571. The Old Commands Were Weak, Useless and Now Obsolete
“He Is”
He is the way, the journey and the destination.
He is the truth, the understanding, the revelation.
He is the life, the experience, what is real.
He is the bread, the wine, the entire meal.
He is the answer, the anointing, He is the call.
He is the first, the last, He is all.
Wynema I Clark 9/26/2016
558. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 15): The New Way: No Condemnation
With Fears Increasing, Jesus Christ Is Our One True Source of Confidence
I've been amazed, in the aftermath of the shocking massacre on police officers in Dallas, how many people are speaking openly about their feelings. On social media, in letters to the editor and in general conversation we hear people saying, "We're not as safe today as yesterday ..." Some are surprised by their own reactions, even considering means for self-protection they have never before considered. It's still difficult to analyze the mood of the country, though. Is it anger, frustration, racial tension, or fear?
I suggest that fear is at the core of the problem. Contrary to cynics who mock the Scriptures, the Bible gives us clear answers to vital questions that social science is still debating. According the story in Genesis, there was a time when humans were not afraid. They were secure in the shared life of God himself. However when they chose to trust another source rather than him, they hid, and confessed that it was because of fear.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?" And he said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself." (Gen. 3:8-10)
Being descendants of that first pair, all of us tend to default to the same fear. In one way or another, sometimes subtle yet always there, it underlies our every thought, motive and action. It affects our view of perceived threat to significance, security or survival. It is the motivation behind our hiding. Like Adam and Eve who weren't choosy in picking trees, we will grasp at anything that might offer some safety from exposure.
We hide behind our race, hoping to find some significance and acceptance based on bloodlines. We hide behind social standing for the same reason. When others begin to rise, we perceive their success as a threat to our status. Racism, prejudice and hate flow from such fear. There aren't enough weapons or walls to provide a true sense of security to those whose breasts are filled with that original fear. No assurance from civil governments, no military genius can quell the uneasiness that interprets every threat as personal and deadly.
What Are We Afraid Of?
So what are we so afraid of? Adam said it was because they realized that they were naked. What's so scary about that? I am aware as I get older that looking in the mirror can be quiet frightening, but Adam and Eve must have been relatively young! And they'd actually they been naked from the beginning, and not frightened by it. Now their focus was themselves, though, instead of on God whose brilliance demanded their full attention. They had become self-conscious to the degree that they felt responsible for their own success, security and significance. Worse yet, they experienced the wrongness of trying to live outside of the design intended for them. Humans weren't designed to live apart from sharing life with God. They had chosen to try it. They found themselves exposed. So, they hid.
Scripture reveals what fearful people do. Cain killed Abel. Society became so corrupt that the flood came. After starting over, society sought significance by trying to build a tower to heaven. Wars, famines, revolutions and human atrocities all make up the story of human interactions. God generously gave the Law to a group he named Israel. Over time they ignored it, and there was more war, killing, stealing and corruption.
The Way Out of Our Fear
Finally another Adam appeared -- Jesus Christ. He chose to trust only in his Father. He lived confident in that that relationship, knowing that nothing could harm Him except if the Father permitted it. He then shed His own blood in our place so that believing people could be covered from their shame. He rose again so believers could be empowered by the Holy Spirit to live again in partnership with God. In this state, believers are as secure as Jesus when He was on earth. We have no need to fear any force outside our God. He has given us a life that can face any threat with a hope and love that always conquers. He hasn't guaranteed they will never be physically hurt or even killed, but He has promised that no one can take them out of His hands. He has conquered death so that it holds no leverage. He has shared his very life so that trials cannot shake their faith.
This love that casts out fear allows this new people, the people of God, to interact with others without the need for self-preservation to rule the relationship. This love is eager to forgive. It longs to reconcile. It is willing to suffer for the benefit of others. And it rejoices that its personal identity is determined by being God's own sons.
Our fears will never be truly allayed by more police presence or either more or less access to weapons. It has been dealt a deathblow by the One who pulled us from behind our hiding places and restored us to walking humbly with Him. We can trust Him and love each other.
Why Do We Pray For Our Leaders?
"I've been wanting to ask you, who should I vote for this November?" the young man in the men's group wanted to know.
"I can't tell you and I wouldn’t, but here is what I am doing," I said. "First I am grateful that the election isn’t today. There’s time to evaluate, but mostly to pray. Second, I am praying every day according to the instructions the apostle Paul gave Timothy."
First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all men, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life, godly and respectful in every way. This is good, and it is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. (1 Timothy 2:1-5)
I know what is God's will for me today. I am to pray for our leaders, and for our country. I must believe that as I do, God will give me wisdom for decisions when the time comes to make them.
There are several important insights that jump out of this text. The first is that God wants to partner with us in the affairs of societal life. We do have responsibility in that realm and it starts with praying. The second is that God delights in our living a quiet and peaceful life. Some have insisted that things must necessarily get worse so that Jesus can come again and rescue some. They are giddily expecting the worst with an eye to escape. Actually, God would rather have people living in peace than in turmoil. Someone who believes it's better for things to deteriorate fast, would find it difficult to pray wholeheartedly for kings and leaders to eliminate problems like corruption and injustice.
The most obvious insight in this text, however, is the connection between leading a quiet and peaceful life and the propagation of the gospel. It isn't just that God wants us to live the good life. He wants the gospel to spread to all people. Societies so corrupted that they forbid the spread of the gospel rob millions of the privilege of hearing the story that changes everything. Of course we know that no walls or edicts can stop the persistent trickle of the gospel from getting through. History is replete with evidence of God’s word flowing into restricted places regardless of governmental regulations. But God wants the spread of the good news to flow like a river, not like a trickle.
But we’re in danger of missing the point. A peaceful and quiet life isn’t an end in itself. God graciously allows it for a purpose.
We are living in a waning stages of a nation that for years enjoyed the fruit of a Judeo-Christian ethic, which came from a biblical worldview. It produced a good life where progress, comfort, and convenience were not only possible, but also attainable. But in recent decades knowledge of the gospel, and adherence to it, has been assumed rather than prioritized. As a result here is not enough salt (see Matt. 5:13-16) to affect the direction of the country.
Quiet and peaceable living cannot long be sustained where the gospel is not central to a society’s beliefs. Laws and regulations cannot eradicate the selfishness in the heart of fearful humans. Without the gospel of Jesus Christ, human relationships become so toxic that tyrants or complex central governments have to step in, and freedom is forfeited -- even religious freedom. We cannot expect our leaders to keep the peace and enable life to flourish if the gospel is not transforming enough people to salt the society. Our prayers for peace and quiet must be connected to the greater purpose of exalting the Savior. Otherwise they become the futile wishes of the foolish.
When we pray we are joining God in accomplishing what is most dear to his heart. Exalting the Son is His purpose and passion. When the Son is lifted up for wandering ones to see, they are changed by His love. As changed people, people who love others, they help build structures that benefit everyone in the culture. When we pray for our leaders we exercise the great privilege of working with God to accomplish his grand purpose. Let's pray that way.
Who Wouldn’t Want To Believe In Jesus?
A few days ago, I heard James Robison make a statement that struck home to me. "If they are going to reject Jesus, let's make sure they know who they are rejecting." I was reminded of what Jesus said to the woman at the well in Samaria. "If you knew who was speaking to you, you would ask him and he would have given you living water" (John 4:10). So many people have rejected a distortion of Jesus but have not yet really seen him. It is hard to imagine that you could see him even slightly and reject him, but many still walk in darkness.
I was in a hurry as I parked my truck in the garage. I noticed a young man standing outside holding a clipboard and a pen. I was strangely drawn to talk with him though I didn't really have time. He was getting signatures on a petition for changing some zoning issues in the city. He told me he had been in the terrible hurricane in New Orleans several years back and now lived in this area trying to get his life started.
The conversation got around to my asking if he were a Christian. "Oh, I guess I believe in God, but I went to church with my grandma, and it didn't seem to offer much. There is still too much judgmentalism and hypocrisy among church folks."
I asked, "Do you have time for a short story?" He seemed eager after asking if I wanted to sit down. I guess he was concerned about a senior citizen standing so long in the front yard.
I began: "The God of creation created Adam and Eve to enjoy him and partner with him in developing the earth. He provided everything they needed to have life at its best. For every desire there was a matching fruit on the trees in the garden. The deceiver approached them and cast suspicion on the nature and intentions of the God they loved and adored. They chose to listen to the lies, and became estranged from him. But he loved them so much that he spent hundreds of years preparing a time for another Adam to come. It was his own Son who came and when the moment of temptation came, he trusted his Father rather than the deceiver.
"This Adam was our substitute. He lived as us. He died in our place. He was raised from the dead for us and now sits at the right hand of the Father guaranteeing an eternal place for us. He has sent the same Spirit that raised him from the dead to live in us and now we can live reconciled to God and free to partner with him in developing his earth while enjoying everyday fellowship with him. Believing him causes us to turn from our foolish and wicked ways. We have found something that satisfies the desires that have previously driven us to pursue idols that destroy us."
The look in his eyes said, "that's enough." "If that story is true why wouldn't anyone want to believe that?"
"My point!" I said. "Can I pray with you?"
We bowed in the front yard, a handsome young black man hugging an older white man, both oblivious to age and race. Afterward we talked of how he could grow and find a faith community in which to discover more of this glorious story that changes everything.
And I got to my next appointment on time.
I am so sorry that we have been guilty of presenting a Jesus that doesn't resemble the true Son of God. I am also sorry that many seem to hold on to their religious images and refuse to see who is right before them. Like the woman of Samaria, we live with shame and condemnation arguing about which religious view is correct, while Jesus stands in our midst offering a water from another world that satisfies desires that earthly water can never quench.
Let us tell the story often and boldly. Though thousands have attended church services and religious events, many have never heard. They still cling to or reject a faulty view of the only person who loves us completely. We don't have to change people. God does that when they see him and trust him. We don't have to fix them. We do get to love them and when we do we will love to tell them the story. Love and truth are transforming.
Enjoy Full Fellowship With God Through Your Life In Christ
“For you have have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Colossians 3:3
This is truth too marvelous for the common mind to grasp quickly. It often escapes us, as we continue to live as if we are primarily people of the natural world, the fallen world. We are so accustomed to defining our reality by familiar feelings, that we tend to put such truth off into a category that we label "spiritual," by which we really mean not practical or not now. It is so easy to buy into the lie that we have to wait until heaven to enjoy full fellowship with God Himself.
The fact is that the new order has invaded the old. The new consists of Jesus, our forerunner and ultimate representative in obtaining the blessing that God has always intended for his people. He has so identified with us that (in a certain sense) His past is ours, if we are of His people. His future is ours. In the present His life is ours. One day every creature in every sphere of existence will see the full manifestation of what is now hidden in God.
For now it is somewhat hidden. But being hidden doesn't mean it is not available. We are "in Christ." What is true of His life is true of ours -- not that we are infinite and eternal, as only God can be, but that sin has been condemned in His flesh. In Him, wrath has been expended upon sin. Death has been conquered. Authority has been granted. Satan has been defeated.
Circumstances can no longer define the person who knows that he “has died” to this world, and also knows where his life is hidden. He lives in an inexhaustible resource of love.
This is a truth that we must seek and pursue! It is too grand to grasp with casual attention. We must think true thoughts instead of flowing along with old patterns, old ways thinking. We must refuse to substitute regulations and ritual for joyful fellowship. We must remember, remind and repeat the majesty of this great truth.
So, if all that we are is not yet visible to the gawking world, it is because our life is hidden with Christ in God. It is too precious to be marketed or bartered. It will prove to produce a kind of life that causes the genuinely curious to seek out what's going on there. One cannot live in such intimacy with God without being fundamentally transformed.
Consider what God has done in Jesus Christ. His love has been fully expressed in this great gift of the Son. Taste this love. It satisfies fully.
No Library is Big Enough
"Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written" (John 21:25 ESV). "... I can't imagine a world big enough to hold such a library of books" (Message Bible). It would… Read More
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God Can Afford It: His Extravagant Gift of Grace and Mercy
Recently, I was walking on a Texas ranch filled with wildflowers. The blues, reds, oranges, yellows were so bright they almost hurt my eyes. I stopped to examine my favorite: the deep purple Wine Cup. (At least that's what we call them on this ranch.) I sat beside it and looked carefully at the intricate design inside the cup. Fantastic! Unbelievably beautiful in every detail! I contemplated again the thought that there were millions of them blooming all over the Southwest, and most of them would never be seen by a human eye. "That's extravagant!" I blurted out. Immediately I seemed to hear a sound from heaven saying, "I can afford it."
It is no wonder that the Bible tells us that both the existence and eternal nature of God can be seen in creation. (Rom. 1:19-20) The human dilemma exists not because God is too small or too reticent, but because mankind has refused to embrace what can easily be seen. Refusing to acknowledge how big and good He is, we have created gods that more easily fit our limited understanding. If we really knew how good He is, we would enthusiastically worship Him. It is blindness that prevents such a view. We desperately need new sight.
In truth, He is always extravagant in his expression of love. He wants us all to know a kind of love that does not give in order for the sake of getting. It was such extravagance that moved Him to create. He was completely happy within His own three-fold unity, yet He delighted to create beings who could enjoy what He enjoys. When the first couple chose to trust another's explanation of reality, God was extravagant in covering their shame and providing a way for them to live, even in their exile. Later He was extravagant in revealing himself to Noah who saved the race by following God's instructions. His extravagance was again seen in His promise to Abram that he would bring blessings on the earth rather than curses. He was extravagant in the mighty miracles of deliverance of Abraham's descendants from Egypt. He fed them bread from heaven and water from a rock, and He defeated their enemies. He was extravagant in blessing the kingdom of David and in granting wisdom to Solomon. When both Israel and Judah went into captivity because of their refusal to respond to His extravagant love, he again displayed His love in moving Cyrus to release a remnant to rebuild their city and temple.
But all that was a small foretaste of His grandest display of extravagant love. God gave Himself to become a man so that He could endure the death sin had earned us all. As the "Son of Man" Jesus lived to show what love looks like in human form. He fed thousands with a few pieces of bread and fish -- and had basketfuls left over. He healed every kind of disease. He cast out every level of demonic power. He forgave the worst of sinners and opened the eyes of the blindest people on earth. And He forgave! No sin was too great. No stronghold was too secure. He set people free -- many of whom never turned to follow Him. He could afford the mercy.
Then he carried out the plan of the Godhead. He died in our place so that we could live. After His resurrection, he ascended to the throne in heaven, having all the spoils of his victory; and again He extravagantly gave gifts to His people. These were not just trinkets or toys. The gift was the Spirit -- the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. God again gave Himself to live inside believers so that each could enjoy the continual fellowship of shared life with Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
All of this is truly unthinkable to the human mind. God has extravagantly given us the privilege of unbroken fellowship with Him. Forgiven of our sins, freed from our shame, empowered by His Spirit, we live with the dignity of being His partners on earth in the business of displaying the extravagant love of God for His creation.
It would be the epitome of mockery to define this extravagance primarily in terms of financial or material luxury. There are some who justify their own gaudy excessiveness on the basis of God's extravagant love. They reveal a misguided appraisal. God's extravagance is shown in giving Himself, not in boasting in His resources. His was rich and became poor so that we could have the riches of reconciliation with God. (2 Cor. 8:9) Those who know his extravagant love are so enamored with Him, their earthly possessions -- whether great or meager -- are mere tools with which to carry out His mission. They are never used to measure success or exercise power over others.
All this takes some getting used to. Living with an extravagant God stretches our perspective of realty. We who have lived so long in spiritual poverty tend to think God is a penny-pincher. If you doubt that your particular sin could be forever forgiven, or that your request is too much to ask, I remind you that God can afford it.
God Can Afford It: His Extravagant Gift of Grace and Mercy
Recently, I was walking on a Texas ranch filled with wildflowers. The blues, reds, oranges, yellows were so bright they almost hurt my eyes. I stopped to examine my favorite: the deep purple Wine Cup. (At least that's what we call them on this ranch.) I sat beside it and looked carefully at the intricate design inside the cup. Fantastic! Unbelievably beautiful in every detail! I contemplated again the thought that there were millions of them blooming all over the Southwest, and most of them would never be seen by a human eye. "That's extravagant!" I blurted out. Immediately I seemed to hear a sound from heaven saying, "I can afford it."
It is no wonder that the Bible tells us that both the existence and eternal nature of God can be seen in creation. (Rom. 1:19-20) The human dilemma exists not because God is too small or too reticent, but because mankind has refused to embrace what can easily be seen. Refusing to acknowledge how big and good He is, we have created gods that more easily fit our limited understanding. If we really knew how good He is, we would enthusiastically worship Him. It is blindness that prevents such a view. We desperately need new sight.
In truth, He is always extravagant in his expression of love. He wants us all to know a kind of love that does not give in order for the sake of getting. It was such extravagance that moved Him to create. He was completely happy within His own three-fold unity, yet He delighted to create beings who could enjoy what He enjoys. When the first couple chose to trust another's explanation of reality, God was extravagant in covering their shame and providing a way for them to live, even in their exile. Later He was extravagant in revealing himself to Noah who saved the race by following God's instructions. His extravagance was again seen in His promise to Abram that he would bring blessings on the earth rather than curses. He was extravagant in the mighty miracles of deliverance of Abraham's descendants from Egypt. He fed them bread from heaven and water from a rock, and He defeated their enemies. He was extravagant in blessing the kingdom of David and in granting wisdom to Solomon. When both Israel and Judah went into captivity because of their refusal to respond to His extravagant love, he again displayed His love in moving Cyrus to release a remnant to rebuild their city and temple.
But all that was a small foretaste of His grandest display of extravagant love. God gave Himself to become a man so that He could endure the death sin had earned us all. As the "Son of Man" Jesus lived to show what love looks like in human form. He fed thousands with a few pieces of bread and fish -- and had basketfuls left over. He healed every kind of disease. He cast out every level of demonic power. He forgave the worst of sinners and opened the eyes of the blindest people on earth. And He forgave! No sin was too great. No stronghold was too secure. He set people free -- many of whom never turned to follow Him. He could afford the mercy.
Then he carried out the plan of the Godhead. He died in our place so that we could live. After His resurrection, he ascended to the throne in heaven, having all the spoils of his victory; and again He extravagantly gave gifts to His people. These were not just trinkets or toys. The gift was the Spirit -- the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead. God again gave Himself to live inside believers so that each could enjoy the continual fellowship of shared life with Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
All of this is truly unthinkable to the human mind. God has extravagantly given us the privilege of unbroken fellowship with Him. Forgiven of our sins, freed from our shame, empowered by His Spirit, we live with the dignity of being His partners on earth in the business of displaying the extravagant love of God for His creation.
It would be the epitome of mockery to define this extravagance primarily in terms of financial or material luxury. There are some who justify their own gaudy excessiveness on the basis of God's extravagant love. They reveal a misguided appraisal. God's extravagance is shown in giving Himself, not in boasting in His resources. His was rich and became poor so that we could have the riches of reconciliation with God. (2 Cor. 8:9) Those who know his extravagant love are so enamored with Him, their earthly possessions -- whether great or meager -- are mere tools with which to carry out His mission. They are never used to measure success or exercise power over others.
All this takes some getting used to. Living with an extravagant God stretches our perspective of realty. We who have lived so long in spiritual poverty tend to think God is a penny-pincher. If you doubt that your particular sin could be forever forgiven, or that your request is too much to ask, I remind you that God can afford it.
549. Why Jesus Taught Two Covenants (Part 6): Unsalty People & Fulfilling the Law
You Are the Fifth Gospel!
I love quotes, especially ones that stop me in my tracks and make me think. This is one of those quotes. I read it recently and it made me really think. It is a very powerful and true quote.
Most Americans today are not as familiar with the Bible as they were in generations past. In decades past, the Bible was revered, upheld with esteem and followed as a moral compass for society. These days it’s not the same. Many do not believe the Bible to be relevant for today. Most do not know the instructions that it contains, or if they do it’s based on Old Covenant Law and not New Covenant relationship. We live in a very Biblical illiterate society.
Many do not believe the Bible to be relevant for today. Most do not know the instructions that it contains, or if they do it’s based on Old Covenant Law and not New Covenant relationship. We live in a very Biblical illiterate society.
Many would say that it’s not politically correct (and it is not).
Many would deem it offensive (and it certainly can be).
On the flip side of this coin, there are many Christians who use the Bible as a weapon to beat people up, to condemn them and to make their own views seemingly valid. This is just as dangerous as not believing in the Bible, maybe more so.
The issue of this quote, though, is that most people will never read the Bible but they will read our lives. And that’s the way, I believe, that God wants it.
Jesus Himself said, “all men will know that you are My disciples by your love for one another.” I wonder how much love the world is seeing out of Jesus’ followers. I wonder how many of us would truly be considered disciples if there were a “love meter” somehow attached to us that all could read.
Our lives are Good News (gospel=good news). Our lives (our attitudes, ethics, words, actions, etc.) should reflect the goodness, love, and mercy of God. As followers of Christ, our lives should be the gospel that people are reading.
So, the question becomes what kind of news are they getting by reading our lives? Are they getting good news or a judgment order? Are they reading a love story or a condemnation of society?
As Christians, our life is the message of God to the world . . . at least in the eyes of the reader.
I know that at times I have been good news to those reading my life. Other times, well, I’ve been the bearer of bad news . . . for the reader, of course, but not for me. It’s the case of us vs. them. Usually, the “them” never get a happy ending.
I want my life to be the fifth gospel. I want my life to portray good news. I want my life to shout to the world that God is good, God is love and that He really wants to have a relationship with them.
If I can get them to see the Good News, God can take care of all the other stuff that we seem to be more interested in. It seems to me that we are so busy preaching against sin to the world that we have failed to just simply love. That’s not to say that we lower our standards but it is to say that I don’t have to defend God, the Bible or truth. My job is to love.
Jesus isn’t going to rate me on how much I had my doctrine sorted out and straight. Neither will the world, for that matter. What Jesus is looking at is how much love I am expressing. By this will all men know that you are my disciples…..by your love for one another. That’s the benchmark. That’s the litmus test.
As a Christian, I see too many of my fellow Christians passing out judgment like Halloween candy.
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When, in reality, Christians are not to pass judgment on the world, but the world can pass judgment on Christians. I wrote about this here.
Let’s reread the opening quote: “There are five Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Christian—but most people never read the first four.” ~Rodney ‘Gypsy’ Smith
What about your life? What are the people around you reading from your life? Are they getting an accurate picture of God or an inaccurate one? Would you be labeled a disciple by those reading your life or would they question your faith?
I want to be the fifth gospel.