I've come to write several times this week. In fact, I have 2 or 3 blogs in draft all ready to go. But it just doesn't feel like time for all of that just yet. The past 8 days have been more about listening, for me. About making space.
Our church family has joined up with churches across the globe to participate in Awakening - 21 days of corporate prayer and fasting. For my part, this has been the first time that Kurt and I have really fasted in the traditional sense of the word. We've chosen to participate in a modified "Daniel Fast" eating only fruits and veggies along with bean and nut proteins. I've recently added in some whole grain to make sure I'm getting enough calories to keep up with my speedy little metabolism. We're on day 8, today, and it has been a real adventurous time of seeking God on a whole new level.
We've chosen a couple of main issues to press in to prayer about, and already I can see the hand of God working in my heart and attitude in those areas. I'm excited to look back when this is all over and share what God has done! Some really cool "coincidental" things have already shifted, and it's only day 8!
Of course, for me, the two biggest hurtles in fasting have been 1. Not letting it be about the food and 2. Not getting legalistic about everything. At first, I didn't think it would be much different for me. I generally eat pretty healthy meals (minus the fast food and Starbucks). But something shifts on a spiritual level when we fast, and I am still learning about as we go. I struggle to understand it with my rational mind. How does foregoing certain foods bring you closer to God? Is it like some spiritual mountain climb, that if I eat the wrong thing I slip back a few yards and have to climb that part again? What happens when I get to the top?
I used to think that fasting was about feeling hungry. And when I felt hungry, I was supposed to make that into a hunger for God. Like, literally. But I don't very often get hungry. If I get busy and skip a meal or something, my body cues are shakiness and fogginess, not hunger pains in my belly. So does that mean that fasting won't work for me?
Stovall Weems wrote a book called Awakening: A New Approach to Faith, Fasting, and Spiritual Freedom, as a companion to this Awakening event. He wrote, "Fasting is not about figuring it all out. It's about making a space for God to fill with Himself." Somehow, that made sense to me.
By giving up something in the name of discipleship, I am creating a space in my life and inviting God to come and fill it. This was the most relieving part for me: It's not my responsibility to make God fill that space. It's His responsibility to respond to my obedience and faith. God craves an intimate relationship with us more than I could ever fully express. Just read Song of Solomon or parts of Hosea. Oh, He longs to be near to us. But we surround ourselves with so much "stuff"! TV and computers and schedules and social obligations and food and clothes and shopping and, and, and...
We were created with a soulish "hunger", and because of the fall, those "appetites" got redirected. So we walk around with this "need"all of the time, and our souls get really creative about how to meet that need. By taking away one of the things our soul most naturally reaches for, we find ourselves grasping and searching like a child looking for her blankie. This is the space. This is the space that we leave open for God to fill with Himself. Fasting awakens our souls to the true need in our life - and that is intimacy with God. And this is, by far, the best part. My soul cries out like a child in the night, and Abba rushes in to comfort me. It can be a foreign sensation as our souls adjust, because maybe God wasn't exactly what it was looking for. But soon, it recognizes that He was more than what it was looking for, and it nestles in.
It's only been 8 days, and as I've denied my soul, it's gotten pretty darn cranky at times. But I am more sensitive to the presence of the Lord, and I'm listening, because I know He's got some pretty important things to tell me while He holds me in His arms.
There is more to share, and I'm looking forward to putting it all down in words when the time is right. :)
Showing posts with label disciple. Show all posts
Showing posts with label disciple. Show all posts
Monday, January 17, 2011
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
musings
So many times I wonder what it must be like to work in a pharmacy. To see people pass by all day long with conditions no one would probably ever recognize, yet I, the pharmacist know the prescriptions behind the labels. I, the pharmacist, know something about these people that they probably keep hidden from millions around them. The writer in me creates character sketches everywhere that I go. It's a habit. I see a person, and before I realize it, I'm formulating some sort of story about who they are, where they've come from, and where they're going. It's mostly objective. 99% of the time, there is no judgment attached to these observations, just an assembly of facts and a few conclusions based on evidence.
I like to watch what people buy. I'll look at the conveyor belt for the person in front of me and notice diapers, frozen dinners, kitty litter, a sketch pad, and a pack of gum. Then, I notice the youngish looking woman with no ring on her left hand and an infant on her hip. My mind postulates a scenario about her life. I'm not judging her, just... observing.
Sometimes, when I catch myself doing this, I start to look at myself from the outside in the same manner.
I see a woman with eyeliner pushed up under her eyes, pony tail, t-shirt, and jeans. She's got a pre-school-aged daughter on one hip. The little girl's hair is combed, but one of her to pig tails is falling out. She's got a young boy with her as well. He looks like he just got out of bed. There's a halo of fuzz on the back of his head, and he's wearing an oversized "Hickory Hill" t-shirt, sweatpants, and untied shoes. The little girl is reaching down toward the floor, and the mother is struggling to hold her on her hip while digging through her oversized purse looking for her prescription orders. She haphazardly sets the four-year-old down while looking up apologetically at the pharmacist. The four-year-old darts into a hidden aisle with her brother while the mom heaves a sigh, blows the bangs out of her eyes, and begins to unload the oversized purse onto the counter.
Finally, the woman produces the prize. One prescription for "Strattera", a well-known ADHD medication bearing the name of her seven year old son, one prescription for an anti-depressant with her name on it, and a refill order for an anti-anxiety medication, also for the woman. She slides them across the counter to the overly patient pharmacist and absently shovels the mess back into her purse while calling out the name of her two children. The younger comes sliding out of one of the aisles on her belly.
"Date of Birth?" the pharmacist asks.
"Mine?" the woman answers, bewildered. Turning to her daughter, she asks the whereabouts of her son. Her daughter shrugs and runs back into another aisle.
"Yes," the pharmacist affirms.
"Oh," the woman responds, and gives the appropriate answer with her face turned to the side of the window.
"ZAC!" the woman calls.
"What time do you want these picked up?"
"I don't care", the woman answers with a half-smile. She manages to snag the four year old by the arm as she runs by and heaves her onto her hip. The daughter protests loudly.
"I'll put it in for 2:45," the pharmacist decides aloud.
"Great. Thanks," the woman answers and then disappears in search of her son.
The pharmacist looks over the prescriptions again. ADHD medicine, anti-depressant, anti-anxiety. Makes sense.
Hahahaha
How is she supposed to know that Jesus is living and reigning strong in my life? :) I know that I WAY over-think things like this. The pharmacist probably just does her job with very little regard for the details. But as I was leaving the store, I thought, "How is anyone to know that I'm living the life of a victorious Christian?"
God spoke to my heart, then.
The truth of the matter is that the Spirit of Christ spills out of me in a way that is supernatural. It's nothing I DO, it's a byproduct of Him in me. Regardless the circumstances.
The other truth is that I am living my life for an audience of ONE. And while it may seem that "all the world's a stage", ultimately, it is the Lord who looks upon the heart of man. He sees a woman after His own heart, who loves Him dearly and is living out each day to the best of her ability to honor Him and serve the Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 4:6-12, and 16-18 (The Message)
"It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us.
As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know what God wants to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken...
So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace... There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever."
(emphasis mine)
Wow, God. I come as I am and ask you to use me in my humanity to change the world for you.
I'm willing. Send me. Thanks for Grace. It's all I have, and all I'll ever need.
I got this in the mail today anonymously. So if you sent it, Thank You. It really blessed me. :)
"My Precious Child,
My all-seeing lamp searches out your very spirit and your inmost being. I know the real you that you sometimes try to hide.
I perceive your thoughts and even know what you are going to say before you say it.
If only you realized how precious you are to me! I'm continuously thinking good thoughts of you --
thoughts that outnumber all the grains of sand in the entire world.
Thinking fondly of you,
You Creator"
-Proverbs 20:27, Psalm 139
(Author Unknown to me)
I like to watch what people buy. I'll look at the conveyor belt for the person in front of me and notice diapers, frozen dinners, kitty litter, a sketch pad, and a pack of gum. Then, I notice the youngish looking woman with no ring on her left hand and an infant on her hip. My mind postulates a scenario about her life. I'm not judging her, just... observing.
Sometimes, when I catch myself doing this, I start to look at myself from the outside in the same manner.
I see a woman with eyeliner pushed up under her eyes, pony tail, t-shirt, and jeans. She's got a pre-school-aged daughter on one hip. The little girl's hair is combed, but one of her to pig tails is falling out. She's got a young boy with her as well. He looks like he just got out of bed. There's a halo of fuzz on the back of his head, and he's wearing an oversized "Hickory Hill" t-shirt, sweatpants, and untied shoes. The little girl is reaching down toward the floor, and the mother is struggling to hold her on her hip while digging through her oversized purse looking for her prescription orders. She haphazardly sets the four-year-old down while looking up apologetically at the pharmacist. The four-year-old darts into a hidden aisle with her brother while the mom heaves a sigh, blows the bangs out of her eyes, and begins to unload the oversized purse onto the counter.
Finally, the woman produces the prize. One prescription for "Strattera", a well-known ADHD medication bearing the name of her seven year old son, one prescription for an anti-depressant with her name on it, and a refill order for an anti-anxiety medication, also for the woman. She slides them across the counter to the overly patient pharmacist and absently shovels the mess back into her purse while calling out the name of her two children. The younger comes sliding out of one of the aisles on her belly.
"Date of Birth?" the pharmacist asks.
"Mine?" the woman answers, bewildered. Turning to her daughter, she asks the whereabouts of her son. Her daughter shrugs and runs back into another aisle.
"Yes," the pharmacist affirms.
"Oh," the woman responds, and gives the appropriate answer with her face turned to the side of the window.
"ZAC!" the woman calls.
"What time do you want these picked up?"
"I don't care", the woman answers with a half-smile. She manages to snag the four year old by the arm as she runs by and heaves her onto her hip. The daughter protests loudly.
"I'll put it in for 2:45," the pharmacist decides aloud.
"Great. Thanks," the woman answers and then disappears in search of her son.
The pharmacist looks over the prescriptions again. ADHD medicine, anti-depressant, anti-anxiety. Makes sense.
Hahahaha
How is she supposed to know that Jesus is living and reigning strong in my life? :) I know that I WAY over-think things like this. The pharmacist probably just does her job with very little regard for the details. But as I was leaving the store, I thought, "How is anyone to know that I'm living the life of a victorious Christian?"
God spoke to my heart, then.
The truth of the matter is that the Spirit of Christ spills out of me in a way that is supernatural. It's nothing I DO, it's a byproduct of Him in me. Regardless the circumstances.
The other truth is that I am living my life for an audience of ONE. And while it may seem that "all the world's a stage", ultimately, it is the Lord who looks upon the heart of man. He sees a woman after His own heart, who loves Him dearly and is living out each day to the best of her ability to honor Him and serve the Kingdom.
2 Corinthians 4:6-12, and 16-18 (The Message)
"It started when God said, "Light up the darkness!" and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful. If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That's to prevent anyone from confusing God's incomparable power with us.
As it is, there's not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we're not much to look at. We've been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we're not demoralized; we're not sure what to do, but we know what God wants to do; we've been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn't left our side; we've been thrown down, but we haven't broken...
So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace... There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever."
(emphasis mine)
Wow, God. I come as I am and ask you to use me in my humanity to change the world for you.
I'm willing. Send me. Thanks for Grace. It's all I have, and all I'll ever need.
I got this in the mail today anonymously. So if you sent it, Thank You. It really blessed me. :)
"My Precious Child,
My all-seeing lamp searches out your very spirit and your inmost being. I know the real you that you sometimes try to hide.
I perceive your thoughts and even know what you are going to say before you say it.
If only you realized how precious you are to me! I'm continuously thinking good thoughts of you --
thoughts that outnumber all the grains of sand in the entire world.
Thinking fondly of you,
You Creator"
-Proverbs 20:27, Psalm 139
(Author Unknown to me)
Saturday, February 13, 2010
the perfect prayer
I've been thinking about prayer this week, and how much my prayers have changed as I've grown closer to the One I love. Both in Trinity's (@ trinityomaha) Sunday morning service last week and in Hearts (@heartsomaha) this past Tuesday, we've been discussing the concept of going from "familiar" to "follower".
Thank God we live in the US, where we have the liberty to become as "familiar" with Christianity as we like! We are free to attend the church of our choosing on any given day of the week, we are free to openly discuss religion at Starbucks or Village Inn, and we are free to read a Bible, or the Koran, or the Communist Manifesto. We have freedom to familiarize ourselves with whatever ideology we please. And I'm grateful for that! I believe that God intends for us to seek Him, not have Him forced upon us by a government.
But I came to a point where familiar was suffocating, and "civilized religion" (as Erwin McManus calls it) became a cage. It was placid and static and life-stealing. I was surrounded by hypocrisy and noise. Eventually, I just tuned it out and let it blend into the background, like a bad commercial or paid programming. It wasn't until I became so desperate for God - so barbaric in my need for Him - that my relationship moved from "familiar" to "follower". At the time, I didn't fully realize that it was God I was searching for, but I was uncontrolled inside, like an animal clawing for something with a frenzied desperation. It was a hunger that drove me to one hundred different ends, but eventually, I found what I was looking for. Well, I should say, He found me.
I don't know what the journey from "familiar" to "follower" looks like for others. I feel like God has to be kinda loud with me because I can be so strong-headed. :) But I was thinking about how all of this related to prayer. I used to say to God what I thought He wanted to hear. Now please understand me, I believe there are many occasions where we use another's words in a prayer in an act of reverence or to be guided when we don't know what to say. In corporate prayer, especially, there must be thought and theology applied. I'm talking about personal, "prayer closet" time. Sometimes, on those occasions, our hearts need to cry out from the core of our beings and our minds need to take a break while the Holy Spirit inside of us intercedes.
If I was upset, I'd dumb things down in talking to God. I'd go through the ACTS model and make sure that I adored, confessed, and thanked before getting down to what I really felt. And usually, by the time I got to the supplication part, I felt stupid for asking anyway. This was, of course, because I was in the land of the familiar. I didn't understand who God is or how He sees me.
I am not a theologian or a Bible scholar. I don't claim to know much more than anything at all! But I'm looking at today's scripture and this verse rips my heart out:
Matthew 27: 45-46
"From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani?" -- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
The commentary in my amazing Study Bible is strangely quiet about this. For good reason. I've heard many, many sermons preached on these two verses. I don't claim to have the "right" answers to this weighty passage. Here's what I do know: Jesus lived and died and never sinned. (1 Peter 2:22) Regardless of the multi-layered implications of this final, audible prayer of Jesus Christ, we know that He was not found "guilty" in screaming this from the cross.
Without going deeper, here is my one thought... Can we be so candid with our God? I, unlike Jesus Christ, am a sinner. I know it, God knows it, the world knows it! So why am I so afraid to say the "wrong" thing to God? He knows my heart - he knows my thoughts. Can't I just be honest? Because sometimes, when life hurts the most, or I am the most troubled or confused, I don't want to ask for peace and wisdom and favor. I want to ask the impossible questions like Christ did on the cross. Regardless of whether the premise of my prayer lines up with the doctrine I hold fast to be true, if it's what I'm thinking and feeling in the moment, I am not allowing God entry into my reality if I am not willing to be honest.
In my journey from "familiar" to "follower", I noticed that my prayers (for the most part, not ALL of them) went from "let these gifts to us be blessed" to "Abba... thank you. Abba... help me. God, WHY?" And it opened up a world of conversation that I never knew existed.
He already knows. He does. The only person I was conning was myself.
What is your perfect prayer?
Thank God we live in the US, where we have the liberty to become as "familiar" with Christianity as we like! We are free to attend the church of our choosing on any given day of the week, we are free to openly discuss religion at Starbucks or Village Inn, and we are free to read a Bible, or the Koran, or the Communist Manifesto. We have freedom to familiarize ourselves with whatever ideology we please. And I'm grateful for that! I believe that God intends for us to seek Him, not have Him forced upon us by a government.
But I came to a point where familiar was suffocating, and "civilized religion" (as Erwin McManus calls it) became a cage. It was placid and static and life-stealing. I was surrounded by hypocrisy and noise. Eventually, I just tuned it out and let it blend into the background, like a bad commercial or paid programming. It wasn't until I became so desperate for God - so barbaric in my need for Him - that my relationship moved from "familiar" to "follower". At the time, I didn't fully realize that it was God I was searching for, but I was uncontrolled inside, like an animal clawing for something with a frenzied desperation. It was a hunger that drove me to one hundred different ends, but eventually, I found what I was looking for. Well, I should say, He found me.
I don't know what the journey from "familiar" to "follower" looks like for others. I feel like God has to be kinda loud with me because I can be so strong-headed. :) But I was thinking about how all of this related to prayer. I used to say to God what I thought He wanted to hear. Now please understand me, I believe there are many occasions where we use another's words in a prayer in an act of reverence or to be guided when we don't know what to say. In corporate prayer, especially, there must be thought and theology applied. I'm talking about personal, "prayer closet" time. Sometimes, on those occasions, our hearts need to cry out from the core of our beings and our minds need to take a break while the Holy Spirit inside of us intercedes.
If I was upset, I'd dumb things down in talking to God. I'd go through the ACTS model and make sure that I adored, confessed, and thanked before getting down to what I really felt. And usually, by the time I got to the supplication part, I felt stupid for asking anyway. This was, of course, because I was in the land of the familiar. I didn't understand who God is or how He sees me.
I am not a theologian or a Bible scholar. I don't claim to know much more than anything at all! But I'm looking at today's scripture and this verse rips my heart out:
Matthew 27: 45-46
"From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani?" -- which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
The commentary in my amazing Study Bible is strangely quiet about this. For good reason. I've heard many, many sermons preached on these two verses. I don't claim to have the "right" answers to this weighty passage. Here's what I do know: Jesus lived and died and never sinned. (1 Peter 2:22) Regardless of the multi-layered implications of this final, audible prayer of Jesus Christ, we know that He was not found "guilty" in screaming this from the cross.
Without going deeper, here is my one thought... Can we be so candid with our God? I, unlike Jesus Christ, am a sinner. I know it, God knows it, the world knows it! So why am I so afraid to say the "wrong" thing to God? He knows my heart - he knows my thoughts. Can't I just be honest? Because sometimes, when life hurts the most, or I am the most troubled or confused, I don't want to ask for peace and wisdom and favor. I want to ask the impossible questions like Christ did on the cross. Regardless of whether the premise of my prayer lines up with the doctrine I hold fast to be true, if it's what I'm thinking and feeling in the moment, I am not allowing God entry into my reality if I am not willing to be honest.
In my journey from "familiar" to "follower", I noticed that my prayers (for the most part, not ALL of them) went from "let these gifts to us be blessed" to "Abba... thank you. Abba... help me. God, WHY?" And it opened up a world of conversation that I never knew existed.
He already knows. He does. The only person I was conning was myself.
What is your perfect prayer?
Thursday, January 28, 2010
blessed
Did I mention that I am having a blast reading through the NIV/Message Parallel Bible ?
It has the trusted, "accredited" NIV Biblical translation, and along side it Eugene Peterson's amazing modern-day language interpretation. There's a great description of it on the Amazon website.
Anyway... reading through Matthew 5:3-11
Jesus pulls his committed apprentices to him and tells them something very profound.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Beautiful passages. Very poetic. And if you grew up in the church, they're very familiar. But I've never really been able to appreciate the entire meaning of the words. Obviously Jesus found them to be a very important teaching point. Perhaps I should strive to understand? A lot of times, I'll ask the Holy Spirit for revelation. In this case, the revelation was The Message translation.
Check this out.
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you, there is more of God and his rule."
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you."
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought."
"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat."
"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full', you'll find yourselves cared for."
"You're blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world."
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you'll discover who you really are and your place in God's family."
"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom."
Depending on where you find yourself today, one or another may pop out at you as something you can grab ahold of. I think I could read this list several times over several months, and each time it will mean something different to me. These are words from the lips of Jesus Christ. You can take ahold of them as promises to keep close to your heart. Let them wash over you, today. Let them bring you peace.
Selah.
It has the trusted, "accredited" NIV Biblical translation, and along side it Eugene Peterson's amazing modern-day language interpretation. There's a great description of it on the Amazon website.
Anyway... reading through Matthew 5:3-11
Jesus pulls his committed apprentices to him and tells them something very profound.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Beautiful passages. Very poetic. And if you grew up in the church, they're very familiar. But I've never really been able to appreciate the entire meaning of the words. Obviously Jesus found them to be a very important teaching point. Perhaps I should strive to understand? A lot of times, I'll ask the Holy Spirit for revelation. In this case, the revelation was The Message translation.
Check this out.
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you, there is more of God and his rule."
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you."
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are - no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought."
"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat."
"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'care-full', you'll find yourselves cared for."
"You're blessed when you get your inside world - your mind and heart - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world."
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you'll discover who you really are and your place in God's family."
"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom."
Depending on where you find yourself today, one or another may pop out at you as something you can grab ahold of. I think I could read this list several times over several months, and each time it will mean something different to me. These are words from the lips of Jesus Christ. You can take ahold of them as promises to keep close to your heart. Let them wash over you, today. Let them bring you peace.
Selah.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Prophets, Priests, and Kings
Mark 1:1 - 4:25
Mark opens his gospel with the story of John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin. (The gospel of Matthew opens with the account of John's prophetic birth and specific anointing, and Mark's gospel opens with John's ministry.)
I'm reading this in The Message - by Eugene Peterson, and it strikes me that I really don't know anything at all about this "John the Baptist", except that he was a little off... he was different and a little wildish, and that he had this thing for dunking people in the River Jordan.
Mark 1:4-6 says, "John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life."
Isaiah said that JtB had come to prepare the way of the Lord. After 400 years of silence from heaven (the space between the Old and New Testaments in the Christian Bible) God sends one last prophet to Earth in John the Baptist. I'm so interested in this antiquated role that God gave specific people for specific times. These weren't just men who had the "gift of prophecy". They came with the voice, power, and authority of the Living God - in a different way then anyone after the cross.
I once heard a talk on Prophets, Priests, and Kings. That in the days before the Christ, God assigned certain people to do His work here on Earth. The role of the prophet was to speak FROM God TO the people. They carried the heart of an untouchable heavenly God to a world that did not understand Him. Prophets were God's ambassadors. The role of the priest was to speak TO God FROM the people. They carried the mantle of the sins of the nation of Israel before a Holy and terrifying God to seek atonement and blessing. They were sanctified (set apart) and considered "pure enough" to come before the presence of God and reunite Him to His people. And Kings were set up with the Authority to rule over God's people, communicating God's will in the form of the practical and every day. They spoke to specific circumstances and worked to unify and expand God's people's territory.
JtB was God's last prophet, because with the entry of the Messiah, Jesus encapsulated all three rolls - Prophet, Priest, and King. King David of the Old Testament (you know, David and Goliath) carried all three rolls as well (starts in 1 Samuel 16), but he carried them in the body of a fallen son of Adam. Jesus came as the perfect Son of God to carry these rolls without fault and usher in a new era of God's interaction with man. That is why David calls Jesus both Son and Master.
Ok, stick with me here, 'cause I'm really intrigued by this.
Here's what I'm curious about. Sometimes it helps me to define my role on this planet - my global part of God's story - by looking at the rolls of other great people that God chose to further His kingdom. Obviously, I have not been called as the Messiah. There can be only One. (insert Highlander theme song) But, like John the Baptist, I have been called to proclaim the way of the coming King.
I'm just different in that I am operating this side of the cross.
So I want to know,
1) Who is John the Baptist and what was the significance in his calling as a prophet of God? JtB was a key player in the pre-Christian Kingdom, and I want to know more about him. Jesus described him like this:
Matthew 11:11-13 "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist... From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John." (NIV)
"But if you read the books of the Prophets and God's Law closely, you will see them culminate in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way for the Messiah of the kingdom." (The Message)
2) Jesus also says that "he who is least in the kingdom of heaven (the Christian Kingdom) is greater than he (JtB)". That's me... So what does that mean for my role in preparing the way for the Return of The King? I wana study John the Baptist, and I wana study the commission of the early church, because I feel that God is calling us to ramp it up and speak out in a new and different way in these days.
Christ is coming back. What is my role in that?
Follow me, if you want, as I stumble through this discovery. :) And please contribute your thoughts and revelations!! I'm just a journeyman. Same as any other disciple. (And that's you...)
Mark opens his gospel with the story of John the Baptist, Jesus' cousin. (The gospel of Matthew opens with the account of John's prophetic birth and specific anointing, and Mark's gospel opens with John's ministry.)
I'm reading this in The Message - by Eugene Peterson, and it strikes me that I really don't know anything at all about this "John the Baptist", except that he was a little off... he was different and a little wildish, and that he had this thing for dunking people in the River Jordan.
Mark 1:4-6 says, "John the Baptizer appeared in the wild, preaching a baptism of life-change that leads to forgiveness of sins. People thronged to him from Judea and Jerusalem and, as they confessed their sins, were baptized by him in the Jordan River into a changed life."
Isaiah said that JtB had come to prepare the way of the Lord. After 400 years of silence from heaven (the space between the Old and New Testaments in the Christian Bible) God sends one last prophet to Earth in John the Baptist. I'm so interested in this antiquated role that God gave specific people for specific times. These weren't just men who had the "gift of prophecy". They came with the voice, power, and authority of the Living God - in a different way then anyone after the cross.
I once heard a talk on Prophets, Priests, and Kings. That in the days before the Christ, God assigned certain people to do His work here on Earth. The role of the prophet was to speak FROM God TO the people. They carried the heart of an untouchable heavenly God to a world that did not understand Him. Prophets were God's ambassadors. The role of the priest was to speak TO God FROM the people. They carried the mantle of the sins of the nation of Israel before a Holy and terrifying God to seek atonement and blessing. They were sanctified (set apart) and considered "pure enough" to come before the presence of God and reunite Him to His people. And Kings were set up with the Authority to rule over God's people, communicating God's will in the form of the practical and every day. They spoke to specific circumstances and worked to unify and expand God's people's territory.
JtB was God's last prophet, because with the entry of the Messiah, Jesus encapsulated all three rolls - Prophet, Priest, and King. King David of the Old Testament (you know, David and Goliath) carried all three rolls as well (starts in 1 Samuel 16), but he carried them in the body of a fallen son of Adam. Jesus came as the perfect Son of God to carry these rolls without fault and usher in a new era of God's interaction with man. That is why David calls Jesus both Son and Master.
Ok, stick with me here, 'cause I'm really intrigued by this.
Here's what I'm curious about. Sometimes it helps me to define my role on this planet - my global part of God's story - by looking at the rolls of other great people that God chose to further His kingdom. Obviously, I have not been called as the Messiah. There can be only One. (insert Highlander theme song) But, like John the Baptist, I have been called to proclaim the way of the coming King.
I'm just different in that I am operating this side of the cross.
So I want to know,
1) Who is John the Baptist and what was the significance in his calling as a prophet of God? JtB was a key player in the pre-Christian Kingdom, and I want to know more about him. Jesus described him like this:
Matthew 11:11-13 "I tell you the truth: Among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist... From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John." (NIV)
"But if you read the books of the Prophets and God's Law closely, you will see them culminate in John, teaming up with him in preparing the way for the Messiah of the kingdom." (The Message)
2) Jesus also says that "he who is least in the kingdom of heaven (the Christian Kingdom) is greater than he (JtB)". That's me... So what does that mean for my role in preparing the way for the Return of The King? I wana study John the Baptist, and I wana study the commission of the early church, because I feel that God is calling us to ramp it up and speak out in a new and different way in these days.
Christ is coming back. What is my role in that?
Follow me, if you want, as I stumble through this discovery. :) And please contribute your thoughts and revelations!! I'm just a journeyman. Same as any other disciple. (And that's you...)
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Religion or Relationship?
Matthew 22:15 - 24:31
Israel and the Jewish people have such a rich and profound cultural heritage that I love to study. To be an upstanding Jew of faith, one had to follow a very lengthy, very specific set of laws put in place by God to keep the eyes of His people on Him. But Paul, a religious guru in his day, writes a lot about the law, regularly taking the stand that the Grace brought by Christ sets us free from the demands of a legalistic religion.
Galatians 5:18 "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law."
Do a word study at Bible Gateway on "the law", or "the covenant". It's mind-boggling to think that in order to close the gap between man's sin and God, the Jewish people had to take such extreme measures.
Jesus was raised in a Jewish family. His early life was recorded to have followed all of the traditions of his religious heritage. But Jesus also knew that He had come as a fulfillment to the law. He knew that He was led by the Spirit of God, and that after His final atonement, the rift between God and Man would be closed. He came to proclaim God's kingdom come to Earth by grace. In that, He attempts to shift peoples' focuses from religion to relationship.
In Matthew 22:23-33, Matthew records a time when some religious scholars attempt to trick Jesus into saying something that would justify His death. They ask Him an inane and complicated question about how the law operates in the after-life. I don't understand very much about this "Sadducee" sect, but it looks like they don't even believe in an after-life!
Jesus' answer is awesome. "You're off base on two counts: You don't know your Bibles, and you don't know how God works." (The Message)
I give all of that back-story to make this point:
It's so easy to get caught up in these ridiculous justifications of the Bible. To find ourselves arguing semantics and comparing inconsistencies, when we really don't "know our Bible".
We have a responsibility as Christians to get to know our Bibles. Like, REALLY, know. Cover to cover. And not what some theology prof says, or some preacher/teacher, or some random mom with a blog ;), but what the Holy Spirit reveals to us individually as we dig in. I want to get to know my Bible with an open heart, expecting God to do something great in my life as I draw closer to Him. Even if I've read the same passage 50 times, the Holy Spirit can always teach me something new. The Word of God is living and active. It's more than words on a page, it's the breath of God.
I think sometimes, too, we find ourselves demanding answers from God. A self-proclaimed atheist once asked me, "If God is all powerful, could God make a rock so big that He couldn't move it?" (I know he read it somewhere) First of all, if he didn't believe in God, then his question was irrelevant. Duh. Secondly, "he doesn't know how God works".
I think my two biggest questions have been "WHY?" and "WHEN?" And asking questions in the context of relationship is fine! It's healthy! But when asked in sarcastic skepticism... "Well, if God's so great, then why do horrible things happen to good people?"... the real issue is that "we don't know how God works." We don't have a relationship, yet, where we can hear the heartbeat of God. Hear His tone of voice when He speaks. We don't know His method or His character.
If someone came up to me and said, "Your husband stole $50 from me." I'd be like, "No way. He wouldn't do that. (It's not in his character to behave that way)". If they insisted and pushed and seemed completely convinced, I would probably respond with something to the effect of "I'm certain there's an explanation for all of this. Let's talk to him about it." I know my husband. We are intimately acquainted. Sometimes our toughest questions can be answered by understanding how God works.
And most importantly, when we think we know our Bible and how God works, but the answers still elude, that is where faith comes in. I don't know all of the answers. (of course!) But I know my God is good. And I know that in the end... the real end... every thing's going to be alright.
Israel and the Jewish people have such a rich and profound cultural heritage that I love to study. To be an upstanding Jew of faith, one had to follow a very lengthy, very specific set of laws put in place by God to keep the eyes of His people on Him. But Paul, a religious guru in his day, writes a lot about the law, regularly taking the stand that the Grace brought by Christ sets us free from the demands of a legalistic religion.
Galatians 5:18 "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law."
Do a word study at Bible Gateway on "the law", or "the covenant". It's mind-boggling to think that in order to close the gap between man's sin and God, the Jewish people had to take such extreme measures.
Jesus was raised in a Jewish family. His early life was recorded to have followed all of the traditions of his religious heritage. But Jesus also knew that He had come as a fulfillment to the law. He knew that He was led by the Spirit of God, and that after His final atonement, the rift between God and Man would be closed. He came to proclaim God's kingdom come to Earth by grace. In that, He attempts to shift peoples' focuses from religion to relationship.
In Matthew 22:23-33, Matthew records a time when some religious scholars attempt to trick Jesus into saying something that would justify His death. They ask Him an inane and complicated question about how the law operates in the after-life. I don't understand very much about this "Sadducee" sect, but it looks like they don't even believe in an after-life!
Jesus' answer is awesome. "You're off base on two counts: You don't know your Bibles, and you don't know how God works." (The Message)
I give all of that back-story to make this point:
It's so easy to get caught up in these ridiculous justifications of the Bible. To find ourselves arguing semantics and comparing inconsistencies, when we really don't "know our Bible".
We have a responsibility as Christians to get to know our Bibles. Like, REALLY, know. Cover to cover. And not what some theology prof says, or some preacher/teacher, or some random mom with a blog ;), but what the Holy Spirit reveals to us individually as we dig in. I want to get to know my Bible with an open heart, expecting God to do something great in my life as I draw closer to Him. Even if I've read the same passage 50 times, the Holy Spirit can always teach me something new. The Word of God is living and active. It's more than words on a page, it's the breath of God.
I think sometimes, too, we find ourselves demanding answers from God. A self-proclaimed atheist once asked me, "If God is all powerful, could God make a rock so big that He couldn't move it?" (I know he read it somewhere) First of all, if he didn't believe in God, then his question was irrelevant. Duh. Secondly, "he doesn't know how God works".
I think my two biggest questions have been "WHY?" and "WHEN?" And asking questions in the context of relationship is fine! It's healthy! But when asked in sarcastic skepticism... "Well, if God's so great, then why do horrible things happen to good people?"... the real issue is that "we don't know how God works." We don't have a relationship, yet, where we can hear the heartbeat of God. Hear His tone of voice when He speaks. We don't know His method or His character.
If someone came up to me and said, "Your husband stole $50 from me." I'd be like, "No way. He wouldn't do that. (It's not in his character to behave that way)". If they insisted and pushed and seemed completely convinced, I would probably respond with something to the effect of "I'm certain there's an explanation for all of this. Let's talk to him about it." I know my husband. We are intimately acquainted. Sometimes our toughest questions can be answered by understanding how God works.
And most importantly, when we think we know our Bible and how God works, but the answers still elude, that is where faith comes in. I don't know all of the answers. (of course!) But I know my God is good. And I know that in the end... the real end... every thing's going to be alright.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
The Warrior King
Matthew 10:1-12:14
I was talking to Dena the other day over coffee, and we were talking about how the gospel we were presented as kids was so watered down. It was more of a pee-for-a-peanut scenario. A plea for the worm to one day get his wings so that "we, the church" can feel better about there being one less creepy-crawly on the planet.
I heard, "Jesus stands at the door and knocks. If you let Him in, you get to go to heaven! But if you don't, well... you'll probably end up with the mark of the beast on your forehead following zombies through the bread line in the End Days. Or hell if you die before that. So open the door, ok?" The "Jesus = Get out of Jail Free" gospel.
The thing that is so deceiving about that theology is that it's half true. God is love. Jesus did die that we might be made right with the Creator and eventually be reunited with him. The alternative does, in fact, smell of sulfur. But there is so much more to the story.
In Matthew 10:34, Jesus says, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."
What?! What about hark the herald angels sing "Peace on Earth, good will toward men!" That's a Jesus/Christmasy song, right?
Ultimately, Christ will reign supreme and bring peace to planet Earth. He died a sinless man so that he would have the legal right to rip authority out of the hands of the accuser and restore Eden on Earth.
But I am finally seeing the other half of the gospel of the Christ. When I said "yes" to becoming a disciple of Christ, I joined an epic struggle that has been raging since before Genesis 1:1. A battle line was drawn in the sand, and at the tender age of five years old, I picked a team, and enlisted myself in the service of the Warrior King.
Isaiah 49:1-2 has become my life verse:
"Before I was born the Lord called me;
from my birth he has made mention of my name.
He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
and concealed me in his quiver."
I stayed passive for a long time, allowing our enemy to walk all over, in, and through my life, wreaking havoc, and almost killing me. But in the last year, my Father God has taught me to take up the Shield of Faith, raise the double-edged sword of His Word, and battle for my soul and the souls of others. An informed disciple of Jesus Christ is not a weird, churchy, judgmental, legalistic, fake, happy happy, flake. And I don't follow some long robed, solemn, gentle, whispery, martyr.
Get to know the real Christ. Find out what He was really doing here on Earth and what He's doing now. And find out what your role is in this epic story. He has invited us all to be a part of the greatest, most victorious, most powerful warring faction that has ever existed. He has invited us to a life of triumph and assurance. And it's a fantastic adventure.
Ephesians 6:10-12
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
I was talking to Dena the other day over coffee, and we were talking about how the gospel we were presented as kids was so watered down. It was more of a pee-for-a-peanut scenario. A plea for the worm to one day get his wings so that "we, the church" can feel better about there being one less creepy-crawly on the planet.
I heard, "Jesus stands at the door and knocks. If you let Him in, you get to go to heaven! But if you don't, well... you'll probably end up with the mark of the beast on your forehead following zombies through the bread line in the End Days. Or hell if you die before that. So open the door, ok?" The "Jesus = Get out of Jail Free" gospel.
The thing that is so deceiving about that theology is that it's half true. God is love. Jesus did die that we might be made right with the Creator and eventually be reunited with him. The alternative does, in fact, smell of sulfur. But there is so much more to the story.
In Matthew 10:34, Jesus says, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."
What?! What about hark the herald angels sing "Peace on Earth, good will toward men!" That's a Jesus/Christmasy song, right?
Ultimately, Christ will reign supreme and bring peace to planet Earth. He died a sinless man so that he would have the legal right to rip authority out of the hands of the accuser and restore Eden on Earth.
But I am finally seeing the other half of the gospel of the Christ. When I said "yes" to becoming a disciple of Christ, I joined an epic struggle that has been raging since before Genesis 1:1. A battle line was drawn in the sand, and at the tender age of five years old, I picked a team, and enlisted myself in the service of the Warrior King.
Isaiah 49:1-2 has become my life verse:
"Before I was born the Lord called me;
from my birth he has made mention of my name.
He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
and concealed me in his quiver."
I stayed passive for a long time, allowing our enemy to walk all over, in, and through my life, wreaking havoc, and almost killing me. But in the last year, my Father God has taught me to take up the Shield of Faith, raise the double-edged sword of His Word, and battle for my soul and the souls of others. An informed disciple of Jesus Christ is not a weird, churchy, judgmental, legalistic, fake, happy happy, flake. And I don't follow some long robed, solemn, gentle, whispery, martyr.
Get to know the real Christ. Find out what He was really doing here on Earth and what He's doing now. And find out what your role is in this epic story. He has invited us all to be a part of the greatest, most victorious, most powerful warring faction that has ever existed. He has invited us to a life of triumph and assurance. And it's a fantastic adventure.
Ephesians 6:10-12
"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."
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