The “Back Story” For This Website – Part 1

The initial challenge question God led me to consider

NOTE – This is actually a very condensed version of how the “back story” started. If you’d like to read a more comprehensive version, you can read this….

The “back story” began in 2013 with a series of intense disagreements I kept having with another “believer” at our church. These disagreements were always about the role of obedience for Christians. This guy’s position was that Christians had to obey… or risk losing their salvation—which I vehemently objected to.

Those disagreements sort of “opened the door” to my spending a great deal of time in extensive Bible studies and meditations. These studies and meditations are continuing even till today—and will probably continue for years to come.

The thoughts consistently on my mind are almost exclusively focused on identifying the “bigger pictures” of the true Christian faith—by seeking Biblical answers to questions that many Christians have possibly never consider asking. I’m going to share a number of those question with you—in the form of “Challenge Questions”—which I sincerely hope you’ll take some time to consider how you would answer them.

Here’s the initial challenge question I started with:

CHALLENGE QUESTION
What’s the most effective motivator for Christian obedience?

The initial question I wrestled with was trying to understand the proper, Biblical motivation for Godly obedience.

I think it’s fair to say that most Christians continually wrestle with this question. And… I think it’s also fair to say that most of thos “most Christians”—just like the guy I had those intense disagreements with—answer the question using the words “have to…” or, “should….”

I have a profoundly different perspective from anyone who answers that way.

The “Back Story” For This Website – Part 2

Two intermediate Challenge Question God led me to consider

The following lyrics are the chorus from a song from 1970—which is very likely before you were even born. The title of the song is “Big Yellow Taxi” and the artist is Joni Mitchell—one of my absolute favorite artists. The situation these lyrics describe—in fact, which the entire song describes—reflect a universal truth for all people everywhere.

CHORUS
Don’t it always seem to go
That you don’t know what you’ve got ’till it’s gone?
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot.

CHALLENGE QUESTION
How would you summarize the idea these lyrics describe?

Pl;ease STOP here—before you click on the link to see my answer—and reflect on this question:

CHALLENGE QUESTION
What is the one “thing” that everyone—everywhere—has “lost,” which they desperately try to regain?

In reality, we all have a very difficult time putting our finger on what exactly is missing. And so we’re caught up in this totally addictive behavior, frantically searching, “Is this it?”

So, what’s your answer? What’s the “it” that we’ve all lost?

The “Back Story” For This Website – Part 3

A final Chalenge Question God led me to consider

CHALLENGE QUESTION
What’s your definition for the concept of life? (Have you ever even considered how to define the concept of life before ?)

The truth is that God is the Author of life, and that He is to be treasured above all else. But..

Promoting a Biblical Explanation for how Treasuring the one true God—above all else—naturally results in the true Christian most fully experiencing the one, true life

For the last ten years, God has been sovereignly directing my thinking during extensive meditations in His Wod. These thoughts have been almost exclusively focused on identifying the “bigger pictures” of the true Christian faith—by seeking to find Biblical answers to questions that many Christians never even consider asking. I’m going to share a number of those question with you—in the form of a “Challenge Question”—which I sincerely hope you’ll take some time to consider how you would answer them.

Challenge Question 1 – How would you explain the role of works—of faithful obedience—in the life of a true Christian?

Here’s how I’ve come to answer this question.

Actually, I need to make a brief “detour” to mention a common saying of the main Christian mentor I’ve had in my life, Marvin Robbins. That freuquently-made statememt was that healthy sheep never need to be encouraged to reproduce, because that will happen naturally.

Now, while Marvin was specifically addressing the issuing of Christians sharing their faith, the logic
also applies to the issue of Christian obedience.

But, that statement raises another question—which I’ll again share with you as another Challenge Question.

Challenge Question 2 – What does a “healthy” Christian “look like?:

Your answer might include a long list of the things that healthy Christians are supposed to do. Maybe you actually think the things in your list are things a Christians has to do

Or, maybe your answer focuses more on character qualities, rather than on speicfic actions. But, your answer also either refers to “supposed to” or “has to” do’s.

or, could simply list the main motivators: loving and treasuring

Challenge Question 3 – What is the single, most effective form of motivation for Christian obedience?:

my answer is that the single, most effective motivator covers every major aspect of the Christian experience: faithfully serving God, willingly suffering under God, jubilantly worshipping God, and desperately longing to be with God

and that motivator is love for God

Challenge Question 4 – What is the most effective motivator for our loving God?

intimately knowing Who God is: the nature, character, purposes, values of God from His Word
intently beholding the glory of God through His revealed work in His word and from His personal interactions in our lives
preeminently esteeming God’s worth

which led me to understand spiritual progressions

which led to me coming up with an 8-book/course study

A significant part of me thinks this website should start and end with God
however, I think realistically, it has to begin with man – with us – with who we are and with our limitations

Every person, ever created, has spent their existence chasing something

what do you spend your tune, energy, money chasing
what one thing can you label as the things you’re trying to obtain

… it’s “life”

but, the serious problem is that we never take the time to clarify what life actually is – the result is that we spend our existence chasing a “life” that is not life at all – it’s actually only the Satanic deception of life

and that’s why we so frantically and addictively continue to have it – because we can never actually get it

true life is something experienced in relationship with God
true life is not something to get. it’s only available to those willing to receive it… from God

As I introduce the main ideas of those meditations in the sections to follow, I’m going to use some “challenge” questions to stimulate your thinking….which I seriously hope you’ll take the time to try to answer.

CHALLENGE QUESTION 1 – HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE THE CONCEPT OF “PERSPECTIVE” AS IT RELATES TO BIBLICAL TRUTH?
Most literal translations of the Bible do not contain the word “perspective.” Anywhere. This includes the King James Version (KJV), the New King James Version (NKJV), the New International Version (NIV), and the New American Standard Version (searching both the NASB-1995 and the NASB – 2020)

Only one—the New English Translation—actually uses the word “perspective.”

However, all versions of the Bible contain numerous illustrations of the concept of perspective throughout both Old and New Testaments.

See if you’re able to find some example illustration and then see what you can come up with for your own definition and description ofr perspective

Here’s my very brief answer.

Again, while the specific word “perspective” is not actually used in Scripture, it’s one of the “core” truths of God’s Word. Which makes it critically important for us to understand it correctly… as well as to embrace it as a Biblical representation of God’s view of true life.”Perspective” is the mindset that results from the combined effects of our thoughts, beliefs, feelings, values, and goals. Our perspective shapes—actually, it defines—our understanding of “life” and what we diligently chase after to experiencing it. Because it’s effects on our experience of “life” are so pervasive, there is an entire online course and eBook on this website devoted to the concept of perspective.

Typical Christian Education

The Traditional Ways of “Helping People Grow” in their Faith

Let me start with an imaginary scenario.

You’re the only person in a large room. There is no furniture: no couches or tables or chairs. There are no photos or decorations on the walls.There are a few windows, but they’re completely covered by heavy, thick drapery so you can’t see anything outside. There are some floor lamps which provide light for the room. But, you’re basically in a large, empty room. 

Now, imagine someone comes through the door, joining you in the room, holding a box which is almost too big to carry. This person then opens the box and proceeds to dump out a 3,000-piece jigsaw puzzle on the floor. Next, he gives you a challenge, “I’ll be back in eight hours, and I expect you to tell me what the pieces of this puzzle reveal.” Then, he turns and walks out the door, leaving you alone with your 3,000, jumbled-up puzzle pieces.

So, you selected an area at the edge of all those puzzle pieces, and began to turn a relatively small collection of them face up. After around 100 pieces, you begin to notice some simmilarities. There are a number of pieces containing people—men, women and children—which you start piling up in section of the floor. There are also pieces containing water, which yu also devote to another location of the floor. This strategy is employed for pieces which seem to contain rocks, plant parts (like leaves and tree trunks), sky, and many which you can only describe as containing “colors.”

After about five hours, you finish segregating all the pieces into 15 common groups. And, being bored and tired of this tedious exercise, you fall asleep in a corner.

That is until you’re suddenlt awakened by the man returning to the room. He has a surprised look on his face as he surveys all of your piles, and then slowly asks, “Why didn’t you finish the challenge?”

You—also slowly—reply, “I did finish the challenge!”

Now, somewhat bewidlered, he aks, “Hmmm. OK, what did all those 3,000 pieces reveal?”

At this point, you get up off the floor, and walking around the outside edge of your 15 groups of common pieces, one-by-one you point to and describe your piles. “There are pieces of men, women, children. There are pieces of water. There are pieces of rocks. There are pieces of plants, pieces of sky, and a whole bunch of pieces that I just call “colors.”

Now, feeling pleased with your performance, you sit back down on the floor.

The obviously exasperated man then asks, “You obviously haven’t finished the challenge! None of are the pieces connected. And, you have no idea what the big pitcure is.”

To which you respond, “What do you mean “connected?” And what do you mean “big picture?“

For almost ten years, God has been sovereignly directing my thinking during periods of extensive meditations in His Wod. These thoughts have been almost exclusively focused on identifying the “bigger pictures” of the true Christian faith—by seeking to find Biblical answers to questions that many Christians never even consider asking. I’m going to share a number of those question with you—in the form of a “Challenge Question”—which I sincerely hope you’ll take some time to consider how you would answer them.

The “back story” began in 2014 with a series of intense disagreements I kept having with another “believer” at our church about the role of obedience for Christians. His position was that Christians had to obey, or risk losing their salvation—which I vehemently objected to.

Those disagreements sort of “opened the door” to my spending a great deal of time in extensive Bible studies and meditations. Looking back on those studies and meditation now, I can see that I was being guided by the Holy Spirit into finding answers to a number of key questions about the “bigger pictures” of Christian faith.

Now, let me be very clear:

I’ve seen nothing new,—or unique—in all my time in God’s Word. Nothing that’s changed any of the doctrinal truths that the Holy Spirit has devoted decades of time teaching me. What I began to see was a much broader view of Who God is and of what His eternal plans are. I also began to see just how short-sighted—more accurately, how closed-focused— our view of the Christian faith truly is. Let me give this “image” as an example illustration.

Question 1 – What’s the Proper Motivation for Godly Obedience?

The initial question I wrestled with was trying to understand the proper, Biblical motivation for Godly obedience. The answer that came to me was that “loving God was the only, truly effective motivator for Christian obedience.”

This answer was not based on the perspective of “I really don’t want to, but I have to in order to not lose my salvation.” Instead, it was based on the perspective of “I don’t have to because it has nothing to do with my salvation, but I want to as a demonstration of how grateful I am for God’s love in saving me.”

Question 2 – How is it that we can fall deeply in love with God?

Those meditations and that answer and perspective led to a follow-up question of how is it that we can fall deeply in love with God… so that we naturally desire to obey Him? And the answer that came to me was “by seeing and appreciating all that God has done—through His Word on our behalf—in making us His children.”

Question 3 – Why Is It Important For Us To Behold God’s Glory?

And that answer led to another extended series of meditations that caused me to see the critical importance of believers “beholding the glory of God” from 1 Corinthians 3 and 4. As we skillfully study His Word, we’re able to perceive the actual glory of God through the hundreds of revelations of His nature, character, purposes, plans, and works on our behalf.

Which then led to another series of meditations on something even more important and influential than loving God in motivating Christian obedience: Treasuring God… above all else in life.

Question 4 – What Is The Result of Us Treasuring God… Above All Else?

The supreme importance of treasuring God—above all else in life, and even above “loving” Him—led me to consider how it that we define life itself. Which led to another series of meditations. Which led to my coming up with a Biblical redefinition of what “true life” really is.

The “tagline” for this website (at the bottom of the opening screen) is a quote from Revelation which reveals that true life flows from God. He is the Source of true life. So… if anyone truly wants to enjoy life, they must be willing to receive life from God.

Understanding Spiritual Progressions

The Role of Spiritual Progressions in Cultivating a Godly Faith

This extended process of formulating questions, searching for answers and meditation on God’s Word, and then receiving insight from the Holy Spirit has resulted in a recignition of the importance of “spiritual progressions.” Which is a term I now need to define.

Here’s a common example of an educational progression. In school, the content being taught is always arranged in an orderly sequence: from the basic to the more advanced. Students are required to successfully master the information from the current class in order to then enroll in the next—more advanced—class.

And here’s an excellent example of a spiritual progression from Romans 8.

The progression is this:

• Those He foreknew
• He predestined
• Those He predestined, He called
• Those He called, He justified
• And those He justified, He glorified

“Behind” The Making of This Website

The “Backstories” that motivated the creation of content for this website

For the last ten years, God has been sovereignly directing my thinking during extensive meditations in His Wod. These thoughts have been almost exclusively focused on identifying the “bigger pictures” of the true Christian faith—by seeking to find Biblical answers to questions that many Christians never even consider asking. I’m going to share a number of those question with you—in the form of a “Challenge Question”—which I sincerely hope you’ll take some time to consider how you would answer them.

Challenge Question 1 – How would you explain the role of works—of faithful obedience—in the life of a true Christian?

Here’s how I’ve come to answer this question.

Actually, I need to make a brief “detour” to mention a common saying of the main Christian mentor I’ve had in my life, Marvin Robbins. That freuquently-made statememt was that healthy sheep never need to be encouraged to reproduce, because that will happen naturally.

Now, while Marvin was specifically addressing the issuing of Christians sharing their faith, the logic
also applies to the issue of Christian obedience.

But, that statement raises another question—which I’ll again share with you as another Challenge Question.

Challenge Question 2 – What does a “healthy” Christian “look like?:

Your answer might include a long list of the things that healthy Christians are supposed to do. Maybe you actually think the things in your list are things a Christians has to do

Or, maybe your answer focuses more on character qualities, rather than on speicfic actions. But, your answer also either refers to “supposed to” or “has to” do’s.

or, could simply list the main motivators: loving and treasuring

Challenge Question 3 – What is the single, most effective form of motivation for Christian obedience?:

my answer is that the single, most effective motivator covers every major aspect of the Christian experience: faithfully serving God, willingly suffering under God, jubilantly worshipping God, and desperately longing to be with God

and that motivator is love for God

Challenge Question 4 – What is the most effective motivator for our loving God?

intimately knowing Who God is: the nature, character, purposes, values of God from His Word
intently beholding the glory of God through His revealed work in His word and from His personal interactions in our lives
preeminently esteeming God’s worth

which led me to understand spiritual progressions

which led to me coming up with an 8-book/course study

Treasuring the One, True God

The Cultivation of a Godly Faith

This is the verbal explanation of the spiritual progression in the illustration below.

• It’s imperative that sincere Christian disciples begin with the proper perspective that God is the One, True Source of the one, true life…
• Then, we’re prepared to look for the revelations of Who He is as we skillfully study His Word…
• Then, we’re prepared to see and behold the the glory of those revelations of Who He is…
• Then, we’re prepared to not only love Him, but to sincerely treasure Him… above all else

However, the “movement” or the “growth” is not strictly linear. Sometimes changes in one step will also initiate changes in another step—even a “prior” step.

This is especially true with respect to the “Firmly Embracing God’s Perspective.” Any enlightenment you gain in “Skillfully Studying God’s Word,” or in “Intently Beholding God’s Glory,” or is “Preeminently Esteeming God’s Worth,” will almost always bring about significant growth of you “Firmly Embracing God’s Perspective” of life.

The Primary Goals of My Ministry

Developing ever-maturing disciples of Jesus… who truly treasure God… above all else

All of my instruction materials are based on promoting one fundamental goal for developing serious Christian disciples: their choosing to esteem the One, True God as their greatest treasure—above all else in life.

Why is that my goal? It’s because of what achieving that goal brings.

The one thing all that humans chase is whatever it is that they understand as “life.” However, “true” life is only available to people who know Jesus as their Savior and who love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. Jesus clearly revealed “where your treasure is, there your heart is also.” In other words, what someone treasures, they love… and they pursue.

Esteeming the One, True God as their greatest treasure, is the one, true way for serious disciples—alone, of all people—to fully experience true life.

The primary goal of this website and ministry is revealed by the home page title—”Treasuring God (is the true path for) Experiencing Life.” This goal is also summarized by the “tagline” from the bottom of the home page.

The river of true life… only flows from the Source of Life: The One True God.

All of the instruction materials on this website will be based on promoting this one fundamental goal for serious Christian disciples: their esteeming the One, True God as their greatest treasure above all else, which is the only path for experiencing true life.

But, you may ask, “Why not something to do with love? I mean, I thought the ‘greatest’ commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.”

Yes, the greatest commandment is to love God in that way. My question back to you in this, “How is it that someone is motivated to love God in that way? Take a look at this verse:

My question to you is succinctly answered by Jesus, when He very clearly stated, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words, what someone treasures, they will naturally love, and what someone loves, they will naturally chase after.

Only people who know Jesus as their Savior and who esteem the One, True God as their greatest treasure, will have a heart focused on loving and pursuing Him as the only path for fully experiencing true life.

That’s why my primary goal is helping serious believers make the conscious decision to esteem God as their greatest treasure—above all else in this world.

The primary goal of this website and ministry is revealed by the home page title—”Treasuring God (is the true path for) Experiencing Life.” This goal is also summarized by the “tagline” from the bottom of the home page.

The river of true life… only flows from the Source of Life: The One True God.

All of the instruction materials on this website will be based on promoting this one fundamental goal for serious Christian disciples: their esteeming the One, True God as their greatest treasure above all else, which is the only path for experiencing true life.

But, you may ask, “Why not something to do with love? I mean, I thought the ‘greatest’ commandment was to love God with all your heart, soul, and mind.”

Yes, the greatest commandment is to love God in that way. My question back to you in this, “How is it that someone is motivated to love God in that way? Take a look at this verse:

My question to you is succinctly answered by Jesus, when He very clearly stated, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” In other words, what someone treasures, they will naturally love, and what someone loves, they will naturally chase after.

Only people who know Jesus as their Savior and who esteem the One, True God as their greatest treasure, will have a heart focused on loving and pursuing Him as the only path for fully experiencing true life.

That’s why my primary goal is helping serious believers make the conscious decision to esteem God as their greatest treasure—above all else in this world.

The Effectiveness of My Teaching

How someone teaches greatly influences the effectiveness of their teaching. If I sincerely want you to learn the things I write about on this website—and I seriously do—the methods I choose to use are critical to my success. What follows is a description of the methodologies I depend on.

The Effectiveness of Your Learning

How someone participates in the teaching experience greatly influences the effectiveness of their learning. Obviously, one of the more critical factors ensuring that someone actually learns something is that they have a sincere desire to learn. If they’re not interested in and engaged with the material being taught, they’re simply wasting their time. Apart from having to have a sincere desire to learn, there are three other factors which greatly impact the effectiveness of a student’s learning. Those additional factors are the following “learning theories” that I subscribe to.