How Rich are You? (Riches in Christ study)

(Isaiah 55 (cross reference with book of Revelations); 2 Corinthians 6:10; James 2:5; Ephesians 2:7, chapter 3; Colossians 1:27; 2:2; Revelations 3:18)
“God doesn’t just want you to worship Him; He wants you to know WHY you worship Him….great love is born f great knowledge…learn more worship more”. –Mark Batterson, Primal.
FULFILLED HOPE CONTRAST TO “A MISPLACED HOPE” (Example- Heaven’s Gate)
Resurrection (Hope of Israel) 1 Corinthians 15: Old to New – Acts 24:15; Acts 23:6 cf. Acts 28:20; Acts 26:6-8
Titus 2:13; I Peter 1:13; I John 3:2-3; I Thessalonians 5:8; Titus 1:2; 3:7; Matthew 5:17-18
“The Old Covenant Hope (of Israel) has become the New Covenant reality”
“Eternal life, salvation, and righteousness was the hope of “this age”, but became full possession of the Church at the Second Coming” – paraphrased; The Preterist Voice

LIVING IN HIS PRESENCE (GOD CONSCIOUSNESS)
What did or was the importance of God’s presence to Old Testament Jews?
Psalms 139:7-12; Psalms 16:11; Psalms 23; Psalms 51:11
Old Covenant V. New Covenant
Exodus 25:8 Matthew 16:18
Exodus 29:43, 45 John 4:21, 23
Numbers 11:16,17 Acts 7:48
Numbers 12:5 Colossians 1:18
Deuteronomy 31:15 Hebrews 8:2
I Chronicles 6:48 Hebrews 9:11, 24
Revelations 21:3
Book- The Practice of the Presence of God
His presence enables us to live a life in response to what He has done.
• Not to get ultra-spiritual but you know that emotional moment when you sing and praise, reflect and meditate on what God has done in you and through you? That is His presence.
Jesus came preaching the: KINGDOM OF GOD
Old Testament understanding? The glories of this reality?
Matthew 6:33; Matthew 13: 31-32
Read- blogs @ Freaked-Out Mindset (Mike Miano) – “What are You Screaming with Your Life?”
“God’s people, in God’s place,- under God’s rule” – PresentTruthMag.com
Restoring Eden!
Prophecy concerning the Kingdom of God: Ezekiel 36-37; Isaiah 7,9,11,51,53; Ezekiel 47 cf. Revelations 22; Daniel 9
GRACE AND FREEDOM IN AND THROUGH JESUS CHRIST
Personal Righteousness- His Righteousness
Temporary Forgiveness- Complete Forgiveness
Old Covenant Law- New Covenant Grace
Romans 7-8; Acts 15; Ephesians 2:8; Romans 14; Galatians 6:2; James 2:8

HEDONIST-OUR LIVES ARE TO GLORIFY HIM, BY SEEKING HIM!
The Riches of Incomparable glory- Ephesians 2:7
“God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him” – John Piper, Desiring God
Psalms 16:11; Hebrews 12:1-2; Philippians 3:8; Matthew 13:44-46; Psalms 37:4; Whole book of Ecclesiastes

SHINING THE LIGHT OS SALVATION (EVANGELISM)
• Consider the lyrics to the song, Shining the Light of Salvation, by Desperation Band
o “We were made for such a time as this, to make a difference in the world we live. Now we live!...Whose living a life worth living, were shining the light of salvation”.
John 1:4-5; John 8:12; Revelations 21:23; John 12:46; Matthew 5:16; I Peter 2:9
The Lamp Parable- Mark 4:21-24
Salvation was a promise to the Jews, which would eventually through fulfilled promises of the New Covenant reach the Gentiles: Isaiah 11:9-11; Luke 2:32; Isaiah 42 (specifically verse 6); Isaiah 49:6; Acts 13:45-47; Acts 26:22-24
Tree Parable- Mark 4:30-32

NEW HEAVENS AND NEW EARTH
“NEW”-changing the world
This New understanding should lead us in love to “turn the world upside-down”
Revelations 21:1; Isaiah 65:17 (both speak to Salvation, our relationship with God)
-Note that Isaiah’s context was the coming New Covenant

SONS/ DAUGHTERS OF THE MOST HIGH! LIVE IN THESE RICHES!
Romans 8:14, 19; Galatians 3:26-29; 4:5; Ephesians chapter 1

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

Some thoughts...

Well, I really enjoyed last week’s blog, so it was hard for me to want to write another one. I figured, if I had one thing to say to the world or even more so to the Body of Christ, it would be to exercise prophetic imagination, so why continue???
Well, I am learning over and over that life is a journey of learning, and I guess that is what makes is exciting. Once we stop learning or think we got it all together, we are doomed.
So the reading I have just finished was my pastor’s book – Reading the Bible with New Covenant Eyes (author- Alan Bondar). This was a great read, and provided much insight into my latest doctrine framework of – Full Preterism.
I wanted to share some thoughts………
A great analogy that Alan used in the book was the story of Galileo Galilee. If you are not too familiar with that name I will explain a bit. Now Galileo was a “scientist” who proposed a new finding about the way we looked at the universe. In the 1600’s it was assumed that the sun stars, etc revolved around the earth (Ptolemaic theory of geocentrism). What Galileo proposed was the heliocentric theory of Copernicus, which said that everything revolved around the sun. Well this was heresy, in science and church, IT CONTRADICTED THE BIBLE!! Or did it????
One part I found quite amusing (oh and yes, I went and looked it up after Alan mentioned it; you all should know me by now!!).I was amused by the fact that some scientists wouldn’t even consider looking through the telescope at his findings, oh Lord how stubborn we are. I truly do believe that once we think we got it all together, we have dumbed ourselves down.
Now why am I ranting about this?? Well, that situation is a lot of how we approach Biblical doctrine. We fail to look through the telescope at views that could very well be right, but we feel we got it all together. Where is the humility??
I would strongly urge all to pick up a copy of Alan’s book and read it, yes you can read it with critical eyes, I am sure Alan would approve, but in the end – the earth will revolve around the sun. 
Also, as I have been delving into a full preterist understanding, I am realizing how much the prophetic imagination is needed. Since our hope has been fulfilled, and we are surrounded by a world living in desperation, how do we spread this hope? We all know what the Word of God says about hope deferred don’t we? Well how can we help a lost world understand that hope is PRESENT?? = PROPHETIC IMAGINATION!!!
“a very dangerous thing, likely not only to irritate all scholastic philosophers and theologians, but also to harm the Holy Faith by rendering Scripture false”. – Oh boy, we need not be as “stubborn as an asp”.
In love and joy- of a fulfilled hope,
Michael Miano