Here is the final lesson for the Upside World of Theology.  May bless you!

Chapter Fourteen

God loves you enough to accept you as you are, and loves you enough to not leave you there.

“8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” (Romans 5:8-10 NKJV)

            The Bible is the True story of how God made everything “very good” and then about how we broke it all by our sin.  The story continues with God’s great effort to redeem and reclaim fallen humanity and creation rather than destroying it all.

            Looking at Romans 5:8-10 list all that God did for a broken and fallen humanity and creation.  (For this is what God has done for you!)

            If the thought that God has saved you and all that He has done for you does not make your heart beat faster and make you stand a little taller than I am sure you do not understand what this means!  For we who had no hope now have hope!  We who deserve hell can receive Heaven and knowing God Himself!

“17 You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:17-18 NKJV)

            Perhaps even more amazing than God’s willingness to save us while we were still in our sin is that God makes provision for our growth in and through God’s grace.  Not only does God give us the opportunity for growth, but indeed God demands it.  And in the verse above we see why.  God understands for us to not fall from God’s grace back to the evil we once knew we must keep growing forward and strengthen our faith and our relationship with God.

            While not a Theology but a life lesson is that most of us progress through life by taking two steps forward and one step back!  If we do not move forward we will still take those occasional steps back and fall away from God and our new life!  We must move forward just to stay where we are. 

            Notice the language – beware!  Sometimes we are so prone to see God as authoritarian that we view this as a threat, but what if we see it as a warning of love!  “I do not want you to fall away or get lost!  I want you to continue to grow in God and be with God!”  And that is not only true for Peter but for God!  The key is the word “beloved”. 

            Is it not amazing that other Christians can see you as “beloved” but that God also does?  Wrap that around you and think about what it means that God considers you His “beloved”.   It reminds me of a song by Bill and Gloria Gaither that says:

“I am loved, I am loved
I can risk loving you
For the One who knows me best
Loves me most”

            God sees everything about you and knows everything about you yet STILL LOVES YOU as His “beloved”!  As the song continues God loves us even with our scars and shows us by His scars!

“I said if You knew You wouldn't want me
My scars are hidden by the face I wear
He said my child My scars go deeper
and It was love for you that put them there”

            You will never scare God away!  You will never surprise God with a sin and cause Him to leave you!  Remember God already knows the end from the beginning and suffered and died for you knowing everything! (The God who created time is not bound by it! Sort of a “timey whimey” thing!)

Read Psalm 22 and list the scars of God in the crucifixion of Jesus.

Compare them to your scars.

Peter talks about “being led away with the error of the wicked”.  What does that mean? (I can’t help but think of a metal ring in a bull’s nose!)

Find a scripture that reminds you of God’s constant and unfailing love and memorize it.  That verse will bring comfort and blessing to you and bring Light into your darkness, Hope into your despair and free you to love others as you are Loved!

Upside Down Theology

This is the Beginning!!!

            Over the last sessions those who have had the courage, fortitude or just had an incurable urge to see where this was going now must ask themselves what will I do with this. 

            We have the same question about what will I do with Jesus and in some ways they are part of each other. 

            My goal has never been to convince you that I am right.  Even I know better than that!  But my hope, my prayer and my goal is that as you went through these sessions that you would begin to develop your own Theology!  Or in other words you would get to know your best friend better! 

Please take time to list some things you learned through these sessions.  And yes, one of them can be that I have lost my mind.  For I lost my mind from the moment I came to Jesus and He is still working on it even now!  (I take a lot more work than most!  But I love the times God works on me for that is when we are closest!)

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            It is my prayer that you will enjoy many joyful times when God is working on you and helping you to become more like Him.  For me I enjoy the time together more than I do anything else about it.  I am constantly amazed that God enjoys so much spending time with such an upside down and obviously, shall we say unusual, person!  This is for the God who I enjoy and who enjoys me!  And this is for my wife Bonnie and my children Sarah and Levi, Jonathan and Rebecca for having to put up with me and not having the advantage of being God!  Love to every One of you!   Ron Ramsey

         

I Am Loved by the Gaither Vocal Band

CHORUS
I am loved, I am loved
I can risk loving you
For the One who knows me best
Loves me most
I am loved you are loved
Won't you please take my hand
We are free to love each other
We are loved

VERSE 1
I said if You knew You wouldn't want me
My scars are hidden by the face I wear
He said my child My scars go deeper
and It was love for you that put them there

CHORUS

VERSE 2
Forgiven I repeat it I'm forgiven
Clean before my Lord, I freely stand
Forgiven I can dare forgive my brother
Forgiven I reach out to take your hand

CHORUS

TAG
We are free to love each other, we are loved

Read more: Gaither Vocal Band - I Am Loved Lyrics | MetroLyrics