SHAME, GUILT AND EMBARRASSMENT

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SHAME. GUILT. EMBARRASSMENT. All of us living in the fallenness of Adam with our darkened minds suffer with shame and guilt. Needlessly!!!

We look back on sins of actions and sins of thought and these make us feel distanced from the Holy God. We feel that this is who we are, or were, and that this person is not good enough or worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence with Jesus Christ.

Shame is a heavy load, indeed, carried around by us. We have hidden sins, closet habits, weaknesses of all kinds and shame. No one is immune to these feelings.

So what is the solution? What is the answer? Where was or is Jesus in all of my garbage can of life? ANSWER: He is IN the can with us! Jesus meets us IN our darkness revealing Himself to us as comforter and Saviour. As friend and companion. As forgiver and deliverer. As friend.

Jesus knows the power of His sacrifice and the power of His becoming sin for us and tasting death for all of us. ( II Cor.5:21; Heb.2:9). Even in our darkness and while we are still sinners Jesus is NOT ASHAMED to call us brothers and sisters. Why? Because He has taken all the sin, shame, guilt, suffering, and death upon Himself FOR all of us FREEING us to live in Him the Abundant life of freedom in total forgiveness, acceptance, and love. How good is that?

Yes, in my life in the fallenness of Adam I have done many things, thought many things that caused my death in the first Adam. But Praise be to God, IN Jesus I, and you, have been made ALIVE---FOREVER. ( I Cor.15:22). God is Good. Thank you Jesus.

Amen

Paul Kurts

www.newlifewcg.org
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TIGER WOODS AND THE GOSPEL

Tiger Woods has taken the spotlight in the news for the last few weeks. The most recognisable sports figure in the world has fallen from the graces of his sponsors and his fans. He has been judged, ridiculed, condemned and crucified by the media and some individuals as well. True, he has been found out to be a wandering package of hormones looking for release outside of his God provided wife. He apparently is guilty of all charges. Now how do you look at Tiger Woods?

Some look at him with envy wishing that they could with his money do the exact thing he did yet without being caught. Some look at him condemning him for his very human and base actions. Some look at him with jealousy knowing that they could never have garnered the ability to have that many beautiful women in their life. Some point fingers at Tiger with a feeling of letdown. Whatever your emotions are towards Mr. Tiger Woods, let us remember that he is a man. He has feet of clay. He has human nature and a good dose of it like so many of us have. According to God's law of love, he sinned. He IS guilty.

Jesus ran into this same situation in John chapter 8 when he was faced with a woman who was an adulteress and fornicator and sinner. Jesus had any number of men around her that judged, condemned her, and "sentenced" her. Jesus just knelt down in the dirt and wrote on the ground, apparently the sins of those men, and then looked up at her with all of her accusers gone and said, " Woman, I do not condemn you, go and sin no more." Jesus is all about second chances. All about forgiveness even if the second chances take the form of 70 times 70 . They are all forgiven and another chance is held out. Perpetually. Forgiveness is a permanent thing with Jesus. He died for all of our sins and weaknesses including Tiger Woods'.

Being a man, I can understand Tiger's raging hormone battle and desire for fruit on other pastures. That doesn't make it right, but then again I do understand.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit accept all us where we are at all times. They do not always APPROVE of all that we do. But, in Jesus with all sin forgiven we all stand holy in God's presence through the great work and life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ, our SAVIOUR.

Tiger was loved, adopted, and included in the life of God from before the foundation of the world. Eph. 1:3-14. God will always love him and desire to live forever with him. Tiger just needs to come to the point where he believes this and accepts it.

How Tiger and God work things out is their business. All we need do is pray for him and his family.

God bless,

Paul

PAINTING THE TRUTH OVER IT ALL

. A few years ago a man in Chicago bought a framed picture at a pawn store for $500. The picture of Renaissance genre was beautiful. Every detail was clear and the colors were indeed lovely to behold. Since the price was reasonable there was no reason to think that the painting was anything but genuine. However, after the man got back home and began to examine the painting more closely there emerged a totally different picture. One that would rock his world. While the painting he purchased for only $500 was indeed a masterpiece in itself, what was really the true art was something no one would have imagined.

It was noticed that under the surface paint of the visible picture lay 'another' painting of much greater value. Much greater detail. Much greater quality. What was hidden by a very good picture was a actually a Rembrandt painting worth millions. The original painting was the real deal. The real thing. Now revealed and now not covered up by a painting that looked nice, looked of quality, but was not the real deal. Not the actual true painting the original was meant to be.

The beauty of the false painting obscured the real painting that lay behind it for centuries.

Modern Christianity is much like this painting scenario I have just described. There was an original picture of truth Jesus taught, the early Church leaders taught , such as John, Polycarp, Ireneaus, Athanasius, and all of the early church leaders.

In time with the coming of Augustine of Hippo, the true understanding of the love of God, the Adoption of humanity and the Inclusion of all of humanity into the life of God was "painted" over with a new and different theology. The original painting , the "Rembrandt", if you will, was completely obscured from the view of mankind. ( Except by a few.)

Dualism came into the picture. Separation from the loving Father came into the picture. A retributive God came into the picture to punish and torture men who would not like and love him back. ie, Hell fire and torment. The Gospel became anything but the 'Good News'. It became really bad news for many people.

But the truth of God is that God loves the world. He is not mad at us at all. Jesus takes upon himself in the incarnation all of the sins of the whole of mankind and reconciles all of humanity and saves all of humanity in Himself. We just have to know it and believe it.

Grace is a Gift. No rules to live by. No things to do or not do. Just a gift to be received and accepted and believed.

God is a Father who loves all of us with a love that can not be put into human words.
So, I won't try. But God the Father loves YOU. Yes YOU. And Jesus has made all the arrangements to have you live with Him and the Father Forever in His Eternal Kingdom. You can be there and enjoy it if you will believe it.

Blessings,

Pastor Paul
www.newlifewcg.org

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THE ANSWER WHEN WE SEE NO ANSWER!

When there is NO answer. We pray. We beg. We importune. God hears obviously. But He does not answer the way we wish. Illnesses goes unhealed. Death is snatched from the living of those we love and who are much too young to die. Where is God in all of this misery and suffering??

Answer, He is in the middle of it all. No name escapes His eternal plan in Jesus, Orchestrated from before the foundation of the world. ( Eph.1:3-14).

All humans have lived out their lives in the fallenness of father Adam. Sin has wreaked untold misery and suffering on humanity. But thanks be to God, that through Jesus Christ , Jesus has 'trumpted' everything in Adam and healed it and made it whole and healthy and healed. We could stop right there, but we won't.

We see a child suffering from an incurable illeness. We see a child in the depths of drug addiction. We see a child in the throws of child prostitution with all the attendant suffering and misery and we ask, "God, where are you, don't you hear and dont you care.?"

Well, YES he does. He hears and He cares. He cares so much so that THE ONLY SON HE EVER HAD was allowed to live out His life and so perfectly that He paid the price for ALL human sin and suffering. So that we all could live eternally with the Father in His Glory and FUN forever.

Now we see through a glass darkly, fuzzy. But one day we shall see it all clearly and then we shall understand. God is Good . and He is always Good and will be forever.

What we see and suffering and misery one day will be forgotten and only the glory of the Triune God will display His eternal redemption and reconciliation and blessing in Jesus Christ. Holy Spirit, I will have more, please.

Paul

JESUS REVEALS THE FATHER

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What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving Season? I am thankful that Jesus came to, among other things, reveal the Father to all of us. The Hebrew world had many false gods as well as the God of Israel. But the God of Israel was viewed as somewhat austere and stern demanding obedience from His followers. Curses would ensue if strict adherence were not followed. ( Lev.26 and Deut. 28). Jesus came to reveal the Father He had always known. Jesus said, if you have seen me, you have seen the father. OK, then what did or do we see in Jesus?

Jesus reveals the sweetness and tenderness of a loving, kind, gentle, and patient Father who loves all of us. The Father wants and desires very much to have a family. One made possible in Jesus. The Father wants everyone. Jesus describes the "least of these MY Brethren" when he gets down into the dirt with the blind man and makes clay from spit and heals his eyes. He describes the least of these when he goes into the Leper camp and gets down in the dirt and heals the lepers. He lifts children up into his arms whether they can WALK OR NOT. TALK OR NOT. Jesus goes into the rescue missions and tells the inhabitants that, " I love all of you and have since before the foundation of the world. I knew you and your NAME".

Jesus goes under countless bridges and tells those that the Father loves them and that they matter and have since before the foundation of the world and at the Cross.
Jesus tells all that what He does, the Father does. If you have seen me you have seen the Father, Jesus said.

Jesus reveals a Father who is Love. Love for all. Not a retributive god, but a Father. A loving Father , not a vengeful God. Jesus reveals a Father who cuddles his children, comforts them, walks with them, encourages them, lifts them up to His very throne in Heaven and wants to live with us all forever. Jesus reveals a Father who made it all happen in Jesus. No stone was left unturned. All nails were nailed into the coffin. It is Done. It is finished as Jesus said in, John 19:30.

Jesus goes to the crack addicts, the heroine addicts, the alcoholics, the unwed mothers, ( and fathers) , the homeless, the down and out, the ill, the diseased, the weak of the world, victims of our fallen nature. Everyone. And, Jesus says, "you, the least of my brethren, I love you. I died for you. I knew you before the foundation of the world and I want to live with you forever. Can you believe this?"

Yes , the least of these my brethren are all around. And Jesus AND the Father get down on their knees and love us all.

Thank you Jesus,

Paul

www.newlifewcg.org
www.pastorpaulsinteractiveblog.blogspot.com

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WHO IS THE LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN?

"As you have done it to these the least of these MY brethren, you have done unto me."
Do you realize the importance and implication of this statement of Jesus? All of us, all of humanity, are the brethren of Jesus. There are no throw backs. Now let's take stock.

Look at the down and out. The drug addicts. The alcoholics, the mentally ill, the chronic abusers of any and everything. The street people , the homeless, the rejected by society and all too often that means the ones who fought valiantly in Viet Nam, and other wars and conflicts.

What about fatherless mothers, innocent children of conceptions which should never have taken place? Where is Jesus in all of these peoples lives?

Well the GOOD NEWS IS, that ALL of these individuals were chosen and adopted into the very life of God before the foundation of the world. ( Eph. 1:3-14.) They are not cast offs as our world would look at them ..they are the children of God. And He loves all of them just as He loves you.

Now frankly some of them stink. Some of them are not fun to be around. Some of them I would not want to chill with. But.................They are God's children and HE loves them.

John 3:16-17, is ALL inclusive as are so many other verses. I John 2:2. And others.

So what do we all self righteous persons make of all of this. Well , for one, we need to drop our self-righteousness, accept all humans as brothers in the Lord, the children of God, never make comparisons, never denigrate or disparage those in all of these less fortunate situations as we and love everyone. Not discriminating.

We are ALL brothers and sisters in The Lord. No room for comparisons. No room for disrespect. Only room for acceptance and love. Can you deal with it? Then do.

EXPERIENCING HUMANITY FOREVER...LIKE JESUS

The HUMANITY OF JESUS CHRIST. What a beautiful truth this is that Jesus is still a human with a body and humanness. But.................I think we need to be careful to clarify just what this means as to His being still fully human and yet fully God with all of the fullness of the Godhead dwelling bodily in Jesus presently.

While it is clear that Jesus is a man...still, and a man who still possesses His humanity we need to be careful to say what this is NOT saying. Jesus lived in the fallenness of Adam through Mary. He had human nature from her and the fall. He had and experienced all the darkened mind and fallenness in Adam that we all do but without sin.

Now with Him being resurrected and ascended to the Father's right hand His humanness is a bit different than what he experienced here on this earth. He is a man to be sure. Paul calls him , " ...the man Jesus Christ". Jesus is fully human even now. However, He does not experience the same human passions He experienced here on this earth under the sway of the devil and the nature derived from the first Adam. He is Human. He is not anything which would have been operative here on this earth under the nature of the fall. Therefore, he does not , nor would he lust, desire to sin, nor does he have any inherent desire to sin in any way we humans do here on this earth in this earthly "tent". Jesus is not going to get drunk, curse, sware, lust, overeat, or anything else we humans are known to do in "OUR" HUMANITY and fallenness.

Jesus UNDERSTANDS our frailty and weaknesses as humans. He has been here. As God in the humanness of Jesus in the heavenlies Jesus has already experienced and tasted all of the evil things human nature had to throw at Him, tempted in all areas, yet without sin. He still is without sin, but He is still Human. And always will be. forever pure and Holy and God. And Saviour.

Jesus example is that as He is we shall be. We shall be human forever. Able to experience the things in God's love that humans experience. We will keep our individual identity forever. We will be able to do things that humans do. Eat, drink, play, walk, have fun and experience pleasure. ( Ps. 16:11). But we will not be some "Casper the friencly Ghost" in some invisible spirit body, but we will be us. Real. Human. And Glorified. What God has in mind for us to do as we continue living in our humanity, will be revealed in due time by our loving Father.

waiting to have real fun,

blessings,

Pastor Paul.

www.newlifewcg.org