My Dad is The Coolest Cat in the Universe!

So don't you see that we don't owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There's nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God's Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!

This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It's adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike "What's next, Papa?" God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what's coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we're certainly going to go through the good times with him! Romans 8:12-17 The Message

This is a really interesting take on this passage from Romans.

Remember back to chapter 7. Paul is wrestling with his flesh. He says stuff like "I want to do what is right- but I can't. I don't want to do what is wrong but I do it anyway."

Sounds all too familiar doesn't it?

But then Paul starts off chapter 8 with "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

Yyyyeeeeesssss!!!

Paul goes on to say how we are not on our own. We don't have to fight this battle with our flesh by ourselves.

God is not naive about the condition of the human condition. He knows we can't make it on our own. He knows we need a clean slate and a constant companion.

Enter the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is just like Jesus. Jesus is just like the Holy Spirit.

Jesus did not come to condemn the world and neither does the Holy Spirit. He is not put within us to point an accusing finger, rather to help mold and change us. He convicts, works, shapes and disciplines but just like the Father... just like Jesus... He loves.

He is our deposit of guarantee. His indwelling proves we are not slaves to fear, but children of God.

We get to live and love and give and rejoice and approach God with confidence because His presence proves we are God's children.

Living in fear of God does not change my habits. Love poured out through grace does.

I am faithful to my wife not because I fear the consequences of cheating. I am faithful to my wife because I love her. And that is a way more powerful motivation for purity.

The Father loves us and He proved it once by the sacrifice of Jesus. He proves it again by actually living inside us, through His Spirit.

Because He loved me first, I know can love Him back. And because I love Him back, I want to live a life that says "Yep, he's one of Ours."

I don't want to live life cowering in fear like a beaten down dog... I want to live in power, love and adventure because my heavenly Dad is the coolest cat in the universe.

RP

God Is Not Angry With Me

For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. Colossians 1:19-20 NKJV

For all of my adult life, I lived with the burden of an angry God. A God that was going to squash me for all the things I had done wrong.

It was suffocating.

My idea of God was one of vengeance and fear. Oh He loved, but just not me. He was angry with me. I could show you my list of things He was angry with my about.

I lived my life waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Then I read Colossians 1:19-20.

I began to realize God was not angry anymore...at anyone. He had made peace with heaven and earth through His Son. His Son took my punishment for my sin so I could find forgiveness.

What a freeing realization.

God was not waiting to lower the boom on me.

He instead was inviting me to believe in His Son and when I did, we were good. All was forgotten. He was not angry with me at all. What He wants is for me to accept the gift of redemption.

So many of us believe the lie that we are not OK. That as believers our salvation is hanging by a thread. Blasphemy!

God has made peace for us through His Son. And anyone who is in His Son has nothing to worry about.

We are free to live...

Free to love...

Free to be free!

Relax. We are human.

Of course we are going to make mistakes.

Of course we are going to fail.

Of course we are going to sin.

God has not changed His mind. When we sin, fail, mess up, He still loves us with an unfailing love. That's what His peace brings.

Sure there is a judgement day. But today is the day for salvation. And someday when I stand before God, there won't be any record of my sin.

The debt is paid in full. No more condemnation.

I'm free to love Jesus and draw close to Him.

He doesn't remember my failings...why should I worry?

He is not angry with me... why should I fear?

RP

Water into Wine Revisited

So Jesus was in Cana at a wedding feast and the wine ran out.

His mom comes up to Him and asks for a little help.

Jesus reluctantly agrees and asks for the ceremonial jars to be filled with water.

The jars were filled with water, (about 150 gallons) and Jesus told the servants to dip some of the water out and take to the Master of Ceremonies.

No hocus-pocus alacazam. Just "Dip some out."

The MC was amazed at how good it was.

Now, let's not pass over this story too quickly. I've written about the generosity of Jesus using this story (the 600 plus bottles of wine) but now let's take a look at the sheer power of Jesus.

A water molecule is H2O. A simple molecule with two part hydrogen and one part oxygen. Jump on the internet and see if you can find the molecular structure of a wine molecule.

There really isn't a wine molecule because wine is made up of a whole bunch of different ingredients. Way more than two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen.

Jesus took one substance and completely altered it so that it became something totally different.

Wine is not a variation of water.

Wine is all together different from water.

That's not all.

This wine was not grape juice.

It was wine. Fermented wine.

Do you think the MC would have been impressed by really good grape juice? C'mon. Let's be truthful here. Jesus made wine. And it only adds to this incredible miracle.

Wine fermentation takes at least a month. And to 'cure' properly, several months. The really good stuff is aged for years before consumption.

According to the MC, this was really good stuff. So not only did Jesus completely alter the molecular structure of water, we messed with time itself. He completely bypassed the normal aging process and moved it forward months, maybe years.

This is profound power!

This is what Jesus offers us. A radically different life from what we are today.

When we say yes to Jesus, the old is gone and the new is come.

We have been radically altered.

We have moved from death to life.

It doesn't get more radical than that.

We must not then resist His power to make us into His creation. A life that is molded and made into something all together different from where we started.

He can do it. We just need the courage to trust Him.

And we can trust Him. He knows exactly what He's doing.

RP