I’d like to begin this post with an acknowledgment of a broken promise. A couple of weeks ago, I told you that I would not be blogging while I am overseas for the next couple of months. While that is still my intention, it looks like I am going to have break that promise at least once due to necessity. Simply put, it is a necessity that I share a French word with you. Continue Reading…
This is my last post for the next couple of months. I wrote about why I won’t be blogging for the next two months last week. You can read that post here.
Since this is my last post for a while, I wanted to let you know about something important. As a matter of fact, what I want to tell you about is so glorious it will be dangerous. A revelation of Jesus Christ (who is love personified) will get you killed. It happens 100% of the time. You will be put to death in the most brutal of ways. You will be betrayed by those you love the most. You will be misunderstood. You will be rejected. You will be slandered. You will be lied about. You will become the scum of the earth. In spite of all of that, however, you will know love through it all. Continue Reading…
The number 165 is quite significant for me. Since this blog was created, one hundred and sixty five articles have been posted here. That might not sound like a lot, but it is. The experience of writing has been like nothing else I have experienced in my life. It has been rewarding, yet heart wrenching at the same time. Although I am not a female, and I have never given birth, that is the analogy that comes to mind. Each article for me begins with a conception, a development, and finally a painful birth. While the parts of this process can be painful, the experience as a whole is overwhelmingly joyful. Continue Reading…
There is an ancient disease currently spreading that you more than likely have come in contact with. You may actually be infected with it at this very moment. This disease is hard to label because it is easily disguised as something noble. Make no mistake, however, it is deadly. In today’s post, I’d like to shed some light on what this disease is, and how it masks itself in our lives. This post could be a test indicating whether or not you are currently infected with this disease. Continue Reading…
About a year ago, Brandie (my wife) wrote a poem to share during a meeting with the church body we are in community with. I remember being impacted when she first shared it. I recently reread it, however, and this poem struck a cord much deeper within me. This poem expresses the agony of searching for the cure to the fatal disease of *lovesickness* in external places, and the beauty of finding that cure internally. This poem beautifully communicates the mystery of ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (Col. 1:27). When the scriptures speak of ‘Christ in you’, the *you* is not just you individually. This was written to an entire community of people. The *you* is your brothers and sisters you are being joined together with. The cure to our ‘lovesickness’ is found within ‘you’. I would like to share this poem with you today. May this be as much of a blessing to you as it has been to me. Continue Reading…
Have you ever heard of the phrase ‘falling in love’? I have. Many people will say that they ‘fell in love’ with someone, or they ‘fell out of love’ with someone. This is a ridiculous phrase, however. Love is not something that you fall ‘in’ or ‘out’ of. Love simply is. Love is a constant reality because God is a constant reality. God is love.
When people say that they fell ‘into love’, or fell ‘out of love’, they really mean to say something quite different. I’d like to propose that we change this phrase to mean something a bit more accurate. Instead of saying that we fell into, or out of, ‘love’, let’s say this: Continue Reading…
Where is your favorite destination? Maybe it’s somewhere you have already been? Maybe it’s somewhere you ‘know’ you need to go? Maybe it’s a place like the paradise of Hawaii, the temperate weather of Southern California, the crystal clear waters & white beaches of the Bahamas, or the wide open wild country of Montana? Maybe it’s the romantic city of light & love like Paris, or the rain-forests of Nepal? Many of us have a desired location where we have fantasized about living someday.
Did you know that God has a favorite place here on the earth too? Continue Reading…
On Monday of this week, I posted a book review of Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions, a book that I believe is of a revolutionary caliber. Although this book is not for the faint of heart, I’m convinced this book should be thoughtfully and honestly considered by anyone who is serious about experiencing authentic New Testament community. The title of Monday’s book review is:
If you haven’t yet read this review, please give that post a read before you read further here. Because of the controversial nature of the subject of this book, I asked author Dan Brennan to come on the blog today to answer some questions about his book Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions. He has graciously agreed. Without further adue, let’s jump into the conversation. Continue Reading…
Why The New Covenant Is A Sexual Revolution…(a review of Sacred Unions, Sacred Passions by Dan Brennan)
53 CommentsIn 2008, a book hit the bookshelves that rocked the evangelical world. This book finally put words to what a multitude of people had begun to realize. The revolutionary book was Pagan Christianity by Frank Viola & George Barna. This book made the claim that much of institutional Christianity and modern church practice was actually not rooted in the New Testament scriptures, but in pagan traditions. It was a book whose time had come.
In today’s post, I’d like to tell you about another bomb-shell book dealing with personal relationships that I believe is of a similar caliber. For the last few years, I’ve had a sneaking suspicion that the New Covenant & the New Commandment that Jesus gave to us, when truly grasped, is the most radical and purest sexual revolution in relationships that the world has ever known. In a masterful way, this book has finally put words to what I have long suspected. Continue Reading…
Although I am excited about next week's posts, I can honestly say that it will not be suitable for all audiences. The content that will be shared will simply be too foreign for many. Much of evangelicalism is still operating within a 'sin management', law based mindset. As a result, much of what will be shared on the blog next week will be offensive, and possibly even dangerous for many. Continue Reading…
Money
Have you ever wondered what money is, and where it came from? If not, you may want to give it some thought. Most people will quickly say that money does not rule their lives, yet money is the main deciding factor behind much of their lifestyle and decision making processes. It’s simply the way of the world. Continue Reading…
Most of us either know, or have heard, the cute little children’s song entitled ‘Jesus Loves Me’. The lyrics come from a poem written in 1860 by Anna Bartlett Warner. It’s typically one of the first songs that a child from a religious heritage learns to sing. Here is the first stanza:
Jesus loves me—this I know,
For the Bible tells me so; Little ones to him belong,—
They are weak, but he is strong.
Although the song might sound adorable when sung by sweet little children, it actually contains a devastating lie.
Whenever something ‘good’ is discovered, mankind usually attempts to recreate and mass produce it in large volumes. Obviously, this creates problems. The quest for money & power is usually involved somewhere in the process. Farming and crop production is an eye opening picture of this.
Organically, most crops require a certain environment and season in which to grow. This is not typically a problem unless one wants to mass produce crops. The limited seasons and locations in which some crops can be grown make ‘mass production’ impossible. As a result, mankind has learned how to genetically mutilate the DNA of these crops to enable them to crow in many seasons and environments that are not typically natural for these crops. While this might not seem like a big deal, it is. Let me give you one example, among many.
I have a specific Word about the situation you are facing right now. I’d love to share this Word with you, but before I do that, I’d like to remind you about a couple of things that you probably already know. Continue Reading…
Think of the most deadly, disgusting, contagious, fear gripping diseases. There are a few that come to my mind, although there are not a lot of commonplace diseases that exist today that fit that bill. If we go back two thousand years ago, however, there is one disease in particular that fits this description to a tee. Continue Reading…
Sometimes one sentence spoken to you can shift a paradigm and change your life. Last Wednesday, I sensed the Lord speak one sentence to my heart that has set me free from a faulty paradigm that I didn’t even know I was carrying. Even though I was ‘wealthy’ before last Wednesday, the shredding of this false paradigm has opened the doors for me to become even more wealthy than I was before! I want to tell you about this single sentence that I sensed the Lord communicate to me, but before I do that, I need to give you some background. Continue Reading…
I am both overjoyed and terrified to share this post with you. I am overjoyed because what I am about to share with you has been one of the greatest discoveries of my life. I am terrified to share this post with you, however, because I know this post will be misunderstood and I will be personally maligned. The joys of what I am experiencing have been stirring in me for quite some time, but have only become clear recently.
I believe this is a vitally important article for you to consider and read carefully. I would ask that you DO NOT skip ahead, or skim any part of this article, but to read this with a spirit of openness and sensitivity. Before I share some news with you about my own marriage that some of you might find disturbing, I need to begin this conversation by talking about ‘shadows’. I will then talk about a new glorious reality that will seem to good to be true.
