Monday, March 31, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Lie #79 You Grow In Holiness
Number 78 is missing because of a problem I discovered since I left home for the conference in Orlando. Apparently, my camera stopped in mid stream when I was recording, so didn't get all the video. I'll put up #78 at the end of this week. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep putting up the ones that follow until then.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Radical Freedom Conference In Orlando
The top two photos were taken in the conference tonight.
The bottom photo is Melanie and me with Paul Young, author of the book The Shack. Paul was also speaking in the same church tonight. If you haven't bought and read his book, I can't encourage you enough to get it. I loved it.My dear friend, Paul Anderson-Walsh and I are in Orlando this weekend, where we are co-teaching the "Radical Freedom Conference." Our goal is to paint picture of the incredible freedom we have in Christ, using the canvas of Paul's letter to the Galatians.
Tonight, I spoke from Galatians 1 on "A Radical Difference" (between the law and grace) and Paul spoke from Galatians 2 on "A Radical Life." Paul is one of the most engaging and effective speakers on God's grace that I've heard. It is always a joy to minister with him. We plan to lead another conference in London, England (his home) this July. I want to invite you to come if you can. It would be a great opportunity to enjoy a Bible conference and vacation in what is my favorite city outside the U.S. Check my web site for dates and details.
On another note, it's very late and I have to be out of here at seven tomorrrow morning, so I'm not going to produce and upload one of the 101 Lies for Saturday. Check back on Sunday for the next one.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Our Easter Day
Another of the 101 Lies will be here on the blog early tomorrow morning. I decided to "take the day off" on Easter and not post one.
After a sunrise service on St Pete Beach this morning, I went with Melanie and Cheryl (GW Admn Manager) to Busch Gardens this afternoon, where we saw Herman's Hermits in concert. Peter Noone (Herman) was my absolute favorite singer early in my teen years. He is only a few years older than me, but he and his group were among those at the top of "the British invasion" back then.
This was the second year we have heard them at Busch Gardens. The video clip below is a five minute segment of their performance today. If you're in my age group and liked them, I think you'll enjoy it. Peter is full of enthusiasm when he performs and has a great sense of humor.He comes across as an all-around nice guy. It makes me feel very childlike and nostalgic to hear him. I've often said that music is the closest thing to a time machine we will ever experience in life. Today, I went back to the 60s and enjoyed the feelings of being a child again.
After a sunrise service on St Pete Beach this morning, I went with Melanie and Cheryl (GW Admn Manager) to Busch Gardens this afternoon, where we saw Herman's Hermits in concert. Peter Noone (Herman) was my absolute favorite singer early in my teen years. He is only a few years older than me, but he and his group were among those at the top of "the British invasion" back then.
This was the second year we have heard them at Busch Gardens. The video clip below is a five minute segment of their performance today. If you're in my age group and liked them, I think you'll enjoy it. Peter is full of enthusiasm when he performs and has a great sense of humor.He comes across as an all-around nice guy. It makes me feel very childlike and nostalgic to hear him. I've often said that music is the closest thing to a time machine we will ever experience in life. Today, I went back to the 60s and enjoyed the feelings of being a child again.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
My Favorite City In America
Savannah is my favorite city in America. (My favorite city outside this country is London.) On Sherman's March to the Sea, Savannah is the only city he didn't burn - because of it's beauty. Consequently, the city is filled with pre civil war colonial homes. The Spanish moss hangs off the giant Live Oak Trees as if God decorated it. (He did.) I feel nostalgic emotions when I'm in Savannah that are almost palpable. I was born in Savannah and spent much time there as a child with my grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins. I feel stirred every time I'm there, especially since much my family is now in heaven. It makes me think of the old song "Precious Memories" we used to sing at my great-grandmother's birthday celebration when I was a child. That's what it is for me anytime I visit Savannah.
If you get the chance to visit Savannah, you certainly will enjoy yourself. Don't miss Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House, where you'll get the best authentic southern meal you've ever eaten.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Technical Difficulties and The Coming Grace Revolution
There won’t be a video today because of a “technical difficulty” on my computer that is keeping me from being able to upload it. It will upload 99% of the file then freeze and won’t finish. I’m out of time as far as trying to get it fixed this morning goes, but will get it back on track again tomorrow.
In the meantime, I’ll take the chance to post this “old fashioned way” again. Actually, I’ve had several people express that, while they love the videos, they would like to see me post articles too. So I think I’ll start doing both. I’ll keep putting up the 101 Lies each day but will along the way intersperse articles and personal updates too. One person said he missed keeping up with me and the daily goings-on in our lives through the blog. So those of you who are newcomers to this blog (and there are many) will have to start putting up with verbiage, pictures and maybe even videos about my grandchildren, accounts of Melanie’s and my leisure activities, and the likes. I apologize in advance, but I did warn people when I started this blog over a year ago that personal stuff would be a part of the mix.
For now, let me take a moment to address something that I’ve noticed often happens when people begin to understand the grace walk. I’ve seen it a lot from many who have corresponded with me about the 101 Lies as they see their perspectives and viewpoints changing.
What I’m referring to are the doubts that people sometimes find arising in their minds about what they are beginning to see. “Is this for real?”one guy asked me. “I don’t want to be misled. I want my beliefs to be in line with God’s Word.”
I get it. I felt the same way when the Holy Spirit began to teach me the things I’m sharing through my blog, books and teachings. Let’s face it – the grace walk so contradicts the way many of us grew up believing was the right approach to the Christian life. It may even contradict what we’ve believed up until this moment.
So, when the Holy Spirit “starts messing with” our belief system, it’s a little scary. After all, we’ve lived in the security of our beliefs for a long time and to have somebody come along putting forth views that contradict what we have believed is unsettling. We don’t want to be led astray and besides that, grace is downright scary after living in legalism for a lot of years. It’s scary for one reason: it leaves us totally out of control. We can no longer be in charge of our Christian walk, knowing that when we do this, then that will happen. In other words, we stop being able to control things, including God. And nobody likes that on the front end.
We want a god who reacts to what we do. That way, He’s predictable. And anything you can predict, you can most likely manage.
Questioning the Truth once we begin to see it isn’t unusual. John the Baptist had preached for a long time about the coming of Jesus the Messiah. With a scraggly beard, grasshoppers on his breath, and ragged clothes he screamed with authority, “He’s coming! He’s coming! He’s coming!” Then when Jesus showed up JB pointed and said, “There He is! I told you He was coming! That’s Him! That’s Him! That’s Him!”
A short time later John found himself in prison, alone with his thoughts. When somebody visited him in jail, he asked, “Will you do me a favor? When you see Jesus, will you ask him if he is really the one? Or do we need to keep looking?”
I love the answer Jesus gave. He said, “Go tell John what you’ve seen – how the blind can now see, the deaf can now hear, the crippled can now walk. Tell him how those who were bound up have been set free.” In other words, “the proof is in the pudding.”
If John the Baptist had his doubts after seeing the Truth face to face, don’t be surprised if you have second thoughts about what you might be learning. But take it from somebody who has seen the proof in the pudding. People are being transformed. Blind eyes have seen things they’ve never seen before. Deaf ears are hearing truth from the Holy Spirit that is music to them. Those who have limped along in their Christian life for years are running with joy for the first time. People who have been in bondage to Sunday-after-Sunday dead religion have been set free.
I think a grace revolution is under way. In fact, I’m thinking of writing a book called The Coming Grace Revolution. In this revolution, those of us who are tired of the same-old-same-old we’ve heard declared for gospel truth for years only to now discover it’s a load of flesh are going to boldly take our stand. Mild mannered men with mild mannered approaches never usher in revolutions. The world isn’t changed by a namby-pamby submission to a system that is flat wrong. It’s time for us to stand up together and bring the message of Christ back to the front of the stage. The performance based, we-need-to-rededicate-ourselves-to-try-harder approach has been in the limelight long enough and has proven it doesn’t work. What works is Jesus Christ.
So is the message of the grace walk the truth? Absolutely. I plan to stake my life on it. Want to join the revolution?
In the meantime, I’ll take the chance to post this “old fashioned way” again. Actually, I’ve had several people express that, while they love the videos, they would like to see me post articles too. So I think I’ll start doing both. I’ll keep putting up the 101 Lies each day but will along the way intersperse articles and personal updates too. One person said he missed keeping up with me and the daily goings-on in our lives through the blog. So those of you who are newcomers to this blog (and there are many) will have to start putting up with verbiage, pictures and maybe even videos about my grandchildren, accounts of Melanie’s and my leisure activities, and the likes. I apologize in advance, but I did warn people when I started this blog over a year ago that personal stuff would be a part of the mix.
For now, let me take a moment to address something that I’ve noticed often happens when people begin to understand the grace walk. I’ve seen it a lot from many who have corresponded with me about the 101 Lies as they see their perspectives and viewpoints changing.
What I’m referring to are the doubts that people sometimes find arising in their minds about what they are beginning to see. “Is this for real?”one guy asked me. “I don’t want to be misled. I want my beliefs to be in line with God’s Word.”
I get it. I felt the same way when the Holy Spirit began to teach me the things I’m sharing through my blog, books and teachings. Let’s face it – the grace walk so contradicts the way many of us grew up believing was the right approach to the Christian life. It may even contradict what we’ve believed up until this moment.
So, when the Holy Spirit “starts messing with” our belief system, it’s a little scary. After all, we’ve lived in the security of our beliefs for a long time and to have somebody come along putting forth views that contradict what we have believed is unsettling. We don’t want to be led astray and besides that, grace is downright scary after living in legalism for a lot of years. It’s scary for one reason: it leaves us totally out of control. We can no longer be in charge of our Christian walk, knowing that when we do this, then that will happen. In other words, we stop being able to control things, including God. And nobody likes that on the front end.
We want a god who reacts to what we do. That way, He’s predictable. And anything you can predict, you can most likely manage.
Questioning the Truth once we begin to see it isn’t unusual. John the Baptist had preached for a long time about the coming of Jesus the Messiah. With a scraggly beard, grasshoppers on his breath, and ragged clothes he screamed with authority, “He’s coming! He’s coming! He’s coming!” Then when Jesus showed up JB pointed and said, “There He is! I told you He was coming! That’s Him! That’s Him! That’s Him!”
A short time later John found himself in prison, alone with his thoughts. When somebody visited him in jail, he asked, “Will you do me a favor? When you see Jesus, will you ask him if he is really the one? Or do we need to keep looking?”
I love the answer Jesus gave. He said, “Go tell John what you’ve seen – how the blind can now see, the deaf can now hear, the crippled can now walk. Tell him how those who were bound up have been set free.” In other words, “the proof is in the pudding.”
If John the Baptist had his doubts after seeing the Truth face to face, don’t be surprised if you have second thoughts about what you might be learning. But take it from somebody who has seen the proof in the pudding. People are being transformed. Blind eyes have seen things they’ve never seen before. Deaf ears are hearing truth from the Holy Spirit that is music to them. Those who have limped along in their Christian life for years are running with joy for the first time. People who have been in bondage to Sunday-after-Sunday dead religion have been set free.
I think a grace revolution is under way. In fact, I’m thinking of writing a book called The Coming Grace Revolution. In this revolution, those of us who are tired of the same-old-same-old we’ve heard declared for gospel truth for years only to now discover it’s a load of flesh are going to boldly take our stand. Mild mannered men with mild mannered approaches never usher in revolutions. The world isn’t changed by a namby-pamby submission to a system that is flat wrong. It’s time for us to stand up together and bring the message of Christ back to the front of the stage. The performance based, we-need-to-rededicate-ourselves-to-try-harder approach has been in the limelight long enough and has proven it doesn’t work. What works is Jesus Christ.
So is the message of the grace walk the truth? Absolutely. I plan to stake my life on it. Want to join the revolution?
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
101 Lies Taught In Church Every Sunday - Lie #69 We Should Work For God
Okay, I'm busted. Did you see the video blog earlier this morning? I put up Lie 69 very early today . . . unedited. So there I was, about a minute into it, when I stopped and said, "This isn't making any sense. I've gotta do it again." So I started over, only to stop again and have to try a third time to get it right.
My good friend, Ken Blose, a former TV producer (who produced the Grace Walk Experience videos) sent me an email telling me that my "bloopers" edition was online and needed to be pulled down. My heart stopped. Sure enough, there is was. I checked to see how many people had watched it... 53 of you. You know who you are :) I immediately pulled it off and reproduced the one you see above.
My apologies for the previous blunder, though I suspect that, if you're honest, all 53 of you found some sort of fiendish pleasure in seeing me make an idiot of myself. :) I guess it could have been worse. At least I didn't cuss when I messed up :) Now the secret's out - I'm not perfect. Yeah, right. My mother was the only one to ever believe that and, now that she's in heaven, even she knows better!
Monday, March 17, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
101 Lies Taught In Church Every Sunday - Lie #63 The Holy Spirit Convicts Us Of Our Sin
As I've mentioned, I realize this will probably be one of the most controversial of the lies I list in this series. Is there anywhere in the New Testament that you can find where the Holy Spirit convicts a Christian of sinning? There's not one.
Daniel said that when the Messiah came, He would bring an end to sin (see Daniel9:24). Many millennia passed after his prophecy until one day John the Baptist saw Jesus walking up to him at the Jordon River and he cried out, "Look! It's the Lamb of God who has come to take away the sins of the world! On the night before He was crucified, at The Last Supper, Jesus said that the wine represented His blood which was about to be shed for the forgiveness of sins. The next day from the cross, He cried out in triumph, "It is finished!" (What was finished? Sin had been defeated.) Later, the writer of Hebrews would say that Jesus had come to "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. (See Hebrews 9:24) John said that he came to "take away the sins of the world." (See 1 John 3:5) Did He succeed or fail at what these verses say He came to do?
Hebrews 9:28 says that when Jesus comes back, He won't even mention our sins.
If He came to put it away, did He succeed? If He has no plans to bring up our sins when He returns the second time; if all our sins have been paid for (see Colossians 2:13-14); why would the Holy Spirit call our attention to them now? Hebrews 10:1-2 says that when we know we are cleansed, we lose consciousness of sins.
Make no mistake about it. Your sins have been put away. What the Holy Spirit does when we now sin is to convict/convince us of who we really are. He shows us that we are able to live like the righteous child of God He has made us to be. He motivates us to live like that and, in the process, we will abandon the sin that caused us to stumble in the first place.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Monday, March 10, 2008
Ministsry On Sunday in Boerne, Texas
Yesterday I spoke at Faith Bible Church in Boerne, where the people were very receptive to the message of the grace walk. Pastor Tom Lanier established the church ten years ago after he came to understand the grace walk and was consumed with the desire to share it with other people.
The pastor teaches on the radio on a local station that reachs out about 125 miles. He told me that he once took my book Grace Walk and each day read a part of it on his program, until he eventually read the whole book. At the end of the program each day, he would offer the book as a free gift to anyone who called in for it.
It's exciting to see pastors who have been transformed by the revelation of the truth. In the next issue of The Grace Vine (our newsletter), you'll find an article where I'm challenging us all to reach out and share the book with 10,000 pastors during this year. Be sure to read that article. (If you haven't already subscribed to my newsletter, send an email to info@gracewalk.org and indicate that you want to get it and you'll be added to the list.)
Pastors have the potential to reach the church world with this message. If enough come to know the truth, the spiritual climate of the church can be changed. I am thankful for men like Tom Lanier who are passionate to see this message spread!
The pastor teaches on the radio on a local station that reachs out about 125 miles. He told me that he once took my book Grace Walk and each day read a part of it on his program, until he eventually read the whole book. At the end of the program each day, he would offer the book as a free gift to anyone who called in for it.
It's exciting to see pastors who have been transformed by the revelation of the truth. In the next issue of The Grace Vine (our newsletter), you'll find an article where I'm challenging us all to reach out and share the book with 10,000 pastors during this year. Be sure to read that article. (If you haven't already subscribed to my newsletter, send an email to info@gracewalk.org and indicate that you want to get it and you'll be added to the list.)
Pastors have the potential to reach the church world with this message. If enough come to know the truth, the spiritual climate of the church can be changed. I am thankful for men like Tom Lanier who are passionate to see this message spread!
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Saturday, March 08, 2008
Friday, March 07, 2008
Ministry in Boerne, Texas
I'm at First Baptist Church in Boerne, Texas (a suburb of San Antonio) where I taught in a Grace Walk Conference tonight. The conference ends tomorrow afternoon. It's encouraging to see such a hunger for the grace walk message. There were over 300 people here from many churches. Some came from other states, including Washington, North Carolina, and Montana.
I believe that the Holy Spirit is stirring up a revolution of grace among those who are tired of stale, legalistic religion and are hungry to know and experience the reality of resurrection life. Everywhere I go I find those who attest to the transforming effect the truth has had on their lives and of their desire to spread the message.
In the March issue of The Grace Vine, I hope you'll read the article I've written about formally starting Grace Walk Groups around the world. This will allow those of us who want to spread the grace walk message to unite together in a concentrated effort to make this wonderful gospel of grace known through partnering together, marching to the same beat. More info to come on that subject later . . .
I believe that the Holy Spirit is stirring up a revolution of grace among those who are tired of stale, legalistic religion and are hungry to know and experience the reality of resurrection life. Everywhere I go I find those who attest to the transforming effect the truth has had on their lives and of their desire to spread the message.
In the March issue of The Grace Vine, I hope you'll read the article I've written about formally starting Grace Walk Groups around the world. This will allow those of us who want to spread the grace walk message to unite together in a concentrated effort to make this wonderful gospel of grace known through partnering together, marching to the same beat. More info to come on that subject later . . .