Advent: It Begins

It seems increasingly that Evangelicals are employing matches, cigarette lighters and fireplace starters on Sunday mornings to light candles in celebration of the season of Advent, a part of the Christian calendar more unfamiliar to some until recently.

While last Sunday was “the first Sunday of Advent,” the season of Advent begins for others with the first of December with the start of opening the little windows on the Advent calendar, another seasonal custom heretofore foreign to Evangelicals until recent years.

The blog St. Mark’s Lutheran Church kicks us off today:

O that you would tear open the heavens and come down…Isaiah 64:1

The Christian season of Advent begins with this plea from the prophet Isaiah. Sitting in exile in a strange country and feeling estranged from his God, the prophet prays: tear open the skies and make your presence felt, O God. Break the chains of your people and bring us peace and healing and freedom.

This prayer prepares us for the coming of the Christ-child. The heavens would be torn apart but not as the prophet had imagined. Instead of an eruption of heavenly wrath, complete with shaking mountains and nations trembling before the presence of God, there was an angel choir on Bethlehem’s hillside. Heaven had opened and a child had been born – just a child whose birth cries were lost amid the lowing cattle and the braying ass.

This Advent text reminds us of two wonderful promises of God. The first is that God does answer prayer. The deepest hopes and needs and dreams of our hearts move God.  At the heart of Christmas is the message that God’s heart is moved for us – not that our hearts are first moved for God. This is a wonderful mystery so remarkably demonstrated in the celebration of our Lord’s birth. That this should be true; how this can be true is inexplicable – but true.

The second promise is that when God comes, it is always in a way that is redemptive; God brings shalom – the healing peace for which the prophet prayed and for which our world yearns. This is the great surprise of God: God tears the heavens not just in judgment but in love… and a child is born who will rend the veil of death.

So, like the prophet, we pray and wait. Come Lord Jesus, come. Amen

An excerpt from a piece at Happy Catholic

… what continues to hit me, hard … was the picture of perfection that is painted for us by Isaiah.

A celebratory feast for all of us.

No more sadness or death for any nation because the veil is removed. That’s what we hope to find in prayer and at Mass, a time when that veil between God and us is lifted just a little. But Isaiah tells us that it will be permanently removed for all of us. Every person, every nation.

It will be as it should have been from the beginning.

During Advent we are to look for the two comings of Christ. We look for his Incarnation as a baby among us. We look for his second coming. For the first time, I really caught a sense of just what that second coming means. For all of us. For every person, every nation. I can look forward with great anticipation, thanks to that moment when the veil lifted for a second so I got the bigger picture from this reading.

Come, Lord Jesus.

From the blog, A Seat at the Table

Advent is always a new beginning. It is actually a beginning and an ending. We are beginning a new life with Christ at the center, a life that is full with Christ. We are leading and ending an old life. This must be so. There must be this movement…. We need to relinquish and empty ourselves, so that the newness Christ brings can enter and have a place to stay. We as Advent pilgrims on the way to the manger — to the great newness that the child brings — must allow ourselves to pass through the desert where John is preaching.

Paul H. Harkness, “Our Journey to the Cradle,” 4
in People’s Companion to the Breviary

This one is from a blog, Thinking Outloud (a similar but different name than my other blog)

…Advent marks the beginning of the church’s annual liturgical review of the great stories of the faith.

Traditionally it starts with the prophets, who warn that God is among us and will show her/his self even more clearly in the days to come. Get ready! they shout. I’m always puzzled at this exhortation. How can a human being get ready for God?

It’s this great human gift and problem of looking into the future. As far as we know, other mammals aren’t able to imagine the future in the same way we do. They live their lives much more in the “now” than in the “then.” But humans are so in love with the future, we think anything is possible there. The allure of a future we can imagine makes us all less attached to the present, I fear. We put off anything we can. The present? Well, we’re just passing through.

The answer for me is the spiritual skill of waiting. It’s some of the toughest emotional work we do, holding ourselves in the present while expecting something in the future. It’s not about gifts and presents, I think. It’s about waiting for God to be fully revealed to us and to a hurting world.

I will be thinking about Waiting this Advent. How hard it is, why it’s important to grow that emotional muscle, what living in the present while expecting the future feels like. I think it’s the central work of faith, managing the now and then. A belief that both the present and the future deeply matter. 

This one has appeared twice at Gerry Straub’s blog:

“Advent is the beginning of the end of all in us that is not yet Christ.” -Thomas Merton

Since the tenth century, Advent has marked the beginning of the Church year in the West. Today, Advent is hardly noticed, rarely observed, obliterated by a shopping tsunami. Advent is not four weeks of shopping for Christmas. The word “advent” literally means “arrival.” Advent is a time for being awake and aware, a time for longing and waiting, a time for preparing for the coming of Christ. Jesus tells us to light our lamps and wait for the Master. Our waiting should be an active not passive waiting. During Advent we get ready to become active participants in God’s incarnation by creating peace in our spiritual, social and personal relationships. In Advent we are asked to look at our lives, and if we see something amiss, we need to correct it. We need to turn our swords into plowshares. Our lives need to be transfigured into vessels of God’s love and compassion. Advent is a time to renounce our clinging to false securities so our eyes will not be so blinded that we cannot see the arrival of Christ in our midst. Jesus may come to you today in the form of a beggar.

We have become so familiar with the Nativity story that it is almost rendered impotent in its ability to speak to us. Advent invites us to look carefully at that cold night long ago, when there was no room at the Inn for Mary and Joseph, as we prepare to open the doors of our hearts to the coming of the Messiah.

Part of the power of the Christmas story is that it describes beautifully the spiritual birth of Christ in the heart of a mystic. In metaphorical language, Christ is born in the poor manger of our own empty hearts, the poor manger inside us, emptied of all ego, of all clinging neediness. Advent is the time of cleaning, of emptying ourselves of ourselves (and anything else) to make room for the birth of Christ. Swept clean and empty, it is the poorest, most humble place on earth and yet the perfect place for the birth of God. St. Francis and St. Clare understood this living story so well and embraced it so fully that they indeed became human vessels of the Christ child.

The best way to celebrate Christmas is to actually experience the birth of Christ within us in a deeper way than ever before. In order to do so, we need to make the inner crib ready for this new life by eliminating all the noise and inner clutter that would crowd Him out. The best way to do this is to set aside time for silence, prayer and intentional love and reverent kindness.

Jesus is coming and will soon knock on the door of your heart. Get ready–that is the message of Advent. And it is a message we need to repeatedly hear throughout the year. God’s coming transcends past and future, is more than a past event or a future expectation…God’s coming is now, this very moment. God is coming. Is my heart ready to become God’s dwelling place? I’m afraid to answer.

I wanted the last word to belong to Clark Bunch at The Master’s Table

…One aspect of studying prophesy is to realize that just as Jesus fulfilled all of the prophecies of his first coming he will someday fulfill the New Testament prophecies of his second coming.  The incarnation of the God’s Son is the greatest event in history… so far.

In the Parable of the Tenants Jesus relates the story of a land owner who leased out a vineyard to some wicked men.  They either brutalized or killed the messengers he sent to collect the rent.  Finally he sent his son, reasoning that he would be respected.  They killed the man’s own son, thinking if the heir were dead they would inherit the land.  The first century audience responded that those evil men would suffer horribly when the landlord returned.  Jesus told this parable against the leaders of the Jewish faith.  Just as their ancestors killed the prophets – God’s messengers – so they were about to kill God’s own Son.  Further, he said the Kingdom would be taken from them and given to others, namely the faithful believers among the Gentiles.

In the Old Testament, the coming of the Messiah was foretold.  Paul says that “when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son.”  God is not a man that he should lie.  He is faithful and just concerning his promises.  These are scriptural truths to consider as we honor the waiting for Christ’s first coming and eagerly await the second.

Persons wanting to discover more of the deeper implications of incarnation have no shortage of online material to spark their discovery.  Each day between now and December 25th, thousands of new pieces are added.  Just do a Google blog search (type “advent” as your search criteria) or a WordPress search, then prayerfully ask God to guide you to some articles that will enrich your appreciation of the season.

Expectancy

At age 20, Sarah is probably the youngest writer whose material has been selected to appear here.  She blogs at the contemporary music site, New Release Tuesday, and without describing the whole process, I really felt God guided me to find this article for you today.

Well, it’s hard to believe, but in nearly a month, this year will be over and a new year will have begun. It feels like 2011 flew by so quickly, yet at the same time, so much has happened.

If you are anything like me, around this time of year, you’re busy with turkey’s and trees, presents and carols, family and friends. Yet, as fun as all these things may be, you also find yourself looking back. It always seems that there is a deep retrospect that comes with the end of another year, or any changing season for that matter. And it’s with that same heart of retrospect, that I normally try to take my end of the year blog and turn it into a memoriam of sorts. Looking back on all the things God has shown me, brought me through, and lead me towards. I’ve done this for the last several years, and not only have I had many people tell me how much it’s encouraged them, in the end, it’s always been a great reminder for me to look back on the faithfulness of God through the last year.

I sat down a few days ago and began writing this with every intention on making it about 2011 and all the stuff God did this year… but apparently… God had another idea.

A few weeks back while I was in prayer, I had a certain word pop into my head: expectation.

I thought maybe that was something God needed me to pray about, so I mentioned something about it and went on my way thinking it was a one time deal.

…key words in that statement being “I thought.”

The word “expectation” over the next several days (and eventually weeks) kept coming to my attention. You know how you’ll have a certain song stuck in your head, so you’ll try to sing another song to get it out, but you’ll lose your train of thought for ten seconds and find yourself singing that same song again? That’s EXACTLY how I was feeling.

At first, I tried to reason with it. I prayed about it daily, trying to sound all spiritual by throwing in the addition of “Lord, I’m expectant” and not really having an idea about what it meant. I thought I understood, but at the same time, I had NO idea. All I knew was, this word was literally carved into my head and I couldn’t get it out.

This word was weighing heavily on my heart a few weeks back when I finally took it before God in serious prayer, and not just as a flippant afterthought. It wasn’t long after I approached it with validity that God revealed to me why this word was stuck in my head. It was a short but brief answer: “this is for 2012.”

“Okay, Lord” I thought, “you want me to be expectant in 2012. I always like to think I’m expectant, but if you need to be more expectant, I will be.”

…key words in that statement being “I always like to think.”

This went on for a while longer, the word still stuck in my head like glue, when it finally dawned upon me this morning. Yes. This morning.

I was reading in the book of Ephesians doing my journaling when I came across a passage of scripture I’ve undoubtedly read dozens of times. It was Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,”

I’m aware that after the word ‘us’, there is a comma. And if you’re anything like me, you’re inclined to just keep reading after the comma, but I felt as I was reading this morning that God needed me to forget about the comma and focus on what He was saying in THAT moment.

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” …the NCV translation reads “God can do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.”

It doesn’t matter if you’ve grown up in church your whole life or not. I’ve only been a believer for about five years and I still fall into the trap of reading a scripture once, thinking I know everything about it then walking away. It’s easy to put God in a box, isn’t it? I had to drop the know-it-all act as I read this morning and genuinely ask God why this passage had stuck me the way it had.

See, this here is a statement: God isn’t just able, but more than able to do more in our lives than we could ever ask or think! Meaning, not only can He give us everything we ask Him for, but even the things we DON’T ask Him for. He hears our silent prayers and sees our quiet desires the same way He hears and sees the ones we’re open about. He’s able to because He’s GOD.

It was as I finally understood all this, that the whole “expectancy” ordeal became real to me after weeks of struggling with it.

And that’s what leads me here sharing with all of you today.

I had quite the blog written up about how amazing 2011 has been. I was going to tell you about all the things God did for me as I stepped out in faith. I was going to talk about all the incredible, life-changing people I’ve met and talk about how God has individually used them all to mold me into the person I’m meant to become. I was even going to share with you a few thoughts on areas where I feel like I still need to change drastically.

…key word in that paragraph being “I.”

There will be plenty of time to talk about what God has done, but for a change, I feel like He’d rather me talk about what He’s going to do .

I truly believe that 2012 is a year where God is calling His people to start being expectant.

For far too long, we’ve talked about God moving in our lives, but I feel challenged in this new year by God Himself to take it a step further and start expecting things to happen in our lives. To really believe He can do what He says He can do, and expect Him to give us more than we could ever ask or imagine. This doesn’t mean it’s gonna come easy. Every good thing in life requires some sort of sacrifice, but the rewards that come from obedience far outweigh the sting of the sacrifice.

New things are on the horizon for the people of God in 2012. The broken will be mended, the silent will be speak, the impossible is going to happen if only we’d just… you guessed it… expect it. Expectancy is the key to unlocking God’s best for us.

When a couple finds out they are expecting a baby, they don’t wait till they have the baby to get excited about the baby, they start getting excited in that very moment. They plan, they prepare, they know that in a matter of months, their lives are going to be different. God wants us to feel the same way! I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be the same person I am this time next year. I am expectant for new things, new opportunities, and the promises of God coming to pass in my life as I serve Him whole-heartedly. We need to be planning, preparing, and getting excited about what’s to come! Why? Because, our God is able to do, you guessed it, “do much, much more than anything we can ask or imagine.”

Don’t ever think what you expect of God is too big either. We have a God who is more than willing to hand you a gold plate if you asked Him for a silver one, and a diamond one when you ask Him for a gold. He’s a great romancer in that element of surprise. He always like to take it a notch higher then what we want because He’s constantly after pursing our hearts with His love.

See, God wants us to dream bigger than what we know we are already capable of, because when we finally start dreaming bigger, fully knowing that we can’t do it on our own, it gives Him the platform to move and takes all the pressure off of us to make it happen. We need to understand that as hard as we might try, it’s not up to us. We just need to obey.

Friends, this has challenged me, and I believe it’s meant to challenge you too. Let 2012 be a year of expectancy on God. Don’t let anyone tell you that your dreams are unattainable. It’s not up to them. Continue to seek God and watch Him unfold the next chapter your life. Be willing to move when He says to and take action when He needs you to. Don’t fear change, but rather, embrace what comes new. Let God “romance” your heart in this next year, His surprises will absolutely take your breath away.

“We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.” –Romans 8:22

Love, Blessings, Fireworks, and Confetti,
–Sarah

Prayer Postures

This is a section from Mark Batterson’s new book The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears, releasing this week in hardcover from Zondervan.  Mark serves as the lead pastor of National Community Church, one church with seven locations in Washington, DC.

Physical posture is an important part of prayer.  It’s like a prayer within a prayer.  Posture is to prayer as tone is to communication.  If words are what you say, then posture is how you say it.  There is a reason that Scripture prescribes a wide variety of postures such as kneeling, falling prostrate on one’s face, the laying on of hands and anointing someone’s head with oil.  Physical postures help posture our hearts and minds.

When I extend out my hands in worship, it symbolizes my surrender to God.  Sometimes I’ll raise a clenched fist to celebrate what Christ has accomplished for me on the cross and declare the victory He has won.  We do it after a great play, so why not during a great song?

During the most recent Lenten season, Parker and I got up a half hour earlier than normal to allow a little extra time to read Scripture.  We also decided we would get on our knees when we prayed.  The physical posture of kneeling, coupled with a humble heart, is the most powerful position on earth.  I’m not sure that the kneeling position betters my batting average in prayer, but it gets me in the right stance.  All I know is this: humility honors God and God honors humility.  Why not kneel?  It certainly can’t hurt.

One of my favourite prayer postures I learned from the Quakers.  I lead our congregation in this prayer frequently.  We begin with hands facing down, symbolizing the things we need to let go of.  it involves a precess of confessing our sings, rebuking our fears, and relinquishing control.  Then we turn our hands over so they are facing up in a posture of receptivity.  We actively receive what God wants to give – joy unspeakable, peace that transcends understanding, and unmerited grace.  We received the fruit and gifts of His Spirit with open hands and open hearts.

There is nothing magical about the laying on of hands or bowing the knee or anointing the head with oil, but there is something biblical about it.  There is also something mystical about it.  When we practice these prescribed postures, we are doing what has been done for thousands of years, and part of thinking long is appreciating the timeless traditions that connect us to our spiritual ancestors.

The church I pastor is absolutely orthodox in belief but somewhat unorthodox in practice.  Meeting in movie theaters makes it difficult to have a lot of High Church traditions.  The movie screens are our postmodern stained glass; the smell of popcorn is our incense.  But just because we don’t practice a lot of extrabiblical religious rituals doesn’t mean we devalue biblical tradition.  Just because we believe the church should be the most creative place on the planet doesn’t mean we devalue tradition.  We aren’t religious about religion, the human constructs created over the generations to surround our faith with rituals.  We do, however, hold religiously to the timeless traditions of Scripture.

 

Undignified: Zacchaeus Meets the Christmas Story

The story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19: 1-9 is the ultimate children’s Bible story. Think about, it’s got:

• a short key character; kids can identify
• a parade — or something similar — about to pass by
• tree climbing; what kid doesn’t like that?
• unlikely guy gets singled out for special treatment
• Zacchaeus and Jesus have a tea party, at least according to the children’s song; actual serving of tea may have been unlikely
• restitution of unfair trade practices; he did something bad and is going to make it right

But the tree climbing is the fun part of the story, so much so that we omit to notice the fact that respectable adults in the culture simply don’t climb trees. In the book Preaching the Parables to Postmoderns, Brian Stiller reminds of another story, a different story, where we miss the cultural nuances.

Stiller notes that in the story of the prodigal son, the father sees his returning son in the distance and runs to meet him. To run meant to lift the lower hem of the tunics worn at that time, which would expose the ankles and lower leg. While that may not seem out of line with the bathrobes worn in most church plays you’ve seen, it in fact is out of line with norms in that society. Besides, the patriarchal head of household doesn’t run, period.

Zacchaeus climbs up a tree because he doesn’t want to miss Jesus. The father in the story of the two brothers runs because he doesn’t want to miss a moment with or hide his enthusiasm for the return of his lost son. Both actions involve a considerable loss of dignity on the part of both parties.

David understood this. Consider this account from II Samuel 6:

¹⁴ David, wearing a linen ephod, danced before the LORD with all his might, ¹⁵ while he and the entire house of Israel brought up the ark of the LORD with shouts and the sound of trumpets.

¹⁶ As the ark of the LORD was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she despised him in her heart.

¹⁷ They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the LORD. ¹⁸ After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the LORD Almighty. ¹⁹ Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes.

²⁰ When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, disrobing in the sight of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!”

²¹ David said to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the LORD’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the LORD. ²² I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.”

Note especially verse 22: I will become even more undignified than this. Nothing reinforces this like the Matt Redman song,

I will dance I will sing
To be mad for my King
Nothing Lord is hindering
The passion in my soul

And I’ll become even more
Undignified than this
Some would say it’s foolishness but
I’ll become even more
Undignified than this

David’s removal of his outer garment ought to remind you of something else. Think about this moment from John 13:

¹It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love^.

²The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. ³Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” …

¹²When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place.

The outer garment that Jesus removed was the fine piece of clothing that symbolized his authority as a rabbi. Hours later, Roman soldiers would gamble for the chance to walk way with this prime specimen of clothing as a souvenir of their day’s work.

This action symbolized his servant leadership, but as he told Peter, there was a bigger picture yet to be grasped. I believe that the removal of his outer garment symbolizes something else entirely, as remembered in Philippians 2:

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶ Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
⁸ he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor…

Jesus gave up the splendor of heaven — took of his outer robe — to enter into our human condition. But then, as John 13:12 shows us, he puts that outer robe back on, i.e. he returns to the glory he had known before at the right hand of the Father.

There are lots of words we could use to describe this, but the key one for today is that he made himself undignified.

Now, he invites you to find a place where you can lose your own pride and dignity in order to accomplish his purposes in your generation.

I Samuel and John passages – NIV; Philippians passage – NLT

This article appeared on November 3, 2009 at Thinking Out Loud

Post 600: Forgetting What You Look Like

Today is the 600th post at Christianity 201; though regular readers know that I write only a small fraction of them.  I thought I should write number six hundred, however…

Have you ever been in church and the pastor is preaching and after awhile it occurs to you that the whole sermon seems to be directed at one particular person’s situation?  It’s almost embarrassing.  It’s like everyone knows the minister is referring to Dan or Shirley or Marg or Jason, so why doesn’t he just go all the way and use their names?

But then, mysteriously, you’re drawn into a long conversation with Dan, Shirley, Marg or Jason a few weeks later, and you get the distinct impression that the sermon hasn’t changed a thing in their life; that whatever it was that made it so blatant to you and everyone else that it was about them, seems to have misfired or otherwise not taken root.

I suppose there are a number of possibilities here, of which three are:

• They were tuned out for most of the sermon; not paying attention
• The pastor’s remarks registered, but they assumed it applied to someone else, never considering it might be them to whom the sermon was most directly speaking
• The application and needed next steps registered, but were eventually dismissed or forgotten
• perhaps the cost of change or the price of obedience was simply too high

The Bible tells us we’re not simply to be hearers of the word, but doers of the word; but sometimes we mess up the hearing part which cancels out the rest.

 ^{James 1:22-24 (The Message)} Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like

Imagine not knowing what you look like.

People do this everyday however.  The middle aged man steps into his souped up sports car, turns the music on the sound system up high, and believes he is still 18.  He starts flirting with his assistant at work and with the receptionist at the dentist’s office, and forgets he’s graying; that he has a wife and kids.

He needs a mirror.

The woman who goes out to lunch to with four friends and then spontaneously offers to pick the tab for everyone’s meal before they embark on an afternoon of shopping, slapping down the credit card at store after store, forgetting that the bank has already canceled her other credit card because of too many missed payments, and her income prospects for the foreseeable future are rather dim.

She needs a mirror.

We all need a mirror.   An accurate one.  One that doesn’t distort the truth.  The clearest, most focused mirror is God’s word.  It shows us what right living looks like.  It tells us where we’ve messed up.  What we can do to get back on track.  What it will take for us to stay on track.  You can read more about this four-fold purpose of scripture by clicking here.

…Now then, imagine the same scenario, but it’s more like a bad dream.  The pastor preaches a similar sermon, but everyone turns around stares directly at you.  But weeks later your life is unchanged.

What would your excuse be?

One of the First “Offerings of Worship to the King”

• Before we get started today; for our American friends, if you missed it back in October, here’s a beautiful 6-minute video of a worship song which was posted here for Canadian Thanksgiving.
  

The song Offering by Paul Baloche is sung in many of our churches, but not everyone knows the original first verse which has a definite Christmas theme to it.  Can I suggest introducing this other verse to your congregation if they are not already using it? The music on this version is by the group Casting Crowns.

Those first “offerings of worship” were from shepherds and astronomers (or if you prefer, astrologers).  This is as diverse a mix as you’ll find.  For in Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, rich nor poor, simple nor educated.

Mary’s Song

The following is from a new edition of a book by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Magnify The Lord, which is based entirely on Luke 1:46-55.  This arrives just in time for Christmas and Advent meditations.

…Why is Mary magnifying the Lord?  Why does her spirit exult in God her Savior? She really surprises us with the answer.  It is not primarily because of what has happened to her.  She does not mention that: it comes in but that is merely an incident in her hymn of praise.  So what is the cause of her adoration, of her praise?  It is because God himself is who and what he is, and because of what he is doing with respect to the world.

Mary’s eye, in other words, is not upon herself. You see how certain parts of the Church have so abused and made an utter travesty of this. Mary is full of humility. She refers to herself as what she is — ‘the low estate of thine handmaiden.’ There is nothing here about the ‘mother of God’ and about ‘the queen of heaven.’ Mary is not thinking about herself. Mary has seen something that makes her forget about herself and this is the ultimate test of a true understanding of what happened when God in the fullness of times ‘sent forth his Son made of a woman, made under the law’ (Gal. 4:4).

Mary is rejoicing not so much in the fact that she is to be given this great privilege, she has been reminded by Elizabeth of what this is and of how people are going to caller her blessed, and she repeats that, ‘from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.’

But that is not the thing that really moves her. It is what God is doing: this historic event, this climactic action of God himself.  She is humbled and grateful at the thought of the fact that she is to be given a part and a place in this, but it is the thing itself that moves her and makes her sing and worship.

She is filled with a sense of amazement, of worship, adoration, and utter astonishment. She sees the inner meaning of the action. She has a glimpse and a glimmering of understanding of the whole purpose of salvation, what God is doing in bringing forth his Son into the world, even out of her womb.

Now that is the secret of this song. And it is also the secret of the whole Christian position.  What is it that leads to worship and to praise, to exultation, to adoration? And the answer is that it is always the understanding.

The only singing that is of any value in the sight of God is that which is based upon the understanding, the understanding of the truth…

Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Magnify the Lord, pp. 19-20

Do The Math: 70 X 7

You’ll find links to Russell D. Moore’s blog Moore To The Point in various spots at Thinking Out Loud, but this is the first time he’s been featured here.  This appeared at his blog under the title, What Forgiveness Is And Isn’t.

The most difficult math problem in the universe, it turns out, is 70 x 7. Perhaps the hardest thing to do in the Christian life is to forgive someone who has hurt you, often badly. But Jesus says the alternative to forgiving one’s enemies is hell.

One of the reasons this is hard for us is because we too often assume forgiving a trespasser means allowing an injustice to stand. This attitude betrays a defective eschatology. At our Lord’s arrest (Matt. 26:47-54), Jesus told Peter to put his sword back into his sheath not because Jesus didn’t believe in punishing evildoers (think Armageddon). Jesus told Peter he could have an armada of angelic warriors at his side (and one day he will). But judgment was not yet, and Peter wasn’t judge.

That’s the point.

When we forgive, we are confessing that vengeance is God’s (Rom. 12:19). We don’t need to exact justice from a fellow believer because justice has already fallen at the cross. We don’t need to exact vengeance from an unbeliever because we know the sin against us will be judged in hell or, more hopefully, when the offender unites himself to the One who is “the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 Jn. 2:2).

A prisoner of war who forgives his captor or a terminated pastor who forgives a predatory congregation, these people are not overlooking sin. Nor are they saying that what happened is “okay” or that the relationships involved are back to “normal” (whatever that is). Instead they are confessing that judgment is coming and they can trust the One who will be seated on that throne.

You don’t have to store up bitterness, and you don’t have to find ways of retaliation for what’s been done to you. You can trust a God who is just. If you won’t forgive, if you refuse to rest in God’s judgment without seeking to retaliate, it doesn’t matter what your evangelistic tracts and prophecy charts say. When it comes to the gospel and the to the end times, you’re just another liberal.

~Russell D. Moore

Prayer and the Imagination

This is from a forthcoming book by Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears, publishing in December from Zondervan.

Neuroimaging has shown that as we age, the center of cognitive gravity tends to shift from the imaginative right brain to the logical left brain. And this neurological tendency presents a grave spiritual danger. At some point, most of us stop living out of imagination and start living out of memory. Instead of creating the future we start repeating the past. Instead of living by faith, we live by logic. Instead of going after our dreams, we stop circling Jericho.

But it doesn’t have to be that way…

…As we age, either imagination overtakes memory or memory overtakes memory or memory overtakes imagination. Imagination is the road less taken, but it is the pathway of prayer. Prayer and imagination are directly proportional: the more you pray the bigger your imagination becomes because the Holy Spirit supersizes it with God-sized dreams. One litmus test of spiritual maturity is whether your dreams are getting better or smaller. The older you get, the more faith you should have because you’ve experienced more of God’s faithfulness. And it is God’s faithfulness that increases our faith and enlarges our dreams.

There is certainly nothing wrong with an occasional stroll down memory lane, but God wants you to keep dreaming until the day you die. You’re never too old to go after the dreams God has put in your heart. And for the record, you’re never too young either. Age is never a valid excuse.

~Mark Batterson

So Which Christian Authors Rank Highest on Your “Don’t Like” List?

In the Christian blogosphere, many blogs are characterized by the number of authors, churches and movements they are opposed to, rather than the ones they like.  And in an age where clicking a “like” button is all consuming, I suppose that’s actually a little backwards.

I’ve often expressed passion here for certain authors, but am extremely unlikely to devote a blog post to condemning an author; while for some blogs, this is their entire reason for being.

So I wade into this one with fear and trepidation, but I think it’s important to not only be aware of who or what movements are influencing us, but also how these authors or movements are casting influence.

For that reason, I was very intrigued with an article by C. Michael Patton at Credo House, Why Do We Love C. S. Lewis and Hate Rob Bell? (A sentiment I don’t share, by the way.)

Some answers Michael put forward:

• re. C. S. Lewis: “…With all of these foibles, I seriously doubt any evangelical church would take a second look at his resume were he to apply for a pastorate at their church today. In fact, this list alone would be enough for many to call him a heretic. However, we still love him. We still read him. We still defend him. We still hand out his books by the dozens to friends and family who are struggling with their faith.”
• re. Rob Bell: “…From what I have read and seen, he seems to have far fewer theological problems than C.S. Lewis. In fact, on paper, he is probably more evangelical than C.S. Lewis. He might even make it through the interview process at most evangelical churches. He, like Lewis, has written many works about the Christian faith… However, evangelicals don’t like Rob Bell. He is not beloved. “
• re. C. S. Lewis: “…You see, while C.S. Lewis has a great deal of theological foibles, his ministry is defined by a defense of the essence of the Gospel. The essence of who Christ is and what he did are ardently defended by Lewis, saturating every page of his books. His purpose was clear: to defend the reality of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ. All other things set aside, this is what you leave with every time you read Lewis. The problematic areas are peripheral, not central…”
• re. Rob Bell: “…However, with Rob Bell, the essence of who Christ is and what he did seems to be secondary. One has to look for those things as they weed through his defenses of non-traditional Christianity. Whereas Lewis’ ultimate purpose is to define and defend “mere” Christianity, Bell’s “mere” Christianity is but a footnote to a redefined Christianity. Bell’s focus is to challenge, question, change, reform, and emerge from traditions that bind us. Traditional apologetics, orthodoxy, and foundations are brought into question from beginning to end. Christ’s reality, deity, exclusivity, and the hope of the Gospel proclaimed receive an occasional footnote (if at all) from Bell.”

Patton’s central thesis:

• “Another way to put this is to say that in the ministry of C.S. Lewis, the central truths of the Christian faith are the chorus of his songs, with the occasional problem in the stanzas. However, with Bell, the chorus of his song is filled with challenges to traditional Christianity and if you listen really closely to the stanza, you might get an occasional line of orthodoxy.”

Sample of reader comments:

• …Who says “we” like C.S. Lewis. As a Fundamentalist Baptist C.S.Lewis was not a genuine Christian. He was a Heretic. Bell is an impostor and not a genuine Christian either. These men do not represent Biblical Christianity but a counterfeit type.
• Lewis’ writings bear fruit among non-believers. For example, I have a relative who was a non-believer, and he credits Lewis as having a big role in convincing him of the Christian faith. Lewis gets a lot of rope because of examples like that. We’d rather a person become a believer and perhaps disagree with us on certain doctrines, than for that person to not become a believer at all.
• It’s always interesting to read the Evangelical take on people like Rob Bell or Brian McLaren. For me, if people like that did not exist, I would be unable to be a Christian. I have never been able to subscribe to Evangelical Christianity, nor do I want to. C.S. Lewis was a great discovery for me years ago because he was like a breath of fresh air in a “traditional” faith that didn’t provide answers to questions I was asking, nor support for those questions. Since, I have graduated to greater “heresy” even than Rob Bell, and I find my faith and my life and my thinking all enriched as a result.
• I appreciate the writings of Lewis and Bell because they say the same things I am thinking, or ask the same questions I am asking. It is their transparency and honesty at the risk of offending what is “true” or the “right answer” that draws me in. When I read “A Grief Observed,” with Lewis’ description of God behind a locked door, this cold, foreboding silence from Heaven was exactly the experience I had with God. Likewise, in “Love Wins,” Bell asks questions he has asked as well as questions others have asked him. It is an invitation and a conversation many of us want to have. That struck a deep resonance with me.

Read the whole article and add your comment at Parchment and Pen blog.

Personal Accountability

^{The Message, Prov. 2717} You use steel to sharpen steel,
   and one friend sharpens another.

Currently there are different ideas about the concept of having personal accountability, or more particularly, the idea of having an accountability partner.  I am quite sure that, as with so many areas of Christian endeavor, there are pluses and minuses to systems of this nature.

However, I think those of us who live much our spiritual lives online need to be especially challenged in this area, simply because we may find ourselves deriving spiritual fulfillment from the Christian sector of the internet, at the expense of other types of ministry that would give us more personal contact, and would leave us less likely to be anonymous, or to pretend we are something other than we are.

Accountability is particularly stressed in men’s ministry.  Pastor B. J. Rutledge recently shared ten accountability questions with his men’s group, but if you’re woman reading this, I believe B. J. has rewritten this to have more general applicability.   This appeared on his blog under the title, Accountability is a Non-Negotiable.

This past Sunday [November 13th] we talked about overcoming those Fatal Flaws that have the potential to destroy your influence, marriage, family and life.  One of the four keys to overcoming Fatal Flaws is accountability; it is non-negotiable.

A number of you asked me about the Accountability Card used for years in my Men’s Small Group.  Here are the questions if you’d like to make your own card or a similar card.

1.  Did you spend quality & quantity time seeking God?  Share a Quiet Time highlight.

2. Did you talk with, communicate with, pray with and encourage your wife regularly?

3. Did you spend special time, encourage and pray with each of your kids regularly?

4. Did you expose yourself to any movies, videos, magazines, internet sites, etc, that were immoral, pornographic or encouraged lust?

5. Did you interact with a (man/woman), in any way that was not pleasing to God?

6. Did you memorize your verse for the week?  Share it with me.

7. Did you attempt to share the love of Christ with anyone this week?

8. Did you demonstrate integrity and Christ-likeness in your business or ministry affairs this week?

9. Did you just lie to me about any of these?

10.  What are some of your struggles right now?

N. T. Wright on Enjoying the Bible

Thanks to blogger and friend Jon Rising for getting me on to a N. T. Wright video binge today.   Check out Jon’s posting of a recent piece, A Parable About a Parable, especially if you don’t have time for what follows.  Today’s piece is a 30-minute television program produced at Calvin College in Grand Rapids.

Ten Reasons to Tithe

I can’t think of a topic that pastors hate preaching about more than giving.  It appears like they are just taking their 30-minute sermon time and holding out their hat in their hand and rebuking the congregation for not doing enough.  But in fact, no pastor would be declaring the whole counsel of God, if they didn’t, at least every two or three years, broach this difficult and sensitive subject.

The title of this post is a bit of a misnomer, for several reasons, not all of which we’ll get into here.  Andy Stanley uses the term I prefer, “percentage giving.”  Others teach that the requirement to tithe ended with the Old Testament era, though the Apostle Paul seems fairly clear about supporting those who teach you, and about giving to widows and orphans.

For the rest of today’s consideration of offerings and tithes, we turn to Trent Griffith, pastor of Harvest Bible Chapel in Granger, Indiana, where this appeared on his blog as The Truth Behind The Tithe.   Be sure to read the introduction carefully so you’re following the rest of the piece.

Tithing is one of the most misunderstood concepts in the bible. Giving ten percent of your income is certainly noble and would be a worthy goal for every Christian. But if you think 10% is God’s and 90% is yours, you’ve missed the truth behind the tithe.

The Old Testament teaching on tithing was more akin to our modern tax code than generosity. There were actually 3 different tithes required in the Old Testament to fund the theocratic government. One was to be paid every third year. So if you follow the pattern of the Old Testament tithe you would actually be paying 23.3%. But remember it was more like paying your taxes. What is the biblical teaching on giving? Pay your taxes AND give generously to the Lord from your heart.

I believe the Old Testament teaching on the tithe reveals 10 truths BEHIND the tithe that every New Testament Christian must embrace BEFORE he can consider himself an obedient giver.

1) Give with pre-determination.  Rather than asking, “What should I give?” every time God gives to you, decide now. Just like you budget for recurring expenses, predetermine where and how much you’re going to invest in funding ministry before it comes in.

2) Give as a priority. God’s priority is always give, save, spend NOT spend, save, give. When you have the right priority your giving will determine your spending. When you have the wrong priority, your spending will determine your giving.

3) Give a percentage.  Don’t get hung up on 10%. Some can’t give 10% but can still give generously in faith. Others can give 10% without exercising faith. Generosity is not determined by what you give. Generosity is determined by what is left over after you give. Whether you give 10%, 11% or 1%, give something that stretches your faith. Giving a percentage of your income forces you to look at all of your income and expenses from God’s perspective. Do you know what you make? Spend? Give? If not, how can you determine if you are being generous?

4) Give the first and best of what God provides.  Quit feeling so generous when you drop off your old underwear at Goodwill. God doesn’t want your leftovers. Give God your best stuff. Give off the top of everything you take in. Write the check for ministry before you write the check for the mortgage and groceries.

5) Withholding what belongs to God forfeits God’s presence. In Malachi 3:6-9 God tells his people why He had left them. They had stolen what rightfully belonged to God. If God seems distant to you, you might to see if you have His money in your bank account.

6) Bring what you give to the place of worship. In the Old Testament, God’s people brought the tithe to the place where they worshipped. Today, God’s people should bring their gifts to the local church where they worship. The local church is God’s plan to reach the world. Other ministry giving should be above and beyond your responsibility to fund the ministries of your local church.

7) Giving is a test God loves to prove He can pass. In Malachi 3:10 God invites you to test him in your giving. Leonard Ravenhill said, “You have an incredible opportunity to be the first person in the history of the world whom God has every failed. So test Him.”

8) Giving acts on the promise that God has plenty. Only when you believe that God can open the windows of Heaven to supply all your need will you give at a level that demonstrates faith.

9) Giving invites God’s protection. Malachi 3:11 promises God will “rebuke the devourer” for those who honor God in their giving.  Times of economic hardship are the worst time to hold out on God. You can’t afford to go without God’s protection during difficult times. Get God’s money where it belongs now, before God sends the devourer to collect it!

10) God delights in blessing people who give in faith. Do you want God to bless the things you care about most? When you give God’s way He will ensure that you become the object of His blessing so others will take note of His ability to provide.  God has no greater delight than showing off His glory in those who trust him with their finances.

~Trent Griffith

The Appearance of Piety

Kentucky Baptist Pastor Eric Douglas was featured on this blog a year ago.  Today’s item appeared recently at his blog, It is Well, under the title, Would You Let This Man Teach Sunday School?

What would you think of one who possesses the following characteristics?  This person:

• Makes a great effort to be near Jesus
• Bows before Jesus in an act of worship
• Has a solid theology, recognizing that Jesus is the “Son of the Most High God”
• Recognizes the sovereign power of Jesus Christ
• Does not act apart from the permission of Jesus

We would be thrilled to have one like this as our pastor!  If such a man attended our worship services, we would quickly make him a Sunday School teacher or even a deacon.  After all, the piety described above exceeds much of what we see in our churches.  Many who have been Christians for years still do not yet possess these wonderful characteristics.  What are we to think of a person such as this?

While these are wonderful attributes to have, the worship-attender I just described is not a Christian at all.  Instead, the one just described is demon possessed and under terrible oppression.

There once was a man who lived in the country of the Gerasenes on the eastern side of the Sea of Galilee.  The man lived among tombs and the local villagers were quick to keep distance from him.  He was out of control; no one could do a thing him.  Locals attempted to bind him with chain and shackle, but it did not help.  The man was so strong that he broke the shackles into pieces.  No one was able to subdue him.  Night and day, he would scream among the tombs and in the mountains.  He inflicted pain upon himself as he would gather stones and gash himself with them.  The locals were terrified as they heard the screams bellow from among the tombs.

The man was not mentally ill; he was demon possessed.  The demon had complete control over the man, affecting his actions and speaking through him.  The demon said his name was “Legion”.  The name Legion represented the multitude of demons working together to destroy this man’s life; enough to possess 2,000 pigs.

The man was not a true follower of God.  He did not know Jesus Christ and had not trusted his life with Him.  He did not have the Holy Spirit, but instead had a demonic spirit.  Mark chapter 5 details the actions of the man which exceed the piety of many church-goers.  Though his actions were controlled by Legion, notice the actions of the man when he encountered Jesus.

The man sees Jesus from a distance and runs up to him (v. 6a).  He makes a great effort to be near Jesus.  While others did not seek after Jesus in this way, this man dropped whatever it was he was doing and ran to Jesus.  Neither did he wait until Jesus came to him; he eagerly ran to Jesus.  The man did not just run to Jesus to shake His hand.  He ran to meet Jesus so he could bow down in worship (v. 6b).

Here’s the picture: When Jesus was not around, the man was out of control to the point where all who knew him feared him.  Yet when Jesus comes on the scene, the man is under control and even also humbles himself in a prostrate position before Him.  He is publicly bowed in worship before Jesus Christ.

In our context, the man has attended a worship service with one of our churches and is on his knees at “the altar”.

The outward act of humble worship is just the beginning.  The man begins to speak to Jesus and calls Him, “Jesus, Son of the Most High God” (v. 7).  What great theology!  He knows who Jesus is better than many Christians.  He knows His name (Jesus) and His position (Son of the Most High God).  Surely such a great theologian must also be a great man of God!

It does not stop here.  The man (with the demon speaking through him) implores Jesus to not torment him (v. 7).  Obviously the demon’s theology is so developed that he understands judgment, end times, and eternal torment.  He also recognizes that Jesus has the power and authority to bring about judgment and torment.  Thus, the man not only speaks well about who Jesus is, but also unquestionably recognizes what He can do.

But it does not stop even here.  The demons implore Jesus to not torment but to rather send the them “into the swine so that we may enter them” (v. 12).  Jesus “gave them permission” and the demons obediently followed (v. 13).  The obedience demonstrated here is remarkable!  How many Christians ask Jesus for permission before acting, and then do exactly as Jesus permits them to do?

The point here is not the discussion of the actions of the man vs. the actions of the demons.  Neither is the point determining the extent of the possession or seeking to determine when the man acted on his own vs. being overwhelmed by the demons’ actions.  The point is this:

Here is a man who runs to Jesus, bows down in worship before Him, has a great theology and a remarkable obedience.  Yet, he is unsaved.  He is possessed by a demonic spirit rather than the Spirit of God.

How can this be?  How can a person with all of these wonderful qualities be unsaved?  This is because it matters less about which actions your possess and matters more about who possesses you.  All of the outward religion action in the world won’t get you an inch closer to God unless you are possessed, empowered, sealed and delivered by the Holy Spirit of God.  This is only possible by the atoning work of Jesus Christ through His death, burial and resurrection, and only comes about in those who have turned from their sin to trust in Christ.

Outward worship means nothing if it is Christless.  Many will preach and minister in the name of Jesus even though they do not know Him (Matthew 7:21-23).  Many will spend their lives in ministry but will spend eternity in hell.

Theological knowledge means nothing it if is Christless.  James writes, “You believe that God is one.  You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder” (James 2:19).  There is hardly one who knows the content of the Bible better than Satan himself.

Outward obedience means nothing if it is Christless.  When it came to testing Job, Satan obediently listened to God and did not exceed the boundaries He had set (Job 1:12).  If anyone understands his lack of ability apart from the power of God, it is Satan himself.

A person can walk an aisle, weep at an “altar”, gain perfect Sunday School attendance, bow in worship, teach a Sunday School class, minister in the name of Jesus, go on mission trips and praise Christ from his lips everyday for the rest of his life only to die and go to hell.

There is but one way to God and it is through Jesus Christ alone.  There is but one way of salvation and it is through the cross.  There is but one proper response to the Gospel of the cross and it is repentance from sin and faith in Jesus.  There is but one great evidence of conversion and it is a changed life.

Though the demon possessed man outwardly worshiped, it was not until he met Christ that his life was forever changed.  After truly meeting Christ, those who had known him before were “frightened” at his new life (Mark 5:15).  He wanted to follow Jesus wherever he went (v. 18) and became one of the first great missionaries to the Gentiles (v. 20).  Though these actions did not save the man, the dramatic change in life is evidence that he had met the Savior.

Are you going through the motions?  Are you depending on your good works?  Are you trusting in your experience of weeping at the altar?  Are you resting on your Sunday School attendance?  Are you confident in your ministry?  Or, are you trusting in Jesus Christ?  No amount of religious activity will bridge the sin gap that stands between you and your Creator.  It is only Christ.  It is only the cross.

Do you trust in Him and what He has done?  Or are you trusting in what you have done?  Has your heart and life been forever changed after meeting Jesus Christ?  What possesses you?

~Eric Douglas

Knowing The Principles Governing Physical Healing

I came across a most unusual blog today, New Genesis Resurrection Ministries.  In terms of looking for daily material here, I kept wanting to click away, but I was driven back several times to reconsider what was really being said.  Since most of my C201 readers have their discernment meters plugged in, I thought I would just toss this out there, and let you read and comment.  This piece was titled, And He Healed Them All, and is a subsection to a larger piece, Lies in the Face of Truth. (If you’ve got some time, you might prefer to click the link and read the whole piece, the graphics and images are rather interesting, too.)

Matthew 8:16 …They brought unto him many that were possessed with devils : and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were sick:.

The records show Jesus healing everyone brought to him for healing; that’s what he asks us to do. We’re used to traveling in cars at 60 miles per hour. At the equator the earth rotates at 1040.4 miles per hour. If the force of gravity didn’t hold us down, everything including we would go careening off the earth into outer space. If you want to go off into outer space however, an “escape earth velocity” of 24, 000 miles per hour speed is required. With gravity in place you wont see people go careening off into space anytime soon unless by deliberate effort to do so which requires you to know the facts. The records state that Jesus healed all that came to him for healing; you do not see men doing that today because they neither know the requisite facts, nor have the will to meet those requirements.

You want to go into outer space, you have to know the rules; you want to do the works of Jesus you have to know them too. In play also is a spiritual force much like the natural force of gravity holding things down. The force of Spiritual wickedness in high places in the churches won’t even allow men to even consider this as a possibility with them. So virile is this force, it will not even allow men to even consider this possibility. In fact they become overcome with this irrational petulance and impatience with anyone who would dare suggest this. In point of fact this is impossible for men to do this, and that’s exactly why God so blithely commands that we do all that which Jesus did, and even greater works to show to the world his sons manifested in men by a line of new knowledge renewing their minds, and affecting this transformation. It is not in the interest of spiritual wickedness in high places to allow this, or even discuss this a possibility. Though it is only a theory, if you even question the “reality” of evolution today, you are considered the flaming village idiot; even though God says: nothing shall be impossible with you, if you consider the works of Jesus as possible with you, you suffer the same fate as a village idiot.

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You just can’t go flying off the earth into outer space unless you plan to; you can’t do the works of Jesus to which we are called unless you plan to. The force of spiritual wickedness in high places at work against you doing such works is so virile, it will not even allow you to consider the possibility of doing Jesus’ works, never mind the greater works prescribed for us to do.

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(Ezekiel 34:8-15) As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd , neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock; 9 Therefore, O ye shepherds , hear the word of the LORD; 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds ; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. 11 For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out . 12 As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered ; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. 13 And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country. 14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down , saith the Lord GOD.

Bold face lies cover minister’s dereliction to duty. Either you read it, or let someone tell you what they think Jesus said, but all said and done, you have to make the judgment call as to whether what you read or hear are lies in the face of the truth. To successfully do so you are not without adequate resources. The spirit of truth is promised by God to lead us into all truth. As you evaluate the information, some of these lies are so bold faced that little help is required to point them out. They were clumsily concocted to cover man’s remissive conduct, in the performance of his duties to carry on the ministry of reconciliation left to him by Jesus, in his absence. If the pattern of a building is in error, and you coming lately to the scene go to build on it, or add to it; though you may not be responsible for the error, when you contribute to it the consequence of the error that you now contribute to is something you wont be able to avoid.

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In the book of Job God asks: can man benefit God or hurt God by rendering help, or directing violence to his fellow-man? The resounding answer returns as no! We can neither benefit or hurt God by aid or violence directed to our fellow-man. The whole point of rendering aid to our fellow-man, is that the power God which is what Christ is, be revealed in the delivery of such aid in a way that is beyond the scope of what is possible with man, yet at the hand of man. Done this way it points to the works of God in man making him manifestly the sons of God; it is upon this rock that Jesus said he would build his church; but it is no longer, so because the foundations have shifted to man without the evident power of God, within the range of man’s capabilities. The hidden mystery in performing the impossible works of the ministry of reconciliation was ordained for our glory before the foundation of the world, and to reveal the glory of God is what we have chosen to set aside to honor man instead.

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Jesus could have visited and healed Lazarus, but he waited till he was dead, buried and was rotting before he came to raise him from the dead. This he did, so that men would see the glory of God’s power. He raised up Pharaoh and the empire of Egypt to show to the world his power in directing the affairs of nations. It is this same power that we seek to conceal when we insist on doing the ministry of reconciliation in the capacity of men, according to the measure of men, which are so many lies in the face of the truth. The many missing signs that should follow the preaching of the gospel bear witness of these many lies that still fly in the face of the truth; each of those missing sign represent a lie tin the face of the truth. It is true that God said we are gods because we are his children, and that truth cannot be altered, but that doesn’t stop us from flying in the face of the truth and deny what God himself says of us. It is for that reason that God says that the foundations of the earth are out of alignment. We may sing ‘the church has one foundation, it’s Jesus Christ our Lord’, but it is no longer on that foundation that we build; what Jesus does are impossible things, but what we do are things that not even men who profess faith can do.

There were other means to secure wine at the wedding, feed the multitude or so many other things that Jesus did, but if we really want the world to see the power of God, and see the glory of God, then we must consider obeying the truth, instead of spreading more lies in the face of the truth.

Christianity 201 is a melting-pot of devotional and Bible study content from across the widest range of the Christian blogosphere.  An individual article may be posted even if some or all readers might not agree with other things posted at the same blog, and two posts may follow on consecutive days by authors with very different doctrinal perspectives.  The Kingdom of God is so much bigger than the small portion of it we can see from our personal vantage point, and one of the purposes of C201 is to allow readers a ‘macro’ view of the many ministries and individual voices available for reading.