Sorry, Tonto, No Lone Ranger Here

I shared my view that Papa God created us out of His passion to have fellowship with Him.  I believe had I been the only person on the planet, He would have done whatever was necessary (only He knows what is necessary) to reconcile Himself with me and me with Him.  Our first covenant is with Papa God and was made possible by Christ Word/Son and is animated by Holy Spirit (the ever-present essence of Papa God and Christ Word/Son).

Papa did not stop there.  He designed that we would sojourn together.  Sisters and Brothers sharing the same Heavenly Father.  He expands the application of Covenant to encompass relationships between His Creation.  These secondary Covenants establish Spiritual relationship.  Papa God is in the relationship business.  He reconciles and restores in order for us to experience maximum relationship with Him and with each other via Christ Word/Son guided by Holy Spirit.

The basis of our relationship with each other is our mutual recognition of and submission to the sovereignty of Papa God.  I recall sharing with my Mom on one occasion the epiphany I experienced.  "There is a God," I proclaimed, "and He is not me! (or I am not Him)"  As Jacob pointed out in his Me vs. Myself post, we are at war when we choose to be.

Remember Tonto and the Lone Ranger?  The Lone Ranger was, by definition, disconnected for all practical purposes from others.  Like Spiderman, in a way, he wanted to remain anonymous so that none close to him would be placed at risk.  I realize I might be over-generalizing a bit, however, my point is that sometimes people choose, for what they perceive is the betterment of others, to remain alone - isolated - separated.  Two points in this regard:  1) we were made for fellowship and 2) isolation leads to defeat (not victory).

We are guided by Holy Spirit illuminating the truth from the pages of the disputatious book, the Bible, that we are to submit ourselves one to another.  We are to prefer each other.  The submission is mutual and is equitable because Papa God's Kingdom is one of equality.  There is no Jew nor Greek, slave nor master, man nor woman (Democrat or Republican).  In other words, the labels and tags used by the flesh-motivated world are often an attempt to enslave.  Societal hierarchies are created.  Social order is established.  What is really happening is that the strong are lording their strength over the weak.

Remember one of our foundational tenets:  Christ Word/Son came to simplify, not complicate.  Christ essentially modeled that giving one's life up (laying it down, as it were) is the key to allowing Papa God to animate us as He desires for us.  When I am willing to lay down my life for my friend (and I have no greater friend than the Word/Son) I actually begin to "live."  When I am willing to serve others at my own expense, there is nothing to lord over anyone because I am not protecting what I perceive to be mine.  I am not threatened because I have nothing to lose.

I am His and He is mine.  We are all equal in His sight.  He loves each of us equally passionately.  I have nothing to gain because I have access to all already.

So, whenever you think you have something to lose and that you are better off on your own, take a deep breath and think again.  Think about the fact that your very breath is provided by another.  We control so very little of our existence, but we are known and loved by the One Who does.

Me vs. Myself

I have a confession to make. I used to be very confused in regards to what I needed to follow in order to be an obedient and "good" Christian. I would lay down in my bed at night and pray that God show me a way and I would ask myself, "what is your will Lord?" Every time I would sit and pray I would hear my father's words running through my head. "If you love me, obey me"... That's when it hit me, I realized that love is obedience and that if I wanted to be more like him I would have to obey him... Well, that didn't help too much but was a start in my journey. As I poured through the bible I began to see some interesting patterns in regards to what Christ stated was disobedience. I would read verses where Christ would talk about how we can serve only two masters and when Christ told us to "pick up our crosses and follow him". Then the spirit redirected me to a phrase I had heard throughout my childhood. "I must decrease so that he can increase"... Then I realized something, right and wrong become painfully simple. It's a case of me versus Christ. Everyday I wake up do I follow his will or my own. Sin is not simply disobeying certain rules and regulations that were set forth in the Old/ New Testament. Sin is choosing to put ourselves on a higher pedestal and making our flesh to idol of our life. The spirit is there for the purpose of revealing the heart or "spirit" of our actions, telling us if they are of God or of our own flesh. How wonderful it is that we have a spirit that directs us and guides us, if we let it. It reminds me of Paul when he says, "I do the things I don't want to do, and I don't do the things I want to do". To obey is to follow God with our hearts and actions. Sometimes we'll fall, but we must not stay on the ground and allow our flesh to undo our work. We must pick ourselves up and help us love one another and bring out the spirit within us all, that flame within us that lights the world. For it to be so simple relieves and saddens me, it relieves me because I know the path that I am on and I need only listen to the spirit for guidance. It saddens me because there exists a group of Christians that are chained to the old ways, reading and obeying the laws and disregarding the true law Christ intended for us. At the end of the day it becomes a battle of Me vs. Myself. I'm my own enemy and I must choose to decrease so that he may increase within me and within my world.

Do Re Mi - God and Me

One of my favorite movies is the Sound of Music.  All the elements of a classic plot are there:  intrigue, love, loss, challenge, loyalty, war/conflict, coming of age, and, of course - music.  Music is an amazing gift from our Creator Papa God.  Music is indeed a universal language that can be appreciated by all people of all ages across boundaries.  Much like a beautiful sunrise or sunset, music has a deeper meaning that connects with humanity.  Music's link to creation is exemplified in JRR Tolkien's Silmarillion where the world is literally "sung" into existence.  The musical scales represent both progression and connection.  They represent the simplest elements that can be combined into complex majesty - by His design.  A recurring theme in our journey together will be the simple vs the complex.  A basic premise that I adhere to is that Christ/Word Son "simplifies" in the midst of man's attempts to complicate.  In fact, I view complexity with healthy skepticism, especially when the explanation for or justification of the complexity cannot be simplified and connected directly to Christ.  A complex symphony can be broken down into simple individual notes.  Thus, my initial attempt to establish a few building blocks regarding our Father, Papa God, and His simple design.

As my friend and Brother, Mr. Pankey, noted in an earlier blog, Papa God is passionate!  He is most passionate about you and me.  In fact, I believe He created us for each other.  First to be connected to Him, the first "covenant" (Dictionary.com defines covenant basically as: noun - an agreement, usually formal, between two or more persons to do or not do something specified).  He created us to be in relationship with Him.  Plain and simple.  Of course, there is much more to our journey as we will explore together, however, the simple truth is "I am my Beloved's and He is mine."  Papa God established the principle of covenant with the Jewish people and He perfected the covenant in the Person and sacrifice of Christ/Word Son.  Much of what Papa God demonstrated prior to the arrival of Christ as a man, was foreshadowing the Word Son.  A pattern emerges in the pages of the books comprising the Old Testament that demonstrates man's propensity to complicate something that was originally fairly simple.  Christ came and established a "new and everlasting covenant."  Permanent.  Irrevocable. Undeniable.

This permanence is important as the Word Son stands as our sole Advocate to the Father.  Jesus literally "has our back" with Papa God.  If God questions or the enemy points out (we will address the mystery of the enemy in future blogs) our weaknesses and failings, Christ steps up and indemnifies us, He literally stands in our place (because He hung in our place).  Like any contract, there are terms and conditions to the covenant with God.  Christ paid the price to keep the covenant in place.  Plain and simple.  On the other hand, when I doubt my worthiness to be counted amongst Papa God's children, the Word Son (Who never leaves me nor forsakes me) reminds me who I am in Him.  I am beloved.  I am precious.  I am loved.  Papa God is madly passionate about me.

Do re mi, God and me.  A simple way to remember that the foundational relationship in my life is with Papa God.  The quality of every other relationship I have is dependent on the status of my relationship with God.  The closer I walk with Him, the better person I am.  The more I allow myself to be transformed into the image of the Word Son (the person that Papa God created me to be), the more I reflect the love of God.  I was not designed to journey by myself.  I was designed for a Divine Guide and for companions along the way.  We will explore much more together, but everything to come depends upon understanding my utter reliance and dependence upon Papa God, the passionate Creator, Who loves me and desires to be with me.