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Have you ever considered the life of Daniel in the Bible? On Sunday as my family was reading and talking about his early life we discussed a couple of verses that are refreshingly simply yet profound. Earlier in Daniel’s life as a captive in Babylon while serving in King Nebuchadnezzar’s court he was faced with a troublesome dilemma. The king had a particularly bad dream and awoke demanding that one of his astrologers or magicians interpret his dream. Quick to be the praised by the king the only thing these court tricksters seemed to do well was stall and equivocate while the king grew more and more impatient. Finally, in a fit of rage Nebuchadnezzar promised to have every astrologer and magician dismembered and their houses burned down if they did not interpret the dream. But even then not one them could deliver an interpretation. Hearing the news that he along with Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego and all of the court astrologers were about to executed, Daniel requested to speak to the king. Boldly Daniel told the king that he could interpret the dream but needed some extra time to do so. It was later during the night that God revealed the meaning of the dream to Daniel thus saving many men from a gruesome death.

The wonderful illuminating truth is that Daniel did not first consult God about the dream. He did not go before Father and request the dream be revealed. He did not question or fret about the king’s demands. He simply responded in complete trust that God would deliver. In Daniel 2:14-16 we find Daniel requesting for more time to interpret the dream but he was able to fully trust that God would deliver because God said so in the previous chapter, verse 17. In other words, Daniel did not question God but instead believed Him wholeheartedly. But such a belief was proved openly in Daniel’s unwavering courage despite the adverse circumstances.

All too often as Christians we spend so much time trying to find out what God’s Will is for our life. We go before God and ask Him to show us His will. We do, do, do things for Him thinking that in some way that might fit into His plan. Yet, God laid all this out for us plainly in Romans 12. If we simply present our lives as a living breathing sacrifices to God He will then live out His life in us proving to us what His plan is for our life. We never have to try but only trust. By continually questioning Him we are really saying “sorry God, I just don’t believe you”. Certainly that may not be the our intent but none the less it demonstrates our unwillingness to fully trust in what He has already promised. Proverbs 3:5,6 says to trust in God with all of our heart – don’t trust in our own understanding. In every way acknowledge Him and He absolutely will direct our paths. What a great promise. Now ask yourself, is there proof of it?

It has been a little while since I posted anything. One thing that I don’t want to do unlike many other blogs is continue to post content even if there is nothing to say. I figure that if you take the time to read these posts then why not make them worth your time otherwise both you and me are wasting our time.

During this lastest blogging reprieve, I have been re-engineering my fitness programs (I love extreme fitness programs BTW) but I have also been enjoying a time of self-evaluation and critical analysis. Since stepping outside of the conventional wisdom that Christians should go to church because that is the “right” behavior to engage in, I have had a chance for the first time in my life to think clearly without a lot of outside interference. Now that the dust has begun to settle and the noisy naysayers have quieted a bit, I can now carefully consider God’s will and His unmistakable direction in my life. Just yesterday morning, Sunday morning, as I sat in my living room with my family and my son’s friend, we opened our Bibles, kids and adults alike, and began working through a new lesson on Daniel I have been developing. The interaction and participation for a full hour was amazing and when the time came to openly pray as a group these kids had no hesitation for such an opportunity. Later I asked my 10 year old son what his friend thought of the our Sunday Bible study. “Dad, he said that he learned more in our Bible study about Daniel than he ever has at church”, was his response. He went on to say he wishes he could do that every Sunday. Hmm… and in response to that I say, “He can”! Truly my prayer is that we can gather with more and more Christians seeking to actively participate during our gatherings.

Folks, stepping outside of the conventional wisdom that as a Christians we should go to church is difficult because it means you must confront your own fears. Fear of what others will say about you, fear of how you will be treated both inside and outside of the Christian community and fear of what you will do once you have taken that step. I understand these fears first hand very well. Undoubtedly, you will suffer for such a decision but if you understand that going to church is lie that Satan has perpetrated upon Christians (see Lie #31) then it becomes a bit easier to critically consider what God actually has for you instead of what man says you must do. Before some of you cast all of this aside as rubbish please realize that I did not say Christians should not gather together. I have discussed this before in other blog posts so I will spare you the verbosity. Today, scores of Christians have pigeonholed themselves into being sermonized every week yet there is little to no spiritual growth in their own life. There are many good preachers that preach great sounding messages but Scripture is quite clear that good sounding preaching does not equal vibrant spiritual growth. Spiritual growth can only come through an intimate relationship with Jesus not from really good passive listening.

If you simply seek comfort and tranquility in this earthly life as a Christians, then remaining in the raft of conventional wisdom will serve you well – it drifts along peacefully as long as there are not too many waves. But panic and pandemonium waits those suddenly forced to swim should the trials of life overturn that raft. If you seek to have a meaningful, living faith walk then lay your fears aside and step out of the raft. For three years now I have been teaching this New Testament freedom in Christ in the small venue of my living room; yet, big things have been happening. Dozens of people have been profoundly impacted. Young and old, mature and immature, Christ’s Life dramatically transforms people from the inside out and He no doubt wants to transform you.

I have finally completed an upgrade to the video gallery containing all 101 Lies that Steve McVey created. The video gallery is now much faster, successfully loads all of the videos using smaller thumbnails, uses the shadowbox feature (you will see when you click one of the videos) and supports multiple browsers (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Firefox and Safari). I have also uploaded a PDF document that contains the full list of lies. You can download this PDF and use it for note taking while you watch the videos.

I highly recommend you take the time to watch each of these videos. They are a treasure chest of truths that will greatly help you in your own spiritual growth and also in how you can help others who are seeking true freedom in Christ. I so much appreciate how Steve McVey has placed himself in the middle of Christian controversy with these videos. I was reading the comments to one of his videos recently and a person was using ALL CAPS AS THEY COMMENTED ON HIM BEING A LIAR. I had to laugh because Steve simply responded to that self-proclaimed Christian and asked him why he was yelling by using all caps and in what way was he lying. Steve encouraged that person to take the particular lie being discussed, looking up in Scripture for himself and dig out the truth. I so much support Steve in his desire to proclaim the freedom of Christ’s love in a practical, usable way. It is for that reason I put so much effort into this video gallery.

Watch these… enjoy them… and continue to respond to God’s opportunities as He brings them into your life.
To get to this video gallery simply look to the right of this post in the ‘Pages‘ section and then click on the link Lies Christians Believe (Video Gallery).

Today I had a few moments to talk with my mother on the phone. We talked about many of the problems in the world right now from war in the Middle East to some recent tornadoes in Montana that devastated a community. It was a reminder to me how at any given moment there is someone, somewhere in the world experiencing overwhelming circumstances that are well beyond their control. As we mutually encouraged each other that our Hope is not found in anything this world has to offer she shared a wonderful truth found in Our Daily Bread on April 16, 2010, titled “For This I Have Jesus”…

In an evangelistic meeting in Ireland, the speaker was explaining what it means to abide in Christ and to trust Him completely in every trial. Concluding his message, he repeated several times, “It means that in every circumstance you can keep on saying, ‘For this I have Jesus.’ ”

The meeting was then opened for testimonies. One young woman said, “Just a few minutes ago I was handed this telegram. It reads, ‘Mother is very ill; take train home immediately.’ When I saw those words, I knew that tonight’s message was meant just for me. My heart looked up and said, ‘For this I have Jesus.’ Instantly a peace and strength flooded my soul.”

Three or four weeks later the evangelist received a letter from this woman. It read, “Thank you again for the message you gave that day. Life has become an uninterrupted psalm of victory, for I have come to realize that no matter what life brings, for this I have Jesus.”

That believer in Christ had found in her Savior the One who would be with her “through fire and through water,” and who would bring her “out to rich fulfillment” (Ps. 66:12).

If you are enduring a great trial of affliction, remember—for this you have Jesus!

Our Daily Bread – www.odb.org

All the times we have been afflicted with life’s troubles… were we so quick to say “Lord, for this I have You!”? What a helpful reminder this is. The loss of a needed job, an difficult financial situation, the loss of a loved one, a severe health issue or any other circumstance that squeezes in on you from every side – to say “Lord, it is for this very circumstance I have You.” We have no idea what each day will bring into our lives but Jesus does and is prepared to be everything we could ever need.

Christian behaviorism is an area of study that has long interested me. The believer was never given the right to change his/her bad behaviors and subsequently DO good behavior but instead has been given the capacity to recognize bad behavior as revealed by God and then the responsibility to trust God as He changes that behavior and leads us in the good behavior He has already designed for us (Eph.2:10). This is a basic New Covenant truth. But this truth is such a big struggle for the Christian especially in today’s society because of the growing want to see God doing His work in us immediately. The “I want it all and I want it now” mentality otherwise known as living in the present or Hedonism.

Turns out that our perspective of time very much impacts how we live our lives. I invite you to watch the below video produced by the 250 year old London-based Royal Society for the advancement of the Arts (RSA). By no means do I subscribe to all of the RSA’s worldly philosophies but I do find that this specific video presents some fascinated scientific analysis that Christians can appreciate. As you watch this video think about your personal time perspective. Do you live your life based upon the way things have always been? Do you live for the ‘now’ wanting immediate gratification? Or do you live with the hope that what God is doing, seen and unseen, is far better than anything you could ever orchestrate – a hope that brings God’s rest and peace into your present state of living?

Open our eyes Lord and teach us to trust and rest in You in our daily living.

You may hear from time to time the term “paradigm shift” tossed around but have you taken time to consider what is really means? I was reading an article titled Paradigm Shift by John Woodward, a former pastor and now the Director of Counseling and Training at Grace Fellowship International. His article once again reminded me of this term. Woodward begins his article with this statement ‘A radical change of personal perspective has been coined “a paradigm shift.” ‘ A radical change of personal perspective? Those are interesting words that mean a lot to me personally. A paradigm shift within the Christian’s life is a radical change that causes amazing shifts in thinking, behaving and even in vocabulary. Terms like abundant life, grace walk, New Covenant living, freedom in Christ and the victorious life seem strange to many believers. It is classified by many as weird if not outright crazy talk. But the changes are so radical within the “shifted” believer that the criticism, although real, does not change the power or authentic experience of Galatians 2:20.

As I read through his article my soul was so encouraged. I am not as crazy as I feel sometimes. Challenging centuries of unscriptural traditions and legalism that has seeped into today’s Christian walk at times leaves me discouraged but it is helpful to know that I am not alone on some tainted theological island. As I continue to trust the Lord in this journey and thank Him for sending encouragement into my life from the writings of men like John Woodward, Steve McVey and others, I will also continue to pray for the the illuminating power of the Holy Spirit to work in the lives of the believers around me.  The words of Woodward are so succinct…

The Galatians 2:20 paradigm is not grasped by biblical and theological study alone; it is revealed by the illumination of the Holy Spirit. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.” (1 Cor. 2:12). Biblical knowledge is not the same as biblical insight. How the Lord must yearn for us, us to fully appreciate the gracious blessings of life in Christ!

To read Woodward’s entire article, go here

For the last several weeks I have been teaching through the story of Samson with my family. Found in the Old Testament book of Judges chapters 13 through 16, God led me to begin building a comprehensive lesson that would be highly interactive for both adults and children, informative and presented from a New Covenant perspective. The idea is that this would not be another children’s Bible story filled with linear facts but would be more of a dialog between adults and children as they work through the lesson together openly discussing the many facets of Samson’s problematic life that God worked for good.

What a joy is was for me to dig out the many truths found within these few chapters and now that joy is revisited and even amplified as I get to participate in the wonderful discussions about these truths. I know I have said this before but children can be amazingly insightful if given time to participate without pressure or time restriction. They possess an unfiltered simplicity that many adults have learned to replace with a complexity that rivals quantum mechanics. As a Bible teacher and daddy I can learn so much from The Teacher within my own children as long as I continually reinforce their freedom in Jesus Christ and then afford them opportunity to express His inner workings.

As we work through the story of Samson, instead of concentrating on his story I shifted the focus on what God intended for him, God’s provisions for him during his struggles and the accomplishments of God’s plan in spite of Samson’s human failures. It really turns the story of Samson on its ear and brings the wonderful truths of God’s grace into the present moment. We can begin to better understand our own relationship with God and all that He intends for us in spite of our human failures, selfishness and stubbornness. God desires that we respond to Him now as He is accomplishing His plan and not waste time striving to feel a certain way or get our needs met.

Samson spent so much time and energy trying to fulfill his own needs. In fact, it wasn’t until I started developing this interactive lesson that God revealed a principle to me… new for the first time. Samson was truly an awesome human specimen that bare handedly ripped a lion into pieces, caught 300 foxes, killed more than 1,000 men in hand-to-hand combat and carried city gates that weighed more than today’s average car. Yet, he was so consumed with himself that he didn’t know that the power of God he possessed had left him once his hair was cut (Judges 16:18-22).It wasn’t until he rose to fight the enemy that realized he was powerless. What an awful time to find out you have no power… when you need it the most.

Many Christians today although sealed by the blood of Christ are powerless when fighting “the enemy”. Many do not even know they are powerless until spiritual wickedness rises up in attack. Our strength is only found in the Lord who equips us, readies us, trains us to stand in courage against all that seeks to undermine the victorious message of God’s grace. Those attacks will come folks… they will come. Are you ready to stand in courage and faith on your own if called upon?

The other day while listening to my son practice the piano I heard him playing through the old Scottish ballad Scarborough Fair. Maybe some of you recognize this song which was made famous by Simon & Garfunkel. As my son played along, I noticed something just didn’t sound right but he insisted that everything was fine. Finally, after hearing the song through several times, I decided to check. I wasn’t too terribly surprised to find him playing with no music in front of him so I asked him to get the music out. His response was “but Dad, I’ve already learned to play it from memory.” As we sat there and carefully played through each individual note as it was written we made an important discovery… for nearly every G note that was to be played in the right hand, he was playing an E. With E being just two steps down on the keyboard from G you wouldn’t think this would make a big difference to the whole song – after all, there are many other notes in this song that he was playing correctly. But substituting this one note did indeed change the sound of the entire piece.

The real difficulty came next when I asked him to play the song as it was written. Easier said than done. Not only did he have to now carefully play the music much more slowly but he had to re-train his ear to hear the notes differently. He commented how the correct notes didn’t sound right and in a flash I realized what had happened – in learning to play the wrong notes for so many times, the wrong way eventually sounded right to him. In fact, the wrong way sounded so right that when the correct notes were eventually played they sounded wrong.

I’ll never forget several years ago when teaching a group of people on the believer’s victory in Christ, I presented the truth that Christ has completely forgiven us as beleivers. He has forgiven us of all of our sins… past, present and future (Ephesians.1:7;Colossians 1:14; Acts 10:43). In fact His forgiveness is so complete that we never have to ask for forgiveness again… ever, even when we do occasionally sin. We just simply thank Him for having already forgiven us, agree with Him that our sinful actions are not what He desires for us and respond to His direction for our lives. I no sooner finished presenting this truth when several in the audience loudly protested. After hearing them through, I was not too terribly surprised to find they did not have their Bibles opened to the passages we were discussing. As we sat there and carefully read through each individual verse, we discovered that they had substituted what they incorrectly learned in the place of the correct Biblical Truth. Having learned to embrace an incorrect understanding of forgiveness for so long, they discovered that the correct Biblical Truth sounded all wrong.

In this walk of faith amidst a world that has so terribly complicated Christianity… now is a wonderful time to once again put God’s Truth in plain view. Take your time to carefully consider all that Christ has promised to us who have received His free gift of Life that is abundantly rich. As you read and meditate on His Truth, prepare yourself for the Accuser who attempt to convince you that the abundant Life in Christ is all wrong. Trust God in spite of how you feel and He will set you free.

In early spring of 2009 I was teaching a lesson from 1 Corinthians to an adult Sunday School class when God began to work on me as to why I only teach these truths to adults. A very short but revealing inner conversation between Him and me right in the middle of my lesson went something like this.

God: “Cory, what about the children?”
Cory: “Well Lord, I trust that the children are being taught in their Sunday School classes what they need in order to understand the Bible.”
God: “But what about me? What about Grace the person? What about I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me? Start with your own children, Cory. Talk to them and find out.”

In the days to follow I began asking my 7 and 10 year old children what they learn in Sunday School. Now this was not the first time I had asked them this type of question but this was the first time I asked them to see how much Biblical truth they actually understood. As I listened to their answers my heart grew heavy as God was beginning to reveal that they actually knew very little about the One who lives in them. Sure they knew the story of Noah and Moses and David. They knew the Christmas story, the feeding of the 5,000 and the resurrection of Jesus. But what about Noah’s faith in God for the 100 years it took him to build that ark with no encouragement from anyone except his own family? What about Moses’ veil that he continued to wear after God’s glory faded from him or how the crossing of the Red Sea represents salvation? What about David’s prayer after sinning “Do not cast me away from Your presence and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me” and how he did not have the indwelling Spirit as Christians today do? What about what Jesus came to do and finished at the cross and is now doing in and through us as Christians?

As I asked my children these questions there was a saddening silence that seemed to reach out and grab me by the throat. Was I, their earthly father who taught in Sunday School, assuming my responsibility to teach and train them in new covenant truths or was I delegating that out to others to whom the responsibility never belonged? The problem was with me. With passages like Prov.22:6; 1 Tim.3:4,12; Eph.6:4; 2 Tim.3:14-17, I could no longer overlook such a responsibility. My wife and I began looking for a new way of training our children not in minimalistic terms or by having them watch more Bible story DVDs but through real-life Biblical examples of what we and other adults experience as Christians in this world.

In recent weeks with a major shift in how we as a family gather as part of the The Church with other believers, I have been carefully watching my kids become more involved in adult discussions during and after our meetings not out of duty but because of an inner desire to participate. At one point my son even said “Dad, I feel like the adults actually wanted to listen to me when I talked.” Imagine that – adults listening to what God does in and through a child. What a breakthrough in understanding how awesome Grace the person really is if we will release the reigns of control. In fact, it make perfect sense according 1 Cor.14. The conversations with my children have begun to multiply and now I am seeing a small but growing willingness in them to trust God at His word. The Holy Spirit is not miniature in the Christian child and if allowed can teach some wonderfully simple truths to adults through the child. Hebrews 13:7 says “Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith.” What outcome do children see in their Christian parents? Is it one of faith and trust in the one true Teacher? What an amazing responsibility parents have to teach and train their children victorious living in Christ but to also be taught by the Holy Spirit through these little ones.

As a kid I heard the story of Hudson Taylor – the famed missionary to China who played a key role in the establishment of the China Inland Mission. For years his efforts and strivings for the Lord were enormous and had a profound effect on Chinese people with many coming to know the Lord. For me, I always knew this story to be an example of what all Christians should aspire to do. After all, look at what his efforts produced. But the most important part of Hudson Taylor’s story was curiously missing  from the early versions I was taught. It wasn’t until many years later long into my adult years that I learned something about Taylor that dramatically changed my understanding of his story and subsequently began changing me.

Taylor, whose life impacted so many also left the man tired and eventually broken under the load of endless service for Christ. He desired so greatly to be an imitator of Christ and did all that he could to achieve that goal. Praying, fasting, preaching, serving… doing all that he could to please God and find favor with Him instead of knowing Him.

But in a moment of utter helplessness, Taylor saw something like never before. Something so simple, so radical that he was left a changed man forever… thus causing him to pen the following:

I strove for faith, but it would not come; I tried to exercise it, but in vain. Seeing more and more the wondrous supply of grace laid up in Jesus, the fullness of our precious Savior, my guilt and helplessness seemed to increase. Sins committed appeared but as trifles compared with the sin of unbelief which was their cause, which could not or would not take God at His word… I prayed for faith, but it came not. What was I to do?
When my agony of soul was at its height, a sentence in a letter from dear McCarthy was used to remove the scales from my eyes, and the Spirit of God revealed to me the truth of ouroneness with Jesus as I had never known it before.
“But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.”
As I read, I saw it all! “If we believe not, he abideth faithful.” I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how joy flowed)! That He had said, “I will never leave thee.”
“Ah, there is rest!” I thought. “I have striven in vain to rest in Him. I’ll strive no more. For has not He promised to abide with me — never to leave me, never to fail me?” And… He never will.

Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret

With us having been given wonderful minds and bodies, we have the power to do things in this earthly life our way or look to God for all of the direction. Sure we could likely produce a lot of good looking achievements and accomplishments but when setting our minds upon Him then all of what we do simply becomes an afterthought (Gal.2:20). The process of breaking down our control is God’s wonderful way of giving us an opportunity step out from the endless routine and experience His life in us. The life He intends for us will never be passive because we were “created for good works” (Eph.2:10). But those truly righteous works will only come about in us if we surrender our control as a living sacrifices and rest in Christ’s finished work (Rom.12:1,2).