"First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior," - 1 Timothy 2:1-3 ESV
This is so good. People need prayer and we need it also.
As communication has become easier criticism has also.
I can't hate someone I am praying for. Those kinds of things dissolve in the presence of a holy loving God. Leaders are easy to hate. They make impactful decisions and those decisions are going to affect a percentage of people negatively.
People do stupid, crazy, thoughtless and dangerous things. Let pray for the idiots in our life. They need it and we need it. It is part of the ministry of the believer priest.
Only the priests could enter into the holy places of the temple in Israel. Everyone else brought sacrifices and their access brought them to the brazen altar (which for us is the cross). The priests washed in the laver, a large polished bronze bowl that was filled with clean water. They saw their reflection in that hypnotic bowl. They were cleansed subjectively and objectively. They felt clean after they washed off the blood. They smelled the show bread and the oil burning clean in the menorah. (Exodus 30, Leviticus 24)
If we have no priestly ministry we never get past the cross.
We need the cleansing of the laver. We need to smell the smells of Heavenly thinking. The flicker of the light of the burning candlesticks give us hope like nothing else can. Those lights are forever. They never go out.
Let's pray for those in 'high positions'. They need it and we need to don the light linens of the priest. It will give us an oasis in a crazy merciless world. It will keep us sane.
--
Showing posts with label Criticism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Criticism. Show all posts
Friday, July 21, 2017
Monday, March 30, 2015
In Love's River
When we start to understand the scope and ramifications of grace we will begin to love ourselves and loving ourselves is so important. When grace saturates our thinking then performance takes a back seat. Action become a result and not a goal or cause. Grace magnifies God in every way. A gracious God is a God that must love us in all circumstances and if He loves us and others it is suggested to us that we can begin to love that way also.
"We love him, because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19 KJV
"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 ESV
Did God criticize to reconcile us? No, He did what was necessary without overriding our free will to make reconciliation possible without 'imputing sin'. He defines what sin is but does not associate us with individual sins because those sins have been placed on Christ. God was critical of Christ on the cross. He isn't ever going to be critical of us because of double jeopardy. We have been declared innocent and can never be prosecuted again.
Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of people that love themselves out there. They love themselves so much that there is little room to love anyone else much less God. But, The that love is shallow, muddy and stagnant. It has no depth and performance moves this love around and even drys it up because it is not grace based love.
Grace based love has depth and living movement. It flows like a stream.
"On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." - John 7:37-39 ESV
Yes, When we drink then rivers flow out of us. Not just any water. We drink the water that Jesus provides and then we have water that flows out of us.
--
"We love him, because he first loved us." - 1 John 4:19 KJV
"All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." - 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 ESV
Did God criticize to reconcile us? No, He did what was necessary without overriding our free will to make reconciliation possible without 'imputing sin'. He defines what sin is but does not associate us with individual sins because those sins have been placed on Christ. God was critical of Christ on the cross. He isn't ever going to be critical of us because of double jeopardy. We have been declared innocent and can never be prosecuted again.
Don't get me wrong. There are a lot of people that love themselves out there. They love themselves so much that there is little room to love anyone else much less God. But, The that love is shallow, muddy and stagnant. It has no depth and performance moves this love around and even drys it up because it is not grace based love.
Grace based love has depth and living movement. It flows like a stream.
"On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified." - John 7:37-39 ESV
Yes, When we drink then rivers flow out of us. Not just any water. We drink the water that Jesus provides and then we have water that flows out of us.
--
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Grace in Psalm Sixty Two: A Safe Shelter
Reading Psalm 62 this morning. It is so good.
"To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken." - Psalms 62:1-2 ESV
David speaks to the choirmaster about quiet. That alone has a richness to it. It can be 'music, music,and more music' on the outside but what about quiet. God counsels the musician about silence and waiting. There is time for both things.
"How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.
Selah
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken." - Psalms 62:3-6 ESV
I used to be a bit dismayed by the seeming paranoia of the Psalmists, 'Is everyone out to get you?.. Really?' But I see it differently now.. today.. human perspective is always seeking to 'topple the leaning wall'. The goodness of a good man still finds fault.. is critical.. disdains success that seems to exceed his own if the successful person is flawed in some way... and they always are.
But God is a fortress. He does not shake the thing that is leaning to watch it fall.. He provides shelter.
"On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
Selah
Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath." - Psalms 62:7-9 ESV
Yes. Trust in the God of all grace not the illusion of success. Be transparent with the God who is a fortress. There is no refuge with the 'shake the tottering fence' crowd. Human opinion is weightless anyway.
"Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work." - Psalms 62:10-12 ESV
What God renders He renders based on love. We must see the last line in context with the rest. Grace is a refuge. The 'works' spoken of here is the contrast between those who point to the fortress versus those who push on the leaning wall and rock it back and forth until it falls.
Grace provides refuge. It is not interested in noise to drown out discouragement, success that throws money at the problem or extortion to leverage an outcome. Grace wants to give and give and give out of an endless supply of love. Grace wants to cover and teach people so they know where to go... not to human perspective... grace teaches us to seek divine perspective.
--
"To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David. For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken." - Psalms 62:1-2 ESV
David speaks to the choirmaster about quiet. That alone has a richness to it. It can be 'music, music,and more music' on the outside but what about quiet. God counsels the musician about silence and waiting. There is time for both things.
"How long will all of you attack a man to batter him, like a leaning wall, a tottering fence? They only plan to thrust him down from his high position. They take pleasure in falsehood. They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.
Selah
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken." - Psalms 62:3-6 ESV
I used to be a bit dismayed by the seeming paranoia of the Psalmists, 'Is everyone out to get you?.. Really?' But I see it differently now.. today.. human perspective is always seeking to 'topple the leaning wall'. The goodness of a good man still finds fault.. is critical.. disdains success that seems to exceed his own if the successful person is flawed in some way... and they always are.
But God is a fortress. He does not shake the thing that is leaning to watch it fall.. He provides shelter.
"On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
Selah
Those of low estate are but a breath; those of high estate are a delusion; in the balances they go up; they are together lighter than a breath." - Psalms 62:7-9 ESV
Yes. Trust in the God of all grace not the illusion of success. Be transparent with the God who is a fortress. There is no refuge with the 'shake the tottering fence' crowd. Human opinion is weightless anyway.
"Put no trust in extortion; set no vain hopes on robbery; if riches increase, set not your heart on them. Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this: that power belongs to God, and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love. For you will render to a man according to his work." - Psalms 62:10-12 ESV
What God renders He renders based on love. We must see the last line in context with the rest. Grace is a refuge. The 'works' spoken of here is the contrast between those who point to the fortress versus those who push on the leaning wall and rock it back and forth until it falls.
Grace provides refuge. It is not interested in noise to drown out discouragement, success that throws money at the problem or extortion to leverage an outcome. Grace wants to give and give and give out of an endless supply of love. Grace wants to cover and teach people so they know where to go... not to human perspective... grace teaches us to seek divine perspective.
--
Friday, July 19, 2013
Discerning Body Life
Just thinking about the Church this morning... the Church as the Body of Christ...
"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." John 1:4-5 KJV
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 ESV
This is a great mystery. Really it is. In Christ's Body we find belonging, honor and purpose. It is a dynamic that one person can never see in it's fullness because much of it hidden in interactions that other people are having with one another. Compassion is multiplied. Care is multifaceted. There is individuality in unity. There is no need to 'talk to' our function or another person's function. The Body and each member has a 'Christian Dynamic' or a Christ likeness that give off pure light. The dynamic is only understood in part but experienced in fullness.
"So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." Ephesians 4:14-16 ESV
In this place there is a supply. I say place not because the Church is in a geographic location per se but because it is a dynamic we can be present in or removed from. It is more than entering into the front door of a building.
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" 1 Corinthians 10:16 KJV
"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." 1 Corinthians 11:27 KJV
Is communion the wine and the bread alone?
Communion is not linked to my salvation but what do I miss if I miss communion? What supply is cut off?
If I see the Church as only a social place... a supermarket for my needs to be met... a playground to live out my desires... do I then partake of the communion 'unworthily'? If so God can change our minds and restore to us a true perspective and glimpse of His divine presence in the corporate dynamic.
Lord, If we don't have a Church like this lead us to one. If we do have access to one, or many, open our eyes to see if for what it really is not to have mouths open in criticism but eyes open in awe of the edification that happens in honor because You are present.
"Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.' And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal... And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it" Revelation 21:9-11, 22-24 ESV
"In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." John 1:4-5 KJV
"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - Jews or Greeks, slaves or free - and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, 'Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, 'Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,' that would not make it any less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I have no need of you,' nor again the head to the feet, 'I have no need of you.' On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty, which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it." 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 ESV
This is a great mystery. Really it is. In Christ's Body we find belonging, honor and purpose. It is a dynamic that one person can never see in it's fullness because much of it hidden in interactions that other people are having with one another. Compassion is multiplied. Care is multifaceted. There is individuality in unity. There is no need to 'talk to' our function or another person's function. The Body and each member has a 'Christian Dynamic' or a Christ likeness that give off pure light. The dynamic is only understood in part but experienced in fullness.
"So that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love." Ephesians 4:14-16 ESV
In this place there is a supply. I say place not because the Church is in a geographic location per se but because it is a dynamic we can be present in or removed from. It is more than entering into the front door of a building.
"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?" 1 Corinthians 10:16 KJV
"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." 1 Corinthians 11:27 KJV
Is communion the wine and the bread alone?
Communion is not linked to my salvation but what do I miss if I miss communion? What supply is cut off?
If I see the Church as only a social place... a supermarket for my needs to be met... a playground to live out my desires... do I then partake of the communion 'unworthily'? If so God can change our minds and restore to us a true perspective and glimpse of His divine presence in the corporate dynamic.
Lord, If we don't have a Church like this lead us to one. If we do have access to one, or many, open our eyes to see if for what it really is not to have mouths open in criticism but eyes open in awe of the edification that happens in honor because You are present.
"Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, 'Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.' And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal... And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it" Revelation 21:9-11, 22-24 ESV
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