraged! Embrace the Truth of the Gospel and Stand Free! You are deeply, deeply loved by God. 

Exploring the Unknown

As 2017 begins, I have found renewed peace in exploring the unknown which is very exciting. I am reminded of God's invitation to all who would come to Him.

"Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known" (Jeremiah 33:3 ESV)

I've come to the revelation (yet again) that the Presence of God within me (aka the Holy Spirit) is my safe place. This means that no matter what lies ahead I am in good Hands. Sure this is easier said than done, but hey aren't most things worth doing?

Soaking Prayer: Leaning into and Resting in God's Presence

The end of the year can be a very busy season which is why it is also a perfect time to intentionally and actively lean into and rest in God's presence. Something that I have practiced over the years has been soaking prayer. Soaking prayer falls into the category of Christian mysticism and focuses on the manifest experience of union with Christ. Soaking prayer is simply positioning oneself to behold the beauty and majesty of Christ and be loved by Him. It is not uncommon for a person to receive visions & revelations and encounters & breakthroughs while soaking in God's presence. Soaking prayer makes room for God to move and bring deeper transformation to us. 

"Because God's presence is always with us, He is the answer to the spiritual warfare we face. The peace of having Him overshadow our lives gives us a powerful weapon. Many times in Israel's history, God told the people to do unconventional things: sing, march, shout, wait. "you don't need to fight," He whispered to them "because this isn't about you, it's about Me. I'm not asking you to strive and pull down things, I'm asking you to make room for Me too act." (Graham Cooke, "Beholding and Becoming" p.16). 

Soaking prayer also involves actively embracing the rest Jesus offers to a person. "Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV). 

• Resting is the act of quietly and confidently allowing yourself to be in the presence of God. Resting is the absence of work, worry, fear, even performance. Resting empowers us to learn from Jesus in how to be with God. Rest is a gift from Jesus to us.

• Soaking in God's presence is one way we can learn to entering into God's rest. When we soak in God's presence we learn to switch off our souls and allow our spirit to be attentive to God. Resting helps us become more aware of His love, care and purposes for us. 

• When we learn to rest in God, we learn how to receive and respond to who God is for us. Resting removes both the inward and outward pressures we feel and opens us up to the person of Jesus. In a place of rest our heart, our inner man, becomes accessible to God. It is in rest that we receive ministry from the Holy Spirit. 

• Rest is a form of freedom from work, from human striving and acquisitiveness and from worldly preoccupations. It is the relinquishing of human self-assertion and an embracing of greater trust in God. The willingness to rest is a sign of peace and faith in God because rest is a form of letting go of human control. 

Hebrews 4:9-11 (NLT) " So there is a special rest still waiting for the people of God. For all who have entered into God's rest have rested from their labors, just as God did after creating the world. So let us do our best to enter that rest. But if we disobey God, as the people of Israel did, we will fall."

• This means we must make the time to actively enter into the rest God has already allocated to us. The best image I can think of in terms of soaking prayer is that of laying on the sandy shores of an ocean and letting the waves continually and consistently wash over you again and again. So when soaking, it is best to physically lay down while listening to various worship songs and allowing the love and presence of God to wash over you like ocean waves. 

• This can mean meditating on the Word of God and allowing the biblical truths about God Himself and His Kingdom shape and define us in deep and significant ways. This can include listening to the names of God being recited over and over again, letting them wash over you until the truths about who God is sink into and shape your heart and mind towards God.

• This can mean listening to worship music that focuses on the love and peace of God over and over again, allowing the Spirit of God to manifest and release His rest upon your heart and soul until you open up wide to receive the flow of God's love and peace into the deepest parts of your being.

• This can mean listening to prophetic words and songs that help to position your soul to receive the ministry of the Holy Spirit in searching out any dark and lonely places that need the light and gentle touch of God's presence.

If you have never experienced soaking prayer, give yourself time to learn to rest and receive from the Lord. Oftentimes, it takes time for us to learn to slow down from the busyness of life and allow the Spirit of God to declutter our minds and unburden our hearts. Here are a few links to some songs that I myself enjoy during my times of soaking prayer and that also help me to lean into and rest in the presence of God. 

Something Greater

We are currently on the brink of war. The Middle East is churning with all sorts of turmoil. But, this shouldn't be a surprise. ISIS has been recruiting members for years. In this past year I have been reading more and more stories of young men and women joining ISIS (the Islamic extremist group). In one article a young man states, "We need the engineers, we need doctors, we need professionals. Every person can contribute something to the Islamic State" (emphasis mine). In another article, another young Australian man told a Mosque worker, "he wanted to make something of his life." This is just a snapshot of two individuals, but collectively the general consensus is the same, people are searching for purpose and meaning. 

I believe what the world is desperately hungry to see is real genuine faith in action. People like these two men are looking for something greater than themselves to believe in and to give themselves to wholeheartedly. As Christians, we hold something greater. When is the last time you reflecting on this truth? I mean think about it, Christian have the Holy Spirit living within them. Wow! This is an almost too good to be true truth. But, it's true! Not only this, but Jesus has inviting us to join Him on the ultimate mission of loving and serving all peoples of the world by sharing the greatest news ever! The Good News of salvation. How awesome is that?

But the sad reality is that most Christians haven't either fully embraced these amazing truths or don't actually see them as amazing truths. Rarely are they actively engaging in relationship with the Holy Spirit and so many do not see the mission Jesus sets before us as truly fantastic and marvelous. Rather, the Holy Spirit has become this impersonal force not to be engaged and the mission of Jesus has become optional. 

This is my prayer: that the Almighty God of the universe and of love would grip your heart with the amazing truth that HE has something greater for you.