I think this next passage is so unique and meaningful...
"The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, 'Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?' This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, 'Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.' And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She said, 'No one, Lord.' And Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.' " - John 8:3-11 ESV
You can just picture the religious taunts of the people seeking to bait Jesus as He serenely writes in the dust. Jesus wrote twice and it always makes me think of Moses and the two sets of tablets given to Israel.
"And he gave to Moses, when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God." - Exodus 31:18 ESV
"But he said, 'It is not the sound of shouting for victory, or the sound of the cry of defeat, but the sound of singing that I hear.' And as soon as he came near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, Moses' anger burned hot, and he threw the tablets out of his hands and broke them at the foot of the mountain." - Exodus 32:18-19 ESV
"So Moses cut two tablets of stone like the first. And he rose early in the morning and went up on Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and took in his hand two tablets of stone. The LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, 'The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.' And Moses quickly bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped." - Exodus 34:4-8 ESV
"For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." - Romans 10:3-4 ESV
Moses had a sense of outrage when he smashed the first set of tablets but we don't see that same outrage in Jesus. He has compassion and awareness.
Christ is the 'end of the law'. Wow. That road should bring us to a place where we see Jesus and want Him.
I like that Jesus didn't pound them with words. He just quietly wrote in the dust. He never directly addressed their accusations. He didn't react.
God, Please give us this heart and mind. Let this be what we express. Compassion without compromise. Love. Thank you for sending Your Son. He Is just what we need in every way.
--
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Law. Show all posts
Thursday, July 12, 2018
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Attacks On The Morality Of The Hebrew Scriptures
Some folks have a real problem with the Bible and its teachings. Those problems almost always focus on the Hebrew scriptures and I see three main moral issues. The scriptures give Isreal guidelines that permit and regulate slavery. There are issues with the treatment of women and children. Lastly, the way Israel acted towards its enemies in wartime.
"They said, 'Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.' And Jesus said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment...' " - Mark 10:4-5 ESV
"He said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so...' " - Matthew 19:8 ESV
It is clear that Jesus had disagreed with Moses on this issue. He obeyed the law in every point but He stayed at the higher end of the law. He never hurt anyone. He never took a wife. He never owned a slave.
People look for moral perfection in Abraham and his children but they don't find it. God never claimed that the rules given to Israel were going to be 'perfect'. Those rules and instructions were for 'holiness' which means to set them apart from the nations around them.
The ten commandments are moral perfection. But, It seems that God delegated much to Moses who was by the Bible's own account a very imperfect man.
"Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries." - Exodus 23:21-22 ESV
I see this command in the same light I see this next one.
"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you." - Deuteronomy 5:16 ESV
Are all fathers and mothers perfect? No. Some are just plain terrible people but honor is something we do to honor God. Jesus honored Moses and the law of Moses but he didn't do all that Moses said to do. He never broke the law. Never. Not even in one point but He also didn't do all the things that were permitted by the law.
In order to understand and fully embrace the Hebrew scriptures, we must 'follow the scarlet thread' and see Abraham's descendants and the nation that arose out of those people as a vehicle to bring Messiah into the world. At times they were commanded to do things (by a God who had full authority to issue the command) to protect that bloodline from harm or interruption. This explains to me why God would tell Israel to destroy whole people groups. He knew those groups would infect Israel's biology and culture with outside influences that were destructive.
Jesus birth and death are a turning point for all of humanity. Those who believe in Christ are not ruled by the law of Moses. It was never meant for the world anyway. It was meant for one nation.
You may say, 'Why didn't God correct it?' or 'Why did He let it happen that way?' but we could also ask, 'Why does God let me make mistakes?' and perhaps the answer to those questions is the same answer.
What would we do if a people group had a virus that was going to kill all of mankind if it got out? Perhaps we would do our best to isolate them. What if that was not possible? Would we just let all of humanity die because of sentimentality?
Those who mock the Bible just don't understand it. The Bible is a book about Jesus, not morality. Morality is low ground. Love is what Jesus brings to us. Love transcends culture.
The Hebrew scriptures chronical history and explain how the Saviour came into the world. The Greek (New Testament) scriptures illuminate the new life we have in Christ.
Mocking the Bible is a dangerous business. The only hope we have is found only in those pages.
I love my Bible. Some of the older portions are difficult to read. The cross is difficult to look at. I cringe at His pain but He went there so I could have life. I am so thankful.
--
"They said, 'Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.' And Jesus said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment...' " - Mark 10:4-5 ESV
"He said to them, 'Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so...' " - Matthew 19:8 ESV
It is clear that Jesus had disagreed with Moses on this issue. He obeyed the law in every point but He stayed at the higher end of the law. He never hurt anyone. He never took a wife. He never owned a slave.
People look for moral perfection in Abraham and his children but they don't find it. God never claimed that the rules given to Israel were going to be 'perfect'. Those rules and instructions were for 'holiness' which means to set them apart from the nations around them.
The ten commandments are moral perfection. But, It seems that God delegated much to Moses who was by the Bible's own account a very imperfect man.
"Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him. But if you carefully obey his voice and do all that I say, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries." - Exodus 23:21-22 ESV
I see this command in the same light I see this next one.
"Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you." - Deuteronomy 5:16 ESV
Are all fathers and mothers perfect? No. Some are just plain terrible people but honor is something we do to honor God. Jesus honored Moses and the law of Moses but he didn't do all that Moses said to do. He never broke the law. Never. Not even in one point but He also didn't do all the things that were permitted by the law.
In order to understand and fully embrace the Hebrew scriptures, we must 'follow the scarlet thread' and see Abraham's descendants and the nation that arose out of those people as a vehicle to bring Messiah into the world. At times they were commanded to do things (by a God who had full authority to issue the command) to protect that bloodline from harm or interruption. This explains to me why God would tell Israel to destroy whole people groups. He knew those groups would infect Israel's biology and culture with outside influences that were destructive.
Jesus birth and death are a turning point for all of humanity. Those who believe in Christ are not ruled by the law of Moses. It was never meant for the world anyway. It was meant for one nation.
You may say, 'Why didn't God correct it?' or 'Why did He let it happen that way?' but we could also ask, 'Why does God let me make mistakes?' and perhaps the answer to those questions is the same answer.
What would we do if a people group had a virus that was going to kill all of mankind if it got out? Perhaps we would do our best to isolate them. What if that was not possible? Would we just let all of humanity die because of sentimentality?
Those who mock the Bible just don't understand it. The Bible is a book about Jesus, not morality. Morality is low ground. Love is what Jesus brings to us. Love transcends culture.
The Hebrew scriptures chronical history and explain how the Saviour came into the world. The Greek (New Testament) scriptures illuminate the new life we have in Christ.
Mocking the Bible is a dangerous business. The only hope we have is found only in those pages.
I love my Bible. Some of the older portions are difficult to read. The cross is difficult to look at. I cringe at His pain but He went there so I could have life. I am so thankful.
--
Thursday, May 18, 2017
Thoughts On Victimless Crimes
I have many thoughts this morning and many are hard to communicate in a clear way. A dominant concept is the idea of a 'victimless crime'.
There is great debate as to whether or not such a thing even exists but I find it interesting that God mandated the Sabbath for the nation of Israel and then instructed that there be punishment if the Sabbath was broken.
We aren't under the law. The law isn't for individual believers it was given to a nation and it was for that nation.
"For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?" - Romans 6:14-16 ESV
You could say that no one was hurt by not keeping the Sabbath or you could saw that the individual wasn't hurt but the fabric of society was hurt. You could even say people hurt themselves by not resting as mandated by God but we are not under law... even this law...
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." - 1 John 1:7-10 ESV
Perhaps these thoughts would just provoke us. I want to walk in the light today and that means coming under grace. That isn't 'not hurting anyone' and it also isn't, 'just taking care of myself'. It is having an open communication with God.
"...for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." - Romans 14:23b KJV
Faithlessness seems like a victimless crime but is it?
--
There is great debate as to whether or not such a thing even exists but I find it interesting that God mandated the Sabbath for the nation of Israel and then instructed that there be punishment if the Sabbath was broken.
We aren't under the law. The law isn't for individual believers it was given to a nation and it was for that nation.
"For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?" - Romans 6:14-16 ESV
You could say that no one was hurt by not keeping the Sabbath or you could saw that the individual wasn't hurt but the fabric of society was hurt. You could even say people hurt themselves by not resting as mandated by God but we are not under law... even this law...
"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." - 1 John 1:7-10 ESV
Perhaps these thoughts would just provoke us. I want to walk in the light today and that means coming under grace. That isn't 'not hurting anyone' and it also isn't, 'just taking care of myself'. It is having an open communication with God.
"...for whatsoever is not of faith is sin." - Romans 14:23b KJV
Faithlessness seems like a victimless crime but is it?
--
Wednesday, April 12, 2017
No Law Against Such Things
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another." - Galatians 5:22-26 ESV
There is 'no law against such things' that is for sure with God. We don't strive to have them and there is no law against them.
Perhaps we have all seen (or even been) the person who gets a victory over a bad habit and then becomes this crusader of 'making good decisions'. We become conceited in our victory when it was really the fruit of the Spirit and some crucified flesh. God did something that we had the privilege of participating in but can claim no glory for... but we do and perhaps it creates envy in others.
I revel this morning in the effortlessness of the fruit of the Spirit and that my reckoning of belonging to Christ serves to crucify my flesh. Crucifixion is a past tense thing for someone who belongs to Christ.
God is not stopping or regulating love, joy and peace this morning. He isn't saying, 'You can only love in these circumstances.' or 'Please limit your peace to when these things happen.'
...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...
Thank you God. We don't want to limit or take credit for these things. You produce them freely. You get the glory for them if we have them. You are the mighty God and your Gospel is seed that grows up into this fruit. Thank You God. We belong to you. You purchased us with precious blood and knowing that moves our fleshly desires into the category of 'crucified'.
--
There is 'no law against such things' that is for sure with God. We don't strive to have them and there is no law against them.
Perhaps we have all seen (or even been) the person who gets a victory over a bad habit and then becomes this crusader of 'making good decisions'. We become conceited in our victory when it was really the fruit of the Spirit and some crucified flesh. God did something that we had the privilege of participating in but can claim no glory for... but we do and perhaps it creates envy in others.
I revel this morning in the effortlessness of the fruit of the Spirit and that my reckoning of belonging to Christ serves to crucify my flesh. Crucifixion is a past tense thing for someone who belongs to Christ.
God is not stopping or regulating love, joy and peace this morning. He isn't saying, 'You can only love in these circumstances.' or 'Please limit your peace to when these things happen.'
...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control...
Thank you God. We don't want to limit or take credit for these things. You produce them freely. You get the glory for them if we have them. You are the mighty God and your Gospel is seed that grows up into this fruit. Thank You God. We belong to you. You purchased us with precious blood and knowing that moves our fleshly desires into the category of 'crucified'.
--
Monday, May 2, 2016
No Familiarity With Forgiveness
"He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?" - Hebrews 10:28-29 KJV
What an interesting passage this is to study in the Greek. I used the KJV because the language is much closer to what is being said in the Greek. One notable difference a should point out is that 'died without mercy' should be 'dies without mercy' because it is a present active indicative (the ESV translation gets this right).
What caught my eye this morning was 'despises Moses law' atheteo (Strong's G114) in the aorist tense and 'done despite unto the Spirit of Grace' enybrizo (Strong's G1796) as also in the aorist tense.
This culture knew exactly what it was to despise the law of Moses. People were aware of the law and their culture reflected it. You had to habitually ignore or rebel against it until there were two or three witnesses who saw you and were willing to testify against you to have the penalties applied to you.
This idea is brought into the idea of having reverence for the blood of Jesus Christ. If a person has a lifestyle that discounts the work of the cross and lives in the culture and enjoys the benefits of the culture but habitually ignores forgiveness then they 'insult' (aorist tense) the Spirit of Grace. If this were past tense then it would be something that happened and is over but it is aorist so it happening in time but has lasting results into the future until there are inevitable consequences. How can you insult someone who gives unmerited favor and is not performance oriented? This is the way you do it. Familiarity with the blood of Christ by acting outside forgiveness until it is apparent and witnessed by people who are so fed up that they are willing to testify against you. Wow.
Jesus is Holy. His blood is holy. We can forgive based on His blood alone. It is in truth the only basis for true forgiveness. If we base forgiveness or unforgiveness on sorrow or apology as a practice then we are careless believers. We are like an Israelite who keeps the Sabbath if it suits him but works if he feels like working. Moses law is flimsy to this man. It is just a guideline and not a boundary that must not be crossed.
I behold the cross and the now empty tomb this morning and it reinforces my resolve. Jesus' blood is holy and I can't be familiar or conditional. I don't want the Trinity to see my life and say, 'Look He doesn't care what we have done. He walks on it like dirt.'
God forbid.
"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." - Hebrews 12:22-24 ESV
If the eternal blood of God was shed for people's sins then I want to hear what it is saying. It says 'forgive because I have forgiven'. Don't insult the giver. Take the gift and reverence it because it is a precious gift.
--
What an interesting passage this is to study in the Greek. I used the KJV because the language is much closer to what is being said in the Greek. One notable difference a should point out is that 'died without mercy' should be 'dies without mercy' because it is a present active indicative (the ESV translation gets this right).
What caught my eye this morning was 'despises Moses law' atheteo (Strong's G114) in the aorist tense and 'done despite unto the Spirit of Grace' enybrizo (Strong's G1796) as also in the aorist tense.
This culture knew exactly what it was to despise the law of Moses. People were aware of the law and their culture reflected it. You had to habitually ignore or rebel against it until there were two or three witnesses who saw you and were willing to testify against you to have the penalties applied to you.
This idea is brought into the idea of having reverence for the blood of Jesus Christ. If a person has a lifestyle that discounts the work of the cross and lives in the culture and enjoys the benefits of the culture but habitually ignores forgiveness then they 'insult' (aorist tense) the Spirit of Grace. If this were past tense then it would be something that happened and is over but it is aorist so it happening in time but has lasting results into the future until there are inevitable consequences. How can you insult someone who gives unmerited favor and is not performance oriented? This is the way you do it. Familiarity with the blood of Christ by acting outside forgiveness until it is apparent and witnessed by people who are so fed up that they are willing to testify against you. Wow.
Jesus is Holy. His blood is holy. We can forgive based on His blood alone. It is in truth the only basis for true forgiveness. If we base forgiveness or unforgiveness on sorrow or apology as a practice then we are careless believers. We are like an Israelite who keeps the Sabbath if it suits him but works if he feels like working. Moses law is flimsy to this man. It is just a guideline and not a boundary that must not be crossed.
I behold the cross and the now empty tomb this morning and it reinforces my resolve. Jesus' blood is holy and I can't be familiar or conditional. I don't want the Trinity to see my life and say, 'Look He doesn't care what we have done. He walks on it like dirt.'
God forbid.
"But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." - Hebrews 12:22-24 ESV
If the eternal blood of God was shed for people's sins then I want to hear what it is saying. It says 'forgive because I have forgiven'. Don't insult the giver. Take the gift and reverence it because it is a precious gift.
--
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Decriminalization
Decriminalization.
It is concept I have been studying and listening to speakers about for the last couple of days. There are some very compelling speakers who argue for the decriminalization of drugs and prostitution anyone who has a computer can listen to on TED talks and other places on the internet.
What laws will help and protect the most people? It is good question. Many approaches have been tried and some of them end up hurting the most vulnerable people involved instead of helping them. Some laws leave to much room for corruption and abuse.
Here are a few scriptures that came to mind as I have been studying and hashing these issues out in my mind.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." - Matthew 5:17-22 ESV
"For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." - Romans 8:3-6 NKJV
Regulation is always going to be 'weak through the flesh' but God does not relax His standards. As a matter of fact he 'ups the ante' of morality by telling us that external crimes have meaning to God but internal crimes do also.
This meditation made me think of the street I live on and the children running around outside on it. What if there was no speed limit or theft was decriminalized? How safe would they be? I care deeply for the addict and his or her recovery but I also don't want a drug den or a brothel right down my street.
I listened to all the benefits that were proposed by the speakers who were pitching decriminalization and thought. Wow. Grace gives me those things. My God loves me and gives me freedom to self govern myself with His guidance and direction. Grace never gives me a criminal record. Grace supports me. Grace teaches me and helps me to deny all ungodliness and worldly lust.
Grace does all this without removing the law. Grace gives me aerodynamics to balance the gravity of the law without removing the gravity that holds things down in the world.
I think the punishment should fit the crime. I hate to think that a young person would suffer for a decade in prison for a youthful indiscretion or that a young woman in a desperate financial situation would be placed deeper in harms way because she feels forced to sell her body. No. I don't want that. But lawlessness isn't God's answer and I don't think it should be ours either.
I want safe streets and I want eternal souls saved. I want to have my cake and eat it too. I think working hard to see those things happen is worth the struggle. We have been commissioned to seek and save that which is lost. The flesh will continue to be weak but love is a strong force that binds us together if we let it.
--
It is concept I have been studying and listening to speakers about for the last couple of days. There are some very compelling speakers who argue for the decriminalization of drugs and prostitution anyone who has a computer can listen to on TED talks and other places on the internet.
What laws will help and protect the most people? It is good question. Many approaches have been tried and some of them end up hurting the most vulnerable people involved instead of helping them. Some laws leave to much room for corruption and abuse.
Here are a few scriptures that came to mind as I have been studying and hashing these issues out in my mind.
"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." - Matthew 5:17-22 ESV
"For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." - Romans 8:3-6 NKJV
Regulation is always going to be 'weak through the flesh' but God does not relax His standards. As a matter of fact he 'ups the ante' of morality by telling us that external crimes have meaning to God but internal crimes do also.
This meditation made me think of the street I live on and the children running around outside on it. What if there was no speed limit or theft was decriminalized? How safe would they be? I care deeply for the addict and his or her recovery but I also don't want a drug den or a brothel right down my street.
I listened to all the benefits that were proposed by the speakers who were pitching decriminalization and thought. Wow. Grace gives me those things. My God loves me and gives me freedom to self govern myself with His guidance and direction. Grace never gives me a criminal record. Grace supports me. Grace teaches me and helps me to deny all ungodliness and worldly lust.
Grace does all this without removing the law. Grace gives me aerodynamics to balance the gravity of the law without removing the gravity that holds things down in the world.
I think the punishment should fit the crime. I hate to think that a young person would suffer for a decade in prison for a youthful indiscretion or that a young woman in a desperate financial situation would be placed deeper in harms way because she feels forced to sell her body. No. I don't want that. But lawlessness isn't God's answer and I don't think it should be ours either.
I want safe streets and I want eternal souls saved. I want to have my cake and eat it too. I think working hard to see those things happen is worth the struggle. We have been commissioned to seek and save that which is lost. The flesh will continue to be weak but love is a strong force that binds us together if we let it.
--
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Spiritual Profit In A Fallen World
" 'All things are lawful for me,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful for me,' but I will not be dominated by anything. 'Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food' - and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!" - 1 Corinthians 6:12-15 ESV
" 'All things are lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor." - 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 ESV
Wow.
I marvel at these verses. The legalist cringes and wrestles with them and seeks to make them fit into decent society.
Are we that free? Yes. Yes we are. Jesus has satisfied the legal requirements for righteousness. Our conscience needs to adjust to this. We lean towards morality. The problems with that system are many.
Jesus had no moral failings. We can't even live up to our standards much less God's standards.
If we choose morality all that waits down the road for us is failure. Fallen man must fail in that arena.
Grace is our answer. It is dangerous radical answer. It is also our salvation in every way.
God isn't ever going to wag His finger at us. Never. People pull verses out of the Hebrew scriptures of God doing this to Israel but God did it to demonstrate to us a method that doesn't work. Jesus appears in the world to an Israel that is under Roman rule. Israel should have been a world power but it was a subjugated province. Rules maybe right but they can't transform.
God is holy. He will never endorse sin. He also will never us rules to get us to be righteous. He made us righteous by placing us into His Son. When we believed the cloth of our being was dunked into the righteousness of God and now we are stained that color. No law did that. God did it. We didn't even know it happened until we read it later in the scriptures.
"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 5:20-21 ESV
Life is going to do a fine job of beating us down. Living in a fallen world has many pitfalls. Cancer. Death. Heartache. Disappointments. Crazy things happen all the time because man is stupid and short sighted. God isn't going to hit us with the rules on top of all that.
God gives us grace so that we can have profitable lives in this fallen world. We can choose against our belly and it's desires. We can choose love and compassion. We can live free. We can fail and get back up again. God isn't even going to mention the failure. He will reward us handsomely for our decisions made by faith.
Grace makes us lights or hope in the darkness.
I don't want to settle for less than that.
--
" 'All things are lawful,' but not all things are helpful. 'All things are lawful,' but not all things build up. Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor." - 1 Corinthians 10:23-24 ESV
Wow.
I marvel at these verses. The legalist cringes and wrestles with them and seeks to make them fit into decent society.
Are we that free? Yes. Yes we are. Jesus has satisfied the legal requirements for righteousness. Our conscience needs to adjust to this. We lean towards morality. The problems with that system are many.
Jesus had no moral failings. We can't even live up to our standards much less God's standards.
If we choose morality all that waits down the road for us is failure. Fallen man must fail in that arena.
Grace is our answer. It is dangerous radical answer. It is also our salvation in every way.
God isn't ever going to wag His finger at us. Never. People pull verses out of the Hebrew scriptures of God doing this to Israel but God did it to demonstrate to us a method that doesn't work. Jesus appears in the world to an Israel that is under Roman rule. Israel should have been a world power but it was a subjugated province. Rules maybe right but they can't transform.
God is holy. He will never endorse sin. He also will never us rules to get us to be righteous. He made us righteous by placing us into His Son. When we believed the cloth of our being was dunked into the righteousness of God and now we are stained that color. No law did that. God did it. We didn't even know it happened until we read it later in the scriptures.
"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 5:20-21 ESV
Life is going to do a fine job of beating us down. Living in a fallen world has many pitfalls. Cancer. Death. Heartache. Disappointments. Crazy things happen all the time because man is stupid and short sighted. God isn't going to hit us with the rules on top of all that.
God gives us grace so that we can have profitable lives in this fallen world. We can choose against our belly and it's desires. We can choose love and compassion. We can live free. We can fail and get back up again. God isn't even going to mention the failure. He will reward us handsomely for our decisions made by faith.
Grace makes us lights or hope in the darkness.
I don't want to settle for less than that.
--
Friday, February 27, 2015
Talking Animals
I was thinking of Balaam today. Balaam and his talking animal. The thing is... animals don't talk.
"And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road... When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?'
And Balaam said to the donkey, 'Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.' " - Numbers 22:23, 27-29 ESV
Can you see the parallel of the angel with the draw sword to the garden of Eden. The angel barred the way back
"And the donkey said to Balaam, 'Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?'
And he said, 'No.'
Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face.
And the angel of the LORD said to him, 'Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.'
Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, 'I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.' " - Numbers 22:30-34 ESV
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil has inflamed our minds and ignited a contradictory nature. The law amplifies that nature and makes it visible. The natural man lives in a duality that is perverse.
Balaam's greed drew him onward and his ego was wounded. He lives in a duality that splits his very soul in two. That error will make him into a divider in Israel.
"But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality." - Revelation 2:14 ESV
Balaam's ego can be wounded because he does not live in grace. He has no 'free gift' identity. He wants to 'do'. He wants to 'accomplish'. He wants to 'have' by effort to build a name for himself.
The donkey is speaking for God but Balaam is blind to that. The donkey says, 'Haven't I been good to you all your life?'
Balaam can't hear that from God. He is ready to smite that voice like his natural man would smite God but His ego won't let him direct the anger towards God. The law makes our hidden hared for God visible. It kills us because we can not reconcile our split mind.
Grace unifies our mind. The free gift makes us whole. The law reveals an incurable wound but grace reveals a merciful God that makes people one inside and outside.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.'" - Revelation 2:17 ESV
Grace brings hidden manna and imparts to us a secret name. Grace truth and a grace identity.
The cross kills our ego and ambition. It is buried with Christ and we are raised with Him on the third day. We rise with Him and sit with Him in Heaven. He is the glory not us. He is important. Basking in His glory we are made one. There is great joy and peace in that unity.
Balaam divides but the grace man or woman gathers and does not feel like less of a person doing it.
---
"And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road... When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, 'What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?'
And Balaam said to the donkey, 'Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.' " - Numbers 22:23, 27-29 ESV
Can you see the parallel of the angel with the draw sword to the garden of Eden. The angel barred the way back
"And the donkey said to Balaam, 'Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?'
And he said, 'No.'
Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face.
And the angel of the LORD said to him, 'Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.'
Then Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, 'I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.' " - Numbers 22:30-34 ESV
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil has inflamed our minds and ignited a contradictory nature. The law amplifies that nature and makes it visible. The natural man lives in a duality that is perverse.
Balaam's greed drew him onward and his ego was wounded. He lives in a duality that splits his very soul in two. That error will make him into a divider in Israel.
"But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality." - Revelation 2:14 ESV
Balaam's ego can be wounded because he does not live in grace. He has no 'free gift' identity. He wants to 'do'. He wants to 'accomplish'. He wants to 'have' by effort to build a name for himself.
The donkey is speaking for God but Balaam is blind to that. The donkey says, 'Haven't I been good to you all your life?'
Balaam can't hear that from God. He is ready to smite that voice like his natural man would smite God but His ego won't let him direct the anger towards God. The law makes our hidden hared for God visible. It kills us because we can not reconcile our split mind.
Grace unifies our mind. The free gift makes us whole. The law reveals an incurable wound but grace reveals a merciful God that makes people one inside and outside.
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.'" - Revelation 2:17 ESV
Grace brings hidden manna and imparts to us a secret name. Grace truth and a grace identity.
The cross kills our ego and ambition. It is buried with Christ and we are raised with Him on the third day. We rise with Him and sit with Him in Heaven. He is the glory not us. He is important. Basking in His glory we are made one. There is great joy and peace in that unity.
Balaam divides but the grace man or woman gathers and does not feel like less of a person doing it.
---
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Two Mountains
"See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;" - Hebrews 12:15 ESV
Reading this I think of a mother at dinner time with a child who is sick isn't eating gently coaxing their child to eat and gain strength.
Grace is a vital element of life if we see that someone isn't getting it we want them to receive it.
The passage then goes on to talk about two mountains.
"For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, 'If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.' Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, 'I tremble with fear.'
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." - Hebrews 12:18-24 ESV
When a person comes to you which mountain do they get? Do they get someone feeding on grace and giving it or do they get an order that can not be endured that will only produce bitterness?
I suppose it depends on where we live doesn't it?
--
Reading this I think of a mother at dinner time with a child who is sick isn't eating gently coaxing their child to eat and gain strength.
Grace is a vital element of life if we see that someone isn't getting it we want them to receive it.
The passage then goes on to talk about two mountains.
"For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, 'If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.' Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, 'I tremble with fear.'
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel." - Hebrews 12:18-24 ESV
When a person comes to you which mountain do they get? Do they get someone feeding on grace and giving it or do they get an order that can not be endured that will only produce bitterness?
I suppose it depends on where we live doesn't it?
--
Monday, February 10, 2014
Structure In The Wilderness And Mission in The Promised Land
Reading Psalm 90 This morning. I think a key to understanding and relating to this Psalm is seeing that it is a Psalm of Moses...
"A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, 'Return, O children of man!' For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!" - Psalms 90:1-17 ESV
Moses is so systematic and structured... counting and measuring... affliction and work. The prayer of the man of the Law is, 'Establish the work of our hands!'. Moses lead the children of Israel through the desert as nomads... the work of their hands was never established. As soon as they got settled somewhere the pillar of cloud moved and they had to pack up and start over somewhere else. Amazing.
When the children of Israel crossed the red sea they were saved but they wandered until they crossed over the Jordan river. The Jordan river talks about co-Crucifixion. Moses could not go with them. It could not be law and counting and structure. Now it would be Joshua. The man who had a different spirit. A taker of what was given. A warrior. Not a structured scholar but a simple believer. A man of mission. Both men are types of Christ but Christ is the substance.
"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' " - Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
The substance is grace. Grace had to come directly from the source. We see grace in men in the old testament... David especially... but Christ writes his words directly on our hearts. The work of our hands will never be established wandering in the wilderness... the work can and has been established by Jesus Christ... passing over Jordan and into the promised land we begin to take what God has already given us.
--
"A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, 'Return, O children of man!' For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed. You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you? So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants! Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil. Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children. Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!" - Psalms 90:1-17 ESV
Moses is so systematic and structured... counting and measuring... affliction and work. The prayer of the man of the Law is, 'Establish the work of our hands!'. Moses lead the children of Israel through the desert as nomads... the work of their hands was never established. As soon as they got settled somewhere the pillar of cloud moved and they had to pack up and start over somewhere else. Amazing.
When the children of Israel crossed the red sea they were saved but they wandered until they crossed over the Jordan river. The Jordan river talks about co-Crucifixion. Moses could not go with them. It could not be law and counting and structure. Now it would be Joshua. The man who had a different spirit. A taker of what was given. A warrior. Not a structured scholar but a simple believer. A man of mission. Both men are types of Christ but Christ is the substance.
"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' " - Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
The substance is grace. Grace had to come directly from the source. We see grace in men in the old testament... David especially... but Christ writes his words directly on our hearts. The work of our hands will never be established wandering in the wilderness... the work can and has been established by Jesus Christ... passing over Jordan and into the promised land we begin to take what God has already given us.
--
Monday, December 9, 2013
It Is Finished - Part 15
It is Monday and I am back to thinking and writing about Christ's finished work. Such a great rich topic.
Jesus functioned in a life of unseen purpose for His whole life. Not only was the cross the end of a period of incredible suffering for Christ but it was also the end a life filled with 'musts'.
"From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you."
But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.' Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' " Matthew 16:21-24 ESV
He was a fireman running in and out of a burning building saving as many people as He could and disdaining anything that would seem to get in His way of going back into the blaze to reach another soul.
The very first statement we hear Christ utter reflects His life of 'musts'. If is uttered by Jesus when He was a young boy thought to be lost but found in the temple teaching.
"And he said to them, 'Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?' " Luke 2:49 ESV
Some translate the 'about my Father's business'.
Crying 'It is Finished!' meant the torture was over but it was over because He was exiting the burning building for the last time. The full debt was paid. This had been some messy business.
After the resurrection we see Jesus moving with a different tone. What the law required was past now Jesus moved easily from appointment to appointment with a lightness.
"But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
She said to them, 'They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.' Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?'
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.'
Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'
She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher).
Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.''
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord' - and that he had said these things to her." John 20:11-18 ESV
Nothing hinders Jesus now... not walls... not transportation. His 'musts' have been transformed. He is new and is still functioning with purpose. He sends us. He lived a life with a work to finish. We live a life in the finished work.
"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' " Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
It is the resurrected Jesus that is with us not the one in the 'days of his flesh' (see Heb 5:7). Our Jesus is resting from His labor. He is seated. He moves effortlessly from person to person in full identification with those walking away on the road disgusted and discouraged... those huddling afraid in the upper room... those weeping and waiting at the tomb. He stands ready at the doors of people's hearts knocking and hoping to make entrance into those lives.
I want to inhale His breath of relief and live in rest. My Jesus is the risen Jesus. He is not striving. He has never failed. There is nothing His love can not accomplish.
Jesus functioned in a life of unseen purpose for His whole life. Not only was the cross the end of a period of incredible suffering for Christ but it was also the end a life filled with 'musts'.
"From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you."
But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.' Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' " Matthew 16:21-24 ESV
He was a fireman running in and out of a burning building saving as many people as He could and disdaining anything that would seem to get in His way of going back into the blaze to reach another soul.
The very first statement we hear Christ utter reflects His life of 'musts'. If is uttered by Jesus when He was a young boy thought to be lost but found in the temple teaching.
"And he said to them, 'Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?' " Luke 2:49 ESV
Some translate the 'about my Father's business'.
Crying 'It is Finished!' meant the torture was over but it was over because He was exiting the burning building for the last time. The full debt was paid. This had been some messy business.
After the resurrection we see Jesus moving with a different tone. What the law required was past now Jesus moved easily from appointment to appointment with a lightness.
"But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"
She said to them, 'They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.' Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, 'Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?'
Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, 'Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.'
Jesus said to her, 'Mary.'
She turned and said to him in Aramaic, 'Rabboni!' (which means Teacher).
Jesus said to her, 'Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.''
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, 'I have seen the Lord' - and that he had said these things to her." John 20:11-18 ESV
Nothing hinders Jesus now... not walls... not transportation. His 'musts' have been transformed. He is new and is still functioning with purpose. He sends us. He lived a life with a work to finish. We live a life in the finished work.
"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.' " Matthew 28:18-20 ESV
It is the resurrected Jesus that is with us not the one in the 'days of his flesh' (see Heb 5:7). Our Jesus is resting from His labor. He is seated. He moves effortlessly from person to person in full identification with those walking away on the road disgusted and discouraged... those huddling afraid in the upper room... those weeping and waiting at the tomb. He stands ready at the doors of people's hearts knocking and hoping to make entrance into those lives.
I want to inhale His breath of relief and live in rest. My Jesus is the risen Jesus. He is not striving. He has never failed. There is nothing His love can not accomplish.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Five Principles In Ten Commandments
During a study on marking I started to explore the ten commandments. These commands can't produce life in anyone but they sure expose what a man isn't and what happens in a person who lives incomplete under the law.
The first five commands are mirrored in the second five. Habitual way of thinking or a mindset culminates in action if a person goes down that path. Let's look at them in five separate sets. (These commands are taken from Exodus 20:13-17 ESV)
--
FIRST COMMANDMENT
And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
SIXTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not murder.
If you look at these two the connection is clear. Ignoring, denying or replacing God is one way of removing Him from your thinking. Killing someone removes them from your life. A murderer first dehumanizes his victim in his mind then at some point says, 'My life would be better without this person.' or 'I can not exist if they exist.' Murder is hate brought to it's final conclusion. It starts from a lack of love. The atheist and the killer lie to themselves because neither God or this person is truly removed. People don't have that power.
--
SECOND COMMANDMENT
You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not commit adultery.
Idolatry and adultery are the clearest of the parallels. Scripture makes this connection often.
"For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; but you said, 'I will not serve.' Yes, on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down like a whore." Jeremiah 2:20 ESV
Idols were often set up in high places under trees.
This is a search for sanctification apart from God and true commitment. It fails... the nature that is separated from God is never satisfied.
--
THREE
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
EIGHT
You shall not steal. (The word can also be translated kidnap)
This is an interesting one. It has to do with perception of value. Does God's name have value? Is His nature hidden or revealed? There is something about tossing God's name around in a casual way that acts as a theft from God. The ultimate theft, besides murder, would be to take a child or person away and claim them as your own. All theft is a trespass of some kind but the violation in theft leaves one party lacking and the other one with something that should not belong to them.
--
FOURTH COMMANDMENT
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
NINTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Rest. There is so much to say about faith rest. Israel rested because God rested after creation. We rest because Christ sits down on the right hand of the Father in Heaven. Our work is at it's heart a false witness. We lie about who God is and what He has done when we lack rest. Anxiety is a lie the atmosphere projects against the finished work.
---
FIFTH COMMANDMENT
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
TENTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.
This one was a difficult one for me to digest. Notice the long list of what might be possible to covet. Relationships, authority and possessions are listed and then 'anything' is tacked onto the end of it.
What is it about an incomplete person that wants to have things in a nagging way? Is it the things themselves or is it something deeper? This suggests a deeper principle is involved. It goes down into our core identity. We sense we are lacking as people and it is a void that demands to be filled... somehow. We want to be someone else. A person with no void.
Often mother and father get the blame for who we are or conversely if we dishonor our parents later when we discovery how much we are naturally like them we begin to hate ourselves. They are linked.
--
Now that we have gotten our shoes good and dirty surveying That natural landscape let's have them cleaned off again with spiritual water.
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John 1:17 KJV
"But that is not the way you learned Christ! - assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV
"But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." Colossians 3:8-10 ESV
The Law exposes the old human nature but grace reveals the new nature.
The new man does not ignore God. The love of God is shed abroad in the heart of a new person. Christ becomes the only true image of God and all other false images are discarded as impostors. God character (name) becomes weightier and weightier we don't throw it around lightly or make false claims that bring glory to ourselves. The new man can rest. Not just cease from labor for a day but truly rest every day and every night. Things try to disturb rest but there is way back into it. A believer who rests in a storm gives a true testimony about who God is in the court room of life. Lastly we have honor. Not the honor of outward expression but the honor of intimate thinking. Honor for parents is beautiful to behold. Honor for God as our Father is the root of all satisfaction.
Grace is what makes this possible. The old person can cast a shadow over the new one but grace causes an eclipse where the old nature is hidden and the new one is revealed. The outline of a natural body still shows but the new hidden man of the heart is revealed in a person's thinking and the love they show.
"For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:14 ESV
"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8 ESV
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." Romans 13:14 ESV
Yes! Putting on Jesus Christ a light shines into the world. One that is filled with people trapped in cycles they can not understand and gives them a person to speak to that has found the way home.
Jesus is the doorway to a new life.
The first five commands are mirrored in the second five. Habitual way of thinking or a mindset culminates in action if a person goes down that path. Let's look at them in five separate sets. (These commands are taken from Exodus 20:13-17 ESV)
--
FIRST COMMANDMENT
And God spoke all these words, saying, I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me.
SIXTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not murder.
If you look at these two the connection is clear. Ignoring, denying or replacing God is one way of removing Him from your thinking. Killing someone removes them from your life. A murderer first dehumanizes his victim in his mind then at some point says, 'My life would be better without this person.' or 'I can not exist if they exist.' Murder is hate brought to it's final conclusion. It starts from a lack of love. The atheist and the killer lie to themselves because neither God or this person is truly removed. People don't have that power.
--
SECOND COMMANDMENT
You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
SEVENTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not commit adultery.
Idolatry and adultery are the clearest of the parallels. Scripture makes this connection often.
"For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; but you said, 'I will not serve.' Yes, on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down like a whore." Jeremiah 2:20 ESV
Idols were often set up in high places under trees.
This is a search for sanctification apart from God and true commitment. It fails... the nature that is separated from God is never satisfied.
--
THREE
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.
EIGHT
You shall not steal. (The word can also be translated kidnap)
This is an interesting one. It has to do with perception of value. Does God's name have value? Is His nature hidden or revealed? There is something about tossing God's name around in a casual way that acts as a theft from God. The ultimate theft, besides murder, would be to take a child or person away and claim them as your own. All theft is a trespass of some kind but the violation in theft leaves one party lacking and the other one with something that should not belong to them.
--
FOURTH COMMANDMENT
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
NINTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Rest. There is so much to say about faith rest. Israel rested because God rested after creation. We rest because Christ sits down on the right hand of the Father in Heaven. Our work is at it's heart a false witness. We lie about who God is and what He has done when we lack rest. Anxiety is a lie the atmosphere projects against the finished work.
---
FIFTH COMMANDMENT
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
TENTH COMMANDMENT
You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor's.
This one was a difficult one for me to digest. Notice the long list of what might be possible to covet. Relationships, authority and possessions are listed and then 'anything' is tacked onto the end of it.
What is it about an incomplete person that wants to have things in a nagging way? Is it the things themselves or is it something deeper? This suggests a deeper principle is involved. It goes down into our core identity. We sense we are lacking as people and it is a void that demands to be filled... somehow. We want to be someone else. A person with no void.
Often mother and father get the blame for who we are or conversely if we dishonor our parents later when we discovery how much we are naturally like them we begin to hate ourselves. They are linked.
--
Now that we have gotten our shoes good and dirty surveying That natural landscape let's have them cleaned off again with spiritual water.
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ." John 1:17 KJV
"But that is not the way you learned Christ! - assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV
"But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator." Colossians 3:8-10 ESV
The Law exposes the old human nature but grace reveals the new nature.
The new man does not ignore God. The love of God is shed abroad in the heart of a new person. Christ becomes the only true image of God and all other false images are discarded as impostors. God character (name) becomes weightier and weightier we don't throw it around lightly or make false claims that bring glory to ourselves. The new man can rest. Not just cease from labor for a day but truly rest every day and every night. Things try to disturb rest but there is way back into it. A believer who rests in a storm gives a true testimony about who God is in the court room of life. Lastly we have honor. Not the honor of outward expression but the honor of intimate thinking. Honor for parents is beautiful to behold. Honor for God as our Father is the root of all satisfaction.
Grace is what makes this possible. The old person can cast a shadow over the new one but grace causes an eclipse where the old nature is hidden and the new one is revealed. The outline of a natural body still shows but the new hidden man of the heart is revealed in a person's thinking and the love they show.
"For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." Galatians 5:14 ESV
"Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law." Romans 13:8 ESV
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires." Romans 13:14 ESV
Yes! Putting on Jesus Christ a light shines into the world. One that is filled with people trapped in cycles they can not understand and gives them a person to speak to that has found the way home.
Jesus is the doorway to a new life.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Push, Pull or Carry
"All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any." 1 Corinthians 6:12 KJV
This is one of my favorite verses. It is so practical. When weighing an action I can almost always add this verse to the equation.
Prohibition provides one kind of motivation. Strong emotion or need provides another. A believer need never have the flesh become active because of restrictions. (The 'do not touch' sign ignites a desire to touch) nor do they have to come under any power but God's power. The question becomes what is expedient?
Expedient is Symphero (G4851) which literally means to bear together. The picture is two people carrying a large sofa up a flight of narrow stairs. Each one carries an end to lighten the load and help turn the sofa just the right way to get it to fit through the doorways.
What decision will set me right alongside the weight bearer? Obedience to God's revealed will put us next to God in the situation. Be careful. Knowing God's revealed will is a prayerful thing... it is a faith venture... it is a Biblical discovery.
God's will starts with being not doing. It involves recognition of the eternal. The next verse provides clarity.
"Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body." 1 Corinthians 6:13 KJV
If the expedient situation or arrangement is what we desire then we need to put things in their place. Destroy here is Katargeo (G2673) and it means to render idle or make inactivate. People and objects are no longer things to be consumed to meet my desires. Grace makes everything 'for the Lord' because God is the one who meets our needs and authored the root of our desires.
Our desires may have been warped and amplified over time but ultimate satisfaction is in the One who designed us. Restriction, domination and wrong thinking are what build false appetites.
Grace causes us to walk with someone mighty, peaceful and meek. In the situation we look for the ways that we can do that. Not because we must or because some power forces us to.
Christ's burden is light because He really carries all the weight when we walk with Him. God will give us eyes to see that path if we ask Him and listen for His leading.
This is one of my favorite verses. It is so practical. When weighing an action I can almost always add this verse to the equation.
Prohibition provides one kind of motivation. Strong emotion or need provides another. A believer need never have the flesh become active because of restrictions. (The 'do not touch' sign ignites a desire to touch) nor do they have to come under any power but God's power. The question becomes what is expedient?
Expedient is Symphero (G4851) which literally means to bear together. The picture is two people carrying a large sofa up a flight of narrow stairs. Each one carries an end to lighten the load and help turn the sofa just the right way to get it to fit through the doorways.
What decision will set me right alongside the weight bearer? Obedience to God's revealed will put us next to God in the situation. Be careful. Knowing God's revealed will is a prayerful thing... it is a faith venture... it is a Biblical discovery.
God's will starts with being not doing. It involves recognition of the eternal. The next verse provides clarity.
"Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord; and the Lord for the body." 1 Corinthians 6:13 KJV
If the expedient situation or arrangement is what we desire then we need to put things in their place. Destroy here is Katargeo (G2673) and it means to render idle or make inactivate. People and objects are no longer things to be consumed to meet my desires. Grace makes everything 'for the Lord' because God is the one who meets our needs and authored the root of our desires.
Our desires may have been warped and amplified over time but ultimate satisfaction is in the One who designed us. Restriction, domination and wrong thinking are what build false appetites.
Grace causes us to walk with someone mighty, peaceful and meek. In the situation we look for the ways that we can do that. Not because we must or because some power forces us to.
Christ's burden is light because He really carries all the weight when we walk with Him. God will give us eyes to see that path if we ask Him and listen for His leading.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)