If you re ever in Brazil make sure you don t leave before you ve sampled the delights of Bob s burgers.  It is one of Hayley and my first ports of call whenever we are here. The burgers are great but the Ovaltine milkshakes are pure nectar - ohmygosh! They re worth the trip on their own.  So naturally it was to Bob s for a late lunch with our dear friends David & Vivianne who have returned from David s native Sweden to resettle in Vivianne s native Brazil.   It was wonderful to spend time with them before heading for the HTV studios to record a programme about the Bonsai Conspiracy that will be broadcast on Friday night.  

Having arrived at the station it was an unexpected pleasure to meet a young four-piece vocal group called Communion we met in the green room they were singing on the programme that I was appearing on and then staying on to record a show of their own which they invited us to stay and watch. I am so glad I did it was magnificent.  After their show we had some time together.  What a delightful connection. On stage they sing like angels off stage they carry themselves like real gentlemen.  I am writing this morning listening to their CD on my laptop and looking forward to Sunday when we hope to be ministering together.  The group were deeply impacted by the message of God s unconditional love and acceptance that I shared on the show.  

I must admit I was a little surprised that I was given the complete freedom to present the message behind the Bonsai Conspiracy. Without feeling the need to temper or redirect my thoughts Eber, who is class act a very good TV chat show host encouraged me to speak about the book. I am intrigued he said, we all know what a bonsai is and we can see from this excellent cover what is at the heart of your message but tell me in your own words what is the Bonsai Conspiracy? I contrasted the plight of the bonsai restricted by its shallow pot and manipulated to remain small by a deliberate process of selective pruning and that of the Palm trees of Psalm 92 who, without interference burrow their roots down deep into the life giving soil of grace. Explaining by allegory how the roots of the palm fathom the depths of Christ versus the shallow pots of religion and the shoulding shears of legalism.   I talked about how for the formative years of its life the palm tree produced no visible fruit an anathema of course to the religious mind.  However, as their growth continued invisible to the religious eye of instant gratification their leaves like hands raised in worship stood aloft in adoration of their Creator.  Meanwhile, beneath the surface its roots burrowed further and further down to the very water table of divinity from where it would draw its life and in the words of the Psalmist where we are to draw ours The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the Lord; they flourish in the courts of God. They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteous in him.   Ps 92:12-14

The show s host, Eber was graciousness itself and truly he possesses a deep understanding of grace.  The last time I was on the show he summed our message up as succinctly as anyone I have ever heard What we are saying here is that the only thing that matters is knowing who you really are the Christian identity is the key to it all. Wonderful! This time with even more economy he nailed it This message of free grace this is the true Gospel.   Eber kept on loading the gun and so I kept firing the bullets.  The gunshots went on well into the night.  Eber asked me how we have sought to engage with and train church leaders in this message with leaders and what problems I have encountered. I took aim! .. Actually I was very measured in my reply. We talked about the three seasons of life in 1 John 2:12-14. I explained John s definition of the little children and we spoke about total forgiveness. Then I simply asked how many Christians he thought believed that their sins, past, present and future had been forgiven. A tiny percentage he conceded.   Without pausing for breadth I talked to him about the ministry of condemnation that is the staple diet of the church because they have not appropriated total forgiveness.   It was time to cue communion - we were already there!

Liberdade Liberdade! - Obrigardo Senhor

Sola Agape

Paul

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