Friday!!!

Not that it means anything in my business, but it is finally Friday! It has been a long week. I guess it all started two weeks ago.

I have a friend that I have been corresponding with for the past several months, and we had been discussing inner healing from the various things that wound us throughout our lives. In the course of that discussion I was able to share the message of salvation. It was pretty neat. I was actually surprised by some of the things that I learned in the process.

For the first time I actually understood why Jesus could be raised from the grave. Yes, WB, God did it, but for the first time I understood why there was a waiting period. Actually there may be a few reasons for that. I know, I know, there were the prophecies, but I mean beyond that. What finally came to me is that Jesus could be raised from the grave after becoming our sin because His goodness, His perfection, was infinitely greater than the sum total of all of humanity's sin. It only took him 3 (or part of three) human days for the entire sin debt that mankind would ever run up to be paid in full. Selah... Pretty cool, eh?

This also helps to explain why Jesus had to be God. He had to be infinite to outstrip the sins of mankind. Theoretically (and it would only be theoretical) if someone could live their entire life sinless they would be OK with God and would be welcome in to God's presence (this is totally impossible for a normal human.) However, because they are finite creatures, not infinite, their goodness would be limited to themselves. Thus, the mission to rescue sinful mankind could not be accomplished by something finite. It would require an infinite sacrifice, and infinite goodness, to overcome the sins of the World.

I have also begun to understand the nature of the Gospel message. It really IS Good News. I have been pondering the question "What is the Good News?" for the past month or so and have been amazed at the understanding that I have begun to receive about this gift that we have received from God. I guess the best summary that I can think of from the scriptures is this:

The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, because the LORD has appointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to announce that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD's favor has come, and with it, the day of God's anger against their enemies. To all who mourn in Israel, He will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the LORD has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory.

They will rebuild the ancient ruins, repairing cities long ago destroyed. They will revive them, though they have been empty for many generations. Foreigners will be your servants. They will feed your flocks and plow your fields and tend your vineyards. You will be called priests of the LORD, ministers of our God. You will be fed with the treasures of the nations and will boast in their riches. Instead of shame and dishonor, you will inherit a double portion of prosperity and everlasting joy.

"For I, the LORD, love justice. I hate robbery and wrongdoing. I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering and make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants will be known and honored among the nations. Everyone will realize that they are a people the LORD has blessed."

I am overwhelmed with joy in the LORD my God! For He has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit or a bride with her jewels. The Sovereign LORD will show His justice to the nations of the world. Everyone will praise him! His righteousness will be like a garden in early spring, filled with young plants springing up everywhere.
Isaiah 61 (NLT)

That sums it up pretty well. If you are sad He will make you happy. If you have been dishonored He will give you honor. If your heart is broken He will heal it. If you've been held captive He will set you free. And He's gonna make the ones who hurt the person who is the apple of His eye (i.e. you) PAY. (As the scriptures say, it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the Living God.)

You don't have to be scared anymore. You don't have to be broken. You don't have to be ashamed. You don't have to be addicted. You can be totally free! This is the Good News that Jesus told us to proclaim. If that ever gets down into your soul, it'll make you get so happy that you just want to dance!

Why is it that so many Christians are terrified to share the Gospel? (I am not exaggerating here when I say that they are terrified to share the Gospel either.) It is because I'd dare say 95% or more of all Christians don't understand that the essence of Christianity is what I have just described for you. The message that everyone has ever heard is that if you don't get saved you're going to go to hell. Oh, and by the way you also have to give up alot of other stuff too and go around being holy all the time. Does that sound like a message that anyone in his right mind would ever want to share with someone that they cared about? Absolutely not!

Where is the Good News in the message "You're an evil worm. You deserve to go to hell. Fortunately for you Jesus came here and let us kill Him so you wouldn't have to go to go there. Once you receive His gift we have a great list of dos and don'ts for you to follow so that you can be a good Christian and so that you can be sure that you are saved and to make sure God doesn't change His mind about you and send you to hell if you screw it up enough."? I guess it is good news that you may be getting to avoid hell, but is that really good news? What about this life? It is pretty hellish sometimes. What about my messed up emotions and weird thinking that make me mess up over and over again? Is there any help for that?

I am finding that we have taken the complete wrong tack on this witnessing thing. The Good News is that God is nuts about us and wants to fix us. He wants to take away our fears and provide for our needs. He loves us far more than we could ever possibly conceive and the benefits of loving Him back are PHENOMENAL.

If we ever get the realization of the truth of the Good News message down into our hearts, they'll have a hard time shutting us up! It is really sad to me that the sharing our faith or preaching the Gospel or whatever you want to call it has just become another rule - another regulation - that we have to fulfill to be a "good" Christian. It is one other way that we are reminded from the pulpit that we aren't really cutting it. How different from what Jesus intended for us! The early Church didn't have an outreach program. They were just so excited about what Jesus had done for them and they were so excited about what was going on around them that they couldn't wait to tell someone about it. That is what God intended for us - a life of utter excitement and wonder at what He is doing for us, NOT another religion!

OK, so this is the stuff I learned from sharing with my friend. Quite a rabbit trail, but it was so good to me, I just wanted to share it here. I have always been reluctant to share the Gospel, but I am coming to realize that the main reason has been that I have not really taken the time to actually understand what part of the message is the Good News part! I am excited at this new revelation because it helps me to truly believe that what I have to offer them is, in fact, Good News.

Anyway, on the heels of sharing this stuff with my friend I immediately got broadsided. I had to work last Saturday playing secretary at my office (Nothing against secretaries, I couldn't accomplish anything without mine, but I totally am not into doing work without being paid for it.) I was in a horrible mood that got worse and worse as the day progressed.

I thought that it was just the effect of having a lousy attitude about my pro bono contribution to my office, but when the bad attitude extended to Monday, then Tuesday, and Wednesday I knew that something was amiss. It was so bad on Wednesday that when I went to bed on Tuesday night I already didn't want to get up on Wednesday. When I got up on Wednesday I still didn't want to get up. We had to tour our new properties on Wednesday and we had to see about 14 properties all over the county. By the time that I got out of the van I hated everyone and everything.

As my attitude continued to deteriorate through the course of the day I finally turned to prayer in desperation. I didn't know what else to do, but I knew that I couldn't stay in this evil state of mind. I asked God what I should do and the Holy Spirit prompted me to pray for God to cover me (spiritually) with the blood of Jesus.

(Sorry if this Christianese jargon doesn't make sense to you or if it sounds totally gross. Basically Christians call this "pleading the blood of Jesus over themselves." In Christian theology it is the sacrificial blood of Jesus that has paid for our sins and has washed us clean. It is His blood that has purchased our souls and has bound us in covenant with Himself. To be "covered by the blood" is to bring oneself back under the covenant that you made with God. It is to remind yourself, God, and the devil that you belong to God and that you are entitled to His protection and the benefits of being in covenant with Him. We are not asking to be drenched in the literal blood of Jesus. It is a spiritual thing.)

Anyway, as soon as I prayed that prayer (I didn't even speak the words. I just thought them in my mind.) I felt a warm, tingling sensation that began at the crown of my head and rapidly spread to the rest of my body. Within 5 minutes my attitude had TOTALLY turned around, and I have been back to my usual cheerful self! I'll store that one away for future reference! It worked GREAT!

So there is the stuff that I promised in last night's post. I have some other fun stuff to write about so I'll wrap this up. What a week!