tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40815551149726183462008-10-03T14:28:17.203-07:00Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comBlogger107125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-35886030713485509782008-09-30T20:49:00.000-07:002008-09-30T21:17:15.409-07:002008-09-30T21:17:15.409-07:00

Many of us who have walked outside institutional Christianity, have always had this desire to live outside the box and find the way the Lord wants us to meet and live under His headship. With that in mind, I came across a young woman who writes in a way that we would appreciate, as she writes in an imaginative style that brings the story of Christ and the scriptures to light in a living, and

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-78838299846164242572008-09-30T19:44:00.000-07:002008-09-30T19:47:00.872-07:002008-09-30T19:47:00.872-07:00

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-20017511797509960032008-09-30T11:23:00.000-07:002008-09-30T21:01:57.225-07:002008-09-30T21:01:57.225-07:00

I think that in the distant future, historians interested in Christian history will look back at what's called the "Jesus people" movement and identify it as a turning point in history overall. Why do I say that? Not because of the elements connected to what happened, as most of them fell by the wayside and very little is left today from the experience. While there are people who do connect it

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-73830000591869890702008-09-18T17:59:00.002-07:002008-09-18T18:13:50.583-07:002008-09-18T18:13:50.583-07:00

In reference to this unfolding story of God through Christ's body on this earth, we see that the reason God has a purpose of filling everyone with Himself is that He may show the mystery of who He is through a created people. He not only wants the world to see this mystery that is hidden in Christ within us, but He also wants to unfold it to the invisible rulers and authorities as well: both

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-51301612605187095142008-09-18T17:59:00.001-07:002008-09-18T18:13:05.404-07:002008-09-18T18:13:05.404-07:00

So when Christ was sent from the Father in heaven to this world, all that was of the Father was in Him. Everything that mankind was meant to be was revealed in Him. Heaven had come to earth visibly in Christ. Rather, the Father had come to earth in Christ, and the Lord lived His life by the Father's life within Him. Yet, even though He had the Father's life within Him, Jesus grew in wisdom and

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-50898702646797480842008-09-18T17:59:00.000-07:002008-09-18T18:14:17.926-07:002008-09-18T18:14:17.926-07:00

What is it that the Father wants to do in time and history? Most seem to get confused when the term eternal purpose is used and can get bogged down in uncertainty and confusion. Let's look at it from the perspective of God narrating who He is to the visible and invisible worlds through telling the story of who He is via His people. The end result of the fulfillment of God's eternal purpose is

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-83091203522159560592008-09-12T14:47:00.000-07:002008-09-12T17:59:32.315-07:002008-09-12T17:59:32.315-07:00

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom ..." The purpose of this little series on knowing Christ individually and coporately was to help you understand the tension that can come about from seeing the value of displaying Christ as a people corporately, while also seeing that the only way Christ can be seen in this way is if individual

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-70364692410645660322008-09-12T13:51:00.000-07:002008-09-12T14:57:59.815-07:002008-09-12T14:57:59.815-07:00

Eph. 4:16 - From Him (Christ) the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Continuing on with the complimentary lifestyle that emerges from being one body but many parts, let's look at this verse to see how it simply operates in practicality. First of all note "From Him," which determines the rest of the

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-59150562353822510692008-09-12T12:24:00.000-07:002008-09-12T14:57:31.905-07:002008-09-12T14:57:31.905-07:00

Remember last post when we talked about going to the Godhead to see how things work? Here's one scripture that extends the understanding of that reality. 1 Cor. 12:4-6 (NIV) "There are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working but the same God works all of them in all men." In other words, while

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-22135592258210220692008-09-12T11:55:00.000-07:002008-09-12T14:55:40.989-07:002008-09-12T14:55:40.989-07:00

In the next several posts I want to talk about knowing Christ. What I want to do is help some of you in the area of individual versus corporately knowing Christ. There is sometimes confusion and uncertainty concerning the two dwelling together. The reason this becomes an issue for those meeting outside institutional Christianity, is if we're following the right path, we'll in the beginning years

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-75216127419846623002008-09-03T12:06:00.000-07:002008-09-03T12:59:20.658-07:002008-09-03T12:59:20.658-07:00

The end result of the eternal purpose of God is that He will be all in all; everything that He is will be embodied in His people. This is the ultimate purpose of creation, that who He is invisibly will be shown forth visibly in a people. He does this through a love relationship with His people, whom He calls His bride. But Christ isn't looking for a trophy wife that is seen as worldly eye candy;

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-62188371843973340682008-08-25T12:31:00.000-07:002008-08-25T13:35:50.848-07:002008-08-25T13:35:50.848-07:00

The work (fruit) of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, . My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places (Isaiah 32: 17-18). The work or fruit of righteousness is peace. That peace is a work within us, as our soul lines up with our spirit which is in fellowship directly with Christ. This is part of what is meant when

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-75491786993020142352008-08-20T13:14:00.000-07:002008-08-21T16:48:14.369-07:002008-08-21T16:48:14.369-07:00

Last post we talked a little about the reason why Christ dwells within us. I did want to follow it up to clarify that while there is definitely a transformation that happens when we pursue union with Christ, at the same time, it's not a negative thing to simply enjoy the general presence of God as well. In reality, what I termed the general presence of Christ within us was for the sake of

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-25565613291844001832008-08-19T17:15:00.000-07:002008-08-19T17:17:10.280-07:002008-08-19T17:17:10.280-07:00

A number of people I've communicated with through the years have misunderstood what it means to walk in the presence of the Lord. I thought I'd take a moment and help give some understanding and insight into this so we can know better what it is this means. First of all, let's talk about the presence of the Lord from a couple different areas. You have the general presence of the Lord, which

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-26837899568639467692008-08-11T11:59:00.000-07:002008-08-11T12:00:43.645-07:002008-08-11T12:00:43.645-07:00

In what I can only call disgusting, a new reality "Christian" TV series is going to air in Britain, where a group of 13 non-Christians have volunteered and agreed to "live by the teachings of the Bible for three weeks." Dubbed "Make Me a Christian," four so-called pastors from various religious Christian backgrounds - Anglican, Catholic, Evangelical, and Pentecostal – are supposed to mentor

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-29981818925907875952008-08-05T11:30:00.000-07:002008-08-20T13:41:10.910-07:002008-08-20T13:41:10.910-07:00

Jesus Christ: The Tree of Life - 7 The recent death of Alexander Solzhenitsyn on August 3, made a lot of people who lived through the times when he wrote his powerful books that changed an empire - reflective. There's one thing I want to mention, because it has to do with our recent theme of Jesus as the tree of life. I want to focus on what he talked about in reference to good and evil some

Tomassino Conitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00891382755384660742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-48091996446155686842008-08-05T10:50:00.000-07:002008-08-05T10:54:01.321-07:002008-08-05T10:54:01.321-07:00

The Saudi Arabian government ordered that over a dozen Christians must leave the country for meeting in their homes for worship. This is important because there was a big deal made about Saudi King Abdullah calling for "interfaith dialogue" a few weeks ago, where the media made a big deal about representives of major religions coming together. "Deporting Christians for worshipping in their

Tomassino Conitohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00891382755384660742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-75606856646321221102008-07-31T19:52:00.000-07:002008-07-31T19:58:24.056-07:002008-07-31T19:58:24.056-07:00

Sheikh Hassan Yousef - Masab's Jailed Father In an exclusive interview in Israel's Haaretz newspaper, son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheikh Hassan Yousef, Masab, says he has now turned to Christ. Masab, who has now moved to the U.S. said he'll probably never be able to return to the middle east in his lifetime: "I know that I'm endangering my life and am even liable to lose my father, but I hope

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-50746103298296917032008-07-20T14:23:00.000-07:002008-08-20T13:39:18.768-07:002008-08-20T13:39:18.768-07:00

In continuing on with our look at Jesus as the Tree of Life, I want to start off this time with the comment thousands of years ago by Soloman that there is "nothing new under the sun." Taking that insight and applying it to Christ as the Tree of Life, I want to show some of the simplicity of this as it relates to the church. Our walk with the Lord within, while it may be new to us, as far as

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-13542047178439845002008-05-28T16:43:00.000-07:002008-08-20T13:38:36.709-07:002008-08-20T13:38:36.709-07:00

Have you ever wondered what it was that Adam and Eve saw when they went to the center of the Garden of Eden and the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil stood side by side? The contrast is extraordinary. Remember one thing concerning Adam and Eve at this portion of their lives: they saw things as they were, so when they viewed these two trees that didn't have an origin on

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-27718001863212655992008-05-15T13:35:00.000-07:002008-08-20T13:37:46.834-07:002008-08-20T13:37:46.834-07:00

Now we have God no longer on the scene in Eden, at least not in the way He was at times directly communicating with Adam. At that time, the serpent starts to communicate with Eve concerning the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Notice how there isn't anything mentioned about the Tree of Life again. The entire purpose of the conversation was for Satan to get the attention of Eve solely on

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-46823530310395821712008-05-10T14:35:00.000-07:002008-08-20T13:37:05.984-07:002008-08-20T13:37:05.984-07:00

One interesting thing when reading the story about Adam and Eve and the tree of life, is God never said a thing about it. Read it and see at the beginning. It is mentioned that the tree of life was in the center of the garden, but it doesn't say God communicates anything about that to Adam - before the bringing to life of Eve, or afterwards. It only says they can eat of any tree in Eden, with the

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-36471362402306422952008-05-04T14:05:00.000-07:002008-08-20T13:35:05.231-07:002008-08-20T13:35:05.231-07:00

Adam and Eve One important thing to consider when looking at the beginning of things, as far as creation goes, was the pinnacle of creation: man. So when we look at Adam and Eve at the beginning, we see the representatives of all of mankind. What's important to know about them, before sin, is while they were made in the image of God, their makeup wasn't in the proper order yet. One thing had to

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-72330542832564994342008-05-01T19:38:00.000-07:002008-08-20T13:32:07.097-07:002008-08-20T13:32:07.097-07:00

Over the next several posts we'll take a look at Jesus Christ as the Tree of Life. Having insight into, and embracing Christ as the Tree of Life is extremely valuable; especially in this age of instant communication, where not only the volume of news and communication can overwhelm people, but the nature and content of that communication as well. The reason the Tree of Life was in the center of

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4081555114972618346.post-92059569803836749822008-04-12T17:49:00.000-07:002008-04-12T17:50:22.022-07:002008-04-12T17:50:22.022-07:00

When the church has seen the Lord and responded to Him outside of any system or in an organized manner, they never think of themselves as being named anything ... as far as many Christians today would think in terms of some type of denominational tie, or an independently named group. Some may think of this as trivial, but in reality it's an extremely important part of seeing the Lord and who He

Gary Bourgeaultnoreply@blogger.com