The Key...

Can we ever get past focusing on sin, all that we do wrong and what is wrong with us, all the time, in our Christian life? That is without diminishing the sinfulness of sin or perverting the grace of God? 

I've heard the sayings about "be-ing" versus "do-ing" and that does not really hold water since any being will also lead into doing. If the being is right the doing will also be right. If the being is flawed the doing may be able to pretend for a while but it will not be able to keep the charade up for long.

So are we stuck in the verses in Romans 7 that keeps us forever bound to doing what we hate and hating ourselves for doing it? Are we truly forever stuck at staring at the cesspool of sin, never being able to de-focus? Who shall deliver me from this body, this vehicle of sin and brokenness? Paul does give an answer in the last lines of the chapter... Through Jesus Christ we are free from the sin focus in our lives. 

NO, it does not mean that we ignore it. It means that we deal with it when it comes in view but our focus, our faces, are toward something totally different. 

Ever had a toddler in a grocery store screaming for something? One of the ways to get them to forget the object of their tissy fit, is to present something more desirable. 

I am convinced that the focus on NOT doing sin has the exact opposite result as what is desired. This approach creates immature Christians that are constantly cowering under the weight of guilt and shame. Where there is no or little maturity, the church is also very weak in battling things like sickness, oppression, division and other attacks. We do not generally sent children to battle, do we? 

We usually change, sub-consciously, into what we focus on. So, do we really want to focus on sin, on how dirty we are or was? Can that ever change us from the inside? And if such a change by the sheer power of our human will come, will it endure? 

How about this: Let us focus on the greatness of our God. Becoming enthralled with Jesus, having a heart captivated by Him, changes our entire being. Beholding, looking at Him will change us into Him. Falling in love with God so that all else fades will change us. When we get involved in Him. When our hearts start to ache for more of Him... not more church or more ministry or more religion... No. just God, just more of Him. When your insides cry: " I've got to know You God." When your deepest desire is reduced to: "I love You, Lord." .... When this happens in our inside, we do not have much time and energy for sin. 

We see sin as a hindrance to our pursuit of the One we love. We see attitudes and inner bitter root judgments and fears as obstacles to our reaching  the goal of knowing Him as He knows us. (Phil 3:10-14)

It is not very complicated. There is no 365 laws to try and obey. It balances on only two things: Love God and love people. 

The revelation, the understanding, of these two things will create a personal revolution. Love as we are being loved. Love because He first loved us.  (Romans 5:1-6) 

And then one day you find yourself not remembering when the last time was when you were tempted to do some sinful thing that kept you in bondage for years. This purely happened because you loved God more than the thing you could not let go of. 

The Church WILL Go through The Tribulation

      or at least some of it.

I was reading trough Ezekiel and followed some ‘rabbit trail’ to Revelations 7. Something in the 9-10 verses stuck crosswise in my mind.  O, I know what the professors and doctors of Divinity say about this passage … I have heard all three sides…  Yet, this just came and sat in my chest.

After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, "Salvation [belongs] to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" Revelations 7:9-10

Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" And I said to him, "Sir,  you know." So he said to me, "These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; "for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters.  And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."  Rev 7: 13-17

I also recently read a book written by and old and now learned friend about God’s judgment and wrath. At one point He answers the question: Why does not God stop all the evil in the world? He explained how Christians have been given authority etc. As part of his answer he also said that if God stop one suicide or murder or… aside from humans listening and obeying God; if God just intervenes like “Boom”,  then why did He not stop all the other evils in the world. If God divinely, miraculously, with no human involved,  block a war; then why was all the others not stopped?  This made me think of the Pre-tribulation Rapture theology: When things are going to get dangerous and crazy here on earth, Jesus is going to sweep in and rapture the church. So what happened in Communist Russia, China and Cambodia?  What happened to John Huss on the stake and the nuns who were killed in Africa? What happened with all the missionaries that was killed for their faith, shouldn’t they have been rescued by rapture?

Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what [will be] the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. Matthew 24:3-4  (Also see Mark 13)

"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all  [these things] must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences,  and earthquakes in various places. "All these [are] the beginning of sorrows. Matt 24 :5-8

"Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name's sake. "And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Matt 24: 9-10

"For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. "And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect's sake those days will be shortened. Matt 24:21-22

"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. "Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.  "And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. Matt 24:29-31

It looks like to me, and I may be completely of target here, that we will be persecuted. It seems like that vast crowd in their white robes singing about God’s salvation may just be the church who gets slaughtered during the tribulation. Maybe the Great Tribulation is a tribulation of the church by the heathen, evil ones. And then the wrath of God is poured out on satan and all his followers.

There is also this promise that Jesus gave:” These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." John 16:33

And not only [that], but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:1-5

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? [Shall] tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter." Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:35-37

rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; Romans 12:12

Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation,  that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 2 Corinthians 1;3-4

 To the Church in Ephesus Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw [some] of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelations 2:10

So, why does it matter? What difference does it make if the church will leave before the great tribulation, at the last trumpet - during the tribulation; or after it is all done?  It matters because we will not be prepared to stand if we believe we will be rescued before things get to hot in this kitchen. It matters because we will be weak in our faith and our commitment. It matters because people will ride in their rocking chairs not knowing the power of God nor the holiness without which no-one will see God.

 "And I saw thrones, and they that sat upon them and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands: and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years, but the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." Revelation 20:4 and 5

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Rev 12:10-11

How prepared are we in the western Church to stand through tribulation and persecution? Listen to what Richard Wurmbrand said about the church behind the iron curtain: “It must be understood that there are no nominal, halfhearted, lukewarm Christians in Russia or China. The price Christians pay is far too great. The next point to remember is that persecution has always produced a better Christian—a witnessing Christian, a soul-winning Christian. Communist persecution has backfired and produced serious, dedicated Christians such as are rarely seen in free lands. These people cannot understand how anyone can be a Christian and not want to win every soul they meet.”

Doesn’t it sound like persecution may be a good thing to clean us from all the fluff and stuff we have buried ourselves in? We have been crying out for a revival in the western church. Some have said that it is coming but will not look like we expect it to look. May it be that what we have been asking for is “trouble, tribulation and persecution” so that this part of the body of Christ may become us strong, pure and enduring as our brothers and sisters who stare death and torture in the face, daily?

Marriage – Christian Marriage

The way Christian Marriages have been handled through the ages have boiled down to basically two understandings: The husband is the king of the house. He has absolute authority and all else have to submit. The second is that husband thinks he is the boss while the wife manipulates and controls behind the scenes to get her way. This has often been referred to as a “Jezebel”.

Both these approaches are unbiblical, un-christlike and detrimental to the children trained in this environment.

First: We only have one God and Savior: Jesus Christ. We owe only this one our total submission. He is the only one who loves us perfectly and never makes any mistakes. Jesus said: “call no [man] your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven.” Matt 23:9. Was He saying that you cannot refer to your early male parent as “father”? Of course not, He was speaking about the authority we give people over our lives. It is easy to negate the responsibility for ourselves to another. We can easily blame all our failures on such a person. We can easily lay aside the responsibility to cultivate a personal relationship with God and let the earthly “father” lead us. Laziness disguises itself masterfully.

Husbands are the leader, the head of the household. How are you leading? Jesus said that those who lead in the Kingdom of Heaven should not Lord it over the people they lead. We are under-shepherds we are not kings, lords or masters. We are fellow servants. Peter wrote: “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with [wives] according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”  There are good leaders and bad leaders.  Family is our first congregation. How well do you lead this group into the fullness of God? We are all being built into a building of God, each in his or her place and function. “For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,”  Phil 2:3 “nothing in rivalry or vain-glory, but in humility of mind one another counting more excellent than yourselves” -- -- “He who is leading -- `In diligence” Luke 22:25-26 “And He said to them, `The kings of the nations do exercise lordship over them, and those exercising authority upon them are called benefactors; but ye [are] not so, but he who is greater among you -- let him be as the younger; and he who is leading, as he who is ministering;…”

The question really ought to be: “What makes a Godly leader?” “How can we be Christ-like in fulfilling our call as leaders?”

Second. Manipulation and control is never a God thing. God never, ever manipulates. It simply is not His character. He is truth.  The evil one, the devil, is the deceiver, the manipulator. Genesis 3 He tricked Eve into disobeying God. In Matthew 4 he tried the same nonsense on Jesus and failed. If you find yourself “needing” to manipulate, ask God to intervene. You open yourself and your home to a multitude of evil by participating in this. You have to refuse to pick up the ball that was dropped. Refuse to act in an ungodly way. Refuse to be forced into a position that calls for deceiving, underhandedness. This may present hard choices. You may have to make sacrifices you would not have made, had the relationship followed Godly standards. How can you do this? By understanding what is your responsibility and what is not. Stick to what is your job. Wives (husbands), you are not responsible for your husband (wife) or children’s choices. You cannot make them do the “right” thing. You can pray for them, but if they cannot and will not live Godly lives you cannot step in and be the Holy Spirit in their lives. (This does not mean that parents should not train up their children in Godly ways. It is simply referring to their heart attitude towards God) This may be a fight. The fight may be in not letting our flesh dictate our actions or re-actions. The fight may be to refuse to manipulate. The fight may be to stop making excuses for the other parent’s failures. The fight may be for survival, to refuse abuse.

What is a balanced Christian marriage? It is a relationship where both grow into one another and into God by each fulfilling his and her purpose. It is a husband that leads in a godly manner and a wife who follows in a godly manner. It is where both husband and wife fulfill their God-given, God-ordained calling. It’s where one is not intimidated or threatened by the other. This home will not have one person as the all important ‘lord’ with the others dancing about trying to please this person. This is a place of love and acceptance. It is a place where the Spirit of God can operate freely because there is harmony and peace. It is the picture, the allegory, of Christ and His church.

We cannot be good in our human relationships when our relationship with God is askew. Each person has a responsibility to fulfill their God-given, God-ordained calling. We are responsible to use the gifts we receive to honor God. We each have a duty to obey God and live in relationship to Him. No-one else can do this for us.

It seems like the battle that we are up against is the ever increasing pressure to conform to standards, definitions and values that are contrary to God, His Word and His Spirit.  The struggle robs our peace, our confidence, our focus and leaves us entangled in battles that is not ours to fight. We either get into the battle that is none-of-our-business like King Josiah did, or we fight the legitimate battles in the flesh, in the way that is not our business to be.

Return to Your First Love

We can never do God's work in our own strength and our own way. Moses missed going into the promised land because of doing this. We cannot get our heads, hearts and hands into that which we were not given by God to get into. It is so easy to get wrapped up in what is surrounding us, but it is not impossible to rise above it. Daniel did, Esther did.

How do we keep from getting baited into the net of mediocre pursuits that steal our time and energy and resources? We spend time with God. We pursue His presence. We return to our first love. We lay aside all ideas, teachings, affronts, offenses and high mindedness and share time and space with God.

I heard a preacher say that it takes TIME and TRUTH in God's presence to build an intimate relationship with Him. This is true. You cannot say that you love God and desire His will in and for your life if you never give of what we all have to give to Him. Where is God's time? When do you set aside a few minutes, an hour or two, a day, just to be with Him?

And then when you are finding those minutes, hours or day to be with Him, are you still your conceded self? Do you even know how to be honest with God? It always amaze me when I find myself trying to whitewash my thoughts and actions before God. He knows the truth. The question is whether or not we are brave enough to admit to it. It is only when I can in truth go to God about an issue that He intervenes. When I am self-deceived and hide behind the fig-leave of my own understanding, I may as well go fishing. The Psalmist write that God desires truth in the inward parts. 

O that all the pressure, all the filth, all the danger, hate, war and junk around us will squeeze us back to our first love. Maybe when we find in Him a friend so dear, maybe when we re-discover what a sweet, sweet presence He really is, maybe then will we rise above the murky, cesspool of circumstances, politics and evil that surrounds us.

The Question

The question is so simple yet so profound:

“Have you received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior?”

 It can be put this way: “Have you received Jesus and surrendered your life to Him?”

Or this way: “Have you committed to serve Jesus Christ and Him only, turning your back on self, satan and sin?”

The question makes some folks uncomfortable because they do not know how to answer it.

A simple “no” maybe the truest answer but then there will be the next question: “Why not?” and that one is not always so easy to explain.

A simple “yes” may also solicit a follow up question like: “Tell me about it. Did it happen on a specific date and time?” And some may not want to answer this either since there was no date or time. They just stumbled into religion and church. They learned the language, the terminology and can do the social aspect of it with the best of church-folks. Yet, they never had a day or a time when they actually made a commitment to serve God through Jesus Christ. These are the folks that imagine that one can get married by moving in together and calling yourselves husband and wife though you never actually had a day when you said your “I do” ‘s.

Let’s get back to the “no” answer. The question “Why not?” can honestly be answered by saying one of the flowing:

“I like my life as it is and I think God is unnecessary”

Or “I am enjoying all the stuff that I do and bringing God and Jesus into it will just take all my fun away. God is a real party poop.”

Or “I really do not have time for God”

Or “I do not believe in a God”

Maybe there are a few more heated responses from people who reckon that God owes them something or that He is somehow to blame for some or all the awful things people bring upon themselves.

There are a third group of people who can honestly say:”I don’t know?” They just have never considered this or have gone to church all their lives and never really heard the full gospel.

None of these answers to THE QUESTION is wrong. It is an honest response, a true response. And in that is hope. There are so many lies surrounding us. The truth, just by itself is already some sort of victory.

The best response would be something like this:  “Yes. I received Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I gave my life to Him. He is the dearest friend I have. I cannot imagine my life without Him. He holds my heart. I talk with Him day and night. His love, His kindness has helped me through many dark days and because I know, that I know, that I know that He loves me, this life makes sense to me. And yes, there was a day and a place when I made a commitment to serve God through Jesus Christ forever. There was a day when I said goodbye to satan, sin and self. And no, that does not mean that I never sinned after that or were selfish or pestered by satan. It does mean that I stopped pursuing them and instead pursue God through Jesus Christ by the power of His Spirit, to the best of my ability.”

What is a Christian?

I am sure there are 365 definitions and about half of it contradictory.
But what does the Bible define it as? Acts 11:26 says that other people called the disciples of Jesus Christ: Christians. 

So, in its most basic, narrowest definition it means to be a disciple, follower, student, of Jesus Christ. Disciple is a disciplined learner, someone who accepts, propagate and live the teachings of the Master.
This is a bit narrow but so be it.
May we get back to this definition and for the rest; call yourselves believers or religious or spiritual or whatever term works for you.

Someone wrote an article about the great falling away that the Bible predicts for the end times. I may sound harsh but I wish they would fall away and get it done with. Really!! Would you rather have a big picking crate with apples of which about half is bruised, rotting and no good or a small basket with about 5 pounds of excellent, healthy, good apples?  

When Moses led Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness, it was the mixed multitude who instigated the rebellion. It was the ones who was not truly Jews. They had no commitment. They were in it for the ride, for what is in it for them.

In the name of Jesus Christ people do all sorts of crazy, weird, criminal and wicked things. Then they pull a sheet over it and call it "Christian". Well, I for one am tired of it. If you call yourself a Christian, then live like a disciple of Jesus Christ. Live the Book. Stop with all this un-christian lifestyles and become a true disciple of Jesus Christ. 

Becoming a Christian means that there is a life exchange happening. You lay your life down for Jesus Christ and He lives in and through you. You do not belong to yourself anymore. Much like a traditional marriage where you, till death, swear allegiance to one another. You are one for better or worse. Your commitment, your covenant rules your life. You cannot just live for yourself anymore. You belong to another. This is what happens when one say: "I do" to Jesus. You become His and He becomes yours.

What He loves and focus on, also becomes your love and focus. How He thinks and behaves also becomes your thinking and behavior. His pleasure and desires becomes your pleasure and desires. You spend lots and lots of time, energy and money on Him and cannot adore Him enough. He fills your sleeping, eating and waking hours. He becomes most important to you, more important than any person, political view, hobby, entertainment, sport, tradition, country or whatever people idolize these days.

If this is too tall of an order for you, then go away. Go call yourself something else. And do not group yourself with those who are truly Christians.

Jesus Christ is the door. There is no other way to union with God. To wade through the debris and brambles, I need more light. More light, more understanding.

My job is to be a bridge, an evangelist, a reconciler of God and men(mankind). So in order to do this, I need to understand the Divine Intention - God in Christ reconciling the world (all of humanity) to Himself.

John 10:18 Authority comes from a commandment, an injunction. Authority is never unattached. It is always given for a purpose and that is connected to an order or job. This authority I received...to do this or that. Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-19: All authority in Heaven and Earth has been given to ME,.... going then, make disciples. His authority is also our authority to make disciples etc. In this we operate in His authority.

God and Time

In the beginning God spoke everything into existence. The first thing on earth He spoke into existence was Light.  This first day was NOT a day like our 24 hour day since the sun, moon and stars from where we get our day, month, year and seasons were only created on the fourth “day”. Since He created light and separated it from the darkness and called the light “day” and the darkness “night” it is safe to conclude that a “day” is a period of light that is bookended by darkness. It comes out of darkness and when light is no longer there it is night. Notice that darkness was there. It was never created. Light was created and separated from darkness and it was called “Day”.

Genesis 1:3 God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light".

Since our human perception of time is days, months, seasons and years, since we live in hours and have calibrated our lives as such, God deals with us in these constraints. He promised Abram a son in a year’s time. He speaks of three days until the resurrection. Yet we would be mistaken to squeeze God into our perception of time. He created time and for this reason as a start cannot be constrained by it. We cannot limit God by time.

Time is relative to this physical universe. It is one of the seven fundamental physical quantities in the International System of Units. Time is used to define other quantities — such as velocity — so defining time in terms of such quantities would result in circularity of definition. [Base Quantities are those quantities on the basics of which other quantities can be expressed. The seven base quantities of the International System of Quantities (ISQ) are: 1. Length, 2. Time, 3. Mass, 4. Temperature, 5. Amount of substance or number of moles. 6. Electric current and 7. Luminous intensity]

A year is the amount of time it takes the earth to circle the sun once. A month is the amount of time it takes for the moon to circle around the earth and a full 24 hour day is the amount of time it takes for the earth to rotate on its own axle. Earth time is for these reasons related to the Sun and Moon.

Earth is split up into a number of time zones. Most time zones are exactly one hour apart, and by convention compute their local time as an offset from UTC or GMT. Yet, God is in each and every zone, all at the same time. What does this mean? It means that I in America, my family in Afrika, my family in New Zealand, my brother in Istanbul, friends in Greece, Israel and Thailand can all pray at the same time to a God who is there. He is always there. And that brings us to the tapestry of the marriage between time and space. How God relates to space we will attempt to deal with later. Psalms 139

Time-keeping is coordinated at an international level. The basis for scientific time is a continuous count of seconds based on atomic clocks around the world, known as the International Atomic Time (TAI). Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is an older standard, adopted starting with British railways in 1847. Using telescopes instead of atomic clocks, GMT was calibrated to the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in the UK.

Time has historically been closely related with space, the two together merging into space time in Einstein's special relativity and general relativity. According to these theories, the concept of time depends on the spatial reference frame of the observer and the human perception as well as the measurement by instruments such as clocks, are different for observers in relative motion.

In general, the Judeo-Christian concept, based on the Bible, is that time is linear, beginning with the act of creation by God. The general Christian view is that time will end with the end of the sun, moon and earth. Time appears to have a direction – the past lies behind, while the future lies ahead. For the most part the laws of physics do not specify an arrow of time, and allow any process to proceeds both forward and in reverse. The direction of the arrow of time is sometimes arbitrary. The Bible teaches that God is the same, yesterday, today and forever. (Heb 13:8) This can be easily understood if we view God as outside of and greater than time itself.

God is the eternal God. He is the great “I AM” existing in the eternal present. Since He is outside of time, He is in all time at the same time. He is yesterday, today and tomorrow all at the same time. The Bible says that a day is like a thousand years to God and a thousand years like a day. It speaks of time as appointed time, opportune time, time of life, time as a specific time, time as an occurrence, time as a beginning and end, and many more concepts. And in them all is God.  There is no time that God is not in. There is no place that He cannot be. Neither does time affect Him like it does us. God does not get old.

Understanding God as ever-present, ever in the now but also in the future and past gives an understanding of otherwise hard to understand theological concepts:

Such as predestination: If God is in the past, present and future all at the same time He can know the future before it happens and because of this have foreknowledge. Knowing that we will choose to believe in Him, He predestines us.

We can understand how the blood of Jesus shed more than 2000 years ago can still heal and safe and deliver because God in the eternal now, sees the crucifixion at the very moment He sees you and I.

We can understand how God can call those things which are not as though they are because He sees it already done. He can tell us the future since He is already there.

Simplistically explained, it is as a human viewing an ant’s progression and being able to see where it came from, where it is and where it is going all at once.

Time is relative to our being. God relates to time different than humans do. Remember how He stopped time for Moses and Israel and turned it back for Hezekiah. God is very much in control of time and outside of time.

The eternal day that lays ahead for us as believers, day since there will be no night, will initiate us into God’s concept of time. Then we will be as He is, complete in our transformation, into His image, one with Him.

Law vs. Grace

It seems like the “free grace” vs “works of law” war is as old as Christianity itself. Jude wrote about “ungodly persons who pervert the grace of God(v4) into lawlessness, wantonness, immorality”. Here in our own United States, in Boston a great battle was fought about this very issue. In Boston during the 1640‘s the feud heated up so much that the courts stepped in and banned some people from the colony. There seem to be a misconception of grace and its application as well as an ignorance of the law and its purpose.

The question that begs to be answered is: Does the grace of God erase all law - Moses, moral or otherwise? Or does it enable us to obey a higher law, a law of love, light and honor?

It might be that the real problem is a general ignorance of the person and attributes of God. Understanding grace and law cannot happen aside from a true understanding of Theology – the study of God. Understanding the attributes of God helps us to comprehend His kingdom, His actions.

Understanding God’s relationship to time and space makes it easier to see prophecy, election, salvation, redemption and judgment. It is in the light of God’s eternity, His ever presence, that we can begin to fathom the effect of an event that happened almost 2000 years ago, in our timeline, on our existence.

Our real problem is not so much the comprehension of any doctrine but in our misconception of who and what God is.

A lack of the teaching and preaching of pure theology may account for this. During much of the first thirty nine books of the Bible we see these words: “That you may know…Me” by God. He acts over and over again to reveal Himself through His actions. And then Jesus says emphatically: “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.” We seem to worship, or proclaim to worship someone whom we do not really know.

The controversy is not really about law and grace but about a relationship to and with a being that exists in a realm unlike our own. We are battling about doctrines we only half grasp and miss the greater duty of knowing God. In our pursuit of God we may find that we have been wrestling about the wrapping paper while ignoring the gift. We possibly have been debating the violin while being deaf to the symphony or arguing about the heat while being blind to the fire.

As we read the Bible; let us ask ourselves these questions:

What does this portion tells me about God?

How does it apply to my life in the here and now?

Obey Afraid

Judges 6

For 7 years, Israel (the people of God) are suffering under the hand, the rule, the abuse of Midian (strife) and their compadre, their ally Amalek ( dwellers in the valley, those from below, Esau’s descendants, the brother who did NOT value his gifts and sold it for a pot of soup.) Israel (the People of God) hides in caves and strongholds in the mountains. They seem to be powerless and all they can do is, hide. They lost some of their identity, suffering from a national inferiority complex.

Whenever the People of God sow seed, Strife and Valley Dwellers attack and destroy the crop. This left no nourishment for the People of God, wasted the land and impoverished the People of God.

AND THEY CRIED TO THE LORD.  

There was nothing they could do about the situation. They had not one ounce of courage left. Their oppression was so severe that they could not resist or throw off this yoke of slavery. But they cried out to the Lord.

Then the word of the Lord came by a prophet who said to them: The Lord says: I brought you out of Egypt (a type of sin ) from the house of bondage. I delivered you out of the hand of the Egyptians (house of bondage) and out of the hand of all those who oppressed you and gave you their land, their inheritance. And I (the Lord) said to you: I am the Lord your God; Fear not the gods of the Amorites ( the sayers: the biggest tribe in Canaan and often used to mean all of Canaan) in whose land you dwell.  BUT YOU HAVE NOT OBEYED MY VOICE.

Disobedience always has consequences. We often disobey God, neglect His word and His covenant and then are at a loss for why we are receiving the reward of our behavior. This answers the “WHY?”

Now THE ANGEL OF THE LORD CAME. A visitation, a Divine revelation happens. This Angel of the Lord shows up 58 times in scripture. It is always the result of Divine Intervention.  The first time was in Genesis 16:7. Some believe that this is the Old Testament form of Jesus Christ (pre-incarnate Christ)

The Angel of the Lord shows up under a tree, terebinth or turpentine tree at Ophrah ( meaning: fawn) of Joash (given by the Lord) the Abiezrite (My Father is help).  Joash ( given by the Lord) has a son Gideon (Hewer, cutter, chopper) who was hiding in a winepress to beat out a little grain. A winepress was usually dug into the ground and this made a perfect hiding place. He had to provide for his family in secret so that Strife could not steal their bread.

The Angel of the Lord addresses him: “The Lord is with you, you mighty man of courage.” Courage seems to be high on the list of things that pleases God. Joshua 1:7 Gideon’s answer is to question and even doubt what was said: “If the Lord is with us, why is all this befallen us? Our Fathers told us about God’s mighty works.” And Gideon makes the conclusion that God has forsaken them and handed them over to Strife.

It seems like the Lord ignores Gideon’s response: “Go in this your might,  - maybe if we see ourselves as weak and wanting we are better tools, vehicles in the hand of God – you shall save the People of God from Strife and poverty. This is a call to a mission. This is the unction that comes and lies in your spirit, in your gut. This is what makes you go and do even though you are terrified.

HAVE I NOT SENT YOU?

Now Gideon steps up his questions to doubt and excuses: How can I do this?  This was the response of Moses, Joseph, Joshua, Mary, Ester, Debrah, Saul, David etc… It seems God always choose those who do not think they are something. It seems like it is always the ignorant and unlearned fishermen that are called. Gideon’s excuse: My clan is the poorest and I am the least in my house. Maybe that Is why he was outside hiding in the winepress, beating out grain, because he was expendable.

SURELY I WILL BE WITH YOU and you shall smite Strife.  God does not give us a mission and then turn to be a spectator. He is with us in the frey. He is ever present.

Gideon’s response: “ If I have found favor in Your sight… then show me that it is You who speaks to me. “ This is a big question. If we know and are sure that it is God speaking to us, we have no other excuses other than direct disobedience. When God speaks, what is our response?

Gideon makes an offering and it is consumed as a burnt sacrifice, A sweet savour unto God. This proves to Gideon that it is indeed the Angel of the Lord and He built an altar, a memorial to God naming it: Jehovah Shalom – The Lord our Peace (as opposed to the oppression of Midian/Strife) The application is obvious. There will always be some sacrifice, even if it is only time, food, money, opinion of people etc. Our God is the God of the answer. He is our peace instead of Strife. He is our freedom instead of bondage. He is our riches instead of poverty.

No encounter with God is without a command to go and “do”.

 The first order of duty was to pull down the idols and offer them to God. These idols were the gods of the Canaanites, the idols of the other nations around them, those who kept them in bondage and poverty.

Second, he had to build a place of worship to the Lord God in proper order. Here he had to make a burnt sacrifice. He had to restore the worship. He had to rectify the honor that was given to other gods.

Gideon obeyed afraid, but he did what he was told. He snuck out at night and completed his task. This caused the upheaval he expected. They came to kill him but his dad protected him. Yet a war broke out with their oppressors. We often want the small thing, the key thing to be the entire war. It does not work like that. Before the victory there is often an entire war. Yet, we should not shy away from this because God fight for and with us. Victory is a sure thing as long as we follow God.

THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD clothed Gideon with Himself and possessed him. This is of great importance if we will see the victory. We have to be clothed, filled and overflowed by the Spirit of God. There is no room for our own human ideas and emotions. We have to be Holy Spirit controlled.

Victory is a sure thing because God is in it. Victory is a sure thing when we obey. Obey afraid if you must, but just obey

Petition

During the first month of 2013 there was, as with prior years, a flurry of ministries who invited everyone to fast and pray for the first 21 days, to set the tone for the year and dedicate the year to the Lord. Our prayer group do a “Daniel’s – fast” and in the past I have participated in it. This year while praying about my participation; -- I can only fast if God is giving me the grace, -- I heard the Holy Spirit say “No”.  I still felt a desire to set aside extra time to pray… As I was reading through the story of Daniel the words: “he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God,” jumped off the page at me. The Holy Spirit whispered: “What is there that you feel strong enough about, that you will petition Me about it, three times a day for 21 days?” 

I had to sit back and ponder this. There are many concerns, many people’s pain that lies on my heart. It took me ten days to sift through it all and come up with a short list.

As I started doing this, my God-mother mentioned “Petitioning God” to me in relating how a mutual friend took time out to petition God concerning her children. This underlined the word I received. 

Petition is NOT a casual word. It is right up there or rather down, deep down, with words like “burden”, “supplication”, “mourning”, “groaning”. It is an intense, focused request. It is a legal term. A term that says, this far we have come and we cannot go any further without the intervention of someone or something outside of ourselves; of a higher authority. Petition belongs to those who have such intense, motivation about something that they will stand in the cold, rain, snow, scorching sun or what else to gather signatures to change something. It is an appeal to a Higher Authority.

Petition often concerns desperate situations. I can think of people in the United States that petition to save a species from extinction. That made me think of Queen Ester and her petition to safe her people; or Zachariah, the old priest, that cried out to God for many years concerning the barrenness of his wife, Elizabeth. It is the cry of a people or person that has come to realize that I/we need help. It is Hannah crying for a son. It is Jeremiah asking for his life. (Jer 42:9) It is also Daniel opening his window toward Jerusalem and petitioning the Lord of heaven and earth about the state of the nation of Israel.

Daniel mourned for his people. The 9^th chapter records one of his prayers and the reason behind it and the first few verses of chapter 10 says that he was in mourning. When I read these chapters, I see a man with a burden for a people who do not deserve any mercy, yet he asked for it. He ask forgiveness, like Nehemiah does, for the sins of his people. (Dan9:17-19) “So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Can you feel his angst, his cry, his desperation? “If You, O Lord, do not help us, we have no other place to go!!”

Now I can re-iterate the Holy Spirit’s question: “What is there that you feel strong enough about, that you will petition Me about it, three times a day for 21 days?” 

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Luke 1:13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your petition has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you will give him the name John;

Luke 2:37 (Anna) and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four . She never left the temple, serving night andday with fastings and prayers.

 Ephesians 6:18 With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints,

Translated as prayer Romans 10:1 Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved., (Paul’s petition)

Heb 5:7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear; (speaking of Jesus)

James 5:17  Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.;

1 John 5:15… And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

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Petition:

Dictionary Definition: pe·ti·tion[ pə tísh'n ]   

1.     demand for action with signatures: a written request signed by many people demanding a specific action from an authority or government

2.     appeal or request to higher authority: an appeal or request to a higher authority or being

3.     something requested: something requested or appealed for

4.     Petition can also be the title of a legal pleading that initiates a legal case.

 HEBR: sheh a la. =request, thing asked for, demand

a) request, petition

b) thing asked for

1 Sam 1; 1 Kings 2; Esther 5 and 7; Jer (32) 37, 42; Daniel 6;

GRK:  Deesis 1) need, indigence, want, privation, penury

2) a seeking, asking, entreating, entreaty to God or to man