John ends his gospel revealing the poetic redemption of the world. It was in a garden that man and woman sinned against the Father. Death was birthed for the first time here. It makes sense then that death would have its last stand where it all began, in a garden. In the tomb, the Son of God would be resurrected once and for all conquering death and birthing resurrection and life.

Also in a poetic manner, Eve birthed the rebellion with the act of deception she fell prey to in the Garden. The name Mary (Hebrew transliteration Marian) which literally means “Their rebellion” carries the redemptive seed of Salvation, Jesus (The name literally means “The God who Saves”). God choses a woman named Mary to carry the redemption of the world. Mary had a choice to accept or reject the message of the Angel. She could either continue the rebellion or carry the seed of the Tree of Life in her. She humbly lifts up her praise and magnification signaling her belief and obedience in God. (LUKE 1:26-55)

Then, in the garden at the tomb of Jesus, another Mary, Mary Magdalene, becomes the first proclaimer of the Redemption and resurrection of Jesus. God choses the first person to see the resurrection and life to be a woman named Mary “their rebellion” redeeming the act of rebellion in the Garden.

Eve believed in the deception and ate of the Tree that produced death she spread the seeds of death to man (Genesis 3:12), but Mary believed the Humble Gardener of Truth (John 20:15), Jesus, and in so was able to produce some of the first seeds of the tree that produces life (John 20:17-18).

What a God we serve who continues to reveal the depths of his grace in poetic redemption! I think there is much much more surrounding the rebellion in Genesis and the out-workings of redemption through Jesus. This is just a foretaste :)

So many times, we discredit or pass over quickly the core things of our faith and this is included. I am a son of God. Done, nexttttt topic. This however is at the very core of our belief and unlocks our true identity. This separates all of the religions of the world with Christianity. A God that wants relationship, but relationship doesn’t do justice to what he is actually yearning for. God wants a family.

For a brief period of time in the beginning in the Garden of Eden, he had family. Adam and Eve walking with God probably eating and drinking with Him. Then came the fall to temptation which was actually a acceptance of belief that the Father couldn’t be trusted. The Enemy brought his atmosphere of fear, condemnation and rebellion and disconnected a son and daughter who as a result adopted the identity of orphans. This identity says I’m not worthy of the Love of God (shame) or I can do everything on my own and fight for all the things I get myself or I am afraid of a trusting relationship (mistrust). It is counter to the identity of son or daughter which is one of trust, love, sacrifice, generosity and peace.

The seed of the orphan spread through humanity with a patient Father trying to reconnect. He tried making new covenant after new covenant that would reestablish “his people” a.k.a his Family, his sons and daughters. This was in fact his plan of discipleship of the human race, since He is sovereign and knows the outcome at the end of the Age. Like a loving father, he knows that sometimes kids learn best the hard way. When he tried with the Isrealites after sealing the Covenant, the God of all creation came down and ate with Moses and the 70 elders (Exo 24). A few chapters later, we see the Israelites rejecting God and turning back to worshipping idols. This is our Father! He wants to eat and drink with us knowing the rejection coming. He’s a good father. It is again echo’ed in the marking of the New Convenant of Jesus (the exact representation of the Father) at the Last Supper. Again, rejection was in the very room in form of Judas, yet He makes a covenant of family knowing what is ahead of Him. God the Father is always knocking on the door of our hearts patiently saying to us, “Come Home, Sons and Daughters, Come Home”! He wants to dine with you and introduce you to the family.

When we accept the Father’s invitation into the family, we gain freedom because our identity moves from orphans and slaves to sons in the love of the Father. We trust the Father and walk in his ways and achieve freedom and peace and then we can introduce the orphans of the world to their true Father in heaven and their true identity as a son or daughter.

And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. -John 17:3

When we accept Jesus we take on the family name and become co-heirs with Him and are seated in heavenly places. It’s the Father’s good pleasure to give us His Kingdom! Are you still feeling unworthy? I pray that the Spirit of Adoption enters you and your spirit cries out DADDY to our Father in heaven. All creation is waiting and groaning for you to be revealed as a son or daughter and live with the Father as he dwells and lives with you.

Is it a place where people can do anything they want, whenever they want? Sounds like freedom at first glance, right?

I remember when I would spend the night at a friend’s house when I was growing up, they would have more apparent freedom. I was able to have tons of candy and soda! FREEDOMMMMM….30 minutes later…stomach ache :( Back then, I probably didn’t see the benefit of my loving parents not giving me candy every time my heart desired it. (Thanks mom and dad) It was a guideline for my own good!

Inside of freedom, you could say “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything. (summarizing 1st letter to Corinthians ch6 vs12)

So then, freedom includes all things being lawful. We CAN do anything, so why shouldn’t we submit to the desires of our passions? In the letter to the Romans chapter 6, talks about this very thing. We are a slave to the one/thing we obey. If we are a slave to our own consumption of pleasurable things, it will consume us and literally cause death to our soul as well as our body over time. The plan of satan is to KILL you. Our little sins are gateways on a path to bondage which ultimately lead to death. Even believing little lies, prevent us from walking in the fullness of what God has for us.

What are we to be slaves of then? If we have to choose one thing to be a slave of it should be something that brings us life to the full. Life in freedom. The only option for freedom is to be a slave to God.

Freedom in being a slave? This makes no sense at all does it. Welcome to the paradox of the kingdom of God. I started dwelling and meditating on this and realized that freedom is actually found when there are no deterrents or malfunctions in original design. A car can only perform inside of its limitations. If it goes beyond that it breaks down or becomes unsafe. The creator of the car knows exactly the limitations to prevent breakdown and safety. We were created in the likeness of God: HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, LOVING, JOYFUL etc. These things then define and unlock our true freedom. How we were created to be is where freedom lies.

How is this freedom obtained? “It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free!” (Letter to the Galatians ch5 vs1, emphasis mine). “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (2nd Letter to the Corinthians ch3 vs17). Freedom is found in Jesus. When we submit to our creator, we have true freedom. His spirit knows us even better than we do and has the operating manual to our life. Some things he created us for: His own enjoyment, to be fruitful and multiply (in all Godly ways), to be sons and daughters of Him, for the sake of true freedom, co-heirs to the Kingdom, ministers of reconciliation (Freedom), to enter in to the Father’s divine rest, and probably many more awesome reasons.

Jesus bring freedom to us! Show us who were created to be. Show us areas where we are still submitting to the counterfeit master. Bring us life to the full. amen

I’ve been on a journey of revelation about community over the past few years. It was never something I thought about at all before I really entered a different type of community and witnessed different communities around the world in India, Taiwan and Europe. I immediately saw that much of the world values community much more than Americans. Not only this, but they welcomed brand new friends into their community so readily. I think much of this value is lost in my homeland amidst the fight for individualism and self-reliance and frankly, pride. Don’t get me wrong, there are pockets of community still thriving where community is a core value in America. I actually see an uprising of thought and experiments on community living that really excite me coming from America.

I actually just came back from the AWAKEN gathering that is one experiment/organization on how to live out a community anywhere in the world centered around God and fulfill His purposes for man. I’m also on staff for the Awaken DTS where last year, something unique happened. We hit a deeper place of community. It was actually almost by accident. We just gathered together around God, specifically to seek him and get to know our new staff and it blew up! (in the best way possible) During the DTS people kept commenting on something being different about the DTS, there was a new unity and a family feel. The next year, all of us came back except for a few (which is rare in a DTS). We finally started realizing and examining what was happening and looking to the bible for more revelation on what God was doing.

As I write this, I feel the Lord’s heart to see restoration in community to how he views it. It is actually our role as believers to fulfill restoration according to Paul’s letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5:18). We are ministers of Reconciliation as modeled out by the reconciler Jesus Christ who reconciled man with God through his life, death, and resurrection. We are to bring others into reconciliation by the proclamation of this Good News (Gospel). Jesus actually says unity in the body shows non-followers that we are followers of Jesus.

As I said earlier family has been hugely attacked by the enemy. Divorce is out of control in America and not just outside the church! Inside the church it is the same statistic! Not only that, the body of christ is split into fragments of denominations caused by differences in doctrine. Why? I believe it comes down to an understanding community and how God views it.

Community is misrepresented and broken on earth because of the original sin in the garden that broke communion with God. Now through the work of Jesus, we can have community with God and godly community with each other. I want to reveal biblical community as much as God gives me revelation on it because I want to see these crazy statistics drop! The more I read the bible, the more I see just how much God valued healthy community. Jesus cultivated and served his community and gave his life for them. The first experience of the Holy Spirit came when all the believers were of one accord ie IN UNITY! The result was revival. There is something powerful that happens when we gather together around God with one unity. It’s where the Spirit dwells, dreams are birthed, vision is developed, relationships are restored, lies are exposed, and the enemy flees from the powerful body of Christ. All mankind craves community with God and man. Its a yearning in everyone’s heart to be accepted, safe, loved. We believers are to model out how our God dwells and when we do we will be a witness to non-believers. Jesus said it this way, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

I pray for unity in the body of Christ so that we may be a pure and spotless community for our Lord and fulfill his purposes on earth!

I will continue to write more on this topic as the Lord releases revelation on it as I feel its one of my life studies and missions to restore and create healthy community.

Eternal Life
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord – Rom 6:23

Freedom
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. Rom 8:1-2

Permanent Love of God
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Rom 8:38-39

New Creation
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Cor 5:17

Spirit in us, Blessing of Abraham
so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith. Gal 3:14

Son and Daughters of God
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. Gal 3:26

Unity
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Gal 3:28

Provision from God
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19

IN JESUS AND JESUS ALONE WE HAVE ALL THINGS GOOD

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,

Col 1:15-19

That being said, I see the truth in growing in my faith by taking steps out and watching God work. I think God is most revealed to man in the steps of faith we take. The knowledge of God is also found in these steps of faith because we see his character revealed in them.

For example, Noah saw God’s saving character as he stepped out in faith and built an ark in the midst of many scoffers. Hagar learned that God hears when she was desperate and had to rely on him in the desert. There are probably better examples but those are a few to illustrate my point. The step of faith is best shown in Peter stepping out of the boat with his eyes on Jesus. Through this miracle, he learned that God can be trusted. We as believers need to grow in faith and the result of this faith we will find pieces of God’s character (knowledge of God).

What was the first temptation, the first false teacher? Satan in the Garden says, “Did God really say…?” to Eve. He was attacking the character of goodness and trustworthiness of God. Adam and Eve obviously weren’t secure in their faith in God. Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith shows us how to refute attacks on the knowledge of God as he is tempted in the desert. He relies on the word of God, the truth. In the same way, we need to all continue gaining knowledge of God and applying it by faith to our lives. In Ephesians, it talks about putting on the shield of faith as it extinguishes all the flaming darts of the evil one (Ephesians 6:16). All the armor mentioned in Ephesians is on the front of the believer, because I think the intent is to show that we are moving forward in faith! Therefore, as we move forward in faith and step out, we will grow in the knowledge of God. We will also easily refute any false teachers that rise up as we rest in our faith in God’s character.

Faith is an area God is really growing me in so I wanted to share a little bit of what I was thinking about during this SBS! Plus this fulfilled one of my final applications :)

This week, I had a major mind shift on what was accomplished on the death and resurrection of Christ. This week I read and studied Romans, which is a huge systematic laying out of going from a sinner to believer. It was mostly written to the christian Jews volume-wise, but also includes tons of information for the gentile (non-jews) believers. The purpose was to stop the disunity in the church that happened over the combining of the two groups when they came to faith. This is a brief background that can be studied more if you are interested.Where I pick up and am applying to the year 2011 is ch 5.

Chapter 5

Ch 5 gives us the basis for our faith. We are justified by faith and have peace with God (5:1). We also have God’s love poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (5:5). God’s love is showcased in Christ who while we were still ungodly, enemies of God, he died for us. Through this act, we were reconciled (roughly translated-intensely changed-which is different from the more plain word used in greek, apokatallasso, used in Col 1:21) to God.
Through God’s grace, Jesus redeemed the sin of man by dying and raising to life and we get a free gifts on top of this redemption through our faith and they are called righteousness and life! The gift of life is for this life and eternal life. (5:12-20)

Chapter 6

For the Jews this means freedom from the law, which was where they thought they had to obtain righteousness from works of the law. Ch 6 is dealing with this new freedom and Paul shows that the freedom isn’t to sin more so grace can abound more, but if you still sin you are a slave to sin and reap its fruit of death. He makes a important point in 6:22, now you have been set free from sin and are bondservants (a slave by choice) of God and his fruit is sanctification (being made holy) and eternal life.

Chapter 7

Paul again speaking to the Jews explains the law’s role. Because the Law came from God, critics ask because the law reveals sin, is the law sin? (7:7) Paul shows that the Law is holy but the sin in man took advantage to create bondage out of the Law. (7:11-12)
Ok, here’s where it gets interesting. Paul goes into his “I do what I don’t want even when I know I don’t want to do it” section (15-20). Most use this to show that we can’t do what we want even if it’s good (I did it too). He emphatically reaches a climax and cries out, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” and answers his own question! “Thanks be to God through Jesus!” (7:24-25). His last statement talks about his mind serving the Law of God (knows what is right) and flesh serving the law of sin (does what is wrong) which sets up chapter 8…
Keep in mind chapters were not around but this was a letter that flowed. The key to chapter 8 is my point in this all: “there is therefore now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death…By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh…” (8:1-2).
The law of sin is condemned and righteousness is obtained by those who have faith (walk according to the Spirit). Also, our bodies are not considered sinful or dead but are given life by the Spirit who dwells in us. So even our bodies are redeemed by the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead (8:10-11).
So the question then is if we aren’t considered sinful (but are spirit-full), do we (believers) still sin? Isn’t this the wrong question? By the very mention of sin, it acknowledges something dead has power-maybe this is where we are going wrong. By thinking we are still going to sin or fearing we will, we sin. We are to live by the new law of the spirit of life which is freedom from sin and leads us to sanctification.

We don’t need to have battle between our mind and body because the battle is won, find peace in the Spirit!

Practically, say you are in bondage to sin and are a believer. I think there needs to be a mindshift, to understand the freedom the spirit brings. There still will be temptation to turn from the spirit because of the sin around us, but when we set our minds on the Spirit, you have freedom. You set your mind, the Spirit brings freedom. It will come, have faith!

Sidenote: this doesn’t mean hide bondage or don’t talk about what you are going through, bring it to the light to expose the lie and get freedom!

Just a few thoughts rolling in my head ;) Thanks for getting to the bottom and I hope I can discuss these topics more! I’ve been soaking in these scriptures and asking questions and it makes me in awe of the intricacies of salvation, but I can always fall back on the basics of faith! I think this is the reason for discussion of the bible−to bring us all closer to God. I encourage you all to do the same!

Moral of the story: LIVE AND SET YOUR MIND ON THE SPIRIT and you soon will see sanctification, victory and life. Praise God for his wonderful mercy and love!

Final Application – Colossians

What are the basic, timeless truths in this book?

TT: Jesus is in all before all and through all (1:15-23)
TT: Jesus has power over darkness (1:13)
TT: Jesus brought believers back to their original state as when they were created by God. (1:21)
TT: Gazing at Jesus transforms believers to be like him (3:1)
TT: A yes to Jesus is a yes to him transforming a believer’s whole life. (3:5-17) <- FOCUS

What am I to believe?

Jesus is Lord of all things. If I believe that with all my heart then I should walk it out as well because that means he is lord of my life. Thankfully, he is a good Lord though and I should trust him will my life. When I said yes to Jesus I said yes to his Lordship and yes to burying my old life to live with Him. My new life is revealed as I am transformed in to his likeness, which is my original state. It is who I was created to be. Jesus doesn’t want me to be Paul, he doesn’t want me to be Billy Graham he wants me to be Calvin Hanson, man after God’s heart.

Are there attitudes, actions or thought patterns that I need to change?

Many times because it is a minute-by-minute choice I chose self over God. I feel his prompting to talk to someone or to do something and I ignore him. I say I want his lordship in my life but dishonor him when I disobey him. I really lack faith sometimes that Jesus says he is who is, because I put him in my mind’s God-shaped box and think he needs to act how I believe he will. I need heart revelation of his lordship and grace from him to walk it out in my life. I need to make my choice with fear and reverence to my King. I need to lay down myself daily before his throne at the right hand and keep my mind on him and the things above. I need to continue to walk in love and put on the resurrected Christ as he holds my hidden new body. I need to thank God for the life he is revealing to me slowly as I am slowly saying more yes’s to him.

What can I learn about my relationship with God, with people?

I am learning that power of love God possesses and how I need to use it as he gives it to me to love all as he loves me. I am learning I can’t box God in because it restricts His good works in me. I am learning I need to respect his Lordship in my life and submit to his authority and to where he has me and stop complaining about earthly things. I am seeing that he is a good Lord because the things of the world not from him are full evil and he wants only the best for me and to share the richness of life with me.

What is the Good News for me?

Jesus is a good Lord. He controls all things and works through all things for the good of his will. He calls me to certain situations for my benefit. He is a God that wants to share in the glory of his creation with his created. Jesus has raised me up with him and expects me to seek out my new life by looking to him.

In view of these truths, what changes should I make in my life?

I need to put on Christ daily and focus on his voice in my life and obey it. I need to gain revelation on what it means to be a new creation in Christ.

This crowd seemed pretty hungry for his miracles and teachings, as one time they saw him leaving on a boat and they ran on foot (~10-15 miles) and beat him to the other side. (see map of Sea of Galilee).

Although he had a following of tons of hungry people what separated them out from the disciples?

The crowds followed him for his benefits—healing and teaching. They heard his parables but didn’t seek him to understand them.

The disciples were chosen by him. They obeyed his calling of “Follow me”. They sought to know more about the parables. They were open to his rebukes to help their character. Jesus entrusted secrets of the Kingdom to them and told just them things about the future.

The disciples weren’t superhumans, many times they were super confused by what Jesus was saying and they said irrational things (sounds like me haha). Sometimes they were like the crowd in wanting Jesus’ miracles (In Luke, read about the “Sons of Thunder” wanting to call down fire from heaven!). What set them apart from the crowd was their whole-hearted desire to follow him and seek the deeper things Jesus had to offer.

Both the crowds and the disciples abandoned Jesus at his arrest and crucifixion.

The question this got me asking myself is am I seeking just His benefits or whole hearted following after Him for everything he offers, teaches and leads me to? I see time and time again Jesus had compassion on the crowd, but the text says he DESIRED to be with the disciples. Whoa, that’s what I’m after.

Kick it old school with Delirious: