Faith is substance. Hebrews 12 says so. In fact, it uses nouns to describe the essence of faith. In other words, it’s not a verb. The verb part of faith (the action part) is belief. I can have faith that God can heal me, but if I don’t take action – the verb part of the equation – I may not see the results I’m looking for.

If faith is stuff, then we might be interested to know more about this “stuff” of faith. I discuss this in my book in the chapter entitled “The Power of Faith.”

Think about it this way…

If God created everything that exists, including all of the seen and the unseen (“For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible,” Colossians 1:16) then everything that has been created – including the stuff of faith itself – is part of His character, breathed into existence at the creation of the universe by His mind and will. So faith, “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen,” is as real and tangible as the chair I am sitting on, and it’s holy, infused with God Himself.

So if you’re a disciple of Jesus, you already have the same faith that Jesus told you could move mountains. So why don’t we all see mountains moved every day?

I think it might have something to do with getting plugged into this same eternal, omnipotent force that pervades the entire cosmos, visible and invisible. If God’s presence is everywhere (Psalm 139), then so is His miracle-working power and His faith. In the passage in Mark where Jesus implores us to “have faith in God,” some commentators have said it’s more accurate to read the translation as “Have the faith of God.” Doesn’t that take the pressure off? It’s not about what you do, it’s about what you believe! It’s there, just take some! “Have the faith of God.”

If God’s presence permeates the entire universe, and by association every aspect of your life, visible or invisible, then His faith does also. And if God’s faith – which must be an awesome and perfect faith, capable of moving your mountains – is freely available to us, then it’s available to us any time we need it and in whatever quantity suits the task. It’s not a verb, which means it’s not something I have to DO. It’s something I ALREADY HAVE and can act on it at will. Isn’t this consistent with the whole message of salvation being a gift and not something you can work out on your own?

Paul called the Galatians foolish because they thought, although the gift of salvation was a free gift, that the act of becoming more like Jesus was an act of their own effort (Galatians 3:3). No, he says, the “working it out” part of faith is just as much a gift as the initial gift of salvation. In other words, you’ve already got it! Just act on it!

Now, as with many promises in the Bible, there are some conditions. God’s love is unconditional, but His provisions are often quite conditional. But it’s not conditioned on our working: it depends upon our belief. If you have inherited ten million dollars from a rich uncle, but you don’t know it, then you can’t act on it. If you do know that you’ve inherited a fortune but you don’t have the bank account numbers, you can’t make withdrawals. God is telling us that just as much as our gift of salvation was a free gift, ours for the asking, so is the substance of faith if we’ll just accept it. Then we can make withdrawals any time we want.

We don’t have to try to muster up a huge faith. The point Jesus was making when He told his disciples about a mustard-seed faith is that even if you have a tiny bit of faith that’s enough, because it’s not about the faith. All the faith you need is there under your nose for the taking. It’s about in Whom your faith rests.

Yet we don’t see the results we want. I think that’s because Jesus does not want to hand this stuff out freely unless He can trust us to deal with it properly. He first wants a relationship with you. That’s really what it all boils down to. All of the gifts, provisions and love of God that He wants to pour into your life is to cause you to come close to Him. It’s that simple. “All the law and the prophets,” Jesus said, boils down to “Love God and love your neighbor.” That’s all He really wants. Love God, love others, and this will plug you into the power source – into the wall outlet – that is God’s amazing and limitless faith.

Then you’ll be able to move your mountains!

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I have a few book events brewing, so I want to invite all of you to come and take part in the conversation about dissolving the barrier between the seen and the unseen.

March 3: Fresh Brewed Life, at the Cannon Valley Coffee House, Cannon Falls, MN at 6:00 p.m.
– Coffee, music, worship, and deep talk about the other side of the divide.

March 17: Book signing at Barnes & Noble Bookstore on Youree Drive, in Shreveport, LA.
– A short talk at 11:00 a.m. then book signing until 1:00 p.m.

April 13-14: LeTourneau University Homecoming and alumni events.
– I’ll have a book table set up in the Belcher Center during the Homecoming alumni events.

April 27 (tent.): House lecture in Dallas, TX. Please watch here for more information, coming soon.

Some time in April (tent.): Book signing at Barnes & Noble in Fargo, ND. More details when it’s confirmed.

Looking forward to seeing you at one or more of these events!

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I am excited to announce that the book is now available online from many different outlets. Check out the new page for more information, and to read what a few people have to say about the book:
Prayer, Quantum Physics and Hotel Mattresses

I am also excited to ask every one of you to help me spread the word. I want to talk to your church, group, seminar, retreat, or any other gathering about dissolving the barrier between the seen and the unseen, and stepping into all the freedom and revelation that God has in store for us. Please contact me through the Contact Page for a discussion about the details.

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Graham Cooke has long been one of the most influential teachers in my life. These are three must-hear teachings from his website. Graham is a true prophetic teacher, which from my perspective means that you can listen to his teachings over and over again and get more out of them each time. He’s humble, authoritative and genuine. I feel confident saying that these teachings could very well change your life:

Enjoying The Journey

Opportunity in the Place of Confinement

Overcoming NegativityThrough Rest

All three are meant to change your point of focus away from your circumstances and toward God’s true plan for your life.

They are available for download here, for only four bucks each:

Brilliant Book House MP3 Downloads

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Just finished a few excellent books. I don’t know about you, but it seems God always puts just the right book into my hands at just the right time. These past few weeks have been no exception. Among the gems:

- Two books by Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel and All Is Grace. Really excellent books by a man who struggled most of life with alcoholism but learned in the process the true depth of God’s love and grace. Highly recommended.
- The Myth of a Christian Nation, by Greg Boyd. Whether or not you agree with his conclusions, this is a must read for those on either side of the argument regarding whether America is or ever was a “Christian Nation,” and how much the church ought to be involved in political and governmental affairs.
- Unlocking the Heart of the Artist, by Matt Tommey and Ray Hughes. This book is for those struggling with their artistic gifting, how to express it properly and fully both in the world and within the church, what God thinks of the creative gifts He has given to His people, and the pitfalls to watch for if you’re an artist wanting to do the thing you were created for.
- Angry Conversations With God: A Snarky But Authentic Spiritual Memoir, by Susan Isaacs. This book is a bit outside my normal preferred genre but it’s a hilarious and highly recommended glimpse into the mixed up, funny, sometimes heartwrenching, true and honest struggles of one woman who took God to marriage counseling. Most people will find something in this book that really hits home.
- Answers to Prayer From George Muller’s Narratives. This is the fantastic true story of George Muller and his building and maintaining orphanages in the late 1800s and early 1900s, all without once asking a single human being for money or assistance. He determined early on that he would never, ever ask for money but would rely only on prayer to raise money for his orphanages. Several decades (and thousands of orphans cared for and educated) later, he continued to prove God’s faithfulness.

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Consider this snip from Amit Goswami in God Is Not Dead: What Quantum Physics Tells Us about Our Origins and How We Should Live (p. 46), Kindle Edition:

When the true meaning of quantum physics is understood, it becomes clear that consciousness cannot be a mere phenomenon of the brain…quantum physics and all science must be based on the philosophy of monistic idealism: consciousness is the ground of all being, in which matter, mind, and other internal objects exist as possibilities.

Hmmm….sounds familiar. Where have I heard that before?…Oh yeah, Hebrews 11: “…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

Goswami maintains that matter and mind exist in a quantum state of possibilities. God maintains that our provisions and other things we exercise faith for are also possibilities until faith brings them into being.

Observe, science finally catching up with the Bible.

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In The Singularity is Near, futurist and scientist Raymond Kurzweil discusses technology, the evolution of human society, and where our current exponential rise of knowledge and technology might ultimately lead us as a civilization. Eventually, he pontificates, the consciousness of humankind could actually expand to fill the entire universe. I think he may be onto something.

We have learned that matter and consciousness co-create one another. Matter itself is permeated by consciousness and intentionality, so it only makes sense that as we learn more about that matter/mind connection it will lead to humanity having greater influence and control over the very behavior of matter. Many may interpret this as new age thinking, and it just might be, but we Christians just have to admit that these new age philosophers have some measure of truth.

As evangelicals, we are typically consumed with defending the truth of God against anything that even slightly deviates from our thick books of systematic theology. In doing so, however, I believe we sometimes cut off legitimate avenues of revelation about God’s world and His very character. For example, the Buddhists can teach us something about pursuing peace. We can challenge their methodology, and we should, but when a Buddhist monk wants to talk to me about the value of an intentional pursuit of a peaceful lifestyle, and how to design my home and my surroundings accordingly, then I will listen. It’s precisely the same as asking my mechanic about pursuing good health for my car. Whether he’s a Christian or not does not dictate the value of his advice. In the end, it’s my responsibility to filter out the good.

It’s not so difficult to juxtapose Kurzweil’s vision of ultimate reality against that of the BIble. In the end, the Bible teaches us, God will create new heavens and a new earth. The universe is already filled with His glory. We will no longer be limited by space or time, by the limitations of our physical bodies, or by our brain’s puny view of reality. The vast reaches of space will mean nothing to a spirit that has shed its physical chains. But why should we wait until then?

Jesus Himself, teaching us to pray, says we ought to expect life to be “on earth as it is in heaven.” In heaven, there are no physical limits to knowledge, experience, time or space. Consider whether there is really any meaningful difference between these following statements:

“Our consciousness will fill the universe.”
“Time and distance will be meaningless.”

Einstein proved that time and space are interchangeable. That’s nothing more than an expression of that invisible realm that God inhabits. Time, space, distance, dimensions – these are all simply crutches that we have developed to help us make sense of this universe we inhabit, according to our extremely limited perspective. The day will come when we shall see clearly (1 Corinthians 13:12). Our consciousness will indeed fill the universe. This I can say with certainty. My proof?

1. Matter depends upon consciousness for its existence. This is proven by science.
2. This consciousness is God’s consciousness according to Colossians 1:16-17: “All things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.” In other words, the forces that hold all things in the universe together (in scientific terms, the “strong nuclear force,” one of the four fundamental forces of nature) is Jesus Christ Himself. His consciousness penetrates all of physical reality.
3. As Christians, possessing the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), this Christ consciousness is also ours.
4. Therefore, our consciousness, along with that of Almighty God, permeates (or will permeate) the entire universe.

Why is this important to us as Christians? Because God is on the move. He is calling His children into a much deeper relationship and, therefore, a deeper realization of all that He knows and loves. Along with this new knowledge that He is releasing into His Church will come a responsibility on our part to step up to the plate. He wants us to know things so that we will influence the discovery going on around us. And this means discovery in all aspects of human society, including science, music, theater, movies, the arts at large, industry, homemaking, child-rearing, gardening, plumbing, everything. There is not a single corner of human life, thinking or society that is safe from the glory of our creative God. As we pursue all these things on planet earth, God’s glory will more and more permeate all of existence.

I hope Kurzweil is right. To see the glory of the entire universe filled with God’s consciousness will be an experience that words simply cannot express. I guess that’s the essence of His promise that He can “do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).

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John 1:9-11:
“There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.”

The Greek word for “world” here is “kosmos” which means the universe (our word is “cosmos”). In other words, when Jesus came into the world,
“He was in the kosmos, and the kosmos was made through him, and the kosmos did not know him.”

When John says “the kosmos did not know him” he’s not talking about the people, because the next verse talks about the people rejecting Him:
“He came to his own, and those who were his own did not receive him.” He’s talking in verse 10 about the physical universe, and the other uses of the word “kosmos.”

So verse 10 is talking about the kosmos rejecting Jesus when he came to earth. This word “kosmos” is also used to represent the system of belief that prevailed when Jesus came. I think it refers to everything that existed, just in the shape it was, when Jesus arrived bodily on earth, including the physical kosmos, the spiritual kosmos, and the mental/psychological kosmos. This included the traditional religiosity of the Pharisees and their desire to inculcate those beliefs among the people; the political oppression that the Jews suffered and their longing for a political savior; the physical realm with its disease, leprosy, poverty and sorrow; and the spiritual emptiness that many were authentically searching for and longing for.

This idea of the fallen physical kosmos is consistent with Romans 8:22 which says “the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth.” Why? v. 21: “The creation itself will also be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” But what we’re learning from modern science is that the physical kosmos is intimately intertwined with consciousness. This, of course, is consistent with the BIble that states that God is omnipresent and omniscient (meaning he permeates all of space-time), and he continually holds all things in the kosmos together (Colossians 1:17).

So let’s put this all together:

Jesus was not accepted by the kosmos. That’s because the kosmos itself was and is subjected to sin because of the fall of man, and it is penetrated and influenced by the consciousness of mankind – in whatever state he is in – and by the consciousness of our common enemy.

Jesus was also not accepted into the current political climate. The Jews were looking for a political hero to free them from Roman oppression, but Jesus taught that his kingdom was not of this kosmos.

Neither was Jesus accepted into the religious climate of his day. The Pharisees thought they had it all figured out, but theirs was a religion without Spirit, a list of rules rather than a relationship with Almighty God. Their kosmos was polluted by religion.

Finally, Jesus was also not accepted by His own people. But there were those who did accept Him. And these people that accepted Jesus were the portal through which Jesus himself would change the entire kosmos – every definition of it that we have discussed thus far. Through his Church – the body of Jesus followers on this planet past, present and future – Jesus will bring and is brining redemption of every kind. He will redeem the spiritual kosmos as he shows all people the truth about the Father. He will redeem the mental and political kosmos as he redeems the hearts of men and in the end proves to all the powers that be how to properly run a kingdom. He will redeem the physical kosmos when he perfects it and he perfects the bodies of those who follow him.

Jesus, you see, is into redemption. He’s into creation. He enjoys concepts like “new” and “fresh.” Just like the miracle of creating the universe from that which cannot be seen, and the miracle of creating enough bread for 5,000 people from a couple loaves (creating stuff from that which cannot be seen), so he will create a new political climate, a new spiritual enlightenment (1 Corinthians13:12), a renewed physical universe, and a new kingdom in which all things will be made right. His consciousness will not only penetrate everything as it does now, but it will do so with a new authority because the enemy of righteousness will be bound in a place where he can do no more harm.

And here’s the fun part: he’s actively doing all of this right now in the lives of those who follow him. I have bend using future-tense language, but it’s happening now, it’s been happening for more than 2,00 years, and it will go on throughout all of eternity.

The kosmos will once again “know him” and will run according to the way he originally created it. You remember…back in Genesis 1 where he said “And he saw that it was very good.”

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So I’m excited, allright? The book will not be printed until some time in Jan/Feb, so it’s only preorders for now. But it’s moving forward as planned! See it on Amazon.com

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This website shows scans of the original “Qumran Great Isaiah Scroll” and then provides complete English line by line translations of the entire text. I think it’s awesome that we can see the physical evidence of the book of Isaiah on the internet, especially since this is the book that Jesus read from when He announced His earthly mission in the temple (Luke 4:18).

Qumran Great Isaiah Scroll

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God is light.

But what exactly does that mean?

For most of my life, I’ve just taken this to be a metaphor about God’s character, since light is often used to represent brightness, holiness, revelation, purity and the like. But then I read verses like this one:

“Watch out that the light in you is not darkness” (Luke 11:33).

Wait a minute now…

Literal light is the absence of darkness. Spiritual light is revelation or even Christ-likeness. So what can it mean to say that the light in me could possibly be darkness? Light cannot be darkness. It’s impossible. But if light is a metaphor for what is good, right or pure, then the idea of light as a metaphor is also not accurate. How can I metaphorically state that light (goodness or purity) might be darkness (evil or sin)? So if it’s not literal light and it’s not metaphorical light then what can this stuff possibly mean?

Paul says in Ephesians 5:8 that “You were formerly darkness but now you are light in the Lord.” It’s interesting to me that this verse does not say that you are full of the light of the Lord, or that you are in the light of the Lord. It says very plainly that you ARE light in the Lord. You ARE light.

God lives in unapproachable light (1 Timothy 6:16). He is the Father of lights and does not change (James 1:17). He is clothed in light (Psalm 104:2). Jesus said of Himself that He is light (John 8:12). So, God is light. And when we come into relationship with Him, we are renewed at our spirit level and become one with Christ. The Bible tells us that as Jesus is (right now) so are we in this world (1 John 4:17), so in the very essence of our spirit, we also are light. But if my light can be darkness, then it can’t be a metaphorical goodness/purity kind of light. So what is this light?

Light is energy. When God spoke the universe into being, He arranged particles of matter – which we now know are little packets of energy and not hard little balls of stuff – into all the things we see and feel in the universe. That same energy is what makes up the particles in your body and brain, the vehicle that carries your spirit to and fro throughout the earth. I am beginning to believe that this light (energy) is the same stuff of which God is made, or at least it is somehow intimately tied to the nature of His being. God is light. You are light. The universe is made of light (photons or little packets – or “quanta” – of energy). So this energy upon which all of the known universe is built can be either good or bad. The light can be light, or the light can be darkness.

Which brings us back to Luke 11:33: “Watch out that the light in you is not darkness..” If the light in you is darkness, that means it’s bad energy. The mean or critical words you speak have within them an inherent bad energy that has power to hurt and kill. Dan McCollum says that grumbling and complaining is the praise and worship language of hell. The light (energy) in you can be good (“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones” (Proverbs 16:24) or evil (see James 3:6). The energy (light) that comprises your body, brain, soul and spirit can be good energy or bad energy. It’s up to you which you’ll emphasize.

God is light (pure energy). You are good light at the depth of your spirit being. But this light can be flavored by your own decisions. When it is good light, then it’s very good because it is infused with the very power and essence of God Almighty. But when it’s bad, it’s bad: “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23).

When the light in you is darkness, then there are all kinds of spiritual and even physical repercussions. Psychosomatic illnesses are real. That twinge you feel in your gut when someone insults you or says something hateful to you or about you, is felt and experienced physically. But when the light in you is good, God’s very Spirit accompanies it and it does not come back void. Lets focus on generating GOOD light so that we may be good representatives of Jesus on this earth.

“Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29).

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I think we often get numb to numbers. Given our multi-trillion dollar national debt, the words “billion” and “trillion” tend to become words without a lot of impact. I want us to gain an appreciation for large numbers because I want to talk about the size of the universe.

The width of the universe is estimated at about fifteen billion light years. One light year is the distance light travels in one year at the rate of 186,000 miles per second, which is about 700 million miles per hour. So in one year, light can travel just under six trillion miles. One light year is equal to six trillion miles.

Just to give an idea how much six trillion is (keeping in mind that the USA today recently had a headline that said the United States owes $62 trillion): If I bought a $400,000 Rolls Royce AND a $10 million mansion in Beverly Hills EVERY SINGLE DAY, it would take me 1,580 YEARS to spend six trillion dollars.

So we live in a universe that is 15 billion light years across, in other words, 6 trillion times fifteen billion miles! This is literally unfathomable to the human mind.

Yet God is out there. His presence, His power, His authority, His love are all out there as much as they are in the lives of His followers. And He spoke it all into being by His will and His word.

I think He had to do it that way. He had to make it so huge that we could not fathom it and that it would literally blow us away trying to think about it, but not so overly complex that we can never learn anything about it. In their excellent book The Privileged Planet, authors Guillermo Gonzalez and Jay Richards show that not only is the earth and the solar system it inhabits very specifically designed to support life, but our position within the Milky Way galaxy is optimum for discovery of things outside our solar system. The distance from the center of the galaxy, the distance from our own star the Sun, everything is designed to support life AND to support discovery.

God wants us to discover!

He loves science. He’s the original author, after all, of all the scientific laws that make things like cell iPhones, airplanes and skyscrapers work. Science is one of God’s languages, one of His best revelations to the world about Himself. Christians ought to be the most passionate lovers and supporters of scientific study and research. It’s GOD’S universe we’re talking about here!

So does that mean that God Himself is huge? Well, that conclusion depends upon some very limited, narrow-sighted Newtonian physics. God is neither large nor small since He dwells in a realm where physical size is meaningless. But we know that He is omnipresent – He is in all places at all times. I believe that this says more about His character than His attributes. For me, the idea of God’s omnipresence talks about how He has woven His character, His power, His ongoing creative genius throughout all the fabric of the universe. This does not make Him huge, it makes Him a part of the fabric of space-time itself.

No, this isn’t new-age mumbo-jumbo. It’s biblical truth (see Psalm 139). The presence – and therefore the power, love, grace, mercy, provision, wisdom, etc – of God is woven throughout the very fabric of the stuff from which the cosmos is constructed, and this includes the very matter in your body, brain, soul and spirit.

Surely this God can handle your circumstances. Most of us have some things in our lives that we struggle with, that we don’t like, that we would like to banish from our existence forever, but have had little success. God can handle it, be assured. He controls every atom in every molecule in every element on every planet in every galaxy in the known universe. He not only knows the number of hairs on your head but also the number of helium molecules in the entire universe. Surely He can handle your stuff. Just let Him.

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