Is God Writing A Trilogy?
January 28, 2025
I Want In!
Is it possible the story doesn’t end with the New Testament, and that God’s in the middle of writing “The Newer Testament” right now?
That would make the Bible a trilogy.
Isn’t God all about 3’s?
I could see it starting out with “Second Acts” about the here--and-now training process we're in. This would by followed by a whole series of books that center on the glorified Church ruling and reigning over the currently unexplored universe.
Think about it. Would stories of super-heroes and wars among the stars capture such a passionate and timeless part of mankind’s heart if there wasn’t a seed of Truth in them? Why would they resonate so deeply if it wasn’t a foretaste of the destiny God has planned for us? And these stories would be necessary for whatever layer God is preparing after that.
Eternity will be layer upon layer of endless increase.
"Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end." (Isaiah 9:7)
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him and are called according to His purpose. But He has revealed it to us by His Spirit.” (I Corinthians 2:9)
I firmly believe that all
our deepest fascinations, even the sinful ones, are watered-down versions and tiny glimpses into the heart of the God of the Universe. We all know the devil is an imitator, not a creator. He wants to divert us from the amazing mystery of God, and the only way he can do it is through deceiving us into living for the cheapened version we call sin.
That’s all sin is: Settling for a cheapened, corrupt version of what God has created.
And where does it start?
It starts with
focusing
on a cheapened, corrupt version. Filling our minds with it. Spending so many hours scrolling through social media, you tube videos or TV channels that we have no time left for the TNR PLAEP stuff of Philippians 4:8.
“Be transformed by the renewing of your minds” (Romans 12:2) doesn’t mean, “Be made boring by changing into a straitjacket." No, confines come with
sin, not
God! God is all about freedom and exploration and discovery. We’ve barely scratched the surface.
These
are the stories to be
lived
and
told
and
read.
That is what I want to give my life for.
I want to pen these stories.
And this
is super motivating to me, from Romans 8 in The Message:
“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike ‘What’s next, Papa?’ … If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him! That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.”
Okay, I’ll stop there even though I want to write out the whole chapter and shout it from the rooftops.
I’m planning to start with our oldest daughter. When we were preparing to adopt 4-year-old Anna in 2008, an ad was put in newspapers to get the attention of any biological family who may have been unaware. That’s the day Anna’s biological father found out she existed. Needless to say, it began a season of heartbreak for him, as he was not in a position to raise his newly-discovered daughter. We promised to stay in touch and send him annual updates. But the past few years these were returned without a forwarding address.
Then Anna went on a hunt for him, and found him through Facebook. They built a relationship online, and then she flew out to meet him in New Mexico over Thanksgiving. Her heart was captured, and now she’s planning to move there on March 1. At least for a season. There’s plenty of heartbreak around here
as we prepare for her to leave, but anticipation as well. She’s ready for a new season in life. Her childhood and adolescent years were full of trial and triumph, and now as a young adult, she feels like she’s been in “intermission mode” long enough.
So watch for my upcoming post: “Anna’s Story.” I hope it’s the start of many to come. We need the encouragement that, in spite of our weaknesses, God’s got The Ultimate Mystery Story underway and we're in it.
Live your part well today,
Aunt Michelle
Dear Nieces & Nephews, Did you know that rules stimulate the desire to break them? It says so right in Romans 7:5. “For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death.” Bingo. The source of all my parenting woes! The law. Rules. What’s a parent to do? Get rid of rules? “By no means!” to use Paul’s phrase. Jesus didn’t come to get rid of the law, but to fulfill it. So if I’m to follow His parenting example, I don’t get RID of our rules, I fulfill them. What?! What in Heaven does THAT mean in the heat of battle? I wish I could give a clear, concise answer, but all I have is hints that I’m collecting in a bucket. Do you care to join me? If not, skip the next twelve paragraphs and jump back in where I tell you Lexie’s inspiring story. This is what I've got in the bucket so far: Rules, like “The Law” of the Old Testament, reveal the existence of naughtiness. Without them, we wouldn’t even know what's naughty. We need them. The problem is, they also stimulate a desire to break them. Which leads to pain. (Keep reading Romans 7-8. It paints quite a picture.) If God provided a way out of this pain with sacrifice born out of deep love (dying on the cross), maybe we can do the same for our kids so they can experience it first in the natural realm. “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you,” with natural consequences we neither rescue them from, nor remove ourselves from. We’re still there, with them as they suffer. Yes, we suffer too. Ugh! But with the kind of suffering that brings joy. Maybe God-inspired deep-love-sacrifice releases our kids from the tyranny of forbidden-fruit-infatuation and sets them free to live in a new way, deeply rooted in connection instead of rules. Because our connection to them pulls them into our connection with Christ , facilitating their connection to Christ , which sets them free from sin and changes their whole mindset. Eventually. In a slow progression of their minds learning to choose Spirit ways over sinful nature ways. One small painful step at a time. While we parents have absolutely no control over which way they choose. One of my dear ones stashed every forbidden candy box and wrapper ever collected in their dresser during my ongoing war against sugar in our home.
Dear Nephew, What do you want for your birthday? Like really, really want , so deep down you’re afraid even to say it? I feel like God’s waiting for you to say it. He knows what you want, He just wants to make sure you know what you want. So say it. Then hold onto it with all that tenacity you’re famous for, until you see Him bring it about. He put your deep desires in you for a reason. It’s been a painful process of sorting it out from the surface wants that are so fleeting and even damaging. When I used to take you all shopping and you got to choose something you wanted, the other kids would quickly grab something off the shelf. But for you, it would become such a process. You were so worried you were going to choose the wrong thing and be disappointed. These past few years, you have had many disappointments. From rejections of your love, to devastating breakdowns, to friendships not working out, and then all these health problems. Disappointment times infinity. I believe it’s been a process of sifting in your heart that has been so painful you don’t know what to do with it. I hate to watch it. I hate to see your pain. I think breakthrough is right ahead of you. It’s probably not going to look like you expect it to, but I think it will look many times better. Above all you could ask, think or imagine. Because God’s goodness is infinite. Where it looks like He has forsaken you and let you down, He’s just not coming through in the small things because He needs you to let them go so you can grab hold of the big things He’s offering you. There is so much champion in you. So much skill. Such refreshing wit. Such a winning smile. Such a blend of tenacity and tenderness. I can’t tell you how proud I am of you. How relieved that we are still close. I want to team with you for whatever is ahead. I love you from the bottom of my heart, Aunt Michelle
Dear Nieces & Nephews, You’re always on my mind. I’m hoping that with the approaching holidays and Camp Fire gatherings (more on this later), I will see you in person soon. In the meantime, here’s to writing again! I was part of a mom-care panel a couple weeks ago, sharing with homeschool moms some of my triumphs and failures in caring for myself while caring for children. The next day, while that was still on my mind, Aunt Marian called to offer me a week’s stay in a cottage at Christmas Mountain in The Dells because of a last-minute cancellation. I accepted, and God took such good care of me there! I decided what mom-care ultimately means is letting Him care for me, and cooperating as He directs me to assist. We moms would call that “obedience.” A good friend told me recently, “Michelle, if I was God, I’d give you an A+ for effort and a D- for results. But that’s not how God grades us. He grades us on our obedience. Some plant, some water, but it’s God who provides the increase. Just keep doing what He tells you to do.” OK. I can do that. I’m actually really good at obeying. I mean, I can put my nose to the grindstone, grit my teeth and plow as only a mule can. I’d make a really good mule. I’m not so sure mules are happy though. Our Midnight is, but … well … she’s never worked a day in her life and knows nothing about obedience.
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