Jason Clark's Blog, page 30
July 11, 2018
How to Be Transformed
He had proof and all the sad fruit, a broken marriage, and hurting kids. He had asked God to forgive him but hadn’t repented.
You see, in our time together, he revealed that he still believed he was prone to sin. And as an innate wanderer, He was hoping I would somehow help him to get God back in control of him. He wanted to be punished.
I asked, “When’s the last time you felt God’s love, His pleasure?”
He started to give me the correct answer, “I know God loves me…”
I gently cut him off. “I didn’t ask for Bible verses. When is the last time you felt God’s absolute joy and laughter over your life? When was the last time you knew to your very bones that He was absolutely in love with you?”
He looked at me a little confused and he started to give me the correct answer again, “God is love. I know He loves…”
I interrupted again, “I’m not looking for what you know, here,” I said, pointing to my head. “When is the last time you experienced to the core of your being His unquestionable pleasure, His joy, His overwhelming love for you, here?” I pointed to my heart.
He began to think back through his life. After some time he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “I can’t remember.”
“Well, that’s a problem,” I said.
He nodded in shameful agreement. He still didn’t get it.
“God’s pleasure over you is not determined by your actions, but by Jesus’.”Then I asked him a question, which to him, considering the context of our meeting, probably seemed ridiculous. “Is He pleased with you right now?”
He began to cry. “No.”
“Are you sure?” I asked.
“How can He be pleased with me right now?” He responded.
"Is God's pleasure over who you are determined by your actions or Jesus'?" I asked, then. “Ask Him how He sees you,” I said, smiling with tears in my eyes. “I promise you, it’s good news.”
We spent the next half an hour discovering the good news. Jesus paid it all and my new friend is forgiven. We discovered together that repenting is about changing your mind regarding who He is, and just as importantly, who we are in Him. To repent is to agree with God on our value based on the price Jesus paid.
Repenting is changing our focus from sin to righteousness. You see, it our Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom (see Luke 12:32), the finished work of the cross.
"We are no longer sinners needing to punished, we are saints living in the greater revelation of His good pleasure."Sin is the crisis of identity. Jesus paid the price so that we could be free, so that we would no longer be forced to live in crisis.
We are no longer sinners needing to punished, we are saints living in the greater revelation of His good pleasure. In Christ, we are not desperate for Him to be in control, we are confident and free in the Holy Spirit power of self-control (Gal 5).
Sin separates us from who He truly is and how He truly sees us. But when we live in a revelation of His good pleasure, the same good pleasure Jesus lived in and then purchased access to, sin has no chance to separate us from our Father.
My new friend experienced such great transformation that day as He tasted the love of God and truly repented.
I pray you would be transformed by His good pleasure today.
Jason Clark is an author, speaker, and director of A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.
Website: www.afamilystory.org
July 4, 2018
A Simple Theology
I also happen to be a fan of coffee. I’m not sure who first discovered it, and I refuse to Google it. Some things are better left to the imagination. If I Google it, then my theory regarding the coffee bean and how it was originally considered to have magical powers would have to be abandoned.
And then I couldn’t say, “I’m drinking magic bean juice,” which I say sometimes.
We may have never met, but you know me. I’m the guy in the corner of Starbucks with the oversized noise-cancelling headphones, the MacBook—because all good writers use Macs—and The North Face laptop bag (a gift from a friend way cooler than me). On the best days, the music becomes my momentum and God’s presence my catalyst. On the worst days, the magic bean juice does the trick.
I love getting to know the baristas and the other regulars that frequent the shop. Over time you develop friendships. Some of my closest friends started out as coffee shop friends. Recently, I got talking with a regular. Through previous conversations, I’ve pieced a bit of his life together.
He is a tough fella, in his sixties. He had grown up as a rancher in the Midwest. He had been a minister “in a past life.” He had lost his wife and had a few grown kids scattered across the U.S. He loved God, but best I could tell, somewhere along his journey some of God’s people had hurt him. He didn’t have much use for the church anymore. He could find passion when he talked about church, but it was usually when he was pointing out its hypocrisies and failures.
This fella reads a lot of history, but theology is his favorite—any theology, any religion. He sits for hours in the coffee shop reading some old book, always thicker than the last, and never any titles I know. But once he found out I was a “Christian writer,” his new favorite hobby was to challenge me with sweeping questions about theology. He loves to talk about Scripture. Every nuance is intriguing, every word is a question, and every mystery is waiting to be discussed, if not debated. I learned rather quickly that it’s not a good idea to ask him what he was reading unless I had some free time.
I’m not, by the way, a “Christian writer.” I’m just a guy who writes about Love. I am not much of a theologian either, or at least I’m not a proper theologian. You know, the kind of person that loves theology religiously. Come to think of it, I’m not very religious at all. In fact, I can’t stand most things about religion.
I do have a core theology though. It’s quite simple: God is love and He is always good. It’s my position on everything. And I’m not much into debating it. I’d rather show than tell.
God is love and He is always good. It’s my position on everything.“How’s your day going?” my sixtyish coffee shop friend asked me.
Before I had fully removed my headphones, he had launched into the book he was currently reading. I can’t remember what it was called. The Veils was still playing when he gave the title. I paused my iTunes.
He started quoting Scriptures faster than I could Google them and pointing out the hypocrisies of certain Christian leaders, most of whom I had never heard.
“He’s fired up!” I thought.
I once heard a hero friend of mine, Bill Johnson, say that he believes “Jesus is perfect theology.” I like that...a lot. So I don’t want you to misunderstand me when I say I’m not a proper theologian, it’s just that I’m only interested in the theology Bill described.
So while this guy hurtled Scriptures, I tried to keep up. But it soon became apparent that I couldn’t play ball with this fella. As I listened to him, I began to pray in my heart, “Father, how do You see this man? What are You saying right now?” Immediately, I felt God’s presence— His love. Suddenly I was overwhelmed with love for the guy who was mid-sermon.
The question I’d asked God was so beautifully answered by His presence that I abruptly interrupted him to ask the same question, “What is God saying to you right now?”
He paused for a moment. This question seemed out of place. Ironic? Yeah, a little.
“I’m sorry?” he asked.
“What is God saying right at this moment, to you?” I asked again. I wasn’t being difficult or clever. We weren’t in a competition for significance, I wasn’t trying to win an argument, and I don’t need to be right. I know that seems like an odd statement from a man who writes books, but it’s a freedom I’ve been growing in for years. Don’t get me wrong, I like to be right, I just don’t need to be.
When the Holy Spirit answered my question, I felt I had the answer to the question that’s ached inside the heart of my coffee shop friend for years.
He finally got his head around the question and began to reference the Scripture and the leader he’d just finished raking over the coals, but I interrupted him to ask again, “What is He saying to you right now, in this instant?”
He seemed distressed by the question.
It’s not really a distressing question unless you aren’t sure of the answer.
It was that simple, it was that beautiful. Love always is.I continued, “God just told me He is madly in love with you. He particularly loves your mind and He is also immensely proud of you— especially regarding how you raised your kids.”
It was that simple, it was that beautiful. Love always is.
For a moment my rugged sixty-something coffee shop friend looked like he had just been speared to the heart, then there were tears. He smiled, his eyes alive in a way I had not seen before. He caught his breath, then again. I could see he was trying to maintain the appearance of control. Then shakily he whispered, “Thank you.”
It’s amazing how even the smallest glimpse of our Father’s love, the slightest brush with His presence, can transform. The moment I shared that short but sweet message from our heavenly Father, our conversation radically shifted. I got to tell him about my theology, which I’ve mentioned but let me repeat it: God is love. His love is always good. And we exist to become sure of that love.
We had a beautiful time of fellowship as we discussed in Spirit and Truth the nature of God’s always-good love…
Jason Clark is an author, speaker, and director of A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.
Website: www.afamilystory.org
June 27, 2018
A Boy, A Puppy, And A Greater Faith
I sat on the trail edge with him in my lap looking out on the valley of burnt oranges and brilliant reds. And I prayed with him when he asked Jesus into his heart. It is one of my favorite memories.
Ethan isn’t an overly expressive boy – except when scoring touchdowns. He is shy and quiet around strangers. I think it comes from his Canadian Anglo Saxon roots. It’s the same excuse I use for not dancing in public… For the two years following Ethan’s salvation prayer, he was reserved. That is to say, his faith was a private one. When it came to life, he was loud at Lego Star Wars and flag football. But when it came to praying, he was beyond quiet, he had nothing to say.
Ethan didn’t like to pray. Not at the supper table, not at bedtime, not in the morning and certainly not at church. He was shy. He was embarrassed. He did his best to give the impression of disinterest. I was facing a parent’s conundrum. I wanted my son to learn how to pray but I wasn’t certain how to make it happen. I had been trying to find a way to encourage him, not for form or religious expression but for relationship - that he might encounter God’s love through prayer.
Prayer is one of the ways we learn how to hear God. This hearing is absolutely essential because hearing increases our faith. In fact you could say it this way “faith comes by hearing… (Rom 10:17)” So I was intent on my son not just knowing about God but knowing how to hear God.
Prayer is one of the ways we learn how to hear God. This hearing is absolutely essential because hearing increases our faith.Several years ago on a Saturday morning, two years after Ethan’s salvation experience, our kids came into the bedroom and jumped in bed with us. After the customary “good morning” and “how did you sleep?” my daughter Maddy told a story about a friend of hers who just got a puppy.
As a parent of children without a puppy, this is dangerous territory. But before I could say anything to defuse the situation, Karen blurted out, “it would be fun to get a puppy!” That’s all it took. Maddy heard a positive comment about a dog and the little fire we had spent years squelching immediately ignited into a raging inferno. “We should get one! I want a puppy sooo bad!” Ethan chimed in, “Me too, it would be so cool!” I looked at Karen incredulously and then did my best to give her the evil eye. She just smiled.
The rest of the morning was spent discussing all the reasons we couldn’t get a dog right now. As I got out of bed I said, “Your sister Eva is too little.” Maddy said, “She’s almost two, dad, and then she will be three!”
As I brushed my teeth I garbled, “We don’t have a fence.” Maddy was ready for that one - “I will walk him every day, three times a day!” “Yeah, me too!” Ethan promised.
As I put my shoes on to go for my morning run I said, “What about the poop - who’s gonna pick it up?” I thought I had them on that one. Maddy didn’t even hesitate, “We will of course!”
When I got back from my run, Maddy and Ethan met me on the front porch. As I stretched, Maddy began explaining how they could get a bucket and a shovel and how her friend has a dog and they pick up the poop with bags.
I showered and dressed and found Maddy and Ethan waiting outside the bathroom door with drawings of them playing with the “beautiful puppy.” “What’s this one?” I asked Ethan. “In that picture I am wrestling with the puppy,” he grinned. “And this one?” I asked as I took the second offering out of his hands. “In that picture I am sleeping with the puppy.” He actually giggled, which if you are a parent you know is almost impossible to experience without joining in. I giggled with him and then realized I was dangerously close to being swayed by Maddy’s sincere enthusiasm and Ethan’s boyish charm.
I had to leave for a meeting. But before I left, I found Karen in her office and with as much accusation as I could muster said, “You started this!” She just smiled.
What I found when I got home blew my mind. Karen was on the computer, the kids were hovering around her. As soon as I walked in, the kids started yelling,
“Dad come see, come see! It’s the most cutest puppy ever!”
“Seriously?!” I said to Karen. She just smiled.
The Maddy-Ethan-persistent-spouse stuff continued all afternoon and evening. Karen just kept smiling.
Finally it was bedtime. I sat at the foot of Maddy’s bed while she scratched my head and Ethan sat on the floor with me. I told them a story about how one time when I was younger, I went on a treasure hunt. I discovered a cave with a golden statue. The cave was booby trapped with poisonous arrows that shot out of the cave walls. And there was a huge pit that I had to use my whip to swing across. And after I got the statue, the place started to cave in and a huge perfectly round boulder almost flattened me. I barely escaped the cave…
After my story, I prayed for both of them. Maddy wanted to raise the puppy discussion again but I pulled that old dad trick - “I don’t want to talk about it anymore until I have discussed it with your mom.” Then I herded Ethan into his bedroom to tuck him in.
When I got there, he didn’t want to talk about the story or even wrestle. He just wanted to discuss the puppy. I had planned on using the same tactic I’d used with Maddy, when I heard God speak to my heart. It was so beautiful I choked up.
“Jason, I love you. Do you believe me?” That had become a common thread in my own prayer time with God. He seemed pretty intent on me becoming sure in His love.
And in that interaction with God I suddenly knew what He was inviting me to do. While kneeling by Ethan’s bed I said, “Hey buddy, let me ask you a serious question. How much do you think God loves you?”
He paused, “I don’t know.” I asked another question. “Do you think God wants you to have a puppy?” For a moment there was hope in his eyes. Then he got serious and again said. “I don’t know.” I smiled and leaned in, “I want you to pray and ask God whether we should get a puppy. You and God talk for a while and then you tell me what He says. We will do whatever He tells you.”
I could barely control myself emotionally as I said this to him. I already knew Gods answer. You see, He loves my son with a love that rivals His love for me. I kissed Ethan on the forehead and said, “ I want you to really talk with God and hear what He says. When you have heard from Him, come tell me.” Ethan looked at me, scrunched his brow and in a reverent tone said, “Ok dad.”
About twenty minutes later He walked downstairs. “Dad?” “Yes?” I said. “I think God wants us to get a puppy.” I nearly started crying again. My son and God were talking! “Are you sure?” I asked. “I think so.” Ethan said. “Well, I think so too but I want you to be sure. Go pray some more until you are sure.” Another twenty minutes or so passed and he came down again, this time grinning ear to ear.
“I’m sure!” he said.
“Me too. Lets get a puppy!”
…I believe God is always saying one thing: “I love you.” And He always follows up with a question, “do you believe me?”
What would our lives look like if we could answer the question God is always asking: “Do you believe that I love you?” What would life be like if we could somehow live in the revelation that the plans He has for us really are always good? (Jeremiah 29:11) What kind of people would we become if we could somehow breathe in and out such authentic hope. How profound would our joy be to know this Jesus?
1 John 4:8 says it best: “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” God is love. The words “God and “love” are interchangeable. His very nature is love. The very foundation of this universe is love.
I believe God is always saying one thing: “I love you.” And He always follows up with a question, “do you believe me?”I am learning that the power of His love is life altering. It’s my salvation, my redemption, and my provision. It’s my strength, my joy and my peace. God’s love is an all-consuming fire that encompasses every particle of me - if I surrender, if I let Him. Every need or question I have is answered in a greater revelation of his love.
This isn’t a “feel good gospel” that I’m preaching, this is a feel good, love good, give good, die good, pray good, live good, suffer good, praise good Gospel… It’s all Good!
This isn’t name-it-claim-it, this is about faith, about hearing and knowing and owning. This isn’t about God giving us things, but about the revelation of God’s love. This is about an understanding that he loves us regardless of what of our circumstances say. This is about believing that His love is good, always.
Can you imagine if our hearts where like Ethan’s when we prayed? Can you imagine if we could truly come to God with such sincere anticipation? I believe that if we knew His love, truly knew His love, we would never fear again. Sin wouldn’t exist and nothing would be impossible. Though this full revelation may not take place until we reach heaven, I believe it’s available to us here on earth now in greater measure than we could even ask or imagine.
As Ethan headed back up to bed, Karen came into the room and asked, “What was that about.” “Oh you know. We’re getting a puppy.” I said. Karen just looked at me and smiled…
Jason Clark is an author, speaker, and director of A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.
Website: www.afamilystory.org
June 20, 2018
Beyond Immeasurable: The Economy of Heaven
I told a story about a bunny princess named Gertrude who only wore plaid, and a squirrel prince named Hank who only wore pajamas. I paused for the expected interruption and then listened, smiling to tears, as Eva made her revisions. Gertrude became Lizzy with a beautiful pink dress. Hank became Lizzy’s best friend Molly. She too had a beautiful dress, hers was purple; and they also had ponies. And as Eva imagined out loud, I thanked my Father for the wonder of this girl. In that moment, I knew love like I never had before.
We transitioned from story time into our closing goodnight communion.
“Eva, you’re my favorite. I love you best.”
I say this to all my kids. It’s become a Clark family way to express our love. And its true, every time.
“I love you best too daddy” She responded and the game began.
“I love you to the tops of the trees.” I grinned.
“I love you to the tops of the tree’s and the moon, times a hundred.” She knows how to play.
"Measurements are something that make perfect sense on earth but are a foreign concept in heaven."“I love you to the moon, and stars, and universe and back, times a hundred and five.” I said as I gave her nose kisses.
She giggled, “I love you to the moon, the stars, the universe and back, times a hundred and ten!”
We continued for a few more beautiful minutes, each taking turns surpassing the last statement, a million, billion, gazillion, eternity, to infinity and beyond.
Many of you know the pure joy of this game. You have played it with your loved one. It never loses its wonder.
I don’t know if you have ever thought of it this way but this is a game of measurements. The stunning thing is, love is immeasurable. Every time Eva and I play this game we do our best to measure love and discover to our immense joy that it can’t be done.
Eva always ends our competition with an amazing statement. The first time she said it I was astonished by its brilliance. Now it’s become the phrase that suspends our conversation until next time…
“I love you bigger than the future…”
“And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19)
I can’t imagine how Paul felt trying to describe a love that is bigger than the future – a love that surpasses knowledge. But I bet it felt a little like the game Eva and I play at bedtime.
Paul starts by using the language of earth. It’s as if he is saying Christ love is wider than forever, longer than eternity, higher than a million, billion, gazillion, and deeper than infinity, times a hundred.
Paul invites us into an encounter with Gods love that we may be filled to the full measure of the fullness of God.
Measurements are the stuff of earth. To measure, we use words like wide, long, high, and deep – words like filled and fullness.
But once Paul has done his absolute best to measure the love of God, he shifts into the language of heaven. In the next breath Paul expands our revelation.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…” (Ephesians 3:17-20)
Paul essentially says, “I want you to be filled to the full measure of the immeasurable.” And just in case we might be tempted to apply measurements to the “immeasurable” Paul added, “beyond” and “all” as if to say, “Stop it, you can’t measure Love, He is bigger than the future”!
Measurements are something that make perfect sense on earth but are a foreign concept in heaven. Heaven sits outside of time, it is infinite and operates in an economy of a love that is bigger than the future. I believe this scripture is an invitation to move from the measurable reality of earth to the immeasurable revelation of heaven.
"Jesus never lived for the immeasurable, He lived from it."And I would like to suggest that’s why Jesus came. Jesus didn’t live simply to reveal a destination, He showed us the foundation – our Fathers perfect love.
Jesus never lived for the immeasurable, He lived from it. Jesus demonstrated what a “bigger than the future” love could look like. And He invited us to know and live it like He did. Immeasurable was never meant to be simply a description of the destination; it’s always been His heart that it would be our foundation.
Need is measurable; it’s the stuff of earth. Love is immeasurable; it’s the economy of heaven. Love trumps need. This life is the only time we will ever be given the opportunity to live from heaven while on earth.
Thy Kingdom come… bigger than the future.
Jason Clark is an author, speaker, and director of A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.
Website: www.afamilystory.org
February 16, 2018
Doubting Thomas?
Years ago, I overheard my mom in the kitchen telling my sister, Aimee, how Thomas was her favorite disciple of Jesus.
I was a little surprised by her choice and thought I’d be clever.
“Mom, I don’t want to be a doubting Thomas, but I’m pretty sure your favorite disciple was the fella with the underwhelming moniker.” I yelled into the kitchen sarcastically.
My mom came out of the kitchen and gave me a fiery look. One I saw too many times in my youth; a look that releases the awe-inspiring fear of God, “Jason, it’s just horrible we call him that! Think about the scripture we have because Thomas was bold enough to ask when the others weren’t?”
And just like that, my whole thought about Thomas changed. Thanks, mom! I am so grateful for your wisdom!
Jesus, attempting to prepare His disciples for the coming dark days of His death, tells them, “You know the way to the place where I am going.” (1)
And John leans over to Peter and whispers. “Hey Pete?”
“What?” Peter responds in a whisper yell. Peter was a horrible whisperer.
“Do you know the way to the place Jesus is going?” John asks with sincerity.
Peter furrows his brow, “Of course!”
John raises an eyebrow, “So you have no idea then.”
Peter waves John off brusquely. John is a little concerned but then he remembers and smiles, “No worries, Thomas will ask Him.”
And Thomas did. And we are all infinitely glad he did.
“Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” (2)
“We don’t know…” It was nice Thomas included the other disciples, but because of his question we all have an answer, and it’s one of our all-time favorites!
“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.’” (2)
Thomas’ “we don’t know” makes room for Jesus to highlight the tension of mystery and revelation, “You will know” and “From now on, you do know...” Jesus’ answer is the beautiful invitation to live in the tension of not knowing with a promise of knowing.
Like always, Jesus is speaking in the infinite language of sovereign love…
John and Peter looked at each other after Jesus was finished. They still didn’t understand, but that wasn’t unusual. Jesus was always saying stuff that was not only confusing, but also often seriously controversial.
The fact is, most of the time, most of the people listening to Jesus had little to no idea what He was talking about.
One time Jesus told His followers that the only way they could experience eternal life was if they ate His flesh and drank His blood. A lot of people stopped following Jesus that day. When Jesus asked the twelve disciples if they would leave Him also, Peter famously said, “Lord, to whom shall we go, you have the words of eternal life.” (3)
Interpretation, “I don’t know… but God is good” and that’s enough.
Peter, John, Thomas and many others have revealed that to truly follow Jesus, we must be willing to live in the tension of not knowing and the invitation to know; to “get wisdom. Though it cost all (we) have, get understanding.”
We must embrace mystery if we are to gain revelation.
Jesus is the way to where we are going; He is the lens by which to discover wisdom, the key by which to unlock understanding.
I don’t call Thomas “doubting” anymore. He was a man of faith willing to live in the tension of the question so he might discover the whole story, the greater revelation. Thomas gave everything up to follow Jesus and after He ascended to heaven, Thomas is believed to have shared the gospel of sovereign love, planting churches in Syria, Babylon (Iraq), Persia (Iran) and even into India before dying by a spear, martyred for his profound faith in the way the truth and the life.
**This is an excerpt from Jason’s new book on the sovereignty of love entitled, God Is (Not) In Control.
Jason Clark is an author, speaker, and director of A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.
January 15, 2018
If God Is Good...
If I type into Google’s search bar, “If God is good…” Google will finish my search with the following suggestions:
...Why is there suffering?
...why do bad things happen?
...why is there evil?
These questions reveal something sad and devastating— most Google users, which means pretty much everyone, believe a lie about the nature of God. The lie? God is in control.
In my early twenties, I had a conversation with a co-worker friend who wanted to know about my faith. This girl didn’t know Jesus; she didn’t know about his always-good love. So I told her about him. I spoke with passion and power. She listened raptly, wanting and needing to believe me. I could see it in her eyes.
But then she asked me the question. It’s the question Google gets all the time: “If God is good, why do bad things happen?”
She wasn’t asking to be confrontational. She was sincere. It was clearly a question she had agonized over. It seemed to me she was desperate for an answer. She wanted to believe that a good God loved her.
I had no answer. In fact, if I’d been truly honest, I was conflicted with the same question. But I responded the same way many well-meaning Christians have when faced with the question.
“God is in control,” I said.
Then I continued with the sledgehammer of misunderstood scripture, saying, “and He works all things for good” (Rom. 8:8).
It was meant to be comforting. It wasn’t. My answer was anemic at best, destructive at worst. And I knew it. Something wasn’t lining up.
She looked utterly disappointed, a heavy weight crushing her soul. I watched her shift from hope to sorrow and then anger.
“I can’t follow a God who allows child abuse!” She said with force. She described the darkest evil this world knows, and I felt her confused and angry grief like a fist to the jaw.
I think somewhere along the way she experienced the devastating horror of a broken fallen world, and I had just told her a good and loving God was responsible for it. My attempt to share God’s good love had only cemented her resistance to Him.
Even though I couldn’t have articulated it at the time, I instinctively knew my answer contradicted my premise. There was disparity in the idea that God is in control and God is good.
At the time, I had a misunderstanding regarding God’s nature, his sovereignty. I believed God was in control.
The premise that God is in control can’t help but raise the Google questions—then why does He allow evil, suffering, and bad things?
That premise forced me to bend scripture to redefine his “working all things to good.” A good God who wants control of our lives and will partner with evil to get it; a good God who will compromise our freedom by manipulating evil circumstances to gain our affections; a good God who will allow love to be distorted and perverted to capitalize on our needs; a good God who is an accessory to murder, starvation, sickness, and poverty so that we would know He loves us...
Or in the case of my friend, a good God who would allow child abuse so He can work it all for good.
This contradiction to His nature is of epic proportions. It can’t be further from the truth. God is either good or He is in control; it can’t be both.
God is not in control. God is Love.
The premise that God is in control manipulates his nature into something contrary to love. There are no manipulations, no ulterior motives, no compromises; He is always good, He loves us and wants us to live powerfully free and in all the authority He won for us through his death and resurrection.
For centuries, much of the church has defined God’s sovereignty through the premise of control. I want to define it the way Jesus revealed it—as Love. Jesus revealed that Love has all authority and that every control of need was answered in the authority of Love.
God is love, and that’s what makes Him sovereign.
Love redeems, restores, heals, empowers, and transforms. Love trumps every controlling need this fallen world and the enemy of our souls throw at us. Love is the answer to disappointment, devastation, and abuse. Love empowers freedom to choose to be loved, to trust love, and to become love.
If I could talk to my co-worker friend today, I would apologize for how I misrepresented God’s nature. I would challenge the premise. I would tell her that God is not in control; Love doesn’t operate that way. I would tell her that God has nothing to do with the evils of this world or the devastation of sin. I would tell her He plays no part in the destruction of humanity.
I would tell her God is love and His love is always good. Always.
Then, I would tell her of the wonder of Jesus’ love, a Love that “works all things to good.” Not because Love controls, but because Love has all authority, relentlessly redeems, always restores, and powerfully resurrects.
I would tell her that Love can be trusted because Love is revealed perfectly in Jesus. I would tell her how Love trumps every disappointment, every evil, and every controlling need.
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It is my heart’s desire that someday Google will have a new answer. When asked about the goodness of God, I hope Google will report stories of the church revealing the authority of Love--a love that redeems and restores and miraculously meets every controlling need. May we, the church, discover and live out this love that does not control, that is not against, that does not condemn and works all things for good.
This article is excerpted from Jason's book, God Is (Not) In Control
Jason Clark is a writer, speaker and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.
September 25, 2017
Imagine with Jason Clark - Episode Three // Mahesh Chavda
I am so excited to release a new episode of Imagine in which I had the incredible privilege to talk about miracles and the powerful love of God with Pastor Mahesh Chavda.
For over thirty-five years, the Chavdas (Mahesh and Bonnie) have been reaching the nations with the gospel accompanied by signs and wonders. Hundreds of thousands have come to salvation and thousands have received healing from critical diseases like AIDS and cancer through their ministry.
Many of these miracles have been medically documented, including healings of Stage IV cancer, the lame, deaf and blind as well as the resurrection from the dead of a six-year-old boy.
In this episode, Pastor Mahesh tells the story of how God raised that 6-year-old boy to life. It was so amazing spending time with him.
Imagine with Jason Clark - Episode Three // Mahesh Chavda
Imagine with Jason Clark is an interview-based web series. The guiding purpose is to reveal the always-good transforming love of God.
With over three miracle-packed decades of experience, Mahesh and Bonnie Chavda lead Chavda Ministries International, a worldwide apostolic ministry. The vision of CMI is to proclaim Christ’s kingdom with power, equip believers for ministry and usher in revival, preparing for the return of the Lord.
For over thirty-five years, the Chavdas have been reaching the nations with the gospel accompanied by signs and wonders. Hundreds of thousands have come to salvation and thousands have received healing from critical diseases like AIDS and cancer through their ministry. Many of these miracles have been medically documented, including healings of Stage IV cancer, the lame, deaf and blind as well as the resurrection from the dead of a six-year-old boy.
In addition, Mahesh and Bonnie have produced many useful tools for believers including their books, Only Love Can Make a Miracle, The Hidden Power of Prayer and Fasting, The Hidden Power of a Woman, Storm Warrior and their latest books, The Power of the Cross: Epicenter of Glory and Getting to Know the Holy Spirit.
Together, the Chavdas pastor All Nations Church in Charlotte, NC. They also spearhead a global prayer movement, The Watch of the Lord®, where they have been leading their congregation in weekly corporate prayer for more than a decade.
For more information on Mahesh Chavda go to chavdaministries.org
Thanks to Seth Snider for the use of his song My Angel in the title sequence - from the album Pitch Black Pines - sethsnider.bandcamp.com
Jason Clark is a writer, producer, speaker and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.
May 1, 2017
The Earth Was Never Flat - The Devastation of Sovereign Control
chapter three
The Earth Was Never Flat
Once Upon a Time…
At the end of the 19th century the German pharmaceutical company, Bayer, prescribed “non-addictive” heroin for coughs. Around the same time, you could purchase Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup to help ease your teething child’s discomfort – it only contained 65 mgs of pure morphine.
Once upon a time there was a commonly held belief on the earth that heroin was good for coughs and morphine good for teething babies…
Circa. 570-495 B.C the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras proved the earth was a sphere, thus challenging a common misconception at the time that the earth was flat.
In 1543 Nicholas Copernicus debunked the commonly held belief that the earth was at the center of the universe. And in 1609 Galileo used the invention of the telescope to prove Copernicus correct, the earth revolved around the sun.
In 1917 Einstein’s theory of a static universe was debunked by Edwin Hubble, inventor of the Hubble telescope. Edwin discovered the earth is actually ever expanding.
Once upon a time there was a commonly held belief that the earth was flat, at the center of the universe, and finite…
The Earth Isn’t Flat
Imagine you’ve traveled back in time in your DeLorean time machine. You know, the car from the movie, Back to The Future.
There was Doc Brown, and terrorists, and plutonium and it was all very exciting. But you didn’t go back to November 5, 1955…no, you traveled much further, way before the early breakthroughs in medicinal heroin and morphine, way before telescopes and Greek philosophers, all the way back to when the earth was flat.
You arrived in a field and, after sufficiently hiding your time machine, you began to explore your new surroundings. You came across two fellas at the edge of the sea in passionate debate. They were surrounded by a large crowd of people.
You joined the crowd just as the first guy points to the vast expanse of sea and beyond and says with great conviction, “10,000 miles, that’s where the earth ends!” The other guy is adamant it’s at least twice that distance. There seems to be support for both arguments from those in the crowd, heads nodding and fingers wagging.
Back and forth, the men debate with genuine spirit and intellect, each argument more impassioned than the last. And with each assertion, those listening became more convinced.
You whisper playfully to a young man standing next to you, “What keeps us from falling off the edge?” The young man responds excitedly, “Elephants!” That makes you laugh so loud that one of the fellas takes notice.
He sees you standing there, in your Marty McFly vest, looking amused. You didn’t mean to look amused, it’s just, well, you have both pieced together the premise behind their debate, and, elephants?
“You! Yes, I am talking to you my strangely dressed newcomer friend. What do you believe; does the world end in 10,000 miles or 20?”
It’s a tricky thing to be asked to settle a conflict in which both participants are arguing from a flawed premise; especially if it’s a premise that all have agreed upon, a premise upon which, to some extent, their daily lives have been constructed.
But you, being a person who values truth, and, having actually seen photos of the earth in all its roundness, decide to tell them what you know. In a respectful tone, you say, “Ladies and gentlemen, you don’t have the whole story, you’re operating on a flawed assumption. You see, the earth isn’t flat, it never has been, it just seems that way…”
It Just Seems That Way
Jesus found Himself in this figurative position.
Actually, many still believed the earth was flat when Jesus walked upon it, so, Jesus found Himself in this literal position as well. But He decided to leave the revelation of a round earth to Galileo and his friends. He had bigger fish to fry.
Sovereign control was introduced to humanity when it slithered into the Garden of Eden ages ago. It was the story told by Satan to the first Adam. And Adam bought it. He ate from the wrong tree. It distorted Adam’s perspective on God, it imprisoned him to an inferior reality, a narrative of control; suddenly he was naked, ashamed and desperately afraid.
The lie of sovereign control birthed a world confined to human understanding; a world defined by human reasoning, “a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (1) And it produced a world ruled by fear, a perspective that led to finite flat earth conclusions.
The devastating reality of this control narrative forced the first Adam out of the garden and into the wilderness where he passed the lie down the generations. It became intrinsic in every human experience, a violent reality on earth, a fractured lens through which humanity perceived, a mindset that dominated humankind, a paradigm of brokenness, a wilderness of human reasoning; the earth was flat and everyone agreed.
Except, as we know, the earth isn’t flat, and it never has been. It just seems that way.
The first 125 to join The Book Launch Team get the eBook for FREE- CLICK HERE
Then Jesus was born into this broken narrative, a world ruled completely by an ideology of sovereign control. And He revealed and redeemed a truer narrative. God was never about control. The earth was never flat, not even once.
Jesus, the second Adam, revealed powerfully the whole story, sovereign love. And in so doing, He exposed and declared war on the devastation of sovereign control.
The Devastation of Sovereign Control
“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5
The ideology behind the lie Satan presented to Eve, and later Adam, was God is in control. And they bought it. They believed God was withholding some part of Himself. They believed some aspect of His nature was controlling. And by agreeing with this perversion of love, they enslaved humanity to the devastation of the control narrative.
Every horror in history, every fruit of sin, every sickness, every groaning of the earth, every insecurity, desperation and shame, every struggle against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, (2) can be traced back to the moment Adam and Eve bought into the lie that the sovereignty of God had something to do with control.
Control… it’s the very first lie the snake used to describe God. It exposed Adam and Eve’s nakedness. It was the introduction of fear, condemnation, and shame, the origin of sin and death, the birthplace of every religious thought and action thereafter.
Control…it masquerades in the religious rhetoric of holiness. Its wars are holy, its politics, its inquisitions, its crusades, its genocide, its prejudice, discrimination, racism, sexism, its abuse – all painted with the brush of fanatic righteousness.
Control…it’s ego dressed up in virtue. It demands compliance; women must know their place, children must know their place, slaves, everyone must know their place.
Control…it’s a bully who’s been bullied. It’s a vicious cycle of condemnation masquerading as justice. Its victims become disciples.
Control…it’s the preacher frothing at the mouth about hell, and gays and gun rights. It’s hate speech framed as pious obedience. It’s the church standing up for what it’s against while marginalizing all who Jesus embraced.
Control…it’s the voice of social media mouthing off about tolerance while normalizing depravity. It’s the doctrine of whatever feels good. It sexualizes everyone for its own amusement. It saves the whales while rationalizing abortion.
Control…it’s the ethos of a fallen world, the lens through which most see, the context by which multitudes measure success, value, respect, and significance. It promises we don’t have to live afraid, desperate, helpless, exposed; that we don’t have to be its victims. Except…
Control makes everyone its victim.
Deep down we know control is a mirage. We know it’s a perversion of the truth; it’s counterfeit to the life we were designed for – to experience love and to become love. But to the extent we don’t recognize or understand the power and authority of sovereign Love, is the extent to which we find ourselves clamoring for it: control of our God, control of our destinies, our jobs, our finances, our relationships, the line at Starbucks, the House, the Senate, the Mexican border, Russia.
Control is the lie driving a wedge into our relationship with God. It’s a lie about God and a lie about us. If believed, it will demand to own our every breath, our every thought, our every moment. But it always leads to the same place – shame, condemnation, fear, death and slavery.
Control… it makes fearful slaves, and it never empowers sons or daughters.
Control… it’s ugly, unkind and selfish. It’s counter to all God is and yet it is still the word most often used to describe Him.
Control… we box God into a broken paradigm, a fallen narrative, a flawed premise, a lie spawned by the enemy of our soul, and then, when everything goes to hell, we, in our human reasoning, call it sovereignty and either blame Him for the brokenness or conclude He isn’t as good or powerful as we thought.
This control narrative is an institution unto itself, a ruler by which human understanding has measured everything since the fall of the first Adam. The control narrative has dominated our thinking; it’s become the pursuit of every religious, political and social institution on the planet, including the institution of Christianity.
A god in sovereign control is the devil’s kingdom, and believing his lie leads us into the wilderness of our existence.
But it was never true; the earth was never flat, it just seems that way. Then, some two thousand years ago, the second Adam, Jesus, walked into this wilderness and declared war on the lie of sovereign control.
The Wilderness
Just before Jesus “was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil,” (3) His Father publically introduced the whole story.
“This is my Son, whom I love. With Him I am well pleased.” (4)
“This is my son” - He is fully God and fully man. He is perfect.
“Whom I love” - He is living as the measureless revelation of sovereign love. He has all authority, the power of heaven at His back. He has come to destroy the control narrative.
“With Him I am well pleased” - He has all my pleasure; He is sure in my affection and He will establish my redeemed narrative on earth as it is in Heaven.
Then, Jesus, in the Father, led by and filled with the Holy Spirit, went into the wilderness to throw down the gauntlet.
You’ve seen the movie… two vast armies gathered, a valley between them. They are faced off against each other, ready to crush their enemy. But before a drop of blood spills, the leaders of both armies ride their horses into the valley to meet. Under a white flag, they look each other in the eye and make their demands. “Surrender now and I will give you a position in my kingdom.”
We’ve all seen that movie. But this showdown in the Judean desert was different in two very significant ways. First, it took 40 days for Satan to get the nerve to show his face. Second, Jesus wasn’t offering surrender.
Finally, punch-drunk by arrogance, Satan tries to capitalize on Jesus’ physically weakened state. He attempts to persuade sovereign Love to submit to the devastating narrative of sovereign control.
Three times Satan essentially pleads, “Acknowledge my control narrative and I’ll put you in control of it. Endorse the devastation of my control paradigm and I’ll give you my perversion of freedom by making you its dictator. Agree the earth is flat and I’ll seat you over every pointless finite argument regarding where it ends.”
Control, is Satan’s blindness. Control is the only narrative the devil knows, it’s his theology, the only context by which he interacts with God and humanity. Therefore, he doesn’t have the ability to comprehend the truth that sets free. You see, Satan’s perversion of freedom is to be in control of others.
The fact is, that perverse perspective of freedom seeks to infiltrate every institution on the planet…
Because control is the only narrative Satan knows, he assumed Jesus came to earth to gain it. That’s why, in the wilderness, he attempts to manipulate Jesus with promises of control. What he can’t see is that Jesus came to expose the broken paradigm of control and reveal true freedom, the power, and authority of sovereign love.
Jesus was fully man. He experienced all the emotions we feel. Physically weak and emotionally vulnerable, He was truly tempted in the wilderness. But Jesus was also fully God, and He knew the whole story.
Three times, Jesus essentially says, “I am my Father’s Son and there will be no quarter given, no clemency, no opportunity for surrender! I have come to destroy you and, along with you, the damning devastation of the control narrative!”
Jesus made it clear, there would be no opportunity for retreat; the end of Satan’s reign of fear through control was upon him.
At no time had the earth been flat!
Time Travel Continued…
Meanwhile, back to our time-travel voyage…
The fella that had asked for your thoughts seems intrigued. “What do you mean the earth isn’t flat?”
Suddenly you’re a little overwhelmed. You’re not a scientist; you have no idea how to explain it (note - if you are a scientist, just ignore that last sentence… come to think on it, go ahead and ignore the next few as well).
“So, imagine the earth is like a big ball spinning on an axis, oh and it’s in outer space.” You pull out your smartphone so Google can help you make your point, but of course you have Sprint and there’s no signal. You’re forced to use your words like you’re a Baby-Boomer.
“So, this spinning ball, in outer space? Well, it’s also orbiting around a bigger ball, the sun!” You point with confidence to the sun, hoping its existence will help prove your point.
“What keeps us from falling off?” One of the fellas asks quizzically. He seems uncomfortably intrigued.
The young man next to you asks hopefully, “Elephants?”
You are about to attempt an explanation of gravity when you are struck with two very valid concerns. First, you don’t know how gravity works; second, you suddenly remember Doc’s words, something about not “unraveling the very fabric of the space-time continuum.”
The whole crowd is still waiting for an answer and it dawns on you that it’s going to take way more than a vague memory of your 7th-grade science class to convince them the earth isn’t flat. It will require something of grand proportions, a greater revelation, to change their flat-earth thinking.
Sovereign Love
Having won the desert showdown, Jesus left the wilderness on a mission, His face set like flint. (5) He lived in our finite world controlled by measurements; a world dominated by fear, and He revealed a measureless, infinite perfect love that casts out all fear. (6)
He walked among the flat-earthers and revealed the whole story, sovereign love! Everywhere sovereign love walked, the ugly lie of sovereign control was exposed and its power destroyed!
Sovereign Love destroyed every control; He healed blind eyes, cleansed lepers, fed the hungry, clothed the poor, raises the dead!
Sovereign Love decimated the destruction of a theology of control by setting captives free. He transformed, sinners to saints, and slaves to sons and daughters. He restored and redeemed the worst of life’s tragedies and He healed the most broken of life's sorrows.
Then sovereign Love experienced the ultimate control, death. And He revealed sovereign love was more powerful than death by rising from the grave.
And upon His resurrection, He won our freedom, redeemed our narrative and gave us access to a His perspective - the earth wasn’t flat.
Not only was a battle won, the war was won. Sovereign love was victorious!
How Do We Win in The End?
“If God is not in control, how does He win in the end? He has to be in control to win.” My friend said with a force that bordered panic. He was uncomfortable by what I had just suggested.
The first 125 to join The Book Launch Team get the eBook for FREE- CLICK HERE
We sat in a local bakery, my coffee was cold; I hadn’t taken a sip for fifteen minutes. I’d been sharing both about the devastation of sovereign control and the goodness of sovereign love. I concluded by suggesting that maybe control wasn’t the best way to describe God.
“How do we win in the end?” I repeated, “What if that’s the wrong question? What if the earth was never flat, it just seems that way?”
“What do you mean?” he asked understandably confused. I hadn’t told him about our time travel adventures and the two fellas on the beach.
“What if the premise behind your question is wrong? What if believing God is in control is like believing the earth is flat? It seems right from our perspective. It seems a necessity if God is to win in the end. But what if there is another way to win, a better way. A way that doesn’t complicate God’s goodness or compromise His love?”
I could see my friend was still very uncomfortable. I shrugged and smiled, “It’s just a thought.”
I let it go. But I could have kept on.
What if the sovereignty of God wasn’t about control, but was defined truly and perfectly through love? What if sovereign Love has already won because that’s the nature of love? What if sovereign Love never loses, He simply redeems the past and transforms the future?
What if God was never in control; it just seems that way.
Then, what if Jesus did something of such grand proportions, something so powerful, that our flat-earth perception and thinking could be forever changed? What if He lived, died and rose so we could be free and empowered, so we could see and experience a truer paradigm, the whole story, sovereign love?
What if the very real war we are waging, a war that is evident in so many aspects of daily life, a war marked by disappointment and sorrow, sin and death, sickness, doubt and shame, is a war against the devastating lie of sovereign control.
And what if this war has already been won?
I would like to suggest that sovereign control is flat earth thinking, it’s an institution unto itself, a broken paradigm, a ruler by which so many have measured everything since the fall of Adam. This devastating narrative has dominated humanities thoughts and perceptions for far too long!
Jesus redeemed our true narrative, He redefined His sovereignty as perfect Love. He restored us to our original relationship before the fall, and He empowered trust and set us free so we could live confidently victorious.
The earth is not flat, it just seems that way.
Buy The Book
This article was excerpted from Jason's new book, God Is (Not) In Control.
Jason Clark is a writer, speaker and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.
The Earth Was Never Flat
chapter three
The Earth Was Never Flat
Once Upon a Time…
At the end of the 19th century the German pharmaceutical company, Bayer, prescribed “non-addictive” heroin for coughs. Around the same time, you could purchase Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup to help ease your teething child’s discomfort – it only contained 65 mgs of pure morphine.
Once upon a time there was a commonly held belief on the earth that heroin was good for coughs and morphine good for teething babies…
Circa. 570-495 B.C the ancient Greek philosopher Pythagoras proved the earth was a sphere, thus challenging a common misconception at the time that the earth was flat.
In 1543 Nicholas Copernicus debunked the commonly held belief that the earth was at the center of the universe. And in 1609 Galileo used the invention of the telescope to prove Copernicus correct, the earth revolved around the sun.
In 1917 Einstein’s theory of a static universe was debunked by Edwin Hubble, inventor of the Hubble telescope. Edwin discovered the earth is actually ever expanding.
Once upon a time there was a commonly held belief that the earth was flat, at the center of the universe, and finite…
The Earth Isn’t Flat
Imagine you’ve traveled back in time in your DeLorean time machine. You know, the car from the movie, Back to The Future.
There was Doc Brown, and terrorists, and plutonium and it was all very exciting. But you didn’t go back to November 5, 1955…no, you traveled much further, way before the early breakthroughs in medicinal heroin and morphine, way before telescopes and Greek philosophers, all the way back to when the earth was flat.
You arrived in a field and, after sufficiently hiding your time machine, you began to explore your new surroundings. You came across two fellas at the edge of the sea in passionate debate. They were surrounded by a large crowd of people.
You joined the crowd just as the first guy points to the vast expanse of sea and beyond and says with great conviction, “10,000 miles, that’s where the earth ends!” The other guy is adamant it’s at least twice that distance. There seems to be support for both arguments from those in the crowd, heads nodding and fingers wagging.
Back and forth, the men debate with genuine spirit and intellect, each argument more impassioned than the last. And with each assertion, those listening became more convinced.
You whisper playfully to a young man standing next to you, “What keeps us from falling off the edge?” The young man responds excitedly, “Elephants!” That makes you laugh so loud that one of the fellas takes notice.
He sees you standing there, in your Marty McFly vest, looking amused. You didn’t mean to look amused, it’s just, well, you have both pieced together the premise behind their debate, and, elephants?
“You! Yes, I am talking to you my strangely dressed newcomer friend. What do you believe; does the world end in 10,000 miles or 20?”
It’s a tricky thing to be asked to settle a conflict in which both participants are arguing from a flawed premise; especially if it’s a premise that all have agreed upon, a premise upon which, to some extent, their daily lives have been constructed.
But you, being a person who values truth, and, having actually seen photos of the earth in all its roundness, decide to tell them what you know. In a respectful tone, you say, “Ladies and gentlemen, you don’t have the whole story, you’re operating on a flawed assumption. You see, the earth isn’t flat, it never has been, it just seems that way…”
It Just Seems That Way
Jesus found Himself in this figurative position.
Actually, many still believed the earth was flat when Jesus walked upon it, so, Jesus found Himself in this literal position as well. But He decided to leave the revelation of a round earth to Galileo and his friends. He had bigger fish to fry.
Sovereign control was introduced to humanity when it slithered into the Garden of Eden ages ago. It was the story told by Satan to the first Adam. And Adam bought it. He ate from the wrong tree. It distorted Adam’s perspective on God, it imprisoned him to an inferior reality, a narrative of control; suddenly he was naked, ashamed and desperately afraid.
The lie of sovereign control birthed a world confined to human understanding; a world defined by human reasoning, “a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” (1) And it produced a world ruled by fear, a perspective that led to finite flat earth conclusions.
The devastating reality of this control narrative forced the first Adam out of the garden and into the wilderness where he passed the lie down the generations. It became intrinsic in every human experience, a violent reality on earth, a fractured lens through which humanity perceived, a mindset that dominated humankind, a paradigm of brokenness, a wilderness of human reasoning; the earth was flat and everyone agreed.
Except, as we know, the earth isn’t flat, and it never has been. It just seems that way.
The first 125 to join The Book Launch Team get the eBook for FREE- CLICK HERE
Then Jesus was born into this broken narrative, a world ruled completely by an ideology of sovereign control. And He revealed and redeemed a truer narrative. God was never about control. The earth was never flat, not even once.
Jesus, the second Adam, revealed powerfully the whole story, sovereign love. And in so doing, He exposed and declared war on the devastation of sovereign control.
The Devastation of Sovereign Control
“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5
The ideology behind the lie Satan presented to Eve, and later Adam, was God is in control. And they bought it. They believed God was withholding some part of Himself. They believed some aspect of His nature was controlling. And by agreeing with this perversion of love, they enslaved humanity to the devastation of the control narrative.
Every horror in history, every fruit of sin, every sickness, every groaning of the earth, every insecurity, desperation and shame, every struggle against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms, (2) can be traced back to the moment Adam and Eve bought into the lie that the sovereignty of God had something to do with control.
Control… it’s the very first lie the snake used to describe God. It exposed Adam and Eve’s nakedness. It was the introduction of fear, condemnation, and shame, the origin of sin and death, the birthplace of every religious thought and action thereafter.
Control…it masquerades in the religious rhetoric of holiness. Its wars are holy, its politics, its inquisitions, its crusades, its genocide, its prejudice, discrimination, racism, sexism, its abuse – all painted with the brush of fanatic righteousness.
Control…it’s ego dressed up in virtue. It demands compliance; women must know their place, children must know their place, slaves, everyone must know their place.
Control…it’s a bully who’s been bullied. It’s a vicious cycle of condemnation masquerading as justice. Its victims become disciples.
Control…it’s the preacher frothing at the mouth about hell, and gays and gun rights. It’s hate speech framed as pious obedience. It’s the church standing up for what it’s against while marginalizing all who Jesus embraced.
Control…it’s the voice of social media mouthing off about tolerance while normalizing depravity. It’s the doctrine of whatever feels good. It sexualizes everyone for its own amusement. It saves the whales while rationalizing abortion.
Control…it’s the ethos of a fallen world, the lens through which most see, the context by which multitudes measure success, value, respect, and significance. It promises we don’t have to live afraid, desperate, helpless, exposed; that we don’t have to be its victims. Except…
Control makes everyone its victim.
Deep down we know control is a mirage. We know it’s a perversion of the truth; it’s counterfeit to the life we were designed for – to experience love and to become love. But to the extent we don’t recognize or understand the power and authority of sovereign Love, is the extent to which we find ourselves clamoring for it: control of our God, control of our destinies, our jobs, our finances, our relationships, the line at Starbucks, the House, the Senate, the Mexican border, Russia.
Control is the lie driving a wedge into our relationship with God. It’s a lie about God and a lie about us. If believed, it will demand to own our every breath, our every thought, our every moment. But it always leads to the same place – shame, condemnation, fear, death and slavery.
Control… it makes fearful slaves, and it never empowers sons or daughters.
Control… it’s ugly, unkind and selfish. It’s counter to all God is and yet it is still the word most often used to describe Him.
Control… we box God into a broken paradigm, a fallen narrative, a flawed premise, a lie spawned by the enemy of our soul, and then, when everything goes to hell, we, in our human reasoning, call it sovereignty and either blame Him for the brokenness or conclude He isn’t as good or powerful as we thought.
This control narrative is an institution unto itself, a ruler by which human understanding has measured everything since the fall of the first Adam. The control narrative has dominated our thinking; it’s become the pursuit of every religious, political and social institution on the planet, including the institution of Christianity.
A god in sovereign control is the devil’s kingdom, and believing his lie leads us into the wilderness of our existence.
But it was never true; the earth was never flat, it just seems that way. Then, some two thousand years ago, the second Adam, Jesus, walked into this wilderness and declared war on the lie of sovereign control.
The Wilderness
Just before Jesus “was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil,” (3) His Father publically introduced the whole story.
“This is my Son, whom I love. With Him I am well pleased.” (4)
“This is my son” - He is fully God and fully man. He is perfect.
“Whom I love” - He is living as the measureless revelation of sovereign love. He has all authority, the power of heaven at His back. He has come to destroy the control narrative.
“With Him I am well pleased” - He has all my pleasure; He is sure in my affection and He will establish my redeemed narrative on earth as it is in Heaven.
Then, Jesus, in the Father, led by and filled with the Holy Spirit, went into the wilderness to throw down the gauntlet.
You’ve seen the movie… two vast armies gathered, a valley between them. They are faced off against each other, ready to crush their enemy. But before a drop of blood spills, the leaders of both armies ride their horses into the valley to meet. Under a white flag, they look each other in the eye and make their demands. “Surrender now and I will give you a position in my kingdom.”
We’ve all seen that movie. But this showdown in the Judean desert was different in two very significant ways. First, it took 40 days for Satan to get the nerve to show his face. Second, Jesus wasn’t offering surrender.
Finally, punch-drunk by arrogance, Satan tries to capitalize on Jesus’ physically weakened state. He attempts to persuade sovereign Love to submit to the devastating narrative of sovereign control.
Three times Satan essentially pleads, “Acknowledge my control narrative and I’ll put you in control of it. Endorse the devastation of my control paradigm and I’ll give you my perversion of freedom by making you its dictator. Agree the earth is flat and I’ll seat you over every pointless finite argument regarding where it ends.”
Control, is Satan’s blindness. Control is the only narrative the devil knows, it’s his theology, the only context by which he interacts with God and humanity. Therefore, he doesn’t have the ability to comprehend the truth that sets free. You see, Satan’s perversion of freedom is to be in control of others.
The fact is, that perverse perspective of freedom seeks to infiltrate every institution on the planet…
Because control is the only narrative Satan knows, he assumed Jesus came to earth to gain it. That’s why, in the wilderness, he attempts to manipulate Jesus with promises of control. What he can’t see is that Jesus came to expose the broken paradigm of control and reveal true freedom, the power, and authority of sovereign love.
Jesus was fully man. He experienced all the emotions we feel. Physically weak and emotionally vulnerable, He was truly tempted in the wilderness. But Jesus was also fully God, and He knew the whole story.
Three times, Jesus essentially says, “I am my Father’s Son and there will be no quarter given, no clemency, no opportunity for surrender! I have come to destroy you and, along with you, the damning devastation of the control narrative!”
Jesus made it clear, there would be no opportunity for retreat; the end of Satan’s reign of fear through control was upon him.
At no time had the earth been flat!
Time Travel Continued…
Meanwhile, back to our time-travel voyage…
The fella that had asked for your thoughts seems intrigued. “What do you mean the earth isn’t flat?”
Suddenly you’re a little overwhelmed. You’re not a scientist; you have no idea how to explain it (note - if you are a scientist, just ignore that last sentence… come to think on it, go ahead and ignore the next few as well).
“So, imagine the earth is like a big ball spinning on an axis, oh and it’s in outer space.” You pull out your smartphone so Google can help you make your point, but of course you have Sprint and there’s no signal. You’re forced to use your words like you’re a Baby-Boomer.
“So, this spinning ball, in outer space? Well, it’s also orbiting around a bigger ball, the sun!” You point with confidence to the sun, hoping its existence will help prove your point.
“What keeps us from falling off?” One of the fellas asks quizzically. He seems uncomfortably intrigued.
The young man next to you asks hopefully, “Elephants?”
You are about to attempt an explanation of gravity when you are struck with two very valid concerns. First, you don’t know how gravity works; second, you suddenly remember Doc’s words, something about not “unraveling the very fabric of the space-time continuum.”
The whole crowd is still waiting for an answer and it dawns on you that it’s going to take way more than a vague memory of your 7th-grade science class to convince them the earth isn’t flat. It will require something of grand proportions, a greater revelation, to change their flat-earth thinking.
Sovereign Love
Having won the desert showdown, Jesus left the wilderness on a mission, His face set like flint. (5) He lived in our finite world controlled by measurements; a world dominated by fear, and He revealed a measureless, infinite perfect love that casts out all fear. (6)
He walked among the flat-earthers and revealed the whole story, sovereign love! Everywhere sovereign love walked, the ugly lie of sovereign control was exposed and its power destroyed!
Sovereign Love destroyed every control; He healed blind eyes, cleansed lepers, fed the hungry, clothed the poor, raises the dead!
Sovereign Love decimated the destruction of a theology of control by setting captives free. He transformed, sinners to saints, and slaves to sons and daughters. He restored and redeemed the worst of life’s tragedies and He healed the most broken of life's sorrows.
Then sovereign Love experienced the ultimate control, death. And He revealed sovereign love was more powerful than death by rising from the grave.
And upon His resurrection, He won our freedom, redeemed our narrative and gave us access to a His perspective - the earth wasn’t flat.
Not only was a battle won, the war was won. Sovereign love was victorious!
How Do We Win in The End?
“If God is not in control, how does He win in the end? He has to be in control to win.” My friend said with a force that bordered panic. He was uncomfortable by what I had just suggested.
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We sat in a local bakery, my coffee was cold; I hadn’t taken a sip for fifteen minutes. I’d been sharing both about the devastation of sovereign control and the goodness of sovereign love. I concluded by suggesting that maybe control wasn’t the best way to describe God.
“How do we win in the end?” I repeated, “What if that’s the wrong question? What if the earth was never flat, it just seems that way?”
“What do you mean?” he asked understandably confused. I hadn’t told him about our time travel adventures and the two fellas on the beach.
“What if the premise behind your question is wrong? What if believing God is in control is like believing the earth is flat? It seems right from our perspective. It seems a necessity if God is to win in the end. But what if there is another way to win, a better way. A way that doesn’t complicate God’s goodness or compromise His love?”
I could see my friend was still very uncomfortable. I shrugged and smiled, “It’s just a thought.”
I let it go. But I could have kept on.
What if the sovereignty of God wasn’t about control, but was defined truly and perfectly through love? What if sovereign Love has already won because that’s the nature of love? What if sovereign Love never loses, He simply redeems the past and transforms the future?
What if God was never in control; it just seems that way.
Then, what if Jesus did something of such grand proportions, something so powerful, that our flat-earth perception and thinking could be forever changed? What if He lived, died and rose so we could be free and empowered, so we could see and experience a truer paradigm, the whole story, sovereign love?
What if the very real war we are waging, a war that is evident in so many aspects of daily life, a war marked by disappointment and sorrow, sin and death, sickness, doubt and shame, is a war against the devastating lie of sovereign control.
And what if this war has already been won?
I would like to suggest that sovereign control is flat earth thinking, it’s an institution unto itself, a broken paradigm, a ruler by which so many have measured everything since the fall of Adam. This devastating narrative has dominated humanities thoughts and perceptions for far too long!
Jesus redeemed our true narrative, He redefined His sovereignty as perfect Love. He restored us to our original relationship before the fall, and He empowered trust and set us free so we could live confidently victorious.
The earth is not flat, it just seems that way.
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This article was excerpted from Jason's new book, God Is (Not) In Control.
Jason Clark is a writer, speaker and lead communicator at A Family Story ministries. His mission is to encourage sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, to grow sure in the love of an always-good heavenly Father. He and his wife, Karen, live in North Carolina with their three children.
April 20, 2017
The Great Sledding Adventure - By Aimee Clark
The Great Sledding Adventure
By Aimee Perry
“Tell us a story mom, about when you were little.” Both girls sat on the bed, wanting to hear something wild. The problem was, I’d already told them all the wild stories I could remember. I looked around the room and spotted the October calendar. It was featuring a beautiful Alaskan wolf, running through the snow–and there it was…a memory, a story of my childhood, they hadn’t heard yet. Little did I know that this night, this story, would birth something in me that would change the course of my life forever.
And so the story began….
It was freezing that winter in Ontario. There was much snow, much more than a typical winter for Canada. The plows would come through and push it to the side of the road making snow walls. It was piled so high, even higher than my dad, who led the way. We were heading to “The Hill”, dragging our sled behind us. Mom was at home making hot chocolate for our return, after the great adventure of flying. That’s what it felt like anyway. The power of gravity is no match for a human. But going down that hill, you almost forgot you were grounded. In my mind, we were Kings who conquered “The Hill” flying through blizzards and dragons, and we wouldn’t be stopped.
When we got to the hill, we slowly tread upward. It was my least favorite part, but the reward was coming. Other kids were to our left and right, all climbing for the same purpose…to fly. Without fail, friendships that would bud on the way up, would be sealed by the time we reached the bottom. Something about the journey down the hill together, bonded us. We were “The Kings of the Castle.” And everyone else were “The Dirty Rascals”.
The second and third time down, we all started getting creative. What if we all piled on one sled and rode to victory together? We were onto something you know? What if…what if we could all stay on the sled all the way down. We had to try. After all, we were Kings.
Jason, my oldest brother would want the front, of course. He was a natural leader. He wanted to feel that death-defying view from upfront. Behind him, Joel (my younger brother) would jump in. Joel was the co-captain, by default. Jason wasn’t going to give up that spot unless Dad made him.
