Comparison, Judging and Testing

The verses for my reflection today are from Romans 14:1-10 NIV:

[1] "Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. [2] One person's faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. [3] The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. [4] Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand." 

[5] "One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. [6] Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. [7] For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. [8] If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. [9] For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living." 

[10] "You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister ? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat."

These verses are closely related to the verses I was reading and reflecting upon yesterday, which were from Paul's letter to the Galatians, and having to do with comparison and boasting only in the Lord, having a proper perspective about one's self.  Today Paul is writing about not judging others in their walk and obedience to the Lord.  Here are those verses from yesterday - Galatians 6:1-10 NIV:

[1] "'Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. [2] Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. [3] If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves. [4] Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, [5] for each one should carry their own load. [6] Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word should share all good things with their instructor."

It seems that the verse 4s are related to each other, for they each speak about the individual and allude to their relationship with the Lord, which is unique.  We can get caught up in the idea that somehow our purpose, is everyone else's purpose.  It is my belief that the Lord treats us each uniquely as each of us is unique in the world.  We somehow think that by comparing ourselves to others, judging their actions, thoughts or beliefs that we move ourselves forward in our purpose.  

Recently there have been several videos of racers who are in the lead, turning to look at how far ahead they are, and stumbling and falling flat.  I was reminded of those videos as I read these verses this morning.  There is something about comparing ourselves that takes our eyes off the goal, and off the Lord and that is dangerous.  Paul again writes something that is very helpful in his letter to the Philippians 3:13-14 NIV: "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, [14] I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

We do our best in following the Lord, embracing His call for our lives, encouraging others in their pursuit, but not comparing ourselves. As I was thinking about this, I had an image pop into my mind.  What I saw was a bunch of students in a classroom, taking a test.  What they didn't know was that they were all taking a different test, each unique to them.  I could imagine the students looking around trying to see how they were doing compared to their fellow classmates... and the teacher smiling and informing them that the test in front of them was different than the test in front of everyone else, and designed specifically for them.  Suddenly, there would be no reason to look around, no one that could help with the answer.  Each student would be locked in on their own test... and responsible for completing their test themselves.

Wouldn't it be a great thing if we learned to live this way in our pursuit of the Lord, and His call in our lives?  He is better than the best teacher, He knows each of us perfectly and wants each of us to succeed.  He is most interested in our success, for we are representing Him.  

Can we learn to encourage one another without comparing ourselves to each other?  Can we be for one another, and also embrace our personal call and invitation in Him?  Can we focus on the test at hand, and not the test in front of our brothers and sisters?  Can we believe that the Lord is fully capable of teaching and guiding all of us, and that He doesn't need our help?  

Today I am encouraged to look at my own life, to consider those things the Lord has invited me to do, and to focus on them only.  I love Paul's statement - "To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand." 

Amen, He is able!

Authority Given to Mankind

This morning I felt led back to Matthew, chapter 9, which I just spent a few days reflecting upon earlier in the week.  Apparently the Lord isn't finished opening my eyes to these verses.  I do love these deeper mining times, for I am always amazed at the additional streams and themes I discover as I dig a little deeper. Anyway, here are the verses - Matthew 9:1-8 NIV:

[1] "Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. [2] Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

[3] At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, “This fellow is blaspheming!”

[4] Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? [5] Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? [6] But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” So he said to the paralyzed man, “Get up, take your mat and go home.” [7] Then the man got up and went home. [8] When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to man."

I always enjoy reflections on the miraculous, for my faith is bolstered and I am encouraged to believe for bigger things.  This morning, my focus landed on the last bit of verse 8, "... they praised God, who had given such authority to man."  The way that last bit reads, it seems that this authority has been given to man, as in mankind, and not just a single individual.  I need to do a bit of a deeper dive on the original language.  The word here translated man, is the Greek word anthropos, and it does indeed mean mankind.  Here is the verse 8 translation from Young's Literal translation:  "and the multitudes having seen, wondered, and glorified God, who did give such power to men." ( Matthew 9:8 YLT)

This giving of authority to mankind is what I understood when I read this verse this morning and it definitely grabbed my attention.  I am part of this "mankind" that was given such power and authority.  The word used for authority or power in the two translations above is "eksousia (from 1537 /ek, "out from," which intensifies 1510 /eimí, "to be, being as a right or privilege") – authority, conferred power; delegated empowerment ("authorization"), operating in a designated jurisdiction." 

I love that! We have been given power, or granted authority, or delegated empowerment when operating in a designated jurisdiction!  In this case Jesus was demonstrating authority to forgive sins, as well as authority over sickness or whatever physical condition caused the man's paralysis.  This should make our minds tilt a bit!  The people who witnessed this event were filled with awe!  They knew this was amazingly good news! 

What really grabs me this morning is the fact that we, as in mankind, have been given this authority and power.  This seems to me to be a restoration of that which Adam and Eve lost in the garden.  This is really significant!

My questions this morning are:

1) Do I believe this?  Answer... sort of
2) Do I live this?  Answer... maybe a little
3) If I did believe and did live this out, how would my life be affected if I went all in?

It is clear that this is not something one of us could just decide and do... for the authority comes from the Lord!  He is the one who delegates and empowers!  However, if this is His desire and will, then it is available.

I am reminded, as I reflect on this, of one time I was given authority to lead our highschool band for a girls basketball game.  For some reason our Band director couldn't be there, and he asked me, as one of his trusted senior leaders, to lead the band.  I was filled with a certain amount of trepidation, and had not fully been briefed on the "rules" of playing for a game.  While the event went off and everyone enjoyed it, I, in my excitement broke some of the rules of fair play, rushing to start a song before the other school's band could start, even though it was their turn, etc.  A few days later our band director received a letter complaining about our behaviour, and I was questioned and explained my over-exuberance, and I am sure my immaturity was evident. 

My point in this is that delegation of authority without proper training can be a dangerous thing.  I didn't hurt anyone, other than some people feelings, and certainly didn't properly represent our school or band director.  It is important that we embrace the training the Lord provides us, embrace His teaching and correction, and take the opportunity to grow.  The Lord does desire us to step into the authority He has given us, and we must be mature and represent Him when we do step into His invitation.

Lord, help me to believe and live my life accordingly. Help me to represent You with the proper love, mercy, compassion, kindness, gentleness and patience.  I want to grow in Your ability to trust me!

Amen and Amen!

God's Kingdom Inside

Last night I was reading some of my writing from 2015 and came across a reflection on the Kingdom of God inside me, and I found it very encouraging.  In fact, this morning I revisited that blog entry and noticed that I  wrote another related reflection continuing on the theme of the Kingdom within and found that equally encouraging. 

Here are the links:   

https://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-kingdom-within.html

http://amomentwithgod-srh.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-kingdom-is-within-you.html

My prayer this morning is that this critical truth will be more evident in my life!  Lord, help me to live as if Your rule and reign extended over me, for it certainly does!  I pray that you might be equally encouraged!

Amen and amen!

Fasting and New Wine Skins

This morning I felt led to read from Matthew 9:14-17 NIV:

[14] "Then John's disciples came and asked him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?” 

[15] Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. 

[16] “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. [17] Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

This morning the fact that Jesus' comments about New Wine in new wineskins was related to religious fasting, caught my eye.  While I have reflected on these verses several times, (similar verses are found in Mark 2 and Luke 5), the fact that the origin of the question was related to the behavior of Jesus and his disciples compared to John's disciples as well as the Pharisees, is interesting.  

John's ministry was definitely something different, but apparently not new.  He was calling people to repentance, a very traditional prophetic theme, and baptism, which seems related to the cleansing rites, but was clearly related to sin.  John said the following as recorded in Matthew 3:11 NIV:

“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire."

John's baptism is clearly a topic I need to pursue.  However, the topic this morning is fasting.  The verses quoted above follow Jesus and His disciples feasting with Matthew and his friends, immediately following the calling of Matthew from his previous role as tax-collector.  Apparently Jesus and His followers did not practice fasting in the same way as John and the Pharisees, who did it "often".  

I figured it would be good to do a little research as to the fasts of the Pharisees, which is also mentioned in Luke 18:12. Here is a brief commentary - This practice had no divine sanction. The Law appointed only a single fast-day in the year, the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29). By the time of Zechariah there seem to have been four yearly fasts (Zechariah 8:19). The bi-weekly fast of the Pharisees was a mere burden imposed by the oral Law. The days chosen were Thursday and Monday, because on those days Moses was believed to have ascended and descended from Sinai, Babha Kama, f. 82, 1. The man boasts of his empty ceremonialism. ( https://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/18-12.htm)

It is quite likely that John and his disciples continued this type of practice, for the two groups are compared together.  John's ministry drew huge crowds of people to the Jordan, and his ministry definitely was a call to repentance, calling people back to God!   One would think that he wasn't particularly popular with the Pharisees and Sadducees for he did criticize them.  Here are some verses describing his ministry - Matthew 3:5-8 NIV:

[5] "People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. [6] Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. 

[7] But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? [8] Produce fruit in keeping with repentance."

It is interesting that no real mention is made of his disciple' fasting, at least that I am aware of, but it appears to have been quite evident.  The Pharisees, when fasting, made it a public spectacle and were more interested in their perceived piety than actual repentance, as John called them to produce actual fruit in keeping with repentance.  In fact, there is an interesting note in Luke regarding the Pharisees missing their call because they rejected John's message - Luke 7:29-30 NIV:

[29] "(All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John. [30] But the Pharisees and the experts in the law rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)"

Back to fasting, the focus for me today.  The idea that fasting was a requirement to somehow earn holiness originated in man's religion, as noted above.  Jesus, the Holy one, certainly didn't need to fast, nor did He require His disciples to fast.  I think this is actually one of the early examples of the Gospel of Grace in action (my opinion).  There is no earning a position as a follower of Jesus, He chose them, and invited them, and it was their acceptance and then following after Him that  opened that door for them.  His choice and their acceptance, that's it.  No special penance, no other requirements. This was definitely different than what the Jews were used to, and certainly different than what the Pharisees espoused.  

I think this fasting question was really just the tip of the ice-berg, if you will, of the questions concerning how different Jesus' ministry was compared to everyone else.  He taught with authority, had authority over demons, had the power to heal, to do miracles, to feed thousands!  He was unafraid of the outcasts, the sinner, the lepers, and ministered to the individual.  He loved and served and didn't pursue the popular opinion, nor people in power.  He proclaimed the Kingdom of God at hand and then demonstrated it through healing and deliverance, and all of this was done for free!  He told His disciples to do the same and to take nothing with them, but to give away everything freely, here is Matthew's version:

Matthew 10:7-10 NIV:

[7] "As you go, proclaim this message: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' [8] Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give. 

[9] “Do not get any gold or silver or copper to take with you in your belts--- [10] no bag for the journey or extra shirt or sandals or a staff, for the worker is worth his keep."

This really was a radical commission, especially when compared to anything they would have seen previously, which brings us back to Jesus' follow on comments about new wine and new cloth.  Jesus' ministry was radically different, His Gospel of Grace was confusing to the religious. His call to love and serve, and embrace humility was not popular amongst the religious leaders.  They didn't mind fasting as long as it earned them respect and advancement for themselves.  The focus of the ministry of Jesus was completely on others, not Himself.  This type of ministry required new thinking, new understanding, and a  new relationship. The old models and understandings were unable to flex enough to accept this radical difference. You couldn't add a little flexibility to the old to accommodate this new way, which is Jesus' point.

There are many times that I find myself slipping back into the religious mindset, thinking that if I "do some more holy things" that I will earn the Lord's favor. I find myself focused on myself, and that is the first indication that I am on the wrong path.  My focus, like Jesus', should be on others!  I have in me the same Holy Spirit, and as Jesus commanded, "Freely you have received, freely give." My focus should be on others and on my relationship with Him, my source for identity and authority.  My call, regardless of my state in life, or occupation, is the same as everyone else's call.  We are called to follow Him.  We are called to love one another, as He loves us.  We are called to freely give what we have freely received.  We didn't earn anything, its all a gift, and we should be willing to share with all who are in need.

This morning I am encouraged to look at my life and see if and where my focus is on myself, rather than on others or on my relationship with the Lord.  I am encouraged to consider how I might freely give what I have freely received!  I am encouraged to look at my thinking to see where I am trying to embrace any sort of "earning the Lord's favor" for myself. 

Lord help me to truly embrace this Gospel of Grace!  Help me to embrace the new wineskin!  Help us all Lord to represent You and not man's religion!

Amen and Amen!

Work With All Your Heart

This morning I thought I would read from Paul's letter to the Colossians. While I normally will start in a chapter with my highlighted verses, this morning I started reading in the little bit of this chapter that wasn't highlighted.  Anyway, this approach led me to two verses that were helpful for me this morning. HEre they are - Colossians 3:23-24 NIV:

[23] "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, [24] since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."

Lately I have been absolutely slammed at work, putting in 60-70 hour weeks consistently, traveling a bunch, missing times of prayer, etc.  Sometimes I am so focused on my work, for it is quite mentally demanding, that I lose any sense of being aware of the Lord or hearing His voice.  I have read these verses many times, and while they are quite familiar, today they were helpful to me in setting my heart at peace. 

I know that I am in this job through the Lord's clear direction and help, and my being in this role is part of His plan for me.  Sometimes I forget that fact, and these verses helped remind me today that my working hard at this job, is actually a form of worship.  I am embracing fully God's plan for my life, agreeing with His direction and laying down my life to do this role to the best of my ability.  Even though I don't always feel like it, I am serving Him. My work, my effort, my attention, my energy are being focused on doing that which He has directed me to do, and that encouraged me today!!

I think at times I become so lopsided in my thinking that I feel the only ministry that matters is "ministry" and all other forms of employment are somehow "less than" in God's eyes. I was talking to a young man a few weeks back and he was expressing this very thing, as a fault in the younger generations of Christians, that somehow they think the only call of God that matters is the call to "ministry" and everything else is somehow inferior.  

This morning as I write, I am reminded of the 30 years of life that Jesus lived as a carpenter's son and then as carpenter Himself.  He so thoroughly fulfilled this role that people in his hometown couldn't believe He was the Messiah (See Matt 13:54-57). While we often think that this hidden life that He lived in some way was less, the Father was very clear about His affection for Jesus at His baptism, which occurred before He started His active ministry.  His words are recounted by Luke 3:21-22 NIV:

[21] When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened [22] and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

This morning I am encouraged that I am doing exactly what the Lord has called me to do, and so in doing my job, I am working for Him.  While I might be an employee of my company, I am an adopted son of the Father, and He takes pleasure in me, in my work in my efforts, and in me!  He is well pleased when I serve Him to the best of my ability, even if it isn't in "ministry"! 

Thank You Lord!

We "Belong" to Each Other

This morning I felt led to read the following verses  - Romans 12:3-13 NIV:

[3] "For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. [4] For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, [5] so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. [6] We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; [7] if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; [8] if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully." 

[9] "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. [10] Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. [11] Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. [12] Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. [13] Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."

I love verse 5, "each member belongs to all the others"!  This is so true and something the church in America struggles to understand.  Many are so focused on our own little bit, our own gift, or our own vision, even our own expression as a congregation, that we forget that we belong to a greater Body of Christ, and we all need each other!  In fact the truth is nothing we have is for ourselves, we belong to each other, so do our gifts, vision, faith expressions, and even our congregations!  

Looking at the original Greek, it reads slightly different and here is Young's Literal Translation of the verses -  Romans 12:4-5 YLT:  "for as in one body we have many members, and all the members have not the same office, [5] so we, the many, one body are in Christ, and members each one of one another."

I actually like this version for it explains it a bit better at least in my mind, though awkwardly.  We are all part (many) of one body (Christ's) and only find our connection in others (each one of another).  Our place can only be in context to the rest of the body.  As I wrote that I thought of the single puzzle piece, compared to the whole puzzle.  No single puzzle piece contains the whole picture, it is only in connection and context of all teh other puzzle pieces that it connects with that its place is seen and understood.

Lord, help us to understand our absolute need for one another!  Help us to 'not think about ourselves more highly than we ought' but to recognize that it is only in joining together with everyone else in the Body of Christ, that we find our true place!  Help us to learn to define ourselves not through our specific gift, or place, but to understand our place in the bigger picture.  Help us to call back those that we need to complete the Body of Christ!

Amen & Amen!

"The child" Yehoshua

Last night before heading to bed, I was reflecting back over my earlier reflection on circumcision, and as I was thinking about it, I remembered that Jesus was circumcised, and that it was described in Luke.  I turned there as I wanted to make sure my memory was correct, and sure enough, Luke recorded the following - Luke 2:21 NIV:  "On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise the child, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived."

This single verse really grabbed my thoughts, for prior to His circumcision, Jesus was known as "the child".  Jesus custom is quite clear, that sons are named on the 8th day, the day of their circumcision. This is part of the written law, and Jesus fulfilled every bit of the Law, and thus was circumcised. The fact that Jesus, the Only son of God, the Word made flesh, came to earth and for 7 days was officially known as "the child" just blows me away.  Continuing on with this line of  thought that the Lord,when He instituted the rite of circumcision, knew that one day it would apply to Him.  

I guess I am just reminded of the absolute humility that He embraced in coming to earth, and being born as a man. He held nothing back!  He embraced humanity in every way, and was willing to allow Himself to be circumcised that He might perfectly embrace and fulfill the law.  He gave up everything, laid everything down, allowed Himself to be "cut" to join Himself to the Covenant, the very Covenant He instituted with Abraham.  He, the author of the Covenant,  embraced the Covenant as a human child.

Lastly, the idea that for 7 days, He wasn't officially named, also just seemed amazing to me... I know its a ceremonial thing, and since Mary and Joseph knew what He was supposed to be named, I imagine they called Him Jesus before His 8th day, but maybe not. I found this interesting note concerning Jewish customs of naming:

"Contrary to popular perception, it is not forbidden to announce the name of a baby before his circumcision. In a metaphysical sense, however, the child does not actually "receive" his name until the Bris. This is based on the fact that God changed Abraham's name in conjunction with his Bris – at age 99 (Genesis 17:15). Also, the boy only receives the full measure of his soul at the Bris, and a person cannot truly be "named" until attaining that completion."

( https://aish.com/48961326/)

I don't know that the final sentence is true, at least it seems a bit strange for a ceremony to install part of one's full measure of soul, but if this is the belief, then Jesus fulfilled it perfectly as well. He was announced to the world officially as Yehoshua on the 8th day.  He became a covenant male of Jewish lineage, and His course was set for His life, as the one who saves!

Amen and Amen!

New Creation vs. Circumcision

This morning I felt I should read from Philippians 3:1-11 NIV:

[1] "Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. [2] Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. [3] For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh--- [4] though I myself have reasons for such confidence. 

If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: [5] circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; [6] as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 

[7] But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. [8] What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ---the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. [10] I want to know Christ---yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead."

I love the verses from 7-11, but what caught my eye this morning was Paul's statements about circumcision.  I guess it is one of those topics I haven't really thought about much.  It seems pretty straight forward, and yet, there is much more to this than a medical procedure. The fact that this one topic was one of the first divisive themes in the newly born church, should clue us into its overall importance.  

I figured I should do some research.  I came across a really good article discussing the importance of Circumcision and the role of this act in the life of the Jewish male written by a rabbi ( https://www.jtsa.edu/torah/the-power-of-circumcision/).  He describes circumcision as that rite of separation from one's mother and receiving one's name and identity, and dedication unto God.  The author describes the impact of this on the life of Abram and Sarai, as described in Gen 17:

"It is at this juncture that God intervenes again. “I am El Shaddai. Walk in My ways and be blameless. I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and I will make you exceedingly numerous (Genesis 17:1-2).” For effect, God changes Abraham’s name from “Abram” to “Abraham,” with the additional heh, endowing it with the meaning of “the father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:5).” The physical symbol of this everlasting covenant is to be circumcision. Indeed, Sarah becomes pregnant with Isaac only after her elderly husband has undergone the operation. Circumcision is as critical to setting human history on a new course as the original call to Abraham to leave his native land and his father’s house. Fertility comes to Sarah at the age of 90 with Abraham’s entry into the sacred covenant. Moreover, her name is likewise changed by the addition of the letter heh from “Sarai” to “Sarah (Genesis 17:15),” a letter that in both cases may represent the transfer of the letter heh from God’s name (i.e. the Tetragrammaton) to that of Abraham and Sarah. The new names signify not only a change in their fortune but a nearness and fidelity to God." 

As I was reading and reflecting on this article, I saw the parallels between circumcision and the "new creation" that Paul writes about in Galatians 6:14-15 NIV:

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.  Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation."  

Clearly Paul believes that the "new creation" is superior to circumcision, and one must agree for no longer does just our name and identity change, our whole being changes, we are in effect born again (John 3:3-7 & 1 Peter 1:23) as a new human creation.  Where Abraham represented the first of a new nation, wholly dedicated to God, Jesus is the new Adam (1Cor 15:45), the first born (Col 1:18) of the new creations.  Paul again writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!" 

Going back to the verses from Paul's letter to the Philippians, he started the verses I quoted talking about those pushing for circumcision as a requirement for the gentile believers.  Paul clearly had not time for this nonsense, for he understood that our new identity, our new relationship with God as His sons and daughters, as co-heirs with Christ Jesus completely fulfilled any new identity, commitment to or nearness to God achieved through the sacramental circumcision. This was not some new expression of the Jewish faith, this superseded everything all the way back to Adam!  Circumcision was type and shadow of what was to come, but in the end was replaced by the "new creation".  As author of the letter to the Hebrews wrote that the new covenant is superior to the old covenant (Heb 8:6), and effectively replaces it.  

If the old covenant has been superseded by the new, then the requirements of the old have been replaced as well, for Christ Jesus fulfilled all, and as we are joined to Him, so has His fulfillment been applied to us.  Paul makes that simple statement in verse 3 above, "It is we who are the circumcision" for our nature and identity have changed and we are covenanted to God, sealed by the Holy Spirit, bought through Jesus' sacrifice!  What can some act of the flesh ever add to this?

This morning I am grateful for this deeper understanding of what I have gained in Christ!  I am grateful for Paul's unrelenting support of the Gospel of Grace and his willingness to stand-up to those that would have injected some fleshly requirement into the Gospel.  I am grateful that Jesus has made the way for us to enter as new creations into His Divine Kingdom!  

Lord, help us to more deeply consider and embrace all that You have given us in our salvation!  

Amen and Amen!

Frustrating the Intelligence of the Intelligent

This morning I am continuing my journey of examining the non-rational aspects of the Gospel.  What I mean is that at the very heart of the Gospel is a truth so profound that it offends our rational senses, our thoughts of how things should be, and seems too good to be true.  In life, we usually find out that something that seems to good to be true, is indeed too good to be true, and putting our hope in something like that will lead to disappointment, or worse.  In my choice of reading today I decided to shy away from Paul's logical fare and look at 1 Peter, not that he is illogical, but he certainly writes with less philosophical logic.  

Here are the verses I am reflecting upon this morning -  1 Peter 1:3-12 NIV:

[3] "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, [5] who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. [6] In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. [7] These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith---of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire---may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. [8] Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, [9] for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 

[10] "Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, [11] trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. [12] It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things."

Yesterday I was pondering the types and shadows, the themes that God introduced hundreds if not thousands of years before they were seen fulfilled, and today Peter is writing about the Prophets speaking about something they didn't fully understand or know how it would be presented.  Prophets like Isaiah were writing 600-700 years before Christ Jesus was born, Abraham lived close to 2000 years before Christ.  Each had revealed to them promises and themes that clearly spoke of a future time, and while they would have probably tried to understand what they heard, their ability to logically frame these things was quite impossible.  

I like to look back on the history of the United States to get some idea of the passage of time, for even back to our earliest visit by Europeans, America is not even 500 years old.  Western culture was alive and well in Europe much before this and while much has changed in the 500 years, we find no one from those days predicted, nor prophesied accurately about how our culture would evolve, or the revelations that would come to light in the ensuing years (at least not that I am aware of). There is a popularly known non-religious prophet named Nostradamus, who wrote a bunch of loosely interpreted predictions that have been twisted into all sorts of fanciful fulfillments from everything to the Nazi 1000 year reign to the attack on the world trade centers.  Most were undated and about wars, earthquakes, and other worldly trauma ( I haven't read them, just summarizing recent commentaries) and while this seems interesting we find many similar verses in scripture, which predated his works by hundreds if not thousands of years.  

What makes the Gospel so amazing to me is the utter illogical nature of it!  I have written before of how this Gospel just doesn't match anything we, as humans, would think up for how an all-powerful, universe creating God would enact salvation upon the population of a planet.  We have all sorts of ancient mythology dealing with gods and demi-gods, whether Greek, Roman, Norse, Mesopotamian, Egyptian, or Eastern, and I am unaware of any story that resembles the Gospel of Grace (note: again I am not an authority on any of these ). 

Sorry - I just wonder off down a path that I could keep pursuing, but this draws me away from the focus verses today.  Going back to Peter, He starts out with our "new birth", something which Jesus spoke of with Nicodemus.  We are invited into the relationship with Christ, which results in us becoming a "new creation", one born of the Holy Spirit. While outwardly we look the same in our spirit-man we are transformed.  In this transformative work, which is a free gift (Grace) from God, we become co-heirs with Christ Jesus, the Messiah. Our salvation is from sin and death and our invitation is to live the "heavenly life" that Jesus demonstrated to the world. We access all of this through faith at His invitation.  The Lord laid the ground work for all of this through prophetic verses scattered throughout the Old Testament Prophets and writers, and while they wrote the verses, the authors never could comprehend the fulfillment of these words found in Christ Jesus.  The looked intently into the future and were unable to see the time or nature of Christ.  

We find this best represented by the common thinking of what the Messiah was going to do for the Jewish people.  They were expecting a new king who would reign over all, defeating their enemies, establishing another earthly kingdom. The apostles were so understanding of this Messianic role, that they couldn't understand that Jesus was going to be betrayed, suffer and die, for this made no sense in their messianic understanding. We find even after His death and Resurrection, this thinking evident in the following, "Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”( Acts 1:6 NIV).

Peter is essentially laying out this same message, that this amazing Gospel is true, and even though our prophets wrote about it they didn't understand it, but now we are making it clear to you. The Gospel of Grace requires faith and nothing else.  This faith requires us to step past our logic, past our thinking of how the Messiah should act, or how an all-powerful god would save us.  We struggle with this and Paul writes about the "foolishness of the cross:" in his first letter to the  Corinthians 1:18-21 NIV:

[18] "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

[19] For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 

[20] Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? [21] For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe."  

My prayer today is that all those that struggle with the irrational nature of the Gospel would not stumble over this, but that they would lay down their need to understand everything, and accept the unexpected beauty of this Gospel!  God Loves you as you are, has made a way for you to have relationship with Him, offers you the free gift of salvation, and only asks that you believe this truth!   

Oh Lord, break through the walls of intellectualism!  I pray that You would astound us once again, even as You did during your 3 years of public ministry, with unexplainable signs and wonders, miracles and healings that force us to reconsider our thoughts about You and our worldview.

Amen and Amen!

Revelation of Deep Things, Types and Shadows

This morning I felt led to read from the Letter to the Hebrews.  It is always interesting wading through this book which lays out the case for Christ describing the depth of the prophetic preview of picture of Christ that the Lord spoke to them through the prophets and the Law.  Whoever the author was they were clearly intimately familiar with the scriptures and all of the Law, and logical thinking.  

This morning I was reading from Hebrews 7, which establishes Christ's priesthood as better than the Levitical priesthood.  The logic that is being argued is so subtle, and rich, and sometimes too much so.   What I was understanding this morning was the depth and interwoven nature of this imagery as a type and shadow of Christ.  Paul speaks of this in Col 2:17, and 1 Cor 13:12, where he talks about our inability to fully see and understand, a sort of shadow of things to come, or seeing dimly now.  The author of this letter clearly saw things and pulled things together with a clarity that must have been helpful to the Hebrew people.  Moving from the Law to Gospel of Grace was a difficult task, but the author was helping identify the foundation stones that had been laid for this throughout their history, and I find it amazing.  Here is a quick snippet of an example: 

Hebrews 7:11-17 NIV:

[11] "If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood---and indeed the law given to the people established that priesthood---why was there still need for another priest to come, one in the order of Melchizedek, not in the order of Aaron? [12] For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. [13] He of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, and no one from that tribe has ever served at the altar. [14] For it is clear that our Lord descended from Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. [15] And what we have said is even more clear if another priest like Melchizedek appears, [16] one who has become a priest not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. [17] For it is declared: “You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”

These verses represent some of the final verses from three chapters of looking at the priesthood of Jesus. The author started the Letter looking at Jesus as the Son and representation of the Father, moved to Jesus being greater than Angel, Jesus as fully Man, Jesus greater than Moses, then Jesus as High Priest, and finally looking at Jesus' sacrifice, as High Priest.  The author argued all of these through the use of scripture, again pointing to the pre-established pattern that was followed and fulfilled by Jesus.  At times I have written about a finely woven tapestry as a good picture of how God's plan all come together perfectly, and that word picture comes to mind again this morning.  

As I was thinking through this, following the logic of the author, watching how each and every verse highlighted pointed towards Jesus, I had this idea that it was sort of like a long-lost subway map, where all tunnels ended at one point, Jesus.   I guess I could say its a version of "all roads lead to Rome", but an underground version and all paths leading to Christ Jesus.

The reason I saw it as tunnels was that from the surface, it could totally be missed, and largely not understood or even suspected.  The author was uncovering each instance (theme) and bringing it to light, and identifying the stops God had inserted along the history of the people.  Some of the "tunnels" went all the way back to the time before the Covenant of the Law, showing the master plan of God.   Hopefully that is a helpful image.

Why am I looking at all this deep logic, these types and shadows?  As I was reading these verses, I was just realizing that God's plans, His rich tapestry of purpose didn't end with Jesus.  We are in a time of further revelation of God's move on the earth,  things hinted at in the New Testament, but clearly not revealed in perfectly understandable imagery.  God is continuing to create, continuing to move, continuing to reveal, for there is no end to the increase of His Kingdom and its expansion (Is 9:7 & Dan 2:44) and it goes on forever. We are now in the time of Jesus' continued ministry on the earth, through His church, and one could say all that is being revealed and brought to light now is the further revelation of the majesty of Jesus!  In fact, this theme comes up later in this letter to the Hebrews 13:8 NIV:  "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."

Let us not think that the revelation of things long hidden or spoken is finished, for we are continuing to live out the revelation of God's plans, present in our lives.  We are His representatives now, bringing to light His word, and His intentions in these days!  We are partnering with Holy Spirit to bring further Glory to Jesus, who represents the Father.  We are co-heirs with Christ (Rom 8:17), and God's Kingdom is alive and present on the earth!  

My prayer today is that my eyes and understanding would be opened.  Paul prayed the following in his letter to the Colossians 1:9-12 NIV:

[9] "For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, [10] so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, [11] being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, [12] and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light."

Paul again prayed something similar in his letter to the Ephesians 1:17-19a NIV:

[17] "I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. [18] I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, [19] and his incomparably great power for us who believe."

Yes Lord, release Your wisdom and understanding, increase our knowledge of You and Your ways!  Help us to understand the deeper things, that we might be lifted up in our minds to grasp the greatness of You!

Amen and Amen!

Buckets and Understanding

This morning as I sat down to pray, I was reminded of a couple of verses I was thinking about a few days ago.  Here are the verses - Mark 9:2-10 NIV:

[2] "After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. [3] His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them. [4] And there appeared before them Elijah and Moses, who were talking with Jesus. 

[5] Peter said to Jesus, “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us put up three shelters---one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” [6] (He did not know what to say, they were so frightened.) 

[7] Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!” 

[8] Suddenly, when they looked around, they no longer saw anyone with them except Jesus. 

[9] As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until the Son of Man had risen from the dead. [10] They kept the matter to themselves, discussing what “rising from the dead” meant."

While I have read about the Transfiguration many times, and have quiet a few reflections on it, the verses that caught my eye this morning were verses 9 & 10.  It is such an interesting mention of a seemingly passing comment that Jesus made and the apostles focus on that rather than the experience they just had with Jesus!  

It is understood that John Mark was writing this Gospel, which was based on Peter's witness (There is still plenty of disagreement as to the actual authorship, but don't let that be a distraction) and apparently Peter's recounting of Transfiguration is represented here.  His mention of their not understanding what "rising from the dead" meant, is really an important point.  We find a similar verse later in this same chapter, where Jesus clearly tells them about his coming suffering and death and rising from the dead, and again we are told,  "But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it." ( Mark 9:32 NIV).

I greatly appreciate these comments for they show the humanness of the apostles, and I think they help us to see some of their humility.  Peter didn't need to recount these details to John Mark, but they stood out as important points!  We are unable to fully grasp the depth of their unknowing, or lack of understanding, but it must have been great for them to keep mentioning it!  We struggle to fully comprehend, because for us, we already know the story and have had it passed down for generations, so it seems a bit absurd that their lack of understanding keeps getting mentioned.

We know that God had raised people from the dead in the history of the Jewish people, and it was always a wonder, but it was definitely a well known miracle.  The two I know occurred with Elijah,  the widows son - 1 Kings 17: 19-22  and a dead man thrown on his grave - 2 Kings 13:21.  To further research, I  looked at the Greek language used in Mark 9:9 and it is pretty straight forward, so the uncertainty probably ins't from understanding the meaning of the words Jesus spoke.  

I think the issue is that Peter and the rest of the Jewish people had a firmly entrenched understanding of what the Messiah was going to do when he came to save them, and dying and rising from the dead wasn't part of that understanding!  The statements of Jesus, while about as clear as they can be (“The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” - Mark 9:31 NIV) and yet they just couldn't grasp that He could actually be saying this about Himself, for it did not fit their understood narrative.  

As I was writing this, I was reminded of a couple who were expecting a boy to be born (I don't remember why they thought that) and the wife went into labor.  When the baby was born the man saw his child and started freaking out because his son didn't have male genitalia!  The doctor calmly assured him that these type are known as girls.  The point being that if we think something is absolutely true, and then are confronted with something is conflicting, it can cause confusion, doubt, and even a serious questioning of one's understanding. Growing up in the pinball age, we would say this caused one's mind to "tilt", or just stop functioning for a while.

A couple of days ago I was reflecting on the issue we have with trying to rationalize God's ways and thoughts, and the problem with making that attempt.  We are rational beings, so it is understandable that we try, but God is Majestic, Glorious and Holy beyond knowledge.  We try our best but we will never fully grasp Him, and yet God provides a way forward.  Paul writes his prayer for the Ephesians 3:16-19 NIV:

[16] "I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, [17] so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, [18] may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, [19] and to know this love that surpasses knowledge---that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God."

Our hope of knowing God is found through the power of the Holy Spirit, someone the apostles had only been introduced to prior to Pentecost, but not yet been filled fully.  While they were following Jesus, their understanding of God, which comes through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, had not yet been fully breathed upon, or at least that is my opinion.  

It does make sense in a way, the only way to know God is to be in relationship with Him, to be connected to Him, to hear His voice and understand His words. In the same way that we can never fully understand another person by just reading about them.  Even people that we have known for years can totally surprise us.  Our thoughts are often at odds with our actions, and it is only in fully experiencing and understanding both, that we can hope to know someone really well, and that is speaking of another human, not God.  

Taking this a bit further, we are all triune beings, and the paragraph above is just dealing with 2 of our three natures, our body (actions) and mind (thoughts), but does not address our spiritual nature.  I think that Jesus was speaking truths into their spiritual nature, and while they probably felt the conviction in their spirits that what Jesus said was true, their minds just couldn't comprehend what the words meant.  

I know there have been times when I felt something occur in the Spirit, and I could not understood it in my mind.  This is essentially what Paul is praying for the Ephesians.  He is praying that their inner being (spirit man) might be strengthened and enlightened to know "this love that surpasses all knowledge."  Isn't that an interesting point?  There is a point past all knowledge, and it exists in and through Holy Spirit pouring into our spirits.  In other words, it goes past rationalization and the understanding found in our mind!

In my experience with the Lord, I have found that He will speak a word to me, and I might think that I grasp the meaning, but will find out later that I had only grasped the smallest portion of understanding.  To put it in another context,  learning Math is much more than addition and subtraction, they are a small bit of understanding of a much greater field of understanding.  In the same way, I think our understanding of God's words and purpose is always (this side of eternity) a small bit of understanding of the fullness of what God means.  

The apostles couldn't grasp that the salvation of the Messiah was a salvation of their very souls, and the enemies that were going to be defeated were sin and death.  They were thinking in the physical realm of the Romans, and God was moving at a much deeper and greater level!  Jesus was speaking of Spiritual truths, and the apostles minds were mired in the natural realm and rationalized understanding.  

I was thinking of the number of times that Jesus said the same thing, and to me that speaks of God's patience and understanding of our struggles.  Jesus knew they couldn't grasp these truths, yet He spoke them into their minds and spirits, that they might fully understand post Resurrection and Pentecost.  I am encouraged that Jesus knows just how much we struggle, a recent term a friend used was bucket-head!  We struggle to get beyond out own understanding, and sometimes that is where we stop, yet the invitation is beyond, into the reaches of love that surpasses understanding!

Maybe we need to take the buckets off our heads so we can see and understand, and hold them out to be filled by the Holy Spirit!

Oh, that we would be strengthened in our spirits to more fully know our Lord!  That we might see beyond our buckets of rationalization, and lean into Holy Spirit, asking Him to bring enlightenment and deeper understanding of His love, His perfection, His ways, His purposes!

Oh Lord help us!  Oh Lord, strengthen our inner beings!  Fill us to the measure of all the fullness found in You Lord!

Amen and Amen!

Theology and Rationalization: When God Makes Our Brains Hurt

Last night we were visiting with friends and we were talking about the church and theology and such.  It was a wide ranging conversation covering topics like Calvinism, Arminianism,  Catholic and Protestant theology, Predestination and Free will, Transubstantiation, Western influenced thought, the struggle we have as humans understanding God, always wanting to understand things, and at times deriving theological beliefs using logic and rationalization.  We covered lots of ground.  Suffice it to say that it was an engaging conversation.

During the conversation I was describing the reason for the Great Schism (when the Church split between the West and East in 1054AD) and how one of the issues was how a certain word was understood concerning the Holy Spirit.  I was looking up a reference to the Great Schism, as I couldn't remember the word and exact points on the Holy Spirit, and found a quote that summarized some of our conversation.  Here is the quote: 

"Roman Catholicism rationalizes even the sacrament of the Eucharist: it interprets spiritual action as purely material and debases the sacrament to such an extent that it becomes in its view a kind of atomistic miracle. The Orthodox Church has no metaphysical theory of Transsubstantiation, and there is no need of such a theory. Christ is the Lord of the elements and it is in His power to do so that 'every thing, without in the least changing its physical substance' could become His Body. Christ's Body in the Eucharist is not physical flesh."

— Lossky 1969, p. 87

My point in quoting this is not to bring up a theological point nor attack any denomination.  I grew up Catholic and don't have an issue with Transubstantiation, nor the idea that the Eucharist being Christ's Body.  I have no problem with the Church being the Body of Christ, nor with Christ indwelling me.  I am not making a point about the theology so much as the use of rationalization to explain God.  As far as I understand, God is God and He can do anything He wants to do!  He set the rules and order of the Universe in place, and yet if He wants He can momentarily "bend" that order. A Theology professor I had in college explained it something like this, "Don't try to figure it all out! I tried and my brain snapped!"  God is literally unknowable in His Glory and Majesty, in His thinking and ways!  One of my absolute favorite verses that describes this is found in Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV:

[8] “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. [9] “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

We, in our human-centric view, think that we can explain God, or understand God, and one of the things I really like about the Eastern Rite church is that they are ok with NOT understanding everything about God.  They embrace the fact that some of the revelation of God is mystery!  He is beyond knowing, yet He helps us to know Him!  He is the creator of the Universe, yet He became man!  His Kingdom is ever increasing, and yet He has recorded His Word in written form.  He is perfectly Loving, Just, Fair, Merciful, Awesome and Humble all at the same time.  God exists outside of time, and we struggle greatly to fully grasp that vantage point and perception, for we are on that timeline and can only look backwards.

If we just look at the miracles and signs and wonders performed by Jesus and the apostles, we find great examples of the unexplainable nature of God.  How, specifically, did Jesus walk on water?  How did a few loaves and fish feed thousands?  How did dirt and spit become eyes?  How did a body shriveled from 38 years of paralysis suddenly become whole and allow the man to dance and leap, without ever learning to walk (this was done in the name of Jesus!)? How did the sun stand-still, or the earth go dark for 3 hours?  All of these defy rational explanation, and we must learn to be ok with that fact! 

God is bigger than we can comprehend!   I pray that we might learn to free ourselves from having to understand it all!  I pray that we will allow the Lord to unsettle our rationalization, and expand our revelation!  I pray that we will allow God, in our lives, to be beyond our understanding!  I pray that our relationship with God will allow our mind to be offended and yet grow in our love of Him!  I pray that our need to control and understand will be laid down and we will embrace God in all His revelation, even that which we don't understand!  Finally, I pray that we will give grace to all our brothers and sisters in the One Body of Christ to have different ideas, and thoughts than we do, for who can fully understand everything perfectly?

May the Lord bless you and open your heart, mind and spirit to know Him more!

Amen and Amen! 

 

Love, Our Life's Melody

This morning I felt led to the following verses - 2 John 1:3-6 NIV:

[3] "Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love." 

[4] "It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. [5] And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. [6] And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."

My recent focus on the New Commandment that Jesus gave us to love each other, is here the primary focus of this letter of John.  He goes on to warn against anyone that is not bringing this truth or preaching that Jesus didn't really come in the flesh.  This is essentially the whole focus,, and encouragement to continue to walk in this truth, in this command!  

I do love that John does not lose sight of this singular command and call.  

I so appreciate Paul's focus on the importance of Love found in 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 NIV:

[1] "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. [2] If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. [3] If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing."

Our first and foremost activity and characteristic should be love.  It is foundational, and should be the purpose behind all our actions.  It should be the melody of our lives, and our lives together should be in harmony with all those whole follow the Lord!  Our daily walk should be filled with love, emanating love, exuding love! 

Oh Lord, forgive my judgmental, frustrated and impatient ways!  Forgive me for allowing my focus to be me, and my wants and needs, rather than love.  Help me to embrace You command to love one another!

Amen and Amen!

Let Us Love One Another!

The last three days I have been stuck on these verses from Paul.  These have been verses that I come back to over and over again, helping me to maintain a right focus and mindset.  Here are the verses - Philippians 2:1-8 NIV:

[1] "Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, [2] then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. [3] Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, [4] not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. [5] In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 

[6] Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 

[7] rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 

[8] And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death---even death on a cross!"

Every time I read thee verses I am reminded of the significance of the people around me, and really of every person.  Paul's encouragement is really just an extension of Jesus' new commandment found in John 13:34-35 NIV:  “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. [35] By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

This was so important that Jesus reiterated the command two more times in John 15:12,17 NIV:

[12] "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you." 

[17] "This is my command: Love each other."

I just did a quick review of the words "love one another" in the New Testament and I was actually a bit blown away by the consistency of this message.  Here are several of the times it is used:

Romans 12:10 NIV: "Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves."

Romans 13:8 NIV: "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law."

Galatians 5:13 NIV: "You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh ; rather, serve one another humbly in love."

Ephesians 4:2-3 NIV:  "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. [3] Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

1 Thessalonians 4:9 NIV: "Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other."

Hebrews 10:24-25 NIV: "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, [25] not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another---and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

1 Peter 1:22 NIV: "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart."

1 Peter 3:8 NIV: "Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble."

1 John 3:11 NIV:  "For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another."

1 John 3:23 NIV: "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us."

1 John 4:7 NIV: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

2 John 1:5-6 NIV:  "And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. [6] And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love."

I find my heart strongly moved by this theme, this command, this encouragement!  we can get so caught up in so many things, but I believe the simplicity of this command, that we would love one another, should be always be forefront in our minds, and evident in our actions.  We must bring this back to the qualifier of Jesus new command, that we love the way He loved!  That we would love one another in humility!

Oh that the Church would be known for its love!  Oh that the Kingdom of Heaven would advance in love!  Oh that the love of God would sweep across this world!!

Amen and Amen!

A Cursed Generation?

This morning I felt led to read from Matt 11, and while a couple of my favorite are found at the end of this chapter, my mind was drawn to the following verses 0 Matthew 11:16-24 NIV:

[16] “To what can I compare this generation? 

They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others: 

[17] “ 'We played the pipe for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.' 

[18] For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.' [19] The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, 'Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.' But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” 

[20] Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent. [21] “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. [22] But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. [23] And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted to the heavens? No, you will go down to Hades. For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day. [24] But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

The theme of the verses above is the lack of repentance, and it has to do with control and judgment.  Looking closely, the youth Jesus is referring to are the ones playing the songs but others are not responding the way they want them too!   In other words the others are not acting as expected.  Jesus continues on and says these people don't like John and his fasted lifestyle, and say he has demons, while they accuse Jesus of being a drunkard and a glutton.  Neither John or Jesus followed the religious norms of the day, and the people rejected them.

Jesus goes on to say that people of certain towns refused to repent, or change the way they thought about God, in the very face of miracles, and signs that Jesus worked. It is interesting how Jesus spoke about the generation (vs 16), and I wonder if there is something to that?  I know from my days in education and youth ministry, that there were certain classes (kids from one grade) that were difficult and others that were great to work with, and this seems to be a larger perspective that Jesus is addressing.  We have generational titles these days, like the boomers, the gen-X, gen-z, and we like to group all of those people together and judge them accordingly.  In similar ways we like to categorize people by their political beliefs, their gender, their sports teams, their race, or any number of other labels.  The one thing I know is the Lord, while aware of these groupings, never treats us from only that perspective.

If we look at the generation comments, one could think that Jesus was condemning them all.  In fact, later in Matthew's Gospel Jesus lays some heavy wood to the generation saying - Matthew 23:33-36 NIV:  “You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell? [34] Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town. [35] And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. [36] Truly I tell you, all this will come on this generation."

One could think, after reading these statements, that the whole generation was being condemned, and yet it was this same generation that experienced the coming of the Messiah and salvation exploding into the world through Jesus' sacrificial life!   One could make a point that this generation was the most cursed and the most blessed. God is perfectly just, merciful, compassionate and holy all at the same time.  The very generation that crucified the Lord, was invited into the Kingdom.  The very apostles who abandoned Jesus during His passion and death were redeemed, released and empowered as His witnesses!  Later on we find Saul, one of the lead persecutors of the early church converting and becoming Paul, one of the greatest evangelists of all time!  The Lord never gives up on an individual, generation or people group!  He is always at work drawing, inviting, and saving!

Our invitation today is to turn away from our selfish, or worldly mindsets and turn towards Him!  The Lord will never turn His back on us, regardless of how selfish, self-focused we become, or even if we deny Him or attack Him.  As I was writing these last sentences I was reminded of the great songs found in Revelation 5:9-14 NIV:

[9] "And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation. [10] You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth.” 

[11] Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. [12] In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!” 

[13] Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” 

[14] The four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped."

The invitation today is for us to turn to the Lord, and join this heavenly worship with our lives poured out in worship of the Lord!

Amen and Amen!

Holy Saturday Reflections

This morning I was reminded of a few reflections I have written over the last several years on Holy Saturday. I was going back through my journal and thought these two were helpful, and while similar, eahc focused on a bit different theme.  Hopefully you find them helpful!

From 2015: 

Today is Holy Saturday, a day of anticipation for the celebration of Jesus' resurrection.  However this morning I am meditating on the first celebration of this day, the day when it really happened.  Jesus died on Friday around 3pm (the ninth hour) and was buried later that day.  Here are the verses describing his burial from Matthew 27:57-61 NIV:

[57] "As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. [58] Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. [59] Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, [60] and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. [61] Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb."

Those are the last verses of chapter 27, and verse one of chapter 28 starts with the first hours following the sabbath.  We find the same thing in all four Gospels, no real mention of the day after Jesus death (Saturday or the Sabbath).  I have spent quite some time thinking about those days and years in Jesus' life where there is no Gospel commentary, and I think it is important for us to at least go there in our thoughts, for these days (and Holy Saturday especially) represent those days when God is silent.  

I find the silence of God quite unsettling, and I am sure the Apostles and disciples were greatly troubled that Sabbath.  All their ideas, thoughts, hopes and dreams about what the Lord was going to do appeared to have died when Jesus died on the cross.  They knew He was the Son of God, or at least the Apostles did, and yet He died.  They truly had not grasped what Jesus had been trying to tell them, that He had to suffer and die.  We are told over and over again in the Gospels that the disciples did not understand what Jesus meant when He was talking about his coming death.  I believe that is a indication of what they were dealing with that Saturday, as remembered by them when they wrote the Gospels.  I believe they were experiencing complete and utter despair, complete confusion, grief, fear, failure, and even betrayal.  If they gathered for the sabbath, which it appears they did for they were all together the following day, than it was likely a very quiet gathering, each caught up in their own thoughts and sorrow.  

I wonder if they went through the motions of celebrating the sabbath?  The Sabbath was a day of sacred assembly, considered holy to the Lord.  They were not to do any work, cook or even light a fire in their homes.  They were to be reminded that the Lord created the world in six days and on the seventh day rested.  They were to turn their eyes and hearts to God.  Instead, I can just imagine them gathered together and feeling like everything they believed was now in question.  Jesus had come proclaiming the arrival of the Kingdom of God, demonstrated  the reality of that Kingdom by healing the sick and diseased, raising dead people, cleansing lepers, healing the blind and deaf and casting out demons.  They had been convinced by all these signs that He was the Son of God, the Messiah, and their paradigm and thoughts of the time of the Messiah didn't have any room for Him dying and leaving them alone.  Yet He was dead.

It is amazing how much changed in just a few short days.  They had witnessed Jesus' triumphant arrival in Jerusalem, riding on a donkey, people shouting, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!" (Luke 19:38).  Less than a week later, Jesus was dead, and they "were together, with doors locked for fear of the Jews." (John 20:19).  They were afraid that the same thing might happen to them as happened to Jesus.  One of their own had betrayed Jesus, Peter had denied Jesus, they had almost all abandoned Jesus when He was crucified.  It was not a happy or joyful group of people.  All of their hopes appeared dead, laying in the tomb.  All of the personal sacrifices they had made to follow Him were probably now running through their minds.  They were likely thinking that they hadn't signed up for this, and wondering how they could go back!  

I think at times we can just gloss over these events and days, because we know Easter is coming, we know that Jesus rose from the dead the very next morning.  It is great to read stories when you know the ending, not nearly as much fun to live through the midst of the story without the benefit of knowing how it will turn out.  I think if we are honest with ourselves, none of us ever wants to go through these types of times, and we don't like to be around people who are going through them, for they are painful to behold and experience.  We don't like pain, and yet we all deal with it.  It is so much easier to just ignore the pain in other peoples lives, than to wade in and be there with them in their pain.  Personally, we tend to try to escape our pain, either trying to deaden it, run away from it, or stuff it so far down in our hearts that is doesn't show up for months or sometimes years.   

The point, in going here in our minds, is that Easter (and by Easter I mean the victory of the Lord over sin and death, and the opening of the way to the Father) really does occur, in our own lives as well as it did that first Easter.  No matter where we find ourselves, or what sorrow we are dealing with, Easter will occur. Jesus is alive and will show Himself strong.  He has vanquished the enemy and will destroy his works in our lives.  It is when  God is quiet that all Heaven is about ready to break loose.  God will not abandon us, forsake us, betray our trust or leave us.  He will come.  He will rescue us.  He will pour out His Holy Spirit.  He will break the chains that bind us.  He will walk right into the rooms where we are hiding with the doors locked.  He will breath on us.  He has a better plan than  we can ever imagine.  We have likely greatly underestimated His ability to do good in our lives. 

So let us be encouraged when God is silent, because He is coming, and He has something great planned.  Let us not give into despair, but rather put our hope in the one who has paid the ultimate price for our lives.  Let us be with our friends and family who are in pain and sorrow, whose hopes and dreams and lives appear destroyed and dead.  Let us console them with this truth - Easter is coming.  Let us wait for Easter morning together.

Amen!

From 2019:

This morning , I thought it would be interesting to meditate on the Sabbath day following Jesus’ death on the cross.  This is a day that we know nothing about, as it begins shortly after Jesus’ burial, with the Jewish Sabbath starting at Sunset, and proceeding to the following sunset.

In Matthew’s Gospel, we actually have some verses pertaining to this day, but nothing that talks about the followers of Jesus.  Matthew 27:62-66 describes the fact that the Chief Priests and Pharisees went to Pilate and asked him to have a guard stationed at the tomb, to make sure that Jesus’ followers didn’t steal His body to try and fake the resurrection. In Mark’s Gospel this day is found between the last verse of chapter 15 and the first verse of chapter 16, “When the Sabbath was over”.  In Luke, we are told specifically that His followers, especially the “women who had come with Jesus from Galilee” (Luke 23:55-56) had rested on the Sabbath day, in accordance with the commandment.  Luke then moves right to the beginning of the first day of the week, following the Sabbath, and again, other than the fact that they rested, we know nothing. Finally John’s Gospel, as well, is silent about this day.

So, why my meditation?  I personally think that the silence of God in certain situations reveals much to us about our own mind-set and beliefs.  It is in the silence of God that our faith and trust is tested.  In my life, there have been times of transition, times of change, times of difficulty and what I want more than anything in those times is a sense of purpose, direction and a ‘word from the Lord’.  The thing that I have found, is more often than not, God is quiet in these times.  I don’t believe it is some cruel streak in God, where He holds back the very thing I think I need more than anything.  Instead I have learned that His love and faithfulness are every bit as active in those quiet moments as any other times.

In retrospect, He has always been at work in the background, and that I was too unaware to realize it.  God is a perfect, and so is His timing.  What I want is advanced notice, what God wants is for me to trust in His faithfulness.  My tendency is to slide immediately into unbelief, He wants me to learn to have faith, and stand (Eph 6:13-16).  Thus, I have opportunity to grow.

When I think about the disciples and Apostles of Jesus, resting on the Sabbath following His death and burial, I imagine it was the darkest of days for them.  Just earlier in the previous week, Jesus had arrived in Jerusalem, being heralded as the coming King, riding along on the back of a donkey, and now he was dead and buried, and all of their ideas of their future at His side were shattered.  It is clear from the Gospel’s that despite Jesus repeatedly warning them of His impending death that they just didn’t get it.  They continued to believe that as the Messiah He was going to be seated on David’s former throne and restore Israel as God’s people, complete with their national pride, freedom and identity restored.

It is my belief that Instead of glory, they were experiencing the depths of despair.  They were likely gathered together, as would have been their custom on the Sabbath, and they were probably all just shell-shocked from the last 2 days.  I am sure there were tears, and sorrow, real grieving for the loss of the most important person in their lives.  They had committed somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 years of their life to Jesus, following Him everywhere, living together and always His was the direction they followed, and now there was only silence, dead silence.

I think that they might have been racking their brains, trying to remember what Jesus had told them concerning His death and rising from the dead. I think they probably bounced back in forth from wild hope in remembered words, to stunning silence and despair as they remembered his beaten and bloody body. I think they were probably all dealing with His death individually as we all do when a loved one passes.  I am sure everything they said or did reminded them of Him, and that would just revisit the pain of their loss.

I think this was one of the darkest days of all time, for the Light of the World had come, and was lost.  The long awaited Messiah had been revealed, and now He was dead.  Their hope for restoration and revival, God’s blessing and visitation was lying dead in a tomb.  We like to say “its Friday, but Sunday is coming” as a reminder that the joy of His resurrection is following close on the heels of the loss of His death, but the Apostles and disciples didn’t know this, didn’t understand it, and didn’t believe it.  The Gospels recount several times where Jesus told them exactly what was going to happen, and in every one of those times, the writers make a very specific note that His followers didn’t understand what He meant.  I believe this is indicative of the fact that they were all remembering that dark day, that day of shattered dreams and ideas.

So for us, what can we gain from meditating on this dark day?  I think for me the important thing is to look to God, to His word, to His character, to His promises regardless of the circumstances.  I believe that His desire for me is to learn to entrust myself to Him, taking His guidance and direction, and trusting that He has a bigger perspective that I am not seeing. 

I am learning to trust in Him, regardless of how difficult and confusing the circumstances are at present.  I am learning that He knows my circumstances, my weaknesses, my struggles, and He has made a way in spite of them all.  I am learning that He tries to prepare me,  although most of the time I don’t understand Him, or mis-interpret what He means.  He loves me, desires the best for me, and knows the exact time, the exact place and the exact reason for each and every encounter and experience.

Like His followers, I can choose to move forward, even as the Ladies did the next morning.  They weren’t expecting His miraculous resurrection, but they were taking the next logical steps which put them right in the Lord’s path, and into the glory of His resurrection.  Sometimes, all we need to do is to just get through the day, look to Him, and trust that tomorrow will be a better day, and one that we will encounter Him!

I know it is somewhat of a cliché, but there is truth in the saying, ‘Friday might be here, but Sunday is coming’!  God’s provision and purpose are true, and He is faithful!  Let us trust in Him, press through this dark day, and believe that we will encounter Him anew, and fresh!

Amen and Amen!  Come Lord Jesus!