Monthly Archives: April 2013

“BULA” MAN-RIVER – ANSWER TO “MORALISTIC THERAPEUTIC DEISM” – BY KIANG P LEE

Greetings Friends Around the World Over,

I hope you will find this post helpful in discerning a misleading belief system that’s extensive in the world today among Christians. It is called Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, or MTD in abbreviated form. May you have the understanding, and exercise the courage to depart from any worldview which distorts and does not faithfully represent the Gospel of Christ. May you remain true to the reality we have in Him, who alone can give us a lively hope with energizing joy.

The title of my post today is, “Bula” man-river as the answer to Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD).* Consider the following statements I have excerpted from my book, “Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living,” from which you can read the points of difference that separate the two belief statements – the worldview of MTD, and the beliefs and practices of the “Bula” man-river. **

MTD-1 “A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.”

“A god exists who created and ordered the world…” Excerpt from my  Book: “One of the most important and overlooked aspects of Jesus’ mission was that He came to reveal to us the true nature of God. Throughout His mission, Jesus made reference to God as His Father (John 17, 1:1-5, 14-8). John attests to this Father/Son relationship, saying, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known” (John 1:18). Jesus also mentions another personage in the unified Godhead – the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-18, 25-26; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Matt. 28:18-20). Jesus came to reveal the true nature of God by revealing the Father, the Son, and the Spirit, and to show that God is triune in His nature and not solitary. God is ONE trinity. That is, He is the union of three persons in one Triune Godhead. He is not alone; He is not individualistic; He is not isolated or reclusive. The triune love between the Father, Son, and Spirit was something that was never seen articulated in humanity until the Son came and took upon Him His creaturely human body. (Pg.21-22, 182)”

“…and watches over human life on earth” Excerpt from my  Book: “From the beginning Adam and Eve experienced this miraculous life firsthand – they were given a home that God supernaturally materialized before their eyes, the Garden of Eden. God did not point out a jungle and instructed them to plant a garden themselves. No, God lovingly and meticulously planted the garden himself. God’s love is impartial – he has unreservedly set aside his love for every man, woman, and child for all time, and nothing can make him change his mind. He sacrificed his only Son to prove his love for all mankind. However, this intimate relationship can be made to happen in human reality. God waits upon man to choose to freely love him as He has chosen to freely love man. life of God. This life of miracles is one He intended for all humans to experience for all time… Miracles always remind us of a life we cannot inherit as humans, but we experience it as a foretaste of our future in God’s glorious realm. That’s our birthright.” (Pg.11-13, 18)

MTD-2 “God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.”

Excerpt from my Book – “From the essence of God’s love springs all gifts and all goodness… The apostle Peter defined God’s ministry in humanity this way: He is among us for nothing but good (Acts 10:38) This is clearly seen in the message of the Gospels. Wherever Jesus touched the lives of people, miracles happened. Regardless of who they were, it’s clear the only proviso was faith. We’re all special to Him. We are all born for this miracle-filled life as a direct act of goodness from the Creator Himself.”

“It’s not possible to speak of the Spirit’s work in the Bula man-river without the fruits that identify who He is – it’s one and the same, it’s unavoidable. (1Cor.13) Most times when people think of the fruits of the Spirit, they often view them academically through the legalistic lens of religious proponents who uses them to make “better people” of us. We live powerless lives when we do. We are not zombies, but free-will humans made in the image of God. We can view these fruits in a purely academic frame of mind, but they are first and foremost the energy and spark of the Spirit in the life of the Bula man-river. We can exercise them as some self-righteous human behavior or we can give ourselves to the Spirit to let His energy inspire our actions in them. The practice of the fruits of the Spirit is not for some hollow “self-improvement” exercise for human personal gain. The fruit is the Spirit’s creative energy for developing loving relationships with our God and our fellowman.”

“On the contrary, we fail to realize that from eternity these fruits undergirded the loving relationship of the three persons within the Triune God. Love’s energy is brought to life in the application of these fruits. In our constant presence before God, the Bula man-river share this energy and the creative relationships we have within the Triune existence of God. Now you are in their midst living the same life they live from eternity and tasting that life in the Spirit. This is the birthplace of gifts, dreams, talents, and calling… This defines the mechanics of Trinitarian living. The fruits of the Spirit articulate God’s love and undergirds all human relationships of the Bula man-river within the Triune existence of God. Jesus “lives creatively” in the power of the Spirit through us as Bula man-rivers from which we derive our inspired abilities (Matt. 16:24; John 8:12, 12:26; 1 Pet. 2:21). We don’t take the “creative fruits” of love in the Spirit and bottle them up inside us – that is “reverse flow”; it’s stagnation and lifelessness.”

“When relationships are motivated by fear they become twisted, for relationships are made for love based on the Triune existence of God Himself. His promise to each of us rings clear through time, because you’re a Bula man-river, you’ve come back home to Eden, from here on, “My love and goodness will chase after you every day of your life” (Ps. 23:6, The Message emphasis added)” (Pg. 156, 112-113, 25, 213)

MTD-3 “The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.”

Excerpt from my Book: “I echo the insightful comment made by Trevor Hart in an interview he gave to “You’re Included,” that “God made man to enjoy being in His presence.” That, in its simplest form, is the Gospel (Ps. 16:9, 11; Neh. 8:10; John 16:24). The purpose of miracles is to make that possible because God is Spirit and we are human and physical. To bring us into His presence, as a human, can only mean to live in a ceaseless joyful miraculous existence. That is why God declares He made every day to be enjoyed and rejoiced over (Ps. 118:24). He is declaring the state of His own existence, which, as a “unified being” in Jesus, we can enjoy by miraculous intervention. It is a presence lived both in this human life and in the life to come. When we have children, they come in our likeness because they have our DNA in them, and so it is with God. Man has God’s DNA in him, thus making the miraculous life possible.”

“To live your “dream-life” is your miracle, and it is the place to attract more miracles because that is His place and purpose for joy. We can simply tell a story that’s articulated in the interaction we have with God in our individual purpose and “life-gift.” That’s the basis upon which the subject of our calling and purpose. Life and gifts comes fused together and are inseparable. Therefore, a person’s “life-gift” or dream is always magnetizing to him or her. That’s to say, the “life-gift” is the magnet to a person’s life. We either flow with our gift or swim against it. Whoever a person is and becomes is only as good as the gift that defines him or her. Talent, purpose, dream, call it what you will, is what gives man purpose; without it, life is meaningless. There’s only one genuine and legitimate life God gives us, and through which He communicates Himself to us – our “life-gift” or purpose in life. Our purpose is founded upon Christ, “the author and finisher of our faith,” who is the storehouse of all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom (Heb. 12:2; Col. 2:3).” (Pg.17-18, 159)

MTD-4 “God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.”

Excerpt from my Book: “God has dreams to give each human as He gave to Joseph – if we will walk together. As I said, God’s hand is always outstretched. The question is, are our hands equally stretched out to His to live this life? To live your “dream-life” is your miracle, and it is the place to attract more miracles because that is His place and purpose for joy. Angels exist for this very purpose. That is essentially what this book is about – miracles! Miracles specific to you as a person made in the image of God, with a gift, your dream-life. Miracles are the product of God’s love. By being connected to His love you will find your miracle dream-life.”

“The primary attractant of miracles is the person’s purpose and dream-life. God wants to enter your world and give you the birthright that’s yours as a human made in His image. Your name bears your destiny, and your destiny bears your name. God’s love for man is beyond our comprehension. In other words, His love is like a river that never stops flowing, day or night. His hand is always outstretched to us. He has never left us, but we have left Him. This departure began in Eden when paradise was lost. God’s constant participation in our lives will make miracles more common; that’s obvious because of the interaction of the spiritual and the natural. This miracle-life is a participatory life. It’s like a dance—with your Maker. A dance is a “hands-on” activity done one-on-one, and done intimately when love is the magnet.” (Pg. 12, 17-18) 

MTD-5 “Good people go to heaven when they die.”

Excerpt from my Book – “None of us signed a contract to die someday, return to the ashes of the earth, and be forever forgotten. The words the Creator uttered reveal man’s ultimate goal to be freed from the power of death. So we see the beautiful thoughts of God in creating man to share His image of immortality. Paul said, “It is appointed for man to die once and then the resurrection to judgment and to immortality” (Heb. 9:27; 1 Cor. 15:50-58; Phil. 3:9-11; Rev. 20:4-6, 11-13). That’s the ultimate purpose of becoming man-rivers of God. In God’s spiritual kingdom, there are as many offices and purposes as there are people’s destinies (John 14:1-3; Matt. 25:34). Every man, woman, and child is born to fill an office in His transcendent monarchy for which He has bestowed gifts to all. The first and greatest gift God gives man is His Spirit, who is the deposit of immortality. The purpose of life is to enter that place of promise, with immortality to live that life of destiny we have all been given. So the Bula man-river carries with him the seed of immortality.”

“This is our new life in Jesus’ death, resurrection, and ascension (Heb. 8:6-11). The heart of fear dies and reincarnates into a heart of love (God). This is the miraculous life we have been called to live, for nothing but a miracle can make it happen. He gave us His Son, so He too had to adopt His own humanity, thereby using the medium of humans as a blessing to humans through His life, death, resurrection, and ascension. That is what we inherit with Jesus and the Spirit in His Triune existence – something outside of our material existence – God’s Triune nature of love. When man is stripped off his fallen humanity and his material world in the resurrection, all he is left with is the love of God that never dies. Like Christ, we will have glorified human bodies natured in the love of God. For God is love (1 John 4:8).” (Pg. 12, 30, 34, 151)

From the presentation above, the Lord’s hand is extended in love to each and every one of you. He invites you to experience the miraculous life we have in Christ when we give ourselves to become Bula man-rivers in His hands, and live life that is truly life. (1 Tim.6:19) I invite you to read my book and see the breadth of God’s Triune love for you. May God’s blessing be with you all.

Kiang                                                                                                                                                             (Your Servant in Christ) 

The term Moralistic Therapeutic Deism or MTD, was first introduced in the book “Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (2005),” by sociologists Christian Smith and Melinda Lundquist Denton. Their book was the result of a research project, the “National Study of Youth and Religion,” private funded by Lilly Endowment. The authors find that many young people believe in several moral beliefs that they label Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, and are given below:

  1. A god exists who created and ordered the world and watches over human life on earth.
  2. God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions.
  3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself.
  4. God does not need to be particularly involved in one’s life except when God is needed to resolve a problem.
  5. Good people go to heaven when they die.  (www.wikipedia.org)

 

** The “Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bula man-river, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book. Thank you for your support.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise

Note: Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information

PREACHING THE GOSPEL AS A “BULAMANRIVER” – BY KIANG P LEE

Dear Friends Around The World,

Once again, I am optimistic you will find today’s post helpful and gives abiding hope for you, your loved ones, and those close to you. My sincere desire is that it will bring you an energizing joy which only the Spirit can give.

For most people “preaching” the Gospel means television ministries, great outdoor crusades, missionaries, and even efforts by religious institutions whose posture is highly legalistic. However, there is a practice that the “Bulamanriver”* “preaches” the Gospel that is authentic in its biblical form. For the Bula man-river, the Gospel is received and “preached” on a personal rather than an institutional posture and orientation. This is not to say it is the only way, but the principal way.

Let’s be clear what the Gospel is, so we’ll understand what it is we are to “preach.” The heart of the Gospel has to do with the sin-problem of mankind. Therefore, the Gospel is about God giving mankind His beloved Son who came and lived the perfect human life, was crucified as the perfect sacrifice, and became man’s Savior. Jesus became who we are so that we can become what we can never become on our own – to live eternally as God’s children in His Triune presence. The Gospel is about Jesus becoming God’s righteousness in man, thus liberating man from the sin-problem once and for all. Therefore, the Person of Christ is the Gospel, not the ‘good news’ about Him that man frames in his legalistic construct.

Sin is Personal

The sin-problem is personal which began at the behest of Adam’s crushing but nonetheless personal choice in Eden. Therefore, the Gospel’s message is in essence, a personal one. The Gospel is only as effective as the person who takes ownership of the story of the Gospel’s saving grace. God’s righteousness is imputed upon man by Christ who dwells in him on a personal level. Peter said we are “living stones,” that is separate individuals, being built into a spiritual house for a habitation of God. (1Pet.2:5)

Hence, I reiterate the claim of the “Bula man-river as the personal, living, walking, Gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s to say, your life is in itself “preaching” the saving story of Christ’s Gospel. (Gal.2:20) No amount of “preaching” to the masses will replace “preaching” on a personal level which the Spirit does like “living waters” flowing in a believer. (Heb.8:11-12) There can be no more powerful “preaching” of the Gospel than that done personally by the Bulamanriver (you and me) in whom the Triune God lives and walks. Christ and the Spirit, both of whom interpenetrate the “living waters” of the Bulamanriver is the essence of the Gospel “preached.”

How did Jesus, our Example, “preach” the Gospel? He taught the people mostly through parables. Notice that Jesus said He “preached” in parables to ‘hide’ its meaning from the masses. Why? He answers that the secret or mystery of the Gospel (Kingdom) was given to the few (the disciples) on a personal level who have received Jesus as their personal Savior, but not the many whose minds were dull of hearing and lacked the faith to believe in Him. (Matt.13:10-16) The masses came to Jesus for the miracles, not the Gospel of His messiahship. So, we see Jesus “preached” to reach individuals personally, not the masses. Does this mean the Calvinist doctrine that God has chosen to save only some people and not others is valid? That’s a whole different discussion, but the short answer is, no.

The method of telling the story (“preaching”), no matter how elaborate it may be in terms of style, economy, and structure, remains unfruitful if a person does not take ownership of the Gospel story on a personal level. That is what was happening to the masses in Jesus’ time. Jesus said, “Don’t waste what is holy on people who are unholy. Don’t throw your pearls to pigs! They will trample the pearls, then turn and attack you” (Matt.7:6) This is what the basic construct of the Bulamanriver in as far as preaching the Gospel means to a person who receives Christ personally. He personally treasures and take ownership of the story of God’s unfathomable grace in the Gospel.

File:Brooklyn Museum - Jesus Preaches in a Ship (Jésus prèche dans une barque) - James Tissot - overall.jpg

Jesus Taught in Parables (Wiki Commons)

I said in a previous post that the Bulamanriver provides for us a healthy and practical depiction of man’s relationship within the Triune life of God. It is only through such a relationship of man living as a Bulamanriver that Jesus Himself “preaches” the Gospel in the person – personally. In taking ownership of the Gospel, a person can find joy and confidence in his or her place in the life of God who is Triune. The Bulamanriver understands he or she is a riverbed, hidden and covered in the “living waters” of the Spirit in Christ.(John 7:38-39)  It begins personally in the person’s heart, as the Spirit flows into the valleys and communities the believer has been preordained and charted to have communion.

How do we do this? The Gospel is not just ‘good news’ we frame in our legalistic construct. It is first and foremost about a Person – the Second Person of the Triune Godhead, in whom is hidden all knowledge and wisdom. (Col. 2:3) The Gospel story and our own personal story and destiny are part of and blended into the story of Jesus own life as the Son of God who is our Savior – the very heart of the Gospel. If the person does not take the story of the Gospel and make it his own story, no matter how much “preaching” he hears, the person is still entrenched in his own self-centered story that is right in his own eyes, and he has not changed his story to harmonize with Jesus’ Gospel. In my book, “Bula man-river – The Miracle of Triune Living,” I said this,

“Man also has two gifts: one is the “core gift” of the Spirit, and the second is the “life-gift” of his calling and purpose. His “core gift” makes him a Bula man-river, and his “life-gift” takes him where the “living waters” flow into the valleys. Gifts are the natural outgrowth of freedom, which takes place in a biomeic process in the life of the Bula man-river. It is through the “core gift” of the Spirit that we obtain our personal talents in our “life-gift” and come to know Jesus truly. For it is also through our “life-gift” and purpose that He reaches out to people as He flows through man in the Spirit (Heb. 8:11). Of course, the “life-gift” is not what gives us salvation. Jesus’ “finished work” has already done that. Our dream-life is the reflection of Jesus’ Person (Gospel) and love in us, which puts flesh to our salvation.” (Pg.94, 100)

The end-result of living life as a Bula man-river is the essence of what “preaching” the Gospel of Jesus Christ is about. May God’s love envelope you and give you joy in your spirit.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to write me in the space provided below, or email me on bulamanriver@gmail.com.

Blessing:

Until we meet again in my next post, may the blessing of the God who ceaselessly expresses Himself in His dependable Triune Love, be with you always. May the Spirit enliven you and make all things concerning you possible in Triune Living as a Bulamanriver.*

Kiang                                                                                                                                                                  (Your Servant in Christ) 

* The “Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bulamanriver, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book. Thank you for your support.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise

Note: Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information

THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST THROUGH THE EYES OF THE “BULA MAN-RIVER” – BY KIANG P LEE

My Dear Friends Around The World,

Once again, I affirm the hope you will find today’s post helpful and gives abiding hope for you and your loved ones. My sincere desire is that it will bring you the energizing joy of the Spirit to make your day complete.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ can be explained in many ways as Jesus Himself taught us. He gave colorful illustrations in the form of His parables. Sometimes parables are not immediately understood until it is further explicated, as Jesus explained in the parable of the sower. (Matt.13:1-23) Be that as it may, all roads lead to one illuminated meaning of the Gospel: it is the Good News about what God has done to reach out and save mankind. It is about how the Triune God entered our humanity in Jesus to join man to His Triune existence, which we could never do for ourselves. In this post I will explain the Gospel through the parable of the “Bulamanriver.” Like Jesus, my hope is you will discover some “secrets” (Matt.13:11) of the Gospel you may not have perceived before. Let me explain some terms about the “Bula man-river so we are on the same page.

“Bula”

“Bula” is a Fijian word which means “life.” In the Fiji Islands it is commonly used as a greeting, like ‘hello,’ when you meet someone, although it has lost its literal meaning. It is often used with an adjective, “Vinaka.” So, “Bula Vinaka” literally means to “have a good life.” It is a greeting which comes with a blessing.

Fiji Flag – “Bula” Vinaka is Fijian Greeting Meaning “Good Life to You” (Pic: Wiki Commons)

Man-River

Man-river derives its meaning from Jesus portrayal of the life of a believer, “Whoever believes in Me as the Scriptures has said, rivers of living waters will flow from within them.” By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him would later receive” (John 7:38-39).

“Bula man-river”

“Bula man-river” is a man who is given true life in Christ because of the flow of the “living waters” of the Holy Spirit. Man is the riverbed with the Spirit of the “living waters” flowing in and through him. The Spirit of “living waters” is the flow of God’s love through man. (Rom.5:5) People come to the river to interact with its “waters,” not the riverbed (you). The “living waters,” God’s love, is the attractant the people is drawn to in the “Bula man-river.” The “Bula man-river provides for us a healthy and practical depiction of man’s relationship in the Triune life of God. In this relationship, man’s role is to “hide in Christ” (Col.3:3) for he or she is dead and as a riverbed is buried in the “living waters” of the love of God in the Spirit. (Gal.2:20) People don’t see us, they see Christ living in us, like the “living waters” cover the riverbed.

Rivers are charted waterways. That’s to say, they don’t change course, but flow into prescribed valleys to water and provide life and abundance to all river dwellers. Likewise, the “Bula man-river” has a prescribed destiny, endowed with gifts, with which to “water” the valleys with God’s love he or she has been pre-ordained to flow through.

The Ocean

There is a naturally recurring effect in nature which attracts all rivers into one magnetizing center – that central place is the ocean. All rivers naturally find their way to the ocean. The vast ocean is the metaphor for God’s greatness who gathers all “Bula man-rivers” into His Triune Being and existence. And so we see the “living waters” of the Spirit, while He is always unified in His Triune existence with God, simultaneously He is flowing into the riverbed of man. In the process, He is constantly and continuously taking man in one ceaseless flowing movement, through the valleys, and into the ocean of God’s presence, through Christ who took our sinless and now glorified humanity beyond the veil and seated man with Him at the right hand of the Father. Then, in God’s circle of life, it starts all over again, just like a river that ever flows, and renews life and makes life pristine each and every day, to the ocean forever renewing the “Bula man-rivers,” who in turn renews the valleys. (Lamentations 3:23)

File:Garden scene, Daedalus Reef, Red Sea, Egypt.jpeg

Marine Life (Wiki Commons)

This is a beautiful picture of man’s reality as God sees him in His Son. This is the Gospel. This is the Good News. The Spirit is constantly taking believers through the valley of their calling they are ordained to water (love), and into the presence of God through Jesus in a flowing movement that never ceases where Jesus and the Spirit interpenetrating the “living waters” in the “Bula man-river.”

What’s the “secret,” as they say, in how we make this miraculous life our own reality? This parable, like Jesus’ many parables, reflects the reality of God for man. They are not fairy stories or fables. Parables are supposed to make God’s spiritual reality more lucid to our physical minds about them. So, the “Bula man-river is the union of the Triune God in man, and man in the Triune God. How does this take place? How does this come to be in man?

In my book, “Bula man-river, The Miracle of Triune Living,” I explained the parable further by depicting man in his fallen state of being as “Bulu man-river.” “Bulu” is another Fijian word meaning “to bury” as in burying the dead. In the meaning of the parable conveyed here, “Bulu” means the “living dead.” If you have read my book, “Bulu was the name of a river from which my wife and I and two friends were saved by the Lord and His angels from certain death. It was from this miracle that Herald eventually led me to write this book. I said,

“There is a spiritual river flowing in every person’s life. A river is a motif for life and how life is lived. A person can flow in one of the two rivers. One is the river that produces a life of fear, lack, and ultimately death. I call that “Bulu” or death. The other river is one with “living waters” that produce love and abundance. I call this “Bula,” another Fijian word, which means “life.” What the Lord made me to see is that humans are really “Bula” or man-rivers in God. Man is a repository of this spiritual river, hence the term “man-river” (John 7:38, 4:13-14). (Pg.16)

“Living Waters” – Metaphor for Spirit (Pic: Wiki Commons)

The “Flush-Out”

I go on to say, “How does man change from a deadly man-river to a life-giving man-river? How does he transmute from a river of fear, want, self-centeredness, egotism, and death to become a river of life with the “living waters” of the Spirit that will bring love and abundance? It is done through the miracle of the “flush-out” process miracle takes place in every person where the internal river in him/her is changed to the Bula man-river of life. The momentous day in history occurred when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born into the human race. He is God and now He is also man. The birth of Jesus was the greatest miracle event in the story of man. The miracle of the “flush-out” occurs when a person’s faith transmits the cleansing agency of Jesus’ blood. Faith is the conductor of miracles as electricity is in water. The atoning blood of Jesus flushes out the deathly waters of Bulu and replaces it with the Bula “living waters” of the Holy Spirit (John 7:37-39, 4:10). The “flush-out” inaugurates in man the life of God in place of death. Man is now the Bula man-river of God. At this moment in time, the life of Jesus and the Spirit, the blood and “living waters,” flow in the Bula man-river – you!”  (Pg.40)

I hope this post has given you encouragement fully recognizing the reality of the Spirit’s life in you, leading you, and inspiring God’s love in your actions and the way you live.

May God’s abundance and love, flow and bless and keep you and your loved ones. And may your life be embraced in the Triune bond of love, as a riverbed with full-flowing “living waters” (Bulamanriver*)

Kiang                                                                                                                                                                  (Your Servant in Christ) 

* The “Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bula man-river, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book. Thank you for your support.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise

Note: Any information obtained from this website that is used for publication should be acknowledged by citing the website address, date of acquisition and information pertinent to original authorship. For general guidelines regarding web citations see The Guide for Citing Electronic Information

THE MISSING LINK IN REPENTANCE – BY KIANG P LEE

Greetings Friends All Over the World,
I hope you will find my post today beneficial and gives you abiding hope both now and for the future. My sincere desire is that it will bring you the energizing joy of the Spirit to make your day complete.

The ‘missing link’ raises an important part of the Christian’s life that may have been overlooked and omitted, albeit unwittingly. Believers of the Christian faith point to Jesus Christ as their Savior, and refer to the symbolism of the ‘cross,’ as their affirmation to this claim.

However, we forget one important step of forgiveness through the ‘cross’ – repentance. We tell people to receive Jesus but don’t tell them how. Repentance means to acknowledge our sinful state, and turn to God for forgiveness (the ‘cross’). In my Book, “Bula man-river” I metaphorically likened repentance to the “flush-out” of deathly waters which flow in man, in exchange for the “living waters” of the Spirit. We assume repentance is part of the ‘cross,’ and it is supposed to, but most times it is not presented together as it rightly should.

Repentance is a vital part of the Christians life. Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you too will all perish” (Luke 13:3, 5). The Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost, uttered a powerful message of repentance to the people through Peter, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38). The repentance and the ‘cross’ are two separate acts that dovetails into the other in one movement – you cannot have one without the other. Sometimes, repentance can take time depending on the person’s response to it, and his or her subsequent grasp and need for it. When time is of the essence, the Work of the ‘cross’ is held at bay by the person’s response, waiting for repentance to bring the person to the foot of the ‘cross.’

Missing Link
But here is the question to do with the ‘missing link.’ When a person comes to the point of understanding and sees the need for repentance, however long or brief that may take, is the awareness of his or her sins enough to take the vital second step to the ‘cross’? The answer is, no! Our awareness for repentance, which the Holy Spirit gives us, does not equal repentance. Awareness simply makes us recognize the need for repentance. It is not repentance. For it is humanly impossible for man to repent of his or her sins. Man does not have it in himself to repent unconditionally and absolutely as God expects of him. That is why Jesus had to come. That is why He is the Good News (Gospel).

Only Jesus, in His perfect sinless divine/human reality, has done that. If it takes the ‘cross’ to save man from his sins, then how is it possible man can repent of his sins? Jesus does and mediates in both these vital activities in man, it’s that simple. People have wrongly assumed repentance is ‘man’s part’ and the cross is ‘Jesus’ part.’ No, salvation is entirely God’s Work, which He does in man through the power of the Spirit. If only He can save us from our sins (‘cross’), then only He can repent of our sins in our place. This is what the Triune love of God is, and what collaborative Triune living means. We are never left to ourselves, and He never leaves us. We cannot accept one without the other – we can’t accept His ‘cross,’ without His repentance. They both go hand-in-hand in one movement of faith in His complete saving Work.

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We can’t accept His ‘Cross,’ without His Accompanying Repentance (Pic: Wiki Commons)

In our awareness of our fallen state of being which constantly generate wrong choices in life (sin/trespasses) that brings on heartaches and pain, repentance and the ‘cross’ enables us to live vicariously in the perfect glorified humanity of Jesus in heaven, Whom the Father accepts on man’s behalf as the only sure and complete mediation for man. This does not gives us the license to live in care-free abandon, but rather, sin or the mistakes we make in life that brings on suffering, pain and eventually death, creates in us the awareness for the need of a Savior to help us repent so we can be forgiven and follow the right path blessed with life, not death. It is a life which Paul told young Timothy, “the life that is truly life” (1 Tim.6:19; 4:8).

Repentance and forgiveness (the ‘cross’) initiates our relationship with the Triune God through and in Christ. Our need to repent on an ongoing basis is intended to take us to its reality in Christ. Just as no other but Jesus saves man at the ‘cross,’ only He can repent for our forgiveness on a continuous basis. I explained this in my Book, “Bula man-river,” this way,

 

“A person cannot repent and forgive his own sins, but it’s done for him by the miraculous act of the Spirit through faith in Christ. Jesus, though He had no sin to repent of, assumed the “baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” of John the Baptist in the place of man (Luke 3:3; Matt.3:13-17; Rom.6:3-4). Likewise, though Jesus was sinless and did not deserve death, He was crucified for mankind’s sins (John 19:16-18; Rom. 6:6-8 2 Cor. 5:21) Jesus’ baptism/repentance marks man’s point of true conversion, and His death, resurrection, and ascension marks his point of true forgiveness and entering the new life in the Spirit (“living waters”). He is now the Bula man-river who takes his stand in the finished Work of Christ (Rom. 5:12, 18-19, 21; 6: 4-8, 23; 1 Cor. 15:22; Eph. 2:1, emphasis added).”

453px-Bom_Jesus_do_Monte_(6103767739)Jesus Christ – Savior of Mankind (Wiki Commons)

I go on to say, “Man repents because Jesus has already done it for him, not because man is capable of doing it for himself. These are gifts from God our Father, which today, are ritualized in church ceremonies. Jesus ministry encapsulates His complete mediation for humans which began at the repentance for man’s sins in the Jordan, and ended at Golgotha for the forgiveness of mankind’s transgressions. His life in between these two momentous acts, embodied all our human responses He carried in healing all our pain and suffering, in body, mind and spirit. He is the “author and finisher of our faith” (Heb. 12:2 NKJV).” (“Bula” man-river, The Miracle of Triune Living”, Pg.41-42)

Repentance and forgiveness are important because they are vital steps that takes us into the realm of living the miraculous life in the Triune Being and existence of God in the Father, the Son Jesus, and the Spirit. And make no mistake, this miraculous life, springing from these two pillar-decisions we make in Christ, makes all the difference how you and your loved ones will live life to the full today, and by extension, your community and the valley (people) you will flow through as a “Bula man-river.”* For it is in our encounter with the Triune God that the miraculous life is lived and articulated.

Have a blessed and miraculous day!

Kiang                                                                                                                                                                  (Your Servant in Christ) 

PS: Go to FAQs at the top read meanings to the term “Bula man-river” if you have not read my Book. I hope you’ll be inspired by my miraculous encounter with the Lord and His angels.

* The “Bulamanriver” is the metaphor describing the union of man with the Love of the Triune God flowing in humans, making possible the “Triune Life” – the source of the miraculous life in man. To read the many facets of life of the Bula man-river, go to my website www.bulamanriver.com where you can order a copy of my Book. Thank you for your support.

All scriptures are taken from the NIV Version 2011, unless stated otherwise

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