Christian Life - Jeremiah's Vow

2021 Bible Reading Plan

As the new year begins, I have made a decision to commit to praying the Daily Office using A Book of Prayer and Order (2020) [“BPO”]. This is a newly edited prayer book based on The Book of Common Prayer (1928).

After discovering this amazing resource and spending almost two years studying and researching, I put together the BPO edition for our church.

Having a plan for reading the Bible is vital. It can provide focus and direction. With this in mind, I have recreated the Lessons for Morning and Evening Prayer in an easy to use calendar file. If you use Google Calendar or are an iOS aficionado, you can use the files provided below.

There are two files. One with the Morning Lessons, and one with the Evening Lessons. This way you can decide if you want to read in the morning or evening or both. The lessons are different in each file, but are designed to work together. They are set for 8:30 am and 4:30 pm.

If you want a physical copy of the prayer book, I still have some from our first printing. They are $40 plus S&H.

If you have any questions or want a copy, send me a message through our contact us page.

2021 Daily Office MP-EP Download

Calm Down and Shut Up, Listen and Live.

Stressed, depressed, busy, angry, anxious, tired.

I bet you identify with one or all of those, or have gone in and out of them for the last 6 months. I have.

And in the last month God has clearly spoken similar words to my soul as the brother of Jesus wrote in James 1:19-27…except this is how I heard it: Calm Down and Shut Up, Listen and Live.

This is how James says it:

19-21 Post this at all the intersections, dear friends: Lead with your ears, follow up with your tongue, and let anger straggle along in the rear. God’s righteousness doesn’t grow from human anger. So throw all spoiled virtue and cancerous evil in the garbage. In simple humility, let our gardener, God, landscape you with the Word, making a salvation-garden of your life.
22-24 Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.
25 But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.
26-27 Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.
[The Message Paraphrase]

I’m not sure what you gather from those passages, but for me it boils down to 2 essential rhythms: Listen & Live it out.

Seems simple enough, right? Except it obviously isn’t as evidenced by the roller coaster of our spiritual lives that COVID has revealed.

Our Lives Need To Be Broken

One thing I have realized during this time is that the gardening and farming analogies used by Scripture are very intentional. In order to have the “good soil” of healthy rhythms in your life, the “hard soil” you’ve likely created (or at least allowed to form) needs to be broken up…

And that starts with the first 2 things I heard: Calm Down (both your emotions and your schedule) and Shut Up (both your mouth and your mind).

Many Christians simply go throughout our weeks trading the busyness of one thing (maybe work) for the busyness of another (likely kids activities), the distraction of one thing (likely social media) for the distraction of another (maybe sports), and the consumerism of one thing (usually materialism for most Americans) for the consumerism of another (usually a religiosity that touts itself as Christianity but really looks only partially like Christ).

What COVID has revealed is a disturbingly ugly truth about many Christians in America: we actually live very little like Jesus did.

Jesus was calm and never hurried. Jesus listened and had compassion.

We are anxious & stressed and always in a hurry for one reason or another. We can’t stop long enough to actually listen, let alone have compassion.

Many in the American Church seem to be worried about many things today, mostly concerning COVID: masks, whether the numbers are accurate, gathering in person, government overreach, and so on.

And while those are not unimportant things, they are certainly not the better portion. The better portion is what Jesus said Mary chose – sitting at Jesus’ feet as a disciple – when Martha was worried about so much (Luke 10:42).

Rebuilding Our Lives To Look Like Jesus

If COVID was a test, I’d say the American Church has widely failed it if I had to be honest. I’d say most have still missed what Jesus has been trying to say, because we haven’t really sat at His feet. We’ve been afraid (of the disease or of the economy) and we’ve been rushing to get back to some semblance normal (which clearly wasn’t working anyways).

What if Jesus wanted to use COVID to get us to Calm Down and Shut Up, Listen and Live like He lived? To change the rhythms of our lives and our churches which continue to produce rampant spiritual and relational immaturity? To make us more compassionate, more connected, more Christlike?

There’s a line in one of my recent favorite songs: “So don’t tell me God is silent when your Bible is closed.” [“Enough” by Social Club Misfits]

Have you been listening to God? Are you even stopping long enough to?

Or are your thoughts and your actions keeping you so busy you can’t hear Him? Are social media and the voices of others creating so much noise that you can’t even hear His voice?

Maybe we’ve missed the opportunity to hear from God. Or maybe the opportunity is still here.

For us to learn to listen.

Listen to Jesus.

Not to ourselves.

Not to others.

Just to Jesus.

Will you Calm Down and Shut Up, Listen and Live like Jesus?

Listening Is An Intentional Act

So go ahead and make plans to do it. Not a “one off” period of listening. But a consistent, daily (throughout the day) & weekly rhythm of stopping your busyness, resting in His presence, calming your mind, and slowing down long enough to actually hear His voice.

Make these rhythms a priority in your life, but especially in this season more than they’ve ever been.

Listen in the morning, in the middle of your day, and in the evening.

Once a week, set aside a half day (or even better a whole day – a Sabbath), to listen more closely and with others.

Figure out simple ways you can hear from Him and live like Him: reading Scripture (alone and with others), spending time in prayer (alone and with others), recreating & eating (definitely with others), showing compassion toward those who are hurting by listening to them (definitely with others), and engaging in meeting the physical needs of those around you (also definitely with others).

It’s these rhythms of life that like a plow running through the ground will actually break up the hard soil that has been there. Plowing is intentional, it takes action, and its hard work. So will living in healthy ways during a season that could only harden you more, make you more busy, and make you less likely to listen (to anyone, let alone Jesus).

Calm down.

Shut up.

Listen.

Live.

It’s not just good advice. It’s how you will tend for your stressed, depressed, busy, angry, anxious, and/or tired soul.

Confession & Prayer: Why we don’t experience healing from our sins

Growing up in a Protestant tradition I’ve noticed that we don’t have much of a concept of why confession matters and to whom we are called to confess.

Growing up in a Protestant tradition I’ve noticed that we don’t have much of a concept of why confession matters and to whom we are called to confess. Most of the Protestant faith tradition today focuses primarily on the vertical relationship of an individual person with God. Our main emphasis is that if we can just get enough people into a right relationship with God, then everything else will fall into place.

Anyone who’s worked in ministry for more than a day will tell you that is hardly the case. Sure, that is the foundation necessary for transformation in someone’s life – it must start with a relationship with God. But that is just the beginning of what transformation looks like, and most of what will need to be transformed in our lives will have to do with our horizontal relationships.

Tending the Seed of the Gospel

The best analogy I can think of for the process of salvation, and specifically sanctification, is one the Bible uses: gardening or farming. We know that ultimately God is who controls the most necessary parts of the process – rain, sunshine, hot or cold weather, etc. All of that is true.

However, the other necessary part to the process involves us as humans. We must till the soil, prune the plants, potentially assist with nutrients in the soil or bees to pollinate the flowers, harvesting at the right time, etc. And this process is not an individual effort for a Christian. It involves others in our lives. John Wesley termed this as the idea of “social holiness.” He said: “There is no holiness apart from social holiness.”

What he meant, and what many others before and after him have said in different ways, is that salvation is a process that involves both God as primary actor and us as secondary actor. And when I say “us” I mean it as a plural “us” – not just you working on your salvation alone in your closet somewhere, but you working on your salvation with other believers alongside you.

So That You May Be Healed

This is where a passage in James 5 comes in that helps explain the process of healing in the life of a believer. In James 5:13-18 it says:

“Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven. Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.”

The picture we get here is of a group of believers who are pursuing healing and holiness together! Yes, this description of healing includes physical healing, but if you read closely the emphasis is ultimately on healing of the whole person. This is why confessing your sins and praying is included as a vital element to the healing process. It’s not a “spiritual formula” you use for physical results. It’s a spiritual rhythm you participate in that produces fruit.

And it is not a spiritual rhythm you can do alone! This passage implies that the full experience of the forgiveness of sins actually involves others (which should not be ground-breaking for us as Christians since Jesus’ Prayer in John also says something similar – “Forgive us as we forgive those who sin against us”).

The last part of the passage reiterates the use of the analogy of gardening or farming when it comes to our spiritual growth. It shows how Elijah joins God as the secondary actor in God’s plan of caring for the world. Paul uses this story to show how we join God as his people in his work in our lives. It’s powerful, and very humbling. But it’s God’s plan.

Recovering Confession

The lost practice of confession of sin to other believers I blame partly on the Protestant desire to separate ourselves so distinctly from the practices of the Catholic Church. However, it has hurt us that we do not have healthy contexts in which to express this vital part of the healing and holiness process.

Without someone else there to hear our confession, remind us of our forgiveness, and pray for the power of the Spirit in our lives to overcome sin, Scripture implies that our growth in those areas will be stunted.

And what it says to us from a Biblical Theology perspective is that we are being terrible “stewards” of the Gospel. Meaning we are not fulfilling God’s created purposes for our lives as stewards of his garden (our lives, his people, and the world).

To start practicing confession in your life it will certainly be awkward at first. But every important area of growth in your life is awkward at first. There’s always a hurdle to get over. Whether it’s changing your diet, balancing your budget, or in this case rediscovering Scriptural Christianity, you will have to push thru what’s uncomfortable to get to what is transformative.

So now you just have to decide whether you will or not.

Is healing and holiness what you want for your life? Do you want to be spiritually whole and on track with Jesus? Do you want people around you who fully know you (even the most difficult parts of who you are) and fully love you?

Let me tell you from experience: it’s worth it. It doesn’t make it easier. You will still want to revert back to old ways even after you get into it. But in the long run, you will notice the change in your soul as you recover the rhythm God intended to heal you of your spiritual sickness: confession and prayer.

A Definition of Spiritual Injuries, Updated and Expanded

We continue see those failures and injustices that we should have “learned” to overcome by now. The deeper problem is that we cannot learn out way out of spiritual trauma. We must be healed from it first!

UPDATED: June 1, 2006.
Originally Posted September 19, 2016 as Spiritual Injuries: A Definition.

In light of the circumstances in which we find ourselves in the United States, I felt compelled to revisit this post. Bishop Luis R. Scott has also updated the book in which the concepts and definitions below are contained. I felt it prudent to take some time to update and amplify this article.

It is my conviction that the conversations that many desire to have around the issues of racism, justice, and the Church’s role have been hampered by a deficit in the language we use. To that end, I resubmit this article as a jumping off point to reframe the conversation in language that points us to the truth of the Gospel, the reality of God’s healing power in the human heart, and the place the Church needs to play in our journey toward peace and lasting justice.

Bishop Scott has also graciously allowed me to share Chapter 3 of the 2nd Edition of his book, Healing the Broken Spirit. This chapter deals specifically with the issue of Blind Spots, namely, what they are, how they develop, how to spot them, and what can be done to address them. Please take the time and read it. It is long, but if you are interested in having better and more fruitful conversations, take the time and prepare yourself for them.

Download Chapter 3 | Blind Spots: Instinctive Reactivity by Bishop Luis R. Scott, Sr.

Over the last 20 years my father, Bishop Luis R. Scott, Sr., has been thinking about and refining the idea that God desires for all of his children to experience spiritual healing and live in spiritual health. The challenge that seems to persist in our world, and more specifically the Church, is that we do not have the framework to work towards these realities. We continue see those failures and injustices that we should have “learned” to overcome by now. The deeper problem is that we cannot learn our way out of spiritual trauma. We must be healed from it first!

While there may be some who use similar sounding language, the concepts that are described in my father’s book and have been manifested in day-to-day ministry at our church are truly unique. I have come to this conclusion for two main reasons. First, we have heard so many stories from those who have learned about the concept and reality of spiritual injuries who have told us about the impact this understanding of spiritual health has had. Second, we have continued to refine the concepts and those who claim some awareness of the words we use do not really understand the conceptual framework that we are using in our conversations about spiritual health. In short, we believe that what we are doing is unique and we humbly embrace this as a calling and a great responsibility we must guard. Continue reading “A Definition of Spiritual Injuries, Updated and Expanded”

The Power of Wise Counsel

What do you do when you rant? Most people just let it rip. But, that is not my style…usually.

Well yesterday, I wrote something that was pretty “rant-y”. I wrote it, and was about to hit “publish.” But something said I should check with a few people first.

Well, I did and as a result I put the rant in the trash.

One of the lessons of living in this period in history is the reality that once we put something out there, it is impossible to take it back. That is true of inter-personal relationships and it is true of social media.

We are all learning. We are all capable of saying encouraging and beautiful things. But, there is a “bonehead” living in each of us. And, from time to time they want to get out. We just can’t let them.

When I heard back from the people I sought counsel from, I was disappointed. I wanted them to tell me to let it rip. But they didn’t. They told me what they believed was right and wrong with my rant. And the wrong outweighed the right. It would not have produced the effect I wanted.

To be honest, I wanted to say it. But, in the end, wise counsel won out. Wanting to do something is not justification enough to do something foolish.

Now, my “rant” was pretty mild as far as rants go. But it would not have been helpful or kind. It would have felt good, but it would not have advanced the conversation. So, rather than put something out there that I would second guess, I hit delete.

The lesson for me was twofold. First, if you have access to wise counselors, use them. When you do you everyone benefits from it, not just you.

Second, don’t take it personally when what you hear back is not what you wanted. If you trust your counselors, trust their counsel. Pride is a dangerous friend and an even worse counselor.

I am still growing. Still learning. Still in need of reminders that just because it popped in my head does not mean that it needs to escape my lips.

God is not careless with his stuff

Most people who desire financial blessings have neither the discipline nor the wisdom to receive it. They should not then get mad at God for not blessing them, when God over and over again reveals that he is not a foolish steward of his own creation.

We need to grow up, before we can expect to be trusted with God’s property and resources.

Good Advice for Conflict Resolution

I found this referenced in a short letter from a minister to the Archbishop of Canterbury regarding how to come to a resolution to an ongoing issue in the Church of England. I was able to find the full book online. It is an interesting take on how Paul addressed the many and varied issues for which he was asked about for counsel.

This is a lesson we can all learn as well.

“Paul’s dialectical mind, instead of stopping short at the surface of these particular questions and losing itself in the details of a finely drawn casuistry, always ascends from facts to principles, and thus sheds a fuller light on all the difficulties presented to it by the way. After he has carried the mind of his readers up to the serene heights of Christian thought, he sweeps down from this elevation with irresistible force; and each solution that he suggests is simply a new application of the permanent and general principles of the Gospel.” (Auguste Sabatier, The Apostle Paul, (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1903), 161-162.)

The Beautiful Lightness of God’s Commands

When we are able to see God’s words as if for the first time, there is a freshness to them, and a refreshing by them, that we can experience.

My Bible reading group has been reading through 1 John this week. There have been several times this week where I have felt as if I was seeing these words for the first time. It has been refreshing and convicting.

When we are able to see God’s words as if for the first time, there is a freshness to them, and a refreshing by them, that we can experience. I was really made away of the way that John calls us to a deep and consistent obedience of God’s commands. God has said so much, more than we can every really accomplish. But, we are called to obey each and every one of these commands. Not just the ones that are easy, but especially the ones that are hard.

This is where the conviction comes in. I was convicted by the fact of how easy it is for me rely on my own strength, my own abilities and wisdom, to accomplish what can only be done by the enabling of the Holy Spirit. The call of God to obey his commands is not made to the fallen sinner. It is made to the redeemed and Spirit-filled saint.

Are all people under the burden of the commands of God? Are all people, whether saved or lost, responsible conform their lives to the reality of a living God? Yes, on both counts. The issue is that the weight of this reality will feel differently. Or at least it should. This is what I was convicted of this week. I had lost sight of the lightness of God’s commands because I had not really been relying on God’s enabling power like I should have.

Let’s stop a moment and look and what John said:

“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” (1 John 5:3 ESV)

His commands are NOT burdensome. I really had to stop and take that one in this week.

If you are feeling the weight of God’s commands in your life, it may be time to stop and do a check on your obedience. When we are living out the reality of the Gospel in our lives by trusting in the enabling power of God’s Spirit, we are living on our own power. Every single time we do this we are doomed to reach the end of our own strength faster than we want to believe. We are not able to obey God on our own. And the truth of it is we are not supposed to do.

The primary reason the commands of God are not burdensome is because the one who bore our burdens has told us that our yoke is in reality his yoke, and that his yoke is easy. And his burden is light (Matthew 11:30). We need to stop pretending that we having this life all figured out. We need to stop trying to squeeze joy out of every cell of our bodies.

Joy is not something that we can manufacture in our own abilities. Joy is the byproduct of our souls rejoicing in the wonder, beauty, and power of the Gospel. That is where joy is found. And the way we tap into that fountain of joy is by trusting in God to give us the power and the will and the strength to do his will. That is the attitude of a child of God.

Look at what the apostle Paul said to the Philippians about their obedience.

12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12-13 ESV, emphasis added)

If we have to muster up the strength to keep our obeying the commands of God, we are seeking for help from the wrong place. Of that there can be no doubt.

God’s Testimony about His Son

I was reading through 1 John this morning and a few verses caught my attention in a way they never had before. They are found in chapter 5, verses 9-11. Let’s look at them before I elaborate.

⁹ If we accept human testimony, God’s testimony is greater, because it is God’s testimony that he has given about his Son. ¹⁰ The one who believes in the Son of God has this testimony within himself. The one who does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony God has given about his Son. ¹¹ And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

After I read this, I paused and asked myself this question: Where do we find God’s testimony regarding His Son in the Scripture? It was a question I had never really considered.

The easy answer is to say that it is found throughout the entirety of the Bible. That would be a quick and simple solution. But, as I pondered this, I was struck by the way that John seems to be thinking of something specific. Something that all of his readers would have also known and been able to point to as well.

There are a couple of thoughts that really have been rolling around in my mind after reading this. First, God has given personal, first-hand testimony of who and what His Son is. This is both undeniable and verifiable according to the witness of the Scriptures.

Second, the testimony that God has given is unequivocal in what it declares. There is no life apart from the Son. If we do not have Jesus, we cannot claim any true confidence in our eternal destiny. Without the Son there is nothing resembling hope for what awaits us on the other side of death’s door.

So, what is the testimony that God has given? Is it recorded for us to know? I believe it is. And it is something that I had never associated with what John wrote, until today. It is found in each of the Synoptic Gospels and referenced by the Apostle Peter as well.

Matthew 17:5 (CSB)
⁵ While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased. Listen to him!”

Mark 9:7 (CSB)
⁷ A cloud appeared, overshadowing them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my beloved Son; listen to him!”

Luke 9:35 (CSB)
³⁵ Then a voice came from the cloud, saying: “This is my Son, the Chosen One; listen to him!”

2 Peter 1:17 (CSB)
¹⁷ For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased!”

What is the testimony that God has given about His Son? That we should listen to Him because Jesus is His Son!

From the words Jesus spoke to the life He lived, all of it is a reflection of the One who sent Him into the world. God, with his own mouth, has given witness to us that His Son deserves to be listened to… and obeyed.

Christian Insecurity: How we undersell the full will of God for our lives.

There’s a concept in the faith tradition in which I serve called the “second half of the Gospel.” Now, I had not heard of anything like this until I started learning more about John Wesley, so I assume there are still others who have never heard this term nor understand how applicable it is to our day.

Basically what it refers to is that conversion (when you “accept Jesus as Lord and Savior”) is only half of the Gospel story, but that many times it’s what most churches spend their time focused on and so it is the only part of the Gospel someone gets. However, there is an entire second half to what the Gospel means for our lives that many never hear about – and thus are never empowered to live out.

This second half of the Gospel is the part about sanctification – which is a churchy word for becoming like Jesus. [If you’d like to watch an awesome video explaining the second half of the Gospel, just Click Here.]

If you didn’t know, the Gospel doesn’t stop at conversion; in fact, it is merely just getting started. And it is interesting, some people think that if you focus your conversations on sanctification then you will turn into a “frozen chosen” and only focus on those who are “already saved.”

However, that is a false dichotomy. The opposite is actually true:
When we focus solely (or even mostly) on conversion as the goal of the Gospel, and as the “line” we need someone to cross, then that is what their goal will be. But if we explain to them that the goal of the Gospel is actually sanctification, or being like Christ, then not only might they experience conversion but they also might actually become like Christ as well!

What I have found in my years of ministry thus far, is that if we expect the bare minimum of people, then that is what they will give us. As humans we will naturally be drawn toward the least expectation. And if all God “requires” of me is to be converted in order to “get into heaven” then that is likely all I will give him. But if his desire is for me to be like Christ on this earth, and conversion is one of those steps along the way, then I might actually set my sights on that goal.

And that’s the fullness of the Gospel our world needs today.

When we look at the news and there are people who are claiming the name of Christ (because they might have had some sort of conversion experience) and yet are known abusers, rapists, sexual perverts, etc., then we can see the desperate need for us in the church to have an honest conversation about what it actually means to believe the Gospel.

The bottom line is this: Jesus did not come to merely create converts, but to make disciples who are transformed and whom transform the world.

And those are two very different things.

This has huge implications for how we understand God’s will for our lives, God’s design for redemption in the world, and what it means to be a Christian. And it’s where what I term “Christian insecurity” comes in to play.

So what do I mean by Christian Insecurity?

I mean that many Christians – including many churches and many pastors – sell God short for what He desires for people’s lives. Maybe they don’t fully deny that God wants people to “act” like Jesus. But they’re insecure about offering people the hope that they could actually “be” like Jesus.

And again, those are 2 very different things.

The Scripture portrays the Christian life as an opportunity to actually “be” like Jesus, and not simply just do good works like him:

John 14:12-14 – “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works…” (NLT)

John 16:13-14 – “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth…” (NLT)

Romans 8:2 – “And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.” (NLT)

2 Corinthians 5:17 – “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (NLT)

Philippians 2:5-11 – “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had…” (NLT)

Why most people are insecure about this is because of their view of sin. They truly believe that they will never be anything more than a “sinner saved by grace.” And while I understand the sentiment (I truly do! The depth of the sin I have been saved from always amazes me…), it’s simply not what I read in Scripture as the definition of the Christian life.

The example of Jesus and the teachings of the New Testament portray Christians as saints who have not fully been removed from the temptations and effects of sin – but not as people defined by their sin nor required to give into the desires of their sin any longer.

Rather, because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we are given the opportunity to be like Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11) – “tempted in every way” and yet not giving in to sin: Hebrews 4:15 – “This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.” (NLT)

In fact, think about the description of how a Christian is empowered to overcome sin in I Corinthians 10:13 – “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.” (NLT)

This is the GOOD NEWS! That because of Jesus’ incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension, we have the opportunity to once again have the very presence of God walking with us in this life! The very Garden of Eden is recreated in us. Think about that for a second.

And if that is true, then it means we have the chance for the first time to actually be what God originally designed us to be – the very image and likeness of God in this world!

If that doesn’t get you excited about the Gospel, I’m not sure what will.

When I discovered this truth it completely changed my perspective on the Christian life. I went from sin-management to desire-transformation. I stopped thinking of myself as a sinner who’s barely saved but as a saint who now can overcome sin. I no longer wallowed in my guilt and shame but celebrated in my freedom and victory. And I left behind Christian insecurity and began living into Christ-likeness.

While I certainly do not believe it requires someone else to become a “Wesleyan Theologian” to believe this to be true. It was thru Wesley that I learned this Biblical truth. And I do believe it is this pearl of truth that Wesleyan’s have to offer the 21st century world that has been hidden for some reason in the previous century – maybe because we whittled down the Gospel to simply the act of conversion.

The difficulty of believing this truth is then actually living it out! And this is where Wesley’s concept of “social holiness” and his structuring of the Methodist renewal movement into Classes and Bands became important. [If you would like to learn more about those I would encourage you to watch these videos & read these articles: Phil. 2:1-11; Class Meetings; Band Meetings]

So as you begin to wrap your mind around what it might mean for you to actually start to be like Jesus in this life, I encourage you to seek out others who desire the same thing. And as you live together with others who are also being like Jesus, I think you will find that the fullness of the Gospel and the full will of God for your life will begin to be worked out.

And you might just find that you are also a lot less insecure about your Christianity. Because really, Christian insecurity shouldn’t be a thing. We’ve just made it one…