Whew, Done!

I finished the Walking In The Will of God manuscript this morning and have sent it to my publisher. I'm relieved to be done with it, though I did enjoy writing it and believe that God will use it to help many people understand that knowing His will is much easier than their legalistic pasts may have led them to believe.

The original manuscript was about 35,000 words and I've increased it to a little over 50,000 in the past few weeks. My editor, Paul Gossard, has been a real help with his suggestions.

People sometimes ask me how books are written. Authors all have their own approach, but here's what I do.

1. An idea for a book comes to mind.
2. I jot down 8-12 topics around the general theme which could serve as chapters.
3. I begin to write. Unlike some authors, I don't have a thorough outline before I start. One of my friends, an author too, has an extensive outline of his books before he ever starts writing. I'd want to shoot myself if I had to do that. I write in a free-flow style and see what comes out. (Sounds disorganized, huh?)
4. I finish the book, then go back and look for places to add more illustrations or maybe to cite other authors. (I didn't cite other books in this last one.)
5. I send it to my publisher, who assigns it to an editor.
6. The editor makes editorial suggestions, such as, "Say more about this, add an illustration here to help explain what you're talking about, move this section to the top of the chapter as an opener, etc."
7. I make the revisions and submit the final manuscript.

This time, I did something I've never done before. I paid somebody to take the audio teachings I've done on the topic and put the content into a written manuscript form. That way, I had a head start on writing the book before I even started. Until now, I've never had anybody help me with putting together a manuscript, but it occurred to me some time ago that I could do that and possibly produce more material that way. I've done the same thing with the 101 Lies content. So when I start working on that, I'll be way ahead of the game as opposed to starting from scratch.

I enjoy writing, but don't assume that means it's easy because it's not. Plus, just because I enjoy writing doesn't mean I always want to do it. Like anything any of us do, sometimes I write because I have a deadline, not because I feel particularly inspired. To tell the truth, it's not totally unlike the times we all had to write term papers in college. So, if you're in college, don't be a slacker in that area. You never know where it may lead :)

My advice to aspiring authors? Write. It's that simple. Just write. If you want to write so you can become a published author, don't do it. That's a pitiful reason to write. If you want to write because you sense it's in you to do it and you enjoy it, then do it and don't worry about what will happen. God will do what He wants. I have material I wrote when I was in my twenties. You'll never see it...it's too legalistic :) But I wrote even then because I enjoyed it. I have another completely finished book that my publisher didn't want to do. I may or may not eventually publish it myself. It's totally different from anything else I've written. I wrote it just because I wanted to do it. I recommend the same to you - if you want to write, do it because you enjoy it, but don't assume it will be published.

One guy said to me a while back, "I've written my first book, but I haven't decided who I'm going to let publish it yet." I just smiled inwardly and thought, "You are in for a rude awakening." Being published by a professional publisher is like winning the lottery. I'm not exaggerating by saying that, especially now when publishers are cutting back on production because of the economy. One thing I often recommend to people is to self publish. There are advantages to that too... but that's a story for another day. Right now, I'm done writing! I'm off to PF Changs for Chinese food!

God Isn't Angry

"You make light of sin," the email somebody sent me recently charged. The person who sent it went on to say, "God does not turn a blind eye to the sins in our lives. We were created for obedience and if we don't do that, He can't use us and will do whatever is necessary to bring us back to the place of obedience."

I've been teaching the message of God grace since 1990 and still can't get over how insulted so many Christians are when told that God's grace is bigger than their sins. I certainly do not make light of sin. What Bible teacher in his right mind would do that? What I do is make much of grace. Make no mistake about it, God's grace has already overwhelmed the sins of our lifetime. The final score is in: Sin: 0 God:Everything

God hates sin for one simple reason. It's because of what sin does to us. He isn't angry with us about our sin, no more than you would be angry with somebody you love who you found out had cancer. The sins of the world are no longer an offense to God because He conquered sin at the cross. He triumphed. Again, sin grieves God because of what it does to us, not Himself.

The primary reason for our existence in this world isn't to be obedient to God, but to know Him intimately. Obedience will naturally flow from that. Without intimacy, authentic obedience isn't possible. At the most, all we can offer is dead, religious conformity.

If we believe that God is angry when we sin, that is an indicator that our perception of our Father is distorted. Your Father is never angry with you anymore. Your very life is His Son "in whom [He] is well pleased." When we understand that God is never angry with us and that He is 100% on our side all the time, that truth becomes a motivator for us to abandon our sins and allow ourselves to be consciously swallowed up by His loving grace. Living in the awareness of that love is what produces obedience.

What I'm Reading Now

People often ask me, "What are you reading right now?" I've always read a lot. I seldom read one book at a time. Right now, I'm reading these three:

My friend, Mike Quarles, gave me this book after I spoke about Luther during our Grace Walk Leadership Summit in Canada last month. I am really enjoying it. It is a modernized version of Luther's commentary on Galatians. I strongly recommend this one.


My friend, Dave Lesniak, gave me this book because he was greatly impacted by it. I'm about half way through it and find it to be a very encouraging and instructive book about one-on-one discipleship.


I bought this book after seeing the author interviewed on TV. It's a memoir written by a Jewish man who married the daughter of a Methodist preacher. He describes his year long pursuit to understand "the world of Christians." So far, it's okay but nothing I'd recommend spending the money on. It seems that he sought out Jerry Springer type Christian activities as opposed to exploring more mainline Christianity. To be fair, I'm not finished with it but his writing about attending "Christian wrestling matches" and places where there were "Christian mosh pits" seems to suggest that he sought out the extremes among us. It comes across to me like,"Yep, that's those Christians for you."

For over 20 years I used to read three books a week. I don't do that now because I spend time writing that I used to spend reading.

An Excerpt From The Manuscript I'm Working On

If you think you’re still rotten to the core, how are you going to ever be able to believe that God is going to show you the plan He has in mind for you? No, you aren’t dirty anymore. Just because you still get dirt on you doesn’t mean it is in you.

A good illustration of this fact is an incident that happened with Jesus and His disciples when they were in the upper room together. It’s the scene where Jesus was about to wash the feet of His disciples. Peter protested that Jesus would assume such a lowly position of servanthood and said to Him, “There is no way I’m going to let you wash my feet!” Jesus answered Him by saying, “You will if you want to be involved in the plan I have in mind.” Peter blurted back to Jesus, “Then go for it! Wash me from head to toe! I’m in!”

The response from Jesus to Peter is interesting. He said to him: "If you've had a bath in the morning, you only need your feet washed now and you're clean from head to toe. My concern, you understand, is holiness, not hygiene. So now you're clean." (John 13:10, The Message).

The point He was making was that Peter wasn’t a dirty person. He simply had dirt on him at that moment that needed to be wiped off. There is a big difference between the two. Do you see it? Just because you sometimes get dirt (sinful thoughts, feelings, or even actions) on you doesn’t mean that you’ve morphed into a dirty person.

One time many years ago, our family came out of the house to go to church on a Sunday morning. As I turned to close the door, our small dog bolted out of the house and across the yard. We were late leaving for church and I didn’t think I had the time for this kind of scenario.

Impatiently, I took off running across the yard calling our dog that was on mission to escape me. As I chased him down a gentle slope my foot hit a slippery spot on the grass, still covered with morning dew. Down I went. Not just to the ground, but also down the hill . . . all the way down the hill the rolling reverend went. By the time I reached the bottom, I had mud and grass stains all over my clothes.

When I stood up I came to an instant realization of four things of which I was absolutely certain: 1. I wanted that dog to die. Now. 2. My family, laughing hysterically, didn’t understand one iota about Christian compassion. 3. I could say the word I heard coming out of my mouth with no fear that my mother was around to punish me for saying it. 4. I looked filthy dirty.

The immediate challenge at that moment was number four. I had dirt all over me and I had needed to leave for church ten minutes earlier. I’m not a dirty person by nature, but I was covered in dirt at that moment – in more ways than one. What I needed was immediate personal hygiene, to get the dirt off of me and move on toward the plan already in place for my morning.

In the same way, I encourage you not to think of yourself as a dirty person who can’t be used by God. We all blow it at times, but that doesn’t change the fact that, at the core of your being, you are clean because of what Christ has done for you. Maybe you need your feet to be washed off right now because you’ve been walking in the dirt. Maybe you’ve even rolled down the hill. No big deal. Just change clothes (see Romans 13:14) and move on toward the plan God has in place for you.

I’m not minimizing the seriousness of sin here. Nobody enjoys the aftereffect of a roll in the dirt. The point I’m making is that you don’t have to let it wreck your life by believing that you’re a bad person who God can’t use. Your heart isn’t wicked. You’ve been made clean so don’t think otherwise.

Itching Ears

Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables. - 2 Timothy 4:2-4

Just as the Apostle Paul described, the days are upon us. Itching ears, he called it. Don't let anybody ever tell you that pastors who teach pure grace at church are "tickling people's ears." Trust me, religionists don't want to hear pure grace. They are itching to hear something other than the truth. They want somebody to kick the living daylights out of them for what they've done wrong so that they can share in the payment for their sins. Then they want to hear what they can do for God so they can pat themselves on the back for a job well done. "Spank me hard and tell me I'd better behave." This is the stuff religious highs are made of.

Sound doctrine is an offense in the legalistic church world. The purity of the gospel has been polluted with the perversion of a works based Christianity that centers, not on what God has done or is doing, but on what we ought to be doing. Today, in the world of legalistic Christian religion, it's all about us. People have an itch to hear how they can earn their own way along this Christian journey by doing things that will make God proud of them. They don't get that His pride in them has nothing to do with what they do or don't do.

The truth of the gospel is that we are "accepted in the Beloved" and what we do doesn't have a single thing to do with it. Because of what Christ has done on your behalf, you can sit on your butt from now through the millennial reign and God won't accept you any less. Does that harsh tone make you nervous? I hope so. Sometimes I say things as pointedly as I dare in an attempt to jar the religious mindset of the modern church world and cause people to think for themselves about what the Bible says.

Yep, you can sit on your butt and still be accepted by God. You can also crawl on your hands and knees and never walk upright again. You can eat worms for breakfast. You can wear your clothes inside out. You can shave the left half of your head bald and go for an Afro on the other side. The list of stupid things you could do and still be accepted by God is endless. The point is that you're not stupid so you won't live your whole life that way.

Legalism breeds the fear that if we don't put people on the rock pile of religious responsibility, they might just sit down and do nothing. Or worse, they might go out and do bad things. Nothing could be further from the truth. The grace of God "teaches us to deny ungodliness and to live soberly, righteously and justly in this present age," said Paul to Titus.

In the 2 Timothy passage cited at the top of this article, Paul said what to do in the day of itchy ears. Reprove - the word means "to refute, to bring to the light, to expose." Rebuke - meaning "to show honor to the truth by faulting, chiding, censuring severely." Exhort - to summon someone to your side and encourage them in the truth.

There is a place for all three of these approaches in the grace revolution at hand. The Holy Spirit will show you which to use in each instance you encounter. There are a lot of itching ears out there. For God's sake (literally), don't scratch their itch. Give them the truth of the gospel. Jesus became sin for us so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. We now have the very nature of Christ and live a godly lifestyle because it is our nature to do so, not because we have to. Our whole life is no more or no less than an expression of His life through us. That's the pure gospel of grace and that's the truth worth fighting for.

Freedom

“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that our very act of existence is an act of rebellion.” Albert Camus

In this growing grace revolution that our Father is propelling, those of us who are moving forward with Him must be prepared for misunderstanding and criticism. The Bible says that one day everybody who has ever lived will see Jesus, "And one will say to Him, 'What are those wounds between your arms?' Then He will say, 'Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.'" (Zechariah 13:6)

Remember, it wasn't the God-haters who persecuted Jesus, but the religious people of His day. Don't be surprised when you are misunderstood and maligned for your stand. Jesus said, "Blessed are you when you are persecuted for righteousness sake." The message of the grace walk is the message of righteousness - God's righteousness being given to us without our having to do a single thing to get it. The very idea of that kind of raw grace flies in the face of the religious world.

Live free and you'll be seen as a rebel. Tell people that we don't have to live by religious rules anymore and they'll accuse you of being antinomian (against the law). Tell them that God's love is bigger than they can imagine and they'll accuse you of being a universalist. Tell them that we don't have to do anything and they'll accuse you of teaching passivity. Tell them that all their sins are forgiven - past, present and future - and they'll accuse you of encouraging licentiousness (a license to sin).

Free people look rebellious to those who think prison is God's intended home for us all. What do we do? Just keep telling the truth. Love people enough not to water down the gospel with the works of the law no matter how much they want to you to do that.

Paul asked the Galatians, "So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?" (Galatians 4:16) Don't be surprised when you find the same question coming to your own mind. In fact, if you aren’t ever criticized, you might ask yourself why. Tertullian was one of the first Christian authors whose writings became widespread. He lived 150-200 years after the life of Jesus. He was the man who coined the word “trinity.” (The word isn’t found in the Bible.) About biblical truth, Tertulian wrote, “The first reaction to truth is hatred.

Live free. Live free when people criticize you. Live free when they think you've gone off the deep end. Live free when they think you are irreverent. Live free! They may think your very existence is an act of rebellion, but in reality it is an expression of the righteousness of Almighty God.

A Throne In Heaven

I saw a throne standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne. - John (Rev. 4:2)

John, the Apostle, was exiled on the island of Patmos. He must have felt confused at times, trying to make sense of his circumstances. One day while he was worshiping, God parted the heavens and allowed John to see something that would forever change his way of seeing things in this life. Here's what he learned:

1. There Is A Supernatural Reality Around Us.

When the heavens were opened, John saw that there was another reality that transcends this one. It is a supernatural world where our God sits on His throne. He isn't pacing the corridors of heaven because this world is out of control. God is at rest, so we can be too.

We live in a dual world -- the seen and unseen. When we don't like what we see in this world, we can be encouraged to know that the unseen world is the dominant world. When your outlook is bleak, try the uplook.

2. There Is A Sovereign Ruler Over Us.

When the outward look in life seems dismal, the upward look can bring comfort and peace in the midst of any trying situation. John could have said, "Outwardly, I see a barren island imprisoning me, but upwardly I see my God on His throne. That's enough for me!"

Life doesn't just happen. God is in control of every detail. We may feel at times like we've been sentenced to a prison in our circumstances, but God is working out His perfect plan in our lives at every moment.

3. There Can Be A Spirit of Rejoicing Within Us.

Once we know that the world we can see is temporal and that the one we can't see with our eyes in eternal, we'll be able to look up and see the throne with Someone sitting on it. When we see Him and realize that He is in control of life, then we have reason to rejoice regardless of what our outward circumstances may be.

It was from prison that Paul wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord. I'll say it again: Rejoice!" Our joy is in the Lord. No matter what we may face in life, we can find joy because its Source is Eternal, not external. These are exciting days because our Life-Source is an eternal God who loves us with all His heart.