The Significance of the Cup

In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you. __Luke 22:20 (NIV)

On the eve of the Passover feast, Christ, the Lamb of God, shared a last supper with His disciples. One of them would betray Him. Before dawn, the others would desert Him and one of them—Peter, the Rock—would deny Him.

“This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”  (Matt 26:28)  Luke inserts the word “NEW” before covenant.  God provides for Himself a Lamb and institutes a NEW covenant with those who believe.  A radically, wonderfully, unconditionally NEW Covenant!  Paul explained the revolutionary “newness” of the New Covenant in (among other passages) his letter to the saints at Colossae:

 [Thus you were circumcised when] you were buried with Him in [your] baptism, in which you were also raised with Him to a new life] through [your] faith in the working of God as displayed] when He raised Him up from the dead. And you who were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh (your sensuality, your sinful carnal nature), [God] brought to life together with [Christ], having [freely] forgiven us all our transgressions, Having cancelled and blotted out and wiped away the handwriting of the note (bond) with its legal decrees and demands which was in force and stood against us (hostile to us). This [note with its regulations, decrees, and demands] He set aside and cleared completely out of our way by nailing it to [His] cross. [God] disarmed the principalities and powers that were ranged against us and made a bold display and public example of them, in triumphing over them in Him and in it [the cross].” __Colossians 2:12-15 (The Amplified Bible)

Do you get that saints? When Jesus said “I came to fulfill the Law”, this is what He meant: to become, once and for all, the atoning sacrifice that fulfills the requirements of the Law and cancels sin. The devil has no accusation now to bring against you, if you are in Christ Jesus! Perhaps you would need to have lived in 1st century Jerusalem to understand how burdensome the Pharisees had made the Law, but today legalism in the Church obscures what Christ has done for us! The “regulations, decrees, and demands” (food laws, tithing laws, temple sacrifices, etc.) have been “set aside” for those who are “in Christ”. He writes His perfect law upon our hearts:  

Jesus said to him, “‘you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”__ Matthew 22:37-40 (NKJV)

Only when we understand and appropriate fully how radically New this Covenant is compared to the Old Covenant can we give Him our whole hearts! Only in the New Covenant power, sealed and administered by the Holy Spirit, can we walk by grace in this world, consumed with love for God and our neighbor. Spiritual “to do lists” and observances of Old Testament rules (our works, our efforts) distance us from Christ Himself. The New Covenant dispenses with everything that stands between you and God—including your own effort and works—and opens heaven!

 “For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power”. __ Colossians 2:9-10

We are “complete in Him” new creatures in a new creation. We are not merely “sinners saved by grace”. We have received a full pardon and have been restored to the place in God’s family He intended from before the foundation of the world! We have been robed in the righteousness of Christ and seated at the feast table like the prodigal son. We have been given rings of sonship. and all the riches of our Father are opened to us—not in the “sweet by and by”, but now! We are assured a place at the wedding supper of the Lamb. This is the significance of the cup of the New Covenant!

On Being (Rather than Seeming)

I have often mused upon our North Carolina State Motto: Esse Quam Videri, which in Latin means “to be, rather than to seem”.

How many hours have I lived doing (in order to seem), instead of just being?  We fill our days with activity…doing, doing, doing…without stopping to simply be!

What fears, what sorrows, what failure can I think to suppress with all my doing?

Perhaps when I stop doing, it hurts to be frightened or sorrowful or lacking. Perhaps when I stop doing…when I am simply still…it hurts to realize all that my doing is “toward” isn’t even subject to my mortal control.

Sometimes dreams die hard. Sometimes giving up on having control is harder than maintaining the illusion that we can have control. At least doing makes it seem like we have control.

 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth.” __Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

 Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!__Psalm 46:10 (Amplified Bible)

But ah, in the stillness of not doing…in the acceptance that “seeming” is not the same as “being”…I am free to ponder, “For in Him we live and move and have our being; as even some of your [own] poets have said, For we are also His offspring.” __Acts 17:28 (Amplified)

Not “in Him, I do”. But, rather:  “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” __Philippians 4:13 NKJV

The Amplified version renders Philippians 4:13:

“I have strength for all things in Christ Who empowers me [I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him Who infuses inner strength into me; I am self-sufficient in Christ's sufficiency].”

Not, “in Him, I seem”. But, rather: “I have my being…I am His offspring”, to paraphrase Paul.  

Only when I cease doing in order to simply be do I begin to understand these words: “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”__Philippians 4:11 

Again, the Amplified Bible puts the verse under a microscope, and I see the importance of being rather than seeming…or doing:

“Not that I am implying that I was in any personal want, for I have learned how to be content (satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted) in whatever state I am.”__Philippians 4:11 (Amplified).

Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change, He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.                                                         

                                                            __Katharina von Schlegel

 

“Come, Let Us Adore Him!”

When my son Mark was in the third grade, his teacher assigned a series of “Famous People” reports. Over the course of the year, each student researched and reported on three famous people who have had an impact on history or culture.

First, Mark researched and presented a report about Walt Disney. Allusions to the characters Disney created and their personalities, words or habits are easily recognized by almost anyone—child or adult. Mark learned a lot about the man’s childhood and early career. He created a collage with pictures of Walt and his famous animated characters. So my son can say he knows a lot about Walt Disney. But he would have to concede he really never knew Disney personally.

Tiger Woods presented an enjoyable opportunity for Mark to research an interesting sports figure. Of course, at the time, Tiger’s career was already historic and his personal life seemed unassailably happy. While presenting his report, Mark wore a red shirt to portray Tiger’s superstitious affection for his good-luck attire. A Nike visor completed the “look”, and a rundown of all Tiger’s career accomplishments in golf made the presentation complete. So, my son can say he knows a lot about Tiger Woods. But he would have to concede he really doesn’t know Tiger personally.

I’m not sure I’ll ever get all the black felt fiber out of the sewing machine feed. It’s been there since I sewed the black top hat for Mark’s third character. The third report Mark completed involved a man who had a profound impact on our nation’s history. From his early days in Kentucky to his rise to the White House, this man held high ideals and was a paragon of moral character. Whether in personal tragedy or national crisis, Abraham Lincoln maintained a vision of justice that ranks him among the most honorable men who ever lived. My son could say he knows a lot about Abraham Lincoln. But (you know it!) he would have to concede he never really met or knew Lincoln personally.

Could it be that, as you approach the manger of Bethlehem—if you even contemplate it at all while shopping, wrapping, scheming and dreaming this year—you are among those who know ABOUT Jesus, but don’t really know Him personally? And let me stop you right there before you say, “Of course I know Him. I accepted Him as my ‘personal savior’ on the umpteenth of July, 1972 at a revival meeting in Squirrel Trail, Alabama.”  Let’s not pretend that American individualism and the ‘personal savior’ thing matters to God more than it does.  Of course He saves sinners as individuals, but that’s not the heart of His eternal plan and purpose…not according to the Bible anyway. I’m not writing here for the “lost” who have never even met Him…I’m writing to you, Believer. Do you know a lot ABOUT Jesus? It’s a good thing to know a lot about Him. But search your heart…do you KNOW HIM?

People who know a lot about Jesus might choose Christmas cards with a faith-based message over cards with reindeer and jingle bells as the theme. But, look at the cards we choose. Are they designed to convey a “holy” atmosphere over a babe in a manger with gilt and rich colors? Or could we accept a card that comes close to capturing the stench of a stable and the raw poverty of His birth? In our romanticized, sanitized recognition that the Holy Creator God entered human history as a human baby, can we find a reminder that He arrived as a helpless child, born into the poorest imaginable family, hunted and persecuted from infancy by the rulers of His world? Can we remember that He didn’t come home from a hospital to a freshly painted, color-coordinated “nursery” in a house that has more bedrooms than some villages? Will it spoil our “holiday spirit” to be reminded that the plan wasn’t for Him to grow up and go to the best university, have a “successful” career and win a Nobel Prize? No…His destiny was a criminal’s death on a wooden cross, to be placed into a tomb…and to be resurrected, the firstborn of many brethren.  Many brethren…not just someone’s “personal savior”.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. If we don’t view Christmas through the lens of Easter we will totally miss the point.  And if we reduce it to our observance of traditions and customs that make it about gifts, lights, pretty scenes, sentimental stories about benevolence and hearts that magically grow larger at Christmas,  we really miss the significance of Emmanuel, God with us, coming into the squalid misery that is the essential reality of every human being when you strip away the “success” and the “security” we create for ourselves.  Apart from Him there is no lasting value in anything we cherish.

The Samaritan woman at the well received a revelation from Jesus Himself that the Father was seeking those who would worship “in spirit and in truth”. You can “be saved” and know a lot about Jesus, but only those who really know Him can worship in spirit and in truth.

Long before the crude makeshift cradle of His infancy, He created everything with a plan and a purpose in mind. Paul tells us, “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16 NIV)

Of course, one of the things we “evangelical” Christians insist upon is that all things were created by Him.  But let’s stop for a moment to consider the rest of Paul’s declaration: all things were created for Him.  If we linger too long over the fact that we can each have a “personal savior” we can make it—and often have made it—all about us!  We allow ourselves to experience Him “individually” as a collection of “saved” individuals observing customs and traditions that we say are about Him when they are really about us. “It just doesn’t seem like Christmas if we don’t_______.”  We’ve created traditions that are for us.  If we really know Jesus we can stop trying to experience Him through things we create and rest in the knowledge that we—and everything else—were created for Him. Now, that’s a God we can truly adore!

The first eighteen verses of the first chapter of John’s Gospel explain Jesus as the Creator God with a purpose that reaches far beyond that of a “personal savior”. How often have you read John 1:12-13 without stopping to ponder your status…not as a saved individual but as a member of God’s family?

“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent,nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. (John 1:12-13 NIV).”

The birth of Christ isn’t just about a “newborn king”. It’s about an eternal King who entered human history and ensured that we are part of HIS STORY. Before the stable and beyond the cross—into eternity, forever and ever—the glorious God who created the universe has a plan. The plan isn’t just “personal salvation”. The plan includes sons and daughters of God, a people Jesus came to draw unto Himself, to share His eternal divine life! While we exist on the earth, we are supposed to grow into a corporate expression of that divine life!  No way to depict THAT on a Christmas card. And if you are “in Christ” you have far more than a “personal savior”. Your adoption papers are signed and sealed and locked away as a precious treasure in the eternal vault of God’s acceptance and love! Whatever your burdens, your trials or your “shortcomings”, you are now and forever, among many brethren, a child of the living God! The babe of Bethlehem, from eternity past, is so much more than our creator and personal savior…He is our Brother and our Friend! My prayer this Christmas is that we all truly come to KNOW Him! Let’s take a step closer to the manger together.  “Behold your God”, and whisper to Him, “Lord, I want to know you!”

 “Come, let us adore Him!”

“Jacked Up”

I encourage you to read about the October Synchroblog theme “Down We Go” by clicking this link  before continuing to read this post.  Please explore the links to other bloggers participating in the October Synchroblog (at the bottom of this post).  Those links will allow you to “listen in”,  follow and comment on the “cyber-conversation” as other bloggers participate in writing about this month’s topic. The October challenge seems like a gigantic, multi-tiered party cake! Who knows what’s under the icing? If we take one slice at a time we’ll surely taste something of the Lord Jesus Christ in each writer’s portion.

__________

“Masquerade! Hide your face, so the world will never find you!” (Lyrics from Phantom of the Opera)

__________

It didn’t start in the age of  Dear Abby and Ann Landers.  Of course we want to think Dr. Ruth or Dr. Phil can somehow silence that “inner voice” which tells us there’s something wrong with us and we need to “get our act together” before everyone finds out.  I suspect it all started long before advice columnists in newspapers…before newspapers…before the printing press…just…”before”.  Perhaps it started with two naked people and some fig leaves—two people who were silly enough to think God would never find them?  Wherever it started , “it” is definitely there.  Yes…it must have started long, long ago.  I think Jesus may have been commenting on our “advice columnist” mentality with that remark about getting the beam out of my own eye before I presume to help you with the speck in yours. The knowledge that we lack “put togetherness” is behind the invention of masks and advice columns, you know. “Truth”. (High Five…or whatever cool people do…Amen?)

The Oprah Generation has a call on their lives! “Gather around the television set, all you broken folks out there in TV land. We know about your mask and we’ll help you with the problem as you sit there in the privacy of your own homes. And we’ll make it simple. See…it’s like this…just repeat after me ‘I’m Okay and You’re Okay’.”  Okay…I feel better, don’t you? “Okay-ness” is so highly valued and now we’ve got it. “Okay” is the new mask, but that’s “okay”, right? I’m not trying to be flip. I’m not denying the genuine need for legitimate psychological help in some cases, or the benefit of legitimate and responsible counseling. But isn’t it interesting where people hiding behind masks will turn in an effort to keep the mask in place while they move “upward” toward some non-existent point in their journey of “self help” when the mask will become unnecessary?

Listen carefully…

what you are about to hear…

is the sound of a mask hitting the floor. No, I don’t actually wear this thing anymore–not with you, Dear Reader. I just keep it handy to remind me God looks on the heart. The world sees me the way the world “sees”. And I won’t argue the world needs an eye exam. I’m every bit as broken and ruined and hopeless as the world thinks I am. The world sees what the balance on my bank account says (or, to be honest, DOESN’T say). The world sees the pile of unfinished projects, the short attention span, and the long string of broken, messed up relationships. The world sees…well…the world just sees…me. Before you rush to my defense, let me clarify…the absence of Christ in that assessment isn’t an indicator of “low self-esteem” on my part. It’s an absence of “Christ esteem” on the world’s part. If we truly esteem Christ, He helps us see others with His eyes…and we begin to see others as made in God’s image. So, if you felt a desire to rush to my defense, then you’re seeing me the way I know He does and you esteem Him…so, “we’re all good here”. Better than just “okay”.  You and I, well…we see each other and we know how to look for Him in each other.  Therefore, let’s assume we really are ready to go “down” this road together.

By the way, “me” is pretty much everyone.  Absent the presence of Christ, everyone in the world has a tendency to see everyone else as having the problem and to see self as “okay”…as long as no one comes up and rips off the mask. I don’t have to be completely “put together” as long as my “put togetherness” exceeds my “fallen- apartness” and, of course, your “put togetherness”.

“Woe to you, you Pharisees!” Again, I’m not making light of anyone’s brokenness—or anyone’s hypocrisy for that matter! I dare not make light of anything God takes so seriously. To borrow an adjective from my friend Lisa Koons (director of the Charlotte 24-7 Prayer Room), the human condition is just so “jacked up”. With the use of that simple street-slang descriptor, Lisa sealed my fate as to which slice of the Synchroblog cake I would take—and, simultaneously, she gave me the title for this post.

“Jacked UP”! If I read the Sermon on the Mount with a grain of discernment, what I’m discerning is that the answer to my “jacked up” condition is to encounter “down”…as in “lay it down”. Granted, “down” doesn’t always present itself negatively in our conversations, but how many times have you heard the following phrases?

“That’s a real downer…I’m having a nervous breakdown…down in the dumps…Well, you can go down with the ship if you want to, but I’m getting out of here…Hey, stop putting her down…It’s going to be your downfall…The conversation went downhill from there…”.

In the presence of a culture chasing “up”, I need to be reminded that Jesus calls me to lay my life down in order to take it up again. I need to be reminded of the outcry of the heart (nearly three decades ago) when, in a time of intense personal brokenness and pain, I read the 51^st Psalm and wept, “Lord teach me to embrace pain if it will draw me nearer to you!” I need to be reminded of the dangerous and daunting prayer I uttered little more than one decade ago: “Lord, teach me what it means to ‘die to self’…and help me mean this.” I need to be reminded that I, like Timothy, have an eternal destiny that was planned in Christ from before “In the beginning”—not because of anything I’ve done (as in “having my act together”), but because of grace!

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.  So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God,  who has saved us and called us to a holy life–not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”  2 Timothy 1:7-10

I need to be reminded that I might not look “fixed” in the eyes of the world—that what still appears “broken” in me may actually be God’s custom-tailored answer to a deeper and more dangerous brokenness: pride, boasting in my own works, ignoring God’s plan for me in pursuit of my own plan…any number of carnal temptations.

I need to be reminded that, while others may judge me harshly, according to my brokenness, the state in which I find myself may be a gift of “sight”.  What the world calls being put together is something even the very wicked can often accomplish, if only temporarily. Yes, I walk with a limp…but my brokenness reminds me that He loves me enough to wrestle with me through the night, and that He blesses the one who doesn’t let go.

And, being reminded of all these things, I need to lay even my self-awareness down daily in order to become a help to you, as you are to me—and as we two shall be to our brothers and sisters—until Christ is formed in us…a mutual “funeral” for the “old creation” that plays itself out in a matrix of Kingdom relationships…dying and being reborn together as we are built together into a New Creation temple—God’s habitation on the earth, an expression of His Kingdom wherever we come together, that the world might know Him because they see Him in us.

While the online slang dictionaries offer definitions of “jacked up” ranging from what we do to the automobile so we can change a flat tire to more recent and “obscene” alternatives, the most accurate interpretation offered by Urbandictionary[dot]com must unarguably be “not working properly or as intended”.

From the moment Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, humanity simply has not been “working properly or as intended”.  Top that for “obscenity”! Imagine…a species created in God’s image…a species into which (as we read in Genesis) the Creator breathed His own breath of life…and yet here we are—“all jacked up”.  The solution is to “lay it down” and He loved us enough to set the example…Personally. He intervenes on our behalf. He redeems. He “makes new”.

We can affirm moral absolutes—they do exist—and still not reap life! We can stand squarely in the center of doctrinal orthodoxy and miss the point! We can muster all eloquence (the tongues of men AND angels) and profess the highest of ideals…build magnificent edifices…design programs…write books…raise our hands high in worship…work hard and make a “success” of ourselves (and proudly say “to God be the glory”—even though God already has all the glory and it’s impossible for us to add to it) …and still be just as “jacked up” as Cain was when he murdered his brother.

But here’s some good news: reading the Sermon on the Mount with my “jacked up” understanding, I still get the idea that the people who realize they are “all jacked up” may well be standing in the front of the line when it comes to entering the Kingdom.

Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame; let the poor and needy praise your name. (Psalm 74:21 NRS)

The Lord lifts up the downtrodden; he casts the wicked to the ground. (Psalm 147:6)

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If you enjoyed reading this post, I invite you to join “the other voice in my head” at “my other blog”.  I took a second piece of cake in a piece entitled “How Low Can We Go?”.

More importantly, PLEASE visit the fifteen other writers who tackled the October topic—”Down We Go”:

• Alan Knox – How Low Can You Go
• Jeremy Myers – Seeking The Next Demotion
• Glenn Hager – Pretty People
• David Derbershire – Reaching The Inner City
• Tammy Carter – Flight Plan
• Leah Randall – Jacked Up
• Leah Randall (her other voice) – How Low Can We Go
• Liz Dyer – Beautiful Mess
• Maria Anderson – Down
• Christine Sine – There Is No Failure In The Kingdom of God
• Leah Sophia – Down We Go
• Hugh Hollowell – Downward
• Kathy Escobar – We May Look Like Losers – Redux
• Anthony Ehrhardt – Slumming It For Jesus
• Sonja Andrews – Diversion and Distraction
• Marta Layton – Down The Up Staircase
• Wendy McCaig – A Material Girl

End-times Update: Peter and Paul Tour “Your Town”

What if…

…Jesus sent Peter and Paul to your town today. Suppose they just “materialize” on Main Street. Now, let’s also suppose the automobiles and the clothing styles don’t come as any surprise to them. In fact, Jesus has made sure they look just like you would expect men in our culture to look… “ordinary”. And of course, our American English just comes naturally to them, too.

Nevertheless, a surprise awaits the two apostles.  They stand there for a few minutes, observing their surroundings, watching the people of your town going about their daily lives. They easily determine where the “marketplace” is located. The hospital might be an enigma…until an ambulance screams into the parking lot and they witness a sick or injured woman being carried inside on a stretcher. Civil authorities wearing uniforms and badges stand out. Peter and Paul know all about “authorities”. So, seeing a man with his hands shackled together being led to an imposing structure in the town square by uniformed officers naturally leads to the correct assumption that the civic rulers administer “justice” in that structure.

Perhaps Peter and Paul exchange puzzled looks and shrug as they pass the public school.  They’ve already noticed—without surprise—young mothers with babies and small children in the marketplace. But a school yard full of boys and girls together seems a little odd…almost like a prison. In their day, girls generally didn’t receive formal education, and certainly not alongside boys! Not that they would have a problem with educations for girls, BUT…!

An older man coming out of the hardware store stops to buy a newspaper from a newspaper box. Coins ping and spin on the sidewalk as he draws his hand awkwardly from the pocket of his trousers. Paul bends down to retrieve two of them, noting an eagle on one of the coins. As he hands it to the man, he notices what appears to be a goddess in flowing robes on the other side. The smaller coin is brownish, with the image of a bearded man on one side and a columned temple on the other. The man thanks him and turns to put coins into the newspaper box, but pauses as Paul asks, “Please, sir, can you tell us…where the Church is?”

“Well, which one do you want?” the man asks. He points toward a tall spire with a cross on top. “First Baptist is two blocks that way. The Lutherans are over across the railroad track, up four blocks; turn right then go about a block. If you want the Methodist church go about a half a mile past there and turn left. Grey stone building on the left. The Holiness Full Gospel of Supernatural Power church used to meet in that store building across the street where the shoe shop is—right there, next to the tattoo parlor. But they disbanded after one of the snakes bit that pastor of theirs. He didn’t die, but he’s sure enough paralyzed on that side of his face to this day. Can’t even blink his eye!”

“Well,” interrupts Peter, “we’re looking for the Church of Jesus Christ.”

The man blinks and looks from one apostle to the other. “You guys ain’t from around here, are you? You two Mormons? You know…what they call the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints?” He bends to remove the daily paper from the stack and winces as the door of the paper box springs into place with a bang. From habit, he checks to see if there are any coins in the change return on the side of the box.

“Uh…maybe you could just tell us at which house the Church in this town meets?” Paul glances sideways at Peter.  Then adds, “Or maybe you know two or three people who open their homes to the brethren?”

“Look,” the man shakes his head slowly, “I’m going over to the beer joint to meet my buddies. I can drop you off at the Presbyterian church on the way.”

We might all be willing to admit that the denominational separations in the Church give rise to a chuckle or two. But I’m really not trying to be funny here. I imagine there would be serious concern and lengthy discussion going on if Peter and Paul hung around and visited all these churches! What would they think of:

• Arguments over how and when to baptize believers?
• Preoccupation with eschatology, teachings about the “rapture”—and believers refusing to fellowship with one another on the basis of their “rapture” beliefs?
• Brass crosses and candlesticks on “altars”?
• Buildings dedicated for “worship”?
• Little cups of grape juice and stale little wafers…and the designation “Holy Communion”?
• A priestly caste (“clergy”) separate from the rest of the Body of Christ (“laity”)?
• Blood-bought saints—sons and daughters of God purchased by the atoning death and resurrection of His only begotten Son (the firstborn of many brothers and sisters)—being told they are under a curse if they don’t give 10% of every dollar that comes their way to “the church”?
• Believers calling the building, the clergy/laity caste system, and the budget “church”?

Just think…the New Testament canon could expand overnight—double at least—as Peter and Paul set about correcting all our errors!  I’m pretty sure they would say:

• “Any believer who shares the Gospel and leads someone to repentance and belief in Jesus Christ can and should baptize the new convert immediately!”
• “Stop arguing about when the Lord Jesus will return! Obey His commands—love God, love one another, make disciples.”
• “Jesus is our One Eternal High Priest and the only acceptable sacrifice is a living sacrifice. The only acceptable altar is your heart. The only Light is Christ. God does not live in temples made by human hands!”
• “When you come together, break bread and share the cup as a fellowship meal—a love feast. Remember He has become the final fulfillment of Passover—the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Remember the passion of your RISEN Lord and celebrate His Supper as a rehearsal for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb!”
• “Don’t you remember what the Lord Himself said?  ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave…’! (Matthew 20-25-26 NIV) The temple is no more! The Levites no longer stand before God to intercede for the people! You are all a holy nation, a royal priesthood!”
• “The tithe was an ordinance of the Law of Moses! That was the Old Covenant! Jesus fulfilled the Law and established a New Covenant! Now, when you give, give generously as the Holy Spirit leads you to, and according to what the Lord has provided in the way of material blessings! Share every good thing with one another! If you keep any part of the Law of Moses because you think it is commanded as a way to prove your righteousness, you must keep every single part of the Law—and it will NOT make you righteous!”
• “All this stuff you have learned to associate with the word ‘church’ is NOT what our Lord Jesus meant when He said He would establish His Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against (or withstand) it!  All these traditions of men are just ‘religion’ and you’re trapped in a system that makes you all just like the Pharisees! GET OVER IT! Repent of your religion and get into true relationship with your Redeemer and King!”

I’m sure they would say a lot more than that. Jesus came on the scene and challenged the status quo. I think He—and His apostles—would challenge the status quo (church-as-you-know-it) today. I think we should too. Get free, children of God! Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM! What we’ve been taught to call “church” isn’t the Church (ekklesia) as Jesus intended it to be. And He is going to do something—in this present day—about that! How foolish of believers to argue about the timing of the rapture when the Church obviously isn’t at all prepared for His coming! Paul wrote:

Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah).__(Romans 13:11 Amplified Bible

Paul would probably take out full-page newspaper ads and raise money to buy airtime for that announcement if he came to your town today.  Paul would want to make it very clear that Jesus is preparing a Bride without spot or wrinkle…and all the “baggage” we call “church”, including the “tribal labels” of our denominations are going to pass away before He returns to claim His bride. Peter would want to knock down all those church buildings of wood and steel and brick and stone! He would come to town looking for a temple of living stones, a living “second incarnation” of his Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit and shining with the light of Christ dwelling in each member of the Body.

If the hour was critical when Paul wrote to the Romans, what adjective even comes close to the hour in which we live?  The fields of the harvest are all around us and we’re supposed to be praying for the Lord of the Harvest to send workers!  Wake up!  There’s work to do! Real disciples understand there’s a cost associated with following Him! Salvation is free, but He promised the world will hate us! Put that thought into your Rapture Readiness Kit…and stop thinking the free gift of salvation  means you can avoid the cost of being a disciple!  Who told you you’re not required to suffer for His name’s sake because you’re taking the first flight out before the going gets tough? That’s NOT in the New Testament! Tribulation leads to purification and refinement…and only over-comers who remain faithful until the end are going to win those crowns!

The Christian Martyrs’ Last Prayer  Jean-Léon Gérôme 1824-1904

“Those who have the greatest measure of Christ and His riches to give are those who have suffered most, because in their suffering, that which was in the way of Christ has been removed; and all suffering is to that end.”__Theodore Austin-Sparks

As August 2011 draws to a close, I look back at the first entry in this fledgling “blog”.  On that day, I cited Wayne Jacobsen (in Authentic Relationships: Discover the Lost Art of One Anothering):  “Finding freedom from the tyranny of other people’s opinions is one of the greatest joys of life in Jesus.”  For the most part, my experience in Zarephath has truly been an experience of resting in total dependence on God. Maybe today I should have written for my “Other Blog”, but if I am truly free from the tyranny of other people’s opinions, then the place of total dependence on God is a place to proclaim what I believe to be Truth.

If Peter and Paul show up in your town wanting to know where the church is, please…just take them home with you and put the bread and the wine on the table! Or shoot me a message here and I’ll be glad to come pick them up and bring them to a house where the Church is welcome to meet!

End-times Update: Peter and Paul Tour “Your Town”

What if…

…Jesus sent Peter and Paul to your town today. Suppose they just “materialize” on Main Street. Now, let’s also suppose the automobiles and the clothing styles don’t come as any surprise to them. In fact, Jesus has made sure they look just like you would expect men in our culture to look… “ordinary”. And of course, our American English just comes naturally to them, too.

Nevertheless, a surprise awaits the two apostles.  They stand there for a few minutes, observing their surroundings, watching the people of your town going about their daily lives. They easily determine where the “marketplace” is located. The hospital might be an enigma…until an ambulance screams into the parking lot and they witness a sick or injured woman being carried inside on a stretcher. Civil authorities wearing uniforms and badges stand out. Peter and Paul know all about “authorities”. So, seeing a man with his hands shackled together being led to an imposing structure in the town square by uniformed officers naturally leads to the correct assumption that the civic rulers administer “justice” in that structure.

Perhaps Peter and Paul exchange puzzled looks and shrug as they pass the public school.  They’ve already noticed—without surprise—young mothers with babies and small children in the marketplace. But a school yard full of boys and girls together seems a little odd…almost like a prison. In their day, girls generally didn’t receive formal education, and certainly not alongside boys! Not that they would have a problem with educations for girls, BUT…!

An older man coming out of the hardware store stops to buy a newspaper from a newspaper box. Coins ping and spin on the sidewalk as he draws his hand awkwardly from the pocket of his trousers. Paul bends down to retrieve two of them, noting an eagle on one of the coins. As he hands it to the man, he notices what appears to be a goddess in flowing robes on the other side. The smaller coin is brownish, with the image of a bearded man on one side and a columned temple on the other. The man thanks him and turns to put coins into the newspaper box, but pauses as Paul asks, “Please, sir, can you tell us…where the Church is?”

“Well, which one do you want?” the man asks. He points toward a tall spire with a cross on top. “First Baptist is two blocks that way. The Lutherans are over across the railroad track, up four blocks; turn right then go about a block. If you want the Methodist church go about a half a mile past there and turn left. Grey stone building on the left. The Holiness Full Gospel of Supernatural Power church used to meet in that store building across the street where the shoe shop is—right there, next to the tattoo parlor. But they disbanded after one of the snakes bit that pastor of theirs. He didn’t die, but he’s sure enough paralyzed on that side of his face to this day. Can’t even blink his eye!”

“Well,” interrupts Peter, “we’re looking for the Church of Jesus Christ.”

The man blinks and looks from one apostle to the other. “You guys ain’t from around here, are you? You two Mormons? You know…what they call the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints?” He bends to remove the daily paper from the stack and winces as the door of the paper box springs into place with a bang. From habit, he checks to see if there are any coins in the change return on the side of the box.

“Uh…maybe you could just tell us at which house the Church in this town meets?” Paul glances sideways at Peter.  Then adds, “Or maybe you know two or three people who open their homes to the brethren?”

“Look,” the man shakes his head slowly, “I’m going over to the beer joint to meet my buddies. I can drop you off at the Presbyterian church on the way.”

We might all be willing to admit that the denominational separations in the Church give rise to a chuckle or two. But I’m really not trying to be funny here. I imagine there would be serious concern and lengthy discussion going on if Peter and Paul hung around and visited all these churches! What would they think of:

• Arguments over how and when to baptize believers?
• Preoccupation with eschatology, teachings about the “rapture”—and believers refusing to fellowship with one another on the basis of their “rapture” beliefs?
• Brass crosses and candlesticks on “altars”?
• Buildings dedicated for “worship”?
• Little cups of grape juice and stale little wafers…and the designation “Holy Communion”?
• A priestly caste (“clergy”) separate from the rest of the Body of Christ (“laity”)?
• Blood-bought saints—sons and daughters of God purchased by the atoning death and resurrection of His only begotten Son (the firstborn of many brothers and sisters)—being told they are under a curse if they don’t give 10% of every dollar that comes their way to “the church”?
• Believers calling the building, the clergy/laity caste system, and the budget “church”?

Just think…the New Testament canon could expand overnight—double at least—as Peter and Paul set about correcting all our errors!  I’m pretty sure they would say:

• “Any believer who shares the Gospel and leads someone to repentance and belief in Jesus Christ can and should baptize the new convert immediately!”
• “Stop arguing about when the Lord Jesus will return! Obey His commands—love God, love one another, make disciples.”
• “Jesus is our One Eternal High Priest and the only acceptable sacrifice is a living sacrifice. The only acceptable altar is your heart. The only Light is Christ. God does not live in temples made by human hands!”
• “When you come together, break bread and share the cup as a fellowship meal—a love feast. Remember He has become the final fulfillment of Passover—the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world! Remember the passion of your RISEN Lord and celebrate His Supper as a rehearsal for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb!”
• “Don’t you remember what the Lord Himself said?  ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave…’! (Matthew 20-25-26 NIV) The temple is no more! The Levites no longer stand before God to intercede for the people! You are all a holy nation, a royal priesthood!”
• “The tithe was an ordinance of the Law of Moses! That was the Old Covenant! Jesus fulfilled the Law and established a New Covenant! Now, when you give, give generously as the Holy Spirit leads you to, and according to what the Lord has provided in the way of material blessings! Share every good thing with one another! If you keep any part of the Law of Moses because you think it is commanded as a way to prove your righteousness, you must keep every single part of the Law—and it will NOT make you righteous!”
• “All this stuff you have learned to associate with the word ‘church’ is NOT what our Lord Jesus meant when He said He would establish His Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against (or withstand) it!  All these traditions of men are just ‘religion’ and you’re trapped in a system that makes you all just like the Pharisees! GET OVER IT! Repent of your religion and get into true relationship with your Redeemer and King!”

I’m sure they would say a lot more than that. Jesus came on the scene and challenged the status quo. I think He—and His apostles—would challenge the status quo (church-as-you-know-it) today. I think we should too. Get free, children of God! Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is FREEDOM! What we’ve been taught to call “church” isn’t the Church (ekklesia) as Jesus intended it to be. And He is going to do something—in this present day—about that! How foolish of believers to argue about the timing of the rapture when the Church obviously isn’t at all prepared for His coming! Paul wrote:

Besides this you know what [a critical] hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep (rouse to reality). For salvation (final deliverance) is nearer to us now than when we first believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Christ, the Messiah).__(Romans 13:11 Amplified Bible

Paul would probably take out full-page newspaper ads and raise money to buy airtime for that announcement if he came to your town today.  Paul would want to make it very clear that Jesus is preparing a Bride without spot or wrinkle…and all the “baggage” we call “church”, including the “tribal labels” of our denominations are going to pass away before He returns to claim His bride. Peter would want to knock down all those church buildings of wood and steel and brick and stone! He would come to town looking for a temple of living stones, a living “second incarnation” of his Lord, filled with the Holy Spirit and shining with the light of Christ dwelling in each member of the Body.

If the hour was critical when Paul wrote to the Romans, what adjective even comes close to the hour in which we live?  The fields of the harvest are all around us and we’re supposed to be praying for the Lord of the Harvest to send workers!  Wake up!  There’s work to do! Real disciples understand there’s a cost associated with following Him! Salvation is free, but He promised the world will hate us! Put that thought into your Rapture Readiness Kit…and stop thinking the free gift of salvation  means you can avoid the cost of being a disciple!  Who told you you’re not required to suffer for His name’s sake because you’re taking the first flight out before the going gets tough? That’s NOT in the New Testament! Tribulation leads to purification and refinement…and only over-comers who remain faithful until the end are going to win those crowns!

The Christian Martyrs’ Last Prayer  Jean-Léon Gérôme 1824-1904

“Those who have the greatest measure of Christ and His riches to give are those who have suffered most, because in their suffering, that which was in the way of Christ has been removed; and all suffering is to that end.”__Theodore Austin-Sparks

As August 2011 draws to a close, I look back at the first entry in this fledgling “blog”.  On that day, I cited Wayne Jacobsen (in Authentic Relationships: Discover the Lost Art of One Anothering):  “Finding freedom from the tyranny of other people’s opinions is one of the greatest joys of life in Jesus.”  For the most part, my experience in Zarephath has truly been an experience of resting in total dependence on God. Maybe today I should have written for my “Other Blog”, but if I am truly free from the tyranny of other people’s opinions, then the place of total dependence on God is a place to proclaim what I believe to be Truth.

If Peter and Paul show up in your town wanting to know where the church is, please…just take them home with you and put the bread and the wine on the table! Or shoot me a message here and I’ll be glad to come pick them up and bring them to a house where the Church is welcome to meet!

Like Living Stones

As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by
God and precious to him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. __1 Peter 2:4-5 NIV

Why, after nearly 2000 years, don’t more people who profess to follow Christ look more like Christ? Could it be because church-as-they-know-it has failed to teach them how Jesus sees the Church-as-He-builds-it?

In the verse above, Peter was writing to “God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, [as well as all those scattered throughout the world throughout all generations] who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood…” (1 Peter 1:1-2 NIV)!

Ask any good church member to tell you all about church and you’re going to learn a lot of different things, including:

• the name of his “church”
• where it (the church building) is located
• what “denomination” the “church” is associated with
• what time and how often services are held
• who the pastor is, and what the good church member thinks of him
• what style of music this person’s “church” typically uses during services
• what style dress is expected of those who attend
• particular doctrines or descriptors the good church member associates with his or her church, i.e. “Spirit-filled”, “Trinitarian”, “Reformed”, “Mainline”, etc.

But a careful reading of the New Testament (1 Peter is just one example of passages that reveal how Jesus sees His Church) shows that the bullet points above really have nothing to do with His Church (the ekklesia)–the one He told Peter and the disciples He would build (Matthew 16:18).

The Amplified Bible renders 1 Peter 2: 4-5:

Come to Him [then, to that] Living Stone which men tried and threw away, but which is chosen [and] precious in God’s sight. [Come] and, like living stones, be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.

Another translation says:

Welcome to the living Stone, the source of life. The workmen took one look and threw it out; God set it in the place of honor. Present yourselves as building stones for the construction of a sanctuary vibrant with life, in which you’ll serve as holy priests offering Christ-approved lives up to God.__(1 Peter 2:4-5) The Message

If Jesus is the Living Stone, thrown away by men, but set in His place of Honor by God our Father… and IF, as the children of God (John 1:12; Romans 8:14-19), we should look more like Jesus, the firstborn of many brothers and sisters (Romans 8:29 NIV), maybe one reason we don’t look more like Him is that we’ve never been told we are “living stones”—just like HIM!

Jesus sees us as living stones with which HE builds a spiritual house as His dwelling among us!

There is no precedent in scripture for the “church building”, but it took only a couple of generations for followers of the Way to adopt “Christianity” and resurrect the Old Covenant paradigm of a literal temple building and a pyramidal leadership hierarchy. Instead of looking more like Christ, the best Christians can do is walk around looking like “good church members”. The institutional church molds people into the image and likeness of the institutional church!

Even people who claim their churches are “Spirit-filled” and “Spirit-led” are under the delusion that God is blessing them when everything that’s going on in their church buildings is being planned and led by human beings. The institutional church has become frighteningly adept at creating an emotional “experience” that makes people feel holy for an hour or so once a week.

Pay attention to the sermon, the church’s mission statement, the newsletters and the church bulletins and ask yourself, “Is the primary focus on Jesus Christ of Nazareth… the Only Begotten Son of the Father…the Word Made Flesh…Crucified, Dead and Buried…Risen and seated at the Father’s right hand…the Firstborn of many Brothers and Sisters—or is the message of this ‘church’ about ‘this church’?”  In Christ, there should be NO talk about:

• how we do church
• how we look as a church
• how we get others to “come to our church”
• how we pay for “the upkeep of our church”
• what “tribe” or “denomination” we are, “as a church”

There is no scriptural basis for any of the above—not even for the concept of a
paid pastor!*

But the “me, me, me-centered” message and marketing is a dead giveaway. The “me-centered” gospel can’t produce transformation that allows us to live holy lives set apart from the world but among the world—in ways that touch the world!

Such transformation only occurs when believers understand the way of the cross (joining Christ daily in His death and resurrection) and are willing to die daily to be transformed. Living stones—children of God who have died to the old fallen self. Ordinary stones that have been made holy!

Here by the water,
I’ll build an altar to praise Him,
Out of the stones that I’ve found here
I’ll set them down here, rough as they are…
Knowing You can make them holy.

_______________________________________________________________________
* Cf: Pagan Christianity? by Frank Viola and George Barna; The Bubble Will Burst by David Newby: The Pastor Has No Clothes by Jon Zens.