If
ever there was a "word" for today for what is known as the "Church of
Jesus the Messiah" (especially in the Western world) it would be this:
Somebody was showing Jesus the temple in Jerusalem and all the
impressive buildings surrounding it and Jesus blows them away with, "You
see all this? I tell you there will not be left standing of all this,
one stone left standing upon another..." Jesus wasn't even
remotely impressed with it all. HE was standing there Himself as the
the habitation of the Holy Spirit - the temple of Living God.
The location of the temple of God had changed. The buildings of the
former temple were empty of God's presence and even though they once
held the presence of God, they were nothing more now than historical
vanity...
It was that same "historical vanity" bereft of the
Spirit of God that called for the crucifixion of the Son of the Living
God. In approximately 70 Ad the temple was leveled to the ground. Why?
"...because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Have we already or are we about to miss our day of visitation? Are we so reluctant that we refuse to move forward with God as He moves forward?
And then in another place the Spirit of God speaks and says,
"Why when I called was there no one to answer, no man to stand in the gap?"
God has been speaking to HIS Church. Are we listening and being obedient to declare those things? What cost are we willing to pay?
And again He speaks,
"To every man is given a certain measure of faith..."
"Why do you spend money for that which cannot satisfy?..." "I counsel you to buy gold refined in the fire..."
Invest it wisely. Invest it in the eternal. Invest it in the Kingdom of
God. Like any investment, if we invest it foolishly, we can lose it. Many others before us have suffered and died for their faith.
Their lives are like refined gold and as examples to us that they "loved not their own lives unto death" for the sake of the Kingdom.
Do we really know what God's view is as to what exactly constitutes His
"Church" the "Temple of the Holy Spirit?" OR are we still investing in
the "historical vanity" that has been erroneously defined as the
"Church" all these centuries?
The Church of Jesus the Messiah is a spiritual living organism composed of all who have been, now are and will ever be living in the Spirit of the Messiah. It is not an external earthly organization. The only thing that connects us is that we all are born of the same Spirit...
Monday, March 24, 2014
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Is God Just?
God is Who He Is. He is the Creator of the Universe. The reason we can't (or won't) wrap our head around that reality is because there is something in us that does not want to believe that someone exists who is far superior. Who is capable of ruling over us. Who has the right and the power to do so at will.
"He curses whom He will curse and He blesses whom He will bless."
When God created man, He did so to have someone to share with, to share all that He is. His love, His power, His wisdom. His very nature revolves around and is reflected in His desire to benefit man and His creation. He loves us. He wants us to share in that nature. To become like Him. God can choose... He gave us the ability to choose as well.
And man early on made a choice. A fatal choice. Man was tempted by, and gave into a lie that challenged God's command and authority. That lie was originated by a fallen, rebellious , self centered, self serving, self worshiping evil being. Man chose to believe that lie and because of that choice became separated from God and His nature, and partook of that fallen being's very nature. Man's choice resulted in a transition from living under God's blessing to living under God's curse. A curse that was never intended for Man.
There is something in the heart of man as a result of that Fall. Man's love for God's love turned into a fear of His superiority. A deeper fear of anyone else's superiority or even potential superiority began to develop in man. That deeper, yet more subtle fear has affected the world we live in and our personal lives in a multitude of ways. The entire world system is built on it. That fear drives our need to be superior. It drives our internal need to "compete." To survive at the expense of another. It is the anti-type of God's nature and plan for man and we are all guilty of participating in it whether we want to believe that or not. That is the price of the Fall of man and it ends up in our death. (and in the world system - corruption and eventual destruction)
That's a hard pill to swallow. If we can, for a minute, take a hard, honest look at the world we live in and our own lives. Our national identity, our "church" or religious identity, our racial or ethnic perceptions, our personal relationships, work relationships, even our marital relationships, even our own opinions of ourselves, etc are affected if not ruled by that rebellion and resultant fear and the dominance of the world system that has been built around it.
So, "What's the answer to all this?" you are asking? There is an answer but it's not the one we want to hear. The answer is that God, the Creator of the Universe (and everything and everyone in it) has the answer. It's not "WHAT is the answer?" It's "WHO is the answer?" The answer is to return to the ONE who created it all in the first place....
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life..." John 3:16
"He curses whom He will curse and He blesses whom He will bless."
When God created man, He did so to have someone to share with, to share all that He is. His love, His power, His wisdom. His very nature revolves around and is reflected in His desire to benefit man and His creation. He loves us. He wants us to share in that nature. To become like Him. God can choose... He gave us the ability to choose as well.
And man early on made a choice. A fatal choice. Man was tempted by, and gave into a lie that challenged God's command and authority. That lie was originated by a fallen, rebellious , self centered, self serving, self worshiping evil being. Man chose to believe that lie and because of that choice became separated from God and His nature, and partook of that fallen being's very nature. Man's choice resulted in a transition from living under God's blessing to living under God's curse. A curse that was never intended for Man.
There is something in the heart of man as a result of that Fall. Man's love for God's love turned into a fear of His superiority. A deeper fear of anyone else's superiority or even potential superiority began to develop in man. That deeper, yet more subtle fear has affected the world we live in and our personal lives in a multitude of ways. The entire world system is built on it. That fear drives our need to be superior. It drives our internal need to "compete." To survive at the expense of another. It is the anti-type of God's nature and plan for man and we are all guilty of participating in it whether we want to believe that or not. That is the price of the Fall of man and it ends up in our death. (and in the world system - corruption and eventual destruction)
That's a hard pill to swallow. If we can, for a minute, take a hard, honest look at the world we live in and our own lives. Our national identity, our "church" or religious identity, our racial or ethnic perceptions, our personal relationships, work relationships, even our marital relationships, even our own opinions of ourselves, etc are affected if not ruled by that rebellion and resultant fear and the dominance of the world system that has been built around it.
So, "What's the answer to all this?" you are asking? There is an answer but it's not the one we want to hear. The answer is that God, the Creator of the Universe (and everything and everyone in it) has the answer. It's not "WHAT is the answer?" It's "WHO is the answer?" The answer is to return to the ONE who created it all in the first place....
"God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life..." John 3:16
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Childlike Faith
"Except you have faith like this little child, you will not enter into the Kingdom of Heaven"
Years ago, we were living on a small ranch in the middle of Oregon. It was a wonderful life and a great experience for the kids. We had sheep, goats, a pig, a whole bunch of chickens and even for a while a miniature pony. The older kids all had their own animals to take care of but one of my younger daughters was only maybe 4 at the time and she wanted a pet too so we got her two goldfish. She named them Hoover and Huuuuver. It was pretty cute when she would talk about them because they both basically had the same name but the latter had a long drawn out UUUUUU in it. My daughter loved her two goldfish.
One morning, we woke up and Huuuuver was laying on the surface of the water upside down with a certain bubbly mire surrounding him. I touched him repeatedly and well, there just was no response so we took the fishbowl in the kitchen. I guess he had died during the night. My poor daughter was devastated because Huuuuver wasn't responding and she got pretty upset. I walked into the living room and she came up to me with a desperate worried look on her face and started grabbing onto my pants leg almost begging me, "Daddy pray to Jesus to HEAL Huuuuver!!!" over and over again.
I just didn't know how to explain that Huuuuver was dead and she just kept pulling on my pants and begging me to pray for him. It was agonizing to see her so upset and worried. Finally, maybe just to calm her down and give me a few minutes to think about how to explain this all to her, I took her hands and prayed, "Lord Jesus please heal Huuuuver..." I honestly didn't have the slightest faith that God was going to do anything. She seemed to calm down when I prayed so that was a tremendous relief.
A few minutes later, I went into the kitchen and Huuuuver was swimming around like nothing had ever happened and Leah was so relieved that Jesus had "healed" Huuuuver...
Now I gotta be honest here and tell you that it never really crossed my mind that God was really going to heal Huuuuver much less raise him from the dead. I just really was pressed for God to intervene and give her some peace. (Which He did.) That's the mature "Christian thing to do" right? Well my daughter didn't understand any of that. She was just utterly convinced that if we prayed to Jesus to heal Huuuuver that God was going to do that... And, He did!
Now, if you were to ask my daughter roughly 22 years later if she remembers that, she would tell you that she doesn't. So you might say what is the value of her having that experience if she doesn't remember it? That certainly is a legitimate question and I think this morning when this came to my mind I may have gotten an answer to that question.
When a great tree drops a seed to the ground does the tree remember it? Regardless of whether the tree remembers the seed or not, that seed falls to the ground and in effect dies and is buried and may be long forgotten. And yet, that seed merges with the ground of life and it is watered and it sprouts and if no one comes by and steps on it, that seed will grow into a great tree. That forgotten seed is destined to become a great tree whose shade and fruit will bless all those that pass by it.
Never underestimate the faith of a little child even if later it falls to the ground and dies forgotten whether that child of God be 4 or 40, "for of such is the Kingdom of God..."
But woe to you if you pass by and see that seed starting to sprout and you step on it...
Years ago, we were living on a small ranch in the middle of Oregon. It was a wonderful life and a great experience for the kids. We had sheep, goats, a pig, a whole bunch of chickens and even for a while a miniature pony. The older kids all had their own animals to take care of but one of my younger daughters was only maybe 4 at the time and she wanted a pet too so we got her two goldfish. She named them Hoover and Huuuuver. It was pretty cute when she would talk about them because they both basically had the same name but the latter had a long drawn out UUUUUU in it. My daughter loved her two goldfish.
One morning, we woke up and Huuuuver was laying on the surface of the water upside down with a certain bubbly mire surrounding him. I touched him repeatedly and well, there just was no response so we took the fishbowl in the kitchen. I guess he had died during the night. My poor daughter was devastated because Huuuuver wasn't responding and she got pretty upset. I walked into the living room and she came up to me with a desperate worried look on her face and started grabbing onto my pants leg almost begging me, "Daddy pray to Jesus to HEAL Huuuuver!!!" over and over again.
I just didn't know how to explain that Huuuuver was dead and she just kept pulling on my pants and begging me to pray for him. It was agonizing to see her so upset and worried. Finally, maybe just to calm her down and give me a few minutes to think about how to explain this all to her, I took her hands and prayed, "Lord Jesus please heal Huuuuver..." I honestly didn't have the slightest faith that God was going to do anything. She seemed to calm down when I prayed so that was a tremendous relief.
A few minutes later, I went into the kitchen and Huuuuver was swimming around like nothing had ever happened and Leah was so relieved that Jesus had "healed" Huuuuver...
Now I gotta be honest here and tell you that it never really crossed my mind that God was really going to heal Huuuuver much less raise him from the dead. I just really was pressed for God to intervene and give her some peace. (Which He did.) That's the mature "Christian thing to do" right? Well my daughter didn't understand any of that. She was just utterly convinced that if we prayed to Jesus to heal Huuuuver that God was going to do that... And, He did!
Now, if you were to ask my daughter roughly 22 years later if she remembers that, she would tell you that she doesn't. So you might say what is the value of her having that experience if she doesn't remember it? That certainly is a legitimate question and I think this morning when this came to my mind I may have gotten an answer to that question.
When a great tree drops a seed to the ground does the tree remember it? Regardless of whether the tree remembers the seed or not, that seed falls to the ground and in effect dies and is buried and may be long forgotten. And yet, that seed merges with the ground of life and it is watered and it sprouts and if no one comes by and steps on it, that seed will grow into a great tree. That forgotten seed is destined to become a great tree whose shade and fruit will bless all those that pass by it.
Never underestimate the faith of a little child even if later it falls to the ground and dies forgotten whether that child of God be 4 or 40, "for of such is the Kingdom of God..."
But woe to you if you pass by and see that seed starting to sprout and you step on it...
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Teaching Respect For Women
(Somebody needs to read this. You are going to need it. Actually we all do. Especially us men.)
Sometimes I feel so out of place in the society I live in nowadays. I'm such a weird dude. (Hmm why am I mentally visualizing 100 "likes" right right now on facebook on that last sentence?)
When I was young boy growing up, I was taught things, more so by the example of older men around me, that when I am approaching a doorway to a store or mall that if anybody is behind me that I should open the door for them. That was especially true if an older woman was behind me. I can still visually see myself being pulled back by my collar by my dad for attempting to enter without taking note that there was an older woman wanting to enter without my opening the door for her. Still to this day 50 years later, I instinctively look for people behind me when entering a public doorway and if there is an older woman, or a woman leading children, I especially but respectfully make it a point to open the door for her.
Teaching young boys and young men respect for ALL women in that way has a whole extended outcome on society. It plants in them an internal respect that affects all other interactions with and responses to women throughout their entire lives.
In my delusional hippie days that concept was called "square" and "old fashioned" and that notion is still prevalent in today's Western society. In fact at least in cities in the USA, (country boys are a whole different breed of men sometimes), that false perception is even more prevalent than it was in my hippie days in the 60's and early 70's. It's just not as obvious. It's become the norm. That notion has become ingrown and subtle and it is affecting a lot of other responses in men.
About 20 or so years ago we had a sister in the Lord who was living with us and one day she confided that when she was a teenager (16?) she had been raped by her stepdad and his brother. I could see that even then, years later, the memory of it was seriously affecting her. My response was that I was saddened for her going through that - visibly sad. But I noticed that my sadness and "empathy" wasn't really what she was expecting or needing really in her heart and I honestly did NOT know how else I should respond or react.
It troubled me for years off and on because I sensed that my response was NOT God's response and that my response was totally inadequate for what she needed to see and hear from a man, a brother after the fact over what they had done to her. So once again in my life, I needed my Heavenly DADDY to teach me what I needed planted inside me so I could respond with HIS response in a situation like that. Off and on I would pray and agonize over this unknown lack in me when it would come up. I just couldn't find it. I'd always flash on that sister's face looking at me wanting so badly for a man's response to that torturous memory. The right response. The one she needed.
A little over 10 years ago, We were living in a pretty good neighborhood. One night I found myself suddenly wide awake at 2:00AM out of a sound sleep. If anybody knows me, do NOT wake me up when I am in a sound sleep. I knew only God would dare wake me up like that (He's done it before) so I went downstairs into the patio and waited on the Lord. A few minutes later I heard someone out on the sidewalk across the street and I heard the voice of a young lady saying in a trembling fearful voice, "Please leave me alone!" That touched something in my heart with an instant response. I moved over quietly and undetected and hid alongside our wood fence to observe what was going on. Three young men (pretty big guys) were circling around her on bicycles and wouldn't let her go any further. They were taunting her. It was very dark but I could see them in the shadows. Then I heard one of them in this sleazy lying voice tell her, "We won't hurt you..." I KNEW right then what they were up to.
I wasn't really physically well at the time and I knew I was no match for those three young "men" (Did I say men? I meant animals). But, I had been praying the whole time and I knew I HAD to do something. Suddenly, something rose up inside of me and I yelled in a furious gravelly voice so loud (almost like the roar of a lion) that it shocked me, "You ok?" and those guys took off out of there like pigs scattering in a forest.
Realizing she was terrified and didn't need a man that was a stranger approaching her at that moment, I asked her if she lived nearby and she said yes. I told her in my gentile "daddy" voice, "listen I know you are scared right now so I'm going to follow a ways behind you and make sure you get home ok... She said ok and I walked for several blocks until I saw her go into the door of her house. Two weeks later I was telling a friend about all this and he said, "Don't you read the news? Three guys on bicycles dragged an older lady off her porch and violently raped her the other night..." (not the same night) I guess nobody woke up that night...
That night, for that moment, something inside me kicked in. That young lady became as my daughter right then and I knew I had a responsibility to come to her aid as much as if she was my own daughter, or wife or sister, or grandmother. In effect I instinctively opened the door for her to pass through and escape being raped.
I also finally understood a bit about what that sister needed from me all those years ago. She needed me to express ANGER that those men raped her. Furious anger inside like I would be if my own physical sister had gotten raped. I needed to respond just like God was when it happened. They raped His child! She needed to know that God was furiously angry at what they had done to her.
I need to note here that the anger I am talking about is not the macho stomping around all mad type. That kind of anger only makes somebody feel good about themselves. I'm talking about an anger that produces rightful responses. Responses not Irrational Reactions...
So men, in our plans to reorder our societal norms, we better not forget to keep the part about teaching our sons to "open the door" out of respect for women cause I can guarantee you that the father's of those three 19 year old young men or that step dad and his brother didn't. But if we aren't living in respect of women or aware of our responsibility to protect them ourselves, no matter how well we are teaching them, don't expect them to be any different than we are...
People always tell me, "If God is such a loving God, why does he allow bad things to happen?" God gave man dominion over the earth. He gave him the gift of "free will". It's not God that is allowing people to do bad things. We are...
God said, "Why when I called was there no one to answer? No man to stand in the gap? Maybe we all need to do some soul searching about our answer to that question...
Sometimes I feel so out of place in the society I live in nowadays. I'm such a weird dude. (Hmm why am I mentally visualizing 100 "likes" right right now on facebook on that last sentence?)
When I was young boy growing up, I was taught things, more so by the example of older men around me, that when I am approaching a doorway to a store or mall that if anybody is behind me that I should open the door for them. That was especially true if an older woman was behind me. I can still visually see myself being pulled back by my collar by my dad for attempting to enter without taking note that there was an older woman wanting to enter without my opening the door for her. Still to this day 50 years later, I instinctively look for people behind me when entering a public doorway and if there is an older woman, or a woman leading children, I especially but respectfully make it a point to open the door for her.
Teaching young boys and young men respect for ALL women in that way has a whole extended outcome on society. It plants in them an internal respect that affects all other interactions with and responses to women throughout their entire lives.
In my delusional hippie days that concept was called "square" and "old fashioned" and that notion is still prevalent in today's Western society. In fact at least in cities in the USA, (country boys are a whole different breed of men sometimes), that false perception is even more prevalent than it was in my hippie days in the 60's and early 70's. It's just not as obvious. It's become the norm. That notion has become ingrown and subtle and it is affecting a lot of other responses in men.
About 20 or so years ago we had a sister in the Lord who was living with us and one day she confided that when she was a teenager (16?) she had been raped by her stepdad and his brother. I could see that even then, years later, the memory of it was seriously affecting her. My response was that I was saddened for her going through that - visibly sad. But I noticed that my sadness and "empathy" wasn't really what she was expecting or needing really in her heart and I honestly did NOT know how else I should respond or react.
It troubled me for years off and on because I sensed that my response was NOT God's response and that my response was totally inadequate for what she needed to see and hear from a man, a brother after the fact over what they had done to her. So once again in my life, I needed my Heavenly DADDY to teach me what I needed planted inside me so I could respond with HIS response in a situation like that. Off and on I would pray and agonize over this unknown lack in me when it would come up. I just couldn't find it. I'd always flash on that sister's face looking at me wanting so badly for a man's response to that torturous memory. The right response. The one she needed.
A little over 10 years ago, We were living in a pretty good neighborhood. One night I found myself suddenly wide awake at 2:00AM out of a sound sleep. If anybody knows me, do NOT wake me up when I am in a sound sleep. I knew only God would dare wake me up like that (He's done it before) so I went downstairs into the patio and waited on the Lord. A few minutes later I heard someone out on the sidewalk across the street and I heard the voice of a young lady saying in a trembling fearful voice, "Please leave me alone!" That touched something in my heart with an instant response. I moved over quietly and undetected and hid alongside our wood fence to observe what was going on. Three young men (pretty big guys) were circling around her on bicycles and wouldn't let her go any further. They were taunting her. It was very dark but I could see them in the shadows. Then I heard one of them in this sleazy lying voice tell her, "We won't hurt you..." I KNEW right then what they were up to.
I wasn't really physically well at the time and I knew I was no match for those three young "men" (Did I say men? I meant animals). But, I had been praying the whole time and I knew I HAD to do something. Suddenly, something rose up inside of me and I yelled in a furious gravelly voice so loud (almost like the roar of a lion) that it shocked me, "You ok?" and those guys took off out of there like pigs scattering in a forest.
Realizing she was terrified and didn't need a man that was a stranger approaching her at that moment, I asked her if she lived nearby and she said yes. I told her in my gentile "daddy" voice, "listen I know you are scared right now so I'm going to follow a ways behind you and make sure you get home ok... She said ok and I walked for several blocks until I saw her go into the door of her house. Two weeks later I was telling a friend about all this and he said, "Don't you read the news? Three guys on bicycles dragged an older lady off her porch and violently raped her the other night..." (not the same night) I guess nobody woke up that night...
That night, for that moment, something inside me kicked in. That young lady became as my daughter right then and I knew I had a responsibility to come to her aid as much as if she was my own daughter, or wife or sister, or grandmother. In effect I instinctively opened the door for her to pass through and escape being raped.
I also finally understood a bit about what that sister needed from me all those years ago. She needed me to express ANGER that those men raped her. Furious anger inside like I would be if my own physical sister had gotten raped. I needed to respond just like God was when it happened. They raped His child! She needed to know that God was furiously angry at what they had done to her.
I need to note here that the anger I am talking about is not the macho stomping around all mad type. That kind of anger only makes somebody feel good about themselves. I'm talking about an anger that produces rightful responses. Responses not Irrational Reactions...
So men, in our plans to reorder our societal norms, we better not forget to keep the part about teaching our sons to "open the door" out of respect for women cause I can guarantee you that the father's of those three 19 year old young men or that step dad and his brother didn't. But if we aren't living in respect of women or aware of our responsibility to protect them ourselves, no matter how well we are teaching them, don't expect them to be any different than we are...
People always tell me, "If God is such a loving God, why does he allow bad things to happen?" God gave man dominion over the earth. He gave him the gift of "free will". It's not God that is allowing people to do bad things. We are...
God said, "Why when I called was there no one to answer? No man to stand in the gap? Maybe we all need to do some soul searching about our answer to that question...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)