In the grand Roman age a returning victorious general, or up and coming Caesar, would be treated to a massive celebration called a "Triumph". Coincidentally this is where we get the name for Jesus' entry into Jerusalem, the "Triumphal Entry". There are astounding and subversive parallels that I won't go into here. Essentially, Jesus' triumphal entry was a message directly to the Romans. I'll save it 'til Easter.
One of the sequences near the end of the celebration was to ascend the steps that led to the top of a sacred hill. Inside the temple at the top the general would metaphorically die and be "reborn", supposedly immortal. Before going up the hill the praised general or other candidate would be smacked across the face by a lowly slave and told, "Memento Mori". "Remember, you are mortal/you will die." It seems so incongruent. He is being lauded by all the people of Rome, about to achieve immortality, and yet this low born, stinking slave grounds him by telling him that he is still dust, no matter what anyone thinks or says of him later. Throughout our lives, if we are lucky, we have a few "Memento Mori" moments. Recently I had one.
I won't go into much in the way of details, but for a few days I was genuinely afraid of that I had cancer. I don't, thankfully. We got it checked out and all is well, just a bit of a scare, but I came away from it with something I didn't have before. I say that I was afraid, and I was, but I had a significant moment that I'd experienced only once before.
Years ago I worked the graveyard shift at a shipping dock where we unloaded trucks of their cargo, sorted them, and divided the pallets and crates into other trucks to go elsewhere. I was on my own for fifteen minutes or so and found that there was a thin crate as tall and nearly as long as the container that was the only thing left to unload. For some reason I believed that something that large and long had to be light. I unstrapped it and was immediately crushed beneath it. As it turns out the crate was 2,658 lbs.
I was trapped underneath the crate. Fortunately the containers you see trucks hauling around aren't exactly as wide as they are tall. The full weight wasn't crushing down on me, but it was enough to trap me and make it difficult to breathe. It was at that moment I had a fairly profound experience. I was at peace. The spirit part of me, the eternal bit of stuff inside us all, was perfectly calm. The animal part of me was freaking out and screaming its head off. Somehow I experienced that division between spirit and flesh and it changed my perspective of a lot of things.
Back to the present...ish. During my "Memento Mori" period a few days ago I felt the same thing. A small part of the time I was freaking out. I'd get this rush of anxiety, or I'd suddenly become irritable. At night I would wake up sitting bolt upright, my heart pounding in my chest, the animal/flesh part of me having a meltdown.
By stark contrast, the spirit part was at peace, and, in fact, growing as a result of the experience. I was looking at life differently. My whole perspective shifted. My wife's kisses were sweeter, my interactions with my kids was calmer, more sympathetic, and understanding. My desires shifted hard towards things that were actually eternal. I wasn't at all interested in petty conflicts and my pet peeves didn't matter quite as much anymore. When you are facing the potential of "oblivion" you start to reevaluate things. Suddenly what you could put off and get to later moves from the back burner to the front. Fortunately it has stayed with me in the days since.
I wonder if this is the reason that a lot of older people seem so calm, so at peace, so loving, patient, understanding, and kind. I've neglected their advice whenever they've told me, "Oh, sweetie, don't worry about that. Don't give it the time of day. It doesn't matter." In my youth and passion I believed every little thing mattered. Now I see the value of their advice so very clearly. When you know for a fact that you could die any moment, or that your health (when it comes down to if for real) is pretty much out of your hands, I think you have two choices; get bitter or get kind.
I don't know if we can actually make that kind of a change without the direct "Memento Mori" experience. I considered how the death of someone close to us can cause us to view things differently, but I think that might be a "light" version. Knowing your own mortality, coming face to face with your individual startling fragility is not something I imagine you can experience vicariously.
It does make me think about Jesus' moments in the Garden of Gethsemane. I wonder often about how intensely He must have been feeling His mortality, that it was the animal/fleshy bit begging the LORD for another way, sweating blood. Despite the fact that He knew how it would end, He still was going to feel every iota of pain and death.
I guess there isn't much of a point to this post, other than to say that I'm seeing these "Memento Mori" moments as a gift in a way; an undercover blessing. We pass from here so quickly, so easily like a vapor, and even into my very late 30's I still tend to think I'm invincible. We do well to be smacked by a slave and reminded that we are mortal, fading, and dust; that any day we live is essentially borrowed time. Naturally, you'll only understand this once you've experienced it. So...good luck with that. :)
Pax,
W
Friday, January 6, 2017
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Walking in the Spirit
Much in the same manner as a blog post on Idolatry that I am sitting on...I'm scared of posting this. My writing this post is me admitting that I know something, I believe something, and yet I don't put it into practice. I'd be a lot more nervous if I wasn't sure that I'm in pretty good company. However, by admitting that I know this, by declaring the Truth to be true...I'm going to have to change some things. Well, more accurately, I'm going have to change a lot of things...maybe even everything.
A month or two ago I had experience that shifted me into a different way of thinking. I won't go into details here, but all of the sudden I felt invited to "Walk in the Spirit". It's something that all believers are invited to do and encouraged to do in the scriptures. I'm not unique in that at all, but one of my things is that I tend to overthink, over-analyze, and not just walk or take action. I'm guilty of over-intellectualizing everything, including my relationship with Jesus. I don't claim to have some new revelation. Always be suspicious of those who do claim that. My claim, instead, is that I think I understand what has been obvious and in front of me this whole time.
What does it mean to "Walk in the Spirit"?
When the Scriptures talk about walking in the Spirit, just about every time it means a denial of the flesh or the denial of physical reality. Galatians 5:16 says that if we walk by the spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Why? Because these two things are locked in opposition with each other. Personally, I have noticed that every single time that I try to walk in the Spirit my flesh almost immediately rebels. 2 Corinthians 5:7 talks about walking by faith and not by sight. The scriptures also use the phrase "abiding in Him" which is very close to "walking in the Spirit", I believe.
I have long said, in friendly company, that there are 2 competing realities. The reality of the flesh is concerned with what we see, taste, hear, smell, etc. It is what non-believers and many fellow believers refer to as "reality". To my mind that reality only makes up 1% of a far greater reality that is God's reality, reality as the LORD himself sees it. HIS reality is the full 100%, the actual reality.
God's reality is a very peculiar reality to those of us who live, breathe, swim, mate, and exist primarily in the 1%. His reality is a place where the first shall be last and the last shall be first, where peace conquers violence, where lions lay down with lambs, where the biggest, most popular Church is rarely the most successful, where enduring abuse and persecution even to death is a privilege, where Holy God makes a way to connect to sinful man by coming Himself in the flesh as a carpenter's son. God's reality makes no sense to us if we are entrenched in the physical reality. I've heard it called the "Upside Down Kingdom" because according to the World's standards it is completely flipped.
There are a million things in the Bible that we pay lip service to on a daily (maybe weekly) basis that our flesh resists in fact. Miracles. Gifts of the Spirit. Resurrection of the dead. Those are big ones that we conveniently brush aside saying "that was for then" instead of a more obvious though painful answer. We struggle with even the simple, basic ones; Jesus' sacrifice was enough, God is good all the time no matter what, God wants what is best for me... I even have a hard time accepting that God likes me and wants to fellowship with me.
To walk in the Spirit is to walk (to live your life) radically believing that what God says is actually so. It is to move beyond the "Yeah, but..." and into only what He has already told us is real. "Why do you worry about what to eat...what to wear..." It is to agree with God what this life is and how it works.
I once heard someone tell me, "Everything is political". On the contrary, "Everything is spiritual".
We live in this delusion that what matters is what I can see, touch, feel (both emotionally and physically). What truly matters is what God says IS, how HE says things actually works and these things are often in direct conflict, hostile conflict on some points, with the way the Flesh works. As Christians we can't do things the way the World does them. James 4:4 comes straight out and calls us adulterers because, "Friendship with the World is emnity with God." When we find ourselves bound up and tied to the things of the World, when we do things the way the World does rather than the way Jesus says then we are choosing whom we are serving.
Now, naturally, the rational mind rebels and says, "Oh, so, what then? Are you advocating locking ourselves away on some mountain top in a convent?" No. Actually in many places the Bible says that's exactly what we are not to do. We are meant to be spiritual creatures in this physical world bringing the light of Jesus. Can we deny, however, that we are being "conformed to the patterns of this world" more than conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ? When we (at large) equivocate on parts of the Bible that others find offensive, when we sell our principles down the river for some sort of gain and salve it with "well, Jesus will forgive me and I'll pick right back up with him again", when we hold up political figures in such high regard that we get more excited about them than we ever have about Jesus, when the Church sees success as church held in a stadium, money flowing in, and franchising, when we spend more time in our "fandoms" than reading that which would edify us most, when we want to affect change in the world and yet don't even know our neighbor's first name or let alone how we can pray for them... And I'm just talking about me in all that.
Walking in the Spirit means seeing everything the way God does, through an eternal perspective. It means not just believing what is already there in our Bibles, but accepting and moving in that. Who are we if we don't actually believe how God says things actually are and actually work? Pretenders, at best, playing at make-believe.
How much would my life change if I actually walked in that perspective? The eternal nature of my children...the fact that they are literally a gift from God...that they aren't here to test my patience and tolerance...that God specifically made them, fashioned them in specific ways, and specifically chose to give them to my wife and I...that I am charged with their protection and loving development by a great and mighty God who has a plan for them...That He trusts me with all that?
How much would your life change if you held in your mind the fact that you were specifically placed in this time, in this space, in the lives of specific people, including that one person you find annoying to be around...that those people are people that God deeply loves and wants to love through you...that each of them are a soul that is going to end up one place or the other...that they all, especially the annoying one, are struggling on a constant basis, are battling something and your prayers for them could change everything if you actually had a prayer time...that, just like your children, they were uniquely made by God?
See, I don't want to think that way either. My spirit does, but my flesh just wants to get done with my day with minimum contact, minimum engagement so I can finish my day without having been disturbed, without having been rejected, without having been emotionally bothered or vulnerable so I can play my video games and watch The Office with my wife and go to bed. I'll have gained nothing and risked nothing. Status quo really works for me.
If we are honest, however, that isn't what any part of the Bible calls us to. In fact it calls us to exactly the opposite. Jesus Christ has spoken into our lives. Yes, Jesus has to do the work in us we can't do it ourselves. It's all Him....up to a point. And that point is called obedience. As we know Jesus healed a lot of people during His time on earth, but I'm always interested in those times where there was an obedience component. He healed a lame man and commanded him to take up his mat and walk. Sure, Jesus could have healed him and the man could have just laid there...like me...healed but not accepting the reality of what just happened. The taking up the mat and walking is literally walking in the reality of what Jesus has done. The obedience is crucial and it is our choice.
For the past week or so I've been trying to Walk in the Spirit, to see everything from that spiritual perspective. If you've ever seen a video of a newborn horse or deer wobbling around trying to walk, falling down, visibly panting from the effort of trying even once...yeah, I'm much worse than that. Normally I would beat myself up for failing as often as I am, but the Lord keeps reminding me that I've been doing things in the Flesh and after the Flesh for about 39 years. It's almost all I know. I'm going to fall, I'm going to fail, I'm going to end up crumpled on the floor panting like a marathon runner even though I only just tried to spend 10 minutes praying. I know Jesus is right there with some Gatorade and encouragement, like He always is. It's up to me to accept it, naturally, but it's worth it.
Pax,
W
What does it mean to "Walk in the Spirit"?
When the Scriptures talk about walking in the Spirit, just about every time it means a denial of the flesh or the denial of physical reality. Galatians 5:16 says that if we walk by the spirit we will not carry out the desires of the flesh. Why? Because these two things are locked in opposition with each other. Personally, I have noticed that every single time that I try to walk in the Spirit my flesh almost immediately rebels. 2 Corinthians 5:7 talks about walking by faith and not by sight. The scriptures also use the phrase "abiding in Him" which is very close to "walking in the Spirit", I believe.
I have long said, in friendly company, that there are 2 competing realities. The reality of the flesh is concerned with what we see, taste, hear, smell, etc. It is what non-believers and many fellow believers refer to as "reality". To my mind that reality only makes up 1% of a far greater reality that is God's reality, reality as the LORD himself sees it. HIS reality is the full 100%, the actual reality.
God's reality is a very peculiar reality to those of us who live, breathe, swim, mate, and exist primarily in the 1%. His reality is a place where the first shall be last and the last shall be first, where peace conquers violence, where lions lay down with lambs, where the biggest, most popular Church is rarely the most successful, where enduring abuse and persecution even to death is a privilege, where Holy God makes a way to connect to sinful man by coming Himself in the flesh as a carpenter's son. God's reality makes no sense to us if we are entrenched in the physical reality. I've heard it called the "Upside Down Kingdom" because according to the World's standards it is completely flipped.
There are a million things in the Bible that we pay lip service to on a daily (maybe weekly) basis that our flesh resists in fact. Miracles. Gifts of the Spirit. Resurrection of the dead. Those are big ones that we conveniently brush aside saying "that was for then" instead of a more obvious though painful answer. We struggle with even the simple, basic ones; Jesus' sacrifice was enough, God is good all the time no matter what, God wants what is best for me... I even have a hard time accepting that God likes me and wants to fellowship with me.
To walk in the Spirit is to walk (to live your life) radically believing that what God says is actually so. It is to move beyond the "Yeah, but..." and into only what He has already told us is real. "Why do you worry about what to eat...what to wear..." It is to agree with God what this life is and how it works.
I once heard someone tell me, "Everything is political". On the contrary, "Everything is spiritual".
We live in this delusion that what matters is what I can see, touch, feel (both emotionally and physically). What truly matters is what God says IS, how HE says things actually works and these things are often in direct conflict, hostile conflict on some points, with the way the Flesh works. As Christians we can't do things the way the World does them. James 4:4 comes straight out and calls us adulterers because, "Friendship with the World is emnity with God." When we find ourselves bound up and tied to the things of the World, when we do things the way the World does rather than the way Jesus says then we are choosing whom we are serving.
Now, naturally, the rational mind rebels and says, "Oh, so, what then? Are you advocating locking ourselves away on some mountain top in a convent?" No. Actually in many places the Bible says that's exactly what we are not to do. We are meant to be spiritual creatures in this physical world bringing the light of Jesus. Can we deny, however, that we are being "conformed to the patterns of this world" more than conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ? When we (at large) equivocate on parts of the Bible that others find offensive, when we sell our principles down the river for some sort of gain and salve it with "well, Jesus will forgive me and I'll pick right back up with him again", when we hold up political figures in such high regard that we get more excited about them than we ever have about Jesus, when the Church sees success as church held in a stadium, money flowing in, and franchising, when we spend more time in our "fandoms" than reading that which would edify us most, when we want to affect change in the world and yet don't even know our neighbor's first name or let alone how we can pray for them... And I'm just talking about me in all that.
Walking in the Spirit means seeing everything the way God does, through an eternal perspective. It means not just believing what is already there in our Bibles, but accepting and moving in that. Who are we if we don't actually believe how God says things actually are and actually work? Pretenders, at best, playing at make-believe.
How much would my life change if I actually walked in that perspective? The eternal nature of my children...the fact that they are literally a gift from God...that they aren't here to test my patience and tolerance...that God specifically made them, fashioned them in specific ways, and specifically chose to give them to my wife and I...that I am charged with their protection and loving development by a great and mighty God who has a plan for them...That He trusts me with all that?
How much would your life change if you held in your mind the fact that you were specifically placed in this time, in this space, in the lives of specific people, including that one person you find annoying to be around...that those people are people that God deeply loves and wants to love through you...that each of them are a soul that is going to end up one place or the other...that they all, especially the annoying one, are struggling on a constant basis, are battling something and your prayers for them could change everything if you actually had a prayer time...that, just like your children, they were uniquely made by God?
See, I don't want to think that way either. My spirit does, but my flesh just wants to get done with my day with minimum contact, minimum engagement so I can finish my day without having been disturbed, without having been rejected, without having been emotionally bothered or vulnerable so I can play my video games and watch The Office with my wife and go to bed. I'll have gained nothing and risked nothing. Status quo really works for me.
If we are honest, however, that isn't what any part of the Bible calls us to. In fact it calls us to exactly the opposite. Jesus Christ has spoken into our lives. Yes, Jesus has to do the work in us we can't do it ourselves. It's all Him....up to a point. And that point is called obedience. As we know Jesus healed a lot of people during His time on earth, but I'm always interested in those times where there was an obedience component. He healed a lame man and commanded him to take up his mat and walk. Sure, Jesus could have healed him and the man could have just laid there...like me...healed but not accepting the reality of what just happened. The taking up the mat and walking is literally walking in the reality of what Jesus has done. The obedience is crucial and it is our choice.
For the past week or so I've been trying to Walk in the Spirit, to see everything from that spiritual perspective. If you've ever seen a video of a newborn horse or deer wobbling around trying to walk, falling down, visibly panting from the effort of trying even once...yeah, I'm much worse than that. Normally I would beat myself up for failing as often as I am, but the Lord keeps reminding me that I've been doing things in the Flesh and after the Flesh for about 39 years. It's almost all I know. I'm going to fall, I'm going to fail, I'm going to end up crumpled on the floor panting like a marathon runner even though I only just tried to spend 10 minutes praying. I know Jesus is right there with some Gatorade and encouragement, like He always is. It's up to me to accept it, naturally, but it's worth it.
Pax,
W
Friday, September 16, 2016
My Struggle (On Political Rebellion)
Today I posted something on Facebook to help me deal with the part of scripture that I struggle with the most, Romans 13:1-7.
There are a LOT of scriptures that are difficult for me; things that call me towards Christ likeness yet cause my flesh to throw temper tantrums. There are things that I recognize as true about the world that I don't want to be true. And then there's Romans 13:1-7.
Deep in my heart there is a wall I've drawn around my principles and values. Many of them are immovable as a result. I will not budge on X, Y, or Z because I know these things to be true and if I violate them then I violate my soul. There's a traitor in their midst. I recognize the sovereignty of God and His scripture, his very words to us. And so I have troubles.
Here it is:
Romans 13:1-5
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from the fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
(6 and 7 are on taxes and what is owed people)
What does this mean to those under a cruel and oppressive government? At what point are we, as Christians, allowed or permitted to rebel...violently?
The more I read of the Bible, the more I think that the Amish and Quakers may have the right of it. In the face of abuse, intolerance, oppression, war, you do the good works that God has told you to do. You do not respond with rebellion. You give honor, respect, and anything asked of you even to a tyrant.
It grates against me. I don't like it. Even now as I write this there is rebellion in my heart to the concept. It hurts, but I know that feeling for what it is. It's a dark root that I have yet to pull out.
Look, I'm not telling you what to believe. I don't necessarily have any answers. I just coined on Facebook a saying I'm sure to repeat til my dying day. "I don't have answers unless it's to questions regarding the random trivia in my head. Other than that I have questions. Lots of questions." I would love for someone to come along and tell me why I'm wrong on this.
As I look at the scriptures, however, I don't see a single place (yet) that endorses rebellion against any form of government, tyrannical or not. I think of the Old Testament where the Children of Israel are in bondage to Egypt. I'm sure there were bloody uprisings every now and then because...well...they were humans. Was a bloody uprising what freed them? No. It was in God's timing and God's way. We've got the Medes, the Persians, the Babylonians who all come and dominate Israel. God even has a prophet who tells the people, "Just accept it! This is God's judgement!". Were their bloody uprisings? I'm sure there were..because...humans. But, again, was that that what freed them? Never. It was in God's timing and God's way.
My mind naturally turns next to the Revolutionary War and, given Romans 13:1-7, were the revolutionaries right in overthrowing the British empire? By God's standard, available for all to read, was it right? The British King was in authority and they rebelled against that authority. They rebelled against the authority God had established, because God establishes all authorities. And I recognize that I'm taking the tack of many Loyalists at the time who felt that it was exactly that. I value our American heritage and history more than most people realize. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Henry, Hancock, Adams, so many of them are basically protestant versions of saints in my head, but I have to question this. Are we better off? Sure. However, were we right biblically?
Jesus never preached rebellion and the Romans were significant oppressors at the time. Within 20 years after his death, if I remember correctly, they destroyed the temple. Constantly we are told to just do good, help the weak, the poor, the stranger, and the widow but never called to take up the sword. Turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, give a man who demands your cloak your outer garment as well, do as the Samaritan; all of these are references to doing good to an oppressor. We are called to pray for and bless those in authority. The Bible instructs us, if we are slaves, to not try to escape but work all the more diligently for our master as we would the Lord himself.
I'm conflicted and need opinions on this, especially those which are grounded in scripture. It's easy to get off on "Well, surely God doesn't expect us to submit to THIS" and not deal with the call to submission itself.
I'm teachable. I'm willing to hear even that which disagrees with me, in fact I welcome it.
Pax,
W
There are a LOT of scriptures that are difficult for me; things that call me towards Christ likeness yet cause my flesh to throw temper tantrums. There are things that I recognize as true about the world that I don't want to be true. And then there's Romans 13:1-7.
Deep in my heart there is a wall I've drawn around my principles and values. Many of them are immovable as a result. I will not budge on X, Y, or Z because I know these things to be true and if I violate them then I violate my soul. There's a traitor in their midst. I recognize the sovereignty of God and His scripture, his very words to us. And so I have troubles.
Here it is:
Romans 13:1-5
Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgement on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from the fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of punishment but also as a matter of conscience.
(6 and 7 are on taxes and what is owed people)
What does this mean to those under a cruel and oppressive government? At what point are we, as Christians, allowed or permitted to rebel...violently?
The more I read of the Bible, the more I think that the Amish and Quakers may have the right of it. In the face of abuse, intolerance, oppression, war, you do the good works that God has told you to do. You do not respond with rebellion. You give honor, respect, and anything asked of you even to a tyrant.
It grates against me. I don't like it. Even now as I write this there is rebellion in my heart to the concept. It hurts, but I know that feeling for what it is. It's a dark root that I have yet to pull out.
Look, I'm not telling you what to believe. I don't necessarily have any answers. I just coined on Facebook a saying I'm sure to repeat til my dying day. "I don't have answers unless it's to questions regarding the random trivia in my head. Other than that I have questions. Lots of questions." I would love for someone to come along and tell me why I'm wrong on this.
As I look at the scriptures, however, I don't see a single place (yet) that endorses rebellion against any form of government, tyrannical or not. I think of the Old Testament where the Children of Israel are in bondage to Egypt. I'm sure there were bloody uprisings every now and then because...well...they were humans. Was a bloody uprising what freed them? No. It was in God's timing and God's way. We've got the Medes, the Persians, the Babylonians who all come and dominate Israel. God even has a prophet who tells the people, "Just accept it! This is God's judgement!". Were their bloody uprisings? I'm sure there were..because...humans. But, again, was that that what freed them? Never. It was in God's timing and God's way.
My mind naturally turns next to the Revolutionary War and, given Romans 13:1-7, were the revolutionaries right in overthrowing the British empire? By God's standard, available for all to read, was it right? The British King was in authority and they rebelled against that authority. They rebelled against the authority God had established, because God establishes all authorities. And I recognize that I'm taking the tack of many Loyalists at the time who felt that it was exactly that. I value our American heritage and history more than most people realize. Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Henry, Hancock, Adams, so many of them are basically protestant versions of saints in my head, but I have to question this. Are we better off? Sure. However, were we right biblically?
Jesus never preached rebellion and the Romans were significant oppressors at the time. Within 20 years after his death, if I remember correctly, they destroyed the temple. Constantly we are told to just do good, help the weak, the poor, the stranger, and the widow but never called to take up the sword. Turn the other cheek, walk the extra mile, give a man who demands your cloak your outer garment as well, do as the Samaritan; all of these are references to doing good to an oppressor. We are called to pray for and bless those in authority. The Bible instructs us, if we are slaves, to not try to escape but work all the more diligently for our master as we would the Lord himself.
I'm conflicted and need opinions on this, especially those which are grounded in scripture. It's easy to get off on "Well, surely God doesn't expect us to submit to THIS" and not deal with the call to submission itself.
I'm teachable. I'm willing to hear even that which disagrees with me, in fact I welcome it.
Pax,
W
Friday, September 9, 2016
Roman Coinage (bit of a tid)
While catching up on my TableTalk devotional reading I came across this in reference to Mark 12:13-17. It's the famous tax paying confrontation.
"A second bit of irony is seen in the pharisees' and Herodians' giving Jesus a denarius when He asked for one. First-century Jews, for the most part, did not embrace Roman rule enthusiastically. In fact, many considered the payment of Roman taxes to be a form of idolatry, particularly since the Roman Coinage in which taxes were paid featured the image of the Emperor and his title, which gave him the status of deity. The Pharisees and Herodians knew that if Jesus were to openly teach people to pay this tax, the Jewish citizens would be upset and would even stop listening to Him. But note that Jesus did not have the detested Roman coin on His person; His opponents, Jewish leaders who were supposed to be adamantly against idolatry, did. If paying the Roman taxes was inherently idolatrous, the Jewish authorities were complicit, not Jesus."
Friday, August 26, 2016
Galatians 4:9
This morning I sat down with my cup of coffee hoping to make some headway in my devotions. It's pretty much been a week since I last did so. I had every intention of cramming in all of the verses and "TableTalk" articles I had missed...that is until the Lord started working on me with a single verse.
"But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?"
Galatians 4:9
In its perfect context this is a part of Paul's defense against "the Circumcision" that had spread about. The members of "the Circumcision" spread about the idea that Christians were still subject to Jewish law, specifically that they needed to circumcised. Paul's letters often have some defense against this idea. You can almost hear the indignation in his writing voice as he calls it quackery. Grown men having to get circumcised would certainly keep people away from the faith never mind the fact that Jesus was the atoning sacrifice that paid for the Law for all time.
The way it hit me this morning, not having been pushed to eschew bacon nor put my faith in the Law, was in relations to my life with the world.
For the past few years, and most intensely within the past few months, I've been feeling a massive drawing towards Christ and towards rejecting the world; to IN the world but not OF the world. It's kind of difficult to explain and I'll probably get all rambley with it. I'd feel guilty but it is after all my blog, and you can check out any time.
About a year ago I had a feeling that things are going to get bad for Christians in the United States. I'm not talking "You have to make this cake whether you like it or not" kind of bad. I'm talking the way Christians are treated in other countries bad. Second or third class citizens bad. The government monitoring our public pulpits bad. I sincerely felt there was going to be a separation that would naturally occur between those who are culturally Christian (those who see Christianity as a good idea, good psychology and a social gospel) and those who have been absolutely changed by Jesus and will stand on His word and in His strength even in the face of injury or death.
Am I prophet? Nope. Not my gifting, though, in accordance with Paul's advice, I eagerly desire that. Instead I just look at the signs. I see the country shifting. When the Right on the political spectrum is as left as the Left was in the 90s...something's not quite right. When we've replaced the concept of Absolute Truth with the concept of Absolute Relativism, to the point that chromosomes and DNA can scream that you are one gender while you feel another and feeling trumps reality, then the culture has built on not just sand, but quicksand. When societies fall apart they look for people to blame. When societies fall apart few ever blame their own actions or the actions of their own party. It doesn't take much to see that we are headed not for a glorious resurgence of the Enlightenment, but for the darkness eerily akin to the Dark Ages. We have replaced knowing with feeling. Logic is the slave of whim. Critical thinking has had sand kicked in its face, been pushed down, bloodied, and its lunch money taken by the will of the mob. The above is just the things going on in the World apart from the spiritual aspect which is far more grim. So many people craving tickled ears rather than submitting to God and the truth of the scriptures...So many prominent pastors twisting the gospel to line their pockets...So many craving to be led astray by an "I'm OK, You're OK, And God's OK with everything and everyone no matter what" kind of gospel. Yes, God is sovereign...but God is also just...and both of those things should be a wake up call, and prompt respectful fear because from my observations of scripture (imperfect as I know they are) God cleans house with his own people first and then judges a nation.
So, what does all this have to do with Galatians 4:9?
Because, to borrow a common phrase, the struggle is real. The struggle is throughout all of the Old and New Testaments. "Like a dog returns to its vomit" is one of my favorites. We are encouraged to not be formed after the patterns of this World but be transformed by the renewing of our minds in Jesus. Although we are saved, although we are made into a new creation, although we are no longer slaves to sin...we are just like the Israelites in the desert...we want to go back to Egypt, we want to fashion God into something more like we saw in Egypt, we want, we crave, we desire the "weak and worthless elementary principles of this world".
On my medicine cabinet mirror I have taped two slips of paper because of this. The first one reads "Do what is the most healthy thing at any given moment" which is SO much harder a concept than I believed when I put it up there. The second says, "Agree daily with what the LORD says, thinks, and feels about you in Jesus."
Why? Because the opposite of both of those things are deep deep patterns of the World; weak and worthless elementary principles.
(We are) I am so conditioned by this world into doing what feels good and makes me happy rather than doing what is best for me. Why is it so hard to do the things that are healthy for us? If I have the choice of playing Fallout 4 over reading some R. C. Sproul or C. S. Lewis or listen to a sermon online...chances are I've got that controller in my hand without a thought. Why do my devotions take nearly a week to get back to? Because I want what I want....and I've got a broken wanter. The calibration is set to the World's standards, not the Lord's. I want to escape to my bedroom with my cell phone so I can play games rather than go do adulting. If it was only some days I can understand. We need a rest, we need an escape, but my desire is every minute of the day...that's not what is healthy or best for me at all. If you give me a choice between Peanut Butter Cups and a salad, why is it that I will take the Peanut Butter Cups every dang time? Because I apply the weak and worthless elementary principles of the World rather than seeking or even considering the ways and paths of the Lord.
Equally messed up is how I let the World determine what I think about feel about myself.
I'm not one of those people who looks at Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to figure out what my life should look like and get stressed out if it doesn't match or exceed. I don't use others as a benchmark for how I should feel about myself. No. My real enemy is myself. I have no standard. One would think that this means I'm all good, I am relaxed about who I am and what I have done. The surprising thing with not having a standard is that it is a kind of hell. Having a standard can be just as hellish because there will always be someone else to measure up to, the goal posts keep moving. Having no standard means you have no goal posts at all, no lines of demarcation on the field, and you have no idea how you should feel about who you are or anything you have ever done.
I once was at a retreat where they had an open mic moment and I stood up to speak for maybe 30 seconds about my struggles with my faith. People came up to me all that weekend and said how what I said really touched them and made them think and sparked table conversations. I should have been thrilled, I should have given the glory to God, I should have been happy. Instead I felt awkward. I had a friend of mine talk me through how to respond because the feeling got so bad. (I ended up with "I'm glad you got blessed"...which I still use oddly enough). Why? Why no feeling other than awkwardness? Because I believe I'm just an average guy, bargain basement human, so what I think and feel must be the same as what other people do. Granted, I keep getting proven wrong. I feel like an average tool the Lord sometimes uses. I feel like I'm just another pot on the potter's wheel. I don't deserve any recognition. I have honestly felt like I'm a tool that God will use, sure, but it's when other tools aren't available. He's got his favorites and I'm not one of them. God's word is replete with exactly the opposite to tell me. If I were to rest in that, rest in those promises, renew my mind with that reality...HIS reality...how much would that alter my existence?
There are so many instances where the world tells us things are one way and God directly contradicts that. God, being the creator of all things including physics, reality, and mysteries deeply beyond even quantum theory, knows best. I am all to comfortable applying the "weak and worthless elementary principles of the world" to my life. Jesus has to change that in me and daily I'm telling him, "YOU choose for me because you know best, you are all powerful, you have a path for me from before I was even born." I keep admitting, "You are the potter, I am the clay...the clay doesn't get a say in it" and trust that he will make me into something beautiful, special, and according to His purposes.
Fortunately the LORD is never content to leave us as we are.
Pax,
W
"But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?"
Galatians 4:9
In its perfect context this is a part of Paul's defense against "the Circumcision" that had spread about. The members of "the Circumcision" spread about the idea that Christians were still subject to Jewish law, specifically that they needed to circumcised. Paul's letters often have some defense against this idea. You can almost hear the indignation in his writing voice as he calls it quackery. Grown men having to get circumcised would certainly keep people away from the faith never mind the fact that Jesus was the atoning sacrifice that paid for the Law for all time.
The way it hit me this morning, not having been pushed to eschew bacon nor put my faith in the Law, was in relations to my life with the world.
For the past few years, and most intensely within the past few months, I've been feeling a massive drawing towards Christ and towards rejecting the world; to IN the world but not OF the world. It's kind of difficult to explain and I'll probably get all rambley with it. I'd feel guilty but it is after all my blog, and you can check out any time.
About a year ago I had a feeling that things are going to get bad for Christians in the United States. I'm not talking "You have to make this cake whether you like it or not" kind of bad. I'm talking the way Christians are treated in other countries bad. Second or third class citizens bad. The government monitoring our public pulpits bad. I sincerely felt there was going to be a separation that would naturally occur between those who are culturally Christian (those who see Christianity as a good idea, good psychology and a social gospel) and those who have been absolutely changed by Jesus and will stand on His word and in His strength even in the face of injury or death.
Am I prophet? Nope. Not my gifting, though, in accordance with Paul's advice, I eagerly desire that. Instead I just look at the signs. I see the country shifting. When the Right on the political spectrum is as left as the Left was in the 90s...something's not quite right. When we've replaced the concept of Absolute Truth with the concept of Absolute Relativism, to the point that chromosomes and DNA can scream that you are one gender while you feel another and feeling trumps reality, then the culture has built on not just sand, but quicksand. When societies fall apart they look for people to blame. When societies fall apart few ever blame their own actions or the actions of their own party. It doesn't take much to see that we are headed not for a glorious resurgence of the Enlightenment, but for the darkness eerily akin to the Dark Ages. We have replaced knowing with feeling. Logic is the slave of whim. Critical thinking has had sand kicked in its face, been pushed down, bloodied, and its lunch money taken by the will of the mob. The above is just the things going on in the World apart from the spiritual aspect which is far more grim. So many people craving tickled ears rather than submitting to God and the truth of the scriptures...So many prominent pastors twisting the gospel to line their pockets...So many craving to be led astray by an "I'm OK, You're OK, And God's OK with everything and everyone no matter what" kind of gospel. Yes, God is sovereign...but God is also just...and both of those things should be a wake up call, and prompt respectful fear because from my observations of scripture (imperfect as I know they are) God cleans house with his own people first and then judges a nation.
So, what does all this have to do with Galatians 4:9?
Because, to borrow a common phrase, the struggle is real. The struggle is throughout all of the Old and New Testaments. "Like a dog returns to its vomit" is one of my favorites. We are encouraged to not be formed after the patterns of this World but be transformed by the renewing of our minds in Jesus. Although we are saved, although we are made into a new creation, although we are no longer slaves to sin...we are just like the Israelites in the desert...we want to go back to Egypt, we want to fashion God into something more like we saw in Egypt, we want, we crave, we desire the "weak and worthless elementary principles of this world".
On my medicine cabinet mirror I have taped two slips of paper because of this. The first one reads "Do what is the most healthy thing at any given moment" which is SO much harder a concept than I believed when I put it up there. The second says, "Agree daily with what the LORD says, thinks, and feels about you in Jesus."
Why? Because the opposite of both of those things are deep deep patterns of the World; weak and worthless elementary principles.
(We are) I am so conditioned by this world into doing what feels good and makes me happy rather than doing what is best for me. Why is it so hard to do the things that are healthy for us? If I have the choice of playing Fallout 4 over reading some R. C. Sproul or C. S. Lewis or listen to a sermon online...chances are I've got that controller in my hand without a thought. Why do my devotions take nearly a week to get back to? Because I want what I want....and I've got a broken wanter. The calibration is set to the World's standards, not the Lord's. I want to escape to my bedroom with my cell phone so I can play games rather than go do adulting. If it was only some days I can understand. We need a rest, we need an escape, but my desire is every minute of the day...that's not what is healthy or best for me at all. If you give me a choice between Peanut Butter Cups and a salad, why is it that I will take the Peanut Butter Cups every dang time? Because I apply the weak and worthless elementary principles of the World rather than seeking or even considering the ways and paths of the Lord.
Equally messed up is how I let the World determine what I think about feel about myself.
I'm not one of those people who looks at Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest to figure out what my life should look like and get stressed out if it doesn't match or exceed. I don't use others as a benchmark for how I should feel about myself. No. My real enemy is myself. I have no standard. One would think that this means I'm all good, I am relaxed about who I am and what I have done. The surprising thing with not having a standard is that it is a kind of hell. Having a standard can be just as hellish because there will always be someone else to measure up to, the goal posts keep moving. Having no standard means you have no goal posts at all, no lines of demarcation on the field, and you have no idea how you should feel about who you are or anything you have ever done.
I once was at a retreat where they had an open mic moment and I stood up to speak for maybe 30 seconds about my struggles with my faith. People came up to me all that weekend and said how what I said really touched them and made them think and sparked table conversations. I should have been thrilled, I should have given the glory to God, I should have been happy. Instead I felt awkward. I had a friend of mine talk me through how to respond because the feeling got so bad. (I ended up with "I'm glad you got blessed"...which I still use oddly enough). Why? Why no feeling other than awkwardness? Because I believe I'm just an average guy, bargain basement human, so what I think and feel must be the same as what other people do. Granted, I keep getting proven wrong. I feel like an average tool the Lord sometimes uses. I feel like I'm just another pot on the potter's wheel. I don't deserve any recognition. I have honestly felt like I'm a tool that God will use, sure, but it's when other tools aren't available. He's got his favorites and I'm not one of them. God's word is replete with exactly the opposite to tell me. If I were to rest in that, rest in those promises, renew my mind with that reality...HIS reality...how much would that alter my existence?
There are so many instances where the world tells us things are one way and God directly contradicts that. God, being the creator of all things including physics, reality, and mysteries deeply beyond even quantum theory, knows best. I am all to comfortable applying the "weak and worthless elementary principles of the world" to my life. Jesus has to change that in me and daily I'm telling him, "YOU choose for me because you know best, you are all powerful, you have a path for me from before I was even born." I keep admitting, "You are the potter, I am the clay...the clay doesn't get a say in it" and trust that he will make me into something beautiful, special, and according to His purposes.
Fortunately the LORD is never content to leave us as we are.
Pax,
W
Friday, August 19, 2016
Court of the Gentiles
This morning I was doing my daily devotional reading which I supplement with a devotional magazine called "Tabletalk". Today's reading was from Mark 11, the part where Jesus "cleanses the temple". The article provided some historical context that wholly blew my mind.
"In the first century the Jerusalem temple did have a court of the Gentiles that measured some thirty-five acres where non-Jews could come and pray to Yaweh, the God of Israel. However, the Gentiles were not really welcome there. The popular Jewish mind-set hoped that the Messiah would cleanse the temple of all Gentiles. Moreover, when the Gentiles came to the court of the Gentiles in first-century Jerusalem, there was no welcome awaiting them. Instead, the court was filled with merchants who sold animals for worshipers to bring as sacrifices and money changers who exchanged Roman coins for Shekels that had no image of the emperor on them and thus were fit for payment of the temple tax. That is the scene described in today's passage. Josephus...reports that 255,600 lambs were sacrificed during the Passover, which gives us a good idea of the scale of the merchant's operation in the temple."
All of my life I've wondered about this passage of scripture. I mean, there had to be somewhere for people to purchase sacrifices or change money. So what was Jesus so pissed about? Ok, sure they could take it outside the temple. But, how practical is that? With this historical context all of the sudden Jesus' actions make sense. They are excluding people, preventing a whole group of people from worship and prayer. You can see the mindset.
"Well...we have 35 acres of unused space, oh sure it's for the gentiles but we really don't want them there. I mean we won't prevent them, but that doesn't mean we have to make it hospitable for them. And we might get a little bit of a kick back from the business."
With prejudice clouding the eternal perspective people do all sorts of horribly misguided and terrible things.
Jesus was apparently full of righteous zeal not because business was being done, or profits being made. A people God welcomed were reviled and prevented from worshiping Him so that business could be done and profits made.
I've been guilty of thinking of this verse every time I see a church with a coffeshop and bookstore in it where people can buy the pastor's latest book and a pumpkin spiced latte. (oooh....it's almost PSL season, isn't it?) It is a horrible misapplication of the scripture. It isn't keeping people out...A coffeeshop actually is quite welcoming to those who don't do mornings and need that bagel and double shot in a cup of coffee (Aka a RedEye or Zombie). Granted they'll throw me for a loop every time, but I won't be speaking out against them anymore.
Interesting that we call this passage "The Cleansing of the Temple" when the Jews would have thought a good cleansing would be whipping and throwing the Gentiles out; quite the opposite of what Jesus did.
Pax
W
"In the first century the Jerusalem temple did have a court of the Gentiles that measured some thirty-five acres where non-Jews could come and pray to Yaweh, the God of Israel. However, the Gentiles were not really welcome there. The popular Jewish mind-set hoped that the Messiah would cleanse the temple of all Gentiles. Moreover, when the Gentiles came to the court of the Gentiles in first-century Jerusalem, there was no welcome awaiting them. Instead, the court was filled with merchants who sold animals for worshipers to bring as sacrifices and money changers who exchanged Roman coins for Shekels that had no image of the emperor on them and thus were fit for payment of the temple tax. That is the scene described in today's passage. Josephus...reports that 255,600 lambs were sacrificed during the Passover, which gives us a good idea of the scale of the merchant's operation in the temple."
All of my life I've wondered about this passage of scripture. I mean, there had to be somewhere for people to purchase sacrifices or change money. So what was Jesus so pissed about? Ok, sure they could take it outside the temple. But, how practical is that? With this historical context all of the sudden Jesus' actions make sense. They are excluding people, preventing a whole group of people from worship and prayer. You can see the mindset.
"Well...we have 35 acres of unused space, oh sure it's for the gentiles but we really don't want them there. I mean we won't prevent them, but that doesn't mean we have to make it hospitable for them. And we might get a little bit of a kick back from the business."
With prejudice clouding the eternal perspective people do all sorts of horribly misguided and terrible things.
Jesus was apparently full of righteous zeal not because business was being done, or profits being made. A people God welcomed were reviled and prevented from worshiping Him so that business could be done and profits made.
I've been guilty of thinking of this verse every time I see a church with a coffeshop and bookstore in it where people can buy the pastor's latest book and a pumpkin spiced latte. (oooh....it's almost PSL season, isn't it?) It is a horrible misapplication of the scripture. It isn't keeping people out...A coffeeshop actually is quite welcoming to those who don't do mornings and need that bagel and double shot in a cup of coffee (Aka a RedEye or Zombie). Granted they'll throw me for a loop every time, but I won't be speaking out against them anymore.
Interesting that we call this passage "The Cleansing of the Temple" when the Jews would have thought a good cleansing would be whipping and throwing the Gentiles out; quite the opposite of what Jesus did.
Pax
W
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
The God of...
This morning I was studying Romans 15 when it struck me that our God is more than a little different than most. I know, I know. Anyone with a Sunday School level understanding of the Bible can see that our God is certainly "unorthodox" as far as deities go. I mean talking donkeys, whales, or "Big Fish", barfing up prophets, the King of the universe born to a virgin, in a stable with no one but shepherds to witness the event. It isn't just in the big things, though.
In Romans 15 Paul talks about how the strong need to accept the weak and the weak need to accept the strong. He mentions in three different places "the God of". In verse 5 "May the God of endurance and encouragement..." Verse 13 he says "May the God of hope fill you..." In verse 33 "May the God of peace..."
It struck me as odd that Paul uses that phrasing because it calls to my mind the Greek and Roman dieties. Zeus, the god of lightning. Poseidon, the god of the sea. Demeter, goddess of the harvest. Aphrodite, the goddess of love. These were mythical deities bound to one facet and one alone. They had their domain and didn't stray far from it, whereas our God is multifaceted. His is the air, the wind, the rain, the lightning, the sea, the cattle on the thousand hills...but He goes beyond the impersonal forces of nature. He is the God of love, encouragement, peace, endurance, hope, etc.
The ancient Greeks and Romans could only ask for the blessing of their deities in their domain, in the things under their direct control and they might listen or they might not. However, no one went to the temple of Zeus and said, "Make me like you." That would be hubris and invite an inevitable divine smackdown, if you know your Greek literature.
Our God, however, is both very able and very willing to do just that. He will not be fashioned into our image as a thing of wood or stone, but He will fashion us into His image. One cannot be an active follower of the LORD and not take on His qualities. More than anything He desires to shape us, to breathe into us His very attributes, to have us exercise His wisdom, His love, His peace. He is not a God far removed from our daily lives as the mythical deities of old were perceived.
The Buddha tells his followers that, given a few lifetimes and a lot of right living, maybe in your own power you can achieve what he has achieved. You can be like him...maybe...maybe not...don't screw it up. It's all on you.
Mohammed tells his followers that if they do the right prayers, eat the right things, do the right things, manage to make it to Mecca, and dance around a stone then maybe, just maybe you might make it to heaven. But maybe not. Don't screw it up.
Jesus, on the other hand, says to come to Him and He, not you, will make you like Him.
In Christianity, it is not on us to make ourselves acceptable in the sight of the LORD. That's on the LORD himself and what Jesus did on the cross. It is so freeing, so mind boggling, so revolutionary in all of the religious systems of the world that God would say, "No, you can't do this yourself. Let ME do it. You just come to Me and I'll make you acceptable. I WILL make sure you get into heaven."
It reminds me just why He is also called, the God of our Salvation.
Pax,
P
In Romans 15 Paul talks about how the strong need to accept the weak and the weak need to accept the strong. He mentions in three different places "the God of". In verse 5 "May the God of endurance and encouragement..." Verse 13 he says "May the God of hope fill you..." In verse 33 "May the God of peace..."
It struck me as odd that Paul uses that phrasing because it calls to my mind the Greek and Roman dieties. Zeus, the god of lightning. Poseidon, the god of the sea. Demeter, goddess of the harvest. Aphrodite, the goddess of love. These were mythical deities bound to one facet and one alone. They had their domain and didn't stray far from it, whereas our God is multifaceted. His is the air, the wind, the rain, the lightning, the sea, the cattle on the thousand hills...but He goes beyond the impersonal forces of nature. He is the God of love, encouragement, peace, endurance, hope, etc.
The ancient Greeks and Romans could only ask for the blessing of their deities in their domain, in the things under their direct control and they might listen or they might not. However, no one went to the temple of Zeus and said, "Make me like you." That would be hubris and invite an inevitable divine smackdown, if you know your Greek literature.
Our God, however, is both very able and very willing to do just that. He will not be fashioned into our image as a thing of wood or stone, but He will fashion us into His image. One cannot be an active follower of the LORD and not take on His qualities. More than anything He desires to shape us, to breathe into us His very attributes, to have us exercise His wisdom, His love, His peace. He is not a God far removed from our daily lives as the mythical deities of old were perceived.
The Buddha tells his followers that, given a few lifetimes and a lot of right living, maybe in your own power you can achieve what he has achieved. You can be like him...maybe...maybe not...don't screw it up. It's all on you.
Mohammed tells his followers that if they do the right prayers, eat the right things, do the right things, manage to make it to Mecca, and dance around a stone then maybe, just maybe you might make it to heaven. But maybe not. Don't screw it up.
Jesus, on the other hand, says to come to Him and He, not you, will make you like Him.
In Christianity, it is not on us to make ourselves acceptable in the sight of the LORD. That's on the LORD himself and what Jesus did on the cross. It is so freeing, so mind boggling, so revolutionary in all of the religious systems of the world that God would say, "No, you can't do this yourself. Let ME do it. You just come to Me and I'll make you acceptable. I WILL make sure you get into heaven."
It reminds me just why He is also called, the God of our Salvation.
Pax,
P
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