I don't know about you, but for me the words saved and salvation all too often come across as little more than expressions of the shallow, religious mind of man. Don't misconstrue my meaning, for I still use the words. But not like I used to. Now, I don't address these things to irritate or push you away, but rather to stir you to reconsider what being saved really means. I want you to find confidence and joy in true deliverance, not in a religious substitute.

For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, Colossians 1:13

He rescued (saved) us from the domain of darkness. Let me ask you something: When you read that statement, did you automatically limit the scope of what it means to be rescued by Christ in order to understand it? What I'm saying is that this deliverance, this salvation must be recognized as all-encompassing as it has been stated. You see, the domain of darkness from which Jesus rescued us doesn't represent something to which we never belonged, but rather it was the arena of our former existence, the world that defined everything about us: our thoughts, our actions, our motivations, our imaginations, and so forth. From this domain we have been rescued!

But not only have we been delivered from the very sphere of our former existence, we have also been transferred to another reality, which is the kingdom of the son of God. Once again, let the vastness of this reality overwhelm you! Let the all-encompassing scope of what this means break down all of your preconceived ideas. You see, we cannot define this reality by limiting it as either something in the here-and-now or somewhere off in the future, for our citizenship in the kingdom of Christ has brought us into the one who is not bound by any perception of man.

The Shovel Shack has moved!

Although I'm still tweaking a few things at its new home, the Shovel Shack has moved to a new domain: shovelshack.org. The former Shack domain, shovelshack.net, will remain as an archive of a decade of past discussions. If you haven't been around in a while, or even if you have never visited before, why don't you stop by? Please note: being registered on the old Shack does not carry over to the new Shack, which means that you will have to register again to participate. Come on, check out the new Shovel Shack!

Shovel Audio

Adam and I have recorded another audio, The Miraculous Significance of Tongues. We both would love for you to take the time to listen. It should prove worthwhile. We'd love to hear from you.