Authentic Freedom Ministries

Jesus of Nazareth

I cannot claim to know the ultimate truth about who Jesus was and who he continues to be as the Christ.  All I know is that I claim Jesus as my teacher, guru, counselor and guide because of the things I have learned from him, through his life and through his teaching.  The reason I call him teacher is because of what I  have come to understand as the truth that Jesus taught and continues to try to help us to understand. 

• God is unconditionally loving, kind, compassionate and merciful. 

• We are One with God and through this oneness we are one with each other.

• God is love.  God made us out of love, for love and by love.  As such, love is our true nature.  This Divine love cannot be denied, nor does it have to be earned.

• All people are created as equal and are valued equally by God and we are invited to do the same. There is no discrimination based on race, creed, religion, gender or sexual orientation.  All are love. 

• There is no sin, therefore, there is nothing to be forgiven.

• The desire to be forgiven is ours alone.  We desire to be reconciled to the God that we have chosen to believe is separate from us. 

• What we call sin is merely a reflection of a deeper unhealed spiritual wound, rooted in our false perception of separation from God.  This unhealed wound is what has sometimes been called “original sin”.

• What we perceive as sinful behavior is a cry for help.  The “sinner” needs healing, not condemnation or shame.

• Jesus came to heal this wound that affects all of humanity.

• Jesus was raised from the dead (though I’m not exactly sure what that means) and through the resurrection, fully embodied his own Christhood.  As the Christ, he is able to be present to each of us in an intimate and personal way as friend, counselor, teacher, healer and lover

• Jesus continues this healing work through each of us when we allow ourselves to be vessels through which his healing love can be shared in the world.

• Each of us is uniquely gifted to be a vehicle of God’s healing grace.

• When we accept the call to use our gifts in service to this healing, we are participating in the Body of Christ and the very act of salvation. 

I guess I would say that the above list is my personal creed.  These are the principles out of which I desire to live my life and the motivating factors for the ministry work that I perform.  Of course, I don’t always succeed in living this out, but it is my driving intention.  I do not seek to impose these principles on anyone else, neither do I assume Jesus to be everyone’s chosen guru.  While I recognize that there are many teachers who have come to share the same truth that Jesus came to reveal, it is through Jesus that I began to get a glimpse of this truth and can honestly say that it is because of my relationship with Jesus that I have found healing and freedom in my own life.  This is why I call Jesus my teacher.