A Ministry of the Open Heaven

Christianity Done Right is Well Done

2009-09-22T12:38:00.000-07:00

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.(NAS) 2 Timothy 2:15

I was putting up some shelves for my wife the other day and this verse came to me while I worked. I was thinking about how to make everything sturdy so the shelf would work for her, and I was thinking about workmanship. That is something some times missing today. My father-in-law is an electrician and he is always scolding his crew reminding them of the importance of workmanship. He makes them turn all the screws on the outlet and light covers so they face the same direction. Workmanship reflects the pride and professionalism of the worker. Workmanship is the reflection of the attitude of the worker.

If a worker does his or her job well then their work will stand the test. Something would be placed on the shelves I installed and unfortunately they failed the test. The supports were too close together near the center of the shelf. When something is placed on the end of the shelf the shelf support turns into a fulcrum launching anything placed on the opposite side of the shelf. I did not take that into account and I was mildly ashamed. My work failed the test of usefulness. My work has to be redone.

We have to be more diligent in our relationship with God than any workman. We need to take care and make sure we are correctly handling the Word. "Rightly dividing it", this is one word in the Greek, "ORTHOTOMEO". It is a word from the carpenter's shop. It means cut right. My father used to tell me "measure twice cut once". If you are building something and one of the boards comes up short you need to get another board.

Spiritually we have to be careful that we get things right. We should not be haphazard. We should not have the attitude, "that is good enough" when it is not good at all. We should not be gullible and fall for any foolish idea that presents itself. We need the attitude of a professional craftsman who does the little extra thing to get something exactly right.

Trials are Always Temporary

2009-08-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold. Job 23:10

The book of Job is the oldest book in the Bible. It was written before Genesis, before the Law, before the prophets, before Christ came, before the cross and the Resurrection. The book never mentions Israel. Yet, the story of Job, addresses issues so fundamental to a Christian's faith walk with Christ that its lessons can be found through out the Bible and the New Testament. It is a mistake to dismiss the book of Job as irrelevant to Christians today.

"When he has tested me, I will come forth as gold". The idea contained in this statement of Job directed to his friend Eliphaz, can be found through out the Bible. The message is this: people who know God are put through fires of refinement. These types of trials are characteristics of people who are right with God. The purpose is always the same: spiritual growth.

Peter writes:

(1 Peter 1:6-7) In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

James writes:

(James 1:2-3) Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.

Paul puts it this way:

(Rom 5:3-4) but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Jesus said this:

(John 16:33) I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

Jeremiah spoke for the Lord when he said:

(Jer 18:6) O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?" declares the LORD. "Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel.

And Jeremiah said another thing, which actually shows that if you are living a life of faith without any trouble you are actually not pleasing to God:

(Jer 48:11) "Moab has been at rest from youth,like wine left on its dregs,not poured from one jar to another--she has not gone into exile.So she tastes as she did,and her aroma is unchanged.

The fact that Moab never submitted to the dealing of God left her raw, unrefined and unfit for God.

The Bible is filled with examples of God putting his people through adversity for the purpose of perfecting them. We are not supposed to be surprised when trials come. We are not supposed to lose our faith in God. Have confidence, like Job, that when it is over, and it will be over, you too will come forth as Gold refined in the fire.

If you are still not convinced that the story of Job is relevant for us today, listen to the New Testament's version of Job, the Apostle Paul:

(2 Cor 4:16-18) Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Trials are always temporary, but what God produces in us through them is eternal.

A True Believer

2009-07-19T10:03:00.000-07:00

Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him. Job 13:15

Oswald Chambers calls this statement, "the most sublime expression of faith in the entire Bible". In understanding the story of Job we have to keep the context of his suffering in mind, Job's trials began in Heavenly places. Job was a pawn in a cosmic dual between God and satan.

Satan's accusation in chapter 1, "he only serves you because you are so good to him" implies that Job is not really as good as he seems and it puts God's judgement, that Job is good, into question. In one swoop satan attacks the integrity of Job and makes God look like a fool. If Job is really just self-serving, serving God because it pays well, then God's pleasure in Job has no reality to it. If satan's accusation can be established then Job is a phony and God is a fool. This is the theme of the story of Job and every statement in the story has to be understood with that in mind.

Job's statement here comes in his response to Zophar, the cruelest of Job's friends. While Eliphaz tried to explain that God was some how just in taking everything away from Job, for his own good and Bildab blamed the sins of Job's own children for the suffering, Zophar attacked Job himself. Zophar's explanation for Job's problems was that Job is the problem. Zophar longed to see God speak against Job. He believed that despite the severity of the suffering Job was experiencing, it was not enough, that God was actually holding back and Job deserved even more. Zophar is a cruel man. "Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin." Job 11:6.

In chapter 12 -13 Job defends himself yet again against the unbelievable cruelty of his friends who thought they had it all figured out. Their logic is simple, live right and God will bless you, do wrong and God will make you pay. This ironicly, is also the logic of satan in his original attack on Job. The Job's friends seem to mean well, they seem to speak truth, they seem to be good but they have actually become allied with satan with a pragmatic view of spiritual things. These men believed the only reason to give, was to get.

Job was breaking because of the pressure his friends were putting on him. And some how, he reached down inside and found more faith than they had, more faith than even Job knew he had.

Job said, "Though he slay me yet will I hope in him". The pressure of Job's friends was pointing him heavenward. He sure couldn't hope in them; he couldn't hope in his wife. Job's only hope of vindication, deliverance or future happiness was God. And deep down inside, Job decided that no matter what God did, God was still his only hope. That is a gut check from a true believer. "Though he slay me... " For a true believer what God does is meaningless, all that matters is being right with God. These are the heights upon which Job walked.

what are friends for?

2009-07-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

"A despairing man should have the devotion of his friends, even though he forsakes the fear of the Almighty. " Job 6:14

Job faced three trials.

First the loss of his wealth and family; which Job overcame, after a period of anger and grief (Job 1:20) with his tremendous revelation of a new name of God - The LORD that giveth and the LORD that taketh away.

Second, Job lost his health, he did not have a disease that would lead to death. Instead he had a disease which caused him to wish he was dead. But Job overcame this with this humble statement: "shall we receive good at the hand of God and not receive evil?"

The third trial of Job, was his struggle with his friends. Job was stunned that his friends did not believe him when he said he had done nothing to deserve the trials that he was experiencing. Most of the book of Job is about this conflict. The people who Job believed were his closest allies turned out to be his biggest accusers on earth. While satan attacked him before the throne of God, these so called "friends" of Job unwittingly did satan's work on earth.

Eliphaz tries to persuade Job that what he is going through is God's loving chastisement, the rod of correction for sin in his life. Job agrees that God does that but denies he has given God any reason to discipline him.

Bildad was simply ruthless in his attacks on saying, in essence, "your children got what they deserved." (Job 8:4)

What Bildad did not crush by his brutal attack, Zophar stomped all over. Zophar's attitude was that Job was the problem and his secret sins led to the death and destruction of his family and fortune.

It was in this interaction with his friends that Job failed. What satan could not do, the friends of Job accomplished. They broke him. He was forced to defend himself and in so doing he sinned. The more he justified and declared his right standing with God the more it was revealed that Job's problem was his pride, even though God said that Job did nothing to provoke the disastrous that befell him. God did not allow satan to attack Job because Job was proud, but in the midst of the trial, in the interaction with his friends Job's pride became manifest.

Now if you have a friend going through a Job experience this is not permission to pile on, the friends were wrong and present no good example of comfort for people who are suffering. If anything the lesson of Job's trial by friends is that we don't know as much about people as we think. Love and humility go a long way towards healing wounds.

No wonder God did not heal Job, until he prayed for his friends. (Job 42:10)

I have heard an old preacher say, "Life is short, forgive everybody." He knew what he was talking about.

The Rugged Road

2009-07-05T15:56:00.000-07:00

"What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me." Job 3:25

The common way to look at this verse is to say, "see Job brought his trouble on himself. His fear made it happen." Such thinking is not an accurate assessment of Job's story. Look at Job 2:3, God is speaking to satan, "... you incited me against him without any reason. " According to God there was nothing Job did to bring the calamity he experienced.

That is really the central theme of the entire book of Job. Is Job serving God just because God blesses him? We can ask the question more broadly, does anyone serve God for his own sake, or is it always a "quid pro quot" relationship between God and man. Do we give to get? Do we seek God only because of what we hope he can do for us? What value is there in knowing God if he does not bless us with good things? These are the type of questions the story of Job answers.

In that context then, what did Job fear? What was he talking about in Job 3:25. One clue is in chapter 1, verse 5. Job was concerned that his children might have sinned, and so he interceded for them. Another clue is in Job 1:1, "This man was blameless and upright; he feared God." Job seemed to believe that serving God would protect his family. We know from reading the story, that God removed whatever protection there was and disaster struck. Job clearly thought there should have been some "quid pro quot". Job clearly thought he had done what he should to please God and that this should protect him from evil, but it did not. Instead, the very thing Job
did not want to happen, the thing he feared, did in fact happen.

We have to get away from the idea that faith in God is some kind of superstition. We are told by some that if we just pay our tithe we will not only never have a financial problem but we will prosper beyond our wildest dreams. This is just not true. Job learned and we who follow Christ must learn that sometimes bad things happen to good people - FOR NO APPARENT REASON. No one has God in their back pocket in this regard.

Jesus promised us trouble, persecution and rejection for his name sake. He did not promise us sun shine without rain. Paul taught that trouble produces patience in us. Peter taught we should learn to endure unjust treatment and remain quiet just like Jesus. Paul talked about his being ship wrecked, enduring famine, beatings, and yes some times he even prospered. The thing is we need a perspective on circumstances that is balanced scripturally. There is no "quid pro quot" with God.

Quid pro quot is Latin for "this for that". It is the idea that we do something, or say something and God is then bound to carry out our will. Such thinking is evil, because it dethrones God. It may be startling news to many Christians in America but God has never surrendered his throne to us.

I do not want to suffer, or experience loss any more than I already have but if God puts me in the hot seat like Job I hope and pray he will also provide the grace to endure it. The more I read Job, the clearer it gets to me: God's purpose is to refine us to change us into the image of Christ the lamb, not prosperous to our own hurt.

If you find yourself feeling like Job "I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest but only turmoil."(see Job 3:26) remember that you are walking on Holy ground.

Wishing your life away

2009-06-20T16:56:00.000-07:00

After this, Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth.
Job 3:1

Job did a lot things right. When he lost everything: his livelihood and his children in Chapter 1. He did not sin. (Job 1:22). He grieved, shaved his head and worshipped but he did not speak "against God by charging God with wrong doing".

In chapter 1 satan makes the accusation that Job is only true to God because God is so good to him. So God lets satan take the good things out of Job's life. Job proved God's confidence to be well placed. Under tremendous pressure, Job bent but he did not break. In chapter 2, satan tries to explain away Job's integrity under fire and implies that Job might not care about his property and children as much as he cares about his own skin. So with God's consent, satan attacks the skin of Job.

Indeed this does push Job to a breaking point.

In chapter 2 verse 9 Job's wife urges her husband to "curse God and die". This is the proof of the pudding of any one's "suffering". Most of humanity is pragmatic in their view of God. Perhaps satan's accusations against Job are based on his observations of humanity. Regardless of one's religion, most people take an attitude towards God that is almost satanic in its pragmatism. The logic is this: if God does good for me I will do good for God, but if serving God does not seem to produce any earthly good then what good is serving God? In the end the most common attitude towards God is one of dark pragmatism.

This is the mind set of Job's wife. Her view was that if God has seemed to fail, curse him and die. Give up. What good is faith anyway? Why hold on to your integrity? What "good" has it done?

Job retorts to his wife, "Shall we accept good from the Lord and not trouble? " He is so balanced. His faith is not based on what God does or does not do. The faith of Job is centered in God. For Job there is just no other option but to serve God. Job's view of God is not based on his circumstances. For Job, God reigns above circumstances.

Trials do hurt, if it didn't hurt it would not be much of a trial. It hurst even more when when those close to you do not understand. Job is about to see that he is alone in this world with a view of God that is not shared by anyone around him. He is surrounded by pragmatists, moralists, legalists and religious zealots. He is in pain, his body suffering from serious boils, he is in mourning over the death of his children and the loss of his finances.

He breaks, he feels sorry for himself - I wish I had never been born. But he does not accuse God of giving him a raw deal.

It is ok to mourn, to grieve and to feel despondent when the pressure of the trial is so great. The only requirement is not to blame God or falsely charge God with evil. Stay loyal to God under pressure.

The day you say, "I wish I had never been born" can be the day of rising to new heights in God. In your darkest hour, don't curse God, if you have ever had faith in the character of God your darkest day will reveal it.

The Lord that takes away

2009-05-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. Job 1:22

We have heard of the names of God in the Old Testament. There was Jehovah Jireh, "the Lord will provide"; Jehovah Nissi, "The Lord is my banner"; Jehovah Shalom, "the Lord is my peace". There are more names of God scattered through out the Old Testament. We sing these names and rejoice in their meaning and what they reveal about the nature of God. I have been reading the Bible as long as I can remember, since childhood, and I have heard sermons on the names of God. I have sung songs about his Revelation in his names. But never in all my earthly years have I ever heard a song or a message that celebrated Jehovah Natan and Jehovah laqach.

Some asks, What are those names? Those are the names of God revealed to Job. "The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. May the name of the LORD be praised." These names are twins. They can't be separated. In fact during Job's trials he says that very thing. "Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" Blessed be the name of the LORD, who has revealed himself as the God that gives and takes away.

Do you think this is only an Old Testament Revelation of God? Have you not read Paul's letters? "I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:12-13

This is the real God. He is not some cosmic bubble gum machine pouring nothing but sweet candy. There is a side to God that appears to be almost cruel and very, very real. There is a God who gives us all things to enjoy and that same God is also willing to remove his blessings from for a period of time for his own purposes. He is God. He can do what he chooses.

Job knew this, and he did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. God is the owner of everything, he gives it and takes it according to his own wishes, for his own purposes and it is not up to us to accuse the owner of the universe of evil doing because we don't like what he happens to be doing at this moment.

The Lord gives and Lord takes away, blessed be his name. To say more than that or less than that is a sin.

What is the gospel?

2009-05-02T12:56:00.001-07:00

“What shall we say then? Shall we go sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We have died to sin, how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized in Christ Jesus were baptized in to his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism in death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:1-4

The word gospel appears in the new testament 95 times. The word means “good news or glad tidings”. There are 9 occurrences of the word in Mathew, Mark, and Luke. John never uses the word, except in Revelation 14:6. Peter uses the word 3 times in his epistles.

The word is used by Paul 82 times. According to “Vines Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words”, the apostle Paul uses the word gospel to describe two distinct things. “The basic facts of the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and of the interpretation of these facts.”

So any scriptural definition of “gospel” would have to include, at least, these two aspects of the gospel. Romans 6:1-4 one aspect of the interpretation of the facts of the gospel is our identification with Christ. This aspect of the gospel is important. A convert to Christ must not only see the death and resurrection of Christ as historical facts, but as a personal revelation. When I see Christ’s death is my death I am changed. It is true that Christ died for my sins, but I also died with him and so his resurrection is my resurrection. Christ did not merely die for me, when he died I died; when he was buried I was buried; and when he rose from the dead, so did I. This part of the gospel sets us free from the power of sin. Dead men sin no more.

Seeing Christ’s death as our death is the first step of living a new life in Christ. And that is very good news.

God must be a "morning person"

2009-04-20T16:32:00.001-07:00

Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."
Lamentations 3:22-24

Some people have a rough time with mornings. We say, "he woke up on the wrong side of the bed".

Jeremiah certainly was having a series of bad days at the time he wrote these words. Jerusalem was in ruins, the Babylonians were looting the temple, all hope was lost for Israel. A weeping prophet wrote the book of Lamentations. His home land was completely destroyed, he himself was accused of treason for simply warning people of the disaster as it approached.

Among the ashes Jeremiah saw hope in his God, God starts each day with a clean slate. Jeremiah saw survivors among the destruction. There was a remnant, a future for Israel, and the world. God carries no grudge forward. He let's us start each day with a clean slate. It is difficult for us to imagine because our failings are great. We forget the magnitude of God's grace is measured by the depth of our depravity. "Where sin abounds.... " We think we need a law to ban sin, call the legislature, call the police ... but God's response to abounding sin is much different. He responds with abounding Grace.

Clearly, this is not to say that God never judges sin. This verse found its divine inspiration against the background of the total destruction of Israel as a nation. Don't be foolish. Grace is not a license to sin. Grace is the only remedy for sin. Sin has already been judged. We don't need another law neither do we need more discipline. We only need a savior. And God has graciously provided us a savior. His name is Jesus.

"I say to myself, "the LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him".

Blessed is the man who is content with God and God alone. The greatest spiritual experience is coming to see we need Jesus, all we need is Jesus and in see Him we have enough. Everything in our existence pulls us from this high ground. Our bodies need, our families need, and there are responsibilities that seem to demand something else must be true.

But there is nothing else, "Grace and Truth" have come to us in Jesus the one and only Christ.

The sign of the prophet Jonah

2009-04-19T09:51:00.000-07:00

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you." He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." Matt 12:38-40

    Some people are easily misunderstood. The disciple "doubting into faiith" Thomas is one of those people and the "God's Way is not our way Prophet" Jonah is another. Jonah gets dumped on because he ran from God. He did run from God, but he also ran into God. The story of Jonah is a story of the sovereign workings of God's Grace. God can and does save IN SPITE of who we are not because of who we are. Jonah was a self-willed, rebellious man. But God did not reject him, instead God worked on Jonah. Then centuries later when Jesus was speaking to self willed, rebellious religious people the light of Jonah's story shined on them and condemned them.

    There are three things Jonah knew, he knew God(Jonah 4:1), he knew he was running from God(Jonah 1:3, 1:10), and he knew his disobedience had brought calamnity to those around him(Jonah 1:12).

    Jonah had problems, he was an angry, self-willed man, but he also knew God. Jonah heard from God. His spiritual hearing was real. God spoke to Jonah 5 times in the little book of Jonah(Jonah 1:1, 3:1, 4:4, 4:9,10). Jonah knew God's voice. Not only could Jonah hear from God, Jonah knew God's character. Jonah knew God was more interested in being merciful to people than in pouring out wrath. This is what led to Jonah's problem. God wanted Jonah to preach to the Ninivettes. Jonah didn't like those people and so he refused to preach to them. Jonah was afraid if he did and they repented God would not whipe them out. (Jonah 4:1). Who do we refuse to preach to? Is there some individual or group that we think we would rather see burn in hell than worship the lamb in heaven?

    Jonah was very conscious of his decision to flee God, he spoke openly about it (Jonah 1:10). This was not something that required a lot of introspection to reveal. Jonah was flat out refusing to preach to Nineveh and he was not even trying to hide it. God must like to fish. He gave Jonah lots of line and let him run as hard as he could until God yanked him back real good and set the hook. When Jonah woke up from his nap in the middle the storm he must have realized the ride was over for him. The men of the ship were frantically trying to find an answer to the storm. "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down?" they asked. Jonah offered himself up, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea."

    Jonah knew very well, he had brought trouble to the people around him. And so he offered himself up for them. Nowhere in scripture does it say that God promised a big fish would pick Jonah up. There was a storm raging. I don't know if Jonah was feeling a little suicidal or if he just had a hunch that God would get him out of this. But what we end up with here is a great picture of Christ.

    The men on the boat refused Jonah's offer. They didn't want grace. They wanted to work for their salvation so the story says, "Instead the men did their best to row back to land. But they could not, for the sea grew even wilder than before." The harder they worked on their own salvation, the worst the situation became. Finally, they relent, they accept Jonah's offering of himself and they throw him over board. Why didn't Jonah just jump off the ship?

    This is the sign of the prophet Jonah for a wicked and rebellious generation. While Jonah was inside the belly of the fish he started to change. Finally when the fish vomited Jonah out the Lord spoke to him again and this time he went to Nineveh to preach. God had his way with Jonah. No one can out run God. Jonah became Christ like inspite of himself. Jonah's ministry became a sign for the ages, inspite of himself.

    Jonah should not be named the "self willed" prophet, he should be named the prophet of the Grace of God. Jesus held him up as a trophy of Grace for all the ages to see. Jonah had a ministry that spanned the ages because of what the Lord had done. Isn't that the way it is supposed to be? We are so quick to write people off, "he is backslidden again";"that guy can never get anything right"; "she has a rebellious spirit".. It is the wrong attitude. If we wait on God he might show us the people in our life that we have given up on. God might not feel the same way about them. Never underestimate the reach, and the relentlessness of God's grace. Sure Jonah is no Daniel, and Thomas is no Paul but who among us is? Sure we can dare to be a Daniel and we can aspire to the robust character of Paul but at the end of the day God knows exactly who we are. And we tend to be a lot more like the Jonahs and the Thomas' of the scripture. And we are just as saved, just as sanctified, just as pure as Christ, in spite of ourselves.

    That is the sign Jesus gave to a wicked and adulterous generation.

    Quit rowing harder, quit trying to be better, quit trying to find your own solution to the problem, accept the work of Christ at the cross as sufficient for everything you need to stand before God. Accept the offer of Jesus. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that through him we might become the righteousness of God."

The Weaned Child Within

2009-04-18T15:46:00.001-07:00

    At Christmas time we celebrate the birth of the Christ Child into the world, there is also a birth of the Christ into our soul. After we are born again Jesus' spirit lives within us. The New Life in Christ is a life of learning to lean. We work spiritually to quit relying our own works. We never quit working. We work at relying on the sufficiency of God’s works. We come to the place where we see our own works can never make us "right" and yet desiring to be made right with God we confess that Jesus Christ has done for us what we could not do for ourselves. Confessing is an ongoing cleansing process throughout our walk with the Lord and ultimately, through this process we are brought to a place where we surrender to God’s will.
The sin of pride, is a most subtle and powerful enemy of this process. Pride must be overcome before we can fully surrender.

The symptoms of the sin of pride

In Psalm 131 there is a poetic picture of pride working in us against the spirit of God.

"I do not concern myself with great matters, or things too wonderful for me." Psalm 131:2

   Long ago, Job was a man who struggled with pride. When Job finally confessed his pride he admitted that while he had been in denial, he had spoken of things he did not understand (Job 42:3). This confession gave Job some insight into the spiritual reality that pride has the effect of obscuring the counsel of God. God’s counsel is always good, but pride ruins it. Pride causes us to overestimate our limited knowledge of God’s counsel, and twist it. Often the result is painful for ourselves and the ones closest to us. Pride is deceitful. Pride makes us think we know something when in reality we know nothing. Pride gives us a false view of ourselves and our place in the world.
    Pride also shows itself in our trying to control things that are beyond our power to control. We become frustrated and angry because our reach exceeds our grasp, and we are entangled in “things too wonderful.” or matters too great.
   One example of how we can lose sight of the “counsel of God”, as Job calls it, is in Acts 1:6-7, after Jesus left the disciples for the last time, the first question they asked was when is he coming back? Some angels appeared to correct them, "it is not for you to know..." We are not in this world to tell this world when it is going to end. We are here to do God's work until the world ends. We must obey God’s limits on our knowledge and not dabble in things “too wonderful for me.” We cannot cut teeth on things that are “too wonderful”.

The Weaned Child Within

“like a weaned child is my soul within me.” Psalm 131:3

   In Isaiah 28:8-11, we see pride gets us into a state spiritually where all we can receive is milk, and we cannot be weaned. God is forced to give us very simple black and white instructions because spiritually immature people cannot handle the many shades of gray of the complexities of spiritual life. For the immature the idea that truth has many sides is offensive. Immaturity wants simple food. Milk is good for babes but if we are not able to move on from the realm of the rote, “line upon line”, the realm of the letter of law, then our growth has been stunted by the sin of pride.
   The writer of Hebrews reminds us (Heb 5:13-14) the day comes for all of us spiritually where the milk stops flowing and we have to learn to chew. Chewing is a difficult exercise. We might choke a few times before we get going. We might not like the effort it requires but it must be done. Making the transition from milk to meat requires accepting a change in diet. Meat is not easy to accept. We have to ponder meaty truths for a while before we benefit from them. If we reject meat every time it is offered we remain restless, proud, disquieted.
   This process of weaning the child was recognized in the east as a momentous event. Even to this day, the weaning of a child is ceremoniously celebrated in the orient. In Genesis 21:8 Abraham celebrates the weaning of Isaac. Jesus, also, talked about spiritual meat, in John 4:34 "my meat is to do the will of him who sent me". We know we are ready for meat when we are ready to humble ourselves and accept God’s will for our lives. We become weaned and the Son of God in us says, “nevertheless not my will…”

Entering into rest

“Israel put your hope in The Lord.”

   Pride is the sin that keeps us from becoming quiet within. Pride keeps our soul stirred up, anxious, involved in things “too wonderful”. Pride keeps us from being weaned. We are stuck on a spiritual diet of milk until we are humble enough for meat. Meat for the mature, the humble, those who accept what God gives them, one bite at a time. Repent of pride, wanting to do your own works, busying yourself in things beyond your place - asking questions, which have no answers. Instead, quieting your soul like a weaned child, stay fresh in God, moving on in His time and accepting the solid food, the meat of surrendering to do his will.

   When our soul becomes weaned, Jesus says within us, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."(John 4:32). And we are satisfied.

Doubting into faith

2009-04-16T01:51:00.001-07:00

John 20:27
Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."

In my opinion, Thomas gets a bum rap. For two thousand years his nickname has been doubting Thomas.

John is the only one to write down anything Thomas had to say. The first time Thomas spoke was when Jesus was trying to prepare the disciples to go to witness the resurrection of Lazarus. Funny thing how some miracles require more preparation than others. The whole gang of the disciples were confused by Jesus' statement "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up." John 11:11. The next verse says the disciples were thinking about natural sleep and Jesus had to repeat himself more plainly, "Lazarus is dead." Then Thomas spoke, "Let us also go and die with him". Thomas was an "expect the worst hope for the best" kind of disciple.
He was not resisting the idea of going, but he was not expecting a miracle either. Then again, neither were the other disciples.

The next time Thomas speaks is in the upper room, the night Jesus was going to be betrayed. Jesus was giving his last speech to the disciples and trying to encourage them with words about the place that he is going and the place he is preparing for us. In John 14:4, Jesus is speaking, "You know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas, was listening, and he asked, " Lord we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?".... really this was true, Jesus had said yet exactly where he was going.... and his reply has become a verse every child learns in Sunday school, "I AM THE WAY....". Actually, it was a good thing Thomas asked that question. It cleared things up for all of us.

Finally, in John 20, we find the last words of Thomas. Unfortunately for Thomas, these words have branded him as a doubting, faithless Apostle. These words are how he gets the nickname, "doubting Thomas"... but is that really fair? Let's look into John 20, starting at verse 19, Jesus shows up in the midst of the trembling fearful disciples. They were hiding behind locked doors "for fear of the Jews". Jesus stands among them and shows THEM his hands and side. Look in your Bible and highlight that, Jesus appeared among a group of cowering, fearful disciples and showed THEM his hands and side.... now look at verse 24, and highlight that.... BUT Thomas WAS NOT WITH THEM. Why not? The other disciples were too scared to be outside... where was Thomas... Scripture does not answer that but he certainly was not with Peter and John and the others cowering in fear behind locked doors.

So it is understandable then, when Thomas shows up later and the other disciples recount the story to him he has a hard time believing it. Wait a minute, "Jesus shows up while I am out running errands for you guys who are too scared to unlock the doors and He shows you his wounds. No I am not going to believe it unless he does the same thing for me." That is what Thomas was saying. He just wanted to witness the same experience as any other APOSTLE. Intimacy with the wounds of Christ is an unmistakable hallmark of apostolic ministry.

And the good news is Jesus accommodated Thomas. He showed up and let him have the same experience as the others. Then Jesus told Thomas to stop doubting. Thomas was doubting himself. He was not cowering in fear. He was out there doing something, God only knows what, but he was not locked up inside a house fearing the Jews. Jesus wanted Thomas to believe, not only that Jesus was alive, but also that he was indeed one of the apostles.

From Thomas we can learn that is not necessary to be worked up into a crazed emotional state to see miracles happen. Run of the mill melancholy can see the miracles of God just fine. We also learn that some questions need to be asked, that questioning God leads to further revelation, but the greatest lesson of Thomas' life found in scripture is that Jesus has a place for the fearful and cowering just as much as the self-loathing and self-doubters. Sometimes the people who claim to have it all together are actually bound by fear and they need to touch Jesus wounds to find deliverence. There are some people who just never seem to have their "act" together and they get labled "doubters" and "faithless" just like Thomas.

Thomas was no Apostle Paul. But niether were the others in the room the day Jesus appeared just for him. Thank God, His grace is there through all our meloncoly, all our questions, all our fears and all our doubts. Thomas should be known as "FEARLESS" Thomas. He had other issues, but fear was not one of them.

No More Heroes

2009-04-12T21:06:00.000-07:00

"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
But he replied, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death."
Jesus answered, "I tell you, Peter, before the rooster crows today, you will deny three times that you know me." Luke 22:31-34

First of all, it is worth noting that it is a good thing to be zealous for the Lord. It is a good thing to believe God will do great things in our time, and even honorable to seek God to use us to accomplish those great things. Greatness in God requires great refinement by God.

Peter has never shrunk back from an opportunity to be bold: he walked on water with Jesus while the rest were dieing from fear. Peter is impetuous but he is also a leader. He is not reckless. The others look to him for leadership so what we have here is not the folly of a naive youngster, we have a grown man who wants to be a hero. "I am ready to die!" Peter meant every word. Shortly after this very conversation, Peter proved he was serious, and Jesus was re-connecting the ear of a soldier who Peter had attacked with his sword. Peter wanted to do something great, more than that he wanted to be great.

How heart breaking it must have been for Peter to hear the cock crow. Peter was warming himself by a fire, denying he knew the Lord, and in Luke 22:61 "The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter". Then these words that Jesus spoke crashed in on Peter, "and he went outside and wept bitterly." What else could a good man do? Peter was crushed. Not only was his Lord being beaten and he could not help; but his own sense of who he was being crushed. Some Hero Peter was, crying helplessly, alone when the heat was hottest.

After he cried his eyes out, after Jesus was entombed there must have come a time when Peter rejoined the group. There with the others Peter must have been sullen, empty, hurting and ashamed. How could he have done it? How is that he denied the Lord he loved? Oh, the sifting of satan, scorching him must have been intense. The man who wanted to lead a revolution and usher in the kingdom of God now saw himself as a pathetic failure whose better days had long ago past.

After the Resurrection, Jesus appeared to Peter and asked him one question, "do you love me?"

Here is the point of this stage of Peter's life, Jesus knew all along that Peter was much weaker than he or the others knew. Jesus was not shaken by it. Peter was the one who was shaken and surprised by his own weakness. Jesus did not give up on Peter and we should not be surprised that he does not give up on anyone.

Failure is the mother of success. Before you succeed in any endeavor you fail. That is just how it is. In God we tend to put to much stock in what we fail to do. God is unmoved by our failures. He already knows us better than we know ourselves.

Peter thought that Jesus was on earth recruiting heroes for battle, heroes need shining armor and white horses. But in God there is only room for one hero. His armor was stripped away, and he died naked on a cross and God raised him from the dead so that he could be the first born from the dead. God is not looking for heroes. He is looking for common folk whose faith remains true through all that life, and satan throw at them.

No more heroes. Has your image of yourself fallen? Do you see yourself as weaker now than when you first came to know Christ? Good.

The young man who once drew his sword to fight for Jesus, the man Peter so filled with self-confidence and fight became the Apostle who wrote:

But how is it to your credit if your receive a beating for doing wrong and
endure it? but if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is
commendable before God. To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you,
leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no
sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth". When they hurled their insults at
him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he
trusted himself to him who judges justly.

After the sifting Peter did turn to strengthen his brethren. Just as Jesus said. The sifting knocked the fight out of Peter and all that was left was Jesus. This is great news, you don't have to be a hero. You don't have to be perfect, you have to be willing to be perfected.

No time like the present

2009-04-09T19:04:00.001-07:00

John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and Peace to you from Him who is, and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits before his throne and from Jesus Christ, the first born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 1:4-6.

This is John’s glorious salutation to the churches in Asia at the beginning of the book we call The Revelation.

John sends his salutation from several beings. First is “him who is, and who was, and who is to come”, second are the seven spirits before his throne, and John specifies Jesus Christ. This is interesting. I was writing a letter to an old friend the other, my wife asked who I was writing to and I told her. She said tell him I said “hello”; so I forwarded her regards. That is what John is doing here. He is greeting the churches in Asia with as a group conveying to them “Grace and Peace” from the fullness of the Godhead himself.

Three times in the book of Revelation we see this phrase, “Who is, and who was and who is to come”. Revelation 1:4,1:8, and 4:8. The first time it is used by John to describe the source of his greeting, the second time “the Lord God” refers to himself with this phrase and then in Revelation 4:8 the angels in heaven use this phrase in worship and based on the description there they are still doing it, “day and night they never stop saying, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is, and is to come.”

Now think about this. Who actually can say they were, and are and are to come? Or who can you say that about? We all have a past, but we are not actually the past. We all have a future, but we are not the future incarnate. As humans we exist in one moment of time at a time. We simply are. We are beings. Now I know we fret over the past, and worry about the future, even though we know we shouldn’t. But none of us exists in the past right now. We are created in God’s image, that word also means shadow. We are a lot like God but we are much less. God is a completely transcendent being unbound by time or place. That is unimaginable.

No wonder it seems like He is slow to provide for us, or that he delays his return. He cannot be contained by a calendar. He cannot bow to our time table. He was, and is and is to come all at the same time, all in the right now. If God wanted to he could change the past, present and future because he is the past, present and future.

And this almighty being loves us. He freed us from our sins which separated us from him and turned us into a kingdom, he “has made us to be a kingdom”. Each of us is a kingdom.

This resurrection Sunday, don’t look back at the resurrection as a historical event. There is no such thing in God. Jesus Christ is reveled to be “the first born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” We are the kingdoms, He is our King and He was and He is to come all at the same time. We have nothing to fear from human governments. The rulers of this world are playthings for God. We are the kingdoms under his rule, unaffected by the whims of a fallen world.

The resurrection should give us a transcendent focus, literally, in God there is no time like the present.

Blessed Distress

2009-04-04T08:36:00.001-07:00

"to obey is better than sacrifice." 1 Samuel 15:22

For king Saul these words marked the beginning of his end. King Saul had become more connected to people than to God. Sure he believed in God; yes, he knew how to sacrifice to God; he prayed; But the result was he trembled and then he fell apart in total panic.

Saul is all of us apart from an active connection to the living God. Saul is all of us who have ever felt like "I have to do something or else.... ". The reality for anyone who walks with God is that we should never act from compulsion. No one should be able to force us into action except for God. The source of Saul's distress, and his solution to it were worldly, temporal, and disconnected from God.

Samuel spent a night in prayer "troubled" at the word of the LORD, "I am grieved that I have made Saul king because he turned away from me....". While Saul was negotiating with God's enemies, and rationalizing his spiritual rebellion, Samuel also experienced distress. Samuel was disturbed in prayer..... Samuel's connection to God had become a source of distress. What we have here in 1 Samuel 15:22 is the story of two men under a great deal of personal distress. One of them was distressed by his wandering from God, and the other was distressed in his moving closer to God.

Obedience to God does not grant us a life of ease. Pressing into God might bring us to a place where God shares the distress of His heart. This is not a popular kind of prayer. This is not the kind of closeness to God that a lot of people will want. We might find it easier to be like Saul, take control of our destiny and move on ignoring the "bleating of the sheep" all around us. Honestly, much of what is called Christianity nowadays is more like Saul than Samuel.

The evidence of our disconnection from God is all around us, giving us away. We are more interested in winning elections than souls. We seek to"impact our culture" rather than "shine as stars" among a fallen generation (phil 2:15). Rather than being satisfied having the Lord as our portion, we have the Lord as a means to our ends. It is more popular to "cast our cares upon Him" than it is for Him to share his burdens with us.

We have no peace in casting our care upon a total stranger. Perhaps we have little peace in casting our cares on him, because we do not have a real intimacy with Him. The risk of being intimate with God is that he might ask you to be there for Him. It is much easier to live like Saul invisibly disconnected from God. Religious devotion can be fake, obedience cannot. To Obey God is far better than the pretense of sacrifice, but the price of reality is sharing God's pain, walking God's path and reaching for God's goals.

Contrary to popular opinion, Christianity is not a free ride.

Move on

2009-04-04T01:50:00.000-07:00

"The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul..." 1 Samuel 16:1

Pressing into God leaves us vulnerable. We reach a place spiritually where we no longer look for God to serve us, meet our needs, like children. Instead, under His guidance, His sustaining grace we find ourselves seeing things from His point of view. We grieve with the spirit of God. We pray, and instead of finding relief we find the distress that seeing things from God's view point brings.

There is no relief from such a burden. The masses run to God with their problems, but the prophet finds nowhere to turn. When the prophet spent a night in prayer he only found more distress. But God has made a decision concerning what distresses Him. God moved on. God picked another king. And now the prophet must move on as well. Some things prayer only makes worse for us.

We cling to the past, we cling to our ideals and we find no help from God. He won't let us go back in time. For some issues the only cure is to rise, "and be on your way". Brothers and sisters in Christ, we live in a fallen world. We live in a world where promise often does not reach its potential. We are not on earth to be loyal to any king, nor are we on earth to rebel against any. All the world's governments, even those like Saul that were ordained by God, will be brought into account - someday. Jesus taught about a day when the sheep will be separated from the goats. "All the nations will be gathered before him...."(Matt 25:32). Daniel prophesied about a rock that was "cut out, but not by human hands" (Dan 2:34). That rock crushed an image that represented all the governments of human history. No matter how much we are distressed in the current situation in our country. No matter how much of that distress is truly borne in the heart of God, there remains a rock which we must heed.

The crisis we face is not financial or military. The danger we face is not whether we are socialist or capitalist. The issue before us as people of God is how long we will cling to any human ideal of government after God has said move on.You see there is change coming. There is a new kingdom coming. There is a new world coming. It is that "rock cut out but not with human hands." As people of God we don't have to cling to Saul or any other ideal. The gospel survived the fall of Rome. Empires and nations have come and gone and the gospel has been preached to all of them. Change is coming. The remnant hears the prophet crying out, "Surrender to Babylon and live!"

Never cling to an ideal at the expense of moving on with God.

The Life that has become a joke

2009-03-29T22:47:00.001-07:00

Abraham fell face down; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" - Gen 17:17

Sometimes the promises of God are not just hard to believe. Sometimes they are completely ludicrous. The answer to both of Abraham’s questions is “yes”. And that is what is so funny to him. In the beginning of Abraham’s walk with God obedience was easy. God said “Leave everyone you know and everything you have and go to a land I will show you”. Abram went not knowing his destiny.

But years have passed. The romance has gone out of the adventure. What seemed like an amazing start to a glorious move of God became a dismal, normal frustrating flop. Abraham had been obedient. He went when he was told to go, but now that so much time had passed, hope against hope grated his sensibilities until when once again God spoke, Abraham could not help but laugh. “A son? Who me? You must be kidding.”

Has your life in God paled in comparison to your glorious new birth? In the beginning you were full of zeal. At one time, you were like Abram, you went out not knowing where you were going and found yourself amazingly satisfied by the provision of God. But now, there is something unfulfilled, something from long ago, something the time of which must surely have passed. Yes, we can all find the reality of our lives to be a joke in light of God’s amazing promises.

So we ask God, “how in the world can this promise ever be fulfilled?” Not only does it seem impossible, it is truly laughable. It is a joke.

But God speaks through our laughter and says, “Believe”.

A day comes to everyone who walks by faith, when we have nothing left but hope in God and we see that means we have everything we will ever need.

Fugitive from Futility

2009-03-29T22:42:00.001-07:00

“Do not come any closer,’ God said….. – Exodus 3:5

This is the first command God gave directly to Moses. “Do not come any closer”. God told Moses to stop in his tracks and remove his shoes. God said, “Halt”, like an officer of the law making an arrest; Moses, you have gone far enough. Take off your shoes, Moses. An arresting officer today might say something like, "get out of the car. Keep your hands where I can see them". God never told Moses to turn and look, Moses choose that on his own. No the very first time God spoke to his friend Moses, God told Moses to stop in his tracks.

Here in the faraway land of Midian where Moses, an heir to the promise of Abraham through Isaac, lived among the sons of Ishmael . Moses was far, far from home in both time and distance. How did Moses end up like this? How did he happen upon the burning bush?

Moses was simply taking care of his father-in-law's business, he had become a shepherd. Apparently he had been doing this for 40 years. And in the course of taking care of the mundane things Moses had a heavenly encounter.

How did Moses end up taking care of his father-in-law’s sheep? He met his wife by a well, where she and here sisters women were being harassed by some other shepherds. Moses “rescued them” (see Exodus 2:19).

Why was Moses there at the well? Moses was at the well because he left the palace of Pharaoh as a fugitive. He had committed murder. Moses killed an Egyptian solider because he saw him abusing one of Moses' country men. At some point in Moses’ early life he became aware that he was a slave by birth and the injustice of the treatment of his country men troubled him. Moses might have been thinking I am in a position of influence I can do something about this injustice. Surely God will use me to change this situation.

Moses was right, we know, God wanted to use him, but Pharaoh’s court could not prepare a man for the work of God. So Moses made a tragic, horrible mistake that cost him everything. He ran away and ended up so far from Egypt that he would never be found out. The truth about Moses would never be told.

But God did find Moses. God called out to him through a burning bush, “Moses, Moses” and just as Moses turned to look, to see why the bush burn “but was not consumed”, God sprang the trap, “Come no further”. Not one more step in your shoes, this is a place you have never been before. This is Holy Ground. “Stop”!

Many of us have walked in Moses’ shoes. We saw a need, thought God would use us, acted in faith and then WHAM! next thing that happened was we had to run for our lives. Many of us have tried to out run the hound of heaven. Only to wake up one day and hear Him calling us by name. In America today we are obsessed with self reflection. People hang onto to issues from childhood to the grave. We have untold millions of people running from themselves. The good news of the Gospel is that we have died with Christ. We are not reformed, we are a new creation in Christ. Not only is the past is not prelude, it does not even exist!

Stop! Take off your shoes! It ended at Calvary, how much time it takes for any one of us to realize it and live out the reality of it I do not know. It is different for each one of us. But God there is a day in our lives when God provides us a bush that burns and is not consumed and He waits for us to turn aside and look. This is Holy Ground.

Did Moses run so far away that it took God 40 years to find him? Or did it take Moses 40 years to be willing to obey the command of ceasing from relying on his self? Either way the truth remains: anyone who will be used of God must first be stopped by God. (Think of Paul) Moses had become a fugitive from the futility of his own ways. The thing he was running from was Moses. Thank God for these transforming moments, the Holy Ground where he speaks to us and saves us from ourselves. The end result is a stunning transformation, sung about in the Song of Songs, “Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover?” SOS 8:5 . Blessed is the man who has been cleansed, not merely from his past, but from his own self.

The Abortion that Lived

2009-03-29T22:28:00.001-07:00

"and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born." 1 Corinthians 15:7-8

The phrase “abnormally born” comes from a greek word (ekotroma) that is almost universally translated abortion. (see Vine's, Robertson, Strong and others.)

Shocking as the word abortion is let's meditate on this passage rather than react emotionally to the grotesque image the word ekotroma paints in our mind.

When Paul encountered the risen Lord he was on the road to Damascus. In fact at that time his name was not even Paul. His name was Saul of Tarsus. And his intention upon arriving in Damascus was to imprison more followers of Christ. Saul of Tarsus was a sworn enemy of the Church the likes of which we have never witnessed in America. In America Christian leaders are often heard speaking out against the ungodly, leftist courts which keep kids from praying in schools or allow such detestable practices as abortion to occur. We have never experienced a threat to our religious freedom and general well being like Saul. The legal system in America is tame in comparison. No one hated Christians and attempted to destroy Christianity more than Saul.

Saul had imprisoned, murdered, beaten, and tortured any Christian he could get his hands on. He hated the church. He made every effort to destroy it.

Then Christ appeared to him, also... boom! Things changed to say the least.

Maybe Paul was thinking as he wrote this, "why didn't Christ just kill me on that road? " Maybe Paul had been pondering the event for years, the moment Christ apprehended him. Paul might have thought that Christ would have been justified in slaying him right on the spot. But our Lord saw fit to save rather than destroy and so Saul became Paul.

How odd Paul's start as a Christian. How full of Grace. A man who God would have been truly justified in slaying to defend His people is suddenly turned into a member with full standing in the Church he once sought to destroy. Like an aborted fetus Paul could see no hope of survival in his new life, except for one thing:

The amazing Grace of God almighty. Would the church in America rejoice or despair if our perceived enemies suddenly became one of us? It would be quite a mess, and I have a feeling that is what Paul saw in his conversion, what a messy situation the Lord put him in. For the rest of his days he had to defend his standing in the church that he worked so feverently to establish. Well, Paul did work, but as he explains in verse 10 it was Grace working in him. God took a mess of a life, a Saul of Tarsus and produced Paul the Apostle,as it were and in his own words: an abortion.

We really need to stop thinking that God saved us because there was something in us He needed. Grace is quite the opposite. God save us because there was nothing in us that was good. Rare indeed in the Christian who can see the total abortion of their life up to the time they met Christ. The Grace of God is shocking and scandalous. When by all rights He should have killed us He gives us life. He takes our place, he pays the price.

Calling it "untimely born" just does not get the point. Paul had a profound understanding of the Amazing Grace of God. We need that vision now. The Grace of God takes what should have died and gives it life that cannot be imagined.

Betrayed by Piety

2009-03-29T22:22:00.001-07:00

"Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii, and given to poor people?" John 12:5

Here, we have, in the house of Simon the leper, in the town where Lazarus lived (again), the pious sounding words of a diabolical man. This took place six days before "THE PASSOVER", the fateful day, of the slaying of the Lamb. An act of slaying done by wicked, but pious sounding men: men who loved to pray long prayers in public, men whose loyalties were to earthly domains, men who plotted the murder of the righteous on Holy days, men who considered their ignoble deeds to be service unto God, men who were influenced more by perceptions than by convictions.

How holy you sound, O Judas. Go on, protest the lavish display of passion and comfort for the Savior, "We should give this to the poor, (why honor this man)". Those with a heart for this man, Jesus, hear your words and see through you Judas. Here in Bethany, where Jesus had his best of friends on Earth the voice betrayal is heard. "Give it to the poor", these words reveal how little Judas valued Christ, not how much Judas cared about the poor.

Some say the ointment was worth one year's wages in comparison the thirty pieces of silver, the amount Judas received for betraying Jesus, were worth less than one third of the price of the ointment. The pious voice of the betrayer still speaks in the religious world. Penny-wise and pound-foolish, the wisdom of men still sells out Jesus Christ. "Don't waste it! Put it in the bank!" whine the clever voices of piety. Meanwhile, the voices of passion for the savior always lead us to pouring out - "spending and being spent" (2 cor 12:15). Indeed, Mary had chosen the better part. Indeed, this is her memorial, pouring out of her worldly substance a sweet offering for the Savior.

Do you think I speak of money? Your thoughts betray you. Money is not the issue here. Luxury is the issue. What do you have of that is valuable beyond the necessities of life? Do you have an education, a skill, a hobby, or a position of influence? Make use of it for the savior. Give it away. Throw caution to the wind, ignore the pious voice of betrayal, which says, "Hold back, keep it for another cause, and don’t get too crazy".

We have heard the voice of the betrayer, but we did not know who he was. We have heard Jesus say, “the hand of him who betrays me is at this table", but we are not sure of whose hand Jesus speaks. We must ask, “Is it I Lord”

Christians, we have no other cause, no other day, THIS IS THE TIME! Don’t betray Jesus, break open your alabaster box. Pour yourself out.

The voices of the Gospel

2009-03-29T22:08:00.001-07:00

The voice in the written word

The Gospel, according to Mark, begins with "as it is written": "As it is written in Isaiah the prophet ". It is comforting to know that the gospel of Jesus Christ has a foundation in the old testament scripture. The Holy Spirit did not come upon the writers of the New Testament to write something off the top of their heads, or something from their own imagination without any foundation. Rather the message of the apostles was firmly rooted in the books of the Law and the Prophets. "For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor 15:3-4) Even Jesus Himself after being crucified and resurrected taught the disciples FROM the scriptures. (Luke 24:25-27)

The voice in the wilderness

From the written word came a voice. Not just any voice, but the voice of one crying out! "Make ready the way of the Lord." A voice calling people not to improved values, or a more prosperous life. A voice calling for, “an ax to be put to the root of every tree.” A voice calling sinners to repentance and surrender. And this voice was not like any other voice. It was a voice in the wilderness. A voice crying out in a place where there were no hearers. The voice was lonely saying things that needed be said at the expense of political popularity and social acceptance.

The voice from heaven

The first chapter of Mark shows us a voice that was founded in the old testament scripture, became a voice in the wilderness and was approved by a voice from heaven. The word had gone full circle. The prophet read it, then he spoke it as God directed him and finally God could not contain his approval. No wonder Paul told Timothy, "Preach the word!" That is the only way anything God centered can happen. "The Lord was working with them confirming the word".

The voice in the cities

Then Jesus moves from the wilderness to the cites. The cities is where the people are and we hear the voice of Christ preaching in the synagogues of Galilee. John the baptist was a voice in the wilderness because of his remote location, but Jesus was an echo of that same booming voice and the voice from heaven. We hear His uniqueness in a voice that caught the attention of the common people and angered the leaders of the religious establishment. This voice of God is always heard outside the system. Remember Moses who worshiped God outside the camp, a place of reproach (Exodus 33:7-11). Jesus' only earthly enemies were the religious leaders and the zealots who wanted a revolution to over throw them. He and his band of Sabbath breaking disciples lived outside the camp, as it were, until one of them broke ranks and made contact with the chief priests.

The voice of betrayal

Judas is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Judah, which means praise. Interesting that Judas was the only disciple from Jesus' own tribe. Iscariot refers to the town that Judas was from. All the other disciples were from Galilee. Think about this, a man whose name means praise betrayed the man whose name means savior. The religious leaders didn't have any use for Jesus. It kind of goes to show you, live a sinless life, perform countless miracles, defend the defenseless and the powers that be are bound to hate you. The son of man betrayed by a man whose name means praise. Using the meaning of the names involved we could say it another way, the Savior was betrayed by Praise. When praise shuts out the word of God as revealed in the scripture not only is the praise false, but so are the worshipers.

The Specter of the Kingdom of God

2009-03-28T00:20:00.000-07:00

Deliverers will go up on Mount Zion to govern the mountains of Esau. And the kingdom will be the LORD's. Obadiah 21 NIV

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels began their manifesto with, “ A SPECTER IS HAUNTING EUROPE – THE SPECTER OF COMMUNISM”. Since 1848 when it was first published, the ideas of communism have clashed with the economic wealth production of capitalism. During the past century “communism” as a label has become a pejorative term; people like Joseph Stalin and events like Tiananmen square have given communism a bad name.

Socialism, on the other hand has become a more acceptable term. The distinction between communism and socialism is a matter of semantics. Marx used both terms in his writing. For the purpose of this writing the term socialist is used, only because it seems to be more palatable to more people. The end result of the socialist agenda coincides philosophically with Marx’s goal of a working class revolution. Therefore, it makes the label makes no difference call what you will socialist or communist or merely liberal.

Socialism

On the surface, socialism seems to embrace certain Christian values fairness, justice for the poor. The Bible is full of references regarding the oppression o f the poor. James decries favoring the rich in the church by giving them the best seats in church and questions the judgment of getting ensnared with the influence of the wealthy, “Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name of him to whom you belong?” In deed in the Old Testament mistreatment of the less wealthy classes is part of the evils that the prophets declared led to the Babylonian captivity.

A reasonable case can be made that God is more on the side of the downtrodden than the wealthy. After the day of Pentecost the Bible says the Christians lived together and held all things in common. On the surface, this also sounds socialistic. But was it? The living arrangement of the early Christians was not forced on them by the government it was something born of both practical necessity due to persecution and that they were in agreement living under the rule of God.

Socialism, as it exists today, is not born out of a love for God or a desire to come under his rule. Socialism promotes a “functional” atheism, encouraging people to depend on the state rather than God. Even worse socialism encourages outright encourages covetousness, and literally stealing. Redistribution of wealth is the goal of every common thief. The Bible might talk about the evils of the oppression of the wealthy over the poor, but the Bible never says the poor are entitled to take the things the wealthy possess. The Bible is not a book written to promote social or political revolution. The Bible suggests the answer to such problems is found completely outside the world systems. Finally, socialism erodes the family unit. Marx promoted free love and communal wives. He said that marriage itself was corrupt. And the idea of parental authority is replaced with the authority of the state.

Capitalism

Capitalism, seems to embrace certain Christian ideals, work, and ownership. On the other hand Capitalism, in its purist form, does promote greed. The bible clearly teaches greed is a sin. And capitalism promotes self-reliance as opposed to state reliance, but still this is not Christian. Jesus did not commission us to go into all the world and make profits. We are in this world to make disciples.

In spite of the unchristian values promoted by capitalism, many economic historians tie the emergence of capitalism with the rise of the protestant movement in western Europe many centuries ago. In the USA more Christians seem to embrace free market, limited government and low tax philosophies of government as if Jesus were a capitalist. In some circles it seems that if one becomes a Christian they most definitely must also embrace conservative political views.

Christianity

Neither capitalism nor socialism nor any other form of human philosophy or government can replace the place of Christ for Christians. We do not have to choose between these two doctrines of men. That is the problem for Christians; we cannot embrace either socialism or capitalism and remain true to Christ. Neither of these systems is Godly. Neither Socialism nor capitalism can lead people to Christ. For Christians we have a whole new reality.

We are a new nation. We have our own economy, our own unique values given to us by God. There is no marriage of light and darkness. We must reject human wisdom and remember that all the nations, kingdoms will be crushed by that rock not cut with human hands. All the systems of human government will fail but we have an enduring kingdom. But we should not be revolutionary zealots seeking to establish an earthly kingdom of God. Jesus himself reminds us that his kingdom is not of this world. A Christian in a socialist country should be as helpful and cooperative as possible remembering that all authority on Earth comes from Heaven.
Our loyalty is first to Christ and then for his sake we participate in the affairs of world to glorify him. If the government turns socialist it is not going to change our duty as Christians. Yes, perhaps it is going to be less comfortable for us. Socialist governments tend to offer less religious freedom than we have grown accustomed to in America, but this is not a fight that Christians need to engage. Our warfare is spiritual, not carnal. We are not in conflict with people, we are in conflict with the spiritual powers of darkness in this world.

Finally, we ought to believe, that all the kingdoms of this world are going to come under the rule of God someday. Socialism will be rejected, capitalism will be rejected. Democracy will be replaced. The government of the people will be defeated by the government of God. God will do this, not us.

Marx began his writing declaring a specter is rising over Europe. He was partly right. There is a specter, of sorts, but it is not just over Europe; it is rising over the whole world: the specter of the Kingdom of God which is, and is to come. Obadiah saw it, the other prophets saw it, long ago. What is it? The ultimate triumph of the Kingdom of God.

Faith to Face Reality

2009-03-25T21:05:00.001-07:00

Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. Habakkuk 3:17-18

Faith in God does not guarantee a happy ending to every story. There are times when faith requires us to sacrifice. The idea that we are in control is blasphemy to God. The saints in Heaven still call him "sovereign". (Rev 6:10).

These are the hardest times to walk in faith. In the days when the crop has failed, again. In the days when there is no grape on the vine. These are the times when rejoicing in the Lord is painful. When you see the cupboard going bare. When you see your children looking at you with fear in their eyes. When it seems like all hope is lost. That is when rejoicing in the Lord seems utterly foolish.

But that is what faith IN God is all about. Even if I loose my house, I will rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in God my savior. That is faith to face the reality of life. Faith when there is no happy ending. Faith in the character of God. Most of us don't farm grapes or figs, for us the problem may be a business that has no customers, a spouse who has lost a job, a phone that never rings with a job offer.

These are the times when we need faith to face reality.

Such preaching does not sell on TV, nor does it play well on Sunday morning but it is the essence of the message of the prophets.

Faith to face reality is faith in God when every circumstance of life tells you he is not doing anything for you.

Habakkuk began his prophet writing arguing with God. He questioned how God could exalt an ungodly nation over his covenant people. In the end Habakkuk accepted God's decision even though he did not understand it and his bitter questioning of God produced a transformation. Habakkuk's questions are like Jonah's flight; the questions Habakkuk asked led him to doubt, away from God; the flight of Jonah led him to run from God.

But there was more to each story. Jonah runs from God and ends up right where God wanted him to be. Habakkuk begins with doubts about God's character and ends with a song of faith in God stripped naked, void of any outward blessings. The ending of both teach the ages about the ultimate victory of God, and that is what we should trust in, not the day to day ups and downs of his process of perfecting us and those around us.

The last verse of the book says, "The Sovereign Lord is my Strength, he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to walk on the heights." The highest point on the mountain is far past the point where things grow. The mountain peek is barren. Walking there is difficult and each step is treacherous.

It is better to reject any man who rejects the sovereignty of God than it is to reject the sovereignty of God. Beware of teachers who say God has abandoned his throne. It is the sovereign Lord who can lead you to heights spiritually. Let him have his way stripping away the figs, and grapes in your life so that you can walk alone with Him on higher ground.