It's complete before it's begun

Just in case you missed my bio or my wifey's endless praise of how I'm the best plumber in the world, I'm letting you know now; that's how I make a living and keep food on the table.  I'm not one of the big crack in the back hockey chasers with the filthy boots, though.  I'm a new construction kinda guy.  I get my kicks through problem solving and mathematics throughout the day.  Sometimes it's hard, most times it's quite enjoyable.

Something I read from T. Austin Sparks the other day at lunch reminded me of my job.  He said "the vessel is in the potter and then the potter is in the clay".  Immediately the light bulb went on.  If you don't get it yet, hang in there with me,  Imma break it down fo' ya.

When I walk on to a job I usually have a set of drawings that show the dimensions of rooms and locations of the fixtures I am to plumb for.  Very rarely do my drawings show the locations of the pipework to be installed.  It is my job to be able to picture the pipe systems in place from point A to points B through Z before the first piece is installed.  That way I can do everything right the first time without a lot of two steps forward, three steps back.

Piece by piece the picture in my head becomes a reality.  Taylor made to convey water from one point to another.  Since geometry plays a key role in my methods of installation, the pipework always looks plumb, orderly, and neat.  People notice that.  Some folks have told me that they knew I did the plumbing installation because of how neat it all looked.  I had left my mark behind.

I think that is what Sparks was talking about.  We are Gods vessel and He is the potter who forms us from the clay.  He knows exactly what he wants to form and piece by piece He puts us together until His mental image has become a reality.  As the job progresses and especially once it is complete, He has left His mark.  People notice and say "God has done a work in these people".

The vessel is in the potter and then the potter is in the vessel.
Our names were written in the lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world and the end goal is:  Christ in you, the hope of glory.  We can rejoice that we were complete in the mind of God before He ever bagan to work in us.  In His mind we are complete in Christ and one day we will see ourselves the same way He does.  Perfect, righteous, holy and one with Him.

I'm no marksman

Most blogs, tweets, status updates and the like, I shoot from the hip.  Sometimes that shot comes from a pistol and hits it's intended target.  Other times it comes like a shotgun and has a wide spread with a lot of collateral damage.  You'd think that shooting from the hip with a shotgun would cut off my hand and cast it off where it belongs but no, I'm stuck with it and the consequences of it's trigger happy index finger.

Let me be straight with you, I like to be as transparent as I possibly can.  I don't much hide my feelings unless I first recognize those feelings to be sinful.  What you see is what you get.  The way I see it, I can't learn from mistakes I don't make.  Don't get me wrong, I don't set out to purposefully make mistakes.  I do set out to make something and sometimes that something is a mistake.  I read today that you can't get to the fruit unless you go out on a limb, I think there's some truth to that.

So why am I writing all this and wearing my heart on my sleeve?  Well, I'm glad you asked and if you didn't or don't care, feel free to find better use of your time.  Here's the deal-e-oh.  My thoughts made public offend people.  No big shocker there, right?  Here is what may surprise you:  I LIKE THAT.  I don't want to be the contentious know-it-all that the Bible says we should avoid.  I'm not deliberately being contentious or quarrelsome with anyone.  I'm just being honest.  You disagree with the things I say?  GREAT!  Let's talk about it and see how we can sharpen and build one another up.

Doesn't that sound like fun?

Well it's not.  It hurts, it's abrasive, it's hard, and it's not very enjoyable while were breaking off one another's rough edges.  But it is necessary if we are going to be who we are together in Christ as different members of the same body.  The rewards greatly outweigh the pain.  

I have no desire to be a shiny plastic person with a mask who dances on eggshells.  That's not my kind of party.

So, since I desire to have dialogue with those who disagree with me, why don't you participate in the conversation?  If my words shook you up, let me know.  I'm not the arrogant horses rear that your friends say I am.  Those of you who know me and have taken the time to talk with me should know better than to be offended by what I say and that I love a good conversation over a group of yes-men.

I just don't get it, it's like my blog or tweet goes out and all of the sudden it redefines who I am in the eyes of the beholder.
 
Wow, just, wow.  I'm out of bullets now, I'll be back later.

Westboro Baptist in Savannah: nothing unifies like a common enemy

Today was the day we've been waiting for. No, I'm not talking about Christ's return and I'm not writing this from the heavenlies of heavenlies. Today was the day Westboro came to Savannah.

Personally, I don't see any benefit from counter-protesting a group that thrives on attention. I do hope that the WBC group will hear and respond to the gospel and the only possible way they can hear that gospel is if someone preaches it to them and "demonstrates" the love of Christ, but frankly I didn't have any meaninful interaction with them. They were on one side of the road at every location and we were always on the other with twenty or so officers between us.

There was still much room for the kingdom to advance because there were very few professing believers on our side of the barricades. Most of the counter-protesters were either flaming rainbow worshippers or the friends and family of fallen soldiers. Overall it was a very peaceful demonstration that brought many unbelievers to one location in order to speak against the hateful and graceless God of WBC. I'm down with that.

I didn't want to carry any signs. My wife made a couple signs to hold up. The first containing the message that she wanted everyone to know from the beginning of our planning: "beware of false prophets who come to you in sheeps clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves." the second was the message I said I would put on a poster if I were inclined to carry a sign: "Christ redeemed us from the law by becoming a curse for us." I thanked her but I still didn't carry it.

While everyone shouted and waved their signs around, I interacted with the multiple groups and individuals present. It was a really cool experience. I have never had an opportunity like this to have so many unbelievers, especially homosexuals, engage in a conversation about religion and faith. I am very glad I went downtown and equally glad that Westboro provided such an opportunity.

I was WOWed by some of the responses I got when I asked the folks there if WBC had any effect on their views of who God is. It was nice to know that WBC didn't have the devastating effects on the fame of God's name I thought they did.  I enjoyed listening to the different worldviews represented there.  One girl had several flyers made up that said we make gods in our own image.  She was there to promote gay rights but I found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with her message about idols.

Over the course of a couple hours I engaged in several conversations about where I agreed and disagreed with Westboro.  Yes, I think some of what they say is true, but it's only half true. I had many perfect opportunities to tell people about how God does hate everyone who lives in sin but demonstrated His love for those same people by sending Jesus to die for us.  Christ took God's hate for us and His wrath toward us upon Himself and brought us into a right relationship with our heavenly Daddy.  He took the sin and gave us perfection.  He took the hate and gave us love. Every conversation was different because everyone shared different things.  I did the best I could to share the gospel in a way that would speak directly to them yet remain faithful to God's Word.  No one broke down and repented of their sins or asked to be baptized in the fountain at Johnson Square, although that would have been really awesome.  

One of the highlights was when one of my friends (way to go Sara!) persuaded many of the Pride group to sing "Jesus Loves The Little Children".  They sang so loud with so many voices that you couldn't hear WBC for a short time.  What made it so special is that we made many efforts to contact the church sites that were being protested along with numerous other children of God and asked them to join with us to sing praises to God as a unified body and share the love of Christ.  I could almost hear the church in Savannah singing "Amazing Grace" in my daydreams.  Regretfully, we were turned down and even lectured for telling others that they should participate.  Hearing the crowd of unbelievers sing praise to God was like hearing the rocks cry out.  God is sovereign and faithful.  He answers prayer, even when all hope seems lost.

I want to thank all of you that were praying for us through this time.  Even if you live here and didn't feel called to come downtown with us, I'm thankful that you were with us in spirit and gave our words and actions power through your active, prayerful participation.  Our efforts are useless without the other members of Christ's body playing their role.  I believe seeds were planted in the hearts of an unreached, yet local people group.  To the believers that were indifferent and decided you had better, more godly things to do in your living room or pew this morning I say SHAME ON YOU!!!

For my readers that do not live in Savannah:  If Westboro comes to your town, remember this:  you may not have any way to show them the love of Christ but there will be a great opportunity for many unbelievers there to see that same love.  Jesus hates, yet loves people both sides of the barricade and He died to show them.  The very least we can do is give up our comfortable Sunday morning to follow Him there.  That may mean going physically, organizing, or fervently praying.  Just do what God gives you the grace to do and don't ignore it or act on your own strength.  God will lead and provide you as you seek His will.

This is getting long and I don't have the ability to break up the blocks of text with pictures or anything so I'm signing off now.  I'll be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Laters.

Part 6: "P" is for plural

In the introduction to this series I said that I want to write about how my views and my love for the doctrines of grace (aka Calvinism) have been built upon by my new understanding of God's eternal purpose.

In the sixth and final post I want to talk about perserverence of the saints (it puts the "P" in TULIP) and how God's eternal purpose gives this doctrine some shape in Christ.

Also known as "once saved always saved" this doctrine is built upon the scriptures that assure us that God is the author and finisher of our faith who is faithful to complete the work He has started in us and no one can pluck us from his hand. To be honest this one has given me a bit of a run like the big "L" considering the Hebrews passages that seem to speak otherwise and the references to being blotted out of the book of life. But enough of my double-minded madness.

As I understand it (and of course I think I'm right) we are not saved for the sake of being saved so that we can be thankful for God's mercy and grace for all eternity and bow before His throne. Not that that would be a bad thing, in fact IF that were all there was to God's purpose in redemption that would be awesome and worthy of worship. But I don't think that is the end of what God had in mind before He bagan His great creative work. I think there is something much more marvelous than that in store for God's elect.

We are going to perservere because we have been saved to fulfill a purpose. Redemption is not an end in and of itself it's a means to a goal.  That goal is to bring all things into Christ.  Everything not in Christ will be shaken off and burned up.  That is the process every believer must go through.  Less of me, more of Christ.  He must increase, we must decrease.

If you look at the only four chapters of the Bible that are without sin (the first two and the last two) you will get a glimpse of God's eternal purpose.  Here's a hint:  there is a body made in His image, a bride, a family, and a dwelling place for God.  Too much of our theology begins in Genesis chapter three with the fall and goes forward from there but our God aint playing catch up.  

We were created for a purpose.  Notice I said "we" not "you".  The purpose of God cannot be brought about with individual precious stones until those precious stones have been built together.  That is the promise of our perserverence, namely to be built together into a holy habitation for our God.

I pray we all have this as our experience.  Christ will build his church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Perserverence is not only about you and me, it's about us.  We need each other because only the plural will perservere.

Part 5: "I" is for infatuated

This is part 5 of the series I am doing on Calvinism and God's eternal purpose.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I am writing it.

In the introduction to this series I said that I want to write about how my views and my love for the doctrines of grace (aka Calvinism) have been built upon by my new understanding of God's eternal purpose.

In this post I want to talk about irresistible grace (it puts the "I" in TULIP) and how God's eternal purpose gives this doctrine some shape in Christ.

To start, I want to give some shape to this doctrine for all of those who cringe at Calvinism because they refuse to be a robot. They'll say things like "God does not violate our will, we can resist Him if we want to". To that I say I agree 100 percent. The way I understand it, God does not change our will. God the Holy Spirit changes our heart by taking out the old heart of stone and giving us a heart of flesh. With this new heart comes new desires and a new will. That is not to say that we will not be tempted and have sinful desires any longer, but gradually our desire for sin will be outweighed by our desire for Christ. Just as God gave us over to the sin we desired with the old heart He gives us what we desire with the new one. To someone with a new heart God's grace is irresistible. Christ's atoning sacrifice is irresistible. Without a new heart a person can and will resist God and His grace. Like Jesus said to Nicodemus "unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God". In the reformed view this is called regeneration where the new heart and faith in Christ come simultaneously.

All you reformed brothers can feel free to correct me if I've misrepresented something. For the non-Calvinistic believers I hope you can rest easy knowing that I don't think you are a robot but you ARE a new creation.

So what is so irresistible about God's grace? The answer to that question ties us right back into God's eternal purpose. I think Frank Viola in his book From Eternity To Here did a fantasic job of displaying Jesus as the hopeless romantic that he is as he chases after his bride. That is the angle I will take with this post. Feel free to build on this in the comments about how it applies to the body, family and house of God.

Here is my answer to the question what is so irresistible?

Christ.

Yep, that's it and that's enough.

To a woman who is chased after, loved, forgiven, provided for, honored, cherished and held by a man who is completely and totally devoted to her good, that man is irresistible. To the church that man is Christ. To Christ, the church is his bride.

Jesus Christ IS the grace of God. God's grace is not some arbitrary, mystical and shapeless idea. God's grace has form and has a body. I'll say it again, Jesus Christ is the grace of God. He came to get his girl and He got her by giving himself up and sacrificing himself.

We are that bride. We are the apple of his eye, the desire of his heart, the object of his affection, the bearer of his name. He came to convince us of his love by shedding His blood and bringing us to his Father. Resistance is futile because eventually his love wins our hearts over to him. When his bride falls into his arms she is free to receive all of Him, to hear his sweet words in her ear and trust in her man totally and completely. In his arms we are safe because Jesus is the master of the universe.

Jesus is without a doubt the most passionate, giving man that has ever walked the earth. Not only that but he is sensitive, powerful, rich, generous, ambitious, successful, and strong. He is the King and he offers his bride the kingdom. What woman can resist a man like that?

Who can resist grace like that?

Calvinism and God's eternal purpose: "L" is for liberty

This is part 4 of a series of posts on the doctrines of grace through the lens of God's eternal purpose in Christ.

n the introduction to this series I said that I want to write about how my views and my love for the doctrines of grace (aka Calvinism) have been built upon by my new understanding of God's eternal purpose.

In this fourth post I want to talk about limited atonement (it puts the "L" in TULIP) and how God's eternal purpose gives this doctrine some shape in Christ.

Now before I continue I have a bit of a confession to make. As I have studied and struggled over these doctrines, this is the one I had the hardest time nailing down scripturally. Because of that I have settled to have a bit of a deformed "TULIP" in my flowerbed that looks more like "TU/LIP".

Yeah, you're confused now, I get it, don't worry I think I am too :)

My TULIP is deformed because I think that the atonement is both unlimited and limited. It is unlimited in the sense that Christ's death is good enough to pay for ALL of the sins of ALL of the people everywhere. But (and that is a big butt if you know what I mean) it is only "effectual" for ALL of the sins of SOME of the people, i.e. those who have faith in His blood to cover their sins. For these precious few who are in Christ and will come to Christ through our testimony, the work has been done on our behalf. It is finished. It cannot be taken away from or added on to. A result of the atonement and redemption of His elect is that Christ's kingdom is expressed on the earth. The benefits of the presence and power of Christ are shared by believer and unbeliever alike in many ways.

That's as far into that deformity as I want to go in this post. If there is any interest, I may write another post on that subject.

Moving on...

Christ's atonement put an end to the rights and claims that Satan and death had on us due to sin. Like I said before, that is a done deal, finished and completed by Christ alone. Bulls, goats and even our own lives don't cut it. We accept Christ's work on our behalf or we offer God a used menstrual rag as our ticket through the pearly gates. Those are the only two choices we have.

So how does the atonement help our understanding of the eternal purpose? There are a lot of ways but I'll name one that comes to mind just to get the ball rolling. Since Christ died for us and we died with Him, we have now been made a new creation in Him. Christ lives in and through us to expand His kingdom in our hearts and the hearts of others. We are no longer bound with sin as our master, we are free and liberated to live for and in Christ.

In the book of the Revelation we are given a glimpse of the Bride that is a city, adorned with precious stones, with streets of transparent gold. It is the dwelling place of God who's light is the glory of God and the Lamb is it's lamp.

Because of the atonement we are that bride. We are that city. We are the dwelling place of God.  Because sin has been done away with we can now be in the presence of our thrice Holy God.  This glimpse of what is to come shows us as much more than thankful and perpetually repentant sinners. We can move on in to maturity as we are moved deeper into Christ who is all in all. We enter in by the blood, our thirst is satisfied by the blood because the life, in this case Christ's life, is in the blood.

How would you say the atonement applies to the body and family facets of God's eternal purpose?

Calvinism and God's eternal purpose: U is for unity

In the introduction to this series I said that I want to write about how my views and my love for the doctrines of grace (aka Calvinism) have been built upon by my new understanding of God's eternal purpose.

I know I'm not the only "reformed" person who has had a change of mind regarding what the church should look like. We love what the reformers taught about salvation but think they fell short in reforming church practice. If that describes you: this series is written with you in mind. Feel free to help me build on these ideas because they are a work in progress.

In this third post I want to talk about unconditional election (it puts the "U" in TULIP) and how God's eternal purpose gives this doctrine some shape in Christ.

There is no doctrine that screams "to the glory of God alone" like this one. At it's most basic level unconditional election recognizes man's complete and total depravity making us unable to come to faith in Christ without the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit on our hearts. It is cause for praise to the grace of God and confidence of our place in Christ. He has begun this work in us and chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world therefore we will be with Him forever because He is faithful to complete what He started.

An understanding of God's eternal purpose transforms this doctrine from something individualistic - "I have been chosen" into something corporate - "we have been chosen in Christ". This becomes clearly evident as we acknowledge that most of the instances in Paul's epistles where he uses the term "you", he is speaking to a church. In other words he is lumping many believers into one and speaking to them as a single body. Rarely is Paul speaking to only one person when he says "you" and I cannot think of any instance where he is speaking to one person in regards to election.

I think that is an important distinction to make. Surely there is an individual nature to God's election. After all, there are "names" written in the book of life, right? Yet all those names are lumped together in one book. It is the body of Christ represented in that book that was elect before the foundation of the world.

The IN HIM as in "chosen IN HIM" makes all the difference in the world to how we regard election. We were not chosen for who we were before Christ came in to us. That would make our election conditional upon something we have or have done. We were chosen for who we are in Christ.

In Christ we are a holy nation and a royal priesthood. In Him we become the temple of the Living God. In Him we become His body. In Him we become sons and daughters of God. In Him we become His bride, bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh. We become Christ in corporate bodily form. This is what election is all about. Election is about being in Christ.

As I see it, our election is unconditional in regards to who we are in and of ourselves. Our election IS conditional upon one thing: that we are in Christ. We weren't "chosen" only to display God's mercy on us and bring praise to his glorious grace. That is part of it and a very big part, but it is only part. We were chosen to fulfill something that was missing in God's desire for creation. We were chosen to be a part of the new man in Christ. The man we were all created to be but failed.

Calvinist's won't get to heaven and be chanting nah nee nah nee boo boo, God chose me and He didn't choose you.

No, Christ through His blood has made us (Calvin or no Calvin) to be a kingdom and priests to Him and we shall reign on the earth. That's right, we are one with the King of Kings, we are in Christ, one big elected governing body. When we arrive we will all sing with one voice "praise to the Lamb that was slain" because it's all about Jesus, even election.

Please let me know if what I've said helps you understand election more or the eternal purpose more.

How can this change the way we talk about or preach about election?

Between Two Worlds: at the perfect time

Since I'm doing a series on Calvinism and God's eternal purpose I thought this post from Justin Taylor couldn't have come at a better time.  Since I appreciate the work He put into it and it is fitting for where I am in the series, I copied it in it's entirety.  Justin has a very active blog and usually has very informative and encouraging posts.  You should check him out at Between Two Worlds. You can find the link in my blogroll to the right.

The following is not meant to be exhaustive—one could also profitably include field, olive tree, flock, vine—but the following are verses that deal with the main New Testament metaphors for the church: body, marriage, family, and buildings.

The church is made up of many different members that comprise the one body of Christ.

"For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another." (Rom. 12:4-5)

"We who are many are one body" (1 Cor. 10:17).

"Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ" (1 Cor. 12:12).

"You are the body of Christ and individually members of it" (1 Cor. 12:27).

"Equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ" (Eph. 4:12).

"Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior" (Eph. 5:23).

"We are members of [Christ's] body" (Eph. 5:30).

"In my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church" (Col. 1:24).

The church is the bride of Christ.
"Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb" (Rev. 21:9).

"The marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure" (Rev. 19:7-8).

"For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ" (2 Cor. 11:12).

"'Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.' This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church" (Eph. 5:31-32).

The church is the family of God.

"I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty" (2 Cor. 6:18).

"Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother'" (Matt. 12:49-50).

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Eph. 2:19).

"As we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10).

"Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity" (1 Tim. 5:1).

The church is God's house.

"Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope" (Heb. 3:6).

"I am writing these things to you so that . . . you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:14-15).

"It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God" (1 Pet. 4:17).

The church is the temple of God, built with living stones, with Christ as the foundation and cornerstone, and the Holy Spirit indwelling it.

"For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Cor. 3:11).

"The household of God [is] built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit" (Eph. 2:19-22).

"'Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.' . . . 'The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone'" (1 Pet. 2:6-7 [Isa. 28:16; Ps. 118:22).

"You yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5).

"Do you not know that you [plural] are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple" (1 Cor. 3:16-17).

"Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own" (1 Cor. 6:19).

Calvinism and God's eternal purpose: "T" is for treasure

In the introduction to this series I said that I want to write about how my views and my love for the doctrines of grace (aka Calvinism) have been built upon by my new understanding of God's eternal purpose.

In this second post I want to talk about total depravity (it puts the "T" in TULIP) and how God's eternal purpose gives this doctrine some shape in Christ.

Recently I was thinking about God's majesty as it's displayed in Psalm 8. David's question came to mind "who is man that you are mindful of him?" I automatically think of how small and insignificant we are compared to the Creator of the universe when I'm reminded of this verse. This was no exception, only this time I was moved deeper into this meditation.

I thought about our depravity and the utter worthlessness of ourselves outside of Christ. Good for nothing but to be thrown into the fire heap out back with yesterday's dirty diapers. We are utterly unable and unwilling to love God and live for Him. Now usually I would be searching my heart for sin or feeling very sorry for being such a worthless wretch and thanking God for his electing grace just like any good little calvinist should. This time was different.

My mind moved to the answer to David's question. "What?" you say "there is an answer?" Yes, there is and that answer is Christ. Why is God minful of man? Because we were made in his image to be like Him. We were made to be in Christ. He made us to be a visible body to manifest himself with, to be a bride and wife made into one with the Son, a house suitable for Him to dwell in, and a family He can call his own and love for all eternity. In other words, He made us to fulfill His eternal purpose.

So why all the talk about depravity? Because we were made to be like Christ but, we sinned. Rather than take from the tree of life freely we wanted to do things our own way according to our knowledge of good and evil. Rather than accept God's provision for our life in the garden we have to work it out ourselves by the sweat on our brow. Rather than the painless work of God in a mother to bring more children into the Kingdom she must suffer great pain. That was and is our choice. We want to do it ourselves, we love to sin. This is the sum of our depravity and there is nothing we can do about it anymore than we can change the color of our skin. We have to understand that there is absolutely nothing we can do by our own strength to get back on track. The choice between good and evil is what got us into this sinful mess in the first place.

God did not intend for it to be difficult and painful forever. He did not intend to let man go on about our own way without calling us back to His way. He has always had his purpose in perspective and a plan through which to bring us back to His original intent for humanity. That intent is and always has been complete dependance and trust in Him so that we freely receive His love and we return to Him love, praise, worship and adoration. We join into the love and fellowship of the Three-in-one and become one with them.

In Christ the bonds of the curse of sin are broken. We are now a new creation in Christ. No longer are we to think of ourselves as worthless and depraved so much as we are in Christ. No longer are we to regard ourselves according to our sinful flesh. That man is dead, he died two millenia ago with Christ. Now we walk in the spirit, that is, in Christ. As we abide in Christ, our flesh is crucified over and over again as the Holy Spirit transforms us by renewing our mind.

David's question in Psalm 8 has always made me praise the glorious grace of God. Now I see that his amazing grace is much more than just saving a wretch like me but it also brings me into the image of His Son that I meet the desires of His eternal purpose in creation. We weren't saved just to be saved. We weren't saved just to praise Him for saving us. We've been saved in spite of our depravity to fulfill God's original desire and plan for humanity: to be a visible body to manifest himself with, to be a bride and wife made into one with the Son, a house suitable for Him to dwell in, and a family He can call his own and share His love with for all eternity.

Christ in you, the hope of glory. There is nothing at all worthless about that. In fact our value is based on the unsearchable riches that are ours in Christ Jesus not on who we once were outside of Him. He has changed us from totally unable and depraved into the treasure of His inheritance.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound, INDEED!!

Shout out to my peeps

Before I continue with my series I want to take some time to recognize you, my readers. Lately I've noticed the pageviews on my blog going north. I don't know who is among those new readers and how many have been subjected to my musings for some time but I want you to know, I appreciate you all for stopping by and being interested and especially for your responses and interaction. Thank you.

Since I have reason to believe there are several new readers, I thought I would let you all know a little more about why I started this blog. I began to write for a few of the following reasons:

1. To share our journey of faith as we follow our convictions in order to encourage, build up and maybe challenge others.

2. To capture some of the mediations that flow through my mind everyday so I have something to look back on and so you have somewhere to come back to if my writing has had any impact on you.

3. To get feedback on what I write so that I have some accountability against bad ideas and can have my good ideas built on by others.

4. I love to write and I'm hoping to build my writing skills through this medium. Maybe I'll do something greater than blog with my thoughts and writing one day.

That's a basic sum of why I started. I have been blogging now for about 8 months and it's been fun. I love the interaction I get here in the comments and the spill-over conversation on other blogs. Special thanks to Alan, Arthur, and Eric for linking to my posts and bringing your readers into Neverland. I would also like to thank Tim, Lisa, Jon and Shane for leaving comments. If I didn't mention you and you're sharing or responding to my blog on your own it's because I'm unaware of it, not because I don't appreciate it. Please let me know so I can give you a shout out as well.

I've also noticed that a lot of folks are beginning to come here from twitter and interact over there as well so if you're not on twitter, you're missing out. There are many great bloggers that provide short bursts of uplifting, challenging, and provocative material crammed into 140 characters or less on a daily basis. It's also a nice place to cut loose and have some fun.

I can't have a post like this without mentioning my faithful readers from Facebook. I get more traffic from facebook than from anywhere else. I don't know who you are because most of you don't comment or get involved but I love you just the same. Thanks for hanging in there with me.

If you like or dislike a post here, please let me know. A simple statement like "good thoughts" or "you're an idiot" would suffice. Comments are what bloggers write for and for many of us it is our only compensation for writing. Please don't leave the table without leaving a tip. Short comments let us know we're appreciated, thoughtful comments are even better and are what bloggers blog for.

If you read my blog regularly and have a blog of your own, please leave a comment and share your blog address with everyone. I'm sure many of my readers would hop on over and check out what your up to. There are a lot of great blogs out there and the best way I know to help you get your name out there is to invite you to plug it here.

Don't be shy, jump in, the water's fine.