One Too Many

08.14.12

Jeremiah 16.2 2 “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” NASB

The more I read the Old Testament the more I have the feeling that we’ve somehow over the centuries really misunderstood the love, the compassion, and the passion God has for His people. This feeling comes through to me in the writings of the prophets, especially Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel. Isaiah and Jeremiah were pre-exilic, whereas Ezekiel was intra-exilic and Daniel was the precursor to the post-exilic peoples.

Isaiah had a wife and she bore him children during his ministry. Ezekiel’s wife died during the exile. No mention is made as to whether Daniel had a wife or children so we can assume either he did and it isn’t mentioned, or he didn’t and it isn’t mentioned. Jeremiah on the other hand was commanded, “You shall not take a wife for yourself nor have sons or daughters in this place.” In verses 5 and 8 of this chapter Jeremiah is also told: and no funerals, and no feasts.

It seems to me that to understand the Old Testament we need to understand the relationship between God and the people of Israel: it seemed like a marriage (of sorts). God of course is the Groom and His people are the Bride. This isn’t to diminish the Kingship of God, or the Lordship of the Lord (YHWH). But the relationship between the two seems to be more that of a marriage than King and subjects. And the language the Lord seems to use to express His heart is more of that of a husband to a wife than a King to His people. And so when God commanded Jeremiah not to take a wife it seems to fit that God was divorcing His people (at least temporarily) until they got the message.

God loves and is compassionate for His people. He is jealous for them – He don’t put up with no competition. And He gets downright fuming over those who would deceive His own and cause them to stumble. Jesus shared that same compassion. God is passionate over His people as well. To relate to Him rightly is a place where few humans have ever gone and the passion He has for us is without measure and certainly beyond description. So it is no wonder God was so upset over the choices of His people and their incessant adultery with other gods. What husband isn’t wounded over the rejection of his wife?

Listen, there are two things a married man wants from his wife: acceptance and admiration. And the acceptance part is huge. He wants to know that he is the only one who will ever suitably meet his wife’s needs. Not perfectly, but suitably. She’s reasonably happy with him and relatively satisfied with him. Could not God ask the same of His bride? They say a woman scorned is hard to live with (hell hath no fury like…). A man scorned is no picnic either. God scorned is death.

The people of Jeremiah’s time had slept with one too many gods. And God had been scorned one too many times. So God told Jeremiah: don’t get too comfortable, complacent, or cozy My friend, I’m about to obliterate this crowd, so no marriage, no funerals, and no parties. I’m serious about My love for them and they’re just about to find out how serious I am.

Father, may I be more aware of Your love, compassion and passion in my life and may I be concerne about the things of which You are concerned – in Jesus’ Name. Amen.

The B Team God

08.12.12

John 14.26 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. NASB

God the Father sent His Son to become one of us. And to this day and forever, Jesus Christ will be a man. God said I will become one of them and remain with them so that they can understand that I truly know them and that they can identify with Me.

And God sent His Spirit to be within us. And to this day the Holy Spirit has chosen to dwell in the icky cesspools that we call our lives with all of the brokenness, fallenness, and sin that is ours. That is the love of our God who said our lives will be incomplete without His. Every sin, every hurt, every pain, every heartache is a reminder of not only who we are but also Who dwells within us. The Holy Spirit was sent to us in Jesus’ Name to dwell within us and help us to know God truly.

I have always wanted to think of the Holy Spirit as the “B” team God. I have always wanted to place His presence as somewhat beneath that of the Father’s or the Son’s. How foolish! How shortsighted; how ignorant to misunderstand the power and presence of the Very Spirit who hovered over the formless and void planet called earth and said, Let there be light! And in seven days created something of such magnificence; everything was considered and nothing was left out.

The Holy Spirit is as courageous in dwelling within us as Jesus was in becoming One of us. When God sent His Spirit to be our Helper and the Resident of our hearts, there was no one more eager to do something in all of creation throughout all of eternity. There was no one more creative to take the brokenness and fallenness that is ours and make such beauty out of it – out trash became His treasure.

There is no one who brings such light to our minds to enable us to think of God, or to hear God in the wind and the waters. There is no one who helps us to recognize our own sin and incapacity as Him who says I will be with them and will dwell in them – I will find my home in the wreckage of all they are and do and I will faithfully, forgivingly remind them of all He said and all He does. A Teacher and Reminder is He – thank God for His Holy Spirit, the Spirit who dwells within.

I think what got me this morning is when Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name…” He was sent because from eternity past His love for us has been to be with us and within us. God created us to live within us and complete us in a way we never could be complete without Him. And His Holy Spirit is God who fills us, and completes us in every way.

He isn’t the Second-Rate God; He is God the Merciful and Kind to live in hearts like yours and mine. He isn’t the Reluctant God; He is God Eager, to remake our messy misery into something of astounding beauty. He isn’t God Who of the short stick to take on the crap; He is God the Completer filling in every low and voided place in these broken lives we call our own. And He is God the Welcome Who accepts us as the formless and void lives we are, and then turns us into the perfection we were always meant to be.

Father, what a Gift in Your Son and in Your Spirit and in Your love and desire to be with us even in the mess we are…

Day Eight

08.11.12

Jeremiah 7.27 27 “You shall speak all these words to them, but they will not listen to you; and you shall call to them, but they will not answer you. NASB

Today is day eight. Last week on Saturday we took our soon-to-be ninth-grader and a friend to a water park over near Boise for the day. We decided since we haven’t done much of anything this summer we at least ought to “load up the truck and head to Boi-oy-se, swimmin’ pools, bright sun, no movie stars.” So off we went and we spent the day in the abundant sun of western Idaho.

At one point when we arrived we informed our soon-to-be ninth-grader, hey dude, are you going to put some sunscreen on or at least wear a tee-shirt? (You can see where I’m going, I’m sure.) As I said, today is day eight because we spoke all those words to someone but he didn’t listen and we called to him but he didn’t answer, and, well, you know the color of tomato soup? Well, I think they got that color from him… a really bad sunburn…ouch.

I remember when I was a lad and I decided I too, was going to be tan like all of the rest of the urchins with whom I ran. I was wrong: red-heads and sun? Well, the two mix like pale and burn… which is what I did. What is the American fascination with being tan? The height of my summer tan is a light hue of un-pink that is just this side of really pale and sickly…sheesh!

Not wanting to make light of Jeremiah, I see, in his writings today, a people who would not listen to their God – like omniscient fourteen-year-olds, they knew better. Like a child disregarding his parent’s warnings, Israel chose to get really sunburnt by their own choices. If you’re gonna get burnt at least get burnt by the Right Light.

I am a graduate student in the School of Hard Knocks. For most of my life I’ve just been too damn smart for my own good and now when the sun isn’t quite as bright as it used to be (metaphorically speaking) I long for the tan I could’ve really had that this world knows nothing of because of its insistence on being omniscient (metaphorically speaking). I long for the Moses Tan, the tan of having been around God so much that I have to wear a veil to so folks won’t look at me all weird – not the way they do now: Oh, you’re just as stupid as the rest of us!

One of the things I pray for is God’s wisdom. James says if we ask for it, He loves to give it without reminding us that it’s day eight – and oh, I told you so. But it’s one thing to ask for God’s wisdom, it’s another to heed what He says. Miraculously, God would have spared His people all of the pain and judgment they went through had they just listened – and put on sunscreen or a tee-shirt (metaphorically speaking). But they had to learn the hard way as most of the rest of us do.

It’s day eight and the blisters are drying up. The redness has paled a bit and it looks like we’re on the mend (except for the itching and the peeling). What day is it in the days of our lives that we would humble ourselves before the Lord and listen to Him? If you’re a consummate listener, then this isn’t for you. If it’s day eight and you’re on the mend, then I hope what you’ve heard is something you can appreciate.

And if it’s only the ride home from Boise on a scorching 98-ish degree evening and your shoulders are on fire and you’re miserable, and the air-conditioning just won’t make the pain go away (metaphorically speaking), then I pray that you will hear and heed the voice of the Lord: He’s speaking through your pain. I think He’s saying, I told you so – but He’s got His arms open wide for the healing of the repentant…

Kicking Tires

08.10.12

John 12.24-26 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25  He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. 26 If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. NASB

As the story goes in John 12, some Greeks came to see Jesus and apparently wanted to check Him out – what did He do, what did He say, what were His views on…? It just so happened that Jesus was on His way to an appointment – you might say He was at a crossroad in His life. So in response Jesus said something to the effect of, “Lookit! Here’s the truth if you want it: unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone. But if it does what its supposed to do – die – well then it accomplishes its purpose and bears much fruit. Your lives and Mine are similar: they were made for a purpose, and that purpose is not to serve our own needs, but the needs of others. So, fellas, I’m on my way to die and if you want to be with Me, you’re gonna have to die too! If you want to be with Me and see what I am all about, then here’s the deal: I’m headed to accomplish what I was sent to earth for: I’m going to die so that through My death many will be saved. Got it!?”

I’ve always wanted to think this was a strange response to the Greek’s seeking Jesus, but then because of the Lord's response, it’s their seeking Him that was strange: all they wanted to do was kick some tires and check Him out – they weren’t serious about committing – they only wanted to satisfy their curiosity: We’re really not interested in what Your true purpose is, we only want to know who You are and what You’re up to that’s causing such a fuss.

God isn't interested in our curiosity if He cannot have our heart. A man doesn’t need a bride if he can’t have all of the package that comes with her – especially the acceptance he so desperately seeks. I almost want to say God isn’t desperate, and I guess in one sense He’s not; but when we look at the lengths He’s gone to show His love for us, well, you might conclude: He’s desperate. But here’s the interesting part: He’s desperate to show Himself for all of who He is to us for all of who we’re not. God knows what will happen to us if we know Him for all of who He is…and He shows Himself desperate that we get it.

To come to God in curiosity and kick tires as if He’s just another option is the height of human hubris. If God is an option, then there are no others. God created us for Himself and gives all of Who He is to us – there is no greater gift; there is no greater purpose, and there is no other option; He’s all we need, now and forever.

Jesus is the stripped down model, the only bells and whistles with Him are these: Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.

Father, deserving or not, please show all of Who You are to all of what I’m not so that Your will and purpose may be accomplished in my life: through Jesus Christ, Amen.

Early Birthday Present

08.08.12

Jeremiah 1.7-8 7 But the Lord said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am a youth,’ because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. 8 “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you,” declares the Lord. NASB

One day in the ancient days of Heaven God said, “I will bring forth a man and he will speak to My people and he will tell them everything I am about to do.” And God brought forth Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, of the priests of Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin. And God said, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” God always has a plan and God always has His man.

The books of the prophets are there to remind us of that truth: God always has His plan and His man. And so Jeremiah was sent not only as God’s prophet to the Jews in Judah but also the Babylonians and the Egyptians. You see God doesn’t care about our nationality or the color of our skin; He cares about us. He cares about each and every one of us from the least to the greatest, from the most kind to the most vile. God always has His man and His plan. What did the Babylonians think about God? Dunno, but God thought about them.

God cares that we know Him and stay close to Him. God cares that we think what He thinks and that we learn to love like He loves despite the fact that many people don’t love Him. Knowing God intimately on earth ought to give us a glimpse of what we’ll be up to in Heaven some day. Why learn to love the unlovely on earth? Could there be some unlovables out there in some universe that God is calling His people to go and rescue? It could happen.

What are we doing on earth for God today? What is our place of service in God’s Church in the nation in which we live? Has God created and called us to serve somewhere and do something for Him? If Jeremiah (and the rest of the prophets) is any indication, then our lives are of immense importance to God as well. There is someone or some ones God has called us to reach for Him. We’re to learn to love the unlovable for God.

As I think about this today, on the eve of yet another birthday, I think about the course of my life and what it is I think God has called me to do. I do serve in my church, but sometimes it is an empty-headed, prayerless service in which I just go through the motions. The folks in Judea were about to go into captivity and they needed God’s help. The folks around us are in captivity to a lifestyle that won’t let them go and won’t allow time for the Most Important Person in the Universe. Somebody has to say something! Jeremiah was known by God and called by God to speak to God’s people, and I am too – and so are you if you are God’s child, known by Him before you were formed; before you were born. God has always known us.

Today, on the last day of my 56^th year I will pray and seek God for direction for my life as I enter my 57^th year tomorrow: God, Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirit, what are You up to in my life and am I doing what You created me for? And can we redeem all my wasted time and effort and put it to use in my 57^th year? This is my prayer as I receive an early birthday present of reading the beginning of the Book of Jeremiah (truly one of my faves) and spend the last day of this year thinking about the first day of next year; and all the while remembering that I still have God’s work to do today… I am still His servant today – today, still, is all I presently have.

Who’s Your Daddy?

8.6.2012

John 8.34 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. NASB

Jesus really doesn’t equivocate here: He says everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. He doesn’t specify which sin; He doesn’t rank sins in order of severity; He simply says the sins that we sin are our master and we (unfortunately) are the slaves…

Ever been a slave? Maybe I should rephrase the question: ever had a girlfriend? (Sorry girls, I am being gender specific here…) Whoever orders us around is in some degree our master – the one who calls the shots. What really peeves you to the point that it evokes a response? That might be something that indicates mastery… and slavery.

I read this today and realized that I do what the ancient Jews did: they claimed they had never been slaves of anyone. Apparently they forgot about Egypt and Babylon. Apparently they overlooked the Roman occupation. Apparently they neglected to see their dalliances into false religion. Apparently they thought the rules didn’t apply to them… At least that’s what they told Jesus: “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, ‘You will become free’?”

But I do what they did: I proclaim my freedom and insist I’ve never been (nor am I now) enslaved to anything. But boy, do I get PO’d when I think you act like an idiot. I sure do let my mind wander off into areas of thought that I shouldn’t allow it to wander off into. No, I’ve never been enslaved… It’s called denial.

The Jews called Abraham their father. Jesus said, whatever sins one commits are the masters of one’s life. Who’s your daddy? What gets under your defenses and causes a response in your life that is less than holy. Paul said in Romans 14 whatever isn’t from faith is sin. Yikes! Really? Whatever? That’s a pretty high standard. Master, faithlessness – both are in control.

The issue for them then and for me now, is do I really believe Jesus sets me free? Do I really think His presence in my life is enough to get me to throw the weight off my shoulders and walk in submission to Him? Am I willing to admit the masters in my life and do something about their tyranny? Those are the questions that I need to be concerned about. Those are the questions I need to answer.

When I look at my behavior and realize who (or what) is in control I cry out, JESUS!!! SAVE ME! I need to call slavery for what it is and accept the freedom that is mine in Him for what it is. The world just might be a better place for all if I do. Who’s your daddy?

Jesus, may I embrace and accept Your freedom today and thanks for pointing out to me clearly what slavery really is… and who allows it. Amen.

Belief and Obey

08.01.12

John 3.30 30 He must increase, but I must decrease. NASB

Recently I was involved (in a very small way) in a discussion about the tensions in the US between liberal Christianity and conservative Christianity. The discussion was based around a blog written by a gal who contended that the tensions are real and something must be done to alleviate them or else the consequences of such tensions will destroy the presence and the effectiveness of the Church here in the west.

I read the blog and considered what was said and then this morning, I read, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” If I am concerned about life in the United States, then He must increase, but I must decrease. If I am concerned about my neighbors, my co-workers, the folks at the grocery store, or the tellers at the bank, then He must increase, but I must decrease.

John the Baptist had it right: in those days there was much speculation and discussion about what was going on in Judea and Jerusalem, and many wondered if John was the Messiah. John kept denying this and when they tried to get him into the discussion he simply said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John understood what his mission was and he seemed unwilling to deviate from being the front man for Jesus, the Christ.

The problem with such a discussion of liberal Christianity and conservative Christianity shows me that somewhere there has not been enough increasing or decreasing. To even have such a conversation shows that somewhere there are some who’ve not yet completely opened the door to their hearts – He hasn’t increased enough and they haven’t yet decreased.

I know the argument roars that somehow, some way, the Gospels need to be relevant to present social issues and all of the ramifications of current thought: the war on poverty, the war on drugs, abortion, healthcare, yada, yada, yada – and the Church’s place in these things. The only answer to any of it is, He must increase, but I must decrease. Well then, how can the Church be relevant in these things? First by not allowing society to dictate what the Church’s agenda is, and second He must increase, but I must decrease.

There is a certain stigma attached to the one who purposes in his own life that Jesus must increase (become more important), but he must decrease (become less important) – that person is somehow deemed an “ostrich” of sorts with his head buried in the sand of modern social concerns. Is Jesus concerned? Does Jesus care about the hungry, the hurting, the helpless? – of course He does! Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, today and forever! But Jesus isn’t about to let popular social trends or beliefs dictate His agenda – He didn’t back then and He isn’t now. John understood that.

So then, because the Church will not pick up the torch of what’s hot and what’s not in the current socio-political discussion, She is debunked as irrelevant because She seems to have some sort of anti-societal focus that places Her wants and needs above those of the downtrodden and poor in modern society. That may be the accusation, but the bottom line question is this: who is becoming more, and who is becoming less?

My personal attitude and place in society must be this: Jesus, in my life, must increase (become more) and I, in my response to His Lordship, must become less. As a Christian, my focus and effectiveness in life is based on how much attention I am paying to Him and as John the Baptist ultimately said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” He used the words believes and obey interchangeably… I’m held to that standard – He must increase in me, and I must decrease in me.