I Am Free to Love!

Well friends, today or rather yesterday I completed my 30 days of reading through the Bible (this was suppose to be in a Ramadan fashion, but safe to admit I didn't fast properly and didn't get to attend any iftar's with Muslims, bot exactly happy about that, but life goes on).
Anyways, reading through the Word of God is always a journey and new truths speak out every time, this time even more than any other time. Honestly, these lats couple weeks I feel like I have been getting a handle on this whole "Good News" thing. Truthfully, when I ask many (not all) other Christians what the "good news" is that we call "gospel", I don't understand what they see as good news, and I don't think they see it either.
So, really what is the "good news" that Christ came to tell us?
Well let's look back. We know that God instituted the Old Covenant with the Israelite people in order to draw a people unto Himself, who would give Him glory and could have a sample of His presence by following the Law. Only through sacrifice and obedience could God be sought out. Just think of life like that, "touch not, taste not", as we read about the Ark of the Covenant and all these religious themes we can sense the fear the people had of being "cursed by God". The really radical thing that we continually see is that God has always wanted the deeper things such as the heart and love of man rather than simple outward religious faith.
I Samuel 15:22- "Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the voice of the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice and to heed is better than the fat of the rams".
I would rather advise you to read the entire chapter of Psalms 51, but I will quote a part of it to illustrate my point. "O Lord open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it, you do not pleasure in burnt offerings, the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart (Psalms 51:15-17a)". For more verses read Hosea and Micah.
Do you see it? God does not want the outward stuff, but rather what comes from inside our hearts, and we see Jesus compellingly criticizing the Pharisees of His day concerning these matters. But the Law of the Old Covenant made the outward things necessary!

So then comes this Messiah, the anointed one, who will essentially make "all things new", thus the term "New Covenant". The kingdom (presence) of God and righteousness will no longer need to be a thing sought by men by standards and Law, but rather will "dwell among them". This was a big deal to the 1st Century peoples, especially the religious people. The law of God, or rather the Law of Christ would be written on the hearts of men (Jeremiah 31:33-34, Hebrews 8:6-13 and 10:14-18). What is this law? The law of Christ (1 Corinthians 9:21, Galatians 6:2, amongst other verses that illustrate this point).
So as the title of this blog says, "I am free to love!". Come on sing it, you know the song! What exactly does that mean? I am free from having to tell people they are sinners and must live right because by love I can show them the love of Christ and be a light in the midst of darkness. I am free from having to live a partially sanitized life, but rather can serve God through a life of love and service. I am free to live, to truly be in the world not of it, and I mean really live without stressing "is this a sin", "should i be around these people", "should I be in church right now", etc. That my friends, in the glory of the New Covenant that stressed out the religious people in Jesus' day and continues to do so in religious circles today.
Consider the Galatians factor. The church in Galatia had this exact problem, when the religious Jews began to mix with the Gentiles.This religious spirit is clearly called what it is, hypocrisy, because it is against the freedom to love of the Law of Christ. Read Galatians chapter 2:11-21.
"The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love (Galatians 5:6)".

Consider the fact that under the Old Covenant Law, even the supposedly righteous religious leaders committed sins against the rules, but yet their outward appearance of being holy, gave them a false sense of righteousness ("I'm better than you"), but it was exactly that FALSE! Christ brought the reality of the Law which was recognizing that even though we are sinners, through love (Christ's law) we can seek His kingdom and His righteousness.

Truly understanding this new, alternative, radical, revolutionary change that Jesus Christ brought into affect is what makes a believer "freak out". Jesus Christ presented the Jews of His time and us today with a new opportunity to experience God. Consider the recent religious cliche' of "It's not about religion, but relationship". Very true!

"But thanks be to Gold, who always leads us through triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing (2 Corinthians 2:14-15)".

I urge you my fellow believers, seek to truly live and read the Word of God through New Covenant Eyes (for more info, check out newcovenanteyes.com)

All for the sake of righteousness, peace, and joy,
Mike Miano

Decisions..Decisions....A New Covenant Life

Greetings in Christ. As of now many have probably already heard the situation that occurred between Gabriella and I yesterday. For the confused, upset, and indifferent minds, I right this blog to explain my current understanding and way of looking at things.
Just to give a brief re-cap, Gabriella and I got into an argument about my actions that seemingly led to me being labeled a "cheater". All of this came from a situation that was blown out of proportion on her part, and poorly managed on mine. It resulted in a bit of craziness and facebook confusion to say the least.
So whats going on? Well, I am in love with Gabriella and many who are reading this have been involved in the conversations that I express this over and over, so bear with me. We have had our ups and downs through our almost 4 year relationship, been through many discussions with others, and have been labeled "un-equally yoked", "fornicators", etc... In any relationship this would be chaotic, so it has played a toll on ours.
Obviously, now is a time of decisions. Is this relationship healthy, is it going to work, can we somehow get over this, etc.. I clearly understand that these things need to be thought about, discussed, prayed about, and acted on. But what I would like to express is a clearly cohesive decision-making understanding of the New Covenant given to us through Christ Jesus.
Many people will say, "God wants you to do this...", "God made this happen for a reason", "God is telling you...", etc..and thinking through this way of thinking has spurred me to disagree. The New Covenant put an end to the "old order of things (Revelation 21:4 )". Jesus Christ has given us a way of freedom to truly freely choose what we would like to make of our lives, I don't have to wonder in fear if this relationship will keep me out of heaven or even pray for hours about God revealing a special truth to me concerning Gabriella and I. That is the blessing and the curse of the New Covenant, you are truly free to do what you want with your life and accept the consequences as they may be. We need to stop putting God into a situations He has not put Himself in. Yes, God is Sovereign over everything and that is understood from the outset, but God is not making things happen in Gabriella and my relationship, it is simply the nature of things. I value practical advice and I guess that somewhat attributes to my understanding of Christ Jesus and the ways that pleases Him.
Basically, the decision making process I propose is that we have the freedom to choose to do whatever we want with our lives- that essentially is the New Covenant. With that blessing of freedom comes the fact that our decisions will ultimately lead to consequences that none other then ourselves have brought to fruition. I don't have to fear that I am walking out of God's will either way I make the decision and that goes for most decisions, but I can trust that the divine nature of things will work that way.
What is God telling me? Well, as Hebrews chapter 1 explains that God now speaks to us through His Son, Jesus Christ which we understand to be the Word of God (John chapter 1). I am not in the Bible, but God's divine truth guides my decisions and will produce the fruit in my life that needs to be there as long as I persevere and continue to:
"Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness....(Matthew 6:33)".
Please continue to keep these matters in prayer and that I may find rest in His presence.
In Christ, seeking blessings,
Mike Miano

Moralistic Christianity- An in depth look at "SIN"

I would like to use this message to speak a bit about sin. Most people who know me, know my attitude concerning sin and the religious mind-set. I HATE IT!
I strongly believe that too many Christians are focused on the wrong thing. So many times do I get into legalistic discussions about what is or isnt sin, so with this blog I would like to clear aware some issues.
What is sin? Sin comes from the root meaning "to miss the mark". I would use the analogy of a dart board. If you throw a dart and miss the bulls-eye, no matter how close you get, if it is not in the little ring, you MISSED the mark! So in matters of sin, no matter how hard we try we still miss the bulls-eye of perfection, so why argue about how far or close we can get. We are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God.
This all comes from a recent discussion with a dear friend concerning what is sin and what isnt. Let me be upfront, I HATE TALKING ABOUT SIN, and that is justified because God hates sin! Why do we focus on what we shouldnt be doing, when half the church isnt doing what they should BE DOING. Here is a couple quotes for you to ponder "I am about my Fathers business" and "seek first the Kingdom of God". SO STRAIGHT FROM JESUS CHRIST: GET FOCUSED ON WHAT WE SHOULD BE DOING!
I am in the middle of reading an excellent book which touches on this topic. "A Renegade's Guide to God by David Foster". The book speaks about the difference between religion and Christianity. Religion is about the good and the bad, rules and regulations. Christianity is about following the resurrected, living Messiah, Jesus Christ. "Life, and life more abundantly". Two great questions he posed in the book were : Who decides what is right for who and How good is good enough for God?
Galatians 2:16 says "a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus...". So even if you want to be legalistic and make rules after rules, you still will not be justified, so why not just focus on following the Messiah and letting him prune you off sin (John 15:2).
Let me say, I absolutely love the analogy that David Foster uses. So, lets say you have an excellent driving record, no tickets, never been pulled over, or anything (obviously nothing like me). One night while driving you fall asleep at the wheel and hit a car full of teenagers, all of them die. Do you think anyone will remember or talk about your awesome driving record after that? No, and thats similar to how God views our sins. We know we dont have an excellent driving record with God, but if you did, we all know we will continue to sin until we receive our glorified self, so in Gods' eyes your righteousness doesn't amount to anything besides "filtered language - dirty rags". See, even the Word of the Lord can be quite straight forward. We must remember all sin is equal (James 2:10).
Read Matthew 5:20. That should be a clear cut to those who try to be goody-two-shoes. You can try by all your righteousness, but I will focus on following Jesus the Christ, and let Him alone redeem me.

OK, I would like to conclude this with a study I did a while ago. (yes, this is my famous sin study with the man who wanted to argue tattoos are sin, which is another FUN one.)

Ok, what is sin? I John 3:4 says "Sin is lawlessness"
So the next question would be, whats is the law? James 2:8 says "If you keep the royal law found in scripture, love thy neighbor as thyself, you do right. Or even as Romans 13:10 says "Love is the fulfillment of the law".(c.f.- I John 3:11,Galatians 5:14, 2 John 6).
God is Love- I John 4:8

The message of salvation in Christ is very simple, and in scripture we are warned against those who make it difficult. This is what the Pharisees did. (2 Corinthians 11:3). God never changed the Law but rather He brought our focus back, The leaders at the time of Christ had led so many away from God and focused on sin because the Law is for sinners (Romans 3:19-24). The Law is good IF USED PROPERLY (I Timothy 1:8-11).

The spirit of the Pharisee is still alive today. Many so-called Christians are judgmental, picking others faults, white washed catacombs, making up new laws etc..And this is not meant to bash, but make you aware. Our focus should be living out the image and idea God created in us.
BUT..
Here is more of an argument for freedom by grace.
I Corinthians 6:12 tells us that everything is permissible, might not be good for you though. (c.f.- Titus 1:14-15, All of Romans 14).
When should you limit this freedom? In love! Remember we have the law of love! Romans 14:13-23
A Spiritual man can be judged by no man (I Corinthians chapter 2)

Ok, I hope that was an in depth look at sin, for all those who dwell on that matter.
THE ENDING OF THE DISCUSSION IS THIS...
LET'S SAY, I DO THAT WHICH IS SIN, I FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD, WHAT'S NEXT? CAN YOU SAY THE SAME? IF YOU DOM, THEN YOU ARE IN TRUTH, IF NOT YOU ARE A LIAR! SO THEN, DO YOU SEE HOW FUTILE IT IS TO TALK ON AND ON ABOUT WHAT IS OR ISNT SIN? LET US LEARN FROM THE WORD OF GOD, LIVE LIFE FREE AND IN LOVE, AND LET GOD PRUNE US OF OUR IMPURITIES,
AFTER ALL, ISNT THAT WHAT HE DOES?

THANK YOU, GOD BLESS, IN CHRIST,
PASTOR MIKE MIANO