Forgiveness vs. Repentance (or) THE SHORTEST THING I'VE EVER WRITTEN!

As mature Christians, we no longer need to ask forgiveness from God.  How can we ask for that which we already have?  We have already received justification through Christ.  However, we must continually confess forgiveness through the act of repentance as His Spirit lives in us and reveals to us those areas of our lives that must be forsaken in order to live consistently with the forgiven life that we have been gifted.

Yet still, not forsaken through works or self-effort, but rather through consideration (Romans 6:11) and acceptance that we have already been set free from that old way of life (John 8:36).  The new life being evidenced in us through His Spirit revealing to us the inconsistency - the process of sanctification.

"He is Holy - You be Holy."  (1 Peter 1:16)

Praise Him in Our Suffering

Fair to say that I am not the only Christian who has to endure suffering. Whether it's suffering the stress of a full-time job or suffering the self-sacrifice of stewarding a beautiful family or helping in part-time ministry; suffering has become a regular part of my Christian walk. In all my suffering, I never fail to lament...just ask my wife! And I can also say that I never forget to praise God after the storms of life have pass through. But one thing I am guilty of is failing to praise God during my suffering.

At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?"—which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Mark 15:33-34

As Christ hung on a Cross, clinging to physical life, His spirit remained strong as he cried out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?" This moment in history has always been portrayed as a moment of spiritual weakness, but I believe that closer examination of PSALMS 22 paints a different picture. This chapter of song, written to the tune of a praise chorus, reveals the ending moments of crucifixion as Christ praising His Father in an act of spiritual strength for his people, not an act of lamenting or questioning our Lord with a spirit of abandonment.

It was a reminder to all those who witnessed his death that all that had taken place was for the fulfillment of prophecy and for the glory of the Father. It was a reminder that in the midst of this terrible suffering, God was completing his plan to forever establish his Kingdom in us and through us so that we could forever have perfect fellowship with Him.

We need to remember that the suffering and persecution we endure in this life, as Christians walking out our faith, should be of no surprise to us. Christ said, "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also." (John 15:18-20)

We need to learn to embrace our suffering and then follow-up that acceptance of revelation with application by praising during our times of suffering. Remember that a dying world is watching and even they can lament in tough times. But the world will stop and recognize a different spirit that dwells in he that offers up praise when death is eminent. When all that we hold dear has turned into ash. "We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you." (2 Cor 4:10-12)

We know that we serve a god who will allow us to experience brokenness with a purpose. We are persecuted, but not abandoned. Struck down at times, but never destroyed. Christ praised God at his death because he knew that death was not the destination. Because of his suffering and his death we became the benefactors of eternal life. We must likewise learn to praise during the tough times because we must share in His suffering and death so that we can also share in His life.

The Apple Trees

From the book THE EXCHANGE by Joel Engle.

Imagine you are walking through an apple orchard in early spring. The delicate fragrance of the apple blossom perfumes the cool morning air. The floral scent is enough to trigger memory; you clearly recall the sweet chomp of the red delicious.

Suddenly, you stop. In the heightened sensory moment, your ears grow very sensitive. They probe for any sound. What do they hear? Total silence.

An apple (or any kind of fruit) tree is one of the most marvelous mysteries in the world. No one can quite fathom the exquisite perfection of photosynthesis; soil, sunlight, water, and temperatures flow together into a wondrous harmony of creation. The results of this splendid fusion is that the blossoms on the tree slowly morph into apples.

Incredibly, despite the great industry going on in those trees, they do it all effortlessly and silently. They don't work at it or have any form of apple anxiety. It is simply their nature to produce apples.

Apples happen naturally. Now, imagine another apple orchard. As you walk into it, you hear a low mumbling hum. At first, you wonder if insects are swarming the orchard. But as you stop near a particular apple tree, you hear a very distinct grunting. What? You move your head close to the branches. The grunting sound is coming from the tree itself! Yes, the apple tree is panting, then bearing down, and finally emitting a long agonizing growl.

You see, these are "Christian" apple trees. They've been taught that bearing apples is almost impossible, requires great straining, and is a "skill" which can easily be lost.

Christian culture (especially in America) has created an outrageous, dangerous lie about what life with Jesus is like.

Just as apple trees don't try to "have an apple", those who follow Christ aren't meant to will themselves to "live a Christian life." The main reason? No one can do it. Yes, you read that correctly. No one can live the Christian life.

One of the best kept secrets of the true Christian life as that Jesus actually lives His life through us; He does it all. He is the fullness of life and that superior life surges through our heart, our relationships, our attitudes, and our behaviors. That higher quality of life makes all things new. He doesn't just require something; He also provides what He requires.

Romans 6 Prayer

Romans 6 formatted as a prayer by my pastor Steve Trevino:

We know and believe
That we have been baptized into Christ Jesus
Since we have been buried into His death
Just as He was raised by the glory of the Father
We too can walk in a newness of life

We know that our old self
Has been crucified with Him
So that we would no longer
Be enslaved to sin

So now we consider ourselves
Dead unto sin and alive unto God
We present ourselves to You
And our members as instruments of righteousness

We now bear the fruit
Of sanctification unto life
For the wages of sin is death
But the free gift of God
Is eternal life in Christ Jesus
AMEN.

Graduation Day

Hard to believe that I am already the father of a graduating son. Yet here I am, 31-years old and extremely proud of my Kindergarten graduate. Aiden and his classmates had a neat ceremony this week where the kids received a certificate of completion for the year with up to 8 official-looking stickers shining on the sides according to their year-round achievements. Aiden had 6. Not bad at all. In fact he was the ONLY child in his class to receive the Excellence in Reading sticker. That little dude can read! He also received the Science sticker to which upon announcement his teacher noted that all in his class, even herself, were more educated on the Solar System because of is knowledge. Nice. I'd like to take credit for this at this point being that I introduced him to "My Very Eager Mother Just Served Us Noodle Pie". I'd like to take credit, but he has surpassed me in understanding the atmosphere's of each planet! What a nerd...I love it!

When the ceremony was over, I sat and knew I had to do something to commemorate the moment. I ran and picked him up and swung him around, both of us laughing. I stopped spinning and just hugged him close. Then I whispered in his ear, "You know, the next time you graduate I won't be able to swing you around and hold you like this." He pulled his face off of my shoulder and looked at me with a sad look on his face. Then he lovingly replied, "Then I'm not going any further then Fifth Grade." Just when I think I got it all figured out, my 5-year old son shows me just how simple life and love should be.

Here's to you Bubba. You are the smartest, funniest, best-looking little dude I have ever met. I'm proud to be your daddy no matter what happens in life. I was never and never will be worthy of the gift from God that you are. But I am blessed that I have been given the task of leading you to knowing the Father who will never fail you if you only place your trust in Him.

Congratulations my beautiful baby boy! First Grade - HERE COMES AIDEN!!!

Bloggin Ain't Easy - The Wave Pool

It's been how long since my last post? Yeeesh....

Life happens fast. I should write that down somewhere and sell it to an insurance company to use as a slogan. BRILLIANT!

Seriously. The last month and a half has gone by terribly quick. I have a new job, my son is almost out of school for summer vacation. My wife is all over the place trying to keep things running smoothly. And my daughter....well, she's just stinky precious...I love you Babydoll.

The good news in all the chaos - God is still God!

Breeann and I took the kids to the wave pool this past saturday and I got more than I bargained for at $3.00 a person admission.

When I first mentioned the idea, the kids could care less. When we got there, the pool was all they could think about. Before I finished rubbing in the last bit of sunscreen on Aiden, he was chest deep in the calm waters. I quickly followed behind. To our surprise, he made himself quite at home in the pool without floaties. He jumped about, splashed and enjoyed the stillness; daddy not far behind. See even though the waters were calm at the moment, I knew it was just a matter of time before the chaos broke loose. And that's when it happened. The bell rang loud, the kids all screamed with glee, and Aiden freaked. Before he could make it to where I was, the first wave splashed hard against his back. Then another. This time his head went under the water. I quickly and calmly grabbed him and pulled him up to my chest. He caught his breath and it took just a few minutes for him to recover and build his confidence up enough to get back in.

But once he did, it was back to fun times. The process started with him holding my hand, and I took delight in his trusting me. It was awesome to know he needed me that close. But there was another side of me at work. I also desired to see him venture out further on his own but still mindful of my being close. Eventually, he did. I felt honored to see him bold and fearless in both calm and crashing waves. I remained close but took joy in seeing him having so much fun in the water. Every time that bell rang, he would look to me and make sure I was close and then off he went. There were times however that he would run out into the water and lose sight of where I was. Those were the most dangerous moments for him regardless as to whether he knew it or not. So I would stay in the back ground but always mindful of where he was and his state of safety. Breeann would say to me, "he's getting pretty far out there." and I'd say, "yup" but I wouldn't get any closer or let him know I was there. Then when the waves came crashing in, he would look frantically for me and I was right there. Obviously, I would never let him drown but he needed to figure out through the chaotic movement of the waters that he should always be mindful of just how close or how far he had gotten from me. I loved watching him make the most of his time in the water without me having to hold his hand, but I also wanted him to remember that he needed me close by.

No matter how chaotic things get, God is right there with us. Standing behind us watching, loving, enjoying who we are becoming because we have acknowledged him as our Lord and Savior. God knows that at anytime, the waves of life are going to begin crashing in and He allows us to remain in the water to endure thus allowing his Spirit to produce faith by reminding us that no matter how rough it gets, He is close by ready to pluck us from the water before we drown. The more experiences with the hardships of life we have, the more we realize how weak we are. And the weaker that we can admit we are, the more room we can give God to work in and through us. God loves us and wants the best for us even if our circumstances scare us, hurt us, or kill us. It doesn't matter the outcome. God is in control. He is the author and the finisher of our faith. He never starts on a negative and he never ends on a negative. We must trust Him. He's our daddy in the water, always smiling when we splash around, always ready to save us when we're in over our heads, and always desiring that we remember and acknowledge just how much we need Him there with us and in us.

I truly love my God. Lord, you are the best father anyone could ever know. I don't want another day here in the water to go by without having told you just how much I love you. And even then, my love for you is nothing compared to your love for me.

Ok...I gotta back into the water now!!!