Saturday, March 30, 2013

The Antidote

03.30.13

1 Corinthians 15.54-55 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
55 “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?” (ESV)

I imagine, way back in the ancient eternities, there was a cabinet under a sink somewhere, and in that cabinet was a canister upon which the word Unbelief was written. Inside the canister was a substance called Separation.  Separation comes only as a result of Unbelief. The canister had a skull and crossbones on it, and the word, Poison. Unlike our present day substances, this substance had never been used for anything, but it existed because one day unbelief would be.

And like poisonous or controlled substances there was an antidote for Unbelief. Because unbelief would one day be; what had been separated needed to be reunited or reconnected. And up until a certain day, everyone believed. But one day unbelief was found to have been removed from the canister and those who took unbelief were separated. Upon them came the death of separation.

Since that day many have partaken of Unbelief and many have become separated by its poison; what holds them back from life is the death of separation caused by unbelief. Adam struggled with it, the Corinthians struggled with it, and today, you and I and people all around us struggle with unbelief. It is a deadly poison that has befallen mankind.

But one day soon unbelief will be no more. One day soon unbelief will be a thing of a forgetting past. And those who believe will then sing a song: “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” Death has ruled but God has dispensed an antidote and death will be no more. Belief will have its day and will be the song of eternity.

Yesterday, I went to a funeral – yep, someone died. We buried him. But one day soon death will be no more. Because, though the canister was opened and the contents taken, the Antidote has been dispensed and unbelief has been rendered powerless.

I’ve probably made a poor offering today but the truth is: death, where is your victory; where is your sting? Unbelief loses its power when belief comes to life; and belief is alive and well. The end has dawned on belief and tomorrow, Easter Sunday, we’ll celebrate an empty tomb. The guy we buried yesterday is still there today, but the tomb of the Eternal One is empty – the Antidote has been dispensed and death has lost its power…

Friday, March 29, 2013

In This Might of Yours

03.29.13

Judges 6.14 14 And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” (ESV)

Gideon was in a tough spot and now, almost as if to make matters worse, God shows up and tells him to throw off the oppression of the Midianites…by himself. Aw, c’mon God! I got other things to attend to and I’m all alone! With God we’re never alone. With God we’re never outnumbered, and with God we’ve all the strength in the universe.

Gideon and Israel were hiding because enemies stronger than themselves were oppressing them and ravaging their land. Whenever they got ahead a coupla bucks something came up and set them back. The needed help and were desperate but somehow not desperate enough – they seemed to ignore God. A God-unseen is not as comforting as a god-up close.

The story of Gideon is a story of overcoming – overcoming a belief. Many times we can’t do something because we think we lack the resources: we can’t do something because we lack the belief. Gideon was such a person: it never occurred to him that faith in God just might be all he needed to get the job (defeating the Midianites) done.

In the beginning of the story the angel addresses Gideon as God saw him: as he truly was: a mighty man of valor. Gideon didn’t see it, but just because he didn’t, didn’t mean it wasn’t true. And that is exactly where we need God: when we’re blind and cannot see. When we’re weak and cannot move. When we’re poor and cannot pay. When the diagnosis comes and we cannot make it go away.

Who makes someone a mighty man? Who gives strength to the weak, and victory to the oppressed? Who gives the poor the means they need? It ain’t them! That’s why they’re weak, oppressed and poor! Strength comes from God. Gideon just needed to believe that.

What is the difference between our situation today and the situation of centuries back when God showed up and called Gideon a might man of valor? Nothing – God is still the same God and the needs of men are still the same and the calling of leadership is still the same… the only difference now as then: do I believe what God calls me? Do I believe that my strength is His strength and the battle is not mine but His? The Only strength and valor Gideon had was God. Gideon just couldn’t believe it. What he believed held him back.

On this Good Friday, what is holding us back – or do we have the belief to blaze ahead? The Strength we have is God, and the belief we have is He has given us our Strength; and is with us. God will choose us to do impossible things – we just have to choose to believe Him.

Father, strengthen us to believe beyond what we see and think – You are with us and the Strength we have is You! Amen.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

The Beginning of the End

03.27.13

Judges 2.10 10 And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel. (ESV)

The Book of Judges is one of the hardest books in Scripture for me to understand – I suppose there isn't that much to understand, Israel abandoned the Lord and subsequently cycled through many years of defeat and deliverance under the leadership of various judges. I also look at the Book of Judges as the beginning of the end for Israel: their future (as described in Scripture) will be peppered with defeat and deliverance for the next thirteen hundred years…

I suppose the better verse for me today is not Judges 2.10, but 2.1 where the angel of the Lord said: “I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you..." That gives me hope for the rest of the book is not pretty.

Today I’m glad the Lord has said, “I will never break my covenant with you..." If He won’t ever break His covenant with Israel, He won’t ever break His promises to me. God always keeps His word.

My life is probably best described as cycling through defeat and deliverance. There’ve been times when I’ve failed miserably, and times when the Lord has shown up in a big way to rescue my sorry a##. Part of it is age and experience – that being, age often sheds a perspective on experience that helps me understand the why’s, the what’s, and the what if’s. Age illuminates purpose and meaning – not always but certainly sometimes.

One of the first thoughts in my mind as I read today was: what would have happened to Israel in the Book of Judges had they had the spiritual gifts described in 1 Corinthians 12? But they didn't  because those were reserved for us later.

These days, I live in days of reckoning. I reckon my life is coming closer to its close, and I’m learning I am not as invincible as I once used to reckon. My need for God is only increasing, not diminishing. And like much of my experience in life, I am trying to use what time I have left to make up for what time I have wasted. So, I cannot afford to minimize the presence of the Lord in my life, or in my reckoning.

I can avoid some of the mistakes and missteps of ancient Israel: I can pass along my faith to the next generation and stick like glue to my Redeemer and celebrate my deliverance every day. I can rest on His promises and correctly and effectively use the gifts He has given to help others as this world grinds to a halt. My Only Hope is Him!

The beginning of the end may not be as daunting as it sounds – what matters is not the end per se, but how it ends; and in Christ, with Christ, it ends well. The story of human history and my place therein, begins and ends in Christ, and the advent of His glorious Kingdom where soon I’ll stand forever where covenants and promises made are never broken…

Monday, March 25, 2013

Parameters



03.25.13

1 Corinthians 10.29 29  I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? (ESV)

It seems Paul is saying: know who you are. The freedom of the saint is that he is not governed by the principles of the world: he is governed by the wisdom that comes from heaven. But the logic of the world in defending its position sometimes sounds very logical. That’s why Paul seemed to be implying: know who you are; if you know who you are, you know how you are governed and under whose authority you are…and what’s lawful for you.

We don’t have too many pagan temples around these days. I’m not aware of such sacrifices being made to pagan gods in our culture. They may be out there but it isn’t a very public thing. So I don’t see too much of an issue in being invited to some restaurant and being told the steak I’m about to eat has been taken from a pagan sacrifice.

But the world does want to push its demands on me and dictate what my relationship with God looks like. The world around me wants me to accept that the institution of marriage is not limited to just a man and a woman; it insists that any two anybody’s can get married and it’s okay. The world around me wants me to accept its insistence it’s okay for a woman to abort her unborn child for any reason and of those the biggest: she doesn’t want to be burdened by an unwanted or unplanned pregnancy. The world insists that my relationship with God is only valid or acceptable if I follow its guidelines for such relationship.

Paul said, “Bunk!” The argument here is whether paganism can dictate the parameters of my faith – it can’t but that is precisely where the rub comes. The rub is not that I am perceived religious, the rub is under whose authority I have placed myself. Society and the world do not easily yield ground to what they perceive as foreign authorities and intrusion upon theirs. That’s why knowing who I am in Christ, and under Whose authority I am, makes such a difference in how I live. And what I eat for that matter; and everything else I do.

Today, my calling is to represent well the God I serve in a world hostile to my belief. Today, my calling is to love (seeking the highest good) those with whom and around whom I live. Today, my calling is to resist the world’s (and society’s) attempts at telling me how I can or cannot worship. It really isn’t a matter of what I eat or avoid eating, it’s a matter of loving God and loving people – any and all.

My conduct must represent what I believe and my beliefs must be founded upon Christ. Otherwise I am ceding authority to another master whose heart and motives are not in sync with the Kingdom of which I am born. There has to be a difference in me and part of the difference comes from my knowing who I am, and Whose I am.

Father, shine through me today and help me to be a prism pristine and pure – Amen.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

What You Are Called to Do



03.24.13

1 Corinthians 9.12b Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. (ESV)

Paul’s defense is he doesn't make his living from preaching the gospel. He has every right to but he doesn't  He could but he won’t. Paul’s personal conviction was what he got for free, he’d give away for free; and he’d make a living some other way. It wouldn't be easy, but he’d do it.

I used to think Paul’s convictions were my convictions – that what Paul did, I had to do also. I failed miserably because I thought I could do in my own strength and understanding what Paul did as a result of his relationship to God in Christ. One of the dangerous things about the Gospel, and the accepting of it thereof, is this: only do what you are called to do: nothing more, nothing less.

That’s hard to do because as young believers, many new Christians don’t know what to do, and like small children trying to emulate their parents, they quickly realize that what mommy and daddy do is not necessarily what they are able to do. As a result they sometimes get frustrated and discouraged because they can’t do what the big people do. That’s my story as I read Paul’s writings and tried to be like Paul.

The difference between Paul and me is this: heart. Paul was fully convinced he would do everything he could to keep a distance between himself and the accusation that he only did what he did for money: just a way to make a buck. And Paul trusted God in the midst of what he chose to do…I didn't necessarily do the same: I had a heart for God but not a will (or an understanding) to go with it. Paul didn't do what he did easily but he kept at it because he knew why he did it and he trusted God fully in the choice he made and he didn't come by his choice easily.

I think the lesson for me is this: love God to the best of my ability; love people as genuinely and as care-fully as I can; and just be myself trusting God to provide whatever I need at any given moment. I do a lot better at representing God as myself than I do trying to imitate someone in the Bible whose life and circumstances were totally different than mine and whose times are two thousand years removed from me. Paul had to be Paul and I gotta be me. There’s room in the Kingdom for two of us with the same name to represent God well in each of our circumstances…

Father, today lead me to be me, and to represent You well, as me. Not garnering attention, but  offering hope to those who are looking for a better way and just haven’t realized yet: You are It. May I be comfortable in my own relationship with You and may the result of that be: I am comfortable presenting You the way You've wired me to be. You can (and will) use anybody. Thanks for using me… Amen.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Very Superstitious

03.23.13

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved…defines superstition thus:
su·per·sti·tion  (spr-stshn) n.
1. An irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.
a. A belief, practice, or rite irrationally maintained by ignorance of the laws of nature or by faith in magic or chance.
b. A fearful or abject state of mind resulting from such ignorance or irrationality.
c. Idolatry.

It’s no wonder Paul wrote to the Corinthians – they were very superstitious… well, at least some of them were. It’s helpful to remember they had never heard anything like what Paul had taught them. As a result they had to mentally overcome a lot of stuff they’d grown up with and just accepted as the real thing: like food being offered to idols as one of those things.

We grow up believing some things that are actually irrational but they sound so good or believable that we simply accept them and act as if they were true; like the evening news or what some politicians say. We’ve all heard that the number 13 is unlucky (or is it lucky, I can never remember and therefore I avoid it because I can’t remember.) I grew up believing that a rabbit’s foot was a good luck charm. I used to avoid cracks because they kept breaking my momma’s back if I stepped on one.

To tell someone in the Corinthian culture in those days that there was no such thing as a god (or gods) was simply ludicrous. And to eat meat that was sacrificed to such a god was like actually taking food from that god – everyone knew that. But Paul came along and shared that there was only ever one True God and He was all you had to pay attention to. And He wasn’t interested in our food. Dude! That’s some strange stuff man – what’r we gonna tell all the other gods, like, that they’re out of a job? Then what’r they gonna do!? Besides, the best steaks in town are at that temple over there, and they’re the best because they make the gods (and the owners of the temple) happy.

Paul said some folks actually believe that stuff. And there was enough “power” in that superstition to make otherwise rational folks do irrational stuff as a result of their belief in such stuff. And while Paul would teach there really is a God, and He really isn’t concerned with what we eat or don’t eat, He loves people enough to care they are all caught up in superstition. And though He knows we can be set free from that crap, He knows it’s harder for some than for others and for the ones who struggle we have to love them through their struggle and keep explaining to them over and over what they think is really not true and holds no power over them except what they keep giving to it; and really what they need is just someone to love them – over and over and over until they get it that there is only One True God and He loves them and died to save them from such crap.

And those who know this need to really love those who don’t know and be careful how they behave lest the ones who don’t know keep believing there’s something to the crap they believe. And this all over a piece of meat. I don’t want to be guilty of losing out on love over what I believe about a piece of meat. Would you? I don’t want to trade all of what God has for me and someone else over where I choose to have my steaks… 

Friday, March 22, 2013

The AND is This




03.22.13

Joshua 13.14 14 To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him. (ESV)

In 1 Corinthians 7 Paul gave this rule: this commandment: Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. (1 Cor. 7.17 ESV) A rule is a guide to live by. It isn’t a law, it’s a principle. To cut a straight line in a piece of wood one needs a rule to determine what is straight and then follow that rule. Paul said, lead the life in which God has called you and then go from there. If the Lord leads you elsewhere then follow only Him. God’s leading is our inheritance.

The writer of Joshua records the will of the Lord for the inheritance of the tribe of Levi in Joshua 13. They were not to inherit property as the other tribes were; they were to inherit the Lord. Their service to Him was their inheritance. Somebody might ask, So!? The reason this is so important is the possession of property was not to be the focus of God’s priests. And the echo to this principle, I think, is found in the New Testament in Paul’s writings…especially here to the Corinthians. Okay Paul – AND!?

The AND is this: Believers in Christ are called to be kings and priests. Our focus is to be God Alone and not the push and pull of the world around us. Our culture tells us we are to bow down to its dictates. We’re not. Our culture demands we step in line like everyone else. Scripture says not. Paul taught: Only let each person lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches. In other words, I am to live my life fully focused on God as a king and priest (albeit in training) and not get caught up in the push and pull of the world and its demands.

This doesn’t mean I can’t own property, but the Bible also teaches I should live as if I had none. This doesn’t mean I can’t get married and have a family. This doesn’t mean I can’t have a workaday life. It means God is my inheritance and I am to live all of whatever it is I live with Him as my soul’s sole Purpose. It means I give all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength to God wherever and however I am and to be content in that: my greater calling is my representing Him well in whatever I do, wherever I am.

Perhaps this is a stretch but today I saw that the specialness of the tribe of Levi was their focus on God Alone and their only inheritance of Him. I wouldn’t want to trade God for a piece of property – would you?

Father, What this really boils down to is my struggle with Americanism and the push and pull of the world in my own life. What this really boils down to is my struggles with money, my possessions, and the use of my time. I can’t live faithfully to You and insist on inheriting the world – You are my only true Inheritance. I ask for wisdom to live circumspectly and to be careful that I only give my focus to You. It’s not about a better job, a nicer house, a bigger car – it’s about You and what You’re accomplishing in this world: getting Your creatures to believe that just You is greater than all the stuff in the whole universe…

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Like Paul



03.19.13

1 Corinthians 4.16 16 I urge you, then, be imitators of me. (ESV)

There are two appointments I keep each week: one is coffee with a friend on Monday and the other with a group of men on Thursday. At each appointment is the opportunity to hear and be heard. The subject matter is very varied but usually we get around to spiritual things.

Yesterday while having coffee, my friend said (as we were discussing men in the church) that most men will tell you they like Jesus, but don’t necessarily want to be like Jesus. I thought that was pretty telling. I thought that explained a lot. I think that sums up how many feel about Christ and why so many are so afraid to take the steps of their relationship with Christ to the next level: they fear being like Christ – and what would happen to them if they were.

Jesus was truly radical. Jesus was truly “out of the box”. Jesus said and did things that made people uncomfortable. And worst of all (in our assessment, not His) Jesus was completely sold out to God. We fear that probably more than anything else. Being sold out to God is like being the one black button in a sea of white.

Paul’s difficulties with the Galatians and the Corinthians boiled down to the same thing: be like me. Paul didn’t necessarily care if people liked him, he had a message for them that was completely beyond whether anyone liked him or not. But more than anything, Paul wanted everyone to be like him (see Acts 26.29). Paul knew who he was, what he was, and what he had; and he knew that the salvation of every person on earth depended on their having it too: Paul had an intimate relationship with the Living God as his Friend. And Paul was willing to give everything he had to get the most he could from God, and be God’s friend.

And so Paul said things like: “I urge you, then, be imitators of me…” or “Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus…” He wasn’t being arrogant; he knew who he was and what he had. Paul wanted everyone to know and have that too.

Jesus Himself urged people to be like Him in relationship to God. And that is where the rub comes from for most: they fear what will happen to them if they become like Christ, or even if they become like a nutcase like Paul. The fear is what will happen to them if they do. Jesus was crucified and Paul bounced around for a while and then wound up in prison, an enemy of the state. Yes, I want to like Christ but I don’t necessarily want to be like Christ.

Unless, I fully understand what is expected of me if I accept Him. My Americanism dies. My life is fueled by my love for God and for mankind. I begin to see what is lost in worldliness and what is gained in godliness. I begin to favor what lies ahead and stop being so enamored with what lies around.

O God! Help me to understand! Amen.

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Singular Knowledge



03.17.13

1 Corinthians 2.2 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. (ESV)

It wasn’t that Paul was narrow it was that he was singular. Paul understood that there was no purpose in peripheral-ities – the only thing those in Corinth needed to know was that Jesus Christ came and died for the sins of all mankind and opened the way for all mankind to come to know God. What else do we need?

They might’ve been impressed with eloquence – Paul admitted he had none. They might’ve been impressed with wisdom – Paul narrowed it down to this: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. That is the message; that is the point; everything else is just filler.

Yesterday I read a bit on the internet about the coming financial holocaust that is going to engulf the globe. I admit I was a little unsettled by what I read and during the night I had some uneasy moments of: what if… Well, what if? What if there is a shortage of food and clean water and I die in the midst of that? What if? In Heaven there is no shortage – there is only the abundance of Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

The Lord has promised to provide and has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13.5 ESV) My response is to, confidently, be:

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear;
what can man do to me?”

And it is all because of this one thing: Jesus Christ and Him crucified. No one else in history has stood in the gap for me. No one else in all of history has made a way for me to escape the wrath of God except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

My mission and focus from this moment on is that of Paul: [To decide, to make up my mind, and to live with this message] to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. There is nothing else worth knowing and certainly nothing else worth worrying about save not knowing Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Today, Lord You know my mind has been focused on many things and I have few answers – like none at all. I don’t know what is going to happen to this world, my country, my state, my county, my city or even my neighborhood. I think about my wife and kids and I pray that we know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified – and all that goes with that knowledge.

I thank You that You have promised to provide and I will be content with that. May I be a light and a voice among the many who don’t know and may some of them, by your Holy Spirit come to know Jesus Christ and Him crucified…amen.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Seamless and Smooth



03.16.13

Deuteronomy 30.6 6 And the Lord your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live. (ESV)

One of the great lessons of the Old Testament is the lesson of redemption: our God is a God of grace and forgiveness. Our God is a God who makes a way. The danger of reading the Old Testament is forgetting about the New Testament where God has made a way: the Person of Jesus Christ and the Gift of the Holy Spirit.

God knew their hearts and the depth of their fallenness and the chasm that has separated them from His love. He knew they would love His blessings but turn them into curses by forgetting Him and ultimately despising Him. Wow. That sounds like us…

Their problem, and ours, has always been hanging on; we have a hard time hanging on and remembering Who God is and what He has done for us. Things get good and we forget we need God. Things go bad and we can’t get enough of Him. And the cycle cycles.

The greatest gift God gives us is Himself. He gives us Himself even though He knows we can’t handle it. He gives us Himself even though we’re miserably fickle, horribly frail, and ferociously forgetful. It is God Himself who circumcises our hearts. I think this happens as we experience Him and begin to understand His benefits. (Man, this sounds so lame!)

But the bottom line is this: God means business. He’s serious about our knowing Him and knowing Him completely. He’s serious about wiping away every sin and stain and making us whole in a way we cannot yet comprehend. Throughout eternity we may never understand the magnitude of this wholeness. But God is buying us (or has bought us) back from the tragedy of never knowing Him at all. And we need to be fitted for that kind of life.

I’m not sure I can go where I need to go in this blog entry tonight, but I do know this: in Christ is my only Hope of knowing God at all. Despite my forgetfulness and my dissing of the Holy Spirit on an almost momentary basis, God has given me in Christ what I need to know Him. In Christ my heart has been circumcised from the pull of the world and its lies to meet my needs. In Christ I am redeemed from an eternity of not knowing and in Christ I am grateful for every second, third, fourth, fifth – and bazzillionth chance.

And the ultimate goal for me is this: to love Him with all – every stinking square particle – of my heart and with all of my soul, not one ounce saved aside for anything else.

So, with that: Come Lord Jesus, come. Help me in this life to be prepared for the next and may the threshold be seamless and smooth – I pray in your Name. Amen.