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As we close out this decade I am reminded of the amazing advancements in technology that have changed the way we live. Do you realize what technology was like 10 years ago?

• No iPhones or smart phones – just the analog featureless ”bricks”
• No Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, YouTube or Wikipedia
• No “texting” each other
• No iPods or other MP3 players
• No USB flash drives
• No High-speed Internet at home
• No flatscreen TVs
• AOL was the most popular Internet search engine
• Google, Inc. moved from a garage into an actual office
• And, we recorded our favorite TV shows on VHS tapes

Isn’t it amazing how much we have grown dependent on technology in just 10 years? In 1997, I transitioned from active duty in the Marine Corps to civilian life. At the time I had no cell phone and managed just fine without one for the following 3 years. But in 2000 my son was born and both my wife and I began carrying cell phones for emergency purposes. Now today it is an emergency when I can’t find my phone. How did I come so dependent on a small piece of technology? It just seems to happen without any notice. I have watched son and now my daughter grow into little personalities oblivious to the fact that there was a day when there were no Wii’s or OnDemand or 1,951 channels on the TV.

I now have the time-saving convenience of adding more money to my child’s school lunch account electronically. I can block home TV channels and websites from my office at work. I can now give my child a special kid-safe cell phone that only calls me and has built-in GPS tracking so I can tell where they are geographically. On the surface, such technological developments of this past decade are gladly welcomed and embraced but I am just wondering… have these amazing technologies paved way for us as parents to stop parenting on a personal, intimate basis? Instead of just adding more money to their school lunch account do I take the time to teach them Christ-centered financial stewardship of money God has trusted us with? Instead of just blocking a website, do I take the time to teach my son or daughter what websites God doesn’t want them to visit? Have I begun to place more faith in technology and what I can do with it while overlooking God’s provisions and protection? Likely, I am in some way guilty of allowing technology diminish my role as a Daddy. As we enter this new year, may we take time to reflect on all that God has already done for us and still wants to do in us. May we trust God more than ever before and walk in the ways He has designed for us. Have a Happy New Year celebration!!!

Thomas Paine (1737-1809) is undoubtedly one of the most influential authors, inventors and radicals in the founding of the United States. No one was a stronger advocate of revolt than Mr. Paine who tremendously helped the Founding Fathers stand strong against the oppression of English rule. It was radical to stand up against England at this time in history all for what – religious freedom. The Church of England having become a juggernaut of power and money was willing to kill those who resisted and that is precisely what Thomas Paine opposed. He was an inspiration and source of strength to so many early American settlers who read his work Common Sense. It is the radical thinking of Thomas Paine that once helped motivate early Americans establish true independance from England and begin considering themselves a viable part of a healthy society with laws to protect the common man. Ironically, Paine began to grow more opposed to organization and began challenging all forms of structure and authority even in America. What was once an inspiration to a people was now a cancer to a society.

It was Paine’s Age of Reason that rejected organized religion as absurd and went on to conclude that the Bible was full of inconsistencies therefore proving it to not be God’s inspired word but just a common, ordinary book. The Age of Reason was published 217 years ago yet there is no denying that Paine’s anti-American and anti-Christian philosophies are still very much alive today. His books have inspired radicals around the world with many U.S. liberals, libertarians, feminists, democratic socialists, social democrats, anarchists, freethinkers, and progressives claiming him as their intellectual ancestor. Just today while driving into work I saw this sign posted   on a main road next to a church. It is no wonder Mr. Paine had so much hatred and anger towards specific establishments such as government, authority, The Bible and church – he was attempting to make sense of it all with his own mind. I am afraid many Christians do the same thing. Approaching such things from an intellectual or emotional perspective will always prove problematic. Governments are flawed, authority is often abused and unfair, The Bible with its many translational errors and the church with many hypocrites and phonies. Yet, God says that the believer has nothing to fear as they live the abundant life. God promises to grant understanding for those troublesome things of life – but do we trust in God to do so? James tells the follower of Christ in James 1:5 that if we are lacking in understanding of an issue we are to ask of it from God who will give it to us abundantly. I hope that in some way this helps you in your daily journey as it helps me.

Had another reminder early this morning that God does not own me an explanation when He interrupts my daily routine. I should be ready always to receive what He has for me but I have to honestly admit that I am not always so ready. This morning at 3:42AM I was doing what I usually do at that hour: sleep! But God saw differently. While lying in bed I began to think of my friend Phil. He and I have a great relationship and at times exchange some really good laughs but why am I thinking about Phil at 3:42AM? Finally, after several minutes I began to wonder if this wasn’t me at all but instead God. So I ask him, “what do you want Lord – why Phil?”. Silence – dead silence followed. So in my groggy state I prayed for Phil and just thanked God for this friendship. The next moment I was waking up to smell of coffee at a normal hour.

About a year ago I determined that when ever I think about someone outside of a normal passing thought or pray for someone that God has laid on me – I will tell that person even if makes no earthly sense to me. So today I did just that – I emailed Phil and told him briefly of my pray for him. He called me a short time later to tell me he had a terrible night of intense sinus pain. Wow – now I can pray for him more specifically all thanks to God. There is no way I could ever guess what Phil was going through – it is beyond my humanness yet God always knows. I thank God for this – yet another lesson to trust and respond to Him even when it seems strange or bizarre.

This problem is one that has plagued the Christian for thousands of years but for us alive right now it feels like a new problem. In every society there are leaders elected to public office that propose legislation, tweak public policy and may even pass laws that are contrary to Christian principles. So what does the Christian do – despise this authority, rise up and overthrow it or just internalize the anger and do nothing? The answer involves none of these. Below are a few simple steps that will change everything.

Step 1 – think about what God has done and is doing right now. Colossians 3:1-3, “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Step 2 – don’t look at tomorrow, simply trust God today. Matt.6:33,34, “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

Step 3 – don’t be anxious but instead say thanks for the authority. Phil.4:6,7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Step 4 – pray for those you do not like. Matt.5:44, “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;”

Step 5 – God knows earthly authority better than you or me so let God work His ways. Prov.21:1, “The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.”

Step 6 – trust that God will work everything for good – regardless of how it appears. Rom.8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

For those of you struggling to know when the Christian should obey God instead of a given earthly authority, keep this in mind – It should never be a struggle but instead will always be clearly revealed to you from the Holy Spirit and will come in the form of an opportunity to proclaim God’s truth and grace. If the protest is anything outside of the Hope in Christ then BEWARE – it is NOT of God. As you proclaim God’s truth in resistance to an opposing authority don’t lose sight of these 6 Steps.

During the Christmas season Christians talk a bit about Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in the manger. In doing so there a subtle pitfall in understanding how Joseph behaved when he found out his virgin wife was pregnant. It is difficult for me to empathize with him when he was told this shocking news found in Matthew 1:18, 19. But Joseph in his shock did not misbehave or even mistreat Mary even though he wanted to divorce her quietly. Yet, Joseph stayed with Mary and was subsequently part of a wonderfully fulfilled prophesy. Verse 19 uses a tricky word in describing Joseph before he acted – “Because Joseph, her husband to be was a righteous [also just] man...”. Joseph was already righteous and also behaved in a way that demonstrated that righteousness.

This principle is most often incorrectly flipped around such as Joseph behaved rightly therefore was righteous. No! The Bible teaches that righteousness is not an action or behavior but is the person of Jesus Christ available to the anyone willing to receive Him. Righteous is used as either an adjective or a noun where it either describes what Jesus looks like in the believer or who it really is.  Romans 5:17-19, “…those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness“. 2 Corinthians 5:17, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him“. And Philippians 3:9, “and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith“.

Just because we do something good or kind or noble does not make us righteous. There are plenty of people who do not believe in God that can do good things – yet they are not righteous. Righteousness otherwise known as Jesus is completely right and performs on our behalf if we choose that surrended lifestyle. As a believer, I can choose to do my own rightness or I can instead allow God who lives in me display His rightness through me. Yes I know… self-generated good behavior versus God-designed behavior may look very similar but the first requires hard work that never amounts to God’s favor and the second is effortless on our part while responding to God’s directions.

Joseph was righteous because of His faith – he was saved through faith. His behaviors also were a display of Christ in him as he waited on God instead of doing what he really wanted to do. If you have faith in God’s provisions then give yourself a break – don’t try to do righteousness but instead claim the gift you have already been given and trust God to demonstrate that through you.

I recently was asked what exactly is it that I teach and does it differ from what is being taught in Gospel preaching churches? What an excellent question because it demonstrates that the someone is actually thinking enough to ask. Oh how I wish more believers would think about where they put their faith and if it makes any sense.

What do I teach?
It is important to know that I teach the truths and principles of New Covenant living but I don’t teach New Covenant – I am not capable of do so in and of myself. Let me explain.
Suppose I loved to hang glide and began sharing what that experience was like with others. If someone asked me to teach them how to hang glide that in no way guarantees them the same experience as mine, in fact, it does not guarantee them anything except an acedemic understanding of hang gliding. No matter how much I teach that person the principles of hang gliding, no matter how much I share my unforgettable experiences that person eventually has to make a choice: will they trust in the principles they have learned to the point of leaping out in faith. I can teach the truths but experientially living out those truths is their choice – that is New Covenant!

It is not a teaching or information or even a perspective as many have called it. It is act – a choice of faith. It is a way of life. It is a shifting away from thinking about what we can do for God by instead claiming what He has already done for us and living in that reality. It is living as though everything… whether good or bad, is an opportunity to grow in Christ. It is an agreeing with God that no matter how I feel or what the circumstance looks like God’s great plan will be accomplished as He grows us. It is never taking credit for any of God accomplishments but instead is simply being willing to let Him work in and through us. It is freedom. Those who trust God will indeed experience freedom of flight in Christ just like the eagle (Isaiah 40:31).

Is what I teach different from what is being taught in most Gospel preaching churches?
Well ‘yes’ and ‘no’. In general, no, the basic theological truths do not differ as they are easily found in Scripture.  These truths have been taught for more that 2,000 years. It has been my observation that the major difference is in application. In other words, leaving the classroom and leaping off the cliff in faith. Unfortunately it is quite common for Christians to embrace the truths of God’ s wonderful grace but demonstrate little to no faith. I simply seek to help and encourage people to move beyond the academics and become responders to God through practical, real-life situations. Since there is no limit to God’s abundant grace then why waste time pretending there is.

This last week while I was out picking up a few last minutes gifts I drove past a church I know well. Throughout the year they will sponsor spaghetti dinners, pancake breakfasts and flea markets for various good causes all well advertised on their brightly lit sign. But this time something on their sign caught my eye enough for a double take: Xmas.

‘Xmas’ as most of us know is a replacement for the word ‘Christmas’. Instead of breathing fire from Heaven over what many would call blasphemy and I think its helpful to ask ourselves what ‘Xmas’ really is.

Indeed it is a replacement for the word ‘Christmas’. That replacement could be for a number of reasons. There are those truly offended by the use of Christ. There are some trying to avoid the “Christ in Christmas’” controversy. There are those try to conserve sign space by using this abbreviated version of Christmas and then there are a few who are just too lazy to spell out the entire word ‘Christmas’. Wow – that is lazy

The word ‘Xmas’ first emerged in the fifteenth century and was a widely used symbol for Christmas. In the early days of the printing press typesetting was a very tedious and expensive process all done by hand – abbreviations were common. The word ‘Christ’ in Greek is Χριστός – notice the first letter is an X? It was around this time that the abbreviation X for the word “Christ” was used to cut down on the cost of the books and pamphlets and eventually newspapers and so on. Christmas, Christian and Christianity were often seen as Xmas, Xian and Xianity, respectively.

I love Christmas and enjoy wishing others Merry Christmas. I don’t think that using ‘Xmas’ on a Christian church sign is a good idea as it could potentially send a mixed message but overall it would do Christians some good to relax a bit about this whole matter of Xmas. God provides many opportunities for the believer to walk in His ways. Entering into a conversation about the ‘X’ in Xmas is potentially one such opportunity. Maybe you’ll have just that opportunity.

Once I was foolish, and sin ruled my heart,
Causing my footsteps from God to depart;
Jesus hath found me, happy my case;
I now am a sinner, saved by grace

Only a sinner, saved by grace!
Only a sinner, saved by grace!
This is my story, to God be the glory—
I’m only a sinner, saved by grace!

I remember that song well growing up as a child. Even now many years later I could likely sing most of this song from memory due to having sung it countless times at church, Christian camp, and church outings. Never once did I give its lyrics a second thought until I began to rebel late in my teen years. Deep inside I struggled with the false guilt that came from no longer performing all the “good Christian things” that many other Christians said I should be doing. I often wondered what kind of sinner I was. Was I a really bad sinner or not-so-bad in comparison to others behaving worse than me. On particularly bad days when I had higher than usual unChrist-like thoughts or actions I would find the guilt to be quite oppressive. Oddly enough it was the 4 years I spent in the Marine Corps where my faith was bitterly challenged that helped bring me to a place where I began to ask the important question “I wonder if I am missing something important about what Christianity really is?”.

What a wonderful day it was when I began to understand that sinner is an identity just as saint is an identity. The meaning of sinner is used throughout Scripture to describe those who have not received Christ’s free gift of life and are therefore completely subject to the power of sin (noun) and its effects: sinning (verb). And yet the description of a saint is found 63 times in the New Testament to refer to those who have received Christ’s gift of life – set free from sin’s (noun) enslavement and can now choose not to sin (verb).  There it is – mystery revealed. All this time I was having an identity crisis… a big one!!! No longer do I have to try to change my behaviors in order to be Christ-like. No longer do I assign identity based on behavior. I am not a sinner because I sin but instead I am a saint who sometimes chooses to sin. I am not a sinner, saved by grace – instead I am a saint saved by grace. What an amazing new way to think about myself according to what God says. If an identity crisis has gripped your life don’t try to fix it… instead find out for yourself who God says you are… saint or sinner. Agree with Him and then allow Him to change your life.

Below are the 63 references confirming that the Christian has been made perfect in Christ even though they still can choose to sin. This does not minimize sin but instead takes our focus off of it while God corrects our imperfect behaviors.

• Acts
  • 9:13, 32, 41; 9:26:10
• Romans
  • 1:7; 8:27; 12:13; 5:25, 26, 31; 16:2, 15
• 1 Corinthians
  • 1:2; 6:1, 2; 14:33; 16:1, 15
• 2 Corinthians
  • 1:1; 8:4; 9:1, 12; 13:13
• Ephesians
  • 1:1, 15, 18; 2:19; 3:8, 18; 4:12; 5:3; 6:18
• Philippians
  • 1:1; 4:21, 22
• Colossians
  • 1:2, 4, 12, 26; 3:12
• 1 Thessalonians
  • 3:13; 5:27
• 2 Thessalonians
  • 1:10
• 1 Timothy
  • 5:10
• Hebrews
  • 3:1; 6:10; 13:24
• 1 Peter
  • 2:5, 9
• Jude
  • 3, 14
• Revelations
  • 5:8; 8:3,4; 11:18; 13:7, 10; 14:12; 16:6; 17:6; 18:24; 19:8

I was reading the news this morning and see the escalating tension at the United Nation’s Climate conference regarding global warming. For several years now the general public has listened to Al Gore, groups of scientists and university professors as well as scores of Hollywood actors tell us of the impending doom coming to our fragile planet due to our increased usage of fossil fuels. We have been challenged and rebuked in movies like ‘An Inconveninet Truth’: the “Oscar® winning documentary that made global warming the number one topic of conversation.” Mr. Gore while speaking at the climate summit, claimed his latest research showed that the Arctic could be completely ice-free in five years. Yet, once again the general public has come to know that his information was fabricated after being taken and manipulated from scientist Dr. Wieslav Maslowski’s research. Yet, millions of dollars continue to be spent supporting these false claims.

This is not the first time we have seen this type of behavior – the evolutionary theory taught as fact has filled countless textbooks and bank accounts alike.

The analysis is actually surprisingly simple. Mankind left to define how he/she should live is precisely what God has called ‘death’. Proverbs 14:12 says “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” God never intended for us to figure out or fix our problems or even define how we should live… He has provided a way for us to live in freedom while simply depending on Him for everything. Instead of living in panic and fear why not take God at His word. So simple… yet overlooked by millions of people everyday.

I have heard this term ’sinful nature’ used many times – “I’m sorry I did that, it was my sinful nature” or “well, Christians aren’t perfect you know. Sometimes our sinful nature really comes out”. I certainly do understand why we use this term to describe flesh – afterall it is found in the New International Version in Rom.8:3,4.

“For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.”

The term nature really mean our identity – who we really are. Read 2 Peter 1:4 and Ephesians 2:1-3 on your own and see for yourself. As humans we are either alive to God or dead to God (John 5:12). We who were made in the likeness or image of God, who is Spirit, are actually spirits with a personality (soul) contained in a skin and bone container (body).  If at the moment of receiving Christ’s free gift of salvation we were made alive… what came alive? Our true identity, our spirit, our nature now is in Christ and Christ is in us… in our spirit as Spirit (Col.1:26,27). Christ has no sin therefore as a Christian you can never claim to act according to a sinful nature because you have a new perfect nature.