Christians and Daily Interaction

One of the more vital elements of Christ and His people that we need a revelation of is what it means for Christians to interact with one another. I don't mean in some general, surfacy communication, but sharing life together on a daily basis.

This is what has been the underlying impetus behind those who are calling for a change in the practices of Christianity, while maintaining the sound doctrines associated with it.

Many have become heretical in their understanding and communication, as they don't have a revelation of changing the practices of Christianity while maintaining the truths about Christ.

Even so, that doesn't mean we should abandon the pursuit of body life outside the institutional church system, as there is still a driving force that comes from the Holy Spirit that pushes us toward being "one to another," as the Holy Scriptures mention many times.

The key thing is we must first see the value of sharing life together outside of the walls of a building. It's not like some people think, where it is assumed it removes any type of responsibility and accountability for and to one another. Rather it is more demanding in practical outworking, as our Christian faith is challenged to become a reality amongst believers.

Anyone can go to a building and hide or get lost among people they no little about or fellowship with seldom, if ever. But to share the life of Christ together consistently is much harder, but also provides the environment where God can do what He wants with His people - both individually and corporately.

If there is no interaction between believers, how do we watch over one another, how do we build up one another, how do we practically love one another, taking it past very limited and potentially deceptive sentimentality, and bringing it into a love that is giving of Christ to one another.

This is a major problem today with those that have seen a glimpse of what Christ is after, but get bogged down in feelings and emotions, rather than the type of love that can cost everything. That's why there is so much heresy among those that have left the institutional church. They build their lives and doctrine around a sentimental acceptance which has nothing to do with the love of Christ, but everything to do with creating God in their own image. Much of the so-called emergent church is built on that shifting foundation, which will eventually crumble, as it isn't a foundation at all, but a humanistic, liberal, progressive infiltration of what God desires.

That is of course the methodology of the god of this world, who always offers an alternative to what it is God is trying to do in order to stop it or confuse those wanting to enter into something deeper in Christ.

God isn't after new, hip doctrine in order to create a new "Christianity," He is after what He has always been after: a people that embrace and show forth who Jesus Christ is to many in the world that long to see and know Him. It is of course also to show invisible powers who Jesus Christ is as well.

The point is in order to participate in the people of God in the way the Scriptures reveal, there must be a sharing of Christ through consistent, daily interaction. It is there we must seek wisdom from God on the best and most efficient way to work that out.

Battle for Fellowship with Christ

Don't underestimate the battle we must go through on a daily basis to ensure our fellowship with Jesus Christ.

Because Jesus stated there is nothing that matters more than that, and even said to Martha when confronting Jesus about Mary not helping her, that Mary chose the one thing only matters, and He wasn't going to take that away from her.

But the battle we face every day is in not only continuing to believe what Jesus said, but to continue living it in the midst of endless pressures, interruptions and needs.

Jesus also said in Matthew 6:25: "Take no thought for your life." If we are to take no thought for our lives, how much thought for our lives does that leave us? That's right - zero.

Let's not get flaky with what Jesus said, He didn't mean we don't focus on what we need to do in the moment, he's talking, again, how people worry and so choke off the value and fruit of what fellowship with Jesus Christ brings about in us; assuming we maintain our focus on Him and not on the outward circumstances around us.

Usually distractions come from pressures from needs; things like paying bills, money, food, clothing, and a host of other things that fight to be kept in our thoughts and vision.

Deceitfulness of riches, cares of this world; Jesus says to be anxious for nothing. I believe Him, and so should all of us. The reason is there will always be some type of need or circumstance we're worried about at any one time if we allow ourselves to look at it.

That's why Jesus said "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." In other words, there's enough to take care of in the day you face, don't add to it by looking ahead to the future which is in God's hands.

Think of all these things like a dessert always trying to slowly expand and claim fertile land, making land basically useless for anything.

This is what happens when we take thought of the future which isn't even here yet, and takes us away from the simplicity of devotion to Christ, which was what the original temptation was all about.

Jesus said that worry changes nothing, and so when we look toward the future in the sense of things that will, could, or might happen, there is absolutely nothing we can do to change it. And if we attempt to, usually we'll make matters worse, and still be taken off of our fellowship with Christ.

One temptation to watch in all of this, especially when we attempt to apply reasoning, common sense and logic to this, is to start to think Jesus can't relate to us in this way. The truth is we're taught that Jesus was tempted in every way as we are, and yet He said He only did what He saw the Father doing or would only speak what the Father was speaking. That means He refused to allow what was unknown ahead distract Him from that which only mattered.

Even more, He knew He had come into the world to offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sins in order to bring us back into relationship with the Godhead, yet He didn't sit there dwelling on that inevitable reality until the time when He needed to, and the Father told Him to.

Don't let the desert of worries and concerns move you off of the very purpose Jesus created us: to be in constant fellowship with Him through faith in Him. Anything else truly doesn't matter.

Knowing the Lord | A Practice We Can All Do

Never has there been more clutter in our lives than there is today. The enormous amount of information and in-your-face communication is so invasive, its come to the point where it can have a negative effect on our walk with Jesus Christ and knowing Him.

If we really want a chance of having a significant relationship and fellowship with Christ, we need to take steps to counter the waves of information being thrown at us.

One thing that believers that have had a close walk with Christ through the centuries have all had in common, is learning to tune out the world and look to the Lord within them.

In our modern age, there's nothing more important than simply cutting off the source of the information and communication overload.

When I say cut it off, I don't mean permanently, otherwise we'd have to be out of the world. I mean we need to simply turn off all the gadgets we use to receive information, and sit quietly before the Lord and fellowship with Him.

That includes your telephones, television, Internet, newspaper, etc.

In other words, don't give in to the temptation to grab print or digital gadgets, computers or newspapers. As soon as you do, they're made to grab your attention and draw you in.

In no time at all you're distracted so quickly that hopes of securing quality time with the Lord becomes hopeless.

Rather, what we should do is close ourselves off from it periodically, and better at set times, and simply fellowship with the Lord without distraction.

If you're too busy to do that, then maybe you need to think of lifestyle changes.

This is what Jesus was talking about when He talked about the parable of the seed and the sower. If you've got all the distractions of life combating you, it's impossible for the fruit of fellowship with Him to come forth. It's always full of mixture, which has no value before the Lord.

Once you practice quieting yourself before the Lord, from there the practice can become more consistent, and you can learn to do it in the midst of the hussle and bussle of life. That takes time and practice though, and you've got to start somewhere, which is why quiet time is so important.

So how does one enter into the presence of the Lord? It's simply and immediately by faith. We don't need to feel Him or sense Him, rather we know He lives within us, and that He defines eternal life as fellowship with Him and the Father.

In other words, the desire and will is there on Jesus' part to fellowship intimately with us, so it falls on us to allow the clutter to fall away and simply enjoy the presence of God within us by faith.

That's the key. Exterior clutter is an enemy of our walk with Jesus, so it's our job to ensure we don't get distracted by all the outward things that always pressure upon us.

The truth is those outward things and problems will always be there. Get rid of one and another will surface. That's the way of life in this world. We'll always have troubles here.

So we must learn to continue to fellowship with the Lord, individually and corporately, while those storms of life are always beating down upon us.

If we don't, the desire of the heart of God to be in a love relationship with us will be frustrated, and we'll be a people most miserable.

By the way, this isn't just in relationship to difficult things in life either. Be wary of those people always chasing causes and not Christ.

That's just the 'good' side of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You can get easily led away from the simplicity of Christ in the name of good; sometimes even more so.

Jesus is interested in life and not good. Jesus defines eternal life as fellowship with Him and the Father. It's as simple as that.

The fact that He defines eternal life that way, means it was something in the Godhead that was before time and creation. It was what was of value to God, and what motivated Him to create us.

This doesn't mean we don't do good, just that we don't obsess with the knowledge of good as pushed upon us from without by the world. All you have to do is read the hideous amount of alleged crises out there, and you could become borderline psychotic in despair because it looks like the world is about to fall apart at any time.

Don't worry though, Jesus is still Lord, and has everything under control. Be cautious of those that use time as a weapon to move you off your position of fellowship with Christ.

Time is a tool of manipulation used to get us to give our time and money to something, that if we didn't, the world would surely end.

We see this all the time with those who attempt to use politics as a tool to get what they want, and to enforce their will on the rest of us.

Anyway, be careful of anything that draws you away from the simplicity of Christ, as Paul warns us in the Scriptures.

One of the greatest practices to ensure that is to take quiet time with the Lord, shutting out all outside influences, and from there learn to do it on a daily, and eventually moment by moment basis.

Just ask Jesus to give you the will and wisdom in it, and He surely will answer you.

The Challenge and Privilege of Knowing Christ

Many Christians have a desire to have a deeper relationship with Christ, but struggle to enter into one; many times thinking it's just not possible or attainable in this world.

While a number of believers may not say it that way, their actions do.

Assuming there is a determined honesty to someone wanting to know the Lord Jesus, there are a couple of things to remember before going in and talking about it.

When Jesus taught the crowds the parable of the sower, He brought His disciples aside and said this in Mark 4:

13 “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

The point He was making was extraordinary. Parable reflected the realities of who Christ was and the Kingdom of God. This specific parable was a foundational parable that gives meaning to the rest.

Jesus was basically saying that if they didn't understand this one, the rest would be misunderstood and misinterpreted.

Continuing on, Jesus gives the interpretation of the meaning of this foundational - parables of parables:

14 The sower sows the word.

15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. 18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”


I only bring this up not to get into the scriptures above, but to say that getting to know Jesus Christ is determined by the obstacles above, and overcoming them in Him.

A walk with the Lord can't be without conflict, challenge; both within and without. That's the point He makes above.

With that in mind, let's talk briefly about getting to know the Lord Jesus Christ.


The first and foremost thing that must be part of us is a detemination that no matter what happens, we will continue on with our walk with the Lord.

This doesn't mean we won't falter or stumble, but that even when we do, we allow Him to pick us up, while keeping our hearts open to Him.

If we don't have this, no matter what else we do, it'll be pretty hopeless and fruitless. The reason why is instead of going two steps forward and one step back, we basically take one step forward and then go one step back; making no progress, and if we're fortunate, just barely holding on to what we do have of Christ.

Now this doesn't mean we won't feel that way, just that the reality must be forward progress, and not going nowhere.

So with determination must come the desire to want to walk with Christ, even when we know we'll meet the cross immediately, and who we are begin to be weakened that Christ may show forth. This of course takes a lifetime, so we must settle into a marathon, and not a sprint mentality.

That way when we do go through struggles, we can hold on knowing they are temporary, and eventually the Lord will bring us through them.

One thing to keep in mind with the two things mentioned here - determination and desire to know Jesus Christ - we can't do it without Him. So we must ask Him to give us that determination, while also giving us the desire to know Him better in the midst of adversity and struggles, or in the best of times as well.

Without Him we can do nothing.

While there is the direct knowing of Christ, beyond that there is the knowing of Christ in fellowshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ.

Modern day church practices make it almost impossible to do that, which is a major reason for Acts29review blog and website, which challenges and calls for the church of Jesus Christ to return to a more organic church experience and practice, which empowers believers to know Christ individually and corporately.

At this time I'm not going to get into too many practicals in this, as it's most important to ask the Lord Jesus to cultivate within us the desire and determine to continue to know and fellowship within, before we think of practical ways on how to do it.

One of the better books you can get and read on that is from Jeanne Guyon called Experiencing The Depths of Jesus Christ, which you can look at and purchase below if you choose.

Once you start on a path in learning to know and fellowship with Christ, eventually it becomes a simple, immediate and continuous step of faith you walk and live in.

It's nothing more than turning to Him within you, and from a corporate standpoint, living, sharing and walking in that together.

In reality, that's the way Christ becomes all in all, and that's the process and the end result of what is called the eternal purpose of God, where we literally bear and are changed into the image of Christ while we walk in Him together.

Jesus and the Environment?

The only environment Jesus cares about:


Many believers struggle with the idea of all the agendas being promoted out there in the world, sometimes getting confused as whether Jesus has something they want to get involved in or promote.

One of those many areas is environmentalism. Many church leaders are running to get involved in that arena, but there are a number of underlying problems with that.

First of all, the reason they're running to get involved is they did market research on many young people and they find out it is one of their concerns (even though it was fed to them all throughout there tenure in the government school system). In other words, they've been fed propaganda for so long they believe as fact - in many cases - things that have never been proven.

I hesitate to start talking about individual cases, as it would do more harm in that it would bring the focus back onto that instead of Christ, where it should be.

Does Jesus Christ care about environmentalism? I really don't think so. What eternal values does that bring? How does it glorify Jesus and become an expression of Him on the earth by chasing after all these dubious causes. The answer is: it doesn't!

God the Father poured everything that He is into His son Jesus Christ. All that God has ever wanted to show or say has been deposited in Christ. There is nothing more He's interested than than that.

From there He wants those who proclaim Christ as Lord and Savior to allow Him to form and shape Himself in them through the Spirit. The end of all that is that God may be all in all. The means is fellowship with the Father and Jesus by sharing it with other believers. To get distracted from that in any way, no matter what it is is to miss the eternal purpose of God in Christ.

So what does that have to do with environmentalism? Absolutely nothing. That's the point.

We've got to resist the desire to be pragmatic and go with every wind of doctrine that comes along, or we'll always be chasing the next important thing, and miss Christ Himself.

Some may say that it doesn't have to be either or, but can be both. No it can't. God hates mixture. That's the ultimate in His hatred of the principle of what Babylon is and what it represents. It's why Babylon means confusion. It mixes in a little bit of God with everything and then calls it Christian something or other. This is wrong and we need to abandon that mentality and practice.

When we stand before the Father, Christ and the Holy Spirit at the end of all things, it will be based upon how much of Christ has been shaped and formed within us that we'll be rewarded on, not on the endless causes we get involved in.

Anything that distracts us from the riches of Christ alone has to be abandoned, as there's no eternal value in them.

Why do you think things like this are so important? Again, you've been socialized into it by forces that have created a curriculum and teachers that have been ordered to teach it. They got hold of you when you were young and impressionable and basically brainwashed you into thinking this is the crucial need of our era. That tactic is nothing new, as there's always someone looking to put forth this type of silliness in order to get taxpayers money and think of themselves as important.

Other people are involved because they have been made fearful based on a lot of outright lying data that isn't checked to see if it is accurate or not, or whether there is significant alternative views that need to be answered.

One example, without getting into the background is global warming. The torment and fear based upon unproven computer models and theories is pushing for outrageous actions that will have a tremendous impact on people, even though it is probably a false concept that has been attempted to be pushed upon Christians and others by the media.

The point is we need to have discernment and wisdom concerning these things, and not believe all this stuff the world throws at us. God is in Christ, and Christ is in us through the Holy Spirit wanting to fellowship with one another and learn of Him with one another.

Chasing after causes and in most cases wrongly getting into activism at the loss of Christ is the wrong path to travel.

Christ in us is the hope of glory, and the glory in our lives now. Nothing else matters, and we need to throw off the chains the world continues to throw around us in order to control, influence and eventually destroy Christ's people.

He won't do it through direct confrontation because true Christians will dig in their heels and fight it. He does it through compromise and subtlety by getting us to think of things that look good to fight for are indeed being inspired by God, rather than a form of mixture that brings us into agreement and working with the world and its system. This ought not to be the way believers in Christ work.

Ask God for discernment, as it's one of things lacking in believers today, and we need it more than ever as many of the so-called issues facing us are wrapped in language most don't understand and promoted by a media we can no longer trust.

As far as the environment goes, the only environment Jesus cares about is the one He shares with His people when they are together fellowshipping with Him together.

Jesus Christ: The Lamb of God

It's very important to note that in the book, - or really letter - of the revelation of Jesus Christ, all throughout the revelation Jesus Christ is referred to as the lamb. This is very important for His being the lamb is what released the effects of what was revealed of Christ, and it wouldn't have happened unless He was the lamb, and lived out being the Lamb of God.

While if we're truly believers in Christ, we all know that Jesus was the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world, and that's the heart of the Gospel of Jesus Christ as it relates to all men.

But in the revelation of Jesus Christ, it goes beyond simply being the lamb as far as being a door back to fellowship with God, but it reveals part of the very nature of God as revealed in Jesus Christ as the lamb of God.

It gets into the heart of the eternals before creation where we are told he was crucified before the foundation of the world; before creation. That speaks to us of the fact that being a lamb and bearing the cross was part of the nature of God Himself, not only an instrument to make man right with God because He knew man would sin. It was all of that of course, but also much more.

Here are a number of places in the Revelation of Jesus Christ that call Him the Lamb:



Rev 5:6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.

Rev 5:8 And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four [and] twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and goldenvials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints.

Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.

Rev 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, [be] unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Rev 6:1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.

Rev 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:

Rev 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

Rev 7:10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

Rev 7:14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Rev 7:17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

Rev 13:11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Rev 14:1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred 1540 forty [and] four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.

Rev 14:4 These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.

Rev 14:10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:

Rev 15:3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true [are] thy ways, thou King of saints.

Rev 17:14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him [are] called, and chosen, and faithful.

Rev 19:9 And he saith unto me , Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Rev 21:9 Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.

Rev 21:14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

Rev 21:22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.

Rev 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb [is] the light thereof.

Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither [whatsoever] worketh abomination, or [maketh] a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Rev 22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.

Rev 22:3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him :


Everything in relationship to God and man in Christ is because He was and is the Lamb of God. To have Christ worked within us as a lamb, or as the cross (obviously not as the Savior, but the characteristics of being lambs before God in Christ) deeply working in us to change us into His image.

We could walk in the depths of what the scriptures reveal to us about the Lord Jesus Christ being the lamb, and we will throughout eternity, but the major thing is to see Him as the lamb, and that He is working in us as the lamb so we can partake in His very nature in that way.

Look at the things attributed to Jesus as the Lamb, and you'll see the very things He's ready to work within those who are willing to be sheep as He is as well.

It's in seeing Jesus Christ as the lamb first, that allows to begin on this type of journey where we are also shaped into lambs through our fellowship with the very Lamb of God Himself. The Lamb is the key to breaking all the seals and setting people free. Those that see Him as the lamb, will begin to have that shaped and formed within Him, and will also participate in the very things He does before the Father.

The difference is He does it as the original, and we as in reponse to who He is being worked within us.

We need to ask the Lord to reveal Himself as the lamb to us, and then allow Him to work Himself within us that way. Only He can do it, and we need to keep our hearts open to Him as He does. It's not an easy path walking as lambs before the chief lamb; just look at His life to see that that is a reality.

What if Adam and Eve Hadn't Eaten of Wrong Tree? Part 2

This post we'll go a little deeper into understanding what it was that has so moved God's heart throughout eternity.

When God created, it came from something within Him that couldn't be denied: His love. There was no way that there could ever not be a creation, because the love of God demanded He share it beyond the Godhead. That is the impetus behind the creation.

So when Adam and Eve arrived on the scene, even though they literally saw and interacted with God, they never received the most important thing they could have: the life of Christ within. Most believers don't understand that it was the motivating purpose behind everything God meant for mankind, and specifically for those who believe in Him.

What's amazing about the time of the disciples when walking with Jesus on earth, was even after all that time, and even when He was resurrected and appeared and talked to them for a period of time, they still didn't have what Christ was fully after.

What was it? The spirit of God living within them. That's why Jesus told them to go to Jerusalem and wait for the Spirit to come into them.

See, just like Adam and Eve, it wasn't enough to walk with God where you would even see Him with your physical eyes. That's never enough, and as Jesus pointed out, neither was it for those who physically saw Him on earth.

That's the importance of John, who beyond all others, saw that there was a life in Jesus that defied anything on earth (Paul saw this clearly too, but I'm referring to original disciples). It's why when you read his account of Jesus, it's goes beyond the simply earthly Jesus to the intimate union between the Father and Son, with the life of the Father living in Jesus.

John saw that life and expressed it so uniquely in the gospel he wrote.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
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What if Adam and Eve Hadn't Eaten of Wrong Tree? Part 1

A lot of people ask the rhetorical question of what would have happened if Adam and Eve hadn't eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Most the time they're thinking of some type of environmental "eden," which is the wrong place to focus, and largely irrelevant.

What's more important is what was to happen when they ate of the tree of life, which was Jesus.

The Lord is actually very clear on what was supposed to happen. When they ate of the tree of life, they would have reproduced as commanded by the Lord, and from there spread across the earth, filling it with the glory and presence of God in them.

When their children started arriving, they probably would have been born righteous, in the same way we're born into sin today: we're the wrong "mankind" at birth in the eyes of God. Those children would have been born as the "new" man, just as true believers are today.

We have to understand that eating of the tree of Life was simply another way of saying Christ was to be in us; we were to internalize Him in an intimate fellowship.

So when Jesus came to earth and said they must eat His flesh and drink His blood, in reality He was offering Himself as the tree of Life again. Again, He was widely rejected by Israel, and even His closest followers, other than the 12 apostles.

Everything in what is called Christianity today depends upon the practical and very real outworking of that fellowship Christ has offered us.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
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Fellowship with the Lord is Enough, and it will change You

Last post we talked a little about the reason why Christ dwells within us. I did want to follow it up to clarify that while there is definitely a transformation that happens when we pursue union with Christ, at the same time, it's not a negative thing to simply enjoy the general presence of God as well.

In reality, what I termed the general presence of Christ within us was for the sake of understanding, in practice we really can't separate them, as if we enter into union with Christ , we can't escape the change that will come.

How much we change depends on the type of ground the seed falls into, as Christ Himself is the perfect seed without blemish, and He will transform us practically into His image as much as we allow the cross to work itself within us; removing the love of self so the love of Christ, and Christ alone becomes our focus, while we become like Him as we fellowship with Him.

I mention this because it could have been misunderstood that simply enjoying being with the Lord isn't the greatest end in itself. It's just that when we are with Him (which can be always), it will end up with us changing - it's impossible that we don't if we open our hearts to Him and focus on Him on a consistent basis.

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life - 2

Adam and Eve
One important thing to consider when looking at the beginning of things, as far as creation goes, was the pinnacle of creation: man. So when we look at Adam and Eve at the beginning, we see the representatives of all of mankind.

What's important to know about them, before sin, is while they were made in the image of God, their makeup wasn't in the proper order yet. One thing had to be done before that would be accomplished.

Before we get into that, let's look at Adam and Eve first. At this point of their existence, they're unique to human history, there never will be two human beings like them again; but neither was there ever meant to be.

Adam and Eve were sinless, but incomplete. They were innocent, but not harmless. They had a future, but that future hadn't yet been decided yet. In other words, even though they were sinless, they hadn't taken action yet that would perpetuate that sinlessness and enter into intimate fellowship with God.

They had fellowship with Him, but it wasn't anywhere near to the closeness they could have; it was only an outward fellowship, even though they saw Him with their natural eyes and talked with Him.

Another thing to consider is they not only saw God, but they saw the heavenly realms themselves, as Eden was a place where Heaven and Earth met. They saw the angelic hosts, as well as everything that heaven was.

The problem for Adam and Eve was they hadn't internalized God yet, their spirits hadn't been made alive, and so at this point their soul was predominant, even though there was no sin in the world or in them. God had meant that our spirits would be the predominant feature of our makeup, with our souls submitted and listening to Christ within, while our bodies then responded to the practical outworking of that fellowship.

At this time Adam and Eve were sinless, but the proper order within man hadn't been established. Until that happened, they wouldn't be able to successfully respond to the things God had required or expected of them.

Why did God create mankind this way? Why didn't He create them with His life in them from the beginning? The answer is that the life they were to internalize wasn't created life, so creation was separate from it, and man had to willingly partake of that life and internalize it.

That life was eternal and had existed forever; with no beginning or end. It couldn't be part of creation because it was uncreated, had always been, and was eternal. That life was God Himself.

So while man was created originally in the image of God, the order of God could only happen when man participated in the inner life of God by internalizing that life. To do that, Adam and Eve had to eat of the tree of life. They never took that step. They chose another life instead.

Next post we'll get more into what it was they chose and why.

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
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Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life - 1

Over the next several posts we'll take a look at Jesus Christ as the Tree of Life. Having insight into, and embracing Christ as the Tree of Life is extremely valuable; especially in this age of instant communication, where not only the volume of news and communication can overwhelm people, but the nature and content of that communication as well.

The reason the Tree of Life was in the center of the garden of Eden was because He was meant to be the center of all life. While that has been true in eternity, it is true as well in the created world we live on.

Just about everything that surrounds us can move us off the important reason and purpose for our existence: intimate fellowship with the Godhead. Christ represents that as the Tree of Life.

Only internalizing the fruit of that Tree could give us the life we were created to live. Adam and Eve failed to do it, and chose a different course, a course most continue to follow to this day, even though they take the name of Christ upon them.

I believe that there is no hope for someone refusing to internalize Christ as their life. When I say no hope, I mean by that not being able to consciously live by another life within us. We'll be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine blowing around out there. Our lives will be a continuous exercise in futility and frustration as we can't figure out why when we're believers in Christ, we seem to never have the peace, rest and satisfaction that should come with that.

We'll consume the knowledge of good and evil that will always produce death rather than life. It's an endless circle when that route is taken, and you can't get off it unless you choose the Tree of Life over that.

We're not simply talking about someone getting saved; that's simply the doorway into what we were meant to be and focus on: the eternal purpose. It gets us right with God so we can get back to what our true calling really is.

Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life, and unless we pursue internalizing Him and fellowshipping with Him inside of us, we'll be on a journey of never being fulfilled, as the purpose we were created for isn't understood or embraced.

When I mention pursuing internalizing Him above, I mean by that allowing Him to change us within, and into His image; not just positionally, but in practice. To do that we must fellowship and be with Him at all times.

So in these next several posts we'll talk about Adam and Eve at the beginning, what happened in the Garden, and what it is they saw when tempted.

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life Series
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
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Endurance

I want to say something about endurance that I haven’t heard mentioned much: Its main application and focus is in relationship to the church.  

While there is application in our everyday individual and family lives, overall the eternal application relates to the people of God with one another.  

When you are able to see it, it is amazing how everything in the scriptures ties into Christ and His church in connection to His eternal purpose.  
Endurance is another of these tremendous things.  

For example, how can we even begin to experience and enter into the eternal purpose of Jesus Christ without having endurance? It can’t be done.  

First we must learn to endure the working of God in our lives.

Then we must learn to endure others. Since fellowship with God is the overall umbrella over His eternal purpose, there isn’t far to go before it extends to one another.  

So to give the purpose of God a chance to work within us together, there must be much fortitude and staying power. If there isn’t, the purpose of God will never be worked out within our lives. It’s that simple.  

Since endurance is Christ, we must continually be in fellowship with Him and the Father so that we may have this vital aspect of Him worked within us. If we don’t we will never stay together long enough to have the eternal purpose worked within us.  

That’s why Paul prayed that the church would be strengthened with all might according to the glorious power of God, to the end that we would be patient and longsuffering toward one another with joyfulness.  

Without this being worked within us, we can never fulfill the purpose of God in the earth.

Knowing The Lord

by Bill Heroman


A teenager went to his dad one day and said, “Dad, can you show me how to drive The Car?”

Caught off guard by this, the dad felt a bit embarrassed to realize they’d never had this conversation. But he sat up straight, turned to the boy and said, “Son, I’d be delighted to tell you all about The Car. What would you most like to know?”

The boy said, “Well, mostly, I'd really like to learn how to drive The Car.”

“Of course, of course. Son, I’m so glad that you’ve come to this day. I can tell you all about driving The Car. I learned when I was your age from our old Youth Mechanic, and now it’s really an honor to get to teach you.”

The boy began to feel hope and excitement, thinking, This is it, I’ll be driving soon!

The dad stood up, went to the coffee table, and picked up his leather-bound, monogrammed Driver’s Manual with the gold-foil pages. “It’s Sunday anyway, son. Let’s go to the Garage!”

The boy started to protest, “But I don’t want to go to the garage, dad. I want to drive The Car.”

The dad grinned, “The best way to learn about The Car is to be in the Garage, son!” He grew more comfortable as he remembered this simple fact. He liked feeling like he was able to give his son some right answers.

Grudgingly, the boy agreed. “But dad, after the garage, do you promise you will show me how to drive The Car?”

The dad looked blank again. “Oh, sure, son. Of course. Now let’s go hear the Mechanic!”

They left the house together, the son full of hope, the dad with his Manual.

Then they walked all fifteen blocks to the Garage, through empty streets!

In the empty parking lot, they said hello to friends who were also walking to the Garage, holding their Manuals. One man called out, “Looks like Junior’s ready to grow up and find The Car! Good for you, Junior! Glad you’re finally smart enough to bring yourself in for service! Now, don’t forget to make your dad get you a Manual, and make sure you read it every day!”

But Junior felt confused. He whispered to his dad, “What does coming in for service and reading the manual have to do with actually driving…”

“Shush! We’re walking into the Garage!” his dad said.

Silently, they found their seats while the Garage Band was starting up. For a while, everyone sang some great songs about how much they all liked to drive. Then it was time for the Mechanic to speak. It was a warm, encouraging message, about how some people’s cars are different colors and that no color car was better than another. “The important thing,” the Mechanic said, “Is that you’re all trying as hard as you can to be courteous drivers!”

“But nobody drove here this morning,” thought Junior. Still, everyone else was nodding and calling out “That’s right!” so he figured he’d leave it alone. But it didn’t help him feel any less confused.

Just then, Junior looked behind him and saw, way in the back row, a man pulling something shiny out of his pocket. But no one else seemed to see it. It was on a string, and the man swung it around his hand until it made a clinking noise against his watch. But no one else seemed to hear it. (The Mechanic was now talking about minimum legal liability in the state of Texas.)

The man with the shiny thing turned to go, just as the service was ending. Junior had a strange feeling as if he wanted to follow.

Just then his dad said, “Wasn’t that great?”

Junior just looked at his dad, more confused than ever. “Dad”, he said, “Doesn’t anyone here ever actually drive The Car?”

“What are you talking about? We just DID!” Exclaimed the dad,” but inside, he was thinking, Maybe he missed it. Well, it takes time before people can see the truth about The Car. I remember it sure took me a while. Man, was I confused for a while, too!

Then Junior’s dad said, “Hey. Come with me to Car School. There’s a guest speaker today who’s going to be talking about two-way left-turn channelization lanes, which are everywhere, when you start to notice them! Or maybe you’d want to go in room 425, where they’ve been doing a series on the great Automakers of History, who pioneered what we believe about The Car. Does that sound good?”

Junior wasn’t sure. “I really just want to know one thing, dad.”

“Okay. What is that?”

Junior felt unimportant as well as mute, but repeated himself. “I’d like to learn how to drive The Car!”

His dad looked at him like he’d just asked for the moon or a pink pterodactyl. After a moment, he said, “Wait here, son. Let me go talk to the Mechanic.”

As his dad made his way through the greeting line, Junior wandered over to a bulletin board and began reading it, to pass the time. There was one article about giving money to build a new, larger Garage with more seating. There were notices of the Car School classes being offered, and a news clipping about last summer when the Mechanic went on a Mission to Africa to share the good news about The Car with people there, “to rescue them from life in the slow lane”!

An old lady saw Junior and walked up to him. “Isn’t it wonderful?” she said, “You know those people had never even heard about The Car over there. I think it’s so exciting!”

Junior was too single minded to be bothered by anything. He decided to ask her what he really wanted to know.

“Excuse me, ma’am. Did you drive here this morning?”

The old lady looked surprised and a bit offended. Then she smiled and laughed at him in a condescending way and said, “Of course I did, young man. I drive all the time. You do know The Car is inside your heart, don’t you?” Then she looked around. “Oh, excuse me, I see my good friend. Goodbye.”

Junior was stunned. And still confused. But he was starting to suspect that nobody in this place was going to be able to help him actually learn to drive The Car.

Just then Junior’s dad found him again. “Junior, good news. I talked to the Mechanic about what you said. It’s kind of advanced, and I wasn’t sure you were ready for this yet, but the Mechanic said you can come to a special class he’s teaching today about Driving The Car.”

Finally, the words he’d been longing to hear! Someone was going to talk about How to actually Drive The Car! Junior was surprised at that moment to feel his own hope and excitement mixed with a guarded sense of skepticism. Maybe the Mechanic was saving the “good stuff” for the inner circle – which would explain why he didn’t talk about it during his lecture – but he couldn’t escape the feeling there was something a little too slick about the Mechanic. Like maybe no one really understood how The Car even worked, and he was just coming up with fancy ways to tell them why it was really alright.

Junior pushed these skeptical thoughts aside, feeling guilty for doubting his dad and the important Mechanic. He reached again for the hope deep inside him, and he clung to it.

In Car School, everyone sat in rows of chairs while the Mechanic began to lecture again. He started talking about all the great daredevils of history who made it their ambition and goal to really, truly Drive The Car! He talked about how hard they had to work for it, and how much they had to want it, and how they spent their lives to uncover the secret of Driving The Car… the secret, he said, that they had now left for the rest of us to learn from.

Again, Junior dared to hope. His mouth went a little dry.

Just then, a glint of something caught Junior’s eye. He saw the man with the shiny thing again. The man was holding the shiny thing in his fingers, fiddling with it like a pencil, though it was smaller than a pencil. As it moved, it sent small flashes of light across the room… but no one else seemed to notice.

“Do you want to drive The Car?” The Mechanic had moved from the podium and was looking into the rows of chairs, right at Junior.

Junior couldn’t answer. He nodded, aware that part of him was afraid to find out what the Mechanic was about to tell them. Junior was afraid to find out one more thing that just wouldn’t seem right, or sound like it worked.

The Mechanic’s voice was building with passion and excitement. “The main thing you all need to know today, if you want to truly Drive The Car, is you need to understand that The Car is inside you! And The Car has also been placed inside the most precious gift ever given to human beings who want to Drive! That’s right! The Car Itself, has placed Itself, inside the Manual!!!”

Junior blinked, and looked around. Everyone else seemed excited. He looked for the man with the shiny thing and saw him, holding a fist tightly closed in his lap. Looking calm. Oddly, showing no expression whatsoever.

The Mechanic kept on. “That’s right, I’m telling you – The Car is IN The Manual! So you might say that Reading The Manual is a lot like Driving the Car!”

The Right-On’s and Oh Yeah’s from the audience were getting louder. Again Junior glanced at the other man in the room who wasn’t responding at all.

The Mechanic went on. “As a matter of fact, I have it by Divine Revelation that I can tell you this Great Mystery, that all the Mystic Car Drivers of history have used to learn how to Drive The Car in their own private lives… and here is the Great Secret!”

Junior was totally bracing himself.

“The secret,” said the Mechanic, “To Driving the Car.” (Then he paused for dramatic effect.) “Is to Read the Manual! That’s Right! Reading the Manual is the secret to Driving The Car!!!”

Junior was stunned. A part of him was not really shocked, but a part of him was crushed. He noticed one man in the room actually crying. Everyone else seemed to be very emotional about this – except for the man at the end of the row, by the door. Junior noticed he had just slipped out.

Everyone was standing up now, thanking and congratulating the Mechanic on a great lesson with such a positive, helpful, encouraging message in it. Junior’s dad looked at him and asked, “Well?”

Junior just said, “I’ve gotta go to the bathroom dad.”

“Are you alright, son? I know it’s a lot to take in. Would you like to go read my manual outside by yourself?”

“No, dad. I just need some air.” Then he left. Quickly.

The dad watched his boy leave, while a friend came and put his hand on his shoulder. “I guess it doesn’t happen all at once for some people, does it?” Junior’s dad said.

Outside in the fresh air, Junior’s eyes were adjusting to the light as he looked out toward the empty parking lot. Then he saw it again! The glint! The man with the shiny thing was walking alone through the lot.

Junior started running after the man – for no real reason other than one last, wild hope.

He caught up. “Excuse me,” said Junior, panting. And the man turned around.

“I wanted to ask you – I mean, I was wondering – that is…” and the whole thing burst out of him. “I came here because I asked my dad to show me how to drive The Car this morning and all he’s done is talk about his Manual and listen to this Mechanic and I saw you holding something I’ve never seen before and you just look different so I had to come out here and just ask…”

“Ask me what?” said the man.

Junior looked around himself. There was no one and nothing around them for a hundred of yards. He built up his courage again.

“Um… do you know how to drive The Car?”

The man smiled at Junior with his whole wrinkled face, with eyes that shone like they'd been patiently waiting for someone to ask that question for too many years.

“Why yes, I do.” Then he paused. “Is that all you wanted to ask me?”

Junior thought a moment and said, “No. I mean… can you – will you – show me how to drive The Car too?” And hope began to pound in his chest once again.

The man pulled the shiny thing out of his pocket again. It glinted in the light, and it lit up Junior’s eyes in return. The man said, “Would you like one of these?” And he reached in his pocket again, and pulled out another shiny thing! Junior reached for the small object, took it in his hand, and just as he was about to ask what do I do with it he saw… something!

All of a sudden, where it hadn’t been before, something large and beautiful just appeared right next to where they both were standing.

“What is THAT???!!!” shouted Junior.

“Oh, so you see it now? That’s fantastic!” The man was laughing out loud and shouting with joy! (The people back near the garage didn’t seem to notice – but suddenly, Junior had forgotten to notice them, too.)

Junior was practically crying. I’ve never actually seen… it’s so beautiful… is it really true that we can… oh, I just almost can’t even believe that we could…”

“Would you like to go for a ride?”

Junior’s jaw dropped. He managed to say, “YES!”

So the man said, “Hop in!”

And Junior said, “Hop? How? Where? You mean we can go IN The Car?”

The man smiled again, crying a little himself now.

“Here. Look.”

“I’ll show you.”

The man put the shiny thing into the side of the large thing. He worked it, and something opened. He removed it, closed the thing, and let Junior try.

It took Junior a few tries to feel like a natural. Just turning the shiny thing, and opening the other thing. "That's called a 'handle'," the man told him.

The man was patient. He didn't fuss. He didn't use a lot of words. Junior was exploring The Car. And the rest of the world just faded away.

The rest of the day was like that. Actually, the rest of Junior's life.

Junior never did manage to explain to his dad why he wasn't interested in the Garage anymore. He did read the manual every once in a while, but it was totally different. They couldn't talk about it. After a while, his dad stopped asking.

But Junior continued to go spend time with the man and his new group of friends. They did a lot of driving together. Somehow, oddly, no one ever noticed them.

Over time, the friends learned all sorts of things together about How to Drive The Car. Wonderful Things. Amazing Things. Things I could tell you about, if there were only words for such things, in our language. Or if it were possible to actually communicate about them in a book. But I can tell you this much:

They explored The Car. They practiced Driving. And they Knew. Over time, more and more, they found they deeply Knew.

How.
To.
Drive.
The Car!

*---------------------------------------*

So that's my story! May you all have eyes to see and a heart to find some people who not only say that they Know, but who can actually Show. How. To Know.

Not ideas, or books, or feelings, or thinkings, or fancy explanations of things that just don't ever seem to work out.

But actually, simply, purely...

Jesus Christ.
===============================================
Bill adds:

I live in this neighborhood with 17 others. We meet on the street, in our yards, in our homes. We remind each other that Jesus Christ IS our daily life... TOGETHER!
Bill has two good blogs you can read here:
The Jesus Story
and
Hero Bill

What is Mysticism?

One of the problems of talking about what has become called “Mysticism” is that people tend to immediately assume that it concerns something that cannot be known by the everyday believer in Christ. The word itself implies something that is hidden and almost impossible to comprehend. While I think that the word is an unfortunate one in reference to what we are going to discuss, it is the one that has been used throughout the centuries, so we will use it for our purposes and bring the mystery out of it.  

What has been called mysticism is nothing more than believers throughout history that have been dissatisfied with their walk with the Lord, and as a result begin a pursuit of Him that brings them into deeper union and closeness and intimacy with their Lord.  

While this is simplicity in itself, it also leads into the endless depths that exist in Jesus Christ.  

The great purpose of God is that He wanted to share the fellowship of the Godhead with man that He created in His image. That was the great motivating factor that resulted in creation of man. Because God is love, it was impossible to keep His greatness and love to Himself. The problem is that most Christians have no idea that we can enter into this fellowship on a consistent, non-stop basis.

This is the great goal of what has been labeled mysticism; to learn to dwell in the presence of God endlessly no matter where you are or what you are doing in life. 

It is here that everything dims before the majesty and unspeakable greatness of Christ. It is here that all things melt before His presence as we walk in fellowship with Him.  

And as we dwell in His presence, we truly learn to grow from glory to glory, changed as we simply center our beings in Him and as Jesus gave us by example: to do what the Father did and speak what the Father spoke and share in that together.  

When we truly hunger after this privilege we have been offered from God, we will realize that heaven truly has come to the earth in the presence of Christ; both individiually and corporately.