GPBrock’s Blog

I was in a discussion with a friend the other day, about being a ‘new creation’. I decided that what I was sharing with him would be a good blog post. I haven’t updated the blog much because I began to think that what I had to share wasn’t new, people knew it already and I would just be posting “duh” material. This discussion reminded me why I started the blog in the first place; Christ has given me wisdom to share that He desires to use for the kingdom, and I need to be obedient.

What does it mean to be a ‘new creation” as Paul has put it? As a young Christian, I learned that “Christ was in my heart”, that if I “open the door, He would come in and sup with me”. This meant to me, that a little piece of Christ was tucked away in my heart, and when I needed Him, I could pull Him out of this tucked away place and get advice. It also meant that He was watching me, ready to pronounce judgement at any time on my actions. Later, I was taught that I could receive the “baptism of the Holy Spirit”, which would allow me to speak in tongues and use other spiritual gifts. I found out that neither of these were the fulness of ‘Christ in me’, in fact they were a pretty poor explanation of the true meaning of ‘Christ in me’ or ‘new creation’.

See, I believe that man (I’m speaking of man as humankind, not as ‘maleness’) is triune, just as the Godhead is triune. Man has a spirit (God breathed life into Adam and imparted His Spirit), a soul (mind, will, and emotions), and a body (the flesh). I understand that when Adam fell, God separated His spirit from man and every man born since is born with a soul, a body, and a hole where the Spirit should be and isn’t. Man thereby tries to fill that hole and satisfy the need with things like drugs, alcohol, sex, religion, etc. We are dual instead of triune, and our soul tells our flesh what to do. We act on the natural, we behave on what our mind or emotions tell us to. The only thing that will satisfy and fill the hole is the Spirit of God. When we accept Jesus, and he “comes into our hearts” and we “get filled with the Spirit”, what we are getting is God’s Spirit back into the hole, fulfilling us and making us triune once again. There is a part of God in us, that should now be the driving force, instead of our soul. The Spirit should be influencing the soul, and then the soul tells the flesh what to do. Now the flesh is acting and behaving according to the Spirit because we have allowed our soul to conform to the Spirit (a lot of christian teaching tells us in our flesh and by our own strength to try to conform to the Spirit, which is backwards…allow the Spirit to conform your soul, and your flesh will fall in line with the Spirit).

Ok, now that the Spirit has come and made us triune again, we are a new creation. There has not been one like us since Christ, and there had not been one like Him since Adam before the fall. This new creation is not like the old creation. We have a power, a resource, an understanding, and wisdom from on high. We have a connection to the Father that Christ and Adam had. We may walk and talk with our Father in the garden of His kingdom. We don’t just have a little piece of Jesus in our hearts that will only appear when we do bad things, we don’t just have some gifts that the Holy Spirit will use when we ‘meditate and activate’. We have God inside, a spiritual connection to a spiritual being, giving us access to His power, His wisdom, making us unlike any other being, apart, separate, not of this world, belonging to another kingdom. Get the picture? We are different than the world around us. We should see things differently. We should behave differently. We should understand spiritual things differently. We should seek after kinship with others of our kind…we should be one just as Christ and the Father are one. And most important, we should LOVE ONE ANOTHER, for they will know we are HIs disciples by our love for one another!

Today, Tuesday the 1st, Frank Viola’s next book goes on sale on Amazon. This is book number 5 in his series on investigating New Testament based church life. I have not read the book yet, but have ordered my copies. If you order today from Amazon, at a nice discount, it will raise his book up the hit list and more people will know about it. If you are not quite familiar with all 4 of his previous books on the subject, they are;

The Untold Story of The New Testament Church
Pagan Christianity?
Re-imagining Church
From Eternity to Here

Here is the link on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Organic-Church-Comprehensive-Communities/dp/143476866X/ref=pd_sim_b_3

Here’s an early review of the book:

“The author of “Pagan Christianity?” (with George Barna), “Reimagining Church,” and the bestselling “From Eternity to Here” has written a detailed manual on how to start and sustain an organic church. Everything from what to do with the children, to the developmental stages of church growth, to the diseases of an organic church and their cures are all covered in this comprehensive volume. Church planting principles for organic styled churches are packed together with the author’s practical experience of living in and starting such churches. Each chapter is full of advice, outlining the unique problems that such churches will face and their solutions. Church planters of all types will benefit from this book as well as those wishing to explore an alternative way of church gathering.” – Christian Book Reviews, 2009

You ever wonder about the order of the books of the New Testament? Did you know that if you put them in chronological order, especially the letters of Paul, you can get a fresh new perspective and understanding of NT history? When put into context with a timeline, the books can make more sense and one gets a deeper understanding.

Well, Frank Viola has made Chapter 11 of Pagan Christianity, called REAPPROACHING THE NEW TESTAMENT: THE BIBLE IS NOT A JIGSAW PUZZLE, a free PDF download. If you would like a taste of this excellent writing, you can download or read online this chapter. Here is the link;

http://www.paganchristianity.net/Pagan_Ch11.pdf

Often times, I get hungry, and I don’t know what I’m hungry for. So I snak on this and that, only to find I’m not satisfied after eating them. I scour through cupboards and the fridge to figure out what it is I want. Other times, I plan out a meal, know what I’m going after, fix it all up, and satisfy my hunger at the end.

Well, I’m hungry, and I think lately I have been snacking unsatisfactorily instead of eating a meal that is thought out and prepared. I am talking about a hunger for things of Christ, a hunger for deepness of the Spirit. It’s not that I have not been eating, but like I said, it feels like snacks, that just aren’t doing it. I think I must plan and prepare meals, that contain the nutrients my spirit is looking for, that will satisfy and sustain.

In a discussion on an organic church fellowship website I belong to, the question was raised, “what is the greatest desire of your heart?”. My answer was, “that Christ through the Spirit be manifest in me”. I have long wished that I could unzip my Gordon suit and have a Christ-like persona step out. I want to rid myself of this flesh body that so easily gets in the way of my Spiritual life. But I learned that it was not necessarily just ‘taking off the flesh’, it was actually ‘increasing the Spirit’. ‘You may increase and I may decrease”, the Word says. If the Holy Spirit of Christ matures and increases inside, then the flesh of Gordon will decrease, and Christ will be manifested. This increase of the Spirit happens by getting closer, deeper, and intimate with Christ Jesus. I hunger and thirst for that deeper intimacy. Sometimes more than others. Sometimes snacking on this or that, sometimes eating a good meal. Right now, I think I need some good meals, I need to taste of the Tree of Life, I need to get with my dietitian the Holy Spirit and plan out some satisfying meals.

How about you, my dear brother or sister? How is your eating plan going?

I was telling my friend Becky about WordPress for her blog. In doing so, I saw how long it had been since I posted. I thought about why I hadn’t posted in a while, and realized it was because I hadn’t been struck with any deep thoughts lately. It seems to be a result of my having started this blog so far into my ‘journey’. I had lots of thought, questions, and enlightenments during the journey that I coulda written about, but by the time I started writing the blog all that had already happened and I am at a lull in the journey. But I believe that I am at a Good Place. Organic fellowship with brothers and sisters, sharing my faith and discoveries with friends at work, participating with discussions on organicchurchtoday.com, and keeping up with other blogs, gives me joy and focus on Christ and being His bride.

I am about to take my oldest daughter to the airport for her trip back home. It has been a blessing to have her visit and get to catch up on life, and to learn more about who each of us are as a person. I turned her on to my blog, I hope she reads it and gets blessed.

Also, as a follow up to my post about Jesus helping us get a new George Forman Grill, I want to share that Jesus helped me get a new (previously owned) motorcycle at a decent price without strapping the family finances. I now have a great commuter bike, a more powerful machine for taking rides with brothers (which I hope will create ministry opportunities).

I will keep pressing on in my journey, as I know the Lord is not finished with instruction and growth in my life. I encourage you to keep on with your journey as well!

Here’s the thought I have been working out recently-

I am part of something larger than just me. What I mean is, I was thinking how we present the gospel as “Jesus loves you, or God’s mercy is for you. We emphasize the ‘personal’ aspect of Jesus’ love or God’s grace and mercy…getting people to accept Christ  because He saved them from their sins. Yet, in this journey of knowing Christ, I have found that being a “part of the body”, or “part of the bride”, takes more than just me to make up what Christ came for. He came to redeem mankind, not just Adam. He came to create a body and bride from a people, not a person.

Am I thankful that God loves me? Of course. But I think I need to take the emphasis off of ‘God loves me’, and make it ‘God loves his children’, of which I am a part of. I need the rest of what makes up the body and the bride, I need fellowship with brothers and sisters to grow, change, and mature. “They will know we belong to Christ by our love one for another”…not by our own great Spiritual maturity, not by testimony of what Christ did for me, me, me and what He can do for you, you, you.

God seemed all about ‘people’, and not ‘person’. Adam and Eve, the Israelites, the 12 apostles, being a body of many parts, and the new temple built by living stones. Should our gospel talk about how God loved US and sent His Son to die for US, so that WE can be a body and bride for His Son? Should we change our thoughts of “thank you God for loving me, for your mercy and grace given to me, for what you did for poor pitiful me, me, me…to something like, “thank you God for loving mankind, the redemption of your Son for your children, and for allowing me to be a small part of your grand plan of eternity…?

Or am I just over-analizing, and it doesn’t really matter?

Give your thoughts please!

We had decided to replace our older, smaller George Foreman Grill with a newer version. We looked around to see what was available. We decided on the Grilleration G5, with the 5 removable plates. We found it at Kohls with a retail of $159, on sale for $139. I jumped on Safari on my iPhone and did a search, found it listed at walmart.com for $99.99. An internal voice told me not to buy it at Kohls for $139. Sometime later, I went to walmart.com and did a search for in-store inventory (I don’t buy anything online of I can find it in-store for the same price, avoid shipping time and cost). It said that a Wal-Mart near me may have limited availability. When the opportunity came to go there, the store had it on display, yet had none in stock. This wasn’t easy getting my good buy. I looked online again, found a different Wal-Mart a little further away, that also had ‘limited availability’. So I called them. The person who answered the phone asked for the department and proceeded to transfer me, then after a few minutes on hold, the line went dead. Great. Called back, asked for kitchen appliance department, got transfered, after a few minutes a voice came on and said “gardening, may I help you…”. I asked for kitchen electronics, went on hold again, and sat there on hold for about 10 minutes. The little voice told me this wasn’t going to work. By now it’s been a week or so since we decided to buy this grill, yet I cannot get ahold of one locally at the price I want to pay, and I’m telling myself that I could’ve had it already if I bought it online and had it shipped. I am about to decide to buy online, when Kohls comes out with an ad for a sale on Saturday. In the add, is the G5 grill at $99.99. Plus, if you are an early-bird shopper starting at 7 am, you can get an extra 15% off! Saturday morning, up at 6:30am, arrive at Kohls at 6:45, wait by the front door until 7am. Evidently I’m the only one who wanted a bargin, because not only was I first in line…I WAS the line. Well, I went in and got my grill (the only one on the shelf..they only had ONE??) and paid a total of $84.99.

NIce story, you say, but what’s the point? I was talking to someone about this, and I said “funny how that works out..”. “How what works out?” “How Jesus helped me get such a great deal on the grill!” “Do you think it works that way?” “Well, either that little voice I heard was my conscience, or this was a coincidence, or it’s Christ. I just choose to believe it is Christ.” I must tell you that I hear this voice quite often when I’m shopping for something (just ask my good friend Wes). I often have stories of making purchases of things that we need or want, for excellent discounted prices, because I patiently shop around, and listen for that voice inside me for guidance.

So is Jesus helping me shop? Yes, I would have to say I believe He is. Why? Well, because if I have laid everything at His feet, if I trust my life to Him, then I am allowing Him to work in every area of my life, including my buying/spending. The Word says the Father will give us our hearts desire. Not only does He give me my hearts desire, but He helps me to be a wise and frugal shopper in the process. I truly believe this, and it has born out time and time again. Do you believe that Christ works in every aspect of your life…that perhaps sometime when you thought you may be listening to your conscience, or the subject of a coincidence, that it really was Christ working?

As I approach my 45th in a few days, and as we approach our 20th in a month, I find my heart desiring to express gratitude and adoration for that special person in my life. That’s right, my better half, my precious wife, Denise

You, ‘My Rose’, have been a foundation for 20 years. You have stood by and stood up. You have confronted, convicted, and convinced, out of love and commitment. You have represented the Eve that God would have for me, as you have been used of the Lord to guide my path and keep me straight, even when I did not deserve your Love. You have committed with your heart, body, and soul, to this relationship called marriage. You have trusted your man and his heart for Jesus even when you were unsure of our path. You have provided for the family out of your wisdom, knowledge, finances, and emotions. You have filled my life with joy and contentment, you are all that I could ask.

I love you, I need you, and in the words of The Wedding Singer; “I wanna grow old with you”.

XXOO

Wow.

I’m reading Frank Viola’s new book (revised old book?), ‘From Eternity To Here’, and, wow.

If you want insight into God’s eternal plan, and the purpose that we, the bride, were created for, you need to check out this book. I am not even half way through and already it has me at “can’t put it down”. Excellent reading, and happy to say, easy to read. Flows very smoothly in it’s presentation.

Order it online at www.parable.com on a discount.

That’s it for now…..

A good friend of mine was missing from work for a couple days last week. I eventually called him to see what was up. When I called, he said “What’s up?”, as in “what can I do for you?”… I said, “my friend, I’m calling to check on YOU! Havent’ seen you in a few days and don’t know how you are doing!” He was a bit surprised, but revealed that he had been sick. I told him that I wished I would have known, so that I could be praying for him.

Do you see what I’m getting at? Somehow in our individualistic society we have isolated ourselves from those not within our closest family, by choosing not to share our ‘issues’ with others. Whether it be the flu, the mortgage, our employment, or our walk with the Lord. By not sharing our issues, we deny others, and possibly the Lord, from intervening into the situation. I would like to pray for my brother’s health and a speedy return to work so he can keep his job. But that means that I have to know he is having an issue. I would like to offer finances to help someone cover their bills, but I would have to know the issue. The bible tells us the early church had everthing in common, and no one was in want. They behaved like a close family unit, even when there were 3000 of them! I don’t even know 3000 brothers and sisters, but the 40 or so I do know, are we family? Can we share our issues, as simple as ‘I have a cold that is keeping me from work’, to ‘I cannot pay my bills’?

Let’s look at what keeps us from opening up our issues to others.

1) pride-how will I ‘look’ to others; what will they think of me

2) fear- what if people find out (leads to pride)

3) shame- I don’t want people to know I can’t handle my own bills; I don’t want people to judge me (again reflect pride)

4) learned behavior- taught to ‘cover up’ sickness, don’t let on that you are sick; taught to not expose your weakness to others (still a reflection of pride?)

5) trust- won’t expose oneself or one’s issue because not trusting, maybe hurt in the past

Can you think of other reasons? It appears to me that most of them boil down to pride. We care what others think of us so much, that it hinders us from being open, dare I say ‘transparent’, to those who love us and can be the most help to us.

If I am in your family, I would hope that you are able to let me in on the issues going on in your life, so that I may lift you before the Lord, and then do whatever is in my power to assist you. And friends, if you are a Christian, then I AM IN YOUR FAMILY!! I would ask you to do the same for me if/when I were in need.