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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…

“Do you believe that I am able to do this?” ( Matthew 9:28 ).

Gen. 1:31   God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning — the sixth day.

Gen. 2:1   Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

“The word “good” here comes from the Hebrew “tov”. It is better translated as “delightful” or “fat: or ”incredible“ …this world can be improved by no human work-it is abundant, satisfying, magical.” Ched Myers

Rather then focusing right now on what went wrong, I want to dwell here in “good”. This is where we are going, ultimately. To good, to God’s good pleasure, to complete. this is what I understand the word glory to be. The reality of God’s ultimate intention. God himself is good. His purposes are good. The end is good. Even the word we translate saved or salvation (Gk. sozo) is healed, delivered made whole, good. We enjoy this goodness, because of what he did as us for us.. Life, love and laughter and joy flow out of good. Thanksgiving flows out of good. This is where we begin…good. Nothing is to wonderful to be true, is my mantra. We were created for life, goodness, joy, love and peace. Hope. there is hope. and we get to trust. Faith is the fuel, hope is the road and love is the being.

It was very good, and God rested.

It is in this rest we live and move.

Acts 17:28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Since we are made in the image and likeness of God…Can we rest?

I enjoy what I do for a living, I’m told I am good at it. However asking me to rest takes some doing, getting me out of rest once I am in it takes work. I primarily work these days to pay my mortgage and feed my family. I took out a mortgage thinking I was investing in the future for possible retirement and to have an inheritance for my kids. As a result of the recent financial downturn, I am basically renting the house from my mortgage company. So, I work now with the understanding that all the sweat and money we have put into our home to improve it is the property of a bank. a gift. All my labor is now in service to the same.

Thus I have had to re-examine my relationship with money vs my relationship with God and how it effects resting in Him. Because what has resulted is a far cry from resting in Him. Much like the Jews in the Exodus I grumble and complain. Slavery robs us of rest. You cannot serve both God and money.

Prov. 22:7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender.

Meanwhile on a global scale;

“American Child Sex Slaves Are Being Arrested, Not Rescued“ July 9, 2009 headline.

Kids turn to sex for money…

From “Whom Do You Serve?
by Marva J. Dawn – borrowed from sojo.net.
        
”Why does money have such control over us? Before I read French theologian and social critic Jacques Ellul’s Money and Power, I thought money had little or no influence on me. I had grown up with just enough to have all I needed without getting spoiled by superfluous luxuries. Since college my life has since been filled with a passion for the hungry. Surely money wasn’t a problem for me?

I am going through a personal revolution in my attitude towards God and money.

I am a businessman, a social- entrepreneur. I developed and operated a (on purpose) non profit restaurant for 5 years with varying success. The Cafe opened with no debt, no investors, no capital expenses to depreciate. No rent. We were given everything we needed. Later we were given more…what happened? We stopped resting.

The cafe closed.

”Do you believe I am able to do this?” Jesus

“I’ll wait for you.” U2

But do we? wait?

Heb. 4:1   Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. 2 For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith. 3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his work has been finished since the creation of the world. 4 For somewhere he has spoken about the seventh day in these words: “And on the seventh day God rested from all his work.” 5 And again in the passage above he says, “They shall never enter my rest.”

Heb. 4:6   It still remains that some will enter that rest, and those who formerly had the gospel preached to them did not go in, because of their disobedience. 7 Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day. 9 There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; 10 for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. 11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

… 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

About money:

We have been seduced out of rest by our view of money. God created sabbath and jubilee. we created weekend sales and credit cards. God created rest and faith, we created budget and poverty. God created generosity and abundance, we created hunger and greed. We systemized the whole thing and as a result have failed to rest. We took over management of the economy from the one who fed the 5000 with loaves and fish or the four million everyday for 40 years…in the dessert.

Money and wealth has created an alternate “sacred” culture, many of us have our feet firmly plated in both camps. Accountants replace the pastor, CFO replaces the elder, The Wall Street Journal and spreadsheet is the new scripture, money is blessing. Poverty has become an inconvenience rather then a travesty. We wink wink nod nod at the problem as we tuck ourselves in at night. But God forbid the Dow falls below 10,000 points. Banks are the new church. Even churches are burdened by debt and become slaves.

Prov. 19:17 He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

“The 20th century consumer economy has produced the first culture for which a beggar is a reminder of nothing. ” John Berger

“The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that’s the essence of inhumanity“. George Bernard Shaw

26,500 children die each day of hunger. Do we care?

I love living in America in the 21st Century, my children have never been without. I know where my next meal is and when it is, I will most likely cook it myself. But I have become apathetic to the death of so many kids. It doesn’t seem real of relevant. The United States has donated millions and millions to hopefully stem the tide of AIDs in Africa…Yet…

Ezek. 16:49   “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.

This often quoted verse is almost never heeded.

We fear hell because of sins like lust and we turn a blind eye or at best a few minutes to the heart of the Lord.

All the while Jesus asks…

“Do you believe I am able to do this?“

God is not a God of systems, God is the God of redemption. It’s His job and His desire. We just cooperate out of rest. He will manage the details.

I will attempt to pull these thoughts together in the next post.

Wealth in itself is not a bad thing at all… ”…the Chosen people stopped recognizing God’s glory in the form of wealth and started thinking of wealth as valuable in itself“ Ellul

Wealth like sin is a result of something else.

I am thinking that revolution is at hand.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting a different outcome.

The funny thing about getting older is I find how painfully simple life really is. really.

If I only would have begun at the end, and listened to what my elders were trying to tell me, (particularly my dad) I could have saved so much effort and heartache. We are the ones who make things complicated in the attempts for control.

Are you thinking “Yeah but“ you already have walked off the path.

God encourages us to start at the end. But we resist.

I once had a little 3 year old friend Levi. Levi once told me he would hold his own hand across the street. Along the same train of thought, I run catered events for a living which involves carrying and hauling stuff, loading trucks, unloading trucks, arranging tables and chairs. Getting up early then working into the we hours of the morning. Recently I hurt my back, again, which has caused me to adjust how I do my job. I need to ask for help. When I would rather do it myself. I do it better myself, it’s easier to do it my self, leave me the F alone. Hmm, so this pot knows what the black kettle’s color really is.

Seems I need to depend on others. But my experience has been that others are so undependable. So God must be too….right? Now I need to wait and let someone else pick up the tray of plates, case of beer, box of equipment. This means I must think seriously about how I do my job. I need to depend on others. I don’t receive help well. I don’t rest well, but when I do the results are remarkable. God really does care for me He really does speak to me. It is all going to be OK.

We are created for rest. We resist rest.

Look at Psalm 95…

Psa. 95:1           Come, let’s shout praises to GOD,
raise the roof for the Rock who saved us!
2         Let’s march into his presence singing praises,
lifting the rafters with our hymns!

Psa. 95:3           And why? Because GOD is the best,
High King over all the gods.
4         In one hand he holds deep caves and caverns,
in the other hand grasps the high mountains.
5         He made Ocean—he owns it!
His hands sculpted Earth!

Psa. 95:6           So come, let us worship: bow before him,
on your knees before GOD, who made us!
7         Oh yes, he’s our God,
and we’re the people he pastures, the flock he feeds.

Drop everything and listen, listen as he speaks:
8                 “Don’t turn a deaf ear as in the Bitter Uprising,
As on the day of the Wilderness Test,
9                 when your ancestors turned and put me to the test.
10         For forty years they watched me at work among them,
as over and over they tried my patience.
And I was provoked—oh, was I provoked!
‘Can’t they keep their minds on God for five minutes?
Do they simply refuse to walk down my road?’
11         Exasperated, I exploded,
‘They’ll never get where they’re headed,
never be able to sit down and rest.’”

This seems to be where we are as His people, we have taken matters into our own hands and sort of muddled things a bit. We try and change our approach to meetings, pastoring, fellowship, communion, baptism. We call it different things change the dynamic slightly. Do a fund raiser. muddling happens. The jig is up.

What will it take for us to GET IT.

faith is resting In Him In Him we live and move and have our being.

I have said this all before in different ways but it still feels like we don’t completely understand what it would mean for us to actually enter His rest.

I have heard it said that the order of things in Genesis 1 had significance. We were created to enter into God’s rest.

Gen. 2:1   Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. 2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

I am going to begin here…

I don’t pretend to be a writer, nor a teacher, nor…well anything other then a caterer and Dad who loves Jesus and can’t seem to quiet my mind about several things, so I write them down. Here.

Something has been really bugging me this week.

Due to budget problems the worship leader of the church I am part of was laid off, or chose to leave, or was terminated, or had his hours reduced, or whatever… what’s important is he is no longer leading worship at the church, Which sucks. We have a good replacement for him but it still bothers me that we have allowed finances or whatever to consume our reliance in God’s provision. Say what you want however you want to say it. Church is not a business. We don’t compete with other churches for people, we don’t adjust our programs to draw folks from other fellowships. Church is not where we fit best and therefore we mold the body to the whim of the believers or pastoral staff or anyone else for that matter. Church is the body of believers. Bumps and bruises blemishes and all. We will draw people by being His, loving and real…bruises and all.

I used to be a member of a group of pastors that met for prayer. The measuring rod several of them used to compare themselves with one another was number of butts in seats on Sunday. Secondarily was the offering… We have a rather large church in our area that was planted by a metro area baptist church, they put on a recent multi million dollar addition and are in the process of a church plant near our church, which appears to have ruffled the feathers of a few of the leaders in my fellowship. I even heard we were giving away a TV in a raffle to draw folks with kids. geesh what has happened? What’s next? To what end? For what purpose? Why are we here. IS IT NOT TO SERVE A LOVING KING? and proclaim His good news?

That said, last week the former worship leader guy, had a worship session which he called “Bleeding Through” which was a great worship time, unfettered and uninhibited worship. It became evident that the leader and some others are starting something “new“ which unfortunately may be partly in reaction to the negative experiences he has had over the past 25 years. I need to say here I would like to do EXACTLY what he is doing. I get it. I understand it. I have thought of it myself over the years. As long as it is rooted in Jesus and not in reaction to a wrong real or precieved, I think he is on the right track. If however any human hopes to create any community of believers and not have it be the same as before, one must be rooted in love. Bitter root comes to mind here.

This whole thing is what got me thinking about what is bugging me. Not the situation or really anything about church. My mind works in strange ways.

September 19th was national Talk like a Pirate day! It got me thinking about dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride.

After running into the villain (read satan in the garden) Dread Pirate Roberts is thought as dead…Until…He’s Only Mostly Dead (Princess Bride)

Then this is how we seem to storm the castle… Mostly dead

Luke 16:16   “The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.

This in particular captures my complaint. The kingdom of God’s subjects are somewhat like Dread Pirate Roberts in this clip when we have been made fully alive.

In this thought I was brought to John 11:

John 11:1   Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair. 3 So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
John 11:4   When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was two more days.
John 11:7   Then he said to his disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”
John 11:8   “But Rabbi,” they said, “a short while ago the Jews tried to stone you, and yet you are going back there?”
John 11:9   Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? A man who walks by day will not stumble, for he sees by this world’s light. 10 It is when he walks by night that he stumbles, for he has no light.”
John 11:11   After he had said this, he went on to tell them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep;” but I am going there to wake him up.
John 11:12   His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” 13 Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.
John 11:14   So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

Heard God say real loud WAKE UP.

That’s the flippin gospel…isn’t it. That’s what I get from 1 Corinthians 15.

Just what is the gospel? The good news?

As I remember It’s why we signed up for this Christian thing in the first place. Isn’t it?

But we live as if it were gonna be true in the future rather then had been accomplished.

I have said this before We WIN! Why oh why are we flopping around as if it were a trick.

What are we studying for. It’s time to graduate and do the stuff.

What happened to John 5:19   Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.

The place I work is extremely particular about the quality and flavor of the food we serve. Not many establishments I know of go to the lengths we do to insure the food we serve is the absolute best available no matter what it costs. From the sea salt harvested on the shores of France and Wales, to the peppercorns, to the bread and cheese. Even the milk is tasted each delivery to make sure the stringent standards are maintained. Acorn fed hams, grass fed beef, free range chickens etc.

The owner travels to Italy each year to look at the grass the cows eat that produce the milk used to make the Parmigiano Reggiano. We don’t serve this cheese if the cows eat the straw in winter because the spring and summer grasses produce a sweeter cheese. We also make sure the cheese is aged for at least two years once it is made, which enhances the flavor. My point is not to promote the place I work, but to point out how we have lost the art of taking our time to insure quality.

Compare for yourself. Try this little experiment. Go to a grocery store that will have real Parm. cheese cut from a wheel, you don’t need to spend to much. I have seen it at Hiller’s fairly inexpensive. Buy a small amount whole (not the pre-grated stuff in a plastic tub. Then find the grated stuff in a green can. Go home. Unwrap the block of cheese put it on plate and let it rest for an hour or so. Flavors are better at room temp. After it sits, grate some on a plate and give it a good sniff…now taste it. Let it sit in your mouth and enjoy the progression of flavors.
Now drink some water and do the same with the green can stuff.

You can do this with any food. We have been fooled into believing that just because the flavorful food is more expensive initially we should buy the cheaper easier to produce food, primarily because of the cost. This recent article in Time Magazine points out the high cost of cheap food. Time Magizine August 2009. Then there is the politics of what has been done to our food to make it easier to package and ship which has robbed us of the nutrition and flavor. Then there is the meal. it has become hurried harried, and something we tolerate instead of a pleasure we enjoy together, don’t even get me started on diet food.

We have settled for cheap faith too, No not Bohnhoffer cheap grace faith, but 7-11 cheap faith, Walmart cheap faith. Mass produced packaged Mc Church convenience driven. In a sad way many churches have done the same with our discipleship. We opt for easy cheap, something which requires little and still gives us time to catch the game on TV. What if God showed up? “Fifteen minutes Lord, kick off is at one.” When the Mormon guy at your door gives you the Book of Mormon and his argument for the reality of the book is based upon a subjective feeling. We have allowed the lie of a subjective God to let us live through tapes and other folks experiences, We serve the objective Living God.

Seems we christians still don’t get the completeness and richness, or even the reality of the gospel. Church is aboutliving out passionate “Utmost for His Highest” Not necessarily in behavior but in complete abandon and love. Discipleship costs us our all.

It is difficult for me to understand why we have made christian expressions of worship, culture and art so flaccid and dull. I know people like to eat cheese spread, the processed cheese product wrapped in thin plastic we use for grilled cheese sandwiches, the flavorless tomatoes of winter. I know a hershey bar is most folks idea of good chocolate. Mc Nuggets are chicken which is flaked and formed then molded into uniform shapes for dipping. But we have been fooled into accepting the mediocre and mundane as if it were the highest good.
Christian music used to be the state of the art. Christian painting, music, theater was the standard for beauty as it should be. We have moved so far from passion or even the reality of a Living God who is active in the whole world. We are in danger of becoming apathetic because we don’t know any better.

The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. Consequently, the modern poor are not pitied…but written off as trash.

The twentieth-century consumer economy has produced the first culture for which a beggar is a reminder of nothing. John Berger

In the twists and turns world of Christian culture it is difficult to navigate the “narrow path.” Where it even is, It depends who you talk too.

Luke 18:25 Indeed, 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.”

Is the narrow path like the needles eye? Is the narrow path like birth?

I listened to a podcast from Bethel Church in California on my way into work this morning. Good talk overall, but the speaker did what the prophetic types have been doing for years.

Pointing to “revival” as if was once again just around the corner. My boss does this when she gives me my performance review, “Just do such and so by this date and I will give you a such and so raise.” Then when I do it she forgets…

Naive me I never get it in writing. Like a carrot on a stick and the illusive raise the promised revival never comes…or does it?

I like prophetic types but somehow I wonder why they can’t see the very thing they long for is right at hand.

Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”

The Kingdom of God IS near.

Better yet…Luke 17:21 nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.”

You are the revival. It is here now, you have as much of Him in you as you ever will, God himself is in you and effects all those around you because you carry him where you go.

He is love itself.

Revival began at pentecost. Looking for something which is in us is like saying you are starving after Thanksgiving Dinner.

Our charge is to give give give it away. That’s how we keep it.

The Joy of the Lord offends us because we are sitting on our hands expecting something that is already here. We keep missing the illusive revival which is at hand.

Why?

It’s our frikken belly button, we are to busy navel gazing.

You have 100% as much of 100% of God here and now.

to be continued…

“It is not enough to rage against the lie, you have to replace it with the truth.”–Bono
Phil. 4:4   Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! 5 Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

Phil. 4:6   Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. 7 Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

Phil. 4:8   Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. 9 Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

the Message

Or if you prefer the KJV

Phil 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Holding on to the “truth” is tricky if you look inside the church. The very place it needs to be clear is the very place it becomes muddy. Instead of clarifying the truth we point fingers and value being offensive or tolerant, depending upon your point of view. Both are supposed to bring us to the same end.

The Truth has become relative inside simply because it has been colored by the lie from creation, “did God really say?”

And to add a super twist, even the phrase “did God really say?” has been twisted. Which happens as soon as we separate the word from the speaker.

This is the very thing which causes those outside looking in to think twice before they join us. Then think three times once they do.

an excerpt of a recent email from Matt Slick- CARM (Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry)

“Spiritual discernment is lacking in the Christian community. Though there are faithful pastors and Christians who take the word of God seriously, there is an increasing number of Christians who are abandoning the clarity and commands of Scripture and substituting political correctness, feelings, and tolerance for biblical truth and its sometimes difficult revelations. They want to make Christianity more palatable so that the gospel offends no one. But, they fail to realize that the gospel that offends no one is not the gospel of the Bible. Though we are not to purposely offend, in the name of truth offenses will come and we are not to shy away from them.”

In this argument the truth has become an interpretation of words. “clarity and commands of scripture” I like the ministry of Mr Slick but in the current line of thought I respectfully disagree with him.

Like a cat playing with yarn the argument unravels as soon as we shift the emphasis from being and shift it to behavior. In scripture it is called fruit, as in:

Matt. 7:13   “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Matt. 7:15   “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Fruit:

Gal. 5:22   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

We extract these verses and point fingers:

Gal. 5:19   The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But look deeper the very act of finger pointing is singled out in vs 20 factions.

There I go! See how hard it is?

We miss this verse tucked neatly among the others, yet we are so anxious to justify behavior we ignore it.

Gal. 5:13   You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. 14 The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.

SERVE ONE ANOTHER IN LOVE.

Prov. 10:12 Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.
1Pet. 4:8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

The truth is a man not a collection of facts to be debated. The man is Jesus and Jesus is love in bodily form.

1John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
 God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

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. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:7

We are created to exist in peace, it guards us. Out of His peace we live and move and have our being.

Yet…

I wonder if we can comprehend the mission set before us?

Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,

How far will we go to love others?

The poor don’t get a day off from being poor.
The hungry don’t get a vacation.
The thirsty spend little time at the pool.

We have days and money set aside to “do” ministry. We champion a cause and the subjects of our cause become objects and seem to stop being people. I agree that something is better then nothing. I would hate to have an all or nothing attitude. Relegating discipleship might just be limiting what God wants to do in your life.

At church we have been trying to be “welcoming” to folks who might not fit into the “mold“. We had a couple “gay” women who risked attending our church. To some, they became sort of a badge of honor rather then two more people looking for community and God. I don’t know the answer to this question, but I wonder if anyone made personal contact and invited them over for dinner or are they the two gay women who need fixing?

On the other side we are accused of tolerance of what is currently sinful, like the woman at the well or the folks at Matt’s party, love covers a multitude of sins.

Matt. 9:10   While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”

Matt. 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

Much the same has happened with poor people. We promote ministry to the poor and as a result the poor have become numbers, to some, “we ministered to 114 people yesterday, 100 last month. Would we be as excited with one?

Is this loving? These ”people“ had parents, they learned to ride a tricycle, went to kindergarden, etc.

Are we known by that that needs to be fixed, or that we are His.

With the same mind set, since gluttony is a sin, How should we handle a ministry to fat people. A weigh in? ‘We lost 150 pounds today. praise God.

Or greed, do we have a bankers ministry? Get poor for God??

Since I am going there what about sloth…? Say a sloth gym…

Is what we are about really about managing peoples sin in the name of love. Or loving sinners in the name of God? Is it loving to point out that which we consider fault. We say folks are not what they do. Then let’s get to know their names.

We still ”minister to the homeless“ but we pray for them, in their need. We are generous with what we are given so other may have.

Loving others is a full time call. It involves our whole. Whole time, energy, wealth, strength and soul.

Our life out of peace given in love poured out.

I’ve been reading “Repenting of Religion” by Greg Boyd. Despite the obvious conclusions on could draw from the title, Mr. Boyd rightly encourages us to look at God from what is written about Jesus. In other words, Jesus is a tangible being who can be observed, touched and listened to by real live humans, then written about. Gives us the true vision of the Living God.

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. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.

Primarily Mr. Boyd is focusing on choosing love as a primary response to, basically everything.

Today at work I ordered my usual lunch, peanut butter and jelly with chocolate milk. I have been eating it everyday for a while now. It is quite satisfying and cheap! I found myself apologizing for what I ordered as if it made a difference to the nice lady at the counter. Her response was no one judges you for what you eat, it’s your choice.

I realize I adjust my behavior quite a bit for fear of what people think. Which stems a great deal from what I hear people say, most of which are Christians. Which made me think further about most of my gay friends who only seem to get upset with us for judging them. Damn sodomites!

Ok seriously, Mr Boyd discusses the sin of gluttony as in “fat people” and how we are quick to judge folks who commit sexual sins, whilst eating our fill as folks starve.

Ezek. 16:49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.

Everything is adjusted to the outrage of grace. We get the favor of the Living God. Then we get to give it away.