The Church without Religion
I recently was told I should look at two books by Andrew Farley. The first was The Naked Gospel and the other was God without Religion. I am working my way through the second ine right now. I am finding it falling in line with what God has been impressing on my heart.
In my opinion they are good reads and very provoking. I also found to two YouTube videos that give a good overview in kind of a shotgun blast. I listened to both 4+ times each last week. I find repetition works well for myself.
Dr. Andrew Farley is senior pastor of Ecclesia: Church Without Religion, a non-denominational, evangelical church that has resided on the high plains of west Texas for more than 55 years. Andrew is a bestselling author of three Christian books, and his writings have been featured in national news and media outlets including PBS, CBS, and FOX. Andrew serves as a faculty adviser for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and he frequently speaks to Christian university groups like Campus Crusade for Christ and at churches around the United States and in Canada.
God without Religion session 1
God without Religion session 2
God don’t take your Nacho’s away
I was up early after being pounced on by a five year old (literally awakened by a 50# sack of inhibition saying “daddy get up”). I might not have appreciated it at the time but I know I will look back 15vyears from now and wish I could re-live it over and over. With that being said I arose and prepared the morning cereal and sat down for a morning snuggle. We turned on some cartoons and one of the characters had a quote “I have two words for you, Nach O’s.” Ok, so it wasn’t actually two words but it has been stuck in my head ever since. I have been in Romans again.
Romans 6:6-9 NLT
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him.
He died ONCE for sin. We died with him we arose and were set free from the earthly hold of sin. He did it! I have walked 99% of my life living under the paradigm of living under the weight of bwing a sinner and because of this the guilt, condemnation, and performance based Christianity I have lived under has been well… awful. In the past 6 months God has changed my perspective towards the sin nature. This brings me back to my Nacho’s.
Picture a party scene, the host has put out a platter of nachos, they are there for all. They were freely put out and were assumed to be there for all the attendees. To eat those nachos do you have to;
1. Pay for them?
2. Do a stupid human trick to gain access?
3. Bribe the guy watching the food table? 4. Beg?
5. Put on sack cloth and cover yourself with ashes?
6. Go mission impossible, drop from the ceiling via zip line snd stealthy grab them?
7. Dress in your Sunday best and look marvelous?
8. Have the high score on Pac Man or Halo?
The answer is none of the above. The nachos are yours freely, they came with the invitation.
Drop dead to your own efforts. God is not sitting in a revolving chair. He does not turn his back and pull the nacho tray if I/you sin. He already died for my/your sin past, present, and future. He no longer sees it (past, present, and future). We don’t have to grovel and reach if we make a mistake. He is not sitting in a chair looking at us continually, he is permanently set in us. Whether I fall on my face or am sprinting forward he is in me and likes it there regardless of me.
Confession of sin is not your telling God about your sin it’s teling sin about your God. Sin lost its authority to run my life. It’s a done deal.
Romans 6:6 TMT
We perceive that our old lifestyle was co-crucified together with him; this concludes that the vehicle that accommodated sin is in us, was scrapped and rendered entirely useless. Our slavery to sin has come to an end.
Romans 6:9 TMT
It is plain to see that death lost its dominion over Christ in his resurrection; he need not ever die again to prove a further point.
How many sins have you commited? How many have you confessed? I’m looking for a number. Do the numbers match?
Guess what God died once and took care of your sin one time. He doesn’t have to die again and again. Your sin was taken care of past, present, and future all at the same time. He does not pull the nachos if you mess up. Grace covers you eternally.
Paul’s message throughout the NT was of extravagant love because he was extravagantly transformed, his identity was not of this world he saw the eternal here on earth. He was able to withstand life long persecution because he saw the other side here and now.
@juliemihopkc . Julie Meyer’s dreaming again
Julie Meyer, a friend of mine posted this on her Facebook page. Julie is a musician, dreamer, author,mom, and much more. She has had numerous dreams that have accurately come to pass. She has been involved with ministering through music and intercession. Julie and her family have been an integral part of the founding and continuation of the International House of Prayer in Kansas City.
I respect her very much. Please read what she has to say;
My last 30 years in the prayer roomThe year was 1983. I was 23 years old and attending Mike Bickle’s church called South Kansas City Fellowship. There were a core of us that attended the daily Prayer meetings back then. We met 3 times a day. At 6am, noon and 7pm – 10 every night. I also worked as a teller at a Bank in Overland Park, Kansas. So everyday what I would go to the 6am, head to work, run back over to the noon prayer meeting during my lunch break, then go back to work…then head home, quick change of clothes and head up to the 7-10pm prayer meeting. This was my life and I loved it.
At the time I could not even think of doing anything else. I remember being there the day Bob Jones came up and said, ‘24/7 House Of Prayer’. The singing will never stop round the clock. God is releasing the song birds’ At that time I could not imagine doing anything else. A small group of us would talk about this over coffee frequently. ‘What would this look like? How could this be? 24/7 worship? Will I get to do this full-time? Will this be my job?”
I think it is an awesome thing to watch the spoken prophetic Word of God become a reality. That is exactly what I have watched these past 11 years. I literally saw the Prophetic Word become a reality of which I am actively involved in. I have watched my children grow up in the House Of Prayer. I have watched their hearts awakened to His Love at young ages. I have watched them become excellent in the Word of God and also excellent in their skill as prophetic musicians. Now I am watching for the 2nd half of the prophetic word to become a reality. For I remember the day Bob Jones stood up and said ‘Out of this 24/7 House of Prayer will come the day when ‘No disease known to man will stand’. We are so close to this. I can feel it. I can see it in the distance but it is getting closer and closer. I tell myself, ‘I am so blessed that I get to do what I do. I get to praise my Bridegroom. I get to sing to my Father and experience the touch of the Holy Spirit. This is my calling. This is my heart and this is my Glory to awaken the dawn with my song. To sing, to praise, to prophesy that which is on the Lord’s heart. I have literally seen the first part of this Word come to pass and the ‘No disease known to man will stand’ is coming quickly’. Oh the Glory of the day when wheel chairs are lined at the front of the stage because the lame are now leaping. It is coming……It is coming! God is stirring the hearts of His Levites all over the world, from nation to nation. He loves it when the fragrance of intercession and praise arises. I had a dream about this very thing that I am reminded of as God is setting His watchmen on the wall to cry out day and night, to never keep silent and give Him no rest….
I Am Undone (Dream from my ‘Supernatural Dreams and Encounters’ Book) We move Heaven when God stirs our heart to pray day and night (Isaiah 62). When we entwine ourselves with His purposes and are faithful to the invitation to intercede, He acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. This dream is a picture about how faithfulness, especially in intercession, moves God’s heart (Psalm 132:3–5). I had a dream. An angel took me into the room of a man who was deep in sleep. We stood together at the foot of his bed so the angel could show me how this faithful person spent even his unconscious hours. I could hear the man praying while he was asleep. Every time he would roll over in his bed, he would say, “Abba, here I am. Here I am, Abba. I love You, Abba.” I looked up through the ceiling and saw a vast angelic army. Together the angels seemed like an ocean of brilliant, radiant light. It appeared that they were pulsing and trembling, just waiting to break in. They were waiting to be released by the call of the angel who had led me into the room. He was in great anguish because he earnestly desired to give the call they were all expecting, but he only said one sentence: “It is not quite time yet.” I kept looking at the heavenly hosts. I could see ladders. I could see lamps. I could feel the anticipation and how strongly they wanted to break in. The angelic multitude was getting ready to burst in, not with a simple entrance, but with a flood of divine activity. Only this single angel held back the imminent breakthrough. But it was not quite time for him to release them. There was something yet to be completed before the breakthrough could happen, though I was not shown what it was. I noticed the Lord standing at the head of the man’s bed. I was able to feel His gaze of tender kindness and hear His gentle whisper over the man. He said, “So many people said they would do it, and they never did, but you really did it. You really did it.” The Lord’s affirming voice, affection and kindness to the man were due to the man’s faithfulness in continual night and day prayer, even in the mundane things of life. This man did not seek fame and fortune; he stayed steady, lovesick for God and unoffended day by day. A tear came from the corner of the Lord’s eye; He was deeply moved by this man’s faithfulness. The tear fell in slow motion and broke into a hundred tiny splashes on the man’s pillow. It was beautiful to watch. This display of passion was a side of the Lord I had not seen before. From my vantage point, I noticed that the man’s room was as bright as day even in the darkness, because the hosts of Heaven were so close to breaking through. The Lord looked at me and said, “We have heard many pray, ‘Take us up.’ Instead, tell the faithful ones, ‘Heaven is coming down. Heaven is breaking in.’” The Lord added, “And tell them, I am undone.”
Let the word speak for itself
I’m going to let the word speak for itself today…
1 Cor 15:13 If our co-resurrection is not proclaimed then the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is no longer relevant.
15:14 If Christ is not raised from the dead there is nothing left for us to preach and nothing left for you to believe.
15:18 No resurrection implies no hope for anyone beyond the grave; it makes no difference whether you believed that you were included in Christ’s death or not.
15:19 If our hope in Christ was restricted to only benefit us in this life then imagine the severity of our disappointment if it all had to come to an abrupt end when we died.
15:20 However this very moment the risen Christ represents everyone who has ever died; exactly like how the first fruit would represent the complete harvest.
15:21 The same humanity who died in a man was raised again in a man.
15:22 In Adam all died; in Christ all are made alive.
Mirror Bible
Is it a list of do’s and don’ts?
Christianity to me, is not a list of do’s and don’ts. Christianity is a relationship based out of the grace and hope that Jesus gave us through the cross.This act of going to the cross on our behalf set into motion a spiritual revolution. Due to Adams sin we (man) was now bound by the law of sin and death. In his death we co-died and were co-resurrected now no longer being bound to the law. It was a re-genesis. Jesus gave man (already living to those not yet conceived) the ability to walk in spiritual fullness here on earth (now). Grace flows freely not to allow man to do as he pleases but to grow in relationship with God here on earth as Adam did pre-fall. That grace draws us to our father.The actions or things that constrain and hold us to earthly desires but that relationship, that grace, that hope, that unconditional love draws us away from thelusts snd temptations.
One of the biggest problems withe the church these days is that it as seen as judgemental. Many still operate as if they were under the law. We can not operate under the law and the new covenant together. Make your choice to either follow every commandment and 600+ minor laws or accept th gift of salvation and walk in the fullness of all Jesus gave us at that moment we died and resurrected with him 2000+ years ago.
If following the law would have worked Jesus wouldn’t have had to be our sacrifice.Before the cross if you sinned you needed to get yourself some animal go to the priest and have him sacrifice it for you. Jesus became our sheep, our priest, and our sacrifice. The one stop shop. He made righteous the un-righteous. He did it to bring us into a relationship with him. That relationship can be found here today. That grace, that love, that relationship brings my Christianity to not a list of what I can and can’t do but a desire and deep longing to be satisfied and complete in him not the things of this world.
On a side note it makes Christianity a desirable thing to the world
Who could punch a puppy?
I currently have four puppies who are 5 weeks old. We are potty training them on puppy pads. About 75% of the time they piddle where they are supposed to and 25% their poo goes in the right spot. As the owner/trainer I do not get mad when they miss, the opposite is more prevalent. I praise their accomplishments. I think that many Christians look at God as a vengeful father who is looking to throw lightning bolts.
We are his creation his children and he is a good father. He is not vengeful but he is loving. When reading through the gospels and how Jesus relates to people he is not mean. Take the woman at the well for example. He knew all about her past yet he did not judge her. He showed her kindness and did not treat with anything but respect. When dealing with Zecheus (sp?), he actually requested to go to his house. Tax collectors were not looked at favorably. When Z repented, it wasn’t after a tongue lashing it was after being in Jesus’s presence.
I think people need to spend time in his presence and get to know him. It is life changing.
Who could punch a puppy?
James 1:18 NLT
He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession
My 2:00 am wake up
So I woke up around 2am, I
got up went to the kitchen and had a, drink. I came back to bed. I often put worship music or play the Bible audio (streaming) while I sleep. As I was crawling back into bed I picked up my phone to change the track. I noticed a blinking blue light reminding me I missed something and my phone wants to remind me to look. I looked at the status bar and opened Facebook. I saw a post by Francois du Toit and read it. My spirit was provoked by it. About seven hours I was with a small group discussing the resurrection in light of Romans, Ephesians, and 2 Corinthians. God you can wake me up like this as much as you want.
Francois quote is below.
“A meaningful relationship with the Creator and our fellow humans of tangible content and feedback was substituted for an airy-fairy philosophy of religious ritual, sentiment and dreams. Trapped in a spiritual vacuum of ignorance, we’ve latched on to worn-out and fading traditions of the past and vague future hopes.”
Francois du Toit
Once the veil of religion (law) is lifted and the epiphany of the realization what happened at the cross truly or even partially gets through a mans mind and springs forth into his spirit the freedom it brings is wow
Ephesians 2:13 TMT “But now wow! Everything has changed; vhou have discovered yourselves to be located in Christ. What once seemed so distant is now so near; his blood reveals your redeemed innocence and authentic genesis. ”
The WOW factor, the cross a the impact of mans co-death and co-resurrection. We are one with Christ at that time, pre-coneption.
Francois will be coming to Kansas City the end of May beginning of June, I look forward to it expectantly.
My Garage, thorn in my…..
I have an issue that has become almost a running joke around the house. Here is my problem. We are a family with 3 drivers (about to be 4), we have 3 cars (about to be 4), we have a two car garage, and last the automatic garage door opener only came with two remotes. Winter in Kansas City does bring snow and cold weather. When there were only two cars it was not a problem. We added the third and the remote became a limited commodity worth more than…well not gold but we have had a couple of “hey who took my remote?!” moments. Initially the parents were the holders of these little gizmos. A certain daughter found that not having one cramped her style (side note she also found parking out in the winter weather was not suited to her). What this meant was I now had access issues. I was noticing my remote was missing often. I would find it in my daughters car, I would retrieve it and shortly there after I would have to look for it again and again. I reluctantly realized that my plight was un-winnable (so be it). I was fine when I left the garage but was reliant on closing and opening the garage with the keypad outside for closing and re-entry. Since I often have full hands upon entry it made it very awkward. I went on like this for most of this winter. My brother in law was over the other day and we were running an errand. We hopped into the 07 Toyota Sienna and took off. He noticed I used the keypad to close the door and then asked me a question. “Where’s your remote? I told him why. He looked at me puzzled and asked “Why don’t you use your vans programmable buttons?” DOH! I knew they were there when we bought the van 5+ years ago. Why hadn’t I thought of that?
This realization changed my life for the better. I was really thankful and its has made my life easier. Most Christians walk their life this way. We have each been given the free gifts of grace, healing, identity, faith, etc. when Jesus died and rose again. Are you walk in his fullness? The simplicity of it is that Christ’s fullness is our fullness. It has nothing to do with our striving, we could never do it on our own merit. We have a God who has only one requirement, an open heart to him.
2 Chronicles 16:9 NIV
For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…”















