Go To Hell (I Didn't Say It...Paul Did)

I don't think the Apostle Paul would do well in the climate of today's church world. The most popular preachers these days are those who make everybody love them by their winsome personalities and gentle words. That wouldn't fly with Paul. He made it clear that the goal of causing people to like him wasn't on his radar anywhere. (See Galatians 1:10)

He was on a mission to spread a message and his passion sometimes overran a proper protocol of what most would consider good manners. In fact, most church folks today might develop a nervous tick around him. To tell the truth, I would have been nervous about asking him to be a guest speaker in the churches where I served as pastor. He's the kind of guy about whom I used to say, "You have to put out fires after he speaks at your church." The things that man would say took more nerve than I have, that's for sure.

For instance, what would you think if you heard a preacher today say, "If somebody else tells you something different about the gospel than what I've told you, he can go to hell."? I suppose that even the fact that I raise this question may cause you to wince. It sounds wrong even to ask such a thing, doesn't it? That's because you've been conditioned by the politically correct world you live in today. The fact is that the Apostle Paul said exactly that. Where? Galatians 1:8. Here's how various translations put it:

NASV: But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed!

NIV: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!

KJV: But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

Good News Translation: But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you, may he be condemned to hell!

The translators in this list who had the nerve to give the closest literal meaning was the last one. May he be "condemned to hell" they rightly say.

The word "accursed" is the Greek word anathema. It means to be set aside and doomed for destruction. The commonly understood meaning was to be sentenced to hell. So Paul knew exactly what he was saying.

In fact, to make sure people knew it wasn't a slip of the tongue due to a momentary surge of emotion and lapse in judgment, he repeats in verse nine: "As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."

Whew, Paul you make me nervous. Go ahead and talk that way if you want to, but don't expect me to follow you on that one.

Whatever you think about his approach, one thing is for sure. He felt so passionate about the subject of grace that he was willing to say that anybody could go to hell who taught something different.

They're hard words, but they are in the Bible, spoken by one that most people might call the greatest Christian who ever lived. I'm not asking you to follow suit with your terminology, but I do think it's time that those of us who love the message of grace step up to the plate and speak boldly about what we know is true.

A grace revolution is underway and it won't be carried forward by people who are too afraid to plainly speak the truth. Be bold. What's at risk in the modern church is too important for us to be tentative about what we're doing.

The Lord Is In This Place

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it." Genesis 28:16



The 28th chapter of Genesis describes a time in the life of Jacob when he found himself caught in the wilderness when the sun went down. The Bible says that "since the sun had set," he camped there for the night, using a stone for a pillow. Even for a man living in ancient times, this had to be an uncomfortable way to spend a night. He obviously hadn't come prepared for sleeping outside.

During the night he saw a vision of heaven opening up and angels going up and down a ladder that connected earth to heaven. The next morning "when he awoke from his sleep, he thought 'Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it.'"

We've all found ourselves in the same place at times in life. We're traveling along life's journey when the sun goes down and we find ourselves caught in the dark. It's not a place we want to be, but it's where we are and the only thing we can do is to make the best of a bad situation. We would prefer the comforts of home, but have to accept the fact that a rock is the only pillow we'll have for now.

What are we to do in those moments when we feel alone, in the dark, in the wilderness? The answer is to open our eyes and see the reality beyond our superficial circumstances. It was when Jacob woke up that he said, "Surely the Lord is in this place and I wasn't aware of it." Make no mistake about it, the Lord is with you wherever you are right now. In the darkness of your night, in the desolation of your wilderness, in the discomfort of your position, He is with you.

When Jacob saw that reality, suddenly his perspective on the situation changed. No longer was the stone pillow something to despise. Now, because he saw God in the situation, that hard place became a holy place. Verses 18-19 says, "He took the stone he had used for his pillow and stood it up as a memorial pillar and poured oil over it. He christened the place Bethel (God's House)."

The hardest places of our lives are holy places because we aren't alone. Maybe the greatest need in your life at this very moment isn't that your situation would change, but instead that you wake up. Open your eyes and see that "the Lord is in this place." You may not have been aware of it until now, but you can open your eyes and see. He is with you, working out the details of your life even when it makes no sense. The circumstances may seem hard, but you can know that the Holy Spirit covers your situation as surely as the oil covered the rock on which Jacob slept. You aren't alone. Trust Him. He is with you and will guide you along your journey at every step, even when you find yourself in the dark, sleeping in hard places.

You've Heard It Said . . .

Jesus was a radical man with a radical mission. In expressing the life and love of His Father, He didn't hesitate to turn the apple carts of theology and tradition upside down. This habit outraged the religious leaders of His day. In fact, it was ultimately those very people who "signed his death warrant."

Many a sermon has been preached about The Sermon On The Mount in Matthew chapter five. Most often we are told how those verses show us the way to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. The sermons often sound so lofty, so sweet, so sentimental that you can almost hear angelic harps playing in the background. But an honest look at that chapter casts the sermon in anything other than a light that would produce "warm-fuzzies" in those who would have heard it.

Jesus said some hard stuff that day; things that wouldn't have set well at all with those who thought they were all ready to be a part of the Kingdom they wanted Him to establish on the earth. There is one phrase that had to have shaken them to the core. Five times in the chapter, He said, "You have heard it said . . . but I say to you."

Having stated the traditional teaching, Jesus then went on to rip it apart by showing how religious platitudes aren't enough. He made it clear that the Kingdom He came to establish wouldn't walk along nicely and quietly beside the religious lifestyle they had carved out for themselves. In fact, to walk in step with Him would require a radical kind of response that religious people wouldn't understand at all. Their radical response would begin with an acknowledgment that what they had heard wasn't the whole truth... and a half-truth is a lie.

What things have you heard said that are out of step with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

You've heard it said that you should dedicate yourself to God and do your best if you want to be a good Christian, but He says unto you that you must deny yourself (see Matthew 16:24) and realize that if your best was enough His death would have been in vain. (see Galatians 2:21)

You've heard it said that you should constantly examine yourself to see if there is any sin in your life, but He says to you that when you understand the finished work of the cross and that you have been perfectly cleansed by His blood, you'll stop even thinking about sins. (See Hebrews 10:1-2)

You've heard it said that it is hard to live the Christian life and that it takes serious commitment to stand against the world, but He says that if you love Him you will keep His commandments and it won't even be a struggle. (See John 14:15 and 1 John 5:3)

You've heard it said that you need to change things about yourself if you really want to be a good Christian, but He says that it isn't possible for you to change yourself and that He will take care of any changes in you that need to be made. (See Philippians 1:6 and 1 Thessalonians 5:24)

You've heard a lot, but don't believe everything you hear. A grace revolution is underway. It will gain momentum as more and more Christians think for themselves and go back to what the Word of God says instead of believing everything they're told. Don't worry if Jesus turns over your religious applecart. They're rotten apples anyway and bad fruit never made anybody anything but sick.

Celebrating The Greatest Gift I Have Been Given

The story is so integral to my life that practically everybody who has ever heard me speak knows it. I tell it everywhere I go because, after all these years, I still am overwhelmed with gratitude for what God did.

The year was 1970 and I was a sixteen year old boy. I had been depressed for months, in a way that only a melodramatic teen can really understand. The reason for my depression was that I felt alone. I had friends, many of them. But what I didn't have was what I wanted most -- a girlfriend.

I had prayed for God to send me a girl, but nothing had happened. Little did I know that a Sunday in August was about to change all that. I sat on the back row in the Sunday School class when a friend walked into the room. Behind her was a girl I had never seen but was glad to see now. In fact, since I hadn't seen her in sixteen years, I stared as if I were trying to make up for lost time.

She had a sweet, girl-next-door sort of look about her. When school started back that year, she soon was elected to be on the Homecoming Court in her high school. I understood why. She was beautiful. I, on the other hand, was a skinny kid with pimples who still used Wild Root Hair Cream on a doofus hair style. She would later say that she dated me because I was funny. Thank God for humor. I had a million of 'em and they served me well. A groovy girl and a doofus boy. I had to have something going for me.

She began to attend Sunday School and church every week. What I lacked in assets I made up for in confidence. Before long I was sitting with her in church every week. I wanted to date her, but the risk of asking her out was too great. What if she said no? And why would she say yes? With all my self-confidence, I had enough sense to know I was in over my head. She was out of my league.

As the Homecoming Dance at her high school approached, she began to hint for me to take her. I wanted to, but I couldn't. I just couldn't, for one simple reason. I couldn't dance. I had never danced. After all, that's what people did in hell (or at least those who were going there.) I had always understood that the reason premarital sex was wrong was because it might lead to dancing.

But she wasn't brought up like me. She came from a dancin' family. The heathens. Her parents would even dance at home with all manner of music blaring on the HiFi. At my house we were listening to the Statesmen Quartet. At her house, it was Tom Jones and other hedonists. Hovie Lister or Tom Jones. You do the math.

So it came to pass that the day of the dance arrived. Because she had waited so long for me to ask her to go and I didn't, she had been forced to call James Henderson, an old childhood friend, who drove a Corvette, to take her. I knew he was coming. I also knew I had nobody to blame but myself. I hated myself for my social ineptness. How had I reached this age and not know how to dance? Oh yeah, it was my godly church and parents. The jerks.

I drove past her house in my little 1966 Simca (Google that and look at an image. It's humiliating.) There was his Corvette. The jerk. I could imagine them laughing inside the house. I could imagine how she would look, all dressed up in her miniskirt. (Remember she came from a bunch of heathens.) I could imagine them going to the dance and her dancing with him instead of me.

One good thing came out of that drive-by. I made up my mind to ask her out on a date. So the next week I did. She said "yes" and my world was turned aright. We went to see Barbara Streisand in "On A Clear Day You Can See Forever." It was a terrible movie, but I didn't care. I was with her. Afterward, we went to Pizza Villa and had a large pizza. She was beautiful in the glimmering candlelight. Something inside me came alive on that very night that has never waned in all these years.

On the drive home, I was trying to work up the nerve to do two things. 1. Ask her to go out again next week 2. Kiss her goodnight. As we pulled into the driveway and stopped, she said, "I had a really good time." "You did?" I asked. "Me too!" So I took the plunge. "Want to go out again next week?" "Sure, that would be fun," she answered. I think I heard the Hallelujah Chorus then. If not, I'm sure I did five seconds later.

For three years I dated her. I never even went out one time with anybody else. Then on May 10,1973 (her birthday), I asked her to marry me. We had gone to a Statesmen Quartet "singin'" (I swear) and then I drove her over to a nearby lake where I asked her to be my wife. She said yes.

I had asked her parents permission to propose to her and they had, reluctantly, said yes. I had told them we would marry after I finished college. I had just finished my freshman year. But the more we thought about it, waiting that long didn't make sense. (Remember I was a good boy and the Bible says it's better to marry than to burn. Her heathen ways allowed her to wear miniskirts. Figure it out.)

So she went back to her parents and asked, "What if we get married a year from now?" (This was May, remember.) They didn't like it, but agreed. "That worked well," we thought. So back to her parents she went again, "What if we get married in December?" They weren't happy about that at all, but saw that we were bent on it so they agreed. A few weeks later, Melanie went back: "We want to get married in July." Is there something you need to tell me? her mother asked. There wasn't. We were both virgins on our wedding night. Still, I'm sure both sets of parents must have sighed a great sigh of relief four months after we were married.

So that brings me to this date -- July 28. My Dad had always asked me not to marry until I was at least nineteen. So I turned nineteen on July 7 and married her three weeks later.

It was thirty-five years ago today that I married Melanie. Four children and three grandchildren later, here we are. What a time we have had. It has been awesome.

Melanie married a pastor. For almost 21 years we walked together in that role. Then since 1994, we've walked the path of "a traveling preacher." Through ministry trips, we've seen the world together - the Great Wall of China, Japanese temples, Big Ben,the Taj Majal, the fjords of Norway, wild animals on an African safari . . . the list goes on.

We've also known the hard times. Like most people, we've shed tears over disappointments, health issues, children, money, death. Normal stuff. But we've laughed a lot too. (I "married up" so I'm glad she still appreciates my humor.)

Melanie is the kind of wife any man would be thrilled to have. She is beautiful in every way. I realize that marrying the only girl I ever dated at 19 years old and being deeply in love all these years is rare. I would call it a fairy-tale, but those aren't real and this is. It's a God-thing. There's no other explanation.

So today, July 28 -- thirty-five years later I want to wish my wife a Happy Anniversary and express my love to her publicly. (Those of you who have read my blog from the beginning know I warned you that there would be personal things here too.)

Melanie, you really are the most precious gift I've been given in this world. Thank you for choosing every day for 35 years to share your life with me. I love you and plan to spend the rest of my life showing you that.

Wanna dance?

Our song when we were dating:

My New Favorite Christian Artist

Dave Bilbrough has been widely known as a Christian recording artist in the U.K. for many years. His music has been played around the world for decades. I met Dave and his wife, Pat, a few years ago when we ministered together in England. I knew then we are kindred spirits. They were with us again at the "Radical Freedom Conference" in London last week.

As I've come to know them and to know Dave's music better, I have come to realize that Dave's music may be more in line with what I teach than anybody I know. When I heard him sing the following song at the conference last week, I knew it perfectly expressed my heart's desire for the grace revolution. An Army of Ordinary People expresses perfectly what I believe God is doing to promote the grace revolution that is underway. I asked Dave's permission to use this song as a "theme song" for the Grace Walk Groups ministry that the Lord has begun. Listen to this song and I hope you'll find it expresses the prayer of your heart as it does mine.


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An Army of Ordinary People

An army of ordinary people,
A kingdom where love is the key,
A city alive to the nations,
Heirs to the promise are we.

A people whose life is in Jesus,
A nation together we stand,
Only through grace are we worthy,
Inheritors of the land.

(Chorus)
A new day is dawning,
A new age to come,
When the children of the promise,
Shall flow together as one.

A truth long neglected,
But the time has now come,
When the children of promise,
Shall flow together as one.


A people without recognition,
But with them the destiny sealed,
Called to a heavenly vision,
And this purpose shall be fulfilled.

Come let us stand strong together,
Abandon ourselves to the King,
And His love shall be ours forever,
This victory song we shall sing!

(Chorus)
A new day is dawning,
A new age to come,
When the children of promise,
Shall flow together as one.

A truth long neglected,
But the time has now come,
When the children of promise,
Shall flow together as one!

The children of promise shall flow
together as one!

Home From England

Melanie and I arrived home on Monday night. We are finally beginning to feel like we're adjusting to the time difference. Our time in England, as always, was a great experience.

Teaching the Radical Freedom Conference with Paul Walsh and being on radio together was enjoyable. Then after ministry time ended, Paul and Haley were over the top hosts in showing us a good time in their country.

The videos below are short clips of our time after the conference. Next year the conference topic will be Radical Love and will be held in Atlanta on March 27-28. Then we will do it again in England in July. I hope you'll plan to attend one or the other, or both!

I'm trying to catch up on things that have piled up while I was gone, but I will try to be more consistent about posting regular blogs now that I'm home.

Around London



The English Countryside

Back in London

We just got back to London after spending a few days in the Lake District, a national park area in northern England. The pictures above were taken during the past few days while we were there.

We stayed in a 150 year old hotel in Grassmere, right beside the cottage where William Wordsworth wrote his poetry. A highlight of the time there was the day we spent in Keswick, where the Keswick Movement began. If you aren't familiar with the Keswick Movement, google it and read about how God used many during those days to share the message that we now so passionately share.

It was a joy when I actually stood behind the pulpit at St Johns Church where F.B. Meyer, Andrew Murray, Alexander Scroggy, John Darby, Jesse Penn-Lewis, Austin Sparks and many other early proponents of "the exchanged life" (the grace walk) taught. It was very meaningful to be there where these great saints of God of the past once stood.

Paul and Haley have been great hosts during our time here. We will return to the U.S. on Monday having had a tremendous time here in England.

Update on the Radical Freedom Conference

We finished teaching the Radical Freedom Conference yesterday here in London. We had a good attendance and the crowd was very receptive to our message. We had six countries represented in the meetings.

It was a joy for me to teach again with my friend, Paul Walsh and to have Dave Bilbrough lead us in worship. Dave is, without a doubt, the most grace oriented worship leader I know. I hope to serve together with him in many more meetings in the days ahead.You'll certainly be hearing more about him from me. In fact, I intend to use a song he wrote as our theme song for "the grace revolution." I'll share more with you on that later.

This will be my last blog for a few days. It has been impossible for me to access the Internet on my own computer since I've been here. I had hoped to post some video footage, but haven't been able to do it. Tomorrow we will go five hours to the north and will be there until the weekend. I won't have access to the Internet at all while there.

I'll get back online with my blog as soon as possible. It could be early next week before that happens.

Thanks to those who have prayed for these meetings.

To those of you who are Grace Walk Group leaders, I appreciate what you're doing. I've received email from several of you and am encouraged to hear how your group meetings are going. I'll be back online with you on our private leader's blog next week.

Blessings to each of you. Cheers, mates from jolly old England!

Radical Freedom Conference

Last night we had the first session of the "Radical Freedom Conference" I taught from Galatians 1 on "A Radical Difference" and Paul Anderson-Walsh taught on "A Radical Life." There was a good group of responsive participants at the conference.

Dave Billbrough is leading worship in the conference this week. Dave has been a renowned recording artist here in the U.K. for many years. Last night he debuted his new album "People of Promise." There is no other word for his ministry than "awesome." I found myself moved to tears several times as he ministered through his music. Melanie and I first met he and his wife, Pat, several years ago when we were here. We immediately knew they were kindred spirits. We will have dinner with them tonight in town.

It's Saturday afternoon here now. Paul and Haley had to go to a wedding ceremony today. Before meeting the Billbrough's for dinner, Melanie and I will take "the tube" (subway) into town where we are going to see The Lion King in the west end theatre district. We love plays and have seen at least one every time we come to London.

The conference continues tomorrow. Please pray for us as we share the liberating truth of grace and freedom.

Report from London

It's Friday afternoon here in London. We are getting ready to leave for the "Radical Freedom Conference" to be held this evening and on Sunday. I've done a short video but don't have access to the Internet through my own computer. Once I can get online with my laptop and upload it from my MAC. I'll post it.

Yesterday we were recovering from jetlag. Paul Walsh, Dave Bilbrough and I did a radio interview together early yesterday. Then Paul and I met Haley and Melanie in town for lunch.

We are still trying to recoup from jetlag, but are looking forward to the conference tonight.

Check back here and I'll post video as soon as I can.

Getting Ready To Travel

I hope you and your family had a great holiday weekend. We are in Atlanta and spent the fourth with our family. There were fifteen of us here together. I thank God for my family. They are the greatest joy of my life. The picture here is of Melanie and me with our four children. It's the first picture we've had taken of our "original" family in years. I shaved the beard off yesterday. I had let it grow while I was away writing last week. Melanie liked it, but I think it makes me look like a wino, so it's gone.

I'm working now to finish everything I need to do before we leave for England on Tuesday. Yesterday I recorded the final two of the "Grace In The Old Testament" teachings from Habakkuk. I only have four more books in the OT to complete and I will have finished teaching from every book in the OT in this series. I've really enjoyed teaching this material and have learned a lot about God's grace as I've studied and taught it each month.

We head for London on Tuesday, where we will be with our dear friends, Paul and Haley Anderson-Walsh. Paul and I will teach the Radical Freedom Conference there that we taught together here this past July. We're looking forward to it. We enjoy being with our friends and London is our favorite city in the world. So this will be great.

I plan to work on the 101 Lies Taught In Church Every Sunday manuscript on the long flight there and back. My plan is to try to have that finished no later than by the end of September. Since I've already done all the videos on the subject, it's not like starting from scratch in writing it.

I realize that I haven't been posting on this blog every day as I normally do. That's because of the busy schedule I've had lately. I do hope to post here regularly while I'm in England so check back often.

Done!

I have finished the Journey Into Intimacy manuscript. I'm happy to have it completed and feel like it's going to meet a real need in people's lives. I used some content from A Divine Invitation, some content from The Godward Gaze and a lot of new material that I wrote for this book. I feel good about it.

Next project: 101 Lies Taught In Church Every Sunday Of course, it will be a book based on the online videos I've had on this blog. I've gotten a lot of response from the videos, some positive and some negative. I hope I can finish the book on 101 Lies in the next couple of months.

Here's an excerpt from what I've written this week:

Don't beat yourself up if you aren't moving through your personal crisis in the best possible way. Many great Christians have gone through trials without keeping their head held high and their feelings staying strong all the way.

Look at what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:8-9 about how he went through the trials he faced when he was in Macedonia:

"We don't want you in the dark, friends, about how hard it was when all this came down on us in Asia province. It was so bad we didn't think we were going to make it. We felt like we'd been sent to death row, that it was all over for us." (The Message)

Does it sound like he was sailing through his troubles with a conscious sense of victory? Pretend you are writing Paul a note while he was going through that situation. What would you say to him?

__________________________________________________

__________________________________________________

What about Job? Have you read that book of the Bible? It seems like Job spent most of the book mourning and complaining about his troubles -- not that he didn't have a right to feel that way. If you had written Job a short note to encourage him, what would you have said?

_________________________________________________

_________________________________________________

Look at what you would have said to both of these men. Was your advice to them to give up faith? To shame them for thinking and feeling like they did? I suspect that your answer to them was to show them grace, to encourage them by reminding them that it would all be okay in the end. You wouldn't put them down for having normal human emotions in the circumstances they had to face.

Now, here is a big step that you can take to help yourself. Treat yourself the same way. That's right -- show yourself the same grace you would show to somebody else. It's amazing how gracious we can be with other people when they go through hard times and express negative thoughts or feelings. Then we turn right around and don't cut ourselves one ounce of slack when we are in similar situations. Don't do that to yourself.

Your Father is a gracious God to all His children. It's okay if you don't handle your situation perfectly at every instant. Job really did spend considerable time talking about how life stinks, how he wished he had never been born, etc. On and on he went, but do you know what the Bible says about him? Here's the Bible's verdict:

"In all this did not Job sin with his lips" (Job 2:10)

The grace of God really is amazing. He knows we are human and is gentle and understanding with us. Psalm 103:14 says, "He knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust." Don't expect yourself to be Superhuman. Yes, you are a Christian, but you are one who lives with all the normal feelings and tendencies of a normal human being. So don't beat yourself up over that!

It's okay that you don't react at every second in the way you want to respond. When you fail, just shake it off and keep going in faith. God isn't keeping score to see how your behavior is as you move through your crisis. He is interested in your heart. When you blow it, He still knows your heart and isn't rattled because you didn't act perfectly.

Life is a process of constant growth. There are no experts when it comes to moving through the hard times of life. We cling to Christ, show ourselves grace and wait it out as we trust Him to lead us in how we act. Even the Apostle Paul didn't claim to have it down pat. He wrote in Philippians 3:13, "Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward -- to Jesus."

That's it. Just keep your eyes on Jesus. Once you've done that, you've done the most anybody can do in times of personal crisis.

Writing Tonight

I am continuing my writing vigil this week, locked away alone in a condo in Orlando. I slept from six until nine this evening and have been writing until now, 3:20 AM. I'm going to bed now and will start again in the morning. I'm encouraged by how things are progressing and believe that this resource will be useful in helping people grow in intimacy with their Father.

Here's an excerpt from what I've written today (or is it yesterday?):

You Are Special

Do you want to see how special you are to your Father? Consider this verse in the Bible. Jesus said:

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all thathe has and buys that field" (Matthew13:44).

Answer these questions about that scenario:

1. What is the hidden treasure? __________________________________________

2. Who sells what he has and buys the field? _______________________________

For many years, I thought that the treasure in this story is Jesus. My viewpoint was that gaining Him is worth giving up everything in this life. I believed the story suggested that we should be willing to turn to Him, regardless of the cost. After all, I reasoned, it will be worth it!

I hope you didn't answer that way because nothing could be further from the truth. The treasure isn't Jesus. The treasure is you! You might feel some internal resistance to my suggestion of such a thing, but it's true. You are the treasure. The field in this example is the world (see Matthew 13:38) and the one who is overcome with joy about owning this treasure is Jesus.

How can we be sure about this? Because the treasure was paid for by the one who received it. That means the treasure couldn't possibly be Jesus. You didn't buy Him; He bought you! The Bible plainly says that, "you have been bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20).

It's amazing how we tend to want to make everything be about ourselves. We interpret Scripture so that we come out on top in the story. For instance, how many times have you heard The Story of the Good Samaritan told with the application being made that we are to be the Good Samaritan? The fact is that story teaches no such thing. Our role in that story was that of the man lying on the ground, wounded and bleeding. The Good Samaritan is Jesus. The law and prophets saw us lying there and knew our condition, but didn't solve our problem. They could diagnose it, but they couldn't help it. Jesus did. We didn't come along and find Him. He found us and saved us from certain death.

In Seclusion

I am away writing this week, trying to finish a new resource I've been working on for some time. When I find myself at a near deadline, I've found that getting alone somewhere and doing nothing but write day and night usually works well for me. I do nothing but write, sleep, eat with no set schedule. I write until I'm sleepy then sleep. Sometimes I'm sleeping at eleven in the morning, but writing at three in the morning. I don't see or talk to anybody. I call it "being in the vortex." I suppose it's a strange way to do it, but it works for me at times like this when I really need to finish.

The book is called Journey Into Intimacy and will be an interactive workbook, like The Grace Walk Experience. I'm already scheduled to promote it on a national TV station in the fall, so to say I'm motivated to get it finished would be an understatement!

Here's an excerpt from what I've written this week:

Don't be deceived by faulty teaching you may have heard about your own heart. I used to believe that my heart was evil and that, by Christ's help, I had to constantly battle against the wicked desires of my heart. I had read a Bible verse many times that caused me to believe that was the case. You probably know the text too. A misunderstanding of this verse has caused a lot of trouble for a lot of people. Without looking it up, fill in the words I leave out of the verse below.

"The heart is ______________ above all things and is desperately ____________."

You may have heard this verse, taken from Jeremiah 17:9, taught many times. The problem is that many of us heard it taught without "rightly dividing the Word" (see 2 Timothy 2:15). Some have inaccurately handled God's Word by trying to apply that passage to you, a New Testament Christian.

To rightly understand God's Word, we have to put verses we study into their proper context. In this case, to do that will make a huge difference in what you believe about the meaning of Jeremiah 17:9. Consider the following points about the verse and how it relates to your heart:


1. Is the verse in the Old Testament or the New Testament? _________
Don't underestimate the importance of where the verse is located. While it is true that everything in the Bible is written for us, not every verse there is written directly to us. Even the most stubborn legalist will admit this point. Nobody would argue that we should stone rebellious children, although the Old Testament says to do it. (See Deuteronomy 21:18-21) Nobody would suggest that we slaughter and sacrifice animals today, as the law in Leviticus teaches. There is much in the Old Testament that we don't apply to ourselves precisely because it is in the Old Testament. That is the case with Jeremiah 17:9.

2. Read what God told these old covenant believers in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and in Ezekiel 36:26. In the Jeremiah passage, circle the words "I will" each time you see it. (It is there seven times in the New American Standard Version of the Bible.) God said in Jeremiah 31:33 that a day would come when He would write His Law ___ ______ ___________.

Do you see the promise of God through Jeremiah to these Old Testament saints that "days are coming" when He was going to change everything by establishing a new covenant with them?

Look at Ezekiel 36:26 and fill in the blanks:

"Moreover, I will give you a _____ heart and put a _____ spirit within you; and I will ___________ the heart of stone from your flesh and ______ _______ a heart of flesh" (a tender heart).

Read the surrounding verses in the Ezekiel passage, verses 24-31. Count the number of times God says, "I will" in that passage. Notice how He points out that what the people will do is a result of what He does. He is saying to them, "A time will come when you obey me because it is in your heart to do so. I'm going to give you a new heart so that you obey me because of desire, not because you have to do it so that you can keep me happy."

3. Under the old covenant, people had deceitful hearts that were wicked, but you don't live under the old covenant. You live within the benefits of the new covenant. Don't think that Ezekiel 36:26 was given only to the Jews. Paul wrote in Galatians 3:9 that those of us who are believers have received the same blessing.

In Hebrews 8, the Bible quotes the passage from Jeremiah, and then makes an important point in verse thirteen:

"When He said, 'A new covenant' He has made the first obsolete.
But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear."

Has the new covenant been established? ______ This verse says that, because of the new covenant, the old covenant has become ____________. It has disappeared.

Has God fulfilled His promise to give a new heart to His saints when the new covenant became effective? ______

Are you one of His saints? ______

Do you now have a new heart? _______

If you want to experience deep intimacy with your Father, you must understand and believe this. Your heart isn't wicked and dirty anymore. He has given you a new heart.

ASK STEVE McVEY

Unanswered Questions

It amazes me how important it is that we all tend to insist on having answers to every question we have about God and the Bible. Recently, somebody asked me what I believe about a particular topic. "Well," I answered, "To be honest, I don't have a dogmatic answer to that. I tend to think such-and-such is the case, but I'm not sure."

With that response from me, the other person began to try to educate me by proving to me why his viewpoint was the right one. "I understand what you're saying," I continued, "but the Bible also says other things that would contradict your position. I don't think any of us can be absolutely sure about the answer to this."

"But don't you think God wants us to know truth?" he asked. "God doesn't hide truth from us. Truth can be known!" "Not all truth," I responded. "I don't think God wants us to have full knowledge of every truth. I think some things are intended to be left a mystery to us, at least for now."

My Christian brother couldn't have disagreed more - at least not about this topic. He believes that if we dig deeply enough and study hard enough, we can come to satisfactory answers about the things we want to know. I understand where he is coming from because I've lived that way for many years of my life too.

I've seen a shift in my attitude as I grow older. I still have unanswered questions and am, in fact, finding more and more questions as time goes by. But I don't have a driving need to come up with an answer for every question I have.

Let me be clear about something: I don't believe the Bible contradicts itself. Now ... having said that, I'll say this: The Bible does seem to say two different things about some subjects. In fact, the Scripture is filled with paradoxes (two equally true statements which appear to be in contradiction to each other).

That's why there are so many denominations and so many varying viewpoints among Christians throughout church history. Sincere, Bible-believing Christians who all have a strong love for Christ and for God's Word simply come to different conclusions.

I believe that our insistence on having definitive answers about every subject often comes from a hidden, fleshly desire to be in control. If we can understand how God works, then we can manage Him. To discover on every issue, "If I do this, God will do that," gives us the upper hand because once we've learned the system, we can get Him to do anything we want just by pushing the right button.

But it doesn't work that way. God is transcendent. He is "totally other" and doesn't react to us like one of Pavlov's dogs. From the human perspective, God is "a wild man," who is often unpredictable and even appears volatile at times.

I love the section from The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe where Lucy asks Mr. and Mrs. Beaver about Aslan (Christ). They ask if Aslan is a man. Mr. Beaver replies:

"Aslan a man? Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion- The Lion, The Great Lion."

"Ooh!" said Susan. "I'd thought he was a man. Is he--quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion."

"That you will, dearie, and make no mistake," said Mrs. Beaver, "if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr. Beaver. "Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about being safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

Like Lucy, we all want a god we understand and can predict, but it just isn't going to happen.

Awhile ago I was grappling with something that was troubling me in my own circumstances. I felt like God had let me down. I couldn't understand and was pressing Him for an answer. You may doubt this claim, but I distinctly heard a response in my mind that I believe was Him. Words came to me - words that didn't fit where I was in my own attitude and thoughts at the moment. I'm convinced it was the voice of my Father. What He said was this:

"I'm not a puzzle to be solved, but a mystery to be explored."

I got it. Don't you? We desperately want to have answers. We want to understand it all -- everything in the Bible, in our lives, in the world around us. But it's just not going to happen. Not in this life.

So we'd might as well relax and learn to trust Him. We can complete this ride called "life" the easy way or the hard way. It's our choice. Jesus did say His way was easy (and His yoke light).

I still get frustrated with Him sometimes, but I'm learning. Slowly but surely, I'm realizing more and more that some answers won't be clear as long as I'm looking through this "glass darkly." I will know what He wants me to know and, for now, that will have to be alright.

The Top 10 Things God Will Never Say

Before I left to go on vacation last month, I was posting "The Top 10 Things God Will Never Say To You." I interrupted that so that I could post the videos about how sailing is a great metaphor for the grace walk. I indicated then that I would post the final two Top 10 videos when I came home.

I accidentally deleted the number two lie, so I'm going to give it to you in text form below. Then I'll go ahead and post number one here too.

To refresh your memory, here are the others:

The Top Ten Things God Will Never Say

10. Could you do Me a favor?
9. You’re getting on my last nerve.
8. Oops
7. Wow, I didn’t see that coming!
6. Tell it to the hand, cause the face ain’t listening.
5. Give it your best shot.
4. I’m a Gentleman.
3. You’re out of the game!


#2 It disappointments me when you do that.

I used to think that when I made a wrong choice, God was disappointed with me. I could imagine Him looking down, frowning in displeasure because of what I had done or neglected to do. I thought the best way back into His good graces was to repent - and by that I meant, to do the thing that He had expected.

The truth is, though, that God is never disappointed with you. Disappointment is the result of an unfulfilled expectation. The simple truth is that God doesn't expect anything. He already knows how everything is going to turn out. Every thought, word or deed you will ever have - He already knows in advance. So how could you ever disappoint God? You can't.

We can certainly disappoint ourselves. We can disappoint each other. But it just isn't possible to disappoint God because He knew all along what we would do and nothing catches Him off-guard. Does this mean He doesn't care when we make wrong choices? Of course not, but the reason He cares is because He always wants what is best for us and hates to see us foolishly make choices that will hurt us.

God's love for you will never get any stronger or weaker than it is right now because His love has nothing to do with what you do. It is the result of His loving grace and nothing else. There's room for repentance in our lives alright. Let's repent of thinking that our actions somehow affect God's love for us. They don't.

You may disappoint yourself, but don't try to drag Him into your bondage. He won't go there. Your Father loves and adores you no matter what. One thing is sure: You'll never hear Him say, "I'm disappointed in you."

AND THE #1 THING YOU WILL NEVER HEAR GOD SAY . . .


PASS THE ROLAIDS

Interview in Mexico

I got back from Mexico last night. It was a great weekend together with Gerardo Vazquez (GW Director, Latin America) as well as others on the Grace Walk team.

This video is the testimony of Danny Gonzales, who learned the message and was discipled through Gerardo. Since Gerardo calls me his "father in the faith" and he discipled him, Danny calls me his grandfather. I joke with them about how that I am NOT an old man, but the truth is that I love it. It's thrilling to see the message and ministry moving from generation to generation. Danny is in his late twenties, but has the maturity of a man much older.

He shares the grace walk message now in a very poor area outside Mexico City. He sometimes walks mountain paths or even rides a donkey for miles to share the grace walk with people. He also leads a pastor's alliance, where he shares the message too. He is a real blessing to us and to many others.

(The background music is because this was recorded in the business center of the hotel and we had no control over the volume.)

At Church In Mexico

We held a seminar at the Fiesta Inn in Puebla on Saturday. There was a breakfast, then we spent the day studying the dangers of trying to live by the law. The people were very responsive. This short video was taken as I started the first session.

At Church Yesterday in Puebla

I love the Latin American culture. The people are animated; the food is spicy; the colors are bright; the music is lively; everything seems bigger than life here.

Here's an example. This was one of the special music presentations in our meeting where I spoke yesterday.



Today I speak at two more churches - both are in Mexico City so we won't have to drive so far today. That's a blessing in a town like this. Mexico City now has 34 million people in it. I think they all drive at the same time.