Paul is my hero. He was brought up Jewish, and was so steeped in the Jewish tradition that he was a member of the Sanhedrin. Yet when God called him, he became an evangelist to the Gentiles. He was able to articulate the gospel logically to the Greeks, who studied logic, while at the same time making his letters personal.
Paul talks a lot in his letters about "the mystery of Christ". This piques my interest, because I love a good mystery. It piqued the ancient Greeks' interest, because they were all into mysticism. The letter to the Colossians answers a major heresy of the time, called Gnosticism. The name comes from the Greek word for "knowledge". Gnostics believed that the spirit is entirely good, and that matter is entirely evil. God is spirit, so He is good. Man is matter, insofar as we have a physical body; so Man is bad. They taught that Salvation was an escape from the physical body; and the only way we can escape the physical realm is through knowledge. Whoever said "I think, therefore I am," was speaking Spiritually, not physically--a rock exists, but cannot possibly conceive a thought.
This teaching denied the humanity of Christ: if all physical matter is evil, then Christ could not have come in human form. Some followers thought that since the body was evil, it was to be treated harshly. Others thought that since the physical realm was so far removed from the spiritual realm, it didn't matter what you did with your body--you could get away with all kinds of physical sin (sexual, gluttonous, drunkenness) because morals only covered the spirit (what you knew, learned, or spoke). This is the origin of the phrase "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we shall die."
To the people at Colossae, Paul wrote "My purpose is that they (the Christians in Laodicea and others) may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." (Colossians 2.2-3) Paul genuinely loved these people, and he did not want them to be confused. "I tell you this," he said in verse 4, "so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments."
See, Paul knew there would be people out there who sounded good, who had a big following. Like today, there were false teachers in places of great influence. Educated people. Smooth talkers. Expensive suits. Fine jewelry. These people were all sizzle and no steak. But Paul set out to speak truth to these lies.
Verse 9 says, "For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every (spiritual) power and authority." In other words, Jesus was both a flesh-and-blood human, AND a fully spiritual God. There was never any separation of the two; not until the crucifixion. And even after the resurrection, Jesus was both God and Man--remember when he appeared to the disciples, who were in hiding after the crucifixion? What did he tell Thomas? "Here, put your finger into the nail-prints in my hands, and thrust your hand into this gaping hole in my side, so that you may believe." If His body were purely spiritual, there was no way Thomas could touch Him. And by accepting Jesus as our personal Savior, we have the Son of God living within us. That means we are fully physical and fully spiritual, as well. Physically, our bodies may decay; but spiritually, we can drive out demons through the power of Christ within us.
Take that, you Gnostics! And there's more. The last part of verse 13, and going on to verse 14, says, "He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; He took it away, nailing it to the cross." Many preachers use this as proof that Christ triumphed over the Hebrew Law. But Paul was talking to Gentile Christians, who were battling the know-it-all Gnostics. These people tried to use knowledge to gain power and authority over their followers. But Paul said in verse 15, "And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." 2Corinthians 2.14 says, "Thanks be to God, who in Christ always lead us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere."
Read verses 18 and 19. Who does this sound like to you? "Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow."
A couple of explanations: First, some Gnostic teachers believed that God was so far above humans that He could only be worshipped in the form of angels (spiritual beings) He had created. Today, that would be like the Catholic teaching that if you don't feel like God would listen to you, then you can pray to the Saints, who will in turn go to God for you. But why would we pray to the Saints if God's only Son lives in us and gives us direct access to Him? Second, there are always those who believe that the True Believers, the only ones who will eventually see God, are so limited in number that the rest of us are just going through the motions. Like those who interpret Revelation to say that only 144,000 Jews will be in heaven. But Paul says it is God who causes the Body of Christ to grow as He sees fit--not limited by our human thoughts or traditions.
Today, there are four main religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism), and two main heresies. The heresies are that either: 1) all religion is a myth; there is no God, and any mention of the True God is like the ancient belief in Zeus--it makes a great story, but there is no real spiritual power at all. God has no more say in our lives than the sub-planet Pluto. Or, 2) that all religions are paths to real Truth, and the Muslim God and the Judeo-Christian God are the same, and the Hindu belief that God indwells all things means that everyone can reach God in their own way. Each religion should be tolerated, because any one is not any more True than any other; and any truly Spiritual person would take lessons from all the major religions, because God is that big.
Let me tell you something, Oprah: you can't glean truth from many religions. Allah is NOT the same as God. The state of nirvana is NOT the same as heaven. The four religions are mutually exclusive, and any serious student of comparative religion knows this. The Koran says "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is his prophet." But Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father except by me." Hindus believe that the true end of man is to achieve one-ness with God, and if you are good, then you will be reincarnated into a higher life form, until eventually you are one with God; but if you are bad, you might be reincarnated into a lower life form, like a cow or a bug. They don't kill cows (for meat or any other purpose) because the cow is a fellow-traveller in this world, just trying to reach a higher life-form. How can this possibly be reconciled with the Jewish faith, which has as its foundation the sacrifice of living animals for the reconciliation of man?
You can try the rest, but Jesus is the best. People may seek enlightenment from the Dalai Lama, but man was created for fellowship with God--if there is no God that you can talk to and eventually see face to face, man is no better than animals. The fastest growing religion in the world right now is Islam, which means "Peace". But their prophet is dead; the Muslims pray nine times a day facing the holy city where Mohammad is buried. My Jesus lives: He conquered death and the grave, because He is greater and stronger than any spiritual powers and authorities on Earth. And how peaceful can a religion be that teaches Jihad against the Infidels? Christ loved us and died for us while we were still sinners. And God bless the Jews, they just missed the boat--they are still looking for the Messiah, when Jesus fulfilled all the ancient prophecies.
When you become a Christian, you don't have to check your brain at the door.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Commemorating Madness
The NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments have begun, and sports writers have nicknamed this annual event "March Madness". It's not because the athletes are crazy, or even that their fans go to insane lengths to cheer their teams on to victory. It's not even because of the upsets that happen each year (e.g. the number 12 seed beating the number 4 seed in the tournament.) It is because there are so many games and scores to keep up with, a sports writer can go stark raving mad trying to keep up with it all.
For those sportscasters with a deadline, keeping up with it all without leaving anyone out is very difficult. Not life and death difficult, just a little maddening. Life and death difficult would be when a major earthquake hits the island you live on and the the tsunami warning sounds, giving you only 16 minutes to evacuate. That's life and death difficult.
The Israelites had a life and death difficult task when Moses led them out of Egypt. They had just witnessed nine of the ten plagues, most of which God had spared them from. Then Moses, their leader, assembles them all together and tells them that they are to kill a lamb tonight for roasting tomorrow; that they are to sprinkle blood on the door-posts and lentil of their homes; and that they will be leaving these homes for good; and finally that during the feast that they are roasting the lamb for, they will have to prepare it so fast that the bread dough won't have time to rise, so the bread they will eat with the lamb will be flat, without yeast. If you think the instructions are confusing, imagine what the people thought when the first Passover actually happened.
Exodus 12.21-23 says "Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, 'Go at once and select the animals for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the door frame. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the door frame and will pass over the doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down."
If I was one of the elders, I would have said, "What's a Passover lamb? What is the significance of the blood on the door frame? And what do you mean by the word destroyer?" Moses had already instructed them about the lamb--it was to be the firstborn, without blemish, and if your family was too small to consume a whole lamb, you were to share with another family. That means if I was sharing my lamb with you, I needed to make sure there was blood on your door frame, just like there was on mine.
Moses tried to explain the concept of Passover, but until they actually experienced it, it wouldn't fully make sense to them. Kind of like us depending on Christ's blood to cover our sins--we don't really know what all that means until after the Judgement. But the blood on the door frames represented the sacrificial lamb--it was proof that a lamb had been killed for them. And if you drew a line from one door post to the other, and from the top of the door frame to the floor where the blood would inevitably drip--if you connected the blood with the blood, you would see the image of a cross. It was a foreshadowing of the Cross of Christ, where the Lamb of God was sacrificed for our sins, and if we let Him write his name on our hearts, we can avoid hell. Satan, the destroyer, will not have authority to claim us. But how do you explain this prophecy to a nomadic people that had been enslaved for 400 years?
In verse 29, the events begin to unfold: "At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of the livestock as well. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead."
This shows the awesome power of God. The Egyptians refused to sacrifice to the one true God, so God took the best and most important from each and every one of them. Those who owned animals found the firstborn of their flocks dead at the hand of God; those who had children wept, because the children had been taken from them. God will prove Himself always, and He will get what He wants; either you give it to Him willingly, or He will take it.
Verses 31 through 38 show a frantic scene, one that might have been maddening to go through. "During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.' The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. 'For otherwise,' they said, 'we will all die!' So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs, wrapped in clothing.
Let's look at these events more closely. All the Egyptians were mourning the deaths of their firstborn sons, who had all died at midnight. During the night, Pharaoh tells Moses and Aaron to leave, and take everything they own with them. The people of Egypt, having seen that none of the Israelites lost any of their children, believed that the Israelites were blessed, and that the Egyptians were cursed because of them. So they start throwing jewelry and clothes at them, as they begged them to leave the country. Meanwhile, the people of Israel take the food they were preparing for the Feast that Moses had described to them--they took the meat from the lambs they had killed, and the dough that they had mixed up to bake the bread, and wrapped it all up in a "to go" bag. The dough didn't have any yeast in it, because they were told to leave in the middle of the food preparation. In other words, God said drop what you are doing and go; leave your home, take your stuff and the food you have prepared, and go. And they left richer than they were when they came.
God always wants to take us to a better place, and give us more blessing than we had when we left. When we give our lives to Him, He gives us the promise of Eternal Life. When we leave this world, we will enter a Heaven so wonderful that even the gold we treasured so much here on Earth is just street pavement there. If the streets are paved with gold, then how much more wonderful are the dwellings there!
Anyway, God told them to celebrate this hectic time every year. He set up a week-long holiday, culminating in The Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were to remember the time when they were so rushed they didn't have time to put yeast in the dough. In fact, the Lord's command is that there should be no yeast in the house for the whole week of the celebration. Seven days with no yeast anywhere in the house. As time went on, it became a big ritual at the beginning of the feast. People made a big show of cleaning out their houses, and of ridding their homes of any leaven.
When Jesus told parables, he often equated leaven with sin. He told his disciples to "beware the leaven of the Pharisees." This didn't mean that the Pharisees had yeast infections (sorry, bad pun); but rather that they had sin in their lives that they needed to sweep away, much like their forefathers would purge all the leaven from their homes before the Passover Feast. In the Christian tradition, we don't have such a holiday. There is no set time for us to take a personal inventory, and set aside sinful habits. But when Jesus celebrated the Passover feast with His disciples, He gave it a new purpose. Instead of telling His disciples to eat the unleavened bread to remember that hectic time in Egypt, He said "This do in remembrance of Me."
Christians now celebrate Communion; in less liturgical churches, it is called the Lord's Supper. This act of worship should take on a greater significance to us. We should rid our lives of the leaven of sin before we partake of it. When it is coming up, we should prepare for it. Sometimes there might be time for quiet introspection leading up to the eating of the bread and taking of the cup. Other times, it may come as a complete surprise, and we will have to honor it on the fly, like Moses, Aaron and their people did so long ago. But there should be a time, at least once a year, when you put away all sin and prepare a feast before the Lord and fellowship with Him for what He has done.
Remember the madness of a sinful world condemning an innocent man to death; remember the madness of that innocent man forgiving those in the act of killing Him; remember the madness of God giving His only Son so that we might live.
For those sportscasters with a deadline, keeping up with it all without leaving anyone out is very difficult. Not life and death difficult, just a little maddening. Life and death difficult would be when a major earthquake hits the island you live on and the the tsunami warning sounds, giving you only 16 minutes to evacuate. That's life and death difficult.
The Israelites had a life and death difficult task when Moses led them out of Egypt. They had just witnessed nine of the ten plagues, most of which God had spared them from. Then Moses, their leader, assembles them all together and tells them that they are to kill a lamb tonight for roasting tomorrow; that they are to sprinkle blood on the door-posts and lentil of their homes; and that they will be leaving these homes for good; and finally that during the feast that they are roasting the lamb for, they will have to prepare it so fast that the bread dough won't have time to rise, so the bread they will eat with the lamb will be flat, without yeast. If you think the instructions are confusing, imagine what the people thought when the first Passover actually happened.
Exodus 12.21-23 says "Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, 'Go at once and select the animals for your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it into the blood in the basin, and put some of the blood on the top and on both sides of the door frame. Not one of you shall go out the door of his house until morning. When the Lord goes through the land to strike down the Egyptians, he will see the blood on the top and sides of the door frame and will pass over the doorway, and he will not permit the destroyer to enter your houses and strike you down."
If I was one of the elders, I would have said, "What's a Passover lamb? What is the significance of the blood on the door frame? And what do you mean by the word destroyer?" Moses had already instructed them about the lamb--it was to be the firstborn, without blemish, and if your family was too small to consume a whole lamb, you were to share with another family. That means if I was sharing my lamb with you, I needed to make sure there was blood on your door frame, just like there was on mine.
Moses tried to explain the concept of Passover, but until they actually experienced it, it wouldn't fully make sense to them. Kind of like us depending on Christ's blood to cover our sins--we don't really know what all that means until after the Judgement. But the blood on the door frames represented the sacrificial lamb--it was proof that a lamb had been killed for them. And if you drew a line from one door post to the other, and from the top of the door frame to the floor where the blood would inevitably drip--if you connected the blood with the blood, you would see the image of a cross. It was a foreshadowing of the Cross of Christ, where the Lamb of God was sacrificed for our sins, and if we let Him write his name on our hearts, we can avoid hell. Satan, the destroyer, will not have authority to claim us. But how do you explain this prophecy to a nomadic people that had been enslaved for 400 years?
In verse 29, the events begin to unfold: "At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on the throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in the dungeon, and the firstborn of the livestock as well. Pharaoh and all his officials and all the Egyptians got up during the night, and there was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead."
This shows the awesome power of God. The Egyptians refused to sacrifice to the one true God, so God took the best and most important from each and every one of them. Those who owned animals found the firstborn of their flocks dead at the hand of God; those who had children wept, because the children had been taken from them. God will prove Himself always, and He will get what He wants; either you give it to Him willingly, or He will take it.
Verses 31 through 38 show a frantic scene, one that might have been maddening to go through. "During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, 'Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested. Take your flocks and herds, as you have said, and go. And also bless me.' The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. 'For otherwise,' they said, 'we will all die!' So the people took their dough before the yeast was added, and carried it on their shoulders in kneading troughs, wrapped in clothing.
Let's look at these events more closely. All the Egyptians were mourning the deaths of their firstborn sons, who had all died at midnight. During the night, Pharaoh tells Moses and Aaron to leave, and take everything they own with them. The people of Egypt, having seen that none of the Israelites lost any of their children, believed that the Israelites were blessed, and that the Egyptians were cursed because of them. So they start throwing jewelry and clothes at them, as they begged them to leave the country. Meanwhile, the people of Israel take the food they were preparing for the Feast that Moses had described to them--they took the meat from the lambs they had killed, and the dough that they had mixed up to bake the bread, and wrapped it all up in a "to go" bag. The dough didn't have any yeast in it, because they were told to leave in the middle of the food preparation. In other words, God said drop what you are doing and go; leave your home, take your stuff and the food you have prepared, and go. And they left richer than they were when they came.
God always wants to take us to a better place, and give us more blessing than we had when we left. When we give our lives to Him, He gives us the promise of Eternal Life. When we leave this world, we will enter a Heaven so wonderful that even the gold we treasured so much here on Earth is just street pavement there. If the streets are paved with gold, then how much more wonderful are the dwellings there!
Anyway, God told them to celebrate this hectic time every year. He set up a week-long holiday, culminating in The Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were to remember the time when they were so rushed they didn't have time to put yeast in the dough. In fact, the Lord's command is that there should be no yeast in the house for the whole week of the celebration. Seven days with no yeast anywhere in the house. As time went on, it became a big ritual at the beginning of the feast. People made a big show of cleaning out their houses, and of ridding their homes of any leaven.
When Jesus told parables, he often equated leaven with sin. He told his disciples to "beware the leaven of the Pharisees." This didn't mean that the Pharisees had yeast infections (sorry, bad pun); but rather that they had sin in their lives that they needed to sweep away, much like their forefathers would purge all the leaven from their homes before the Passover Feast. In the Christian tradition, we don't have such a holiday. There is no set time for us to take a personal inventory, and set aside sinful habits. But when Jesus celebrated the Passover feast with His disciples, He gave it a new purpose. Instead of telling His disciples to eat the unleavened bread to remember that hectic time in Egypt, He said "This do in remembrance of Me."
Christians now celebrate Communion; in less liturgical churches, it is called the Lord's Supper. This act of worship should take on a greater significance to us. We should rid our lives of the leaven of sin before we partake of it. When it is coming up, we should prepare for it. Sometimes there might be time for quiet introspection leading up to the eating of the bread and taking of the cup. Other times, it may come as a complete surprise, and we will have to honor it on the fly, like Moses, Aaron and their people did so long ago. But there should be a time, at least once a year, when you put away all sin and prepare a feast before the Lord and fellowship with Him for what He has done.
Remember the madness of a sinful world condemning an innocent man to death; remember the madness of that innocent man forgiving those in the act of killing Him; remember the madness of God giving His only Son so that we might live.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Our very present help in time of trouble
Yesterday I was thinking about my son. He was telling me his plans for after he graduates: he said one thing that he would like to do would be to go to Japan for a year and teach English over there. Of course, the massive earthquakes that hit there yesterday made me very glad he was in the U.S.
Can you imagine being there, going through what those people went through? There were foreshocks measuring 7.4 on the Richter Scale--that by itself was a quake large enough to cause major devastation. But then when the biggest quake happened, it was over ten times stronger, measuring 8.9--the biggest quake ever in recorded history in that region. Can you imagine the fear that the aftershocks brought?
And the waves it caused in the Pacific Ocean had enough energy to travel halfway around the world and cause damage from San Diego, California all the way up to Washington state. Oh, the awesome power of Nature. But how much more powerful is Nature's God!
We serve an awesome God. Even when our world is shaken, He is our Rock. When the ground beneath us is swept away, He is our fortress. Whenever fear overwhelms us, He is our solitude. He is more powerful than anything this world can do to us.
This morning I read Philippians chapter four. It is a very rich passage, full of promise and exhortations. I thinks it is funny that it starts out with Paul exhorting two women in the church to stop their in-fighting and just get along. These were women who had done good things in the past, but now there was strife between them. Paul wanted them to stop focusing on their petty disagreements, and get on with the Lord's work.
Verse four says "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!" How hard is it this morning for the people of Japan to rejoice? Their homes and property and livelihood have been swept away. Yet God wants them to focus not on the earthly things, but on the eternal things. What an opportunity to witness! Now that God has your attention, now that you no longer have things to distract you, can we now tell you about a God that has a hope and a heaven for you? When mudslides have hidden your streets from view, can you imagine a place that has streets of gold?
Verses six and seven say: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
It is human to have anxiety. Especially in times of devastation and chaos. But if you give it to God, He will give you peace. Not a peace of this world, but the peace that nobody on earth can understand. What a powerful witness that is to other people, when their world is turned upside down just like yours was, and yet you have this powerful peace in the presence of the Savior. This will cause them to wonder about you, and may give you opportunity to witness to them, to share Jesus with them.
The world will not always be in turmoil. Sometimes it goes along well for a season. It is in those times that we need to not be complacent. It is human to let our minds wander. That is why Paul also tells us in verse 8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
Keep your mind on heavenly things, lest you fall into sin. Be vigilant, be sober. In short, be like Christ. I know it is easier said than done, but we must do it. When my son was in high school sports, there were signs and T-shirts everywhere with such exhortations as "Go big or go home", and "Give it all you've got, you can rest when you are dead." While these catch phrases are amusing to us couch potatoes, they are encouraging the the athlete. And we should encourage one another to do good, and to stay away from sin--even sinful thoughts.
Verse 13 is possibly the most famous verse in this passage: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Through Christ, the people of Japan who survived the earthquake can rebuild their lives. Through Christ, my father, who is battling cancer for the third time in two years, can overcome and not lose hope. Whatever turmoil you are going through at this very moment, you can turn to Jesus and give it to Him. He will help you through, and give you peace, and lead your thoughts to heavenly themes.
He is our hope and our salvation. In Him we overcome our fears and our situations. Without Him, there is no hope. Our hope is this: His Only Purpose--Eternity. What happens here today will not matter tomorrow. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but God's love is eternal. If you have it, share it with somebody today. If you don't have it, take hold of it today.
Can you imagine being there, going through what those people went through? There were foreshocks measuring 7.4 on the Richter Scale--that by itself was a quake large enough to cause major devastation. But then when the biggest quake happened, it was over ten times stronger, measuring 8.9--the biggest quake ever in recorded history in that region. Can you imagine the fear that the aftershocks brought?
And the waves it caused in the Pacific Ocean had enough energy to travel halfway around the world and cause damage from San Diego, California all the way up to Washington state. Oh, the awesome power of Nature. But how much more powerful is Nature's God!
We serve an awesome God. Even when our world is shaken, He is our Rock. When the ground beneath us is swept away, He is our fortress. Whenever fear overwhelms us, He is our solitude. He is more powerful than anything this world can do to us.
This morning I read Philippians chapter four. It is a very rich passage, full of promise and exhortations. I thinks it is funny that it starts out with Paul exhorting two women in the church to stop their in-fighting and just get along. These were women who had done good things in the past, but now there was strife between them. Paul wanted them to stop focusing on their petty disagreements, and get on with the Lord's work.
Verse four says "Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!" How hard is it this morning for the people of Japan to rejoice? Their homes and property and livelihood have been swept away. Yet God wants them to focus not on the earthly things, but on the eternal things. What an opportunity to witness! Now that God has your attention, now that you no longer have things to distract you, can we now tell you about a God that has a hope and a heaven for you? When mudslides have hidden your streets from view, can you imagine a place that has streets of gold?
Verses six and seven say: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
It is human to have anxiety. Especially in times of devastation and chaos. But if you give it to God, He will give you peace. Not a peace of this world, but the peace that nobody on earth can understand. What a powerful witness that is to other people, when their world is turned upside down just like yours was, and yet you have this powerful peace in the presence of the Savior. This will cause them to wonder about you, and may give you opportunity to witness to them, to share Jesus with them.
The world will not always be in turmoil. Sometimes it goes along well for a season. It is in those times that we need to not be complacent. It is human to let our minds wander. That is why Paul also tells us in verse 8: "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."
Keep your mind on heavenly things, lest you fall into sin. Be vigilant, be sober. In short, be like Christ. I know it is easier said than done, but we must do it. When my son was in high school sports, there were signs and T-shirts everywhere with such exhortations as "Go big or go home", and "Give it all you've got, you can rest when you are dead." While these catch phrases are amusing to us couch potatoes, they are encouraging the the athlete. And we should encourage one another to do good, and to stay away from sin--even sinful thoughts.
Verse 13 is possibly the most famous verse in this passage: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." Through Christ, the people of Japan who survived the earthquake can rebuild their lives. Through Christ, my father, who is battling cancer for the third time in two years, can overcome and not lose hope. Whatever turmoil you are going through at this very moment, you can turn to Jesus and give it to Him. He will help you through, and give you peace, and lead your thoughts to heavenly themes.
He is our hope and our salvation. In Him we overcome our fears and our situations. Without Him, there is no hope. Our hope is this: His Only Purpose--Eternity. What happens here today will not matter tomorrow. Heaven and Earth will pass away, but God's love is eternal. If you have it, share it with somebody today. If you don't have it, take hold of it today.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Proposed Tax Breaks lawsuit is taxing my patience
A developer has plans to build a theme park in Grant County, Kentucky, which has promised to employ almost 900 people, draw up to 30,000 tourists per year, and generate tax income to the state in the millions of dollars. The site has been chosen, because other venues in other states did not offer the tax incentives that the governor of Kentucky has promised.
This is good news, right? Especially in this economy, any large-scale development that promises to provide over 400 full time jobs and generate lots of tax revenue should be joyfully embraced--or one would think.
The problem? Many in the state object to the theme of the proposed theme park: Noah's Ark. And they are none too happy with the developer, a Christian organization devoted to the historical biblical world view that the earth was created in 6 twenty-four-hour days, and that the Bible is to be interpreted literally. This world view would, of course, include the belief that there was a world-wide flood sent by God to punish the unrighteous, and that only one man's family was saved to re-populate the world.
Opponents are already lining up with lawsuits against the project, arguing that this is a breach in the separation of Church and State. Actually, the language the opponents are using goes further than that--they say it is a blurring of the line between government and religion.
What hogwash.
First of all, the Founders wrote the Constitution with specific prohibitions against establishing a State-run Church. Thanks to them, we are not all required to be members of the Church of America. In later writings, and Supreme Court rulings, this concept was shortened to the separation of Church and State. I have no problem with this shorthand, as long as it is understood what the name implies. Specifically, that there will never be a State-run Church.
But the Founders never intended to prohibit a theme park based on a Biblical theme. And I disagree with those who argue that this theme-park would blur the lines between government and religion. To some Democrats, government is their religion: it is the method by which the poor are fed and clothed, it is the way in which children get educated, it is the final arbiter of Truth, it is the End All and Be All of All Things Good and Decent.
I am sure that the children who are riding the roller coasters and eating the hot dogs will not care about these arguments, just as they probably won't care too much about the theme. In the same way that children who go to a Harry Potter themed park that includes a replica of Hogwarts Academy do not get "indoctrinated" into witchcraft, the children who attend the Noah's Ark theme-park will not be indoctrinated into a church.
And that is the crux of the matter here. This theme park does not purport to be a church. The tax breaks that were offered by the Governor of Kentucky will not go to support any single church or faith. Religions other than Christian and Jewish will not be discriminated against--in fact, sociologists will tell you that every major religion on earth throughout history has had some version of what they call a "flood myth."
So offering tax breaks to this non-profit organization to build a profit-generating, tax generating, jobs generating Corporation is no different that offering the same tax breaks to Six Flags, or Toyota, or any other company that wants to build in their state.
Some people need to get a life.
This is good news, right? Especially in this economy, any large-scale development that promises to provide over 400 full time jobs and generate lots of tax revenue should be joyfully embraced--or one would think.
The problem? Many in the state object to the theme of the proposed theme park: Noah's Ark. And they are none too happy with the developer, a Christian organization devoted to the historical biblical world view that the earth was created in 6 twenty-four-hour days, and that the Bible is to be interpreted literally. This world view would, of course, include the belief that there was a world-wide flood sent by God to punish the unrighteous, and that only one man's family was saved to re-populate the world.
Opponents are already lining up with lawsuits against the project, arguing that this is a breach in the separation of Church and State. Actually, the language the opponents are using goes further than that--they say it is a blurring of the line between government and religion.
What hogwash.
First of all, the Founders wrote the Constitution with specific prohibitions against establishing a State-run Church. Thanks to them, we are not all required to be members of the Church of America. In later writings, and Supreme Court rulings, this concept was shortened to the separation of Church and State. I have no problem with this shorthand, as long as it is understood what the name implies. Specifically, that there will never be a State-run Church.
But the Founders never intended to prohibit a theme park based on a Biblical theme. And I disagree with those who argue that this theme-park would blur the lines between government and religion. To some Democrats, government is their religion: it is the method by which the poor are fed and clothed, it is the way in which children get educated, it is the final arbiter of Truth, it is the End All and Be All of All Things Good and Decent.
I am sure that the children who are riding the roller coasters and eating the hot dogs will not care about these arguments, just as they probably won't care too much about the theme. In the same way that children who go to a Harry Potter themed park that includes a replica of Hogwarts Academy do not get "indoctrinated" into witchcraft, the children who attend the Noah's Ark theme-park will not be indoctrinated into a church.
And that is the crux of the matter here. This theme park does not purport to be a church. The tax breaks that were offered by the Governor of Kentucky will not go to support any single church or faith. Religions other than Christian and Jewish will not be discriminated against--in fact, sociologists will tell you that every major religion on earth throughout history has had some version of what they call a "flood myth."
So offering tax breaks to this non-profit organization to build a profit-generating, tax generating, jobs generating Corporation is no different that offering the same tax breaks to Six Flags, or Toyota, or any other company that wants to build in their state.
Some people need to get a life.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The epic struggle
There is something in us that loves a good story. The action-adventure tale that inspires us to be like the hero, and face multiple perils, overcome every adversity, and pursue the Holy Grail until we finally, triumphantly, grasp the brass ring. Or the tragic-romantic stories of the woman who holds her family together through all sorts of trials, and in the end finds true love.
I think God put that interest in us to keep us moving forward, to make us reach outside ourselves toward something better, so that ultimately we will find Him. We often become discouraged, or complacent, thinking that things will not turn out for our good. Sometimes we even despair of God Himself, thinking that if there is a God, He surely doesn't love me. Why would He save me, since I have never done anything for Him?
Isaiah 59 addresses that issue, and it reveals the epic struggle God has against Evil, with His people at the very center of the conflict. I'll even spoil the ending for you--God is the Hero of the story, and He does triumph over evil, so that all who seek Him will find Him. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Verses 1 and 2 set the stage: "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."
Okay, we know this is the nature of God, that He is powerful to save. But the Bible says that sin separates us from God, so that even He is not able to hear us. Is this a contradiction? NO! Isaiah 30.19 says "O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious He will be when you cry for help! As soon as He hears, He will answer you." Isaiah 65.24 says "Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear."
God wants to save us. He knows our hearts. When we truly turn our back on sin, He comes running--even before we draw the breath to speak His name, He is on the way! This is what He desires.
But not everyone who calls on God is calling out for salvation. We have become so used to the phrase "Oh my God" that we have shortened it to the text-length OMG. God knows that people who use His name like this are not actually calling on Him to save them. Many call God's name to bring curses upon their enemies, and by extension, themselves. Jeremiah 11.10-11 says "They have followed other gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers. Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.' "
A survey of Americans in 1997 showed that 88% of us believe in heaven, but only 71% believe in hell. I'll bet the vast majority of those who think there is a hell don't believe they could possibly go there. But Isaiah 59.8-10 says "The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace. So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind, we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead." So the story that Isaiah is telling gets worse and worse for us: we are separated from God, and there are real consequences.
Time for God to intervene. And He does. Verses 15 through 18 give us God's direct intervention. "The Lord looked, and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so His own arm worked salvation for Him, and His own righteousness sustained Him. He put on righteousness as His breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance, and wrapped Himself in zeal as a cloak. According to what they have done, so He will repay wrath to His enemies and retribution to His foes."
Doesn't this sound like a Hollywood action thriller? Scene: Fade in, close-up of the hero's face. His jaw is set, his eyes ablaze in anger at the injustice he sees. The camera pans back to show him preparing for battle, strapping on the armor, placing the helmet on his head, sweeping the cape behind him and holding up the sword toward the enemy as he screams the battle cry: AAAAAUUUUGH!!!
Paul uses the same imagery of the soldier preparing for battle when he encouraged Christians to cowboy up in Ephesians 6.10-17: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, and with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
See, God is more than capable of declaring war on evil. And He gives us the same tools He uses Himself to battle the devil, so that we can prevail through His strength. But we must rely on Him. If we rely on ourselves, we will fail. Just like the Israelites in Isaiah's day who had turned their backs on the God of their fathers, so that God would no longer hear their cries, when we turn our backs on God we cannot expect His help. But when we come to the place where we realize our need, God is already on the way to pick us up and to give us victory over sin and oppression and injustice. He is that awesome!
Taking the movie analogy one step further, many films and stories are so great that they are timeless; these are called "classics", because they are known for many generations. In Isaiah 59.21, God promises that His covenant and His words are classic, as well. " 'As for me, this is my covenant with them,' says the Lord. 'My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,' says the Lord."
Dear Lord, thank you for saving me and delivering me from evil. Forgive me for when I turn my back on You, and thank you for running back to me when I repent. I pray for our community, our state, and our nation, that they would call on Your name and that You will answer them and show them great and mighty things which they have never before seen. Help me to introduce Your epic story to those that have not heard, to remind those who have heard but have forgotten, and to encourage my brothers-in-arms who take up the whole armor of God. May we advance Your kingdom, so that Paul's statement in II Corinthians 2:14 will be fulfilled: Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. Amen.
I think God put that interest in us to keep us moving forward, to make us reach outside ourselves toward something better, so that ultimately we will find Him. We often become discouraged, or complacent, thinking that things will not turn out for our good. Sometimes we even despair of God Himself, thinking that if there is a God, He surely doesn't love me. Why would He save me, since I have never done anything for Him?
Isaiah 59 addresses that issue, and it reveals the epic struggle God has against Evil, with His people at the very center of the conflict. I'll even spoil the ending for you--God is the Hero of the story, and He does triumph over evil, so that all who seek Him will find Him. But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Verses 1 and 2 set the stage: "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor His ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear."
Okay, we know this is the nature of God, that He is powerful to save. But the Bible says that sin separates us from God, so that even He is not able to hear us. Is this a contradiction? NO! Isaiah 30.19 says "O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious He will be when you cry for help! As soon as He hears, He will answer you." Isaiah 65.24 says "Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear."
God wants to save us. He knows our hearts. When we truly turn our back on sin, He comes running--even before we draw the breath to speak His name, He is on the way! This is what He desires.
But not everyone who calls on God is calling out for salvation. We have become so used to the phrase "Oh my God" that we have shortened it to the text-length OMG. God knows that people who use His name like this are not actually calling on Him to save them. Many call God's name to bring curses upon their enemies, and by extension, themselves. Jeremiah 11.10-11 says "They have followed other gods to serve them. Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken the covenant I made with their forefathers. Therefore this is what the Lord says: 'I will bring on them a disaster they cannot escape. Although they cry out to me, I will not listen to them.' "
A survey of Americans in 1997 showed that 88% of us believe in heaven, but only 71% believe in hell. I'll bet the vast majority of those who think there is a hell don't believe they could possibly go there. But Isaiah 59.8-10 says "The way of peace they do not know; there is no justice in their paths. They have turned them into crooked roads; no one who walks in them will know peace. So justice is far from us, and righteousness does not reach us. We look for light, but all is darkness; for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows. Like the blind, we grope along the wall, feeling our way like men without eyes. At midday we stumble as if it were twilight; among the strong, we are like the dead." So the story that Isaiah is telling gets worse and worse for us: we are separated from God, and there are real consequences.
Time for God to intervene. And He does. Verses 15 through 18 give us God's direct intervention. "The Lord looked, and was displeased that there was no justice. He saw that there was no one, he was appalled that there was no one to intervene; so His own arm worked salvation for Him, and His own righteousness sustained Him. He put on righteousness as His breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance, and wrapped Himself in zeal as a cloak. According to what they have done, so He will repay wrath to His enemies and retribution to His foes."
Doesn't this sound like a Hollywood action thriller? Scene: Fade in, close-up of the hero's face. His jaw is set, his eyes ablaze in anger at the injustice he sees. The camera pans back to show him preparing for battle, strapping on the armor, placing the helmet on his head, sweeping the cape behind him and holding up the sword toward the enemy as he screams the battle cry: AAAAAUUUUGH!!!
Paul uses the same imagery of the soldier preparing for battle when he encouraged Christians to cowboy up in Ephesians 6.10-17: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, and with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."
See, God is more than capable of declaring war on evil. And He gives us the same tools He uses Himself to battle the devil, so that we can prevail through His strength. But we must rely on Him. If we rely on ourselves, we will fail. Just like the Israelites in Isaiah's day who had turned their backs on the God of their fathers, so that God would no longer hear their cries, when we turn our backs on God we cannot expect His help. But when we come to the place where we realize our need, God is already on the way to pick us up and to give us victory over sin and oppression and injustice. He is that awesome!
Taking the movie analogy one step further, many films and stories are so great that they are timeless; these are called "classics", because they are known for many generations. In Isaiah 59.21, God promises that His covenant and His words are classic, as well. " 'As for me, this is my covenant with them,' says the Lord. 'My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,' says the Lord."
Dear Lord, thank you for saving me and delivering me from evil. Forgive me for when I turn my back on You, and thank you for running back to me when I repent. I pray for our community, our state, and our nation, that they would call on Your name and that You will answer them and show them great and mighty things which they have never before seen. Help me to introduce Your epic story to those that have not heard, to remind those who have heard but have forgotten, and to encourage my brothers-in-arms who take up the whole armor of God. May we advance Your kingdom, so that Paul's statement in II Corinthians 2:14 will be fulfilled: Thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ, and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)