There's a song out right now that gets in your head and won't get out. It's called, simply enough, "Happy," by Pharrell Williams. It's pretty catchy, upbeat, simple, and even a bit refreshing. I love the lines in there, "Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof... Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth!" My kids love that song.
Having been a musician most of my life, I can also see why it would be easy enough to be critical of it. It is pretty simple, musically speaking. Duple meter. F, B-flat, C, B-flat, and back to F. C sharp, C minor, D sharp, then F on the chorus. There's a bridge in there too, but I'm getting bored explaining this. And most anyone reading this have now completely lost interest in my explanation of the song and are thinking, "Just enjoy the song!" Or, if you're a musician yourself, you are checking out the song to see if I'm right. You're no longer happy listening to Happy.
Which leads me to Revelation (huh?)... especially 1:1-3 again. Three days now, three verses. Might set a land speed record here soon!
At times, I've been tempted to boycott most of the presentations on this book for a couple of reasons. First, it seems like a lot of people seem to forget the very first part of the book, that it's supposed to be a "Revelation of Jesus Christ." It's about His victory, accomplished, experienced, and already real. It's not about figuring out dates and numbers. That plays into understanding the revelation, but it's not the ultimate purpose of the book.
Second, it's supposed to make you happy. I bet many have never thought of it this way, but it says it right there in verse 3. "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." The word there for happy is "makarios" in Greek, which is what John wrote this in. We like to say "blessed" in church world. Blessed usually conjures up images of success in our minds, or we get a blessing at church. We may even say people can be blessed but not happy. Wrong. That's not what the word means. It means "blessed, happy."
Now, happiness isn't biblically something that just makes you giddy and smiley. It's deeper than that. It's purpose and direction and peace. It's intimacy with God. It's not just a feeling of euphoria. It's a state of being. But happy is still happy!
Too often I feel like the conversations in the church, or among church members, turn into diatribes about the woes of the world, and how we can tell we're near the end because of how awful things are. People speak about it and bemoan it and talk about how we're being persecuted all over the world (and we haven't seen anything yet!).
Can this possibly be right? Are we supposed to have a sense of impending doom or impending victory?
Happy. If you look closely at the language of verse 3, it's telling. You're happy if you intimately know, understand, and proclaim this prophecy. You're happy if you hear and understand this prophecy. Why? Because, Jesus' final victory is imminent.
It's imminent to us. It was imminent from John's too. What's the deal with that anyway? He wrote this stuff down nearly 2,000 years ago!
Maybe we can't see it clearly, but we have to remember it's reality to Jesus, and it's His revelation. Why can we be happy? Because Jesus' final victory is reality. It has been since it was written down. It was before then. To a Kingdom where time does not exist (as we understand time to exist at least), victory is now! It is achieved!
So, do I read and speak of Revelation as though I'm happy about it? Or scared?
Am I worried about a future with scary beasts and plagues and abuse, as one without hope might be? Or am I excited about the victory?
Do I get worked up over identifying the beast and his mark, knowing who the image and the dragon and all those crazy things are? Understand I don't dismiss this as unimportant, but what about this perspective: Do I see these things and know who the vanquished foe is and cling with eagerness to the anticipation of Jesus' victory?
Do I see impending pain as a follower of Jesus, or am I more like the church John wrote to (who was experiencing abuse even as they heard of this Revelation)... do I see imminent victory?
Do I live my life fretting over behaviors, deeds and misdeeds, and whose mark I'll receive? Or do I live my life happy in Jesus?
Lord Jesus... I want to be so happy in You that even this atmosphere and earth I inhabit cannot contain it! Show me and lead me to celebrate Your victory: the cross, the empty tomb, the ascended Christ, the poured out Holy Spirit, and Your return. It is reality! May I live as though it is true!
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Present (Not Past or Future)
OK, so Revelation is going to take me awhile if I keep getting sucked into it the way it's currently going... 2 verses in 2 days!
Revelation 2:1-3 I'll quote (for context)... especially looking at verse 2 today:
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." (NASB)
I started by identifying the "who" in this verse. It's John. He's the one the angel of Jesus is giving this message to. There's a striking thing to this if you read it in context of verse 1. That word bond-servant comes back to mind, the one who has given up his or her own interests for the interests of Jesus Christ. Really, even the angel in verse one is a bond-servant of Jesus, right? So are many others (the church), and especially in this case, John.
Does it occur to us very often how dignifying that is? To be co-servants of the Creator and Ruler of the Universe with angels? Do we even believe this is possible (or even act like it)? I wonder... if I truly believed this to be true, would the Bible actually make more sense? If my place as a human is just a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5), yet at the same time above them in terms of how I was supposed to be created (think Eden there and being made in God's image), would reading the Scriptures seem different if I kept that in mind? That God is communicating something to me as I am supposed to be?
Then there's this. John testified. He bore witness to something he saw and experienced. That's pretty mind-blowing when you realize what he's about to write out for the church. I'm not really sure how you sleep after that, but I digress. The real point I'm getting to is that Jesus did this in the same verse. The word "testimony" from "the testimony of Jesus Christ..." is the same word used for John.
I know I'm not supposed to get ahead of myself when I'm studying the Bible, but I cannot help it right now, because the ultimate thing about the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the revelation of His final and glorious victory. The whole book builds up to it... it's the process of the victory of the Lamb and the re-uniting of God with humanity. God Himself will dwell with people again.
This is the testimony of Jesus Christ. You cannot testify to something that has not happened. If you haven't experienced it, you cannot testify to it. If you testify in court to something you did not actually see, you know what they call that? Perjury. Or, in the Bible, "bearing false witness." Lying.
We see in a mirror dimly. We are limited by time and space. Jesus Christ is not so limited. From His perspective, everything is in the present. It's not about Jesus' victory in the past (even if it is so from where we stand). It's not about Jesus' victory in the future (even if that's all we can grasp). It's all about the victory that He has seen, accomplished, and experienced, or that is seen, accomplished, and experienced.
How would you live differently today if you believed this?
If God gives me something big to do, would it change my outlook on doing that something if I knew victory in that something is already accomplished?
In the church, I am given the task of leadership in two places of worship right now. Both places have been through struggle and triumph. When struggle seems evident, and God gives us a vision and purpose and direction, would it not actually be distrustful of Him to think, "We're not up to it..." or "I'm not up to it..."? Do we believe that He is victorious or don't we?
Is Jesus a testifier of truth, or is He a liar? Which do I treat Him more like in my own life?
Lord Jesus, rearrange me! Transform me so that I see my task on earth through the lens of the dignity You have given me as Your child, and through the lens of Your accomplished victory!
Revelation 2:1-3 I'll quote (for context)... especially looking at verse 2 today:
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near." (NASB)
I started by identifying the "who" in this verse. It's John. He's the one the angel of Jesus is giving this message to. There's a striking thing to this if you read it in context of verse 1. That word bond-servant comes back to mind, the one who has given up his or her own interests for the interests of Jesus Christ. Really, even the angel in verse one is a bond-servant of Jesus, right? So are many others (the church), and especially in this case, John.
Does it occur to us very often how dignifying that is? To be co-servants of the Creator and Ruler of the Universe with angels? Do we even believe this is possible (or even act like it)? I wonder... if I truly believed this to be true, would the Bible actually make more sense? If my place as a human is just a little lower than the angels (Psalm 8:5), yet at the same time above them in terms of how I was supposed to be created (think Eden there and being made in God's image), would reading the Scriptures seem different if I kept that in mind? That God is communicating something to me as I am supposed to be?
Then there's this. John testified. He bore witness to something he saw and experienced. That's pretty mind-blowing when you realize what he's about to write out for the church. I'm not really sure how you sleep after that, but I digress. The real point I'm getting to is that Jesus did this in the same verse. The word "testimony" from "the testimony of Jesus Christ..." is the same word used for John.
I know I'm not supposed to get ahead of myself when I'm studying the Bible, but I cannot help it right now, because the ultimate thing about the Revelation of Jesus Christ is the revelation of His final and glorious victory. The whole book builds up to it... it's the process of the victory of the Lamb and the re-uniting of God with humanity. God Himself will dwell with people again.
This is the testimony of Jesus Christ. You cannot testify to something that has not happened. If you haven't experienced it, you cannot testify to it. If you testify in court to something you did not actually see, you know what they call that? Perjury. Or, in the Bible, "bearing false witness." Lying.
We see in a mirror dimly. We are limited by time and space. Jesus Christ is not so limited. From His perspective, everything is in the present. It's not about Jesus' victory in the past (even if it is so from where we stand). It's not about Jesus' victory in the future (even if that's all we can grasp). It's all about the victory that He has seen, accomplished, and experienced, or that is seen, accomplished, and experienced.
How would you live differently today if you believed this?
If God gives me something big to do, would it change my outlook on doing that something if I knew victory in that something is already accomplished?
- Save my marriage...
- Disciple my kids...
- Get out of debt...
- Improve my health...
- Be generous with my time and resources...
In the church, I am given the task of leadership in two places of worship right now. Both places have been through struggle and triumph. When struggle seems evident, and God gives us a vision and purpose and direction, would it not actually be distrustful of Him to think, "We're not up to it..." or "I'm not up to it..."? Do we believe that He is victorious or don't we?
Is Jesus a testifier of truth, or is He a liar? Which do I treat Him more like in my own life?
Lord Jesus, rearrange me! Transform me so that I see my task on earth through the lens of the dignity You have given me as Your child, and through the lens of Your accomplished victory!
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Full Disclosure to Sell-outs
So, this morning, I started re-studying Revelation. That's right... just starting over, trying to get it even after I've been through Revelation seminars, read the thing over and over again, even taken a whole Seminary class on it. It seems like I always manage to miss or forget stuff that I feel like I should know.
Right off the bat, something got to me... I mean like verse 1.
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John..."
I started breaking this down. First, that big word at the beginning, which titles the whole book. "Revelation." It's a pretty deep word, from a Greek word: "apocalypses." In English world, we get this totally wrong. Sports Illustrated used to do a little blurb each week about weird stuff athletes were doing. They called it "This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse." We see that word and think about the end being near. Well, if Revelation is the association we make with this word, I can see why. But ultimately, it doesn't just mean this. By definition, it means "laying bare, naked; disclosing of truth or instruction." It's full disclosure, and in this case it's full disclosure of things that haven't happened yet. Most importantly, it's full disclosure of Jesus Christ. There were things His servants didn't know about Him yet.
That wasn't bad stuff to see. Here was a small group of churches throughout Asia Minor, many of whom were being intensely persecuted, even killed. John himself was exiled because of his testimony of Jesus Christ. He had spent time with Jesus face-to-face, but there was apparently something he and the rest of Jesus' servants did not know about Him, and it was all about what hadn't yet happened.
But it got more intense when I looked into a different word: servant. Or bond-servant. Ultimately, Revelation was for Jesus Christ's servants. The word for this is "doulos." it can mean servant, bond-servant, or slave... one in servile condition. It's deeper though: it is a person who has totally sacrificed his own self-interests for the interests of another. It's a person devoted to another, with total disregard for his or her own desires.
In this context, it's a complete and absolute sell-out for Jesus.
This is where it starts to sting a little. Verse one teaches that the "Full Disclosure" of Jesus Christ is for those who are complete sell-outs for Jesus. They have sacrificed and now disregard their own interests and desires for the sake of whatever Jesus reveals to them. They obey no matter what they have to give up to do so, and they don't even think twice about it.
Intense stuff for an intense church!
So, here's my takeaway from this. I am writing this because I need accountability. I know people who put stuff out there on Facebook or on their blogs, asking for friends to hold them accountable to better diet, exercise, spending habits, whatever. I think I need something similar. I need to be accountable to being a sell-out for Jesus.
Here are a few questions I have asked myself... feel free to consider them yourself.
Do I have breath and life? Yes! I still have a purpose then. Today is always the day to start! So here's my prayer today...
Right off the bat, something got to me... I mean like verse 1.
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John..."
I started breaking this down. First, that big word at the beginning, which titles the whole book. "Revelation." It's a pretty deep word, from a Greek word: "apocalypses." In English world, we get this totally wrong. Sports Illustrated used to do a little blurb each week about weird stuff athletes were doing. They called it "This Week's Sign of the Apocalypse." We see that word and think about the end being near. Well, if Revelation is the association we make with this word, I can see why. But ultimately, it doesn't just mean this. By definition, it means "laying bare, naked; disclosing of truth or instruction." It's full disclosure, and in this case it's full disclosure of things that haven't happened yet. Most importantly, it's full disclosure of Jesus Christ. There were things His servants didn't know about Him yet.
That wasn't bad stuff to see. Here was a small group of churches throughout Asia Minor, many of whom were being intensely persecuted, even killed. John himself was exiled because of his testimony of Jesus Christ. He had spent time with Jesus face-to-face, but there was apparently something he and the rest of Jesus' servants did not know about Him, and it was all about what hadn't yet happened.
But it got more intense when I looked into a different word: servant. Or bond-servant. Ultimately, Revelation was for Jesus Christ's servants. The word for this is "doulos." it can mean servant, bond-servant, or slave... one in servile condition. It's deeper though: it is a person who has totally sacrificed his own self-interests for the interests of another. It's a person devoted to another, with total disregard for his or her own desires.
In this context, it's a complete and absolute sell-out for Jesus.
This is where it starts to sting a little. Verse one teaches that the "Full Disclosure" of Jesus Christ is for those who are complete sell-outs for Jesus. They have sacrificed and now disregard their own interests and desires for the sake of whatever Jesus reveals to them. They obey no matter what they have to give up to do so, and they don't even think twice about it.
Intense stuff for an intense church!
So, here's my takeaway from this. I am writing this because I need accountability. I know people who put stuff out there on Facebook or on their blogs, asking for friends to hold them accountable to better diet, exercise, spending habits, whatever. I think I need something similar. I need to be accountable to being a sell-out for Jesus.
Here are a few questions I have asked myself... feel free to consider them yourself.
- Have I totally sold out to Jesus?
- What keeps me from obeying and following Him fully? What are my “self-interests” that get in the way?
Do I have breath and life? Yes! I still have a purpose then. Today is always the day to start! So here's my prayer today...
Lord Jesus, forgive me for not fully devoting myself
to You. I’m trying, but I don’t seem to do very well far too often. I devote
myself to You today, entirely. Help me to be ready to sacrifice my own
interests for the sake of Jesus. May I be wrapped up in Your will and desires
for humanity. “Fall me” in love with You entirely, so that it will be my first
thought and desire to follow and obey You as Your bond-servant today. I want
full-disclosure of You in my life.
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Peace
- Which memory is harder to shake: Rejection or guilt?
For me, it's guilt. I've had to deal with rejection before, and while it's not fun, you can at least attribute that to the actions of someone else. It's much harder to deal with when I am the one who screwed up! That's the kind of stuff that keeps me awake at night and causes me to lose weight (the wrong way--I tend to lose my appetite when I'm stressed).
- Which is harder to accept: Mercy or judgment?
Wow! That's quite a question! I must admit that judgment may be easier to accept. Humans tend to be able to take what they deserve (good or bad). What we struggle with is getting what we don't deserve. If we are treated unfairly, our hackles raise. If we are treated well when we should have been treated badly... well, we often don't know how to react or process it.
Read Genesis 50:15-21. It's the story of Joseph reassuring his brothers (after their father's death) that he wasn't going to pay them back for the wrongs they did. It's the story of undeserved mercy.
The brothers were afraid. "What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?" (verse 15).
What do we do when we're really afraid? Pretty much anything we can to escape that which we're afraid of.
"Your father left these instructions before he died: 'This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.' Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father." (verse 16-17).
Maybe I'm wrong, but this seems like an act of desperation. Genesis 45 paints a picture of a brother that already forgave them and even welcomed them to Egypt. You could read into the whole story a spirit of revenge if you wanted to I suppose, but I just don't see anything very obvious from Genesis 45 onward.
- What do you make of the brothers' fear? Is it justified?
- How does Joseph's story reveal the truth of verses 19-21?
Here's what Sarah Young writes in Jesus Calling.
"If you learn to trust Me--really trust Me--with your whole being, then nothing can separate you from My Peace. Everything you endure can be put to good use by allowing it o train you in trusting Me. This is how you foil the works of evil, growing in grace through the very adversity that was meant to harm you. Joseph was a prime example of this divine reversal, declaring to his brothers: "You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.
"Do not fear what this day, or any day, may bring your way. Concentrate on trusting Me and on doing what needs to be done. Relax in My sovereignty, remembering that I go before you, as well as with you, into each day. Fear no evil, for I can bring good out of every situation you will ever encounter."
Point well made. Joseph had already learned to lean on God. He had already learned to take whatever came his way... judgment or mercy... and "roll with it" in the arms of God. His brothers? Lesson still to be learned. But who better to teach them than the one who already had such experience? In Joseph, the one they persecuted, they saw a man who trusted in God's sovereignty. Now, they could learn to do the same.
- What low lights and highlights come to mind for you when you think of Genesis 50:19-21?
- When have you been tempted to replace God in judging others? In judging yourself?
- What could keep you from walking in God's peace today?
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." (Psalm 23:4)
Friday, March 21, 2014
Strength or Fear?
"The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." (Isaiah 12:2)
FEAR: (verb) to be afraid; to expect or worry about (something bad or unpleasant); (noun) an unpleasant emotion due to be anticipation or awareness of danger; an anxious concern.
STRENGTH: the quality or state of being physically strong; the ability to resist being moved or being broken by force; the quality that allows someone to deal with problems in a determined and effective way.
Typically, these two words don't work together. They combat each other. Strength overcomes fear, or fear is too much for strength (meaning strength is no longer really a strength). Sometimes, fear can give a person strength, usually due to an adrenaline rush. How else could average human beings lift a car that was about to crush a child (one of the miraculous stories you hear about from time to time)?
Each day we face something that we do not have the strength to overcome. It's the world. More specifically, it's sin, thrown at us by a devil who hates us and is much more powerful than we are. He may not physically beat you up, but he knows your weaknesses and takes advantage of them whenever it's possible to do so.
I dont' know about you, but I don't have the strength within myself to fight the devil... alone. Left to myself, I have reason to have a lot of fear.
Here's what Sarah Young wrote in Jesus Calling...
"Don't be afraid. I am your Strength and your Song. I am your Power and your Joy.
"What does it mean to have Me as your Strength? I simply spoke and the universe was created! Mountains soared up out of the earth! The sun and stars lit up the sky! My Power is absolutely unlimited. And I am able to take that same Power and make you strong.
"Think of it: I am on your side. I will guide you, protect you, and even fight for you if necessary. So don't let yourself bcome filled up with fear. Fear only blocks My Strength. Instead of being afraid, trust Me--remember that I am your Strength!
"I am also your Song. I want you to grab hold of My Joy. Celebrate! Shout for joy because I am right beside you!"
How well does your joy match your walk and your talk for God?
When have you most keenly felt God's goodness? His love? His strength?
FEAR: (verb) to be afraid; to expect or worry about (something bad or unpleasant); (noun) an unpleasant emotion due to be anticipation or awareness of danger; an anxious concern.
STRENGTH: the quality or state of being physically strong; the ability to resist being moved or being broken by force; the quality that allows someone to deal with problems in a determined and effective way.
Typically, these two words don't work together. They combat each other. Strength overcomes fear, or fear is too much for strength (meaning strength is no longer really a strength). Sometimes, fear can give a person strength, usually due to an adrenaline rush. How else could average human beings lift a car that was about to crush a child (one of the miraculous stories you hear about from time to time)?
Each day we face something that we do not have the strength to overcome. It's the world. More specifically, it's sin, thrown at us by a devil who hates us and is much more powerful than we are. He may not physically beat you up, but he knows your weaknesses and takes advantage of them whenever it's possible to do so.
I dont' know about you, but I don't have the strength within myself to fight the devil... alone. Left to myself, I have reason to have a lot of fear.
Here's what Sarah Young wrote in Jesus Calling...
"Don't be afraid. I am your Strength and your Song. I am your Power and your Joy.
"What does it mean to have Me as your Strength? I simply spoke and the universe was created! Mountains soared up out of the earth! The sun and stars lit up the sky! My Power is absolutely unlimited. And I am able to take that same Power and make you strong.
"Think of it: I am on your side. I will guide you, protect you, and even fight for you if necessary. So don't let yourself bcome filled up with fear. Fear only blocks My Strength. Instead of being afraid, trust Me--remember that I am your Strength!
"I am also your Song. I want you to grab hold of My Joy. Celebrate! Shout for joy because I am right beside you!"
How well does your joy match your walk and your talk for God?
When have you most keenly felt God's goodness? His love? His strength?
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Waiting
"Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in Me." (John 14:1)
"Waiting, trusting, and hoping are intricately connected, like golden strands interwoven to form a strong chain. Trusting is the central strand because it is the response from My children that I desire most. Waiting and hoping embellish the central strand and strengthen the chain that connects you to Me. Waiting for Me to work, with your eyes on Me, is evidence that you really do trust Me. If you mouth the words 'I trust You' while anxiously trying to make things go your way, your words ring hollow. Hoping is future-directed, connecting you to your inheritance in heaven. However, the benefits of hope fall fully on you in the present.
"Because you are Mine, you don't just pass time in your waiting. You can wait expectantly, in hopeful trust. Keep you 'antennae' out to pick up even the faintest glimmer of My Presence."
(From Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young)
"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall give you the desires of your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)
I did not do a lot of dating as a teenager. I was more into playing basketball and music, and I wasn't what you would call the most smooth guy around (awkward teenage boy would best have described me). I got a little flak for it at times, how I was missing out and what I should do differently. Early on in college I attempted to do a bit more, seeing as I was closing in on 20 and some of my friends were already getting pretty serious in their romantic lives. More to the point, the guys and girls were snatching each other up, and I was starting to feel like a third wheel more and more! I also attended a school affectionately nicknamed "Southern Matrimonial College," and was a pastor-in-training to boot (there's a bit of a stigma attached to unattached pastors even to this day).
It was after my sophomore year that I finally decided to quit trying. If it was going to happen, it would happen in God's time, not because of my efforts (which were sometimes directed toward women that would have probably been terrible matches for me anyway, and I wouldn't have been any better for them).
Funny thing... when I actually started waiting on the Lord in my relational life, the pressure went away! Even funnier, it was that summer, while working at a summer camp in California, that I fell in love with the woman who would be my wife four years later! The cheesy thing to say is that it was a "match made in heaven," but in actuality I know that was a true statement, cheesy though it may sound.
There just isn't a substitute for Jesus. When we wait on Him, the best is yet to come. When we do not, then we wind up accepting something less than the best. Now, that's not to say He cannot recreate and redeem something. There are people who have great marriages and friendships out there who went about it in all the wrong ways. The point I am making is that waiting on God brings about contentment with who you are and what is going on around you. Why? Because you know the best is yet to come! It strengthens hope, which is a crucial thing for those who follow Jesus.
We wait for Jesus to come and claim His bride... His people... the Church! That's anyone who is a follower of Jesus. It stinks sometimes. It's hard, awkward, and frustrating. The whole creation, according to Paul, waits like a woman in labor. If we don't wait on Jesus, however, we wind up grasping for substitutes even for His kingdom. Here is a bold statement to go with it: anything less than the Kingdom God has planned for us is a demonic fraud! Not trusting in Christ, not waiting for Him, not hoping for Him... it all leads to something far less than the best.
Have you ever suffered for settling?
When have you experienced "delayed gratification"?
What have you learned in your life from waiting on the Lord?
"Waiting, trusting, and hoping are intricately connected, like golden strands interwoven to form a strong chain. Trusting is the central strand because it is the response from My children that I desire most. Waiting and hoping embellish the central strand and strengthen the chain that connects you to Me. Waiting for Me to work, with your eyes on Me, is evidence that you really do trust Me. If you mouth the words 'I trust You' while anxiously trying to make things go your way, your words ring hollow. Hoping is future-directed, connecting you to your inheritance in heaven. However, the benefits of hope fall fully on you in the present.
"Because you are Mine, you don't just pass time in your waiting. You can wait expectantly, in hopeful trust. Keep you 'antennae' out to pick up even the faintest glimmer of My Presence."
(From Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young)
"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and He shall give you the desires of your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)
I did not do a lot of dating as a teenager. I was more into playing basketball and music, and I wasn't what you would call the most smooth guy around (awkward teenage boy would best have described me). I got a little flak for it at times, how I was missing out and what I should do differently. Early on in college I attempted to do a bit more, seeing as I was closing in on 20 and some of my friends were already getting pretty serious in their romantic lives. More to the point, the guys and girls were snatching each other up, and I was starting to feel like a third wheel more and more! I also attended a school affectionately nicknamed "Southern Matrimonial College," and was a pastor-in-training to boot (there's a bit of a stigma attached to unattached pastors even to this day).
It was after my sophomore year that I finally decided to quit trying. If it was going to happen, it would happen in God's time, not because of my efforts (which were sometimes directed toward women that would have probably been terrible matches for me anyway, and I wouldn't have been any better for them).
Funny thing... when I actually started waiting on the Lord in my relational life, the pressure went away! Even funnier, it was that summer, while working at a summer camp in California, that I fell in love with the woman who would be my wife four years later! The cheesy thing to say is that it was a "match made in heaven," but in actuality I know that was a true statement, cheesy though it may sound.
There just isn't a substitute for Jesus. When we wait on Him, the best is yet to come. When we do not, then we wind up accepting something less than the best. Now, that's not to say He cannot recreate and redeem something. There are people who have great marriages and friendships out there who went about it in all the wrong ways. The point I am making is that waiting on God brings about contentment with who you are and what is going on around you. Why? Because you know the best is yet to come! It strengthens hope, which is a crucial thing for those who follow Jesus.
We wait for Jesus to come and claim His bride... His people... the Church! That's anyone who is a follower of Jesus. It stinks sometimes. It's hard, awkward, and frustrating. The whole creation, according to Paul, waits like a woman in labor. If we don't wait on Jesus, however, we wind up grasping for substitutes even for His kingdom. Here is a bold statement to go with it: anything less than the Kingdom God has planned for us is a demonic fraud! Not trusting in Christ, not waiting for Him, not hoping for Him... it all leads to something far less than the best.
Have you ever suffered for settling?
When have you experienced "delayed gratification"?
What have you learned in your life from waiting on the Lord?
Thursday, February 13, 2014
Greater Than the Force
The cultures and religions surrounding the stories and writers of the Bible fascinate me. Just a basic, working knowledge of that stuff can really open up your eyes to why writers wrote the way they wrote, taking truths God inspired them with and writing them out in ways God's people, and the people around them, could grasp. Like any great preacher or author today, they just knew how to do it.
John, the disciple Jesus loved, is a pretty cool example of this. He wrote about things that Jews would understand from their history in order to explain present reality--such as all the sanctuary imagery you find in The Revelation of Jesus Christ (I try and use the whole title there so as not to forget what the intention of the book was). But he did pretty well at capturing the imagery of the surrounding cultures and religions outside Judaism as well. John 1 is a good example of this. In brief, as I've been studying it this week, here's how I am seeing this. I admit that Wikipedia has helped out with this some, so it bears noting that it's a good idea to look into this for yourself and broaden the research a bit, but here goes...
Stoic philosophy was something that developed in Athens in the 3rd century, BC. Stoicism taught the errors in judgment led to destructive emotions. A person of moral and intellectual perfection (or a "sage") would not put up with such destructive emotions. They were very concerned with the relationship between "cosmic determination" (fate) and human behavior. They were one in a long line of philosophies that placed a lot of emphasis on "logos.." This is a word that is literally translated as "word," or "knowledge." They defined it a step further as "reason." So, logos had to do with the reasons why people do what they do, and how it relates to "cosmic fate" (sort of).
The Stoics had this thing called "logos spermatikos," which was to them the generative principle of the universe (the creative reason that generated matter and life). This would one day heavily influence Neoplatonism, which taught that God is "supra rational," and could only be reached through ecstasy (not a drug) and perfection. He is the primeval source of being, the formless One, the cosmic force from which life and being flows.
The philosophies of the age also taught that darkness was but the absence of light, and that darkness, in and of itself, did not exist.
Sounds to me like George Lucas borrowed a bit of material for "Star Wars, but that's just my opinion. Of course, the "dark side" of the force was in opposition to the good side of the force, but I digress...
You might say that John knew something about this stuff too, but His departure from other philosophies was pretty dramatic.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:1-5)
John was great at this. His "son of thunder" reputation came out sometimes in his writings too. What he does here is say, to the Jews and to the prevailing and developing philosophies of his day, "JESUS IS WAY BETTER than that rot!"
"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:6-13)
You philosophers who know so much, you people who founded this Stoic movement or Platonism (or Neoplatonism)... there was this guy who preached in the desert and ate honey and tree-beans ("locusts" probably doesn't actually refer to bugs) and wore camel-skin clothes... he knew something you didn't even conceive of!
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
Greek philosophies didn't teach about the "life-generating force" becoming a human being. They didn't talk about God coming down. They didn't believe in the "supra rational" taking on a visible form! All they could think of was a formless God-force emanating life (might as well have been the "big bang" if you're going to buy that) and human beings working toward ecstasy and perfection to reach Him (or it... or whatever).
Jews taught of a the One true God. They knew of a coming Messiah. But they could but conceive of a savior that returned to them their earthly rule and riches, not the One that would bring peace between created people and a mysterious and perfect God.
Considering all he was surrounded by in his life, and his experience with Jesus, I can only come to the conclusion that John was writing something radical here. He knew the ancient Jewish teachings and the philosophies of pagans that were taking hold in his days. Rather than shouting them down, he showed how Jesus was greater.
Greater than the force. Greater than any other created human being. Greater than an earthly king. Greater than ecstasy and "achieved" perfection.
And get this... if you are to believe John, they actually were eyewitnesses of all of it... "we beheld His glory..."
Know that when you experience Jesus, you experience the greatest thing there ever was. Creator. Personal (not just a force). Fully God. The reason for existence.
Jesus. ALL.
Have you experienced Jesus in any of these ways?
I don't believe any of it changes the fundamental truths about God and His plan, but just how the writers approached communicating inspired truth. However, is there any other insight (new or corrective) you have on the relationship of culture, religion, history, and philosophy, and how it impacted the way Bible writers wrote?
John, the disciple Jesus loved, is a pretty cool example of this. He wrote about things that Jews would understand from their history in order to explain present reality--such as all the sanctuary imagery you find in The Revelation of Jesus Christ (I try and use the whole title there so as not to forget what the intention of the book was). But he did pretty well at capturing the imagery of the surrounding cultures and religions outside Judaism as well. John 1 is a good example of this. In brief, as I've been studying it this week, here's how I am seeing this. I admit that Wikipedia has helped out with this some, so it bears noting that it's a good idea to look into this for yourself and broaden the research a bit, but here goes...
Stoic philosophy was something that developed in Athens in the 3rd century, BC. Stoicism taught the errors in judgment led to destructive emotions. A person of moral and intellectual perfection (or a "sage") would not put up with such destructive emotions. They were very concerned with the relationship between "cosmic determination" (fate) and human behavior. They were one in a long line of philosophies that placed a lot of emphasis on "logos.." This is a word that is literally translated as "word," or "knowledge." They defined it a step further as "reason." So, logos had to do with the reasons why people do what they do, and how it relates to "cosmic fate" (sort of).
The Stoics had this thing called "logos spermatikos," which was to them the generative principle of the universe (the creative reason that generated matter and life). This would one day heavily influence Neoplatonism, which taught that God is "supra rational," and could only be reached through ecstasy (not a drug) and perfection. He is the primeval source of being, the formless One, the cosmic force from which life and being flows.
The philosophies of the age also taught that darkness was but the absence of light, and that darkness, in and of itself, did not exist.
Sounds to me like George Lucas borrowed a bit of material for "Star Wars, but that's just my opinion. Of course, the "dark side" of the force was in opposition to the good side of the force, but I digress...
You might say that John knew something about this stuff too, but His departure from other philosophies was pretty dramatic.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." (John 1:1-5)
John was great at this. His "son of thunder" reputation came out sometimes in his writings too. What he does here is say, to the Jews and to the prevailing and developing philosophies of his day, "JESUS IS WAY BETTER than that rot!"
"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." (John 1:6-13)
You philosophers who know so much, you people who founded this Stoic movement or Platonism (or Neoplatonism)... there was this guy who preached in the desert and ate honey and tree-beans ("locusts" probably doesn't actually refer to bugs) and wore camel-skin clothes... he knew something you didn't even conceive of!
"And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14)
Greek philosophies didn't teach about the "life-generating force" becoming a human being. They didn't talk about God coming down. They didn't believe in the "supra rational" taking on a visible form! All they could think of was a formless God-force emanating life (might as well have been the "big bang" if you're going to buy that) and human beings working toward ecstasy and perfection to reach Him (or it... or whatever).
Jews taught of a the One true God. They knew of a coming Messiah. But they could but conceive of a savior that returned to them their earthly rule and riches, not the One that would bring peace between created people and a mysterious and perfect God.
Considering all he was surrounded by in his life, and his experience with Jesus, I can only come to the conclusion that John was writing something radical here. He knew the ancient Jewish teachings and the philosophies of pagans that were taking hold in his days. Rather than shouting them down, he showed how Jesus was greater.
Greater than the force. Greater than any other created human being. Greater than an earthly king. Greater than ecstasy and "achieved" perfection.
And get this... if you are to believe John, they actually were eyewitnesses of all of it... "we beheld His glory..."
Know that when you experience Jesus, you experience the greatest thing there ever was. Creator. Personal (not just a force). Fully God. The reason for existence.
Jesus. ALL.
Have you experienced Jesus in any of these ways?
I don't believe any of it changes the fundamental truths about God and His plan, but just how the writers approached communicating inspired truth. However, is there any other insight (new or corrective) you have on the relationship of culture, religion, history, and philosophy, and how it impacted the way Bible writers wrote?
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