I have put this blogsite to sleep and have transferred a lot of new content over to the Radius website. www.radius-group.org
Join me over there!
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
A Personal Update
We are writing to give you an update on our journey in life and ministry since our last letter in February. As you probably know, I (Michael) had the opportunity to work at Rhythm Engineering over the last 3½ years and helped to launch that company from a start up to a multi- award-winning company. The reason for its rapid penetration into the traffic engineering world is due to a brilliant breakthrough technology that changes the fundamental way that traffic signals operate, are optimized and are coordinated. It was a great learning/personal growth experience to enter the marketplace for the first time in my adult life after over 30 years of vocational ministry.
However, it became very clear at the end of February that God was calling me to make room in my schedule for more ministry and to integrate our ministry with some new kinds of business endeavors…a hybrid of ministry and marketplace…so to speak. After leaving Rhythm, Terri and I were able to go away to a beach house in TX on the Gulf for two full weeks to get re-centered and seek out our Heavenly Father’s heart and will for this next season. It was a remarkable time in our lives and many confirmations came to us, both directly and indirectly, that we were being divinely led. Our ministry opportunities both in the US and beyond are many and we are very active in serving a number of leaders and faith communities. As one of the first new steps we are taking in this season of recommissioning to ministry, we have joined a great young church in the urban center of Kansas City. The church is called Bridgeport (www.bridgeportchurch.org) and we have decided to make it our home base. Another development is my new book coming out this month via amazon.com that I am very excited about. I will tell you more about The Romance of Romans: God’s Big God-Story very soon. Also our new website will soon be developed by my company, SIS, www.radius-group.org. We’ll let you know when that is up and ready to roll. We are carefully choosing our steps as we renegotiate life and ministry in this new season, making sure the things we are doing are really in alignment with our callings.
On the heels of our retreat I had it in my heart to come home and talk to a friend who owns both a snow removal company and an internet marketing company about a possible employment opportunity. He and the CEO (another old friend) agreed to hire me to help develop the internet business and also afford me more flexibility in my schedule than I had before. They are both wonderful brothers in Christ and are creating a culture of honor in these two kingdom-minded companies. I have been on board for about a month and we’re off to a good start. Internet marketing is a growing industry as you probably know. We are experts in search engine optimization, search engine marketing and website development. It’s a very sweet and sophisticated science, friendly to driving more people to our clients’ websites so increased leads and sales result. Feel free to check out the SIS website at:www.strategicinternetsolutions.com.
Finally, another wonderful opportunity has landed in our laps that we are excited about. Some old friends contacted us about a relatively new company they are in the center of, Max International. We are convinced, after doing both personal research and personal experimentation, that it represents another genuine scientific breakthrough—only this time in the health/wellness industry. Believe it or not…it revolves around a new nutritional supplement. (We recently met the amazing and brilliant top executives of Max out west. Each of them had the same initial skepticism we did…and our friends do…given the less-than-sterling reputation of the world of food supplements and many people’s experiences with buying/using them!)
Terri and I have been doing the best we know how to seek God’s kingdom and righteousness as a priority throughout our years.(Matthew 6:33) Jesus promised us that if we do this then all things we need will be added to us according to our loving Father’s will. We believe that this nutritional supplement is one of those timely things that God has “added unto us” that we were not looking for…but were truly in need of. (After just being on one of the products for two weeks, my acid reflux has disappeared, I am not reacting to pollen, I am sleeping better and I am off all of the medications I was taking! Terri is also successfully weaning off of her prescription medications with very positive results.) We are convinced that investing in remedies that build up overall health and wellness are the way we want to go as much as we possibly can. The past 10 years have taken an enormous toll on our health for sure. These products are helping us “get our lives back". Strength is returning to enable us to “run the race with endurance” and finish the race well.
Max GXL and Max One, the two doctor-formulated products marketed by Max Int’l, may be very beneficial to your health as they have already been for us. 40% of the revenue of Max comes from people who buy, but do not distribute, the products…we like that fact. This is not a typical supplement and it is not your traditional network marketing company or some kind of get-rich scheme. Given some of the humanitarian goals of the company, we also believe it holds promise for the development of both better health and greater wealth among the sick and needy of the world via innovative micro-business models that are already being designed. We’ve posted some links below with doctor’s interviews and info regarding the products and company.
As always, we want to express our love to you and so appreciate you following our storyline through the seasons of life. God is telling a story through each of our lives and sometimes we can find something for ourselves in the stories of others. We believe that the story God is rewriting in our lives now will be the best yet. Here’s a Scripture our daughter Lisa gave us as we left for Texas, it was very much on target and inspired us to open up our hearts fully to God and each other during that time. The verses are from 2 Samuel 22:21-25 in The Message:
21 God made my life complete when I placed all the pieces before him. When I cleaned up my act, he gave me a fresh start.22 Indeed, I've kept alert to God's ways; I haven't taken God for granted.23 Every day I review the ways he works, I try not to miss a trick.24 I feel put back together, and I'm watching my step.25 God rewrote the text of my life when I opened the book of my heart to his eyes.
Please drop us a line if you’d like to connect with us more.
In the service of our beautiful Lord Jesus Christ,
Michael and Terri
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAj-3tiuGCM&feature=player_embedded - 6 minute video infomercial/interview with Dr. Robert H. Keller, creator of Max GXL, explaining glutathione's role in health and healing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WckCCcxiLro&feature=player_embedded - 15 minute video clip of Steve Scott, co-founder of Max Int'l.
http://youtu.be/w5CDBXkN_pA - 7 minute video clip of Dr. Keller speaking to medical professionals
Sunday, March 27, 2011
A Dream About Carrying the Cross
In a spiritual dream this morning I saw a man...a Jesus-follower...going about the normal course of his life. He was riding his bike in a town, like on a college campus, and at one point he felt compelled to ride to a certain point at the foot of a high and rocky hill. It seemed that the city was preparing for a gathering at a large meeting place on the other side of the hill. He then felt led to hoist his bike on his shoulders and hike up the hill to this gathering rather than riding around to it. As he did, his bicycle transformed into a cross like the one that Jesus carried. It was very heavy and he strained and strained to get his footing and climb the hill. The rocks were loose and he was slipping.
As he was looking down, he noticed that there was a little ledge near his right foot. Moss had grown over it but as he cleared it just a bit with his foot, he realized that it was a "foot-sized" step that had a number 1 chiseled into it. It gave him the foothold he needed and he simply placed his foot there and then looked for the second step for his left foot. Sure enough, there was a series of ancient chiseled-numbered steps that led up the hill to its top. It was still very strenuous to do so, but he managed to make it to the crest. He then intuitively understood that Jesus had somehow created and marked these steps in his wake as he ascended to the site of his execution long ago. This man was called, but also willing and desirous, to follow in his Lord's footsteps.
He approached the gathering site from the backside of the building that was built into the side of this hill. As it turned out this building was a cathedral. Some people were entering it for the gathering and others were walking past it with no intention to enter. No one would have normally approached the cathedral from the back side as this man was doing. People began to notice him and the cross he was carrying as he was walking toward the entrance in a direction that was against the flow of all the human traffic. He was a witness raised up to bring the cross of Christ back into plain view of all kinds of people...the "churched" and the "unchurched".
His presence created the social tension that always attends a move of God's Spirit. At the same time, there was a rather sneaky and compelling effect of his presence down deep inside the hearts of all the people despite their various reactions. They wondered if Jesus might be "more real" and "more alive" than they had considered before. Moves of God's Spirit always unsettle the status-quo and create a sense of urgency for people to truly come to Christ and follow him. Climbing this hill in this way and approaching the cathedral from this angle had prepared this humble servant of Christ to look beyond various the human reactions and remain at peace with both God and people in his counter-cultural mission.
As he was looking down, he noticed that there was a little ledge near his right foot. Moss had grown over it but as he cleared it just a bit with his foot, he realized that it was a "foot-sized" step that had a number 1 chiseled into it. It gave him the foothold he needed and he simply placed his foot there and then looked for the second step for his left foot. Sure enough, there was a series of ancient chiseled-numbered steps that led up the hill to its top. It was still very strenuous to do so, but he managed to make it to the crest. He then intuitively understood that Jesus had somehow created and marked these steps in his wake as he ascended to the site of his execution long ago. This man was called, but also willing and desirous, to follow in his Lord's footsteps.
He approached the gathering site from the backside of the building that was built into the side of this hill. As it turned out this building was a cathedral. Some people were entering it for the gathering and others were walking past it with no intention to enter. No one would have normally approached the cathedral from the back side as this man was doing. People began to notice him and the cross he was carrying as he was walking toward the entrance in a direction that was against the flow of all the human traffic. He was a witness raised up to bring the cross of Christ back into plain view of all kinds of people...the "churched" and the "unchurched".
His presence created the social tension that always attends a move of God's Spirit. At the same time, there was a rather sneaky and compelling effect of his presence down deep inside the hearts of all the people despite their various reactions. They wondered if Jesus might be "more real" and "more alive" than they had considered before. Moves of God's Spirit always unsettle the status-quo and create a sense of urgency for people to truly come to Christ and follow him. Climbing this hill in this way and approaching the cathedral from this angle had prepared this humble servant of Christ to look beyond various the human reactions and remain at peace with both God and people in his counter-cultural mission.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
A Personal Update
Hello,
I'm writing today to catch up with you about some changes in our life and ministry. Three and a half years ago, I was led into the marketplace for the first time in my adult life...that was quite a surprise to me after over 30 years in vocational ministry. It turned out to be a blessing for me in many ways and I am really grateful for the experience. Helping a "start up" engineering firm come to market with a breakthrough technology, growing from 3 employees to over 40 and leading the way for the sales thrust of the company was an exciting ride! I discovered some gifts God has given me that had never before been tapped and I grew stronger both spiritually and personally. I also had the opportunity to be a witness for Jesus to my rapidly growing number of co-workers and clients around the country. Terri and I are convinced that the break from vocational ministry was part of a God-ordained plan for our lives.
Though we were able to keep Radius active doing various kinds of ministry all along the way, we had to significantly curtail our ministry activities to make room for all of the intensive work involved in my job. (I did, however, carve out the time to author my latest book...a commentary on Romans...that should be published through Amazon later this month. It’s called The Romance of Romans: God’s Big God Story. I believe it is the most important book I've written up to date.) Just about a month ago now, Terri and I suddenly began to sense that God might be calling us to take steps that would lead us to more active ministry day to day and week to week. We did some serious soul-searching and praying and came to a clear conviction that I should resign from my position. I did resign from Rhythm Engineering on February 22 with expressed admiration, moral support and gratitude from my leaders and co-workers.
As a first next step, Terri and I were able to immediately leave for a two-week time of solitude at a secluded South Texas beach house thanks to the generosity of some friends at a church in Houston where we have ministered regularly through the years. We needed a time of re-centering and rest. We dialed way down and engaged in much prayer, Scripture reading, prayer walking, journaling, deep conversation and listening. It was simply wonderful and we were greatly refreshed and renewed. We also received much confirmation that we had made the correct choice in setting this new course. Some of the unsolicited confirmations we have received have been very specific and timely. We know that we are called to work toward creating a "hybrid" of both ministry and business that will allow us and our family to bear even more fruit for the Lord Jesus and his kingdom for years to come.
I am presently pursuing business opportunities that would allow me the time and flexibility of schedule to also ramp up my work on the ministry front. Terri is also moving forward in her Life Coaching practice. Her website is worth a look! (www.fullyalive5.com) We are beginning to re-engage leaders here in Kansas City and around the country to let them know that Terri and I are now more available to serve them and their networks with our gifts. This transition is going to take a bit of time, but we are full of faith and joy in the process.
We will write again to tell you more about some specific things that we are being called to do in ministry through Radius....there are a number of possibilities and opportunities pending here at home, across the country and in other lands. We are praying these things through in a serious way. We ask for your prayers too. Our new website will be up soon with more info about what we are offering and how to contact us.
Thank you for your love and encouragement through the years. We love you back!
Michael
Radius Ministries
2800 W. 131st St.
Leawood, KS 66209
Tel:(816)-509-6709
mwsullivant@gmail.com
(tax deductible contributions can be made out to "Radius")
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy 2011 to All Our Friends
From left to right: Mike & Jeri; Lisa & James Hoskins; Terri & me; Steve in front center; Sam & Caitlin; Luke & Beka and Jonah (10 months)
Wow did we make some memories during Christmas 2010! Our whole clan gathered in Kansas City and camped out at our place for two nights and three days. Great time of reconnecting, playing games, feasting and loving on each other. This was the first Christmas shared with our great new daughter-in-law, Jeri (Mike's wife), and of course...our new grandson...Jonah, Luke and Beka's truly beautiful boy. We posed for the picture at Union Station that was snapped by our good friend, Mano Boussage. (You can see his work at www.rockonphotography.com)
Everyone in the family is working hard, loving well and continuing to develop our gifts and talents. Everyone is passionate about following Jesus and always looking for and finding ways to express his great love to the people in and around our lives.
One of the great things we experienced was for Terri and me to renew our wedding vows in front of our kids on Christmas day. Terri got a new ring for Christmas and...as a new era of life has come upon us now that we are "empty nesters"...we thought it was an opportune time to celebrate 33 years of marriage and plant our feet firmly again in the rich soil of our marriage covenant to inaugurate the coming, hopefully, golden years.
We wish all of our friend God's blessings throughout 2011.
P.S. I heard a little whisper from God's Spirit the other morning in a dream: Self-confidence is over-rated...but..."Christ-within consciousness" is a secret of true success.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
The Romance of Romans-Part 129
Romans Chapter 16 cont'd
My co-worker, Timothy, Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relative, send their greetings.
(I Tertius, to whom Paul dictated this letter, greet you in the Lord as well.) My host, Gaius, and the whole church here say hello. Erastus, the chamberlain of the city also sends his greetings, along with a brother in the Lord named Quartus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Let it be so, Lord!
Now we honor him who has the power to firmly establish you in this good news and in an intimate relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. This is the revelation of the mystery which was hidden from the beginning of the world, but is now manifested, and which is a fulfillment of many prophecies in scripture. And now, by the express commandment of the everlasting God, it is to be made known to all the nations of the earth, leading them into the passionate pursuit of God that flows from genuine faith.
Comments:
Some final personal greetings and a summary of what Paul has written in his letter to the Romans penned as a thanksgiving prayer brings us to the end. The doxology (Gk. glorious words) is highly reminiscent of his opening purpose statement in the first 5 verses of chapter 1:
"This is a letter from Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be a divine ambassador I was apprehended for the express purpose of spreading the good news of God that was spoken of in times past by the prophets in the holy scriptures. This message centers around his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who, in his humanity, was the Son of David. He was also proven to be "the Son of God" when he was raised from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the same Spirit I have received this ambassadorial commission to introduce many people from many nations, for the honor of Christ, into the passionate pursuit of God that flows from genuine faith."
At long last, the penultimate focus of the Old Testament prophets and their messages to Israel and the nations, the longings and sighings of the prayerful Hebrew fathers and mothers, that which the angels long to fully comprehend (see 1 Pet 1:12) and the mysterious divine construct that would provide the previously missing cipher code for integrating into a whole all that God had done with his ancient people...God's Big God Story...was unveiled and revealed for all to see and understand. The Person of Jesus Christ and his Gospel burst...exploded...onto the scene of human history. And God is able and willing to firmly establish Christ-followers in their understanding of the points of this now-revealed secret that had been prophesied throughout the previous generations and that were preserved in OT scriptures.
Paul is boldly (audaciously) declaring his letter to the Romans captures the essential major points of this divine revelation that had been hidden from all people throughout all human history...the Jews and their rabbis, scholars and scribes, the gentiles and their philosophers and religious mystics and even the Hebrew prophets themselves who were used by God to utter his very words...had now come to pass and fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. It required the incarnation of the Son of God and the cosmos-shifting events that followed in those 33 years to bring clearly to light a full understanding of what had been hidden. This new revelation was based on Jesus' own authoritative commentaries on the OT scriptures that he passed on directly to his apostles both before and after his resurrection...and provided the hindsight needed to unlock the mysteries of God's Big God-Story.
A major paradigm-shifting part of this Great News, that Paul expounds upon in chapters 9-11, was that the gentiles could now be freely grafted in to the ancient "olive tree" of Israel that God planted in the earth when he cut his original covenant with Abraham...if they would receive and follow Jesus as Lord and Messiah. For the "natural branches", the Jews, their long-awaited Messiah had arrived and they must personally receive him to remain in the covenant. Otherwise, they, as branches, would be pruned from the "family tree" for their blatant rejection of Jesus as Messiah. (And though many 1st century Jews...a believing "remnant"...accepted Jesus, the vast majority did not. Even so, an outstanding prophecy declares that God has not forgotten them as a people group, but that many Jews will yet come to faith in Jesus as Messiah.) They would not be "saved" and at one with God on the basis of their natural Jewish heritage, their knowledge of scripture and/or their performance of Jewish cultural and religious rites and traditions. Moreover, God had not lied or broken his word to the Jews in the revelation of the Gospel of Jesus (or the Gospel of the Kingdom of God), but many of them had, over time, forgotten, twisted and misinterpreted the nature and spiritual roots of the salvation he has promised to them (and ultimately the Gentiles) from the very beginning. The "Substance" of all that was foreshadowed had arrived and a fateful and personal life or death Moment of Decision was introduced into the planet by his coming...his intervention. It was a watershed moment in human history and nothing would, or possibly could, ever be the same again.
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Jesus was and is the integrating element for the Story that is now fully declared in the light of the Day of the New Creation that dawned with his personal arrival to the earth. Those who put their faith in him, whether Jew or gentile, would become "one new man"...a new kind of humanity that possesses the very uncreated life of God in their souls...in Messiah Jesus. A new temple of God has been erected in the earth...one made "without hands" that consists of Holy Spirit indwelt human lives scattered throughout the whole earth and gathered in local relational networks. Race and religious (or irreligious and/or falsely religious) backgrounds are irrelevant in light of the coming of the Christ. The Gospel of Jesus eclipses all that human beings tend to put their trust in to pridefully distinguish themselves from other peoples. God put an exclamation point on the inauguration and dedication of his new temple in Christ, by fulfilling the tragic prophecies of Jesus recorded in the gospels concerning the utter destruction of Jerusalem and its Jewish temple in 70 A.D. by the Romans.
Through the Gospel of Jesus, a final and authoritative divine revelation is being held out to humanity by the hand of God himself that is inter-generational, international, inter-gender and inter-aeon in scope. Ever since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ and up to this very day, that same "Moment of Decision" is continuing to be held out of individuals and tribes and nations. Who do we say Jesus of Nazareth is? Who do you say Jesus of Nazareth is? Who do I say Jesus of Nazareth is? Will I attempt to ignore him? Will I reject him for who he says he is? Or...will I agree with who God says he is and pledge my allegiance to believe in and follow him? It is an urgent question that requires a response from every person who hears of him and his message. It is also a message that must be urgently shared with all the peoples on the face of the earth
Indeed it is worth our while to drink deeply of this inspired letter that is brimming with words of grace and truth written by this brilliant Apostle. I pray that this devotional paraphrase and my musings on the meaning and application of Paul's exquisite letter will be used by God to bring greater spiritual life, encouragement and empowerment to my readers.
My co-worker, Timothy, Lucius, Jason and Sosipater, my relative, send their greetings.
(I Tertius, to whom Paul dictated this letter, greet you in the Lord as well.) My host, Gaius, and the whole church here say hello. Erastus, the chamberlain of the city also sends his greetings, along with a brother in the Lord named Quartus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you. Let it be so, Lord!
Now we honor him who has the power to firmly establish you in this good news and in an intimate relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. This is the revelation of the mystery which was hidden from the beginning of the world, but is now manifested, and which is a fulfillment of many prophecies in scripture. And now, by the express commandment of the everlasting God, it is to be made known to all the nations of the earth, leading them into the passionate pursuit of God that flows from genuine faith.
Comments:
Some final personal greetings and a summary of what Paul has written in his letter to the Romans penned as a thanksgiving prayer brings us to the end. The doxology (Gk. glorious words) is highly reminiscent of his opening purpose statement in the first 5 verses of chapter 1:
"This is a letter from Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be a divine ambassador I was apprehended for the express purpose of spreading the good news of God that was spoken of in times past by the prophets in the holy scriptures. This message centers around his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who, in his humanity, was the Son of David. He was also proven to be "the Son of God" when he was raised from the dead through the power of the Holy Spirit. Through the same Spirit I have received this ambassadorial commission to introduce many people from many nations, for the honor of Christ, into the passionate pursuit of God that flows from genuine faith."
At long last, the penultimate focus of the Old Testament prophets and their messages to Israel and the nations, the longings and sighings of the prayerful Hebrew fathers and mothers, that which the angels long to fully comprehend (see 1 Pet 1:12) and the mysterious divine construct that would provide the previously missing cipher code for integrating into a whole all that God had done with his ancient people...God's Big God Story...was unveiled and revealed for all to see and understand. The Person of Jesus Christ and his Gospel burst...exploded...onto the scene of human history. And God is able and willing to firmly establish Christ-followers in their understanding of the points of this now-revealed secret that had been prophesied throughout the previous generations and that were preserved in OT scriptures.
Paul is boldly (audaciously) declaring his letter to the Romans captures the essential major points of this divine revelation that had been hidden from all people throughout all human history...the Jews and their rabbis, scholars and scribes, the gentiles and their philosophers and religious mystics and even the Hebrew prophets themselves who were used by God to utter his very words...had now come to pass and fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. It required the incarnation of the Son of God and the cosmos-shifting events that followed in those 33 years to bring clearly to light a full understanding of what had been hidden. This new revelation was based on Jesus' own authoritative commentaries on the OT scriptures that he passed on directly to his apostles both before and after his resurrection...and provided the hindsight needed to unlock the mysteries of God's Big God-Story.
A major paradigm-shifting part of this Great News, that Paul expounds upon in chapters 9-11, was that the gentiles could now be freely grafted in to the ancient "olive tree" of Israel that God planted in the earth when he cut his original covenant with Abraham...if they would receive and follow Jesus as Lord and Messiah. For the "natural branches", the Jews, their long-awaited Messiah had arrived and they must personally receive him to remain in the covenant. Otherwise, they, as branches, would be pruned from the "family tree" for their blatant rejection of Jesus as Messiah. (And though many 1st century Jews...a believing "remnant"...accepted Jesus, the vast majority did not. Even so, an outstanding prophecy declares that God has not forgotten them as a people group, but that many Jews will yet come to faith in Jesus as Messiah.) They would not be "saved" and at one with God on the basis of their natural Jewish heritage, their knowledge of scripture and/or their performance of Jewish cultural and religious rites and traditions. Moreover, God had not lied or broken his word to the Jews in the revelation of the Gospel of Jesus (or the Gospel of the Kingdom of God), but many of them had, over time, forgotten, twisted and misinterpreted the nature and spiritual roots of the salvation he has promised to them (and ultimately the Gentiles) from the very beginning. The "Substance" of all that was foreshadowed had arrived and a fateful and personal life or death Moment of Decision was introduced into the planet by his coming...his intervention. It was a watershed moment in human history and nothing would, or possibly could, ever be the same again.
Eph 2:11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 17 And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. 18 For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father.
Jesus was and is the integrating element for the Story that is now fully declared in the light of the Day of the New Creation that dawned with his personal arrival to the earth. Those who put their faith in him, whether Jew or gentile, would become "one new man"...a new kind of humanity that possesses the very uncreated life of God in their souls...in Messiah Jesus. A new temple of God has been erected in the earth...one made "without hands" that consists of Holy Spirit indwelt human lives scattered throughout the whole earth and gathered in local relational networks. Race and religious (or irreligious and/or falsely religious) backgrounds are irrelevant in light of the coming of the Christ. The Gospel of Jesus eclipses all that human beings tend to put their trust in to pridefully distinguish themselves from other peoples. God put an exclamation point on the inauguration and dedication of his new temple in Christ, by fulfilling the tragic prophecies of Jesus recorded in the gospels concerning the utter destruction of Jerusalem and its Jewish temple in 70 A.D. by the Romans.
Through the Gospel of Jesus, a final and authoritative divine revelation is being held out to humanity by the hand of God himself that is inter-generational, international, inter-gender and inter-aeon in scope. Ever since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ and up to this very day, that same "Moment of Decision" is continuing to be held out of individuals and tribes and nations. Who do we say Jesus of Nazareth is? Who do you say Jesus of Nazareth is? Who do I say Jesus of Nazareth is? Will I attempt to ignore him? Will I reject him for who he says he is? Or...will I agree with who God says he is and pledge my allegiance to believe in and follow him? It is an urgent question that requires a response from every person who hears of him and his message. It is also a message that must be urgently shared with all the peoples on the face of the earth
Indeed it is worth our while to drink deeply of this inspired letter that is brimming with words of grace and truth written by this brilliant Apostle. I pray that this devotional paraphrase and my musings on the meaning and application of Paul's exquisite letter will be used by God to bring greater spiritual life, encouragement and empowerment to my readers.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Romance of Romans-Part 128
Romans Chapter 16 cont'd
The testimony of your faithfulness to God has been reported throughout the whole world and I am glad that you've been honored like this. Just make sure that you preserve your spirit of innocence- be "streetwise" in good, but not in evil! And soon, the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Yes, Lord, let it be!
Comments:
The "problem of evil" in this world has been pondered and debated with great angst and energy by many throughout human history. And...it has been, maybe the major, stumbling block for people accepting a belief in the all-powerful and good God that the scriptures clearly declare him to be. C. S. Lewis wrote somewhere that we may not be able to fully comprehend the "why" of evil, but we all must face the "fact" that evil exists. Moreover, we must face the fact that we ourselves are more than capable of choosing a evil course of being and/or doing...and indeed...that we have done so at times.
Why would an all-powerful and good Creator allow an enemy to even exist and mess up his creation? Apparently he has. However, the two basic philosophical alternatives to this difficult scenario are even more troubling in my estimation: 1) There is an all-powerful God, but he is not good. 2) There is no creator and we are the products of the impersonal forces of time plus chance. I won't take the time to elaborate, but there are very troubling ramifications of embracing these two alternative philosophical viewpoints that poses more difficulties than simply accepting the biblical premise that our all-powerful, holy and loving Creator has allowed evil to affect his good creation.
Here is a brief overview of what the scripture teaches about the "problem of evil":
1) Long ago, a holy archangel rebelled against God in the highest heavens and was powerful and seductive enough to lure a third of the holy angels into his ill-fated attempt to displace God. This rebellion was the genesis of sin, Satan (the accuser) and the demonic forces that are present in and around our world.
2) Rather than immediately eradicating or finally judging his "fallen" angelic enemies, God banished them from dwelling in his highest heaven. However, he allowed the devil and his hosts to continue to exist and operate within a limited realm.
3) In addition, he wisely chose...and this is where the high drama of it all takes on new dimensions...to incorporate Satan's presence and plots into a greater master plan that would mysteriously reveal his love, power, mercy and glory to the crowning touch of his creation...human beings...whom he made to reflect his own image and likeness and from there to the whole of his creation.
4) In order to prepare human beings for our eternal destiny to rule and reign with him over all other things in the ages to come, he has "used" the presence of evil and our exposure to evil spirits as a developmental "testing ground" that challenges us to face and surmount sin, Satan, demonic powers and death. This has all been a part of his loving master plan. It can even be said that love is not full and mature if it is not tested, tried and entered into with freedom of choice.
5) Our first parents succumbed to the wiles of Satan in a garden paradise which they were divinely called to rule, cultivate and, apparently, export to the rest of the planet. However, as a result of cooperating with the devil, sin, and its consequence, "death"...spiritual, social and physical...entered the human nature and human race. The aftermath has been a spreading of both sin and death to all people throughout the nations of the earth and throughout all human history. We live in a "fallen" world that is agonizing under the burdens that evil and its ripple effects have created for us all.
6) But God!...has not been distant or silent throughout the centuries...though a spiritual war has been raging and there have been many sobering casualties and tragedies. His heart of love and his powerful acts have been at work...he has been passionately involved with humanity and patiently working out his master plan...what I have called "God's Big God-Story"...to rescue and redeem his beloved creation from the grip of evil.
7) God carefully prepared the earth for this intervention through many centuries by making amazing promises to his chosen human vessels (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and others of their progeny), sending prophets to foretell the future and tell forth his will, raising up and removing regimes, performing astounding signs and wonders, providentially sustaining human life with his good gifts of food and waters in addition to many other such kindnesses. Then...at a strategic moment in human history...he visited the earth "in person" by sending his Son, who co-created all things and who dwelt with the Father and the Holy Spirit in fully divine union from eternity past, as a fully human being. He came in love to show forth the "face"...the nature...of God and to deal radically with problem of evil in both the invisible and visible realms by the reality and ramifications of his incarnation, life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension back to highest heaven.
8) The kingdom of darkness and its principalities and powers were dealt a mortal blow through all that ensued with the first coming of Christ. Those who put their personal trust in Jesus Christ receive into their souls his eternal life here and now and enter into his victory of love over all evil...sin, demons and death. This regeneration and the empowering of the Holy Spirit in their lives equip them with the divine grace needed to progressively overcome evil just as their Lord and King overcame evil. They are living witnesses to the fact that the new creation, that will assuredly "swallow up" the old, has already been inaugurated. They are "executing the judgment that has been written" against evil as ambassadors of Jesus the Christ and his mercy, truth and justice. The conflicts continue throughout this age...temptations, hassles, persecutions, trials, disappointments, human failures, tragedies, wars, afflictions, false accusations, imperfections, physical death...but in addition to God providing many experiences that help Christ-followers to counteract and surmount these evil assaults, he is also "using" the spiritual warfare that they endure to both conform them more fully to the image of his Son Jesus and to prepare them to receive their full inheritance and walk in their destiny in the age to come.
9) On a personal level, the powers of darkness yet have the oppressive ability to whisper accusations, lies, temptations to sin and horrendous thoughts of evil into the souls and minds of people...even the followers of Jesus. Satan's main weapon is deception that leads to the committing of sins that destroy the joys of human existence. This is a suffering that we encounter and must endure during our pilgrimage in this life. However, a Christ-follower is called to be awake to these subtle schemes of the devil, expose their source and firmly resist his attempt to find a lodging place for some kind of a deception or a compromise within them. The Holy Spirit will warn them about and grant them the power to rebuke and overcome these crafty camouflaged demonic affronts and assaults. As they grow in their spiritual life they can also train others to do the same. This is the joy of partnering with the living Christ in ministry.
10) Ultimately, when Jesus Christ returns and the visible and invisible realms are fully integrated into a new heavens and new earth, God will banish Satan and his hoards to a divinely constructed "hell" from which they will never escape to again spread their evil influence amidst God's redeemed and renewed creation. They will suffer an unimaginable and, actually indescribable, eternal punishment away from all that is good. More tragically, many humans who sided with God's ancient enemy and who rejected his Son will be forever banished from God's presence as well. This alone should break our hearts for the salvation of other people through Jesus...even our greatest enemy. On that day, no fallen angel and no human being will be able to point their finger at God and accuse him of being unjust or lacking in love or wisdom (as they do now). Everything will be "right-wised", all our doubts and troubling questions will be resolved, all our tears will be wiped away, all our temptations will disappear, all weariness and heaviness will flee away and our true identity and calling will be known, seen and affirmed by all. Our innate longing for true justice, that can become so confused and twisted in this life, will actually be fulfilled. We will be perfected people living fully in a perfect place...forever and ever in the love of God.
The testimony of your faithfulness to God has been reported throughout the whole world and I am glad that you've been honored like this. Just make sure that you preserve your spirit of innocence- be "streetwise" in good, but not in evil! And soon, the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you. Yes, Lord, let it be!
Comments:
The "problem of evil" in this world has been pondered and debated with great angst and energy by many throughout human history. And...it has been, maybe the major, stumbling block for people accepting a belief in the all-powerful and good God that the scriptures clearly declare him to be. C. S. Lewis wrote somewhere that we may not be able to fully comprehend the "why" of evil, but we all must face the "fact" that evil exists. Moreover, we must face the fact that we ourselves are more than capable of choosing a evil course of being and/or doing...and indeed...that we have done so at times.
Why would an all-powerful and good Creator allow an enemy to even exist and mess up his creation? Apparently he has. However, the two basic philosophical alternatives to this difficult scenario are even more troubling in my estimation: 1) There is an all-powerful God, but he is not good. 2) There is no creator and we are the products of the impersonal forces of time plus chance. I won't take the time to elaborate, but there are very troubling ramifications of embracing these two alternative philosophical viewpoints that poses more difficulties than simply accepting the biblical premise that our all-powerful, holy and loving Creator has allowed evil to affect his good creation.
Here is a brief overview of what the scripture teaches about the "problem of evil":
1) Long ago, a holy archangel rebelled against God in the highest heavens and was powerful and seductive enough to lure a third of the holy angels into his ill-fated attempt to displace God. This rebellion was the genesis of sin, Satan (the accuser) and the demonic forces that are present in and around our world.
2) Rather than immediately eradicating or finally judging his "fallen" angelic enemies, God banished them from dwelling in his highest heaven. However, he allowed the devil and his hosts to continue to exist and operate within a limited realm.
3) In addition, he wisely chose...and this is where the high drama of it all takes on new dimensions...to incorporate Satan's presence and plots into a greater master plan that would mysteriously reveal his love, power, mercy and glory to the crowning touch of his creation...human beings...whom he made to reflect his own image and likeness and from there to the whole of his creation.
4) In order to prepare human beings for our eternal destiny to rule and reign with him over all other things in the ages to come, he has "used" the presence of evil and our exposure to evil spirits as a developmental "testing ground" that challenges us to face and surmount sin, Satan, demonic powers and death. This has all been a part of his loving master plan. It can even be said that love is not full and mature if it is not tested, tried and entered into with freedom of choice.
5) Our first parents succumbed to the wiles of Satan in a garden paradise which they were divinely called to rule, cultivate and, apparently, export to the rest of the planet. However, as a result of cooperating with the devil, sin, and its consequence, "death"...spiritual, social and physical...entered the human nature and human race. The aftermath has been a spreading of both sin and death to all people throughout the nations of the earth and throughout all human history. We live in a "fallen" world that is agonizing under the burdens that evil and its ripple effects have created for us all.
6) But God!...has not been distant or silent throughout the centuries...though a spiritual war has been raging and there have been many sobering casualties and tragedies. His heart of love and his powerful acts have been at work...he has been passionately involved with humanity and patiently working out his master plan...what I have called "God's Big God-Story"...to rescue and redeem his beloved creation from the grip of evil.
7) God carefully prepared the earth for this intervention through many centuries by making amazing promises to his chosen human vessels (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and others of their progeny), sending prophets to foretell the future and tell forth his will, raising up and removing regimes, performing astounding signs and wonders, providentially sustaining human life with his good gifts of food and waters in addition to many other such kindnesses. Then...at a strategic moment in human history...he visited the earth "in person" by sending his Son, who co-created all things and who dwelt with the Father and the Holy Spirit in fully divine union from eternity past, as a fully human being. He came in love to show forth the "face"...the nature...of God and to deal radically with problem of evil in both the invisible and visible realms by the reality and ramifications of his incarnation, life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension back to highest heaven.
8) The kingdom of darkness and its principalities and powers were dealt a mortal blow through all that ensued with the first coming of Christ. Those who put their personal trust in Jesus Christ receive into their souls his eternal life here and now and enter into his victory of love over all evil...sin, demons and death. This regeneration and the empowering of the Holy Spirit in their lives equip them with the divine grace needed to progressively overcome evil just as their Lord and King overcame evil. They are living witnesses to the fact that the new creation, that will assuredly "swallow up" the old, has already been inaugurated. They are "executing the judgment that has been written" against evil as ambassadors of Jesus the Christ and his mercy, truth and justice. The conflicts continue throughout this age...temptations, hassles, persecutions, trials, disappointments, human failures, tragedies, wars, afflictions, false accusations, imperfections, physical death...but in addition to God providing many experiences that help Christ-followers to counteract and surmount these evil assaults, he is also "using" the spiritual warfare that they endure to both conform them more fully to the image of his Son Jesus and to prepare them to receive their full inheritance and walk in their destiny in the age to come.
9) On a personal level, the powers of darkness yet have the oppressive ability to whisper accusations, lies, temptations to sin and horrendous thoughts of evil into the souls and minds of people...even the followers of Jesus. Satan's main weapon is deception that leads to the committing of sins that destroy the joys of human existence. This is a suffering that we encounter and must endure during our pilgrimage in this life. However, a Christ-follower is called to be awake to these subtle schemes of the devil, expose their source and firmly resist his attempt to find a lodging place for some kind of a deception or a compromise within them. The Holy Spirit will warn them about and grant them the power to rebuke and overcome these crafty camouflaged demonic affronts and assaults. As they grow in their spiritual life they can also train others to do the same. This is the joy of partnering with the living Christ in ministry.
10) Ultimately, when Jesus Christ returns and the visible and invisible realms are fully integrated into a new heavens and new earth, God will banish Satan and his hoards to a divinely constructed "hell" from which they will never escape to again spread their evil influence amidst God's redeemed and renewed creation. They will suffer an unimaginable and, actually indescribable, eternal punishment away from all that is good. More tragically, many humans who sided with God's ancient enemy and who rejected his Son will be forever banished from God's presence as well. This alone should break our hearts for the salvation of other people through Jesus...even our greatest enemy. On that day, no fallen angel and no human being will be able to point their finger at God and accuse him of being unjust or lacking in love or wisdom (as they do now). Everything will be "right-wised", all our doubts and troubling questions will be resolved, all our tears will be wiped away, all our temptations will disappear, all weariness and heaviness will flee away and our true identity and calling will be known, seen and affirmed by all. Our innate longing for true justice, that can become so confused and twisted in this life, will actually be fulfilled. We will be perfected people living fully in a perfect place...forever and ever in the love of God.
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