“It Is Finished!”

Posted on May 12, 2012 by LovingLikeGod.com

“When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, ‘It is finished:’ and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.” John 19:30 KJV

“It is finished.” This is the cry of Jesus from the cross, but a good friend recently misquoted it as, “All is finished.”

That really hit me with the fact that “It” included “All.” It was a very short trip from there to begin to explore what that “All” might include. It certainly included “all” that had gone before, not only the first man Adam, but all that is flesh, and blood, and old creation and law – “All.”

Everything we ever were in the flesh was included in His death. This is what makes it possible for everything we were ever meant to be to rise with Him in His resurrection. We are a new creation. Old things have passed away. Behold all things have become new.

Love!

Posted in J.Ferris: The Passion of the Cross | Leave a comment

“It’s All Right With Me”

Posted on May 10, 2012 by LovingLikeGod.com

When we leave our first love, we sing another love song. Here is Ella Fitzgerald’s version of that song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT0j5kAG4AU

Just in case you missed all of that, here are the lyrics:

“It’s the wrong time and the wrong place
Though your face is charming, it’s the wrong face
It’s not His face, but such a charming face
That it’s all right with me

It’s the wrong song in the wrong style
Though your smile is lovely, it’s the wrong smile
It’s not His smile, but such a lovely smile
So it’s all right with me

You can’t know how happy I am that we’ve met
I’m strangely attracted to you
There’s someone I’m trying so hard to forget
Don’t you want to forget someone, too?

It’s the wrong game with the wrong chips
Though your lips are tempting, they’re the wrong lips
They’re not His lips, but they’re such tempting lips
That if some night you’re free
well, it’s all right
Yes, it’s all right with me.”

Here is the thought map that brought me to the above song:

The first thought was,

“But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him. And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men, (religious experts) of this generation? and to what are they like? They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.” Luke 7:30-32 KJV.

The problem here is that the religious experts are piping the wrong tune, and singing the wrong dirge.

It’s not Jesus’ Song.

His song is the “Song of Songs!” That is the only love song strong, passionate, and intimate enough to serve authentic relationship with, and in Him.

By the time we get to the end of The Book we see that the Beast, the Harlot, the adulterers, and merchants are all singing the wrong song.

Sad to say, but what’s been calling itself “church” has been buying into this for millennia – at least since Diotrephes, 4th, (3rd) John 9, 10. Please note that the minimum price of the experts sitting in the marketplace is recognition.

This has to do with dealing with rejection, and leadership that rejects the authentic saints. John promised to deal with the rejecting leadership of his day, and we still need to deal with this same problem in our day, as lead by the Holy Spirit. By now the problem has gotten much worse, just as  predicted:

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.” 2 Timothy 3:13 KJV

In short, when we leave our first love the above song becomes our misplaced worship.

Love!

Posted in J.Ferris: Church | 2 Comments

The First Commandment With Promise

Posted on May 2, 2012 by LovingLikeGod.com

Please note that this is not a promise made to parents in exchange for honoring their children. No! This is a promise made to children for honoring their parents. The promise is that, “it may go well with you, and your days long upon the land.”

The reason is because the parents are a generation ahead of their children where the art/business of living is concerned. The reason should be clear to everyone, and not so long ago it was clear, but not today. Today children may know more about computers and cell phones, but no longer seem to know that there is more to life than Facebook and computer games – things like authentic face to face relationships, for instance.

This generational head start applies over the course of an entire lifetime. It’s even better than GPS. :-)

In fairness to the children, it seems that they get wounded by parental dysfunction at an earlier and earlier age, and so are predisposed to avoid real relationships, because that’s where they have been wounded time and time again. To enter the kingdom of God we must enter as a child prior to their wounding, prior to their knowledge of good and evil.

Love!

P.S. I want to encourage you I connection with the most important book on this subject of parenting that I have ever read – “Hold On To Your Kids: Why Parents Need To Matter More Than Peers.”

http://www.amazon.com/Hold-On-Your-Kids-Parents/dp/0375760288/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335996483&sr=1-1 – Hold On To Your Kids
For continued reading on this subject, see Kingdom Authority Works By Honor

Posted in J.Ferris: Relationships | 6 Comments