the crux of the matter
Gen. 1:3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
“ Sing the song!” the heavens seemed to cry. “We never could have been without the melody that you alone can sing.“
The Singer, Calvin Miller
Psa. 33:4 For GOD’S Word is solid to the core; everything he makes is sound inside and out.
The Message (The word ”sound“ here is an adjective) But I am taking license using it as a noun.
Heb. 1:3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.
Col. 1:17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
Romans 11:33 Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! 34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?” 35 “Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
Last post we looked very briefly at how he created all things good. Out of His goodness He created all things and they were, good.
1John 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
The God who is light itself spoke light into being.
This blog is called “student of jesus”, everyone is a student of one-thing or another. Some call themselves Jesus students but are more likely in reality just bible scholars, not a bad thing but a different thing then a student of Jesus. The bible is the book. Jesus is the man, you can learn about the man in the book, but the book the bible is not Jesus. Jesus words and actions will not contradict that which is in the bible but there is so much more. This is what we become students of both what’s in the bible AND the so much more. We Christians say we believe that Jesus rose from the dead and is seated at the right hand of the Father (resting). But we behave as if he died and is hiding from us until some yet to be specified date.
Vineyard includes the GE Ladd, Kingdom of God theology called “the all ready and the not yet”. Basically it is saying that the Kingdom of God is at hand but is not fully realized in this present age. The difficulty I have with this is not the concept but our frame of mind because of it. We are living as if the NOT YET is in control of the already. It is THE Kingdom of God that is at hand. While the theology has merit, we sometimes have it upside down. We behave as if the darkness really is in control. It is the Kingdom that is at hand. It is the light that dispels the darkness and perfect love that casts out fear. Mercy that triumphs over judgement. On D day the invasion was the beginning of the end.
The view of a relationship with the Living Jesus is tainted in this same “light” so we default to the safety of what we think we know. A book 9good, right, and holy book. Yet with a little patience we can have a relationship with the living Jesus from the book. It’s in the book…Heb. 8:11 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.
Luke 10:21 At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.
It is all really simple. God has designed everything to be as easy for us to understand and accept as is ”humanly“ possible. The beauty of the simplicity of it all is contained in the man. He, being ”love“ himself, is.
How does a student become a student of love. 1John 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
It is from this foundation that we rest in him.
”Take and eat…“
In my last post I said; ”God is not a God of systems, God is the God of redemption. It’s His job and His desire. We operate out of rest. He will manage the details.“
God gave manna in the dessert, he is still doing it today.
Luke 12:22 Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear.
Luke 12:29 And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it.
Phil. 4:19 And my God will meet ALL your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Jesus Christ – the crucified, resurrected, enthroned, triumphant, living Lord will and is doing this.
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.
This is where we begin our discussion of wealth. It can start in no other place, and end in no other place. But IN HIM.
”We must continually focus and firmly place our faith in Jesus Christ— not a “prayer meeting” Jesus Christ, or a “book” Jesus Christ, but the New Testament Jesus Christ, who is God Incarnate, and who ought to strike us dead at His feet. Our faith must be in the One from whom our salvation springs. Jesus Christ wants our absolute, unrestrained devotion to Himself. We can never experience Jesus Christ, or selfishly bind Him in the confines of our own hearts. Our faith must be built on strong determined confidence in Him.“
Oswald Chambers
Out of this view is where we place value. Value in people, goods, services, groups, work, family, community and money. This value is expressed from a Kingdom perspective in what we Christians call fellowship. Koinonia.
from Him and through Him and to Him are all things…
Money!
Money is severely misunderstood in American Christianity. I am not saying I have the answer, I am saying that what passes currently as sound financial stewardship is sadly tainted. Tainted by capitalism, communism, socialism, and greed.
Matt. 10:8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give.
1Pet. 5:2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers — not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;
Money in itself is not bad, money is impersonal, but it is the love of money which causes us to do things in the Kingdom we might not do if we knew otherwise.
In my view it is rooted in where we place value. If we really value a person as part of our Koininia (fellowship) we view them as who they are in Christ. period. However we have lost sight of the value of an individual because of who they are and their worth as one of His precious children. Their value has become what they earn or what they can offer us. Ever listened to a sermon on tithing. Most of the ones I have heard are primarily a reaction to a drop in giving. For once I would love to hear one from the standpoint of abundance, for that is where we really live.
Value.
What is someone worth? Forbes reports the wealth of individuals a net worth. This has become their value in our current culture. The things they own. We treat them differently because of what they own or worse what we perceive them to own. If you have ever been talked into a network marketing job you will find this carried to the extreme. People become marks for your downline (residual income) and for the most part stop being humans. Much the same as the Forbes viewpoint.
For the most part, churches have taken the Forbes mindset as well. Our view of Kingdom economics leaves God almost entirely out of the picture. Yet it is framed in such a way we can be easily fooled.
The current evangelical Christian mindset looks something like this and takes on various shades of this thought.
Earn all you can so you can give all you can. Budget, get out of debt, and tithe a percent.
Matt. 19:24 Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”
What often results are focused on the value of money vs the value of an individual. So churches become business and people are eliminated to protect the institution. ouch. Value is placed in the wrong place and on the wrong thing. This makes perfect sense when we look at a business which is an entity of its own. A corporation is itself measured by profit and loss. The people who work for the corporation are assets or liabilities.
To argue that the greater good is the whole and to sacrifice an individual for the whole is to make ”Jesus“ out of something that is not Jesus. 1Pet. 3:18 For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit…
Our primary value in the Kingdom is found around the table, who you break bread with. It’s in the book. Taking it to its simplest form we are responsible for those we break bread with not the building we do it in. We will spend eternity with the people not the building.
This is going to be difficult for many to understand but God WILL and DOES provide.
Psa. 37:25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
More to come…
