As we continue our look at some of our misunderstandings of God, I want to
take a look at repentance. Repentance for most Christians means to tell God how sorry one is for their sins. We have equated repentance to sorrow. While it is true that godly sorrow leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10), being sorry doesn’t necessarily bring forth change. Being sorry is simply an emotional response. True repentance is a change of mind. One thing that we need to repent of (i.e. change our minds about) is the fact that God is love and He is for humanity and not against humanity. If most of your prayer time is “forgive me” and “I am so sorry” then something is wrong with your relationship with Father and you misunderstand Him. I know because a lot of my prayer times used to be about me begging for forgiveness.
Blog Archives
Unconditional Love is an Oxymoron
All of my life I have heard Christians talk about the unconditional love of God. I’ve heard, and even spoken, about the love of God being without conditions, while people tend to love with conditions. As I think about love and what love really is, I have come to an understanding that “unconditional love” is really an oxymoron.
If love comes with conditions then it is really not love. Love has to be without conditions or else it becomes manipulation. Continue reading…..
Ordinary: How to turn the world upside down (book review)
Once in a while I will read a book that not only captivates my attention but also convicts my soul. Ordinary: How to Turn the World Upside Down by Tony Merida is a book that has done both. It’s a small book that one can easily get through in a couple of hours but the impact that it leaves is a great one.
In some Christian circles there is always the call to be radical or to be more “on fire for Jesus.” Some chant let’s take this city for Jesus and look for ways to be open and vocal. Tony’s premise is to just be ordinary 
and change the world through simple ordinary acts. Christianity isn’t supposed to be flashy, rather it’s supposed to be like yeast that permeates and affects the culture around it. Tony reminds us in this book that God is looking for ordinary people willing to do ordinary things.
How American Christianity differs from Kingdom Christianity, part 2
I wrote in an earlier blog about the differences between American Christianity and Kingdom Christianity. I want to continue with this thought process.
American Christianity has become prosperity and success driven whereas Kingdom Christianity is about giving.
In America bigger is always better. Americans believe that the key to the pursuit of happiness is built upon wealth and success. This idea has largely shaped the American church. You have not become a successful pastor if your church isn’t pushing big numbers. Too many pastors are making CEO salaries and living lavish lifestyles. I am not advocating poverty for pastors by no means. Nor am I saying that it’s wrong for Christians to have money. The Kingdom Christian will be a giving person, not of just money but of time, talent and ultimately their lives. Early Christians were not afraid to die for their faith. American Christians cry persecution too much when we don’t really know what persecution is really about.
Why You Haven’t Committed the Unforgiveable Sin (book review)
Most Christians have heard of the unforgiveable sin, blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. So many have wondered and even believed that they have committed this sin. Most don’t understand even what this sin is.
It is of the most misunderstood scriptures in the New Testament.
31 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit 
shall not be forgiven. 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. (Matt. 12:31-32, NASB)
In his book, Why You Have not Committed the Unforgiveable Sin, author and blogger Jeremy Myers does a great job of unraveling this complicated verse. Jeremy takes real conversations that he has had with people through his blog site and shares those conversations to show folks why they have not committed this sin.
The Invitation
Jesus’ ministry was abuzz with rumors, questions and “office water cooler” talk. He was famous throughout Israel. It would seem that people were not really quite sure what to think about this commoner who taught with authority and worked miracles. Who was this man?
Jesus asked his disciples about what others were saying about Him:
photo credit: Marco Bellucci via photopin cc
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” 14 And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” (Matthew 16:13-14)
I can imagine all the stories that the disciples heard that were going around Galilee. People were talking and I am sure that the disciples were hearing the different things that were being said. This scripture makes that clear. I am sure the disciples even had their own opinions and questions about who Jesus really was.
Identity, Authority & Motives (part 3)
We all do what we do for a reason. We may not know what that reason is but there is always a reason why. Dr. Phil McGraw has ten life laws that he teaches. One of those laws is People Do What Works. His statement is that people do what they do because there is some type of payoff for their action. Either good or bad, they want the payoff. That’s their motive. We all have motives. Some are good, but others are not. Some of our motives are to try to find the shortcut,
to take the proverbial, “easy way out.” Jesus had to face this situation in his life. As we look at the final temptation of Jesus, we now see that Jesus was tempted in the arena of motives.
Identity, Authority & Motives (part 2)
The word authority gets thrown around a lot among Christian circles, especially in the Charismatic/Apostolic-Prophetic movement. During the last 20 years I have heard the word authority used so many times. Some in a right context, but unfortunately many times it has been used in a wrong way. I’ve seen authority abused and misused. I’ve seen authority hurt and damage many people. I believe in authority and the proper submitting to authority. 
I believe that God wants us to use authority in the proper context. We must learn what true authority is and how it is to be used within our lives. Jesus sets the perfect example of how not to misuse authority. That is, we should never use our authority to prove our identity.
Clearance Sale Jesus
A friend and I were talking one day about the cost of following Jesus. Following Jesus is a costly thing. He said Himself that if we didn’t give up everything to follow Him that we couldn’t be His disciple (Luke 14:33). That’s costly.
It’s not about us working to receive salvation. It’s about being in a relationship with Jesus. Relationships 
take work. Relationships require commitment and they will cost you. You get out of a relationship what you put into it. When it comes to our relationship with Jesus we must be willing to give up whatever is going to hinder that relationship. It must be the centrality of all that we do. Like any human relationship it will take work on our part to make the relationship vibrant, wonderful and healthy.
Repentance to God’s love
Struggling with God’s Love
The love of God is best seen and learned through the life of Jesus. Jesus came to reveal and explain the Father to us. I love what Bruxy Cavey said, “The life of Jesus is like God pausing from teaching us lessons & saying ‘Here’s what I mean – watch this.’” God is just like Jesus and always has been like Jesus. We haven’t always known that, but we do now.. Jesus’ life reveals the Father’s heart and love for humanity to us.
To get over our misunderstanding of God we must see Him as love. We must understand His love for humanity. His message to us is, “I love you. I want to be with you. You are valuable to me. I would rather die than to be without you.” That’s a very powerful thought, that God (Jesus) would rather die than to be without us. Because we couldn’t fix the problem, God the Father took it up Himself to fix the broken relationship problem between Himself and humanity. He loves us more than we can ever fathom.
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