The baptism of the Spirit is a baptism of love.

How did you meet Jesus? What was the value of an English degree and a Counselling degree if now you're a bearded Harley driving weight lifting shouting revivalist prophet? How did you meet Nicole? What happened to your little youth group after you were baptized in the Holy Spirit...and other such questions.

We're getting back to the heart of worshiping Jesus. Knowing Jesus. Serving Jesus. Learning the attitudes of Jesus. Giving away Jesus. Savoring Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

It really matters if we keep our hearts close to Jesus. It really matters if we keep our ears tuned to Jesus. It really matters if we live intimately with Jesus. He WILL direct and guide us if we give him our full and abiding attention...

The truth of Jesus as Creator has a lot of practical importance! What practical importance, you ask? Well, for starters, that sense of awe and wonder and joy you feel at the creation? Yeah, that's a totally correct intuition. And that sense you have that beauty, goodness, and truth matter? Same. And that sense that the whole universe is full of mystery and wonderment? Yep.

And that sense that something is wrong with windowless churches whose theology can be summarized as, "If it feels good, STOP IT,"? Yeah, that's heretical, in fact, demonic...

The life of Jesus in eternity past is deeply significant in understanding the nature of the relationship between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And the relationship of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is deeply significant for understanding the nature of the gospel. Much of the time we have been presented with a vision of the gospel that seems to make salvation a matter of "where you go after you die," but doesn't necessarily offer an entirely different way of being while you are alive.

The way Jesus lived in the Father, and the Father in him, in eternity past...is how he continued to live on earth as a normal human. He was in constant, unbroken communion with the Father, and lived each moment aware of the Father's presence and voice. Jesus said that he was not capable of doing anything of kingdom significance except by his union with the Father.

My argument is this: The way Jesus was connected to the Father before the cross is the way WE are connected to the Father THROUGH HIM after the cross. The eternal relationship of the Trinity is a gospel of overflowing love and joy issuing in creation. We have been invited into that co-indwelling, us in Christ, Christ in us, and we have been invited into a life of abiding in ceaseless, unbroken communion with Jesus, where it is possible to live in a perpetual encounter with God. This is not the property of a few elite mystical monks and nuns in a corner. This is the very nature of the normal Christian life, because Jesus is the original "Christian," and he's the norm, the standard.

Sometimes we can lose sight of Reality and get so focused on threats and problems that we live in fear or self-directed projects (spiritual or otherwise) designed to stave off fear. Colossians 1:15ff are actually lyrics to a very early Christian worship song, entirely about Jesus. Jesus existing before everything. Jesus being the agent of creation. Jesus holding all things together. Jesus being the Head of the Church. Jesus being the first person to rise from the dead and live in the New Creation beyond the reach of decay. Jesus as the One who, through the cross, re-aligned the entire universe with God the Father. That's a pretty big Jesus!

Puts things in perspective, doesn't it? Sounds like pretty good news if our Savior is absurdly bigger than any of our problems. Well, it does IF we actually get in on what He has with the Father...

In this talk Mark Yoder shares stories on the theme of friendship and closeness with God. There's a lot in his words that hints at the mystery and miracle of grace. There are some warnings as well that if we aren't careful our hearts can get very deceived by life and we can lose our way. But Jesus. But Jesus.

Here are a few of my paraphrases of things Mark shared that impacted me:

"A lot of my friends thought when we were young that they had to choose between Jesus and fun, and they chose fun, and they're still wondering when the fun is going to begin. I chose Jesus, and can tell you that serving him has been an incredibly fun adventure."

"When I experienced God's grace I thought I'd never have a bad day again. But after that I've had bad years. We sometimes go through some things as a Christian!"

"Jesus asked the Father three times, 'If there's any other way, let this cup pass from me.' But then he got up and drank the cup, knowing it was the way. Can I just plead with you today, if you're there right now. Can you get up and drink the cup?"

There is a story about God in the world that is so common that many of us don't realize just how profoundly untrue it is. It asks a lot of questions like, "Where is God? Is he there? Where was he when that happened? Is he involved? Does he care?" In relationship to God, it tends to play the victim, making life more about putting God on trial with our hearts as the judge. It is a sneaky story, even creeping into the church, causing doubt and unbelief to be treated with dignity and even viewing faith as an act of heroism. Ultimately this worldview is built on sand and rooted in lies. The main question it asks is, "What will I get out of life?"

The Bible, on the other hand, takes for granted that God is present, involved, close, full of love, faithful, completely good, trustworthy, very very talkative, easy to love, and easy to trust. It completely assumes that everyone can know God, even without a Bible, a missionary, or a church. And the questions the Bible asks are different. They are questions like, "Is humanity real? Are we present? Are we listening? Are we willing to really live while we're alive?" Faith, in the biblical parlance, is not doing God a favor, as though he's set this life up to be so incredibly broken, but "Bless that little saint's heart, look at him, he's still over there praying, poor thing." No! Faith is the only reasonable response to a God of beauty, goodness, and love like the One this universe has. The main question the Biblical perspective is asking isn't "What will I get out of life, but rather, "What will life get out of me?"*

Enter Jesus. Jesus comes onto the scene and reveals exactly what God is like. He reveals a God who looks nothing like the lies we have believed. And he reveals a God who didn't make us for a secular/sacred split, but for a life of embodied communion with a God who is indwells our very beings so that we know, and are fully known by love.

Homework: "God, you are easy to love, and easy to trust. Do I truly believe that? If not, why not? Let's talk about that..."

*thanks to Jason Upton for the kernel of this insight

Sometimes people have thought about redemption as God paying off the devil, like a good man who, in mercy, pays off the evil gang of thugs who have taken over the neighborhood. "Here you take my son, and you give me back these folk. Do we have a deal?" But is that what the cross is about? Paying off the devil?

Around the year 1,100, others realized, "Hey, that can't be right," so they decided that redemption must be a blood payment made to the Father instead. So, wait, Jesus is saving us from the Father? Is that really the way the New Testament speaks? What in the world?

Then there's the classical Christian gospel, which says that God the Father saved us from sin and death (and the devil along with them) by becoming weak, being rejected and crucified, but ultimately rising, victorious, over them: Christus Victor. The victory of self-giving love.

In this little chat, I talk about this and a whole lot more...