You are the Apple of His Eye

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  --John 3:16

Let's start with a simple syllogism:  God is Love (1 John 4:8 says "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.").  God loves you (see John 3:16 above).  Therefore, you are loved by God, by the One who is defined by and is the definition of true love.

The Bible says that you are the apple of His eye.  Really.  In Psalm 17:8, David prays to God, saying, "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." In Zechariah 2:8, the prophet is talking about the people of God, and he says, "For this is what the Lord Almighty says: After he has honored me and has sent me against the nations that have plundered you--for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye." And in the King James version of Lamentations 2:18, the prophet Jeremiah speaks of those who truly seek the Lord with all their hearts, and says, "Their heart cried out to the Lord: O wall of the daughter of Zion, let tears run down like a river day and night; give thyself no rest, let not the apple of thine eye cease."

So what does it mean to be the apple of somebody's eye?  According to the Urban Dictionary, it means one's favorite person; the one you love most.  "In Old English, the pupil of the eye (the round, dark center) was called the 'apple'. It was thought that the pupil was a round object much like an apple (a piece of fruit).  When you look at someone, their reflection appears in your pupil.  So if someone is 'the apple of your eye', he or she is someone that you look at a lot and enjoy seeing." (reference citation: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=apple+of+my+eye)

God made you.  When He made the earth, the plants, and all the animals, He said "It is good."  But when He made man and woman, He said, "It is very good."  There are not so many people in the world today that He cannot see them all.  He gazes at each one of us, as an inventor would hold up and admire his greatest work; like a collector would study a fine gold piece in her collection.  Think about that the next time you hear the phrase, "God watches over us."  He is not a distant king in an ivory tower, who may glance out of His window at all His subjects.  He is not an evil warlord in a guard tower, making sure we are all in line.  He knows each one of us individually, intimately, indiscriminately.  Our image is etched in His mind, because we are the apple of His eye.

Another meaning ascribed to the phrase is found from another web source, Answers.com.

The term was originally used in the bible and it was used to signify someone of great worth 'whoever touches you touches the apple of his eye', someone who was very precious. The 'apple of your eye' is the iris or center of the eye. If someone were to touch the apple of your eye it would be very painful and so it is protected by the eyelid. The biblical imagery is that we are the apple of his eye and God is the eyelid who protects us. Shakespeare also used the term with this meaning in 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' to again show something as most precious - 

Flower of this purple dye, 
Hit with Cupid's archery, 
Sink in apple of his eye 

Modern usage of this idiom usually refers to something that is especially beloved. (citation reference http://www.answers.com/Q/How_did_the_expression_%27apple_of_my_eye%27_come_about).

So here we get the sense that God wants to protect us as a part of His body.  1 Corinthians chapter 12 reference Christ's followers in the Church as having different functions flowing from their disparate talents and make-up, much like the different parts of the body.  In this case, the pupil or center of the eye is something that a body would naturally defend and protect.  So in our anthropomorphisms that help us understand God better, if we are the center of God's eye, He would naturally want to keep us out of harm's way.  He would cover us with His hand, and might even rub us raw to remove any foreign object that irritates us or makes us less effective.

Finally, there is a sense from the origin of the phrase that we are to be students of Him, as well.  We are to gaze upon Him as He gazes upon us.  According to Wikipedia, "The original Hebrew for this idiom, in all but Zechariah 2:8, was 'iyshown 'ayin (אישון עין), and can be literally translated as "Little Man of the Eye." This is a reference to the tiny reflection of yourself that you can see in other people's pupils. Other KJV translations of the word 'iyshown include dark and obscure, as a reference to the darkness of the pupil.

This Hebrew idiom is surprisingly close to the Latin version, pupilla, which means a little doll, and is a diminutive form of pupus, boy, or pupa, girl (the source also for our other sense of pupil to mean a schoolchild.) It was applied to the dark central portion of the eye within the iris because of the tiny image of oneself, like a puppet or marionette, that one can see when looking into another person's eye." 

(citation reference http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_of_my_eye).

So the origin of the word "pupil", or student, comes from the same root word as "eyeball". We are the students of His vision, His outlook on humanity. We are to "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that needs not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (1 Timothy 2:15). As we learn more about how God sees others, we can be more like Him. We can truly be the "apple of His eye" as we see as He sees, and as we watch His work in our world.In summary, then, He loves us dearly; He watches us intently; He protects us fiercely; and we can now see as He sees. Isn't God good? You are, indeed, the apple of His eye. Don't forget it!

In God We Trust

If you happened to be in the Pancake House early on Monday mornings, you may not notice a table near the back, where four men would break fast together and begin the work week in prayer.  They were not overbearing in their religion, but if the waitress Martha happened to seat you at a table near them, you would notice that they were passionate about their beliefs.  They were not boisterous--who is, before sunrise on a Monday?--but if you listened closely, you might say they were intense.

The older man, Aaron, sat with his back to the wall.  He was clearly the leader, and the others would often ask him questions regarding their faith.  Both at the beginning of their meetings, and at the end, Aaron would lead the other men in prayer.  They would often share challenges in their lives: mistakes they had made in their marriages or in raising their kids, setbacks at their jobs, or especially trying times in their relationship with God.  There were good reports, as well, often echoed by "Praise the Lord," or "Hallelujah."

Aaron would always arrive first, and Martha would have a cup of coffee waiting for him.  On this particular day Aaron looked up from his cup and saw Pete coming through the door.  Pete was the largest of the four; at six feet four inches and 320 pounds, one could easily mistake him for a professional athlete.  He greeted Aaron with a big bear hug.  As the two were exchanging small talk, the other two men in their group arrived.  Jake and Sean were brothers, but each with his own very distinct personality.  Jake was crafty and alert, always trying to outfox his opponents, whether in business or across the table at the weekly prayer meetings.  Sean was good-hearted and amiable, always eager to lend a hand to anyone in need.

"Well, here we are," said Pete.  "Just like the early church, who met 'early in the morning on the first day of the week'."

Aaron smiled.  "Acts chapter 20, verse 7."

Jake smirked.  "Isn't Sunday the first day of the week?  And didn't the early church meet on Sunday, in honor of the day of Jesus' resurrection from the dead?"

"You know what?" Sean punched his brother on the shoulder.  "Let's eat.  I'm starved."

Martha placed coffee before the two brothers, and a Diet Coke in front of Pete.  "What will you have, boys?" she said.  "The waffles are good this morning."

The men ordered, and Martha left them alone.  After asking each member of the group how their week had gone, Aaron led them in prayer.  When he finished, he asked them, "Did you remember the homework assignment I gave you last week?  Instead of listening to me give a morning devotional thought, you were supposed to all study Psalm chapter 16, and bring back a report of what it meant to you."

The other three all groaned in unison, but each of them took out a page where they had written notes.  Aaron smiled and continued.  "This is a Psalm of Trust.  David was praying to God for protection, but he was remembering what God had done in his life, and the things he had been taught about God's nature.  Last week I asked you to read the psalm, and think about what you might say about it if you had a chance to share in a Bible Study, Sunday School class, or even if you were asked to preach a sermon.  I even gave you a working title: In God We Trust.  Let me read the psalm first, and then we can each listen to what God has spoken to each of us about this passage."

Preserve me, O God, for in you I have put my trust.  O my soul, you have said to the Lord, "You are my Lord, my goodness is nothing apart from you."  As for the saints who are on the earth, "They are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight."  Their sorrows shall be multiplied who hasten after another god; their drink offerings of blood I will not offer, nor take up their names upon my lips.  O Lord, you are the portion of my inheritance, and my cup.  You maintain my lot.  The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance.  I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons.  I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.  Therefore my heart is glad and my glory rejoices; my flesh also will rest in hope.  For you will not leave my soul in Sheol, nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption. You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy.  At your right hand are pleasures evermore.

Pete cleared his throat.  "I guess I'll go first," he said.  "I think this passage is talking about idolatry.  So many time we get our eyes off of God, and trust our ways with other things.  We don't necessarily bow down to graven images so much anymore, but we do tend to look to other things to meet our needs.  Like work.  It gives us something to do, something to keep our minds occupied, but it also gives us a paycheck.  So many people at my job are there all hours of the day or night, trying to get ahead, trying to make the deal, or get the overtime, or get the promotion.  It's like their god is the almighty dollar.  But sooner or later, like verse 4 says, they are sorry for time they missed with their families.  They are sorry for wasting so much of their lives working, and in the end they don't have anything to show for it.  No family, no friends, and no real relationship with God.  In my own life, I'd rather be called a saint.  I want God to look at me and say, 'Good job; I really delight in you.'  In the end, my own efforts at being good, of making a good life and a good living, are nothing without God's help.  So I want to place my trust in Him, not in me or my work, or my possessions."

Aaron smiled.  "Thanks, Pete.  You gave us all something to think about.  The passage is so deep, though, that you could really go a lot further with that line of thinking.  You could really plumb the depths, and talk about a lot of things from this chapter.  That's why I asked all three of you to share from the same Scripture today.  Jake, what do you have for us?"

"Well," Jake started, nervously.  "I see God's gifts as being sufficient for our needs.  Verse 5 talks about God giving each of us our own portion, and making our lot secure.  I know David was a king and all, so his inheritance was really, really good, you know?  But every one of us has gifts from God that we can use to live on and use for our own purposes.  I think there is a warning here against gambling--taking what God has meant for us to use for Him and for ourselves, and risking it in hopes of a big payoff.  But if I won the lottery, you know, I'd take my eyes off Him, you know, and kind of rely on my own.  Like Pete said, we need to rely on God and not on what we don't have.  There in verse 7, where it talks about the Lord giving us counsel, so that our hearts know what to do even at night.  Like, most sins happen at night time, you know?  Gambling, adultery, stealing, you know, most of those things happen in the dark.  But the Bible says we should walk in the light as He is in the light, you know?  We should be holy, and not corrupt; 'cause when we put on the righteousness of God, you know, He takes delight in us and we have true joy.  Not the joy of hitting it big in Vegas, you know, but true joy, like only the Lord can give."

"Well," mused Aaron, "you certainly hit on some examples where our trust might be misplaced.  But I don't think that David was talking about the particular sin of gambling here.  We should always use Scripture to help us make good decisions.  But when we pick out a theme and try to find Scriptures to support it, that's called 'isogesis', and it's something we should be careful about.  But if God is working in your heart, Jake, about gambling or those other sins you mentioned, who am I to stand in the way?  I hope you were blessed in the study of that passage.  Sean, what do you have for us?"

As all eyes turned to look at Sean, he was beaming.  "Brother Aaron, I am really excited about this particular psalm.  You see, I read in the study helps in the footnotes of my Bible, and it says that this is a companion psalm to Psalm 23.  We all memorized Psalm 23 when we were kids, right?  We could probably all recite it from memory now.  Look at verse 2: "I said to the Lord, You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing."  Now look at Psalm 23, verse 1: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want."  We all have needs.  God provides our needs.  When we trust Him to meet our needs, they are met.  Period.  And since God is the source, we know that everything He gives is good.  We can't do good on our own.  The World doesn't give good things to us.  We can either trust in ourselves and have nothing; or trust in the World and have our needs met, but still feel something is lacking; or we can trust in God, and know that we lack nothing.

"Look at verses seven and eight of chapter 16: 'I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  I have set the Lord always before me.  Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.'  Now look at Psalm 23:4, where it says, 'Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for your are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.'  God takes care of us in the darkest night, in the deepest valley, even to the point of death.  If we trust in Him, we will not fear, we will not be shaken.

"Go back to verse 5 of Psalm 16: 'Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.'  Psalm 23:5 says, 'You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.'  As Christians, our hope and trust is in the Lord.  He will meet our needs, every time.  Jake talked about David being a king, so his portion was bigger.  But God is our king, and we are His children; so don't we have more wealth at our disposal than King David ever had?  The world just looks at us in wonder, because where they have graft and corruption, there is greed and discontent.  You guys know that I don't make a ton of money, not by American standards.  But if you look at all the people in the world, all the poverty, anybody in America who has a cell phone and a television set--we are the 1% even when folks just like us are demonstrating in the streets, chanting 'We are the 99%'.  They just have no idea how blessed they are.  And as Christians, we are even more blessed, because we are children of the King.  We are anointed, guys!  Our cup overflows.  And if it empties out, we have an intimate relationship with the Source.

"Finally, look at Psalm 16, verse 11: 'You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.'  Compare that to Psalm 23:6, where it says, 'Surely goodness and mercy (or love) will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.'  We follow God, gentlemen, and He leads us in the paths of life and joy, of goodness and love.  There is no end to it, because it is promised to us forever.  That's God's promise.  That's why I trust in Him."

There was silence at the table, while the four men meditated on what they had just heard.  Then Jake looked at his watch and picked up the check.  "Well.  Aaron, I hope you have a good word for us next week.  This homework thing feels too much like I'm back in school again."

"It's good to get out of our comfort zone from time to time," Aaron said.  "Let's pray.  God, thank you for these men and what they stand for.  Thank you for the message from your word, especially the word you gave to Sean today.  Above all, thank you for being trustworthy.  Help us to be faithful as you are faithful.  There are people out there who place limited trust in us.  As we walk the walk and talk the talk, let us always put our full trust in you.  In Jesus' name we ask it, amen."

As always, the men paid their tickets, left a generous tip, and bade farewell to each other with hearty handshakes, and promises to call each other during the week to keep each other accountable.  Then they went their separate ways.  Just four men, who look like everybody else, leaving the Pancake House with their stomachs filled and their spirits raised.  And Martha, before she cleaned their table, scribbled some lines on the back of  her notepad.  Because even if you may not have noticed the four nondescript men at the back table, someone did.

Peace on Earth

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice. Let your forbearance be known to all, for the Lord is near at hand; have no anxiety about anything, but in all things, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. Lord, you have blessed your land; you have turned away the captivity of Jacob.

— Philippians 4:4–6; Psalm 85:1 (Opening verses usually read on this, the third Sunday of Advent)

If you have read my previous posts, you know that I did a whole series on rejoicing.  This is truly a season of joy, of hope, of peace on earth.  And if you read the last post, you saw a connection or correlation between Jesus, the Hope of Man's Desiring, and Joshua, the high priest of the Restoration.  I want to build on that foundation again today.

Have you ever been afraid?  Have you ever been discouraged?  Of course you have. We all have had those emotions.  Even Jesus.  Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched by the feelings of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."  The Bible says, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You." (Psalm 56:3).  I think Jesus knew this.  And I think I have found a passage of Scripture that must have been one of Jesus' favorites.  As we go over it today, I hope that it will become one of your favorites, too.

On the twenty-first day of the seventh month, the word of the Lord came through the prophet Haggai: "Speak to Zerubbabel, son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, to Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to the remnant of the people.  Ask them, 'Who of you is left who saw this house in its former glory?  How does it look to you now? Does it not seem to you like nothing?' " --Haggai 2:1-3

By way of context, the prophet Haggai is talking to the Jews who have returned to Jerusalem after 70 years of exile in Babylon, the most wicked place on earth.  When they saw the Temple, they must have been very discouraged.  But they were there, and each man had the ability to roll up his sleeves and fix it.  They all together had the ability to team up and rebuild the Temple of God.  Haggai's prophecy was intended to encourage them in that endeavor.

You will see that I highlighted the name of the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak.  You will remember from last time that Joshua, or "Yeshua" in Hebrew, means "God saves."  His father's name, Jehozadak, combines the name of Jehovah, or "Yahweh", with the Hebrew word "Sadeq", which means to be just.  So the meanings of the name Jehozadak are "Yahweh has justified", or "The Lord has made just", or even "God is Righteous."  I can imagine the times that Jesus went off by Himself, away from the crowds, to be alone with His Father and pray, that He might have meditated on this Scripture, as it could be speaking to Him by name:  Yeshua, the son of The Righteous God Who Deals Justly, Who Has Justified Us.  Read on to see the encouragement.

"But now be strong, O Zerubbabel," declares the Lord.  "Be strong, O Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.  Be strong, all you people of the land," declares the Lord, "and work.  For I am with you," declares the Lord Almighty.  "This is what I covenanted with you when you came out of Egypt.  And my Spirit remains among you.  Do not fear."  --Haggai 2:4-5

Be strong.  Work.  My Spirit is with you.  Do not fear.  How many times do we need to hear those words spoken over us?  Even Jesus, I would imagine, had times in His life when He needed to hear these words spoken over Him by the Father.  And lest we fall into despair and despondency, saying "What's the point?", the encouragement goes on.  God says "this is the deal I made with you, the Covenant, when I brought you out of Egypt."  He was speaking directly to the nation of Israel, who, you will remember, were slaves in Egypt until God delivered them by the hand of Moses.  I think the words also speak directly to Jesus.  You will remember the account of Christ's birth, when Herod sent soldiers to Bethlehem to kill all the children two years old and under.  God warned Joseph in a dream to get away, and to take Mary and the baby to Egypt.  But they did not stay there.  When the angel told them that Herod had died, Joseph and Mary moved back to Israel, and settled in the district of Galilee, in a town called Nazareth "so was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: 'He will be called a Nazarene'." (Matthew 2:23).

 So Jesus could take this passage and apply it directly to His own life.  And we can apply it indirectly to ours.  Each of us has been called out of a foreign land, to follow God in this life, and to hope in a promised land.  We may not have had to cross geographic borders, but we have been called to a new life, a new way of living--a new culture, if you will.  And we all can take courage in the words the Lord spoke through the prophet Haggai: be strong, work, My Spirit is with you, do not be afraid.

I love the hymn that Charles Wesley wrote about the coming of Christ in Christmas.  It is not generally sung as a Christmas carol, but it is significant during this season, and for this study.  The first verse goes like this:

Hail, thou long-expected Jesus,
    Born to set Thy people free!
From our sins and fears release us,
    Let us find our rest in Thee.

Again, I highlighted the word "fears".  Jesus came to release us from our sins and our fears.  When we trust Him with all our hearts and minds and strength, and His Spirit lives in us, then we can know peace.  We can heed the words of the prophet Haggai: "And my Spirit remains among you.  Do not fear."

Let's read on.

 This is what the Lord Almighty says: "In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land.  I will shake all nations, and the desired of all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory," says the Lord Almighty.

There are three interpretations for this passage.  One, obviously, was to the exiles rebuilding the Temple.  Once they had completed their work, the God of Abraham would again take up residence in the Holy of Holies.  Whenever God moves, the earth is turned upside-down.  The second interpretation, I think, is when Jesus came to fulfill what the prophets had spoken.  He turned the political and religious world upside-down.  He shook things up, so that we would all look upon His glory, and give glory to Him all our days.  The third interpretation, according to Bible scholars, is with the Second Coming of Christ to this world.  When he comes not as a Lamb for sacrifice, but as a Lion to root out injustice and to establish His Kingdom forever.

You will notice that I highlighted the phrase "the desired of all nations".  The Apostle Paul spoke of this in Romans chapter 8: "We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.  Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved." (Romans 8:22-24a).  Maybe this is what Wesley had in mind when he penned the second verse of his hymn:

Israel's strength and consolation,
    Hope of all the saints, Thou art;
Long desired of every nation,
    Joy of every waiting heart.

 Malachi 3:1 speaks of this earnest desire for the coming Messiah.  "See, I will send my messenger, who will  prepare the way before me.  Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come, says the Lord Almighty."  All creation waits for His appearing.  The sons of God await with eager anticipation.  The wicked await His coming with fear and trepidation.

Can you see how Jesus, when He was living on this earth as a man, may have been encouraged by this passage?

"The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the Lord Almighty.  The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house," says the Lord Almighty." --Haggai 2:8-9a.

Everything belongs to God.  He may allow us to use it for our purposes, but ultimately it will be used for His glory.  The people who originally heard the words of Haggai, who were looking at a pile of rubble where their temple used to be, were encouraged by the words, "The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house."  I am sure that gave them motivation to roll up their sleeves and get to work restoring and rebuilding and refurbishing the Temple.

Jesus, too, may have been encouraged when reading and meditating on these words.  The "house" or body in which He resided at the time of his Incarnation was subject to pain and death.  But He knew that in time His resurrected body would show that "the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former."  He knew that his purpose was to bring the kingdom of God to man.  We see this in the third verse of Wesley's hymn:

Born Thy people to deliver,
    Born a child, yet God our King,
Born to reign in us for ever,
    Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

 God's plan was for Jesus to reign in us, and over us, and through us forever.  God's desire is to rule in our hearts.  Our desire is for peace on earth, good will to men.  These disparate desires are met in Jesus.  Haggai's last words in this passages read this way:

"And in this place I will grant peace," declares the Lord Almighty.  --Haggai 2:9b

What did the Angel first say to Zechariah the priest, the husband of Elizabeth and future father of John the Baptist? "Do not be afraid." (Luke 1:13).  What were the Angel's first words to Mary, the one betrothed to Joseph and the future mother of Jesus?  "Do not be afraid." (Luke 1:30).  What did the Angel say to the shepherds abiding in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night? "Fear not, for I bring you good tidings of great joy." (Luke 2:10)  Then the Angel was surrounded by a great number of other angels, and they sang together, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2:14).

Recent unrest in our nation has brought out protesters, who chant the slogan "No justice, no peace."  As we saw at the beginning of this piece, God Almighty brings Justice.  For all who truly want peace, He offers His Son.  True justice cannot be found in a courthouse; true peace cannot be found in the streets.  We must make room for Jesus, the Prince of Peace, whose father is the God Who Deals Justly. Thus we end with the fourth verse of Wesley's hymn:

By Thine own eternal Spirit
    Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all-sufficient merit
    Raise us to Thy glorious throne.

Joy to the world, the savior reigns

You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. --Matthew 1:21

My son is spending some time in Germany.  Last week he posted greetings from Nuremberg.  One of his German friends gently chided him, as the locals call the name of the town Nurnberg.  Similarly, in high school geography class, we were taught that one of the biggest cities in Germany is called Munich.  But the people who live there do not call it that; they say the name of their city is Munchen.

This is just a small example of how things are often lost in translation, from one language and people to another.   This weekend in church our pastor reminded us that Mary and Joseph were entrusted to raise the Son of God, but they never called him "Jesus".  That was the Greco-Roman form of the name.  Let me explain.

In Hebrew, the name given to the Savior was pronounced Yeshua.  We do not use the same alphabet that they used, so a closer rendition in English would be Joshua.  Remember that in Hebrew, there is no hard "J" sound, so it is pronounced as we would pronounce the letter "Y".  You can see this in the word we have borrowed from the Hebrew, "Hallelujah", where the letter "J" has a soft "ya" sound.  The prefix in Hebrew is a reference to Jehovah (or Yahweh), the name given to God.  The second syllable "shua" means "Saves".  So we see that the name given to our Lord literally means "God saves".

But something was lost in translation in the Roman world where they lived.  Although the New Testament is written in Greek, many of the names have Latin roots.  Latin names often end in the suffix "-us".  We know many important Roman names from our history lessons--Marcus Aurelius, Julius Ceasar, Augustus.  They all end in the suffix "-us".   My first name is Marion.  If I were to have lived in that place at that time, I would probably have been called "Marius".  In fact, if you go to a hear a Latin Mass, either in a Catholic church or to a choir concert where it is sung, you will hear the names of God as, "Dominus" (the Father); "Deus" (God); "Sanctus Spiritus" (the Holy Spirit); and "Christus" (the Christ, or Messiah).  Today, we would probably call Julius Caesar by a more Anglicized form, maybe "Julian" or "Jules".

But the important thing to remember is that whatever we call them, we are talking about the same people.

"God Saves", leader of the Hebrew Nation
Now, here is another surprise.  Last week I mentioned the protege of Moses, whom we call Joshua.  His mother never called him that, either!  According to Numbers 13:16, the original name given to the young man who was to be Moses' aide and later to lead the Children of Israel into the promised land--his mama called him Hoshe'a.  The name means "Salvation".  Moses called him Yehoshu'a, which means "God saves".  We see that Moses added the prefix "Ye-" or "Je-" to the name, to signify him belonging to God.  But when the Bible translators got to the word, they just called him "Joshua", as that is what is sounds like in English.

In the Bible, there are "types and shadows", meaning that everything in the Old Testament was a foreshadowing of the Messiah.  Joshua's mission in the Old Testament was to lead God's people into the land that had been promised to their forefathers.  Jesus had a similar mission: to lead God's people into God's presence.  One man wanted to lead the people into a land flowing with milk and honey--he knew, because he had been there and had seen it with his own eyes.  The Son of Man wanted to lead the people into fellowship with God, which He knew and had experienced, because He had been there.

In fact, Joshua had an encounter with Christ Himself.  Just after the people crossed the Jordan River on dry ground, Joshua was preparing to lead the people to conquer Jericho.  This was their first military mission, and Joshua went off by himself to prepare himself for the battle.

And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand.  And Joshua went to Him and said to him, "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" So He said, "No, but as Commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." And Joshua fell on his face and worshiped, and said to Him, "What does my Lord say to His servant?"  Then the Commander of the Lord's army said to Joshua, "Take the sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy."  And Joshua did so.  --Joshua 5:13-15

I want us to notice how Joshua's position changed, almost instantaneously.  He was starting to think of himself in military terms, as the General of the Army of Israel, God's chosen people.  He encounters a man with a drawn sword; he thinks, "Oh, this must be a military leader as well."  Joshua offers this soldier, this military officer, the only two options he could think of--either you are for us, or against us.  If you are for us, he must have thought, then stand behind me or beside me against my enemies.  If you are against us, then we have a problem, because one of us is not leaving this place alive.  That's how we approach our problems, many times.  We steel ourselves for the battle.  When we meet an interested third party, we want to size up the situation, so we have an idea of what we have to do.  We want to classify them as friend or foe.  In Joshua's case, the answer he got did not fit into his pre-conceived notion.  The Man made Joshua think outside the box.  "No," He said.  I am not in one camp or the other.  I AM.  That is all you need to know.

Joshua's attitude changed from a leader to a follower.  "Lord, what do you want me to do?"  Okay, there is this battle that must be fought.  I'm relieved that I don't have fight alone.  In fact, I don't even have to lead the battle.  I have a leader.  Now, what's the game plan?  Again, the Lord's response was probably not what he expected.  Instead of getting marching orders from his new Commander, Joshua was told to prepare himself for worship.  Take off your shoes, for this is holy ground.  Anyplace where Jesus is is holy ground.  We just need to prepare for worship, and He will fight our battles for us.  As Moses had told the people 40 years earlier, "The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still." (Exodus 14:14).

The man whose name was changed from "Salvation" to "God Saves" met the Lord of Creation.  Joshua was not to be the savior of his people.  But he did get to meet the Savior of the world.  And because he was obedient, God saved him and his people.  The same God continues to save today.

"God Saves", the high priest of the Restoration
There is another man named Joshua in the Bible.  He, too, was a Jew.  But in his day, the Jewish nation had been disobedient.  God had allowed the Babylonians to come in and conquer Israel, the land that God had given to His people.  The people rebelled, and as a result they lived in exile in Babylon for 70 years.  But God allowed His people to be restored to the promise.  Under the leadership of Nehemiah, a remnant was allowed to return, and they restored the walls of Jerusalem, and the Temple within those walls.

When the seventh month came and the Israelites had settled in their towns, the people assembled as on man in Jerusalem.  Then Joshua son of Jozadak and his fellow priests and Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel and his associates began to build the altar of the God of Israel to sacrifice burnt offerings on it, in accordance with what is written in the Law of Moses the man of God.  Despite their fear of the peoples around them, they built the altar on its foundation and sacrificed burnt offerings on it to the Lord, both the morning and evening sacrifices. --Ezra 3:1-3

So this man Joshua re-established the sacrifices that the people had not been able to make for 70 years because of their disobedience.  He was willing to overcome his own fear and do the right thing.  This man Joshua, according to Scripture, also had an encounter with Jesus.  We read about it in the words of the prophet Zechariah.

The he (the angel) showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord (a common Old Testament reference to Jesus), and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him.  The Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan!  The Lord, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebuke you!  Is not this man a burning stick snatched from the fire?"  Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the Angel.  The Angel said to those who were standing before Him, "Take off his filthy clothes." Then he said to Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put rich garments on you."... The Angel of the Lord gave this charge to Joshua: "This is what the Lord Almighty says: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you will govern my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you a place among these standing here." --Zechariah 3:1-4,6-7

This man Joshua had an encounter with Jesus.  Satan, the accuser, made a case against him.  Wasn't he of the people whom God had exiled?  God had already cast all of them out of the land of promise.  He was a citizen of Babylon now, a city which Satan controlled.  After Satan had rested his case before God, who is the Righteous Judge, Jesus came to Joshua's defense.  Jesus (referred to in this passage as the Angel of the Lord) compared him to a stick--broken, vulnerable, alone.  But the desire to serve God burned within Joshua as a fire.  Jesus saw the potential in him.  He could be grafted onto the Branch, even in his humble condition.  His clothes were filthy, but Jesus commanded that his sins be taken away, and that he be clothed in rich garments.  It didn't matter what charges Satan brought against him; Joshua had an advocate before the Father, Jesus who took away his sin and shame.

Zechariah the prophet goes on to show that Joshua the high priest is symbolic of things to come.  "Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.  See, the stone I have set in front of Joshua! I will engrave an inscription on it, says the Lord Almighty, and I will remove the sin of this land in a single day." (Zechariah 3:8-9).  Having heard the testimony of the prosecution (Satan), and the defense (Jesus), the Judge (God) renders a verdict: not guilty.  And not only Joshua and his fellow priests, but all who will believe in "the cornerstone, the stone which the builders rejected", who is "the Branch", will receive forgiveness of their sins.  "The Branch" refers to the incarnate Jesus, the One who was born of a virgin and who died a sacrificial death, and who was raised to new life as one victorious over death and hell.  The inscription is set in stone for all who believe on His name: not guilty.  Our names are indelibly in the Lamb's book of life.

Hallelujah!

"God Saves", the world's propitiation
So we see the origin of the name Jesus, how it is the Latin variant of the names Joshua or Yeshua, which means God saves.  We see how other people in the Bible with the same name were forerunners of, and types of, Christ.  We also see how each of the Joshuas in our narrative had a personal encounter with their namesake, the One whom the angel foretold that his name should be called "God Saves", because He would save the people from their sins.

Jesus had his own encounter with God, in the Garden of Gethsemane.  Like Joshua the high priest, He feared for His life.  He prayed so earnestly that not only did he break a sweat, but the sweat was as drops of blood.  But like Joshua the son of Nun, Jesus knew that the God He encountered was holy, and that His will would be done.  So He laid down his life as a sacrifice for us. "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son to be the propitiation for our sins." (1 John 4:10).  "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but for the whole world."  If you look up the word propitiation, or propitiate, you will find that it means "to gain or regain the favor or good will of; to appease."

God is holy.  People are sinful.  God showed grace to His people by choosing them from among all the nations to be called His own.  Sin separated them from God.  He set up a system of sacrifices to be made for the appeasement of sin.  Even when the people messed up, and went without the sacrifices being offered for 70 years, God restored them to their homeland.

God is still holy.  People are still sinful.  No animal sacrifices are made for us.  There is no need for further sacrifice, because God sent His son to save us from our sins.  His death appeased God's wrath.  His love allows us to regain the favor and good will of God, even after we mess up over and over again.

Joy to the World , the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns!
Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

No more let sins and sorrows grow,
Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found,
Far as, far as, the curse is found.

He rules the world with truth and grace,
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love,
And wonders, wonders, of His love

Mentors in Ministry, Growing in Christ

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it. ---2 Timothy 3:14

There's a silly song about friendship that I remember hearing when I was small.  Maybe you older folks remember it being sung on I Love Lucy reruns.  Her version goes like this:

FriendshipIf you're ever in a jam, here I amIf you're ever in a mess, S-O-SIf you ever feel so happy, you land in jail; I'm your bail.It's friendship, friendship, just a perfect blendship.When other friendships have been forgot,Ours will still be hot.
If you're ever up a tree, phone to me.If you're ever down a well, ring my bell.If you ever lose your teeth, and you're out to dine... borrow mine.It's friendship, friendship, just a perfect blendship.When other friendships have been forgate,Ours will still be great.
If they ever black your eyes, put me wise.If they ever cook your goose, turn me loose.If they ever put a bullet through your brain... I'll complain.It's friendship, friendship, just a perfect blendship.When other friendships have been forgit,Ours will still be it. 

 The Bible contains many examples of spiritual mentoring.  As Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, "Two are better than one....and a three-strand chord is not quickly broken."  I was reminded of this passage last night when I was watching an episode of "Scorpion" on CBS.  If you are not familiar with the series, a team of geniuses (genii?) are teamed up with a member of the CIA (or Homeland Security, or some other government agency) to solve crime mysteries and bring criminal masterminds to justice.  In one scene, the g-man phones one of the geniuses for help in a jam: they need to make a quick getaway, but the jeep they are trying to start has no fan belt.  The genius asks them what they have on hand, and in the jeep they find a radio, an MRE, and a roll of toilet paper.  The genius suggests that they take strips of toilet paper and braid them together, because braiding a 3-fold strand increases the strength of the paper exponentially.  Now, I don't know whether you can actually use toilet paper to replace a fan belt in real life, but the point is that one alone is weak, two together is strong, and three (you, your friend/mate, and Jesus) together cannot be defeated.

I want to look at 3 relationships from Scripture, and show how they relate to our relationship with Jesus.

Moses and Joshua
The first pair of people I want to look at is Moses and Joshua.  You remember that Joshua shared Moses' vision of taking the Promised Land a full 40 years before the Israelite nation actually began defeating the Canaanite peoples and driving them out.  You will also recall that Moses was told by God that he could stand on the Mount and look across the Jordan River, but that he could not actually go.  It was Joshua that would have to lead God's people the rest of the way.  How many times the older leader must have counselled the younger man.  How Joshua must have looked up to his mentor Moses.  "Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom, because Moses had laid his hands on him.  So the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses." (Deuteronomy 34:9).

No doubt Moses had told Joshua about the time that God had commissioned him as the leader of His people, when He appeared to him in a burning bush.  Moses might have recounted how he knew it was God who spoke, because the voice had told him to remove his sandals, for he was standing on holy ground.  Did you know that after Moses died and the people had crossed over into Canaan, that Joshua had a similar experience? He, too, was commissioned by God to lead the people.

Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand.  Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"  He replied, "Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for His servant?" The commander of the Lord's army replied,"'Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy."  And Joshua did so. --Joshua 5:13-15

Not only did Moses and Joshua share a commission, but they also led their people through water.  Moses led the people through the Red Sea to escape Pharaoh's armies.  Joshua led the people through the Jordan River to approach Jericho's walls.  Both events signified a major change in their lives: Moses and the people went through the Sea on dry ground, changing from a nation of slaves to a nation of free men; Joshua led the people through the River on dry ground, changing from a nation of nomads to a people with a permanent homeland.  

Think about how this relates to us today.  Did Jesus meet each one of us face to face? Didn't He give us each a commission to carry out?  Didn't He lead us through the water of baptism to signify a change in us--while we had been slaves to sin, now we are free in Christ.  "So if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed." (John 8:36).  After we were made one with him in baptism, were we not called to be conquerors? "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:37).

Elijah and Elisha
The prophet Elijah was one of the most revered men in Israel's history.  In fact, every time a Jewish family prepares the Passover meal, to this day they always set a place for Elijah.  They believe that he will herald the coming of the Messiah, giving insight as to the events occurring throughout the history of the Jews, and to the Day of the Lord which is to come.  In Revelation, it talks about two witnesses that appear, prophesying and denouncing the Antichrist.  One of those witnesses is always thought to be Elijah.

Elijah and Elisha were companions.  At the end of Elijah's ministry here on earth, Elisha followed him to the very end.  Elijah asked him repeatedly to stay behind, but Elisha was determined to stay right beside him.

Fifty men of the company of the prophets went and stood at a distance, facing the place where Elijah and Elisha had stopped at the Jordan.  Elijah took his cloak, rolled it up, and struck the water with it.  The water divided to the right and to the left, and the two of them crossed over on dry ground.  When they had crossed, Elijah said to Elisha, "Tell me, what can I do for you before I am taken from you?"  "Let me inherit a double portion of your spirit," Elisha replied.  "You have asked a difficult thing," Elijah said, "yet if you see me when I am taken from you, it will be yours--otherwise, not."  As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind.  Elisha saw this and cried out, "My father! My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!" And Elisha saw him no more.  Then he took hold of his own clothes and tore them apart. He picked up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan.  Then he took the cloak that had fallen from him and struck the water with it.  "Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?" he asked.  When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over. (2 Kings 2:7-14)

Elisha went on to do great miracles in the land of Israel and of Judah.  He was able to do as much, and more, as his friend and mentor had done. It is very significant that he took up the cloak that had fallen from Elijah as he was taken up to heaven.

Again, think of what this might mean with regard to our relationship with Christ.  Doesn't Jesus ask us to walk very close to him at all times, even when the future is uncertain?  Didn't He say, "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I go to the Father." (John 14:12).  Didn't Paul tell us to be clothed in the righteousness of Christ? Like the cloak of Elijah which Elisha picked up and carried with him, didn't Jesus command us to take up our cross and follow Him?

Paul and Timothy
Paul was a church planter, a great evangelist.  Timothy was often by his side.  We see throughout the book of Acts where Paul and Timothy were together, sharing the gospel of Christ.  In fact, in six of his letters, Paul names Timothy as a co-sender (2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, both letters to the Thessalonians, and Philemon).  Timothy allowed himself to be circumcised by Paul, in order that his Greek ancestry would not offend the Jews to whom Paul was preaching (Acts 16:3).  When Paul established the church in Ephesus, he left Timothy there to pastor it, and to mentor them through some of the problems they had.  Yet later when Paul was imprisoned in Rome, he asked that Timothy join him there (2 Timothy 4:9, 21).  Timothy himself was imprisoned, and was subsequently released (Hebrews 13:23).  Paul likely died in prison, leaving Timothy (and others) to carry on the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Christ.

Paul gave Timothy this charge:

In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction.  For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.  Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.  They will turn their ears from the truth and turn aside to myths.  But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry. (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

Is this not what Jesus told us to do in the Great Commission, when He told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel, and to make disciples of all nations?  Doesn't it feel like we are already living in the age where men will not put up with sound doctrine, and have itching ears to hear teachers that suit their own desires?  Didn't Jesus warn us that we, too, might endure hardship for the sake of His Name? "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you because of me." (Matthew 5:11).  "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds." (James 1:2).


In the late 1980's, in the church where I met and married my wife, there was a trio of singers who came together for Friendship Sunday, and wove together three friendship songs, all sung together at the same time. The songs were "That's What Friends Are For", made popular at the time by Dionne Warwick; Friends Are Friends Forever, by Michael W. Smith, and the traditional hymn (the refrain sung slowly in the background) "What A Friend We Have In Jesus."  Each song sung separately was a great solo; but when they were all sung together, it made a rich, harmonious, powerful picture of how a spiritual mentor, a young protege, and the Holy Spirit can come together to become greater than their individual parts.

Keep smiling, keep shining
Knowing you can always count on me, for sure
That's what friends are for
For good times and bad times
I'll be on your side forever more
That's what friends are for

 And friends are friends forever If the Lord's the Lord of themAnd a friend will not say "Never"Cause the welcome will not endThough it's hard to let you goIn the Father's hands we knowThat a lifetime's not too longTo live as friends

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer. 

 

 

 

For Christians Who Don't Worship Like Us

I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy.  My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce, and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry, and Porcelaine.
John Adams, in a Letter to Abigail Adams, May 12, 1780

I love that quote.  I have lived in peace all of my life, because my ancestors fought wars to secure the peace I now enjoy.  I am free to study arts and philosophy, because my forebears laid the groundwork, building libraries and universities, courts and legislative halls, monuments and churches.

Not all of the churches in my family's history have believed the exact same doctrines.  My children do not attend the same denominations in which I was raised.  But all of them have been based on bedrock principles of Christ crucified, of Salvation through no other, and of our hope of Heaven.

Today I was listening to Dr. Wayne Braudrick on the radio.  He is pastor of Frisco Bible Church, and all week long he has done an overview of the growth of the Church as told by Luke in the book of Acts.  Today's message was from Acts chapter 21, in which Paul was encouraged by the Gentile Christians not to go to Jerusalem, because he would certainly be persecuted there.  Nevertheless, Paul went, led by the Spirit, despite predictions and prophecies that he would be arrested, beaten, and tried by a Roman court, set out for the center of the Jewish world.

Let's pick it up in verse 17.

When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly.  The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present.  Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.  When they heard this, they praised God.  Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law.  They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.  What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you.  There are four men with us who have made a vow.  Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved.  Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the Law.  As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.

The elders of the Jewish Christians welcomed Paul with open arms.  They listened intently to what Paul shared with them about his sharing Christ with the Gentiles.  They rejoiced that the Gentiles had come to know Christ, as they themselves had.  But the Gentiles did not keep the Law of Moses: they did not follow the Jewish dietary rules; they were not circumcised; they did not celebrate a Passover meal on Friday night, and they did not go to Synagogue on Saturday.  In fact, many of the Gentile Christians had started meeting for worship on Sundays, the first day of the week.

But now that he was in Jerusalem, the elders advised Paul to make a public show that he had not abandoned his Jewish roots.  There were four men in their midst who had made a Nazarite Vow.  Paul himself had likely made the same vow at various times in his ministry.  The Nazarite vow was a Jewish practice, in which a man would separate himself from the world.  He would commit himself for a season (sometimes 30 days, sometimes longer) that he would not shave or cut his hair; he would not drink wine or anything fermented; he would not touch the carcass of a dead person or animal.  (You will recall from the Old Testament that Samson was to be a Nazarite his whole life--we see the vow being eroded when he killed the Philistines and took their cloaks, or when he found a honeycomb in the carcass of a lion; also when he took a wife from the Philistines, and drank wine among them.  So when his hair was cut, it was like the final straw, the final act of disobedience, and that is why God's presence and power left him.  You will also recall that John the Baptist in the New Testament was to be a Nazarite his entire life.)  Anyway, at the end of the season, whether it was 30 days or longer, the man who made the vow would present himself to the Temple and go through a seven day purification ritual, at the end of which the priest would shave his head.  And finally, an offering would be made, usually a rather expensive gift to the Temple.

If the Jewish Christians would see Paul going through the purification ritual, and paying the offering, not only for himself, but for four other Jewish men, then they would know that Paul had not abandoned the Jewish customs.  By agreeing to do this, Paul demonstrated (at great personal cost) that Christians were free to continue some Jewish customs and to keep their traditions.

On the other hand, the elders in Jerusalem did not require that Gentile Christians be circumcised.  They did not demand that Gentiles convert to Judaism in order to follow Christ.  They did know that some of the Gentile Christians had been raised in cities like Ephesus, where there was a temple to Artemis, a fertility goddess.  They encouraged their new brothers to stay away from sexual immorality, and not identify with the temple prostitutes that were so prevalent.  They also encouraged Gentile Christians not to eat animals sacrificed to idols.  Not only would eating of this meat identify them with the idols, but the way in which the sacrifices were made did not always drain all of the blood out of the animal carcass before it was consumed.  This was not healthy, and a Jew might see it as immoral.  Other than that, the Gentile Christians were free to identify with Christ, while keeping their Greek customs.

The reason I related this message I heard from Dr. Braudrick today is that my son, who has left our Protestant denomination and has identified with Greek Orthodox teaching, posted something on Facebook this week.  He frequently has to explain to his friends and family why he is more comfortable in a High Church worship setting than in a camp-revival-all-day-singin'-and-dinner-on-the-grounds type of unstructured worship he grew up with in the Baptist church.  But the post he shared was part of a Reddit stream, where young people were discussing Religion vs. Relationship.  Here is the excerpt that caught my eye:

"I'd say it [the idea that Christianity is 'not a religion, just a relationship'] has less to do with Sola Scriptura than it has to do with a shift from what theologian David Tracy calls the "analogical imagination" to the "dialectical imagination."
A couple things happen that are important here:
1) A loss of a sense of mediation between the created and the uncreated. Patristic theology could see communion with God as the end of spiritual life, while still seeing that communion as mediated by created realities that participate in God's own being and goodness--the bread and wine and the eucharist, the water of baptism, the icon, etc. Protestantism tended to amplify the gulf between the created and the uncreated, and in some cases (especially in Reformed cases) the only real "mediation" we're left with is the sovereign will of God. So someone like Karl Barth can go as far as to say that there's nothing "inherent" in any created thing that makes it more conducive to divine revelation than any other thing; even the Bible, for Barth, becomes divine revelation not because of what it is, but because God freely elects to make the words revelation for church by the power of the Spirit.
What does that have to do with "religion"? It basically devalues the material mediators between the divine and the human, the concrete "stuff" of religious practice. The relationship becomes one of the obedience of the human will to the sovereign will of God. Sacramental practices remain, but no longer as real mediators; they in many cases cease to be sacraments at all and become "ordinances," something we do because Christ commanded it, not because the water or the wine unite us physically to the life of the God who became flesh and dwelt among us.
2) The dialectical imagination amplifies the dichotomy between God and the world by focusing strongly on the total depravity of the fallen world. Every human striving towards God, because it is corrupted by sin, becomes effectively useless. Someone like Barth could identify "religion" with such vain striving, and say that Christianity is not a religion because it is the actual self-revelation of God. I've always thought of the religion-vs.-relationship thing as a dumbed-down version of this attitude. Religion is useless because it's a futile attempt at self-redemption, when it's really a relationship with Christ that saves us. While it's certainly true that it's a relationship with Christ that saves us, the absence of any sense of mediation and the association of mediatory practices with vain "religion" detaches that relationship from a robust sense of Christian sacramental and institutional life. The result is that the relationship is pitted against the "religion.""

Now, there are some things in this excerpt that are not well explained.  Some of it might have to do with the forum, where non-theologians and lay people (non-clergy) can weigh in on what they think and feel, and couch it in theological terms.  (To be fair, I do not know the author of this post; he or she may have graduated suma cum laude at some seminary, where this was part of their doctoral dissertation; or, he or she may be a college sophomore with more passion than knowledge on the subject.)  To that end, I will ignore the part about "the created and the uncreated".  I will assume that the term "uncreated" refers to the Creator, and let it go.

The part I wish to address is the defense of sacraments as acts of mediation between a holy God and a sinner saved by grace.  Of course, my theological background is based on the premise that salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, by Christ alone.  Any church tradition or dictate that I should have to abide by church teachings and perform sacraments in order to continue "working out my salvation" smacks of legalism.  And bestowing upon the eucharist some kind of mediation power--like when God killed a bull and divided it in two so that He and Abraham could walk between the two halves to establish a covenant between them--that is foreign to my understanding of the New Testament promise that "there is one mediator between God and man, the man Jesus Christ, who gave himself as a ransom for all men." (1 Timothy 2:5-6). I believe that there is no need to confess to a priest, or to pray to a saint, because we have direct access to God through Christ, and that we are all saints, all kings and priests (Revelation 1:6) so we do not need to confess to a man who wears a black frock with a funny collar.

It is imperative, however, that I make this argument in love, as these devout followers of Christ simply have different customs and backgrounds than I.  We do not need an internecine war, especially in these days.  The spirit of antichrist is so prevalent in the world today, and I believe with all my heart that we could be in the final generation before the Glorious Appearing of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who will establish Himself as ruler on the throne in Jerusalem for a thousand years, and after that will create a new heaven and a new earth.  Who am I to tear down another's faith?  I personally could not convert, because I do not believe in the veneration of Mary or in the prayer to the saints.  Are these heresies beyond God's grace?  No more than my family's church regulation that all new members should be re-baptized to be a part of our fellowship.  I'm sure that other criticisms could be made of the worship style, music, etc.  I can spend time defending my denomination, or I can work to build up the body of Christ with its diverse members and diverse gifts.

My spiritual forebears studied doctrine so that I could be free to live under grace.  My children are free to rebuild the foundation of their faith with more structured forms of worship, so that their progeny will have a better view of God in Christ, and have their own relationship with Him.