Oh look, I've been impaled

For the word of God is living and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.  --Hebrews 4:12

You may know that the fictional character "Dracula" was loosely based on a real person.  Vlad III, Prince of Wallachia (1431 - 1477) was a member of the House of Draculesti.  As a Romanian ruler, Vlad fought to protect his people and Christianity from the invading Ottomans.  However, he is not remembered as a Christian hero.  Because of his excessive cruelty, he is known as Vlad the Impaler, because he was known to have driven posts or poles into the ground and impale his enemies on those poles, leaving their bodies suspended for all to see.  One can easily see how this blood-lust led to the naming of a fictional character who consumed the very life-blood of his enemies.

You may not know that impaling people in this way was pretty common.  In fact, it is found in the Bible. The story is pretty cool.  Let me summarize it for you.  The nation of Israel had been disobedient, and had been driven out of Jerusalem by the Babylonians and carried into exile.  But in the middle of the 5th century B.C. a man named Ezra was given permission by Darius, the Persian King, to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the Temple of God.  Ezra took a contingent of Jews with him, and together they started clearing the rubble left by the invading armies.  Darius had even told his treasurer to give back the gold and silver items that had been plundered, so that the Jews could begin worshiping at the Temple again.

In the middle of the rebuilding process, a new king ascended to the Persian throne.  His name was Xerxes. This new king sent governors and overseers to the land where Ezra and his friends were busy rebuilding the Temple.  One of Ezra's friends, Zerubbabel, rebuilt the altar, and started sacrificing on it.  This made the enemies of Israel kind of nervous.  Some of them came to Zerubbabel, and offered to "help" in the rebuilding process.  Their offer to "help" was rebuffed, because Zerubbabel knew that they would more likely sabotage the rebuilding effort, or else start sacrificing to their own gods on the very altar he had made.  The enemies of Israel went back to Persia and sent this letter to the king:

"The king should know that the Jews who came up to us from you have gone to Jerusalem and are rebuilding that rebellious and wicked city.  They are restoring the walls and repairing the foundations.  Furthermore, the king should know that if this city is built and its walls are restored, no more taxes, tribute, or duty will be paid, and the royal revenues will suffer.  Now since we are under obligation to the palace and it is not proper for us to see the king dishonored, we are sending this message to inform the king, so that a search may be made of the archives of your predecessors.  In these records you will find that this city is a rebellious city, troublesome to kings and provinces, a place of rebellion from ancient times.  That is why this city was destroyed.  We inform the king that if this city and its walls are restored, you will be left with nothing in Trans-Euphrates."  (Ezra 4:11-16)

When Ezra found out about these lying trouble-makers, he sent his own letter to the king.  He, too, urged the king to search the records and the civil documents.  In them, he said, the king would find that the Jews had, in fact, received permission and encouragement to go back to their homeland and restore their Temple to their God.  Sure enough, when the records were reviewed, they showed that Ezra and the Jews were right, and their enemies were wrong.  The king sent this letter:

"Let the temple be rebuilt as a place to present sacrifices, and let its foundations be laid.  It is to be 90 feet high and 90 feet wide, with three courses of large stones and one of timbers.  The costs are to be paid by the royal treasury.  Also, the gold and silver articles of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took from the temple in Jerusalem and brought to Babylon, are to be returned to their places in the temple in Jerusalem; they are to be deposited in the house of God."  (Ezra 6:3-5).

The king also said, by royal decree, that the governors and overseers in that region, the same enemies of Israel that had harassed them before, should help them: their expenses should be paid; they were to provide bulls, rams, and lambs for sacrifices, and they were to provide wheat, salt, wine and oil to the priests in Jerusalem--"daily and without fail."  In this way, the king hoped that the Jewish priests could offer sacrifices to the living God, and would pray for the well-being of the king and his sons.

"Furthermore, I decree that if anyone changes this edict, a beam is to be pulled from his house and he is to be lifted up and impaled on it. And for this crime his house is to be made a pile of rubble.  May God, who has caused His Name to dwell there, overthrow any king or people who lifts a hand to change this decree or to destroy this temple in Jerusalem."  (Ezra 6:11-12)

Okay, so we know that the Persian king was not a full fledged believer in the God of Abraham.  His threats to punish Jewish opponents was proof enough of that.  More likely, he was hedging his bets--hoping that the God of the Jews, along with the gods of the pagan lands, would bless him and his house for being so generous.  We would never be so cruel and barbaric today, would we?

The God we serve would not condone such violence.  He would not ask us to fall on our swords, as Saul did when his enemies overtook him.  But He did allow His only Son to die a violent death, being hung on a wooden cross, held there by nails in His hands and feet, with thorns in his brow and a sword thrust into his side.  He, too, was put on display, just as the enemies of Vlad III had been, held up in a public execution for all to see.  And God's word does use symbolic language, such as piercing and dividing (cutting out), denoting that in a spiritual sense, we are to "separate the sheep from the goats", and to "put to death all the deeds of the flesh."  In a sense, he calls us to be spiritual surgeons, working not with a sword or battle-ax, but with a scalpel.  We should "take every thought captive" and cut out evil from our hearts.  In this way, we can present ourselves pure and holy to the One who knew no sin, who became sin for us so that we could be called children of God.  "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." (Hebrews 4:13).

The best way to handle sin, my friend, is to kill it before it multiplies.

 

Peace be with you

What is perfect peace?  Is it attainable?  Is it real?

Some say that our nation is "at peace" if we are not engaged in war with any other nation.  In fact, an old Spiritual had people singing, "Gonna lay down my sword and shield (down by the riverside); Ain't gonna study war no more."  But disarmament isn't peace--in most cases, it is oppression.  An oppressed people are told to lay down their weapons and bow to the will of their conquerors, their oppressors.

Even if our nation is not at war, there are arguments and strife all over the place.  Lawsuits, threats, fistfights, hair pulling, name calling, gun violence, screaming--this is peace?  We are wounded people, and it doesn't take much to reopen the wound.  The Bible says, "They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace." (Jeremiah 8:11)

Peace can only be found in Jesus.  "No Jesus, no peace.  Know Jesus, know peace."  Jesus is called the Prince of Peace.  The Bible says, "If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea." (Isaiah 48:18).

When I was a teen, the youth in our church would sing this chorus: "I've got peace like a river."  Sure, it has a biblical basis, but what does it mean?  Close your eyes and picture a river--not on a map, but imagine yourself on the bank of a wide river.  What do you see?  How does it compare to peace?

Living Water

The water is ever moving.  It never empties out, never dries up.  As fast as the river flows, that is how fast the water is replenished.  It will hold up those who are buoyed at its surface, and it will cover those who sink in its depths. Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst.  Indeed, the water I give him will become a spring of living water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14).  Peace is assurance that God will provide.  When this day is done, another will follow.  You can fight the current, or swim upstream, but when you realize that Jesus is our peace, then you go wherever He takes you.  And if you get stuck, or leave the river and lie on the bank awhile, you can get back in the boat wherever you left off, and start going with the flow again.

The Source

When you gaze at a river, you can't help but wonder where all the water comes from.  It can be traced to a single source, a spring or fountain somewhere on higher ground.  Jesus said, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37-38).  Peace finds its source somewhere outside of ourselves.  We cannot manufacture peace.  We can try meditation, we can try chanting monosyllabic "om's", but when we open our eyes again, the stressors are still there.  The only way to find lasting peace is to look to Jesus as the source.

The Delta

When a river ends, it is swallowed up by a larger body of water.  Streams empty into lakes, rivers empty into the sea.  That is its destination.  All the water that flows ends up moving toward something bigger than itself, something more vast and expansive that can be contained between two banks.  The Bible says, "They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9).  Peace eventually leads us to God.  The Prince of Peace wants to introduce us to the Father.  And when we follow God's path for us, we are changed.  Just as a river is changed into a sea, so we are changed.  The letter "Delta" in the Greek, when written as a capital letter, looks like a triangle.  In shorthand, it is a symbol for Change.  God's peace changes us.

The Bible says, "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." (Philippians 4:6-7).  In many ways, a river cannot be fathomed.  Similarly, we can never fully understand the peace of God.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

Behind the Scenes

I've always enjoyed working behind the scenes.  The best part of our high school one-act play (we did Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest; I was Algernon) was not the performance in front of the live audience.  It was the rehearsal.  The best part of our college a Capella choir tour was not performing in front of live audiences in tuxedos and long dresses.  It was being in the bus travelling from one concert destination to another.  I have had the privilege of working in the Super Bowl--not as an athlete on television, but as a server in a suite--the liaison between the kitchen and the guests.  Anyone who has worked in a restaurant knows what I'm talking about.

There are those who go to entertainment venues and enjoy the finished product, or critique it, as the case may be.  Or you may just turn on the television and consume whatever that channel is offering at that particular time slot, without any thought at all about what goes into the production, or the broadcast, or your set being one of hundreds of thousands of receivers receiving the same electronic waves at the same time.  It's mind boggling, really.

It's also pretty mind blowing what God does for us--what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do for us in the future.  We may not be able to see it, but His hand is at work in a thousand different ways every second of every day.  That is why Paul was so confident in his letter to the Romans: "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." (Romans 8:28)

In my daily scripture readings this week, I came across a couple of passages that I think are relevant.  The first is in Isaiah chapter 37.  One of the enemies of Judah was a country called Assyria, and it was ruled by a king name Sennacherib.  Ol' King Senny had quite a run--he had successfully conquered all of the lands between Assyria and Judah, including Israel (the Northern Kingdom) and Samaria.  Sen' sent an open letter to all of Judah that basically said for them to give up.  Just surrender when we march in to Jerusalem, and give us what we want.  "Say to Hezekiah, king of Judah: Do not let the god you depend on deceive you when he says, 'Jerusalem will not be handed over to the king of Assyria'." (Isaiah 37:10).  He went on to taunt the living God, comparing him with the idols worshiped by all of the other lands that he had conquered. "Did the gods of the nations that were destroyed by my forefathers deliver them?" (Isaiah 37:12).

The prophet Isaiah was sent to king Hezekiah with a message of hope.  He asked them to take courage, that God had a plan, and that His plan did not include the destruction of Jerusalem by the Assyrian army.  His plan did not include Hezekiah, king of Judah, paying any tribute to Sennacherib, king of Assyria.  All they had to do was believe, and obey.  After the people of Judah had prayed, ol' king Sen' was called back to his home town, and was killed by his advisers in a coup d'etat.

Hezekiah was not stupid.  He was aware of what was going on in the world.  Geopolitics aside, he trusted God to save them.  Isaiah was not some smarmy televangelist, some "name it and claim it" charlatan.  There were many times that Isaiah had pronounced God's judgement on His people.  He only said what God told him to say.  Later, Isaiah would pen these words:

Who has believed our message, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?  He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of a dry ground.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.  Like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we received him not.  Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrow, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted.  But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. --Isaiah 53:1-6

Who else could he be talking about except Jesus Christ?

Another scripture I read this week was in Genesis, chapter 29, where Jacob, the son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham, had gone back home to find a wife.  Let's pick up the story in verse 1 and following:

Then Jacob continued on his journey and came to the land of the eastern peoples.  There he saw a well in the field, with three flocks of sheep lying near it because the flocks were watered from that well.  The stone over the mouth of the well was large.  When all the flocks were gathered there, the shepherds would roll the stone away from the well's mouth, and water the sheep...."Look," he said, "the sun is still high; it is not time for the flocks to be gathered.  Water the sheep and take them back to pasture."  They replied, "We can't, until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well.  Then we will water the sheep." --Genesis 29:1-3, 7, 8.

I can't read this passage without thinking about the Water of Life, who was despised and rejected of men.  He was crushed for our iniquities, he has taken up our infirmities and carried away our sorrow.  We could not see what God had accomplished until the stone had been rolled away. And that event, the resurrection of Jesus, only happened when God ordained it to be so, when all the sheep were gathered, so to speak.  Even now, Easter Sunday is the day with the highest turnout in churches around the world.  When all the sheep are gathered together, the under-shepherds, or pastors of those flocks, will roll back the stone and reveal the empty tomb, from whence the River of Life is flowing to this very day.

One of the reasons I work part time behind the scenes at the stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play, and also at the ballpark where the Texas Rangers play, is financial.  My day job just won't cover the bills sometimes.  Last week was one of those weeks.  We had twelve dollars in the bank, and three days until payday.  The enemy was nibbling at the back of my mind: If you weren't so faithful with your tithing, you'd have money at the end of the week.  It's a mathematical fact: if you give ten percent of your income to the church, you only have 90% to pay your bills.  But I held on to God's promises, and believed in His provision.  I noticed that my gas gauge hardly moved all week--usually I have to fill up my gas tank twice in a week; and with the price of gasoline these days, that is no small cost.  But my son offered to fill up my tank at the beginning of the week, since he had used my car for something.  And all week I waited for it to empty out, knowing that I would have to spend the money to fill it up again.  But I didn't have to that week.  At the end of the week, I received a check in the mail.  It was a gift.  I had not asked for it.  There was no reason in the world for me to have received it.  I called my benefactor and thanked her, then bowed my head and thanked God for the gift that He had impressed her to send to me.  God knew that I would need the money when I received it in the mail.  But he impressed someone to write the check and mail it even before I knew I needed it. That's how God works.

1 Corinthians 2:9 says, "As it is written, 'No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him',"  Don't rely on what you can see with your eyes.  When you can't see His hand, trust His heart.  He really is working behind the scenes to give you a hope and a future.  All you have to do is pray, and believe.

SO YOU WOULD KNOW

How many times must I prove how much I Love you?
How many times, must my love for you I show?
And How many times must I rescue you from trouble?
For you to know just how much I love you.
Chorus
Didn't I wake you up this morning,
    you were clothed in your right mind
and didn't you walk right in your closet,
    each step right in time.
When you were weak on life's journey,
    didn't my angels carry you?
So you would know
So you would know
So you would know, just how much I love you.
How many days must I build a fence around you?
And how many nights, must I wipe all yours tears away?
And how many storms must I bring you safely through?
For you to know how much I love you.
Repeat Chorus
Didn't I put food on your table,
    when your bills were all past due?
And when the pain was bad in your body,
didn't I send healing right to you?
When you were lost in sin and sorrow,
    well I died just to set you free
So you would know
So you would know
So you would know, just how much I really love you.

Made Whole in Christ

 

Torts are civil wrongs recognized by law as grounds for a lawsuit. These wrongs result in an injury or harm constituting the basis for a claim by the injured party.

There has been a great deal of talk this week about torts, or civil wrongs, both past and present.  Examples include an oil spill in the Houston ship channel that closed the port for several days.  Those who rely on goods imported to and exported from the Port of Houston may have grounds to sue.  This is reminiscent of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, exactly 25 years ago last week.  Exxon had judgments placed against it for a huge sum of money, but a federal judge and later the US Supreme Court reduced the judgement against them.  Many of the fisherman in Alaska say that the number of full-grown herring in the affected area have decreased significantly from the volume that had been there prior to the spill.

Another example is the recent mudslide in Snohomish County, Washington.  To date, 26 people are confirmed dead and many others are still missing.  This brings to mind the 2005 Hurricane Katrina disaster, and the losses it brought to New Orleans and surrounding parishes.  The litigation is still ongoing, as people are blaming their losses on shoddy engineering practices, negligent maintenance of the levies, and officials "looking the other way."  No one knows if the victims of the Washington mudslides will be able to successfully litigate, as they were aware of the risks of living there, and decided to build homes there anyway.  But you can bet that lawyers are busy now trying to find a responsible party with deep pockets.

A third news item this week involved certain cars that were finally recalled by General Motors, after 13 deaths have been attributed to faulty ignition switches.  It has come out that GM knew of this problem for more than a decade before deciding to do something about it.  This issue calls to mind the 2009 recall done by Toyota centered on unintended acceleration.  Several deaths were attributed to this engineering problem, and Toyota last year settled the pending cases for 1.1 billion dollars.

Many of you know that my day job is in the insurance industry.  I make indemnity benefits to claimants who are injured on the job.  If you will bear with me, here is another legal definition. (I promise to get to the point soon).

indemnity n. the act of making someone "whole" (give equal to what they have lost) or protected from (insured against) any losses which have occurred or will occur. (See: indemnify)

I am sure that the fishermen in Valdez, Alaska do not feel "made whole" by the reduced monetary judgement against Exxon.  Certain families in New Orleans are still homeless after almost 10 years.  And no amount of money offered by Toyota could counter the overwhelming sense of loss felt by the families of those killed.

Yesterday I was going about my business in my office, and the words to an old hymn came to mind.  "Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole..."  I haven't sung this hymn in ages.  In fact, I had to look up the words online to recall the rest of the song.  But somehow it fit--I was going about the business of indemnifying people for losses suffered, sometimes for accidents they themselves caused (although my state does not compensate for intentional acts, Workers Compensation is a no-fault insurance--it does not penalize for accidents caused by stupidity), and some who were injured through no fault of their own.  Yet the limits posed by the laws of the various states mean that no one is ever really "made whole" in terms of restitution.

The 5th chapter of Romans talks about the "first" Adam, through whom sin came into the world, and contrasts him with Jesus, the "second Adam" through whom comes redemption.  We are all intrinsically more like Adam than like Christ--we are all born with a sin nature. "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned." (Romans 5:12.)  Some lawyers might argue that this was a manufacturer's defect, but God, the perfect judge, would strike down that argument, since we were all created in His image.  Sin is a choice made by each man, although we are predisposed toward it by heredity. "For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:17)

In other words, we are broken.  The template (Adam) was flawed.  But as the song goes, we all long to be made whole.  We have a strong desire to be perfect.  In ourselves, it is impossible; but with God, all things are possible.  He sent Jesus, the "second Adam", to be a new template, a better man. We can jettison the old man, and take advantage of God's grace to connect with the New Man, Christ Jesus.  By accepting His sacrificial give of atonement, we can be redeemed into a right relationship with God, not through our own righteousness, but in His alone.  "Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men." (Romans 5:18)

How do we turn in our old selves and become new?  Jesus answered this in John chapter 3: we must be born again.  We must step out of the darkness and into His light.  We must choose to follow Him. "Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already because he has not believed in the Name of God's one and only Son." (John 3:18). We cannot assume that God will replace our brokenness, redeem us, indemnify us, if we refuse to take His free gift.

We often see television commercials and billboards about joining a Class Action Suit if we think we were harmed by some defective product or service.  If you were harmed, but do not join the Class Action, then you are barred from receiving the benefit.  It does not come automatically--you must act.  In the same way, we must consciously put aside our sinful nature, and take on the grace of God through an act of faith.  It could be a public profession, or it could be a private prayer.

Lord Jesus, I long to be perfectly whole;
I want Thee forever to live in my soul.
Break down every idol, cast out every foe;
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain

Whiter than snow, yes, whiter than snow.
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Lord Jesus, let nothing unholy remain,
Apply Thine own blood and extract ev’ry stain;
To get this blessed cleansing, I all things forego—
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain

Lord Jesus, look down from Thy throne in the skies,
And help me to make a complete sacrifice.
I give up myself, and whatever I know,
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain

Lord Jesus, for this I most humbly entreat,
I wait, blessèd Lord, at Thy crucified feet.
By faith, for my cleansing, I see Thy blood flow,
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain

Lord Jesus, Thou see that I patiently wait,
Come now, and within me a new heart create;
To those who have sought Thee, Thou never told “No,”
Now wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Refrain

The blessing by faith, I receive from above;
O glory! my soul is made perfect in love;
My prayer has prevailed, and this moment I know,
The blood is applied, I am whiter than snow.

Refrain

---

Rescue me!

Rescue me! Oh take me in your arms
Rescue me! I want your tender charms
'Coz I'm lonely and I'm blue
I need you and your love too

Come on and rescue me
Come on baby and rescue me
Come on baby and rescue me
'Coz I need you, by my side
Can't you see that I'm lonely
Rescue me

Come on and take my heart
Take your love and conquer every part
'Coz I'm lonely and I'm blue
I need you and your love too

Come on and rescue me
Come on baby and rescue me
Come on baby and rescue me
'Coz I need you by my side
Can't you see that I'm lonely

Rescue me! Oh take me in your arms
Rescue me! I want your tender charms
'Coz I'm lonely and I'm blue
I need you and your love too
Come on and rescue me

 Now that I've planted that song in your mind, imagine Aretha Franklin (or Fontella Bass, if you're a bit older) singing this as a gospel song.  It's easy, really.  Take out the word "baby" and insert "Jesus", and you get the idea.  Go ahead.  Look back at the lyrics.  I'll wait.

This idea hearkens back to the original meaning of the term Salvation.  We are Saved by God's grace to good works (Ephesians 2:10).  Yet more recently, Christians seem to have lost sense of the term.  They are more apt to think of themselves as "saved" as in set apart, like pennies in a jar, for redemption at a future date.  We should all instead act as if we have been redeemed, and get out in circulation in the world.  Let the redeemed of the Lord say so! (Psalm 107:2).  Like Job, we can all say with assurance, "I know my Redeemer lives." (Job 19:25).

The two terms, Saved and Redeemed, really go hand in hand.  If you think about the two terms together, it really opens up the Word.  First, we are saved by grace.  This is a true statement.  God desired fellowship with us, so He graciously provided a way for it to happen.  But the mechanism of His grace was rather messy and very violent--it cost His Son his life.  So we are redeemed by the blood of Jesus.  Paul wrote to the Galatian church that Jesus Christ "gave himself for our sins, to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father." (Galatians 1:4)

Second, we have salvation from sin and hell.  The sacrifice of God's Son is the key to our deliverance.  But it is by  redemption that we do not have to follow the letter of the law to escape punishment.  "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.'  He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit." (Galatians 3:13-14).  We were rescued from the curse of the law.

Third, we are saved to eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.  What joy heaven will be!  We want to keep ourselves holy, so that we are rewarded in heaven, and we can lay our crowns at Jesus' feet.

"And a highway will be there: it will be called the Way of Holiness.  The unclean will not journey on it; it will be for those who walk in that Way; wicked fools will not go about on it. No lion will be there, nor will any ferocious beast get up on it; they will not be found there. But only the redeemed will walk there and the ransomed of the Lord will return.  They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads.  Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away."  --Isaiah 35:8-10.

Colossians 1:13-14 says, "For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." By the act of redemption he rescues us from sin and its consequences--the blood of Jesus (the Sinless One) covers us by grace--not only to avoid eternal damnation, but to enter into the presence of God for all of eternity. And all God's people said--"Amen!"

Redeemed—how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy,
His child, and forever, I am. 

Redeemed, redeemed,Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;Redeemed, redeemed, His child, and forever, I am.

Redeemed and so happy in Jesus,
No language my rapture can tell;
I know that the light of His presence
With me doth continually dwell. (refrain)

I think of my blessed Redeemer,
I think of Him all the day long;
I sing, for I cannot be silent;
His love is the theme of my song. (refrain)

I know I shall see in His beauty
The King in whose way I delight;
Who lovingly guardeth my footsteps,
And giveth me songs in the night. (refrain)

.

The Luck of the Irish

"Here's champagne to real friends, and real pain to sham friends." --a toast attributed to Irish artist Francis Bacon

St. Patrick's Day, as celebrated in America,  is a sham holiday, with its emphasis on green beer and four-leaf clovers supposedly bringing the bearer good luck.  Green is a reference to Ireland, known as "the Emerald Isle" because of its verdant landscapes and lush greenery.  Four-leaf clovers, because usually clovers have three leaves, and finding one with four leaves is unusual.  The four leafed variety occurs in one out of every ten thousand or so, so the chances of finding one are slim.  If you do find one, you are said to be lucky.  The same cannot be said, however, if you find a man with six toes on one foot, or an albino goldfish.  If you are given a two dollar bill in change for a purchase you make, it is unusual; but you wouldn't be tempted to go spend the two dollar bill on a lottery ticket.  In this case, unusual does not mean "lucky."

In fact, many in America erroneously believe that the term "Shamrock" refers to a four-leafed clover.  Thus its association with good luck.  Good luck is an over-riding theme in our culture.  From the hope of good luck in the New Year's celebration, to superstitions such as wearing a "lucky" garment to an interview, or taking a talisman ("good luck charm") with you to the casino.  We even end our meals at a Chinese food restaurant with so-called Fortune Cookies, hoping that they will bring good luck. (This is a very American tradition: an American entrepreneur from New Jersey has gone to Beijing and opened American-style Chinese Food restaurants, which delights American-born residents, but he must always explain the Fortune Cookie to his native Chinese customers.)

In reality, the original Irish Shamrock (traditionally spelled seamróg, which means "summer plant") is said by many authorities to be none other than white clover (Trifolium repens), a common lawn weed originally native to Ireland.  According to legend, the shamrock was a sacred plant to the druids of Ireland because its leaves formed a triad, and three was a mystical number in the Celtic religion, as in many others.  St. Patrick used the shamrock in the 5th century to illustrate the doctrine of the Holy Trinity as he introduced Christianity to Ireland.

Christianity is not based on luck.  Luck is a "sham" rock.  Luck is not something you should use as a foundation for living.  In Biblical parlance, luck is like shifting sands.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the wind blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. --Matthew 7:24-27

Life happens.  It is not "bad luck" when storms come.  The Bible says that the Lord sends rain upon the just and the unjust.  The difference in outcome is not the severity of the storm.  It is the foundation upon which your life is built.  If your hopes of a solid financial future include winning the lottery, then you probably won't have a solid financial future.  That is what I mean by "sham" rock.

Instead, our lives should be built upon the Solid Rock, which is Christ the Lord.  Deuteronomy 32:4 says, "He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He."  2 Samuel 22:2-3 says, "The Lord is my Rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my Rock, in whom I take refuge."  Psalm 92:15 says, "The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him."  Isaiah 26:4 says, "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the LORD, is the Rock eternal."

Historically, when people wanted to be associated with their family, or their father, they would us a surname with "son of", as in "Son of William", which became the surname "Williamson".  In Ireland, the traditional surname was "Of the House of...", or simply "Of"; this, of course, became the basis for the surname prefix O', as in "O'Grady" or "O'Roarke".  We who identify with the House of God, through the lineage of Christ are called Christian; it could very well have been "Christson" or "O'Christ".  God, through his Son Jesus Christ, should be the Cornerstone, the foundation upon which you build your life.  Do not trust in sham promises, bogus beliefs, false faiths.  Place your faith in the real Rock of Ages.

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly trust in Jesus’ Name.

Refrain

On Christ the solid Rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness seems to hide His face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

Refrain

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.

Refrain

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh may I then in Him be found.
Dressed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne.

Refrain

In whatever you set your hands to do, do all for the Glory of God

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family.  By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. --Hebrews 11:7

There is an old, old joke about a woman stuck in her home during a flood.  Fervently she prayed for deliverance, and believed in her heart that God would rescue her by His own hand.  At first, a large truck with four-wheel-drive and enough ground clearance to avoid flooding the exhaust drove up.  The driver offered to take her out of harm's way.  "No," she said. "God will save me."  As the water rose, she was forced to the second story of her home.  A boat floated by, and the boatman offered to let her float to safety with him.  "No," she said.  "God Himself will save me."  The waters rose still higher, and she was forced onto the roof of her house.  A helicopter flew by, and the pilot hovered over.  They dropped a rope ladder for her to grab hold of, to be flown to safety.  Adamantly, the woman shook her head.  "God Himself, by His power, will save me."  Finally she was overtaken by the rising water, and she drowned.  She stood before God, and he welcomed her to heaven, for she was a faithful Christian.  As grateful as she was, she couldn't help but ask, "Lord, why didn't you save me from the flood like I asked?"  God turned and said, "I tried three times.  You wouldn't take my help."

This story was recounted by a radio preacher I heard, who was preaching on Hebrews chapter 11, the Hall of Fame of Faith.  He spent a few moments on Noah before going on to other heroes of the faith also mentioned in the chapter.  The points he made were right on target:  God had promised to destroy the world, but He had provided an escape; Noah acted on God's command in order to save himself and his family, as well as all the animals; and no matter how hard it was to stay in the ark for 120 days (fighting seasickness and the stench of all those animals), neither Noah nor his family ever decided to bail out of the ark and swim for it--as hard as it was, it was better than being under water with the world.

As I am wont to do from time to time, I began to mull over the truths I heard in the sermon, ruminating on different ideas that came to my mind from Scripture I had read.  Expanding on what the preacher said on the radio, I looked for other examples of God giving a Plan, of man building the thing according to God's plan, and then after the thing was dedicated to God, man used it for his good and God's glory.  Along with the Ark of Noah, I thought about the Altar of God's Temple, and the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of Noah
Building the ark took faith.  It took foresight.  It cost Noah his friends.  Yet Noah was so faithful to God that he believed the problem that God posed to him--the world had become so wicked that God decided to wipe it out and start over.  Noah overcame this hurdle. (Face it, what evidence was there that the whole Earth would be flooded? Had it ever happened before? No.  Were there meteorologists around back then exclaiming that a tropical vortex would sweep in from the sea, and dump several meters of water in what would have been the "storm of the millennium"? No.  God said it; that was good enough for Noah.)

But after that, he did not panic, and take matters into his own hands.  I think I might have done that.  I like to run around like a headless chicken, wringing my hands and saying, "What shall I do?"  and then doing something stupid.  (I am being facetious--I don't like doing that, but it happens more than you know.)  Noah didn't get ahead of God.  He knew that God was faithful; He would not give us more than we could bear.  God would not warn us of a peril without providing a solution for it. That is God's nature.  Whenever He pricks your conscience, it is not to bring condemnation on you; it is to motivate you to do something different.  Stop living in the suburbs of sinfulness, stop hanging around the outskirts of shame, and start walking with Him.  Noah waited for God's direction, and he followed God's plan to the letter.

God was very specific in his instructions.  The ark was to be so high and so wide and so long, and made with this specific wood, and covered with pitch.  You couldn't follow those directions without breaking a sweat. You couldn't do it without getting your hands dirty. But Noah never threw up his hands and said, "God, it's too much--I quit!"  He didn't take shortcuts that would have endangered the mission of the ark.  He was faithful to God's commands, and God blessed him for it.

The Altar of the Temple
There was another time and place in the Bible where mankind had a need, and God had a plan.  Moses was the point man for the nation of Israel, and God spoke with him directly.  But the people that Moses represented were sinful.  They needed a way to be reconciled with God, or else they would be separated from Him--either in the present world, being like all the other nations who followed gods made with wood or stone, or in the afterlife where they would surely miss His heavenly presence.  So God instituted a system of sacrifices.  These sacrifices could not be done just anywhere.  God commanded that they be done in a Tabernacle--a portable structure that resembled the future Temple in Jerusalem (which, in turn, resembled the altar that is in heaven).  The Tabernacle had all sorts of instructions and measurements, and furnishings, and only certain people could serve in it.  I'm not going to spend time here going into all the requirements of the Tabernacle, but I would like to describe the Altar which God commanded them to build.

Moses, and the priestly tribe of Levi, knew that God was sinless. That separated Him from the people, who were sinful.  God allowed the people to transfer their sins to an animal--a bull, or a sheep--that by the shedding of that animal's blood, the people's sins would be forgiven. "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin." (Hebrews 9:22).

Exodus 27:1-8 gives explicit directions on how to build the ark--what it is to be made of, the dimensions, the decorations, even how it is to be transported.  It served a vital function in the spiritual lives of the Jews, and it required an expert craftsman to construct it according to God's plan.  The craftsman could not take artistic license, and do with the design whatever he wanted to do.  And when putting the altar to its intended use, the priests were commanded to be hands-on.  You could not offer a sacrifice to God without getting it on you.

Now that we live in the New Covenant, where the Blood of the Lamb covers us, and we no longer need a priest to offer a sacrifice for us, we are still called to be hands-on followers of God.  He still has a list of instructions He wants us to keep.  If we mess up, we are forgiven.  But it is because of that very forgiveness, and the blood that was shed to secure it, that we want to follow closely in His footsteps.

The Ark of the Covenant
Again in Exodus, this time in chapter 25, there are explicit directions on how to construct a box, called an ark, that would serve as a memorial of God's precepts, His provision, and His promise for generations.  Inside this box, they were to put the ten commandments, the stone tablets that God had written with His own hand and that Moses presented to the people.  They were to put the rod of Aaron, that grew buds and flowered as a sign to Pharaoh and the magicians in Egypt that God was greater than their gods.  And they were to put a jar of manna, the bread of heaven provided by God for food to them as they wandered in the wilderness on the way to the Promised Land.

This memorial was so important that only the priests from the tribe of Levi could carry it.  It was not always kept in the Tabernacle, or the Temple later on.  On more than one occasion it was taken into battle as a token of God's victory.  More than once it was captured by the enemies of God, and placed in heathen temples.  But always it signified  Divine Providence, even when it was misused by people.

How has God shown His promises to you?  How has He provided? Is there a place in your heart dedicated to the memory of those provisions?  Don't ever lose sight of the fulfillment of His promises to you.  Some religions construct shrines as a memorial.  Some wear talismans to keep them from forgetting.  Others carry beads or memory stones, so that they will remember His words as they hold them in their hands.  Hebrews 8:10 says, "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord.  I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts.  I will be their God, and they will be my people."

Let God the Father be your Ark of Noah, keeping you afloat in a world of sin.  Let the Cross of Christ be your Altar of the Tabernacle, a place where you lay down your sins and are covered by the blood, so that your sins will be seen no more.  Let the Holy Spirit write God's laws on your heart, and keep those promises sacred, just like the Ark of the Covenant.