State Your Position

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In our Microwave-Ready Instant-Information society, it seems common for ministries to put up a Core Beliefs Statement. While it might be titled differently, this is essentially a list of beliefs and ideas that the ministry or group in question believes and/or attempts to hold themselves to. Additionally, this functions as a sort of statement of expectation for anyone who wants to join the organization. On the one hand, this can be a useful way to figure out a little bit about a group before needing to waste one’s time on a group that believes something in gross opposition to one’s personal beliefs, but it has its downsides. Because this is a common practice there is an expectation that you will state your position on any and all potential religious matters that someone else might want to know about, and I think we have room for growth in this area.

I have a friend in ministry who once got an email where someone requested to know their “position on Israel.”

Its sort of an ongoing joke now, since the email was so strange and out of left field, but the truth is that my friend doesn’t have a specific position on Israel. And what exactly do they want to know anyway? Does he think Israel has a right to exist? Does he think the Jewish people are “God’s Chosen?” Does he think Israel has some sort of end-times purpose in God’s plan? There are so many different things one could think about such a vague question that it reminds me of when my patients’ families call the hospital and ask for a “status update.”

I always answer that question with a question: What specifically do you want to know? This isn’t a question meant to evade, but its just that there are just SO MANY things one could want to know about their family member, from how they slept and whether they were able to go to the bathroom to complex medical questions that I probably can’t answer without combing through the patient’s chart or asking the medical provider. In the same way that asking a vague question about a hospital patient is both annoying and needs to stop, asking those kinds of questions of a ministry is equally problematic. Why? Because we don’t have to have a position on everything.

Our culture has gone overboard in accountability to the masses, when the truth is the masses don’t really need to know everything. Jesus had a group of three close friend-disciples, twelve in the inner circle, seventy-two in his ministry organization that he sent out to minister, then his followers as a whole, then the general public. In other words, He didn’t share everything with everybody, and shared some things with only a handful or two. Likewise, if someone isn’t personally involved with me and/or generally involved in what I am doing, then my position on some things really just doesn’t matter. Do I have a position on Israel? Sure. Is it deeply involved and well-thought-out? No—because Israel as a subject isn’t that important to me personally so I haven’t spent a lot of time to figure out what I think about it. My wife, on the other hand, has very clear and specific beliefs on the topic.

Now, having said that Israel isn’t that important to me, I have just opened myself up for a massive debate on the subject of “Israel As God’s Chosen People”—one I refuse to engage. Why?

Because that’s the point—I don’t have a position, and I don’t have to.

It is perfectly reasonable to not know everything, and in reality, it is not only the most honest position but the most freeing one as well. Always having to feel like we know enough to measure up only puts us on a never-ending treadmill of theological need-to-knows that we simply cannot meet up with. So why bother trying? I’m not against studying the scriptures to learn new things, enrich ourselves and our lives, and to grow as people. What I do object to is this ever-rising bar we set up, like a buoy on the water that will continue to rise higher no matter how much the water level increases.

The next time someone asks your opinion on something and you haven’t given it much thought, just give that as your answer. Free yourself from the social need to put people in neat, tidy boxes. Be liberated from this bar of expectation that requires you to have and state your position on everything, and from the underlying and subtle messages that if you don’t do this that you aren’t smart enough, studied enough, or good enough. Step into the reality of the goodness of the Son of God who gave us the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation and who reminds us of all things. When it is time for you to learn something on a topic, Holy Spirit will be sure to let you know, but until then, you don’t have to think a thing about it.

And best of all, you don’t have to state your position.

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Sin Limits, Without Limits

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As I was driving into work last night, I passed a bus with a sign on the side which said “Sin Limites”. For those of you who don’t speak Spanish it means “Without Limits”, but the first thing that struck me wasn’t the interpretation, but what it appears to actually say: Sin Limits.

The version of the Gospel I grew up with as a child was that we shouldn’t sin because it hurts God’s feelings and makes it so He can’t be with us. What I have discovered as an adult is that sin does limit, but not God—it limits us. In the Garden of Eden, Adam had no limitations save one—to not eat of the fruit of the tree that would bring death. After consuming that fruit, Adam had nothing BUT limitations—limits on where he could live, what he could do with his time, and even how LONG he would live. Sin is the ultimate limiting factor, preventing us from receiving the fullness and goodness that God has for us.

Jesus came as a man and modeled what it was like to live WITHOUT limits, then died on the cross and rose again so that we all could share in that experience. Roman 8:29 says, “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.” God foreknew everyone—and His version of predestination is that you and I have been predestined to become like Jesus, able to live without the limits that sin places on us.

God is far more interested in living with us than He is in policing us to make sure we are sin-free.

In fact, He isn’t worried about our sin at all, nor is he threatened by it. Jesus already solved the sin problem from God’s perspective, so we simply have to continue to walk out our lives filled with the Holy Spirit, and we will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. We don’t need to work really hard not to sin, we simply have to walk alongside God and He will remove the limitations that sin places upon us.

If you are struggling today with any thought, action, desire, or anything else that is sin or a temptation leading to it, be reminded that in this moment you can walk by the Spirit and cease to worry about how to stay away from those other things that will place limitations and controls on your life.

It is for freedom that Jesus has set us free— go and live without limits!

Lest We Create As Many Problems As We Solve

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I’m in love with God, and I’m a nurse. Both of these things color how I view both the world and the Kingdom. There are a number of us in the Portland/Vancouver area in Oregon and Washington that are and have been seeking the Transformational Shift that everyone has been hearing about from God for many years now. I am calling it that because I believe that it will be more than just a ‘revival’ like those of times past, but a true transformation that brings about inner and outward change on all levels at speeds far faster than previously experienced ever before. I believe it will not be abnormal for an individual to go through 10-20 years-worth of inner healing and deliverance in a fifteen-minute period of time with the spiritual technologies and spiritual acceleration that God is releasing even now. And that’s just one example.

With this release, there is a greater perspective that has to come into play—and a greater responsibility that we who are currently aware have to use to help steward this as it manifests in the earth. In order to ensure new wine is not just spilled worthlessly through mismanagement, there is a new wineskin which must be provided. In the same way, while it is not our job to provide either the wine OR the wineskin, it IS our job to partner with God to do what we can do, so that when we have done everything we have been told to do that He will do what ONLY He can do.

As we have been discussing a little of how to move forward to step into the living-out of this new wineskin, there are a few things that I have come to understand as a nurse that I think present an important topic for consideration as we walk out what God is doing in a responsible manner. Please bear in mind that while I truly believe this is important, that it is only part of the puzzle. Many others also have important thoughts to share as we all walk into the Greater Glory that God has for us.

I believe that as we step into this Greater Glory manifestation that is going to include but not be limited to physical healing, we are in danger of creating as many problems as those we solve by applying the power of God to situations. I believe it is important to understand the problems we are in danger of creating in advance in order to adequately prepare to solve those problems before we make them exist.

Take a nursing home for an example: When transformation power hits the building through God’s vessels of Glory, namely you and I, His children, people will get healed. And this at first glance appears to be good, because it is. But let’s look a bit closer at the scenario. Let’s say that some friends and I walk through a nursing home and start healing people, at first a few things happen. Albert the quadriplegic has a total recovery and gets up and walks himself into the bathroom for the first time in over 20 years. Sally the stroke victim is able to eat and drink water that is at its normal consistency without having any danger of breathing it into her lungs. She greedily gulps water without help and then dances down the hallway without assistance in clothing she put on all by herself. This is the first time in 14 years this has happened. It’s a miracle!!

While we are busy rejoicing over the miracles that God is performing (and we SHOULD rejoice), there is another problem. Albert’s wife left him and took all the money with her over 15 years ago. He has no money and hasn’t had a job in over 20 years. He is now 68 and has no practical way of returning to the workforce. Sally’s house was sold years ago to help with her medical bills, and she and her husband both moved into the nursing home together. He died two years ago and her money is all gone. She is 85.

For both Albert and Sally, they are healed, and it’s a miracle from heaven!! But because we healed them they no longer qualify for benefits under Medicare. Both of them have to move out. Certainly, they have a couple days at most to remain there as the administrative staff are talking to a lawyer and are bewildered about how to kick these poor people out of their facility since nothing like this has ever happened before, but they are no longer paying customers and the facility needs the beds. The fact remains that in a day or so Albert and Sally will be homeless and jobless, and with no additional resources. Yes, they have been healed. But now what?

In Albert’s case, there is a vague chance that one of us healers might take him in for a few months, help him get back on his feet, and maybe even help him find a job somewhere. If we let him stay long enough, he might be able to get enough together to get an inexpensive car or similar, buy some clothes and accumulate some other household items and then move into his own apartment elsewhere. In Sally’s case, things don’t look so good. You see, we know that if we take Sally in, she will never leave. She has no place to go. And are we in for that kind of deep commitment? What if she has future medical problems? Medical bills? The small amount of social security she gets doesn’t come close to meeting her financial needs, and she could quite reasonably live for another 10 years or longer. This doesn’t even address her needs for food and clothing. What is SHE going to do?

Let’s pretend that Sally’s needs were met as well. What about the other 30 people in that care facility that we healed and just don’t have enough room or resources for?? And what is the facility going to do now that it has no residents—and thus no need for any of the staff? It might stay open, but it could very well close. We say that God is our Provider, and He is. But it is easy to say “God is big enough” and harder, I think, to choose to cast a vision large enough that it solves the problems we create alongside the problems we solved.

As God comes and keeps on coming, we need to enlarge our vision and ask God for both insight and connections. We need connections because no one can do any of this alone. We all need to help each other and receive the help of one another. And we need insight to foresee the problems we will create and have strategies set in place through divine wisdom and divine counsel to take care of these needs in advance instead of waiting until every emergency hits. In 2 Kings 4, Elijah gave a woman direction from heaven to pour out oil supernaturally and this abundance of oil would solve her financial needs. But with that instruction was another word of direction which told her to prepare by collecting empty vessels with which to contain the outpouring when it started. In other words, when the oil started being poured into jars, it was not the time to be looking for containers. It was time to fill the containers which had already been gathered at God’s direction. We need to ask God for wisdom on how to move forward, because it is now time for us to set our containers in place, because the jar is being tipped and the first drops are coming down even now.

Embrace The Blessing

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A decade ago I lived in Pennsylvania and attended a conference in Harrisburg, PA where John and Carol Arnott were speaking. John shared about a horse they were given as a gift. The horse was somewhere in the USA and they lived in Toronto Canada–a great distance away. Eventually the horse got sick and died, and what the Lord showed them was that because they did not embrace the blessing, the enemy was able to come in and kill the horse.

What struck me about this wasn’t so much that the enemy came in and stole–because stealing is an expected action for the enemy. What struck me was that embracing the blessing wasn’t based on embracing something that was convenient, but rather embracing the gift someone was giving whether it was a gift they wanted to receive or not.

A few years ago I had occasion to put this into practice. My father in law had been living with us for a while and was deeply enthralled with Jimmy Swaggart–to the point that anyone who believed in Jesus but didn’t belive in the message of the cross according to Jimmy Swaggart wasn’t really saved at all. It was a frustrating time to be sure, as he got upset when no one wanted to talk about God with him and we simply didn’t want to be insulted every time he discussed God-related things.

One day he gave me a Jimmy Swaggart study bible. I, knowing that under no circumstances ever was I going to read or use this book, politely declined it–multiple times. He was very hurt by this, clearly not understanding why I didn’t want it and convinced that if I gave it a chance that this book would deeply and profoundly transform my life. I was frustrated and didn’t understand how in the many conversations we had up to that point he didn’t understand that I was not interested.

As I thought about it later that day, I remembered the message John Arnott had given–and realized this was an opportunity to embrace the blessing. While I might not prefer the actual item itself, I realized it was irrelevant. The essence behind the gift was a spiritual inheritance from my father in law, and he was attempting to pass down a blessing to someone who had married into his family. I apologized and asked if he would still be willing to gift me the Bible, to which he delightedly jumped up and gave it to me, grinning from ear to ear.

Yet another time I was walking home from work and met a homeless man whom I felt drawn to. I offered him some food I had on hand, to which he replied he wasn’t hungry. As we talked, he offered me some water. While I didn’t really want the water from his canteen, I accepted and he poured me a cup. As I drank the water, I brought out some food and offered to share it with him–and because I had accepted his gift he felt free to accept mine as well. I didn’t realize it until it happened, but was important to him that he wasn’t accepting a handout, so when I received his cup of water it made it acceptable for him to receive something from me as well. Moreover, my wife and I delivered additional food and a blanket to him later that night which he also graciously received–and even mentioned that he had hoped I would return.

There are times in our lives where we refuse a gift and it is right to do so, but there are other times when to refuse the gift is more problematic than it is to receive it–as was seen both with my father in law and the man I met on the street. If we can learn to embrace the blessings behind undesired gifts I believe we will not only reap unexpected rewards, but what we sow we will also reap–and the same grace that we extend to others will be extended to us as well. I believe that when we extend love to the giver and accept these undesirable gifts, we put ourselves in a position to receive more of God’s blessings in our own lives. I pray this message of embracing the blessing will both touch and remain with you as it has with me these many years.

The Problem With The Shack

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In recent days, and I expect there will be more to come, social media has begun to blow up with commentary about the new film The Shack. Based on Paul Young’s (in collaboration with Wayne Jacobsen and Brad Cummings} book of the same name, published in 2007. For those who are unfamiliar with the book, it is a fictional narrative documenting one man’s encounter with God after his young daughter was abducted and murdered. As a result, Mack, the main character, has lost his faith in God, or Papa as his wife refers to Him. The story deals with a wide range of emotions and problems but has recently come under significant fire due to concerns about heresy. It is understandable, I suppose, that a book like this would get flak from the religious community—after all, we do have external standards to maintain for the sake of appearances, and the seemingly heretical nature of this book threatens the spiritual life of people of all ages—or at least that is what opponents would have you believe. While I cannot say The Shack may or may not be the pinnacle of perfect theology, I find the rants of the religious to be tired, bored, and worn out. Thus, we have the problem of The Shack.

I don’t actually care whether you read the book or watch the movie, nor whether you like it or not. I am not the author, nor do I own a movie theater—I don’t get paid regardless of what you do related to the subject. What I would like us all to avoid, however, is hysteria. This book is probably no more nor less accurate than any other book one might write. I say a lot about God and things spiritual in my books, but at the end of the day, He is really the only one who knows how true any of it is. The only thing we can all agree on is that no two people, even of the same denomination, believe the same about everything. We need to learn what to let slide and what to make a big issue over, so let us take a look. The major concerns about this book, summed up as best as I can, fall into a few major categories: The problem of sin, the nature of God, and eternal judgment versus Universalism.

Sin is a subject held very near and dear to most Christians—after all, sin is the measurement we use to keep track of how righteous and godly we are. The Shack challenges our views of sin—not because it actually challenges a single thing about sin itself, but about how God views and deals with it. The book says things like “I don’t need to punish people for sin. Sin is its own punishment, devouring you from the inside” (120). People seem to freak out about this sort of thing, but it’s actually true. Romans 6:23a says, “The wages of sin is death. . . .” It literally IS its own punishment—The Bible says it kills you! How much more of a punishment do you need? God’s job has never NEVER been about punishing us for sin, but delivering us from it. Romans 5:7-9 says, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!” Get this—God isn’t worried about our sins because He, God the Father, demonstrated His love through Christ dying for us. Even more scandalous is when we read that along with 2 Corinthians 5:19 which says, “That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.” And while verses like Isaiah 59:2 say that our sins separate us from God, that is very different than the idea that God is the one doing the separating. When we sin we pull ourselves away from God, which is why He had to send Jesus to fix the problem and reunite us with Him once and for all. This heretical book which so cavalierly treats sin basically tells us what the Bible says—that God isn’t counting our sins against us, and that He has come to rescue us from them, and from ourselves. Huh—who would have thought it was so . . . scriptural.

Next comes God’s nature. How can we attack that as displayed in the book? That portraying God as three different people sets up some sort of weird cultish ideas that God is other than He really is. But on p.101 the Father says, “We are not three gods, and we are not talking about one god with three attitudes, like a man who is a husband, father, and worker. I am one God and I am three persons, and each of the three is fully and entirely the one.” The concept of the Trinity is confusing enough, but the book seems to do it justice. And to those who are then going to argue that the word “Trinity” isn’t in the Bible, neither is “internet”—but that isn’t stopping it from existing, nor from you using it right now. Next, the attack comes against the hierarchy of God—with people getting upset that the book acts like the Father, Son, and Spirit are all equal. Well, I have to say that there are only a bajillion verses where it says Jesus and God are one and alike and the same—and Holy Spirit is no different. While yes, Holy Spirit reveals Jesus and Jesus points to the Father, the Father delights in His Son and in exalting the Son—so it kind of all works out in a big mess of God revealing Himself in many ways without some sort of hierarchy—after all, they are all the same being. Do you have a pecking order inside your brain, or are you just you?

It gets better. Opponents of The Shack complain that the author even goes so far as to limit the power of the God of the Universe, having the Father-God-character saying, “Mack, for you to forgive this man is for you to release him to me and allow me to redeem him” (224). The funny thing is that Jesus said something similar to this when He walked here on the earth. In John 20:23 Jesus says the following to his disciples, “If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” While certainly there is more to the story, in that mankind is redeemable (and already has been redeemed) outside of our ability to forgive one another, it doesn’t change the fact that when we do not forgive, there is something it changes in the realm of the spirit that holds and counts sins against others—and that matters whether we like it or not. We really have no right to withhold forgiveness from others in light of what Jesus has forgiven us, but God still lets us make that choice. If you call that limiting God, then so be it—but God limited Himself when He came to earth as a man. God limited Himself of His own choice when He gave us free will. So yes, scripturally, God has limitations—albeit ones He set up to begin with. But please note—it IS scriptural, not heretical.

The next major argument about this book is that it undermines the notion of eternal judgment, and as such is Universalist in nature. Universalism basically ignores the idea of hell and/or eternal torment, saying that everyone gets to go to Heaven, because “Why would a good God sentence people to everlasting judgment?” Well, it doesn’t actually say that at all, nor does it imply that, and unless you already have failed to understand what Jesus did on the cross to begin with, it should be abundantly clear. To illustrate this point, let us look at what the book says about it, via part of a conversation Mack and Jesus have.

“They arrived at the door of the workshop. Again Jesus stopped. ‘Those who love me come from every system that exists. They were Buddhists or Mormons, Baptists or Muslims, Democrats, Republicans, and many who don’t vote or are not part of any Sunday morning or religious institutions. I have followers who were murderers and many who were self-righteous. Some are bankers and bookies, Americans and Iraqis, Jews and Palestinians. I have no desire to make them Christian, but I do want to join them in their transformation into sons and daughters of my Papa, into my brothers and sisters, into my Beloved.”

“’Does that mean,” asked Mack, “that all roads will lead to you?”

“Not at all,” smiled Jesus as he reached for the door handle to the shop. “Most roads don’t lead anywhere. What it does mean is that I will travel any road to find you” (182).

Opponents have used the above passage to say that because Jesus says that he doesn’t care whether people are Buddhist or Muslim or whatever that it is Universalist because all roads lead to God and anything we do is fine. This section doesn’t say anything of the sort, which an intelligent read would easily show, considering the very last thing Jesus says clarifies the entire rest of the conversation. Jesus, both in the book and in reality, is interested in conforming us into His image—transforming us to be like Him. He isn’t concerned about titles, religions, or anything else because He transcends all of that. I have a friend who meets occasionally with a woman who is in the New Age. She has a spirit guide whose name is Jesus. He has told her, on His own, that His name is also Living Water. She told my friend this about Jesus—but has never read the Bible. She doesn’t know that Jesus has revealed Himself in scriptures the same way. Incidentally, Jesus doesn’t tell her to leave the New Age, but He is discipling her and drawing her closer to Him. She has fallen deeply in love with Jesus, and He hasn’t tried to make her a Christian yet. He is, however, turning her into His beloved bride as part of the church regardless of what label she applies to herself. And yes, in scripture Holy Spirit is revealed as the Guide (John 14:26) —hence, to some He reveals himself as their Spirit Guide because, as Jesus says in The Shack, he meets them on their journey.

The final, and possibly the most lame complaint of them all, is that the book is irreverent. I have to remind everyone at the end of the day this story is a work of fiction, a spiritual allegory right up there with The Chronicles of Narnia, Pilgrim’s Progress, and others. The book expresses spiritual truths, but there are still fictitious elements contained therein—elements we would do well to simply ignore for the sake of theological purposes. Is Holy Spirit a woman? Is Father God a black woman? Is Jesus an Arab? Does it really even matter? No, it doesn’t—and those made-up details aren’t meant to create theological beliefs. Rather, they are literary devices the author uses to make his point.. I’m pretty sure most people are smart enough to figure out the difference between fiction elements and truth, and if they cannot then they probably won’t do a great job of memorizing your theology either. These characters are simple personifications of the matchless God of the Universe who transcends all forms, yet can take any form He chooses. He decided to come to us as a man, and as a lion, and as a lamb. He breaks boxes of limitations and undermines our sense of what is “proper” which, incidentally, was sort of a goal of The Shack. The entire book was written in such a way as to purposefully push against our mental preconceptions to get us to think in new ways. Jesus constantly went against the grain, so having the Godhead portrayed as book characters that do the same is really unsurprising, and actually keeps with His nature as revealed in Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:20-21 gives us a guideline of what to do with this book: “Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good . . . .” We need to do with this subject what we ought to do with everything—eat the meat and spit out the bones.

We need to learn to be slow to speak in judgment as with the same measure we use it will be measured to us (Matthew 7:2)—and do we really want that? Do we want the kind of treatment people are giving this matter when it comes our turn to have some big event or project? Would we like it if people picked apart every detail of something we wrote or produced with an unforgiving eye and lacking even a modicum of grace? It really is a shame. I think people often don’t understand what goes into writing a book like this. An author has to not only deeply grasp understand spiritual concepts, but we then have to put them in the mouths of characters who will share them, but at the same time make an effort to make the conversation sound natural and not cheesy or forced. Then we have to have relevant plot points to make the book move forward, else we just have a big long conversation that no one really wants to read. Somewhere in there artistic license comes into play, and we really need to start having more grace for that than I have seen some express thus far. Besides—if you want a really good perspective about judgments, read pages 158-163 of the book—you might learn something.

I originally tried to make this post funny when I started writing, but there comes a point to which trying to make religious ranting funny is just impossible. It’s sad that people freak out so badly about things that I really wonder how they even enjoy life. Do they enjoy it? I remember back when the movie The Golden Compass came out, my mom called me, very concerned about both the film and for those who would watch it.

“They kill God in that movie!” she said.

“They tried that once.” I replied. “It only lasted about three days.”

We really need to take a deep breath and relax a little. It is God’s job to keep us out of error thinking, not our job to police one another with fanatical fervor. Yes, we would be wise to watch out for one another, but we need to take it down a few thousand notches and let people have a little more process and a little less control freak. God is not threatened by our failures, nor is He put off by them. He walks through them with us, helping and guiding us. Dead Religion, of any denomination or spiritual belief, lays rules and regulations upon us that no one can possibly meet up with. Jesus railed against it when he walked the earth, and unfortunately it seems not much has changed in that regard since. The more we make rules and regulations trying to act as the Spirit of God for other people, the more we place them under the very bondage Jesus came to deliver us from. It is for the sake of enjoying that freedom itself that Jesus set us free.

While reading back through the book to write this post, I was reminded of just how absolutely revelatory this book is—and how far ahead of its time it is for many. If you cannot see it clearly, let me explain. Right now in the Earth our Heavenly Father is working a Goodness Revolution. We have badly misunderstood His nature partly due to scriptural translation—where verses get translated one way that says God does bad things when they could just as easily and accurately be meant another way. Our Heavenly Father is trying to break through our wrong understandings and re-reveal Himself as the God of Love in the midst of our broken theology. Thus, He uses books like The Shack to reveal His love to us. If you actually let this book speak to you, somewhere between pages 100 and 230 you will find God sharing something of the depths of His nature, and you will learn and grow because of it. This book is far more about revealing the absolute love of God in the midst of brokenness and painful circumstances than it is about anything else, but if you let it speak to you then God will be able to even more than that.

The problem with The Shack is not so much the content of the product itself; rather the problem with The Shack is that it serves as a mirror to reveal what is in our hearts in this hour—and unfortunately for some people what gets revealed is anger, judgment, and oppression. Don’t let those people stop you. If nothing else, this book and movie are a test—one that each of us have the opportunity to pass. Will you let yourself get offended by something that has the potential to touch countless lives, encourage the hurting, and draw people closer to God (and has already been doing for ten years)? Or will you trust God to be big enough, knowing that He alone is the Counselor and Guide—the one who is responsible for transforming us into His likeness?

For those interested in reading the book, you can find it here:

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Re-Engaging The Beloved

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Yesterday was Valentines Day–and on that day I spoke with a friend about a number of things, but one of them was about how it is hard to be single on this day. While I have been married for ten years, I am not a stranger to this struggle. Thirteen years ago I had a fairly devastating breakup with my high-school girlfriend. We had dated for two years straight and I was happing looking toward marrying her, when out of the blue she broke it off. While I am glad today that she did, it was difficult at the time, especially trying to figure out what direction to take with my life without her in it. The short version is that I decided to pursue God above all else, including not to date, expecting that if I sought Him, he would bring the wife along. Matthew 6:33 says, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I took this at face value, deciding that I would not pray for her, look for her, or date. Three years later after doing just that, I had an unexpected six hour conversation with a friend, at the end of which I proposed to her, and within fourteen hours of beginning that conversation we were married. Fast forward ten years and I have been happily married to my very best friend whom I didn’t search for.

This isn’t the method for everyone, but it is for some of you. However, this word is for everyone—that as we continue to pursue Him, we will receive all else. I shared this word with my friend last night, telling him that God is wooing him, and how He wants to spend time with His love on this special day. I felt the Spirit nudging me even as I was giving this word to my friend, that God wants to draw nearer to me–and likewise wants me to do the same. James 4:8a says, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” God is calling each of us to a higher level, to a deeper relationship, so He and we might know one another better.

My friend shared how he used to spend time praying and just enjoying being with God, and that after some funky church-related things happened, he lost that spark–not because God was any different, but because he was, and because life was. We talked about how we have both been in that place–deeply and frequently engaging in that God-relationship, to the point that we have each had our own encounter where Jesus appeared to us. While neither of us actually physically saw Him, Jesus revealed to us at those times that it was Him. And those are the kinds of encounters we both long to experience again.

People sometimes talk about the “gift” of being single. To those who are unmarried it usually doesn’t feel much like a gift, and the married ones are usually the one saying it. I found in my own time as a bachelor that yearning for that “someone” can be just as distracting as having that someone present, and whether married or single the possibility always exists that life can pull us away from the depths of relationship with God. This Valentines Day I have sensed and responded to the call to re-engage God. It’s not that I ever stop, on the one hand. He is in me and I in Him, and I talk to Him often enough. But there is a depth that I sense missing–a level to which I sense His Spirit calling me, saying:

My beloved responded and said to me,
‘Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
‘For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
‘The flowers have already appeared in the land;
The time has arrived for pruning the vines,
And the voice of the turtledove has been heard in our land.
‘The fig tree has ripened its figs,
And the vines in blossom have given forth their fragrance.
Arise, my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along!’” (Song of Solomon 2:10-13)

I encourage you that wherever you are, whatever level of relationship with God, seek Him and everything else will follow. Let Him touch those places of worry and fear, and silence the nagging doubts that spending time with Him simply isn’t enough. Yes, there are things to do, places to go, and people to see, and we will certainly do those things. But is life really richer without love? Is life really better-lived without the conscious presence of His love filling us? How can we expect to transform a world, much less our own families, if we won’t take time to come away and sit awhile with the One Who Is Above All Things, the lover of our souls? Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” Take time to engage that relationship. Purpose in your heart to know Him above all else, for even as I have said, if we seek the Kingdom, God has promised that He will give us everything else. Happy Valentines Day, and may God richly bless and touch your life in a new way.

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. . . But I Might Miss Something

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Back when I met my wife, she had a friend named Deana (not her real name). Deana was never on time to anything–to the point they had dubbed this “Deana Time.” In addition to showing up for planned events hours late, in what can only be compared to African time, she would never commit to anything.

Anything.

Ever.

She really wouldn’t either. I remember one conversation I had with her where she was talking about not having enough money for things. I asked her why she wasn’t using her skills as a dental hygienist and her answer was, “Well, I might miss something.” “Miss what?” “I don’t know–but I might miss something.” This conversation continued for a while as I tried to help give her some insight on her situation. I discovered after a while that her problem wasn’t that she didn’t have money, or that she might miss something. Her problem was fear.

Deana was afraid she would miss out on something, but what she didn’t realize was that she already WAS missing out on things. Because she didn’t have a steady job, she didn’t have the financial security it would provide, and as a senior citizen, she struggled with income even though she was physically capable of working. Lacking the financial backing, anything that cost money outside of her meager budget was out of reach, and the stress and worry she had over her finances added to the problem. In short, she was already missing things–peace of mind for starters, but also other events and activities she would have enjoyed had she gone with the wisdom-option and gotten a job. Yet, the fear of “missing something” continued to hold her back.

I don’t know where Deana is now, ten years later, and I hope that she is in a better position than she was then, but as old habits die hard, I find it sadly unlikely. This is just one example of many as to why emotional healing is so important. When we don’t deal with our inner hurts and fears, we allow ourselves to be unknowingly guided by those fears in daily decisions. As we step into a new year, I encourage you to look at the habits and patterns in your life that hold you back, and consider how you can work toward healthier patterns in this coming year.

If you would like some assistance with developing new patterns, the following links may help:

Therapies

Freedom Flowers – flower and gem essences that help resolve negative emotional patterns and create healthy ones

Inner Healing Ministries

Freedom Encounters

Elijah House

Alice Briggs – Emotional and Spiritual Healing

Debalm Ministry

Ask of Me and I Will Give You Nations

As an author, I have to have time to write. I post a blog article each week, as well as occasional guest articles and writing books. Book writing isn’t necessarily hard, but it is time-consuming. In order to stay current with all the different writing and marketing that I do, I have to make good use of time. God has played a major role in my ability to do that, as He has given me great favor and blessing at work to be able to get paid by my current employer to write.

While at first this might sound unethical, I do not write for my own website and books when there is work to do–I do it when there is nothing else to do and I can either read a book, talk with coworkers, or write. So I write. You see, God is interested in creating more time and ability for me to succeed in life–and the same goes for you. How do I know this? I’m not the only one who has had this happen. If a well-known paramedic friend’s previous employer knew just how much they had paid him over the years to build his career as an author, they would probably be sick–and it’s all due to the favor and blessing of God.

God wants to prosper us in every area of life, and that includes finances. There is nothing spiritual about poverty–it is demonic bondage that brings death, so Jesus naturally opposes it. As such, God will work in our lives to make room to prosper us. We might not rocket to the top of the world in business, but God will provide ideas for ways to either start a business or increase our income–using methods unique to us.

How will God do that? Usually it involves time. I have had times where I had a LOT to do, whether because I was behind on articles and had deadlines to meet, or for some other reason. On my drive into work I would pray, “God, please give me an easy work night so that I will have time to work on the writing-related things I need to get done.” Often when I pray this, God is faithful to free up time during my shift to allow me to work on my website while meeting all the needs of my work position. While this wasn’t true of every job I have had, it has been true of the jobs when I really needed it.

Some people think this is just for the special few, but Psalm 2:7-8 says, “I will proclaim the Lord’s decree: He said to me, ‘You are my son; today I have become your father. Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession.'” God is interested in using US to touch the entire earth. It doesn’t matter how–God will be creative with each of us to work that out. I know campus pastors who don’t have to go to nations because students from all over the world come to them! One person may be a housekeeper, but the presence they bring into the homes where they work helps free others to go make the world a better place as well. Our work has a ripple-effect in this earth, and God will give us wisdom on how to prosper us while making the world a better place. Ask God what plans He has for you and how He plans to prosper you. Take some time to listen, write it down, and then move forward with the plans God has given you. It may take time, but God is faithful and He will walk you through it!

As a side-note, for those of you who feel called to write, I want to invite you to join our merry band of Warrior Scribes. You can find us connecting on Facebook in the group The Time is Write, a group that is made up of almost entirely Christian authors, although not limited to any particular belief set. If you are in need of web services to get yourself started, consider using my affiliate link to Bluehost, a website hosting service I am quite pleased with and who runs all my sites. If you need an email list service to get your business off the ground and to stay connected with others, consider using Mailchimp (contact me and I will send you an affiliate link) another service I use and am quite happy with.

The Gospel According to Dr. Strange

***For those who haven’t seen the movie, be aware that***

***this article is filled with spoilers***

I saw the movie Dr. Strange this past month and really enjoyed it. While one could argue there isn’t much spiritual value in a movie about sorcerers fighting one another, I respectfully disagree. The movie was incredibly full of spiritual lessons, and if I can nerd-out for a moment, I suggest that there was less sorcery than one might expect. Dr. Strange has a set of, well, strange rules for magic. They are fundamentally based off of Qi, which is really just a term for the life energy that exists in everything (and which originated from God). This in and of itself is reminiscent of old-time martial arts masters, not practitioners of magic, but at some point the lines get blurred.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdhu8i_4olE

The movie begins with Dr. Steven Strange, a self-centered genius who loses everything he values, and as he sinks deeper and deeper into his plight he finds himself where many of us have found ourselves in hard times—on the search for salvation. When he finally hits rock bottom he desperately reaches out to what is ultimately his savior—the Ancient One, a master of the magical arts. This teacher is hard, but overall very good to him and teaches and guides him into deeper truth than he could ever have imagined. When Strange meets the Ancient One, in search of bodily healing, she tells him that he can heal himself through the power of his spirit, which is accessed by belief. She says, “You are a man looking at the world through a keyhole. You have spent your life trying to widen it, to see more, to know more, and now, upon hearing it can be widened in ways you can’t imagine, you reject the possibility.” She demonstrates to Strange, through power encounters, that what she is saying is true. One of the key lines that stuck out to me was when Dr. Strange was searching for the truth—and she said, “You think this material world is all that there is. Open up your eye.”

While the movie is steeped in a conglomeration of ancient Eastern mysticism, using arcane tools and referencing the Third Eye, this isn’t actually too different from what Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:18, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you . . .” Dr. Strange has his own power-encounter and the eyes of his heart begin to be opened, much as God both has done and continues to do for each one of us as we learn and grow on our own spiritual journey.

As the movie progresses, a conflict between the Ancient One and one of her apostate disciples, Kaecilius, reaches its peak. Kaecilius is hungry for power, and in order to gain as much power as he can, he steals and taps into forbidden arts that access power from the Dark Dimension—a spiritual realm that is ruled by Dormammu, a powerful and ancient being of evil who could be likened to Satan, although the movie seems to give Dormammu far more power than I think Satan actually possesses.

But the conflict between Kaecilius and the Ancient One really played that out. Kaecilius grew angry and lusted after power, most especially seeking immortality, after not only seeing his loved ones die, but discovering that the Ancient One was already tapping into the forbidden power herself to support her longevity and give her a form of immortality. Unlike the immortality that Jesus gives us, this immortality was derived in almost vampiric fashion by stealing power from the Dark Dimension through the use of the forbidden magic. As a friend recently stated, “Kaecilius made a much more compelling argument than most Marvel villains. It came down to one word: hypocrite.” The Ancient One is the epitome of a hypocrite, telling others not to do the very thing she did, and yet somehow found it odd that people tried to follow what she did over what she said. This has been the age-old struggle of the believer, and is why it is so important that we practice what we preach—because people usually will respond to what we do much more than what we say we believe, and if our words and actions don’t match, it destroys our credibility, as it did with Kaecilius and the Ancient One.

One of the things I found most irritating about this particular aspect of the movie was that while they did a good job of creating characters of generally good morals and showed the main character’s total transformation from a narrow-minded, self-involved snob to a selfless savior, they left no possibility of supreme goodness at work in the world. The Ancient One laments that she is forced to use Dormammu’s power in order to peer through time and stop evil after evil, yet there was nowhere in the movie that suggested any Light Dimension of any sort that could supply this ability in another, more redemptive way, nor did it suggest she made any effort to find a better way. Mordo, one of her top disciples, demonstrated significant insight when he pointed out that what we sow we reap—and that using the power of the Dark Dimension for good only created another cycle of evil—and this played out as Kaecilius turned toward darkness due to his anger at the Ancient One’s hypocrisy. Strange ended up fighting in this battle as well.

In the same way that Stephen Strange fought darkness partly through his practiced abilities, we too have been given the same ability and same charge. Hebrews 5:14 says, “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” It wasn’t just his integrity and intelligence, but the fact that he had practiced with his powers time and time again. Much like the spiritual gifts that we receive by the Holy Spirit, Strange made the most of the talents and abilities he possessed—both natural and supernatural. This is an example of both wisdom and good stewardship, as God desires us to use wisdom in the ways we exercise both our spiritual and natural gifts and to use them to their full potential. When the Master rebuked his one servant in Matthew 25:14-30, it was because he didn’t even attempt to make use of what he had been given, and in this movie Dr. Strange emulates what we can accomplish if we are faithful to put our gifts and abilities to good use alongside God’s blessing.

While there are so many incredible spiritual parallels in this movie, As this mystical battle progressed, Kaecilius once threatened Dr. Strange, saying “You’ll die protecting this world.” In reality what Kaecilius said was in fact true—Dr. Strange took on a Jesus-like savior motif at the end. Jesus said “I lay my own life down and I take it up again,” and Steven Strange, emulating Jesus in a moment of Christ-like clarity, did the same. He laid his own life down again and again, letting himself be killed painful deaths hundreds of times in a time-loop of his own creation in order to force the Dark One to take his hands off Planet Earth forever. One of the magnificent things about his choice is that he did not find victory through compromise, nor did he attempt to defeat Dormammu by stealing power like the Ancient One did. His strength was in his newly developed virtue and integrity, along with his significant intellect and the abilities he had gained through rigorous practice. Through one man’s selfless act he purchased salvation for the whole world. Sound familiar?

One of the final lines I really appreciated in this movie was where the Ancient One first spoke to Dr. Strange. “Dr. Strange, you think you know how the world works. What if I told you the reality you know is one of many.” And again, “Through the mystic arts we harness energy and shape reality. We travel great distances in an instant.” This movie hints about the seemingly fantastical abilities God gives us by His spirit, even to the point of physical translocation, supernatural healing, power over time, and more. This movie encourages the watcher to open our eyes and minds up to a deeper spiritual reality than the physical touch-feel-see world around us. What is more, I feel it speaks to a generation of people who are hungry for God’s power to touch their lives. As the Body of Christ, we have been given a unique mandate to transform the earth and everyone in it, and to introduce them to God’s glory—His personality and Presence. If you have not yet seen this movie, I encourage you to watch it with an eye for the spiritual messages that God wants to share with you, as I have only touched the surface of the depth of wisdom and revelation that Holy Spirit can draw out of this secular film. I truly believe that even as it proclaims in Romans 1 that God speaks through all creation, and this movie is no different. Sit back, grab some popcorn, and let God transform your heart as you enjoy watching Dr. Strange.

For those interested, after the movie comes out of the theaters it should be available for order and/or on-demand viewing here.

The Gospel According to Shrek 2

The Gospel According to Kung Fu Panda 3

I can’t help but continue to be amazed at the way that God weaves the gospel message in Children’s videos. Some of you may recall that I shared in a previous post about how I see the Gospel of the Kingdom displayed in Shrek 2 (here) but I found the same thing happening as I watched Kung Fu Panda 3 recently with my granddaughter Sophia. As with the last movie, I found myself in tears as I watched a cartoon panda and his friends and family demonstrate the love of Jesus Christ in a powerful way (For those who haven’t seen the movie, this is the major scene at the end, so this article will be chock-full of spoilers).

The clip starts out with Po, the Dragon Warrior (panda) having just come to terms with the fact he can’t stop the enemy by conventional means, and if he doesn’t do something drastic he and his family and friends will all die. He does the only thing left that he knows how to do—he sacrifices his own life to banish the evil warrior Kai to the Spirit Realm alongside him. He is successful, but dies in the process. This is such a clear picture of what Jesus did for us on the cross. Colossians 2:13-15 says it this way, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Knowing that the requirements of the Law of sin and death were set against us, and knowing that Satan would stop at nothing to bring the full payment of sin into our lives, He willingly laid his own life down on the cross, destroying Satan’s legal right to our lives and taking captive the power of death.

In the movie, Po defeats Kai in the Spirit Realm, also setting free everyone else that Kai had captured and killed, then resurrects himself and returns to the land of the living. Scripturally, Jesus did the same thing. After defeating the powers of darkness, even preaching to those who were already dead and setting them free (1 Peter 3:18-20) he rose again three days later. Jesus said of himself in John 10:17-18 that, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” Jesus, like Po, laid his own life down and returned to life of his own accord, having destroyed the powers of darkness that were set against those he loves (The clip cuts out just before showing this scene, but it is found in the movie).

This is such a touching picture of the immense love that Jesus has for us, but if you watch the clip below you will discover yet another spiritual message—that of intercession. While we can all understand and agree that Jesus didn’t need our intercession to die and rise again, the above verses saying that he had the ability to do it himself, starting at 1:05 the clip shows us the power of intercession, and what happens when we come together as the Body of Christ in prayer. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” Our prayers are powerful and destroy works of darkness. As we come together and command God’s Kingdom and will to be done on earth as it is already being done in heaven, we release a spiritual power that changes things and sets the captives free. I encourage you to take a few minutes to watch the clip below and let Holy Spirit quicken these messages in your hearts as you watch Jesus speak His Gospel of life directly to our children in Kung Fu Panda 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RXBS4K4oSsE

Author’s Note: The clip was edited in a few parts leaving the scenes slightly choppy. The entire DVD can be watched online or ordered at the following links: Watch Order

The Gospel According to Dr. Strange

The Gospel According to Shrek 2