Celebrate Your Failures...Celebrate Life!

We all go through what seem like ups and downs in life, it is so easy to celebrate our times of success and worry/complain about the season of the supposed failure. I think what we forget to realize is that our failures are what teach us and allow us to grow. There are people out there (like myself) who are driven by their emotions, good feelings make us believe that life is good and bad feelings make us believe that life is bad. I think the reason this occurs is because we have not mastered the skill of properly discerning the illusion of time. Yes, I called it "the illusion of time" because, does time really exist? Lately I have been fascinated by Einsteins theory of relativity, which the best way to explain it in laymen's terms is a quote from the man himself:

"If you sat on a hot stove for 5 minutes, it would seem like an hour. If you talked to a beautiful and charming woman for an hour it would seem like 5 minutes. Thats relativity" -Albert Einstein

Time is relative to the individual or group of connected individuals. It intrigues me the way my five year old son does not comprehend time the way I do. The only comprehension of time he has is by the small moments that occur in his life; Watching a movie, how long his sister is at school, his mother is at work, how long it takes to play a certain game, etc. He will ask me a question like how long till Rylee (his sister) gets home from school? I will respond, 2 hours and he will say yeah, but how long is that? In which I respond one movie, then he gets it. It is my experience that younger children have a very different experience with time than the rest of us. We know from science that as crazy as it sounds time travel is theoretically possible even though not currently practical. Which is even more of a reason why I believe that time does not really exist. It's only relative.

If you believe in God like I do then what is even more fascinating to me, is the theory that God does not see time like we do, (which for me brings a whole new meaning to "faith like a child") there are numerous accounts of God's time in biblical scripture 2 Peter 3:8 (With God, one day is as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day.) Isaiah 46:10 (I make known the end from the beginning) Revelation 1:8 (I am the alpha and the omega the A-Z, the beginning and the end)

In John 11 when Martha was upset about her brother Lazarus's death and Jesus said to her your brother will rise again, Martha said I know he will rise again in the resurrection in the last day. Jesus says something so profound we are still trying to unravel its mystery. Jesus said "I AM the resurrection and the life." With this short statement we see how Martha (which we can easily just replace her name with ours) put her understanding in chronological time (a start and a finish) while Christ's understanding of time was and is in the eternal, ever present NOW!

Definition from Wikipedia:

Kairos (καιρός) is an ancient Greek word meaning the right or opportune moment (the supreme moment). The ancient Greeks had two words for time, chronos and kairos. While the former refers to chronological or sequential time, the latter signifies a time in between, a moment of undetermined period of time in which something special happens. What the special something is depends on who is using the word. While chronos is quantitative, kairos has a qualitative nature.

There is a scene in the Disney movie Meet the Robinson's where Franny says "I propose a toast to Lewis, and his brilliant failure." We all need people in our life who celebrate our failures just as much, or maybe even more than our successes, because most of the time it is our failures not our successes that teach us about the heart of life.

It is with this understanding that I am learning to live, even though there are ups and downs I believe that the sum total of all life is good. John Mayer in his song "the heart of life" says it so beautifully like this:

Pain throws your heart to the ground
Love turns the whole thing around
Fear is a friend who's misunderstood
But I know the heart of life is good

James 1:2-4 (The Message)

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

Freedom over rules & Love over judgment...

It's a funny thing, and I know there is an exception to every rule, however generally when someone does something you deem "bad" you offer them compassion and they change their mind. You offer someone freedom as opposed to rules and they seem to break less rules then they would have, had they had them.

Romans 2:4 "It's the goodness of God that leads you to change your mind"

Please don't get the wrong idea with what I'm about to say, my mom passed away in 2003, she was a great mom and I loved her very much. I no longer grieve over her earthly death even though those of us who knew her miss her. I know that her life now is more abundant.

I remember growing up, it would probably be fair to say I was very mischievous. ( : I was always getting into something. The more rules I broke the more rules my mom would add, Sometimes I would try very hard to not break the rules (other times I didn't even try).

I remember when I was 15, I got arrested for shoplifting, (this was not my first run-in with the arm of the law) my dad picked me up from police custody and took me home, I stayed in my room until my mom got home from work. When she got home I could hear my dad tell her what had happened. There was something very out of context that happened next, you see most of the time my mom would react with fiery, intense, loud displays of disapproval, but this time was different. Instead of the usual increase in vocal volume, she came into my room and said words that I will never forget, she said: "I give up, I will always love you and provide for you, but you can do whatever you want, I can't do it any more"

You would think that this would have a negative reaction, or perhaps your thinking; that is a terrible thing to say, but that's not the effect it had on me. Instead what it did was life changing. For the first couple weeks like the prodigal son I took full advantage of my new found freedom, but then after I had done everything and there was nothing left that I wanted to do. It was at this point I evaluated my life and began to realize that what I actually wanted most was to succeed, to live up to my potential and be the best me I could be. I wanted to believe in destiny.

There are some people out there who struggle so much with "sin" that the concept that God still loves and forgives is lost on them. As I heard a great preacher once say in response to someone who asked him "so you're telling me I can do whatever I want and still go to heaven" his answer wasn't a simple, yes, His answer was, "What do you want to do?". you see those of us who are so bound to legalism can not see past following the the "do's and don'ts". It is my belief that like the prodigal son, after all the squandering has lost it's thrill, you will realize that it is far greater to be in your fathers house, where the supply never ends.

It seems to be the norm these days for allot of us so called "Christians" or any religious fanatics for that matter to judge others lives and to attribute their own cultural disapproval and sign it in the name of God. As the old proverb says "Don't judge someone, until you've walked a mile in their shoes". Could it be that the reason you have so much disapproval isn't that the other person actually deserves judgment or punishment, but it's actually because you are not familiar with their culture, generation, or beliefs? Maybe it's time that we stop talking, and start listening.

"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." - Mother Theresa

William Barclay

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Barclay_(theologian)

I AM A CONVINCED UNIVERSALIST

by William Barclay

Professor of Divinity and Biblical Criticism at Glasgow University and the author of many Biblical commentaries and books, including a translation of the New Testament, "Barclay New Testament," and "The Daily Study Bible Series."

I am a convinced universalist. I believe that in the end all men will be gathered into the love of God. In the early days Origen was the great name connected with universalism. I would believe with Origen that universalism is no easy thing. Origen believed that after death there were many who would need prolonged instruction, the sternest discipline, even the severest punishment before they were fit for the presence of God. Origen did not eliminate hell; he believed that some people would have to go to heaven via hell. He believed that even at the end of the day there would be some on whom the scars remained. He did not believe in eternal punishment, but he did see the possibility of eternal penalty. And so the choice is whether we accept God's offer and invitation willingly, or take the long and terrible way round through ages of purification.

Gregory of Nyssa offered three reasons why he believed in universalism. First, he believed in it because of the character of God. "Being good, God entertains pity for fallen man; being wise, he is not ignorant of the means for his recovery." Second, he believed in it because of the nature of evil. Evil must in the end be moved out of existence, "so that the absolutely non-existent should cease to be at all." Evil is essentially negative and doomed to non-existence. Third, he believed in it because of the purpose of punishment. The purpose of punishment is always remedial. Its aim is "to get the good separated from the evil and to attract it into the communion of blessedness." Punishment will hurt, but it is like the fire which separates the alloy from the gold; it is like the surgery which removes the diseased thing; it is like the cautery which burns out that which cannot be removed any other way.

But I want to set down not the arguments of others but the thoughts which have persuaded me personally of universal salvation.

First, there is the fact that there are things in the New Testament which more than justify this belief. Jesus said: "I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself" (John 12:32). Paul writes to the Romans: "God has consigned all men to disobedience that he may have mercy on all" (Rom. 11:32). He writes to the Corinthians: "As in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22); and he looks to the final total triumph when God will be everything to everyone (1 Cor. 15:28). In the First Letter to Timothy we read of God "who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth," and of Christ Jesus "who gave himself as a ransom for all" (1 Tim 2:4-6). The New Testament itself is not in the least afraid of the word all.

Second, one of the key passages is Matthew 25:46 where it is said that the rejected go away to eternal punishment, and the righteous to eternal life. The Greek word for punishment is kolasis, which was not originally an ethical word at all. It originally meant the pruning of trees to make them grow better. I think it is true to say that in all Greek secular literature kolasis is never used of anything but remedial punishment. The word for eternal is aionios. It means more than everlasting, for Plato - who may have invented the word - plainly says that a thing may be everlasting and still not be aionios. The simplest way to out it is that aionios cannot be used properly of anyone but God; it is the word uniquely, as Plato saw it, of God. Eternal punishment is then literally that kind of remedial punishment which it befits God to give and which only God can give.

Third, I believe that it is impossible to set limits to the grace of God. I believe that not only in this world, but in any other world there may be, the grace of God is still effective, still operative, still at work. I do not believe that the operation of the grace of God is limited to this world. I believe that the grace of God is as wide as the universe.

Fourth, I believe implicitly in the ultimate and complete triumph of God, the time when all things will be subject to him, and when God will be everything to everyone (1 Cor. 15:24-28). For me this has certain consequences. If one man remains outside the love of God at the end of time, it means that that one man has defeated the love of God - and that is impossible. Further, there is only one way in which we can think of the triumph of God. If God was no more than a King or Judge, then it would be possible to speak of his triumph, if his enemies were agonizing in hell or were totally and completely obliterated and wiped out. But God is not only King and Judge, God is Father - he is indeed Father more than anything else. No father could be happy while there were members of his family for ever in agony. No father would count it a triumph to obliterate the disobedient members of his family. The only triumph a father can know is to have all his family back home. The only victory love can enjoy is the day when its offer of love is answered by the return of love. The only possible final triumph is a universe loved by and in love with God.

[Quoted from William Barclay: A Spiritual Autobiography, pg 65-67, William B Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, 1977.]

Christianity's Fear Complex...

The word hell in the KJV is used 23 times in the NT of which 12 are the word gehenna Used only by Jesus and once in James 3:6 talking about our tongue. Everytime the word "hell" in the KJV is referenced to Jesus in the gospels the word hades is used 4 times and 11 times the word gehenna. The word gehenna=The valley (Hebrew word=gehe) of the son ofhinnom.

Let's see a verse to see what KJV "The LORD" felt about people burning in hinnom I capitalized "VALLEY OF THE SON OF HINNOM"...

Jer 7:31 KJV And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the VALLEY OF THE SON OF HINNOM, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

Also Check out Luke 9:54-56 to see what KJV Jesus had to say about people being burned in literal fire...

Luke 9:54 KJV And his disciples James and John having seen, said, `Sir, wilt thou that we may command fire to come down from the heaven, and to consume them, as also Elijah did?'
Luk 9:55 and having turned, he rebuked them, and said, `Ye have not known of what spirit ye are;
Luk 9:56 for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save;' and they went on to another village.

We are all God the fathers children some are prodigals not living the life that we or God wants us to, some are the jealous brother who's mad that Jesus won't torture people in literal fire for eternity...But I am prophetically declaring that there is a third son rising up who does not have to be mentioned by name because his heart and identity is that of the father....GOD IS LOVE! now if you believe that Jesus could rebuke his disciples for wanting to "light em up" then turn around and allow people to torture in fire then the Jesus you serve would be a hypocrite, Sorry I'll stick with the redeemer of life!

concerning sin at the finished work of the cross Jesus completely and totally bridged the gap between "our sin" and the father he was the perfect lamb that was slain. Sin may destract US from being productive here in this life but God the father, nor the son is holding anyone's sins against them any longer Jesus became the high priest and the lamb the sinner was not examined the sacrifice was, and Jesus was the perfect sacrifice, once and for all!

When John the baptist said behold the lamb who takes away the sins of the world that's exactly what Jesus did. Quit eating the tree of good and evil and eat the tree of life! It's just as filthy to know how to be/do good as it is to know how to be/do evil...JESUS IS ABUNDANT LIFE!

2Co 5:14 For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.
2Co 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
2Co 5:16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.
2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
2Co 5:18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:
2Co 5:19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.
2Co 5:20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Anesis Church...We believe, adopted from Bishop Jim Swilley

WHAT I BELIEVE NOW... By Bishop Jim Swilley

1. I BELIEVE in the living God Who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe (1 Timothy 4:10). His

salvation will ultimately reconcile all of humanity to Himself…but I believe in Him NOW !

2. I BELIEVE that Jesus Christ is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), and I behold the

Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29)…and I behold Him NOW !

3. I BELIEVE that every knee in heaven and on earth and under the earth will eventually bow, and that every tongue in

heaven and on earth and under the earth will eventually confess to the glory of God that Jesus Christ is Lord

(Philippians 2:9, 10)…but my knees bow to Him NOW …and my tongue confesses that He is Lord NOW !

4. I BELIEVE that all were condemned in Adam, but all are justified in Christ (Romans 5:17-21), for as in Adam all

die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive (1 Corinthians 15:22). I was lost in Adam, but I am found in Christ…

condemned in Adam, but justified in Christ…dead in Adam, but alive in Christ…and I am found, justified, and alive

NOW !

5. I BELIEVE that Jesus Christ was and is the atoning sacrifice for my sins, and not for my sins only, but also for the

sins of the whole world (1 John 2:22). He has removed them from me as far as the east is from the west (Psalm

103:12), and I was chosen in Him before the foundation of the world, that I should be holy and without blame before

Him in love (Ephesians 1:4). I am forgiven…and I am forgiven NOW !

6. I BELIEVE that, because Jesus was lifted up from the earth on the cross, He will ultimately draw all peoples unto

Himself (John 12:32), but I come to Him of my own free will…and I come to Him NOW !

7. I BELIEVE that the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all humanity shall see it together (Isaiah 40:5)…that He

will pour out of His Spirit on all humanity (Joel 2:28)…and that every eye shall see Him (Revelation 1:7). But I see

His glory NOW …His Spirit is poured out on me NOW …and I see Him coming to me NOW !

8. I BELIEVE that it is not His will that any should perish (2 Peter 3:9), that the grace of God that brings salvation has

appeared to all people (Titus 2:11), and that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their

trespasses to them (2 Corinthians 5:19). This knowledge of His universal goodness brings me to repentance (Romans

2:4)…and His goodness is revealed in my mind NOW !

9. I BELIEVE that God has not appointed us unto wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ (1

Thessalonians 5:9), and that we shall not all sleep in death, but we shall all be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51). I will be

saved…and I am being saved NOW ; I will be changed…and I am being changed NOW !

10. I BELIEVE that all things shall be made subject to Him so that God may be all in all (1 Corinthians 15:28), and

that Christ is all and is in all (Colossians 3:11). The kingdom of God is IN me (Luke 17:21), and therefore God has

revealed His Son IN me (Galatians 1:16). Christ IN me is the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), so I acknowledge that

Christ is IN me…and He is revealed IN me NOW!

Re-post from Bishop Jim Swilley

Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness.
(2 Corinthians 12:8, 9 - The Message)

Sometimes u just have 2 let a thing go...talking it out is generally helpful, but there r some situations that just r what they r, & all the talking n the world isn't going 2 change them...that apology u've waited 4 may not b coming...u may not ever b able 2 make that other person c ur point...u may never understand what went wrong n a relationship...maybe it's just time 2 get over it & move on...let go & let God...

"It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to." - W.C. Fields

Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
(1 Peter 5:7 - Amplified Bible)







RE-post from http://www.bloginthenow.blogspot.com/ -Bishop Jim Swilley

A great letter I found from an anonymous Pastor...

An Open Letter to My Former Parishioners:

Dear Ones,

I am so very sorry. I hear the pain in your hearts when you tearfully admit you have a hard time believing God could love you. I now realize I bear a good bit of the responsibility for it. Some of the things I taught and did when I was your pastor harmed you and were a great disservice to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Early on I simply didn’t know any better. I taught you what I had been taught. I was the product of a form of Christianity that has dominated for so long—an institutionalized, clergy led, power preserving perversion of what Jesus intended for his followers. It’s true I had not done the critical research for myself. But, after all, who was I to question what my instructors said was the correct way to believe and “do” church?

When life experiences and personal Bible study exposed some cracks in my rigid doctrinal foundation, I began to suspect there was more to knowing God than I knew. But I deviated little from the denominational tradition in which I was trained and continued to teach things of which I was no longer convinced. It was too important for me to preserve my good standing and keep my denominational star on the rise.

We claimed our mission was to save lost souls from hell by getting them to “make a decision for Christ” and become one of us. More candidly, we were mostly focused on growing the church. By means of sermons and programs of all sorts, I pressured you to try harder. I exhorted you to demonstrate “deeper commitment” to God and the church. I called upon you to be “faithful” and give more money. I taught you that if you wanted to please God you would have to strive to be a better church member. In a thousand different ways I made you think you were still lacking in God’s eyes.

No, I wasn’t mean about it. I usually did it with a smile. I found entertaining ways to say it. Nonetheless, speaking on behalf of God, I made it clear I expected more from you and so did He. No matter how hard you tried I had to keep you motivated and centered in the church. I needed you to fill your seat and bring someone else along to fill an empty one. The church (and I) had bills to pay.

The outcome for so many of you has been learning almost nothing about the abundant life Jesus promised. You live in constant doubt that God could ever be pleased with you. The abundant life is simply not compatible with constantly worrying we might be disappointing God. I taught you he was ready to banish to eternal torment everyone who didn’t find his or her way into his grace. Trying to measure up was why we did most things. Guilt and shame was really the glue that held us together.

Most of our time was spent striving to earn favors from God by praying more, reading the Bible more, doing more in the church and “witnessing” more. I never taught you how to live in the knowledge God unreservedly loves us because of Jesus.

Our church environment was a chronic breeding ground for hypocrisy. We played comparison games and excluded ourselves from anyone who sinned differently than we did. We were hard on each other whenever one of us failed. We thought it was our duty to keep each other in line and maintain impossible standards of “holiness”. We occupied ourselves with debates about whether Christians should dance, go to movies, use alcohol, sleep in on Sunday and miss going to church, wear certain types of clothes, or listen to certain types of music. We quarreled over Bible translations, hymnals, sound system volume and carpet colors. Conformity to group standards was a very high value, as was compliance to membership policies and the pastor’s authority. In the name of maintaining order I rebuked and “disciplined” those who did not comply.

When I began to realize the magnitude of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. I kept it to myself. Not until I was off the church payroll was I willing to declare in no uncertain terms, “that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19 NIV). And, because of this, our mission is to go lovingly into the world around us with liberating good news rather than with preachy judgment pressure people to withdraw with us into our own little subculture.

My constant prayer for you today is that our merciful Heavenly Father will undo the damage I caused in your spiritual development. I pray that God will make himself known to you as the essence of love that he is. Should our paths cross again, think only of me as a fellow traveler—no title, no pedestal, please. And, remember, God loves us and will never give up on us. He has included all of us in his grace through Jesus Christ and never has a single condemning thought toward us, ever. Be at peace.

Repentantly yours,
(Name withheld)