Wednesday, January 31, 2007

movement four













coming to see


Growing up in the Catholic faith, I knew very little about the Bible. While I was familiar with the famous stories, the Bible’s depth was mostly lost to me. To be honest, not much has changed. Though I am familiar with the message of the Gospels, I have not made reading the Bible a regular activity. I have, for much of my life, been turned off by safe, “god-in-a-box” theologies, something I’ve attributed to bible readers. However, as I dive deeper into the Bible, I’m finding that which is most biblical is usually the least safe. At this point I have to make it known that I am aware how my artist-eyes read into the Gospels and come out finding the dangerous message Jesus speaks of. It is also because my artist-heart is desperate to be a part of something greater than myself; to be a part of something I’m willing to die for.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

just wanted to say congrats on the shout out on the 3xchurch newletter this past week. i am looking forward to seeing these films.

johny b... potential mhgs student...

Dan Simmons said...

there's so much out there. everything is so deep. god is deep. crazyness

Anonymous said...

John 1:1 then John1:14; 2 verses that a mentor showed me and changed the way I look at His Word forever. I love you and miss you man! Keep shining His light.

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will never pass away."
Mt24:35 & Mr13:31 & Lu21:33

Jeff Anderson(& Family)

Anonymous said...

Blaine, you said "It is also because my artist-heart is desperate to be a part of something greater than myself; to be a part of something I’m willing to die for."

I recently wrote something to my church leadership about this that I thought might interest you. It follows:

The Church believes that all people are looking for a place where they can be loved, that they will be attracted by such a place, and stay there and grow roots. I think people are really looking for something else entirely, and it all has to do with the very purpose for which humans were created by God.

I have seen several surveys over the years that indicate that the number one most asked question is: Why am I here?

I think this is a question that everyone on the face of the earth asks themselves repeatedly over the course of a lifetime.

It is the number one indicator of what people want most in life, and what everyone is searching for, and ultimately what only the Church can provide.

It all goes back to why humans were made (why am I here?): “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth…” We were made to rule over the creation that God placed us into.

This ruling that we were made to do was to take a certain form. It was a joint rule with God, where He had a perfect relationship with each person (called “eternal life”), and because of that relationship, each of us would be able to rule according to what we saw the Father doing and what we heard Him say to us, just like Jesus (Jn 5:19). Adam had this relationship (and lost it) long before Jesus came in the flesh. This is the very reason Jesus came to die and rise from death, to restore to us this relationship and therefore the ability to jointly rule.

Being able to rule jointly with God requires that we have the ability to do one key thing. And I believe God created us with an innate ability to do it. Jesus tells us what that is in John 6:38: “For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.” This is what Jesus means when he discusses the need for us to give up our life to gain it.

Joint dominion requires our giving up our own wills in order to do God’s, which in fact is giving up our lives.

Every human was created for doing this, with the innate desire to do it: to die for something bigger than themselves.

This is what everyone on earth is truly looking for: something worth dying for.

Jointly ruling the earth (Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done, ON EARTH as it is in heaven) with God our Father IS the only thing worth dying for. God made it where that is only fostered within the confines of the Church functioning as He created it to function.

Of which our church is a prototype, a standard of measure, so that the world AND the Church will see the way things really are, the way things really work.

We will attract the whole world (Isaiah 55:5) by demonstrating joint dominion, thereby demonstrating that we have found that something, that one thing, worth dying for.

Blaine, I have a study posted online that addresses Joint Dominion as a part of the study. The study is really about the Truth of the Gospel, what it really is, not what the evangelical church believes.

If you're interested, listen to the first lesson to see if you want to proceed. I guarantee this is stuff you've never heard, and I can tell it's what you're searching for. Sound quality isn't great; it was recorded on a cheap mp3 player, but it's serviceable. The link is www.tlvc.org Go to the messages tab; right now it's the only thing there.