Thursday, January 31, 2013

Because of Existence

What causes you to live? I don't mean your purpose as in "what do you live for?" I mean what is your source of life? There is "because of" existence and then there is existence. One is contingent and the other is necessary. Man is a contingent being. God is necessary. God has no source of life. He is the source of life. A creek exists because of a river. You could dam up the creek, and it would not dry up the river. But this gets really deep when it comes to Jesus and the Father. Jesus says, "As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me." (John 6:57) Maybe I am looking a little too hard into this, but this strikes me as extremely profound and thought-provoking. Jesus is God, right? (John 1:1ff) As God, He has always existed and His existence does not depend on anyone or anything, right? He is a necessary being, eternal God, without beginning or end, right? Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are eternal "individually" and corporately, right? (Do we even know what this begins to mean?) So how could Son-God live because of Father-God if they are both God?

Did Jesus divest Himself of Deity when He became man? Phil.2:5ff says, "Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed (huparcho) in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on a cross." Jesus most certainly did give up something to come here. But, to what extent did he give up aspects of His divine nature? Omnipresence? He did walk or ride or sail wherever He went. Omnipotence? He does attribute His power to heal and exorcise and create to the Father and the Holy Spirit. Omniscience? He didn't know the day nor hour of His own return. This is too grand for man to understand. But, did He divest Himself of "life" too? Did He step out of heaven, arrive here on earth as a totally dependent infant with no means of sustaining His own life other than "because of" His Father? Did He willingly walk down into the valley of death and the grave totally divesting Himself of life, and totally dependent on His Father for resurrection life? "Moreover my flesh also will abide in hope; because Thou wilt not abandon my soul (psuche) to Hades, nor allow Thou Holy One to undergo decay. Thou has made known to Him the ways of life (Zoe); Thou wilt make me full of gladness with Thy presence." (Acts 2:26-28)

When Jesus was in that grave for three days and nights His existence was absolutely and totally in the hands of His Father. In some sense the existence of the Godhead was at stake. The two parts of man, flesh (soma) and soul (psuche) that Jesus took on Himself as a man were raised with His spirit to show that all of man, body, soul and spirit can and will be raised intact, as a unit, as an integrated being, and transformed into an eternal being "because of" the source of all life, the Father. So what of us? In the same way, with the same attitude as Christ, we too when we eat Jesus, live "because of" and only "because of" his sustaining power providing us with eternal existence and life. Praise God that our lives do not hang by a thread, but by the will of a loving, heavenly Father who want us to be with Him!

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Superfood

I hear that blueberries are a "superfood" because they are rich in this and that and have few negatives. My dad grew them in the front yard. I know the birds really liked them. I was always partial to blackberries. You had to watch out for rattlesnakes when you picked them. But, I guess the risk was worth having a superfood. Jesus said, "For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink." (John 6:55)  Searching for the right food for our diets is a big deal today. Have you seen the magazine covers recently while standing in the grocery line trying to check out with your Twinkies (oh yeah, you can't get that superfood anymore)? The guilt is overwhelming. All these "true" food articles and the bodies they are producing are staring you in the face. This is very distracting when you have a cart full of "less than superfood." The folks to whom Jesus was talking had had a very nice meal of bread and fish (pretty sure both are superfoods). Then, Jesus reminds them about "manna" which I assume was a superfood since it was pretty much their entire diet for 40 years (with a little quail thrown in once). But Jesus is not satisfied with bread, fish, and manna. He starts talking about "true food and true drink."

For something to be "true" it as to be absolute, real, without deception or lies, with no hidden agendas (i.e. ingredients), be according to knowledge, and conforming to facts and realities. Truth cannot be relative and still be truth. Something either is or it isn't. If Jesus were a food he would be digestible, nutritious, full of taste and aroma, and without additives and toxins. He is the pure and real deal. By digestible I mean he can be understood and absorbed into our very being. By nutritious I mean he gives strength and life to every part of our being. By being tasty and aromatic, I mean he is pleasing and easy on the senses. By without additives and toxins, I mean there is nothing in Jesus to harm us, He is the SUPERFOOD. Jesus comes into the world and confronts the traditions, the ideas, the philosophies of man, the beliefs, the mental distortions, the lies, the misinformation and ignorance that is being consumed by the world, and his own people and declares that what they are eating is killing them. How often we hear that today! An infomercial proclaims, "Your food is killing you!"

Jesus was no 30 minute infomercial. He was no vitamin salesman. He was no juicer guru. He was no wholefoods grocer. Though He might have something to say about how we are filling up and keeping up His temple, our bodies. No, Jesus was about real food and real drink. He majored in this. Man spends much more time filling his body with food that will not last, and has to be replenished about every eight hours, instead of searching for real food. Jesus said in John 4:32-34 when offered food by his disciples, "I have food to eat that you do not know about. My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work." Perhaps if we actually really got on a steady diet of Jesus we might be able to give true testimony(John 21:24) that He alone is the true superfood.

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Life Within Ourselves

"Life Support" has always fascinated me. I don't really understand it. How can a machine keep a spirit within a body? I get keeping breath inhaling and exhaling, and keeping blood circulating, but how does keeping a physical body alive actually keep the person (body, soul and spirit) alive. Often a doctor will advise the family to remove life support citing the fact that the person is "brain dead." If true, then there is no recovery since the body depends on the brain to live. I guess what confuses me is that we are all on life support from the moment of conception to the moment of death. Jesus said in John 6:53, "Truly, truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves." This keeps the Catholics running to Mass each day as surely as a kidney patient stays close to his dialysis center. It is life support.

But, notice Jesus speaks of something called "life in yourselves." What is that? I will admit this touches on two extremely controversial theological topics, i.e. the immortality of the soul and the doctrines of Calvin. Both are very complicated and thorny. For the record let me state that I do not believe in the immortality of every "soul" nor do I believe in the five points of Calvinism as he explains them. But, this short blog spot will not presume to tackle such lofty matters in depth. But, I do want to offer a perspective that might shed some light on this. In John 6:63, Jesus says, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life."  Regardless of the mechanisms of the life giving process, it is clear, and we all agree, that without the presence of the Spirit of God there is no eternal, immortal life. At some point we go from external life support to a sustained internal life. Regardless of what one thinks about the immortality of the soul, the Bible is clear that there is a second death that we will experience unless we have life within ourselves. (Rev.21:8)

Imagine it this way. We come to the end of the world, or judgment day, or physical death by which we slip over into the other realm (however you want to say it), and we have not believed in Jesus, taking his life into ourselves, having failed to eat true bread and drink of true water. By the way the picture in Romans 6 of baptism has us being raised to newness of life. What happens? Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable (1 Cor.15:50). Since we are triune beings (body, soul and spirit) God must keep us all together in the new realm. This is why Paul tells us about the new spiritual bodies we will exchange for these old and decaying ones. But, the life-force that has maintained these bodies, earthly life rooted in the soul-breath of man which we share with the animals, will not sustain our lives in the new world. Like a man on the moon, we may be sustained for a short time until the oxygen supply runs out, but then we will have no means of life left and we will die. But, if we had "life within ourselves" then we could and would live eternally. Now don't tell me a relationship with Jesus is unimportant. When our current life support plug is pulled, what will we do? Tell your loved ones about this lest at death they merely float off in to space and die.

Monday, January 28, 2013

Stay

Abiding in Christ and Him abiding in us is a core theme of the gospel. The concept is full of meaning. Think of the the word "Abide." I like the synonym "STAY." I personally like continuity and predictability and constancy. But, I find myself in a world of constant change, coming and going, movement and restlessness. I believe I understand God properly in this that he is a God who stays the course, completes his task, and is not moved from his purpose. I envy God that He can rise above the changes of the world and not be changed. (Just as I typed this a message popped up asking if I wanted to STAY on this page. Of course I do, I am not finished.) Even God's name "I AM" carries with it constancy. He remains the same day after day after day. We call that boring. He calls that God.

Our text today is John 6:56 where consuming Jesus causes a man to abide in Jesus and Jesus in him. The person who understands the nature of the relationship with God through Christ will stay. He will not walk away or run. He will abide. The idea is to remain in a certain state or condition. Paul uses this in 1 Cor.7 in a discussion of marriage, and encourages his readers because of the present distress to remain in the state in which they were called. Married folks should stay married and unmarried folks should remain unmarried. In Phil.1:25 Paul was convinced that he would remain in the flesh with the church there for their joy. There is also the conditions of darkness (John 12:46) and death (1 John 3:14) neither of which we should abide. But, perhaps the most familiar reference comes in John 15 regarding the vine and the branches. The branch that does not abide in the vine dies. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. The need to stay connected to Jesus could not be clearer. There is no need to worry about Jesus doing his part. It is we who have connection problems. 2 Tim.2:13, "If we are faithless; He remains (stays) faithful because he cannot deny Himself." 

One of my favorite novels is Lord Jim by William Conrad. The short of it is that Jim abandoned ship along with the captain and crew and the poor refuges were lost at sea. This haunted Jim for the rest of his life, wondering if he should have stayed and perhaps saved some of these poor people. He spent the rest of his life trying to prove he was not a coward. It is a sad story, but illustrates the choices we all make. Jesus taught us the value of staying. He modeled it. He died instead of running away. How incredible our families and churches would be if we had this mentality, being a people who are incredibly loyal to one another, that we would rather die than to desert, and that we can be counted on day after day. If our relationship with Jesus and the Father means anything then it must be lived out daily in the relationships we have in this world. When this breaks down, we all suffer.

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Grossed Out!

Jesus lost his crowd when he started talking about eating his flesh and drinking his blood. They were having a hard enough time of dealing with Him being bread coming down out of heaven. This prompted much grumbling, but it got stepped up several notches when he started talking about blood and flesh. There is something naturally repulsive about this. Jesus was stark, vivid, and graphic. This was getting into the thriller movie section. To the literal and concrete mind of his audience, this had gone too far. There were children in the audience. They are going to have nightmares. Cannibalism stories elicit the extreme reactions from us today, even when we know it occurs in survival situations. What would you do if you were desperate? We shudder to even imagine a bite of human flesh. Now here is Jesus talking openly about taboo subjects. Jews, and later Christians, were specifically forbidden from eating meat with the blood in it, i.e. abstaining from blood. Jesus throws custom to the wind and advocates for it. Read John 6:51ff.

Bram Stoker's Dracula still influences modern day fascination with vampires who live off the blood of others, securing for themselves "eternal life." The popularity of such themes today indicate that we can't seem to get away from the connection between blood and eternal life. Perhaps the truth given to us in the Old Testament that the life is in the blood (Lev.17:11) still keeps us tied to such themes. Even in a day where the importance of blood is understood scientifically we still tend to romanticize it. We teeter between repulsion and fascination. Then, Jesus stands up and blatantly declares that we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have life (zoe) in us. He couldn't have picked a worse theme to drive his audience away. He was like a white man walking into an Indian burial ground. He was touching the taboo. He was inciting there sensitivities, and the grumbling increased.

This is a good example where literal, concrete thinking is an impediment to understanding essential truth. Later the early Christians would be accused of being cannibals for their practice of partaking of the Lord's Supper. But, many understood what Jesus was saying. His truths are not set aside because man's mind can distort them. It is true that our very eternal existence depends on the flesh and blood of Jesus. He came in the flesh, died in the flesh, and was raised in the flesh. The bodily existence of Jesus is essential to our salvation. "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14) Anyone who says Jesus did not come in the flesh is the anti-Christ. (1 John 4) Jesus identified with us in his flesh and blood. (Heb.2:14) Jesus "partook" of flesh and blood "that through death He might render powerless him who has the power of death, that is the devil; and might deliver those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives." (Heb.2:14-15)

There is much more going on here in Jesus' statements than they could realize. If they had been disciples or learners, asking some questions instead of becoming grumblers, perhaps the Master Teacher would have explained all this to them.

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Zoe Bread

There is a cloud hanging over each person, that nagging stalker in the shadows of our existence, that lurks. Most of the time the stranger just seems present. At other times he seems more real when we see the open coffin, hands folded, undertaker makeup spread upon the face, and looking very "natural." We tell the funeral director what a good job he did in making the person appear life-like. But dead is dead, and it follows close on our heels, waiting to strike, often without notice to take us down into the ground from which we came. This is reality no matter how we can so order our lives so we don't have to think about it. But, there is a much more deadly stalker, the one that pulls us down into the second death. This is the one we must fear.

The Jews who followed Jesus for the bread conveniently forgot that their forefathers at the manna in the desert and died. Daily bread was so much coveted that Zoe Bread was left on the shelf like day-old bread. Do you realize how much Jesus talked about ZOE life? Eternal life was always on his lips. He held it up and barked out the call to buy it just as surely as the street vendors hawked their freshly baked loaves. The smell of freshly baked bread seem to attract more customers than the distant aroma of Zoe Bread. If they had known that Zoe Bread has the ability to save us from the dreaded second death they would have rushed to have it. The second death will hurt you if you do not overcome it (Rev.2:11). Jesus can take away the reign of the second death, making us priest-kings like Melchizedek, reigning with Him and the Father (Rev.20:6). Zoe Bread keeps us out of the lake of fire (Rev.20:14; 21:8). Whether this is eternal suffering or eternal destruction, ceasing to exist, it is to be avoided.

Jesus was trying to reorient people's thinking. Man lives mostly in the body/soul part of their makeup, trying to preserve earthly life and to find enjoyment here. Jesus did not dismiss the needs of the body/soul of man, but He knew the need of the spirit part of man was more critical. The person who made spirit priority would have more true enjoyment in body/soul. The man who tries to feed the body/soul dies twice. The man who feeds the spirit Zoe Bread only dies once. This is the choice. Eat Wonder bread and die twice or eat Zoe Bread and die once. BTW, Jesus is Zoe Bread.

Friday, January 25, 2013

Hupostasis Produces Homeostasis

Our text today is John 6:47: "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has eternal life." We know that, right? The familiar is often dismissed, and the profound is missed. Within this one statement by Jesus is the key to all existence. It is what the world needs, and really wants, but too easily misses. Eternal life is quality of life, not mere quantity. From my morning coffee made to my exact specifications, to my Pandora music selections, to the temperature in the room, to the baby aspirin I swallowed, to socks on my feet to keep off the morning cold, I seek to order my life in a myriad of ways to achieve quality of life. Most of these are fairly innocent, but all put together with many other avenues, some not so innocent, I am seeking to create a "life" that is free from pain, worry, discomfort, want, and need so that I can have well-being. Temporal life seeks to replicate eternal life. However it is like trying to replicate human life by carving out the figure of a person in stone. It might look life-like, but it has no real substance of life.

I remind us that eternal life is about knowing the Father and the Son (John 17:3). But, most of us tend to think of eternal life as an "unlimited" supply of something. Our list might include such things as unlimited money, sex, stuff, vacation time, friends, calories, time,  and achievements, all without any negative consequences or moral impediments. Wow! That would be IT! That would be real living, right? We surely think so. But, then some of us reach a point when we figure it out, and we seek to find quality of life in downsizing. We start getting rid of some things. We seem to be somewhat selective. We give stuff away. We diet. We may give up on sex. We reduce our friends to those who don't tax us. We lose our desire to cure cancer or climb Everest. We find a sense of contentment in the cup of morning coffee and the sunrise. This might be simpler, but it has its own deception. "More" and "Less" is not the key to quality of life.

Jesus says believing in Him is the key. Faith is qualitatively different than "more or less" living. Faith knows it is not about how much I can get or how much I can give away. Faith doesn't focus on self at all. The object of faith is Jesus. It is the upward look, not the inward or outward. Those will follow when we look up to Jesus. Faith is fueled by His words and His life. If you look in Hebrews 1:3 and 11:1 you will find a word, hupostasis, translated substance or nature. It is the ground of being. It it that which stands under everything and holds everything up-the only thing with true substance. The nature of God and faith are the only two substantive things that exist. This hupostasis leads to homeostasis, eternal life, well-being, quality of life. It is the only place it can be found. This is what Jesus is trying to tell us. Simple? No profound!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Dealing With "Unique"

We throw about superlatives often. This is the "most beautiful" or the "best deal" or the "greatest event." We tend toward the unique, the one of a kind, the top of the heap. There is something in us that looks for ways to set us apart from the pack. We keep up with sports stats, entertainers' achievements, and the endless list of the "all time greatest" everything. We boast of finding the best of something in town, from pizza to fishing holes. Mine is better. Yours is inferior. How we love to debate "best."  But, there is a difference between the best of the best and UNIQUE. There is no competition for UNIQUE, otherwise it would not be.

Jesus says, "Not that any man has seen the Father, except the One who is from God; He has seen the Father." (John 6:46) Compare this to John's prologue statement: "No man has seen God at any time' the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father. He has explained (exegeted) Him." (John 1:18) Add to that Hebrews 1:3 in speaking of Jesus who reveals the Father: "And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature..."  The UNIQUE words pile up. "The One," "Only" and "exact." Jesus is in a class by Himself. But, imagine what the Jews of His day heard when he made the statement. Let's not think they are going too deep theologically. They are not known as deep thinkers who understand what it means to "see God." But, they do know the history. Moses had made a request 1500 years earlier to be able to see God's glory. (Exodus 33)  God made allowances for this request and offered to let Moses experience two things: 1) God would make his "GOODNESS" pass before Moses; and 2) God would pronounce His name to Moses. Such a thought struck fear in the heart of the Jew. They would not touch getting that close to God's GOODNESS and they did not want even a hint of God's name on their lips lest they take his name in vain. If that were not enough, then God tells Moses, "No man can see Me and live."

Now here stands a man before them who says He alone has seen the Father and He is alive to tell the tale. No matter all the theological implications of seeing God, this did not compute. This had to be the idle boasting of the world's greatest braggart. In short, they thought Jesus must be full of it. We like to talk about UNIQUE but we don't deal with it very well, especially in someone who is not us. Could it be we desire too much to be UNIQUE that we cannot tolerate the semblance of it in someone else, since the nature of UNIQUE is there can only be one! I hear echos of the disciples' conversation: "Who is the greatest?" John the Baptist got it. "I am not worthy to stoop down and untie his sandals." Jesus is in a class by Himself. This one truth could transform the earth. It alone would put us all on our faces before Him. "Jesus, show us the Father for you alone know Him." You alone are UNIQUE.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Where Do You Study?

Our children put much stress on gettting into a good university. IB classes, SAT scores, extra curricula work, community service and much more goes into preparing the application. Certain schools look better on one's resume. If schools were mountains to climb, who wouldn't want to say they climbed Everest? Jesus tells us in John 6:45 what the prophet Isaiah told us 2800 years ago, i.e. the only school that really matters is God U. The context of the quote which comes from Isaiah 54:13 includes the great messianic cross chapter of Isaiah 53. Jesus said if a seed is planted and dies, it will become many seeds (descendants) in John 12:24. The desolate woman Sarah ended up having more children than the fertile woman, Hagar (Gal.4). The Israelites became more numerous than the sands of the sea and the stars of the sky just as God promised Abraham they would. But, this is not merely about physical Israel. This is about the true descendants of Abraham (John 8; Rom.4). This about God's children. Follow Isaiah 54 and see that as the wife is restored the Father provides for and becomes the teacher of her children. Marriage preceeds children who will be taught by the father (See Eph.5-6).

The house of God is a household of learning. God homeschools His children. He does not farm it out to someone else to do. He takes personal responsibility for making sure His children are taught His ways and His truths. He does this because He wants to bring about their well-being (Isa.54:13). This well-being is known as eternal life. He is the only One who has the words of eternal life (John 6:68). The truths that lead to eternal life come directly from the Father who teaches His children. This is why the Pharisees are told to "go and learn what this means..."(Matt.9:13). God was teaching them. Jesus Himself sends out the acceptance letters to His school. "Come unto Me and learn from Me." (Matt.11:29) Paul tells us that learning leads to conviction (2 Tim.3:14). Perhaps the decline in conviction is directly related to the decline in learning, being taught by the Father! Too many have learned the ways of the Gentile and have become too familar with his ways. Paul says, "You did not learn Christ that way!" (Eph.4:20)

Where do you study? What school are you in? Are you taking classes? Are you signed up in His school? What kind of student are you? Do you take your studies seriously? Are you feeling an increase in well-being and conviction because of your studies? Are you graduating from one class to another or are you stuck in Freshman? Do you ever tell anyone "sorry I can't do that tonight. I have a class being taught by my Father. I don't want to miss it?" It is God's design. It is His responsibility.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Kicking and Screaming?

How do you get someone to go where they need to go but are reluctant to go? Doctor? Dentist? School? Church? "I know I need to (fill in the blank), but...." Life is filled with disconnects between what we need to do and what we would rather do. Jesus said, "No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him." (John 6:44) Jesus said something similar: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself." (John 12:32) The word "draw" is used of Peter dragging the net onto shore in John 21:6,11. It is used to describe Paul and Silas being dragged into the marketplace (Acts 16:19), Paul dragged out of the temple (Acts 21:30), and the poor dragged into court by the rich (James 2:6). The net had no will. Paul, Silas, and the poor do, but a force stronger than they acted on them and forced their movement. Aren't we all being dragged somewhere by something or someone where do not wish to go?

It is so important to have a power locked onto us stronger than all other forces, a power than can draw us upward and away from the gravitational pull of this world. God and Jesus provide this pull. The question is not whether God and Jesus draw people to themselves, but how they do it. Is their drawing power coercive, violent, manipulative, or exploitative? The answer is in the text. Jesus says, "It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught of God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father, comes to Me." (John 6:45) This is the hallmark of the New Covenant. "I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them upon their hearts." (Hebrews 8:10, see context) God's object lesson, his main slide in the PowerPoint presentation is Jesus lifted up from the earth. This is how God seeks to draw people out of the stench of this world upward where the air is clear and clean. Jesus was lifted up so we would look up and see the glory of God in His face, being drawn to a loving Father who would send his only Son to die for us.

This is not the way of many others. Muslims try to force "conversions" with threats of death. Cults force compliance and silence with threats of exposure and slander. Some are more subtle in their control. They might persuade by painting a picture that if one does not stay and comply there is no where else to go but hell. Getting someone to do what we need them to do as opposed to getting someone to do what they need to do, according to God, are two very different things. God does not want people coming kicking and screaming into the kingdom. He wants to draw them in through teaching them about His darling Son. There is no other way in. Do you feel the pull of Jesus on your life?

Monday, January 21, 2013

Gonguzo (Gong good-zo)

It was the wilderness wanderings all over again. Only this time the leader is not Moses, but the prophet Moses said would arise from the people (Deut.18), Jesus the Son of God. The scene has been reenacted. The cast of thousands have been assembled and they play their parts perfectly without a script, without knowing they are reproducing a scene from Israel's past. Right on cue they started grumbling (gonguzo). It is human nature to grumble and complain. Discontent runs deep in the human soul/flesh. Solomon wrote, "All things are wearisome; Man is not able to tell it. The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. That which has been is that which will be, and that which will be done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun." (Eccl. 1:8-9)

If the people of Jesus' day had simply understood what was playing out right in front of their eyes surely their discontent would have dissipated. But, because it wasn't making sense to them they gonguzoed. How could this Jesus say he came from heaven when we know he came from Nazareth. They knew is father and mother, proof that he was full of it. And, once the grumbling starts it always spreads from one to another to another to another until a family or a church is ruined. Discontent breeds discontent. It doesn't take much to suggest to another that things could be better, and that the grass is always greener on another side.

Many things cause discontent. In Matthew 20 in a parable Jesus tells of those who worked for various lengths of time, from 12 hours to 1 hour, and all received the same pay. Who do you think grumbled? It wasn't fair. We had to work longer and harder than another. Or, in Luke 5:30 some Pharisees complained because Jesus was eating with tax collectors and sinners and not with them. (Some think I spend too much time in the community among the sinners and not enough time with the church...ummmm.) In John 7:32 the tables were turned. Here the crowd was murmuring (talking lowly among themselves) about who Jesus was and it was not squaring with the Pharisees. But, the clearest connection is with the Israelites in the desert. In 1 Cor.10:10 Paul tells the grumbling Corinthian church to stop it lest the same thing happens to them as happened to their ancestors in the wilderness.

Grumbling and complaining is serious business. It does not become a Christian who has been given everything they need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), even if they think they are lacking something in this world. Paul learned the secret of contentment, and it is not found in perfect circumstances. We must open our eyes and learn to appreciate the Jesus who is right before our eyes and know He and He alone satisfies.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Beholding Before Believing

We might miss it if we do not listen carefully to Jesus. Another step in the process of salvation that comes somewhere between hearing and believing is beholding. Jesus said "For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him, may have eternal life and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." (John 6:40) Many believe in Jesus without really seeing Him and gazing on Him. They get that glimpse of Jesus, form their view of Him, mix it with their preconceived ideas and misconceptions and out pops "Distorted Jesus."  They run with this view of Jesus and wonder why years later this Christianity thing is not working out so well. They never really saw Jesus.

There is a story in John 9 about a blind man who was healed by Jesus. This word "behold" is used in the story. "The neighbors therefore, and those who previously saw him as a beggar, were saying, 'Is this not the one who used to sit and beg?'" (John 9:8)  Do you see what is happening here? They had seen him merely as a beggar, but now they are seeing him in a different light. Now that he has been touched by Jesus this man is suddenly a person with value and not merely a beggar. Jesus told His apostles this was going to happen. "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was in order that the works of God might be displayed in him." (John 9:3)  When the work of God enters a life the person now becomes a billboard for God. People see him differently. But, what of the greatest and largest billboard? Was not God at work in the life of Jesus? Did he not display God? "And he who beholds Me beholds the One who sent Me." (John 12:45)

To behold means to contemplate, to consider, to view with intent and attention. Jesus demands that we slow down and give Him a really good look, not once, not twice, but daily, continuously. Paul talks about this gaze in 2 Cor.3 when he compares it to Moses whose face was changed by spending time with God on the mountain. It changed his countenance. His face glowed with glory. In the same way Paul  says, "But we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit." (2 Cor.3:18)  This changes our perception of Jesus and of one another. "Therefore, from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer." (2 Cor.5:16)  How much easier faith would be if we spent more time beholding!

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Last Day, Last Opportunity

The folks who write fiction are really good at cliff-hangers. They take you to the brink of death, and then some hero comes through and pulls you back from the brink. Sounds a little like Washington come to think of it. I work with firefighters and paramedics. They often "get there in the nick of time." But, sometimes they are "too late." The tone goes off, the dispatcher's voice sounds out, and the printer kicks on and spits out valuable information. The rush to the rescue unit begins, the lights go on, and the siren blasts. The race is on to save life.

Jesus speaks of a last day in John 6:39-40. It is a critical day. It is the LAST day. There will not be another. The calendar ends for real. No more meetings. No more "to do lists." No more plans fulfilled. No more words said. No more tomorrow. No more "next time." Done. Over. Finale. The only person who stands between you and permanent DEATH is Jesus. We might debate what "death" means, whether sleep, annihilation, never-ending suffering in a burning hell, or some other state we have no clue about, but we know what it is not. It is not LIFE lived and enjoyed in the presence of God the Father who gave us our lives. Death is an enemy that has a grip. That grip is firm and inescapable. Those words of Jesus provide the only hope for the escape from the grip of death. "...and I Myself will raise him up at the last day." (Jn.6:40)

In John 5:21 we learn from Jesus that He gives life to whomever He wishes. In 5:25ff Jesus says He will call people from death's grip with His voice. When the dead hear his voice they will live. It was the voice of Jesus that called Lazarus from the tomb. It is the sheep who know the voice of the shepherd who follow him (John 10). We are in training now to learn to recognize the voice of Jesus. One reason is so when we hear it on the last day we will get up and escape death. I don't want to miss the last opportunity to rise from the dead because I do not recognize the voice of Jesus.

We each live in the temporary world doing temporary things with temporary results. Temporary will one day end, and we will lie in the stillness of death awaiting a certain, single, powerful voice that will call our name, because the shepherd knows his sheep by name. If we know that voice we will rise up in joy and excitement that we did not miss the last opportunity to experience eternal life. Maybe we should spend more time now listening to His voice and following Him so we don't miss it on the last day. You think?

Friday, January 18, 2013

Lose Nothing

Loss causes grief. The greater the loss, the greater the grief. We speak of the "sense of loss" and I suppose we mean the degree our senses are affected by the loss. Losing something trivial produces some mild anxiety unless I take it as a sign of my losing something greater, like my memory to disease. "I can't remember where I put things anymore" can be a statement of great anxiety if it is  tied the fact that my mother developed dementia at an early age. Loss is relative depending on what is attached to it. The more closely it is tied to "well-being" the greater the sense of loss. (The ulitimate word for well-being in the NT is eternal life.)

Jesus saw part of his job description to lose nothing the Father had given him. Imagine the Father in conversation saying to Jesus one day, "Where is Apostle Andrew? I haven't seen him in the Apostle meetings recently." Jesus might reply, "Yeah, he stopped showing up a few days ago. He had some riff with Peter and didn't want to see him." What might the Father say to Jesus next?  Forget the relational side of this matter for the moment. Were twelve apostles working together a part of the Father's strategy for seeing the world reached with the gospel? Were there logistical matters at stake for a successful mission to save the world? It wasn't the only piece of the strategy, or even the most important part of it, but is was pretty important to accomplishing the will of the Father. Jesus' dying on the cross and being raised on the third day was more important, and Judas could be replaced, but can you imagine what things would have been like after Jesus working for three years and getting to Acts 2 and having to replace all twelve apostles?

In John 6 in connection with Jesus losing nothing given to Him by the Father, he anticipated the end game, raising each one up at the last day. He did not want anyone lost, separated from him eternally. But he also wanted them to experience eternal life now (read John 6:39 and 40). As I have pointed out many times, eternal life is quality of life and is relational not merely never-ending. John 17:3 says so. The quality of life with the Father and the Son is tightly wrapped with the quality of life we experience with one another. Why else would so much attention be given to living out the second commandment to love one another within relationship to our physical families, our local church families (remember all the letters in the NT were written either to local churches or leaders of local churches), and even in our relationships with those in the world? Quality of life is not abstract. Eternal life is not abstract. It is a life lived out daily in relationship, first with the Father and the Son, and then with one another. This must go far beyond simply saying to one another, "Be warmed and filled." (Jas.2:14ff)  John wrote, "We know we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death." (1 John 3:14)

It is crystal clear to me that God's design is for this eternal life, this quality of life, not to be experienced in the abstract, but within well defined contexts, the context of the physical family and the local church family. Both contexts test our sincere resolve to carry out His commands and to demonstrate to the world in very tangible ways the veracity of His teachings. Every letter in the the NT advocates for this. Jesus advocated for this in His earthly ministry among His disciples. And, I advocate for this today. The breakdown of the family and the local church surely causes the Father a profound "sense of loss" and it should produce the same level of grief in each of us.

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Will Floating

In John 6:38, Jesus says, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." The Greek word thelema is rich. It has many nuances. It includes determination, choice, volition, purpose. decree, desire, pleasure, and will. It is interesting that at times we feel we have no control over our lives, and at other times we feel we have all control over our lives. Freedom of will is hard to understand. What are the limits (if there are any) of God's control? How might we be controlled by others either benevolently or malevolently? It seems clear to me that no person is in absolute control of their own lives. He live in the midst of competing currents, all of which have some effect on our lives. It is interesting to see how "will" is talked about just in the book of John.

1:13, We are told that children of God are born not of blood, nor of the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. New birth is a product of God's will. In John 3, Jesus says flesh gives birth to flesh and Spirit gives birth to spirit.
4:34, Jesus says His food is to do the will of Him who sent Him and to accomplish His work. The will of God sustained Jesus just as food does the body.
5:30, "I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I heard, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me." God's will controlled Jesus' perceptions and judgments and discernment.
7:17, "If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself." Being able to discern truth from lies demands we seek His will above the will of any other.

Imagine that the will of God is like a fast moving river, strong and mighty. Along the edges are other currents that swirl and connect with the main current in the center of the river, the will of God. We have several options as we interact with this river. We may stand on the bank and be observers. We may sit on the edge and feel the effects of the eddies along the bank. We might even wade out a ways from the bank and experience the tug of lesser currents, and begin to feel the tug of the central current. We could even wade, under our own strength, into the center and be knocked over by the will of God and go tumbling and bumbling down the river. Or, we can choose to lie on our backs, relax and float down the river, allowing the will of God to take us where it will. This takes great discernment since much passes for the will of God which is only the will of a man or group of men. But, once we know the will of God we must decide to allow this will to move us along through live and control our direction and destination. FLOAT!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Extra-Emphatic Loyality

When I was a child and would ask my father about being able to do something he would often say, "We'll see." That drove me to insanity, and then I had children and found myself saying the same. There was something about not wanting to be decisive and emphatic. We tend to want to leave our options open. You never know. Things change and we need to be able to adjust to new circumstances. This kind of thinking works in some arenas but is tearing our houses down, notably the home and the local church.

In John 6:37 Jesus reveals his mind about his relationship with those the Father gives Him. First, Jesus did not seem to have a choice about who God would give Him. Parents have little choice as to what the child they produce will be. Parents are to take a child "as is." I know we are seeing the idea of "designer children." With advances in DNA research we think we can have "Build a Bear" kids. China has taken the idea to extremes with a one child policy that leaves out many female babies. In Hebrews 2:13b quoting from Isa.8:8 referring to Jesus we have this phrase, "Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me." That is church. Jesus and His kids, as is, warts and all.

Second, Jesus says of these kids God has given Him that he will certainly not cast them out. The Greek he uses to get this point across is an extra-emphatic phrase, ou me. It has strong intent. One Greek scholar says, "...ou me rules out even the idea of being a possibility." From Jesus' point of view there is no "we'll see" at work here. He has made up his mind to keep us. It is a certainty. This extra-emphatic is used in Hebrews 13:5 as a deterrent to becoming too dependent on money: "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you." There are two ou me phrases in this sentence. Jesus does not desert nor does He forsake His people. It is not a possibility.

I have recently read one book, reading another, and have seen the movie, Lincoln. There are many reasons the civil war was fought but the reason that rises above them all is that the Union must be preserved. Even after the war, another war was fought over how to treat the South. Lincoln and others insisted that the South not be treated as second class citizens, but be allowed full and complete place at the table. All of this family shopping, church hopping, keeping our options open mentality flies in the face of what we expect of Jesus and others, i.e. loyalty, extra-emphatic loyalty.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Two Thoughts

In John 6:36 Jesus says, "But I say to you, that you have seen Me, and yet do not believe." Remember Jesus also says "seeing you do not see and hearing you do not hear." (Matt.13)  They saw the signs Jesus did and enjoyed the benefits of these signs (Jn.6:26). Imagine a young lady sees a very handsome man, who is rich and well educated. What does she see? Does she see HIM. Perhaps, but perhaps she sees his good looks, his money and his education and thinks how this might benefit her. Will she think the same thing if he falls into the fire and his good looks are marred, his money is all spent, and his education has no more benefit? It depends on whether she believes in Him or all these other things. He is still HIM. It is one thing to believe in healing, and storm calming, and making bread and fish. That requires little or no commitment. But, to believe in the one who heals, calms the storm and creates food is a different matter. Jesus was not looking for customers. He was looking for followers. He was not opening a miracle store. He was building a kingdom. We often enjoy His sunshine, His daily bread, His peace when we are afraid, and even His salvation without ever making the decision to enjoy Him.

The other thought is back on the subject of Calvinism. This time it has to do with free will. In John 6:38 Jesus says He came down to do the will of the One who sent Him. Was Jesus free to do God's will or did he have no choice? Now what was the will of God in regard to the salvation of man? In 1 Timothy 2:4 we are told by Paul that God desires that all men be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. Pretty clear. Yet, Calvin taught that God chose only some to be saved (Predestination or Unconditional Election) and that Jesus died only for those God's chose (Limited atonement). Now if Jesus came to do the will of the Father, and if Paul tells us the will of the Father is for all to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth, then why would Jesus not die for all men and seek the salvation of all. Now either Paul lied or Jesus decided to ignore the will of his Father and only die for some, and also lied about doing the will of the Father. Which is it? The only path out of this seeming dilemma is the free will of man. Does it diminish the Sovereignty of God to give sovereignty to man to make decisions about his own salvation? If God is truly Sovereign then He can do what he wants. And if he wants all men to be saved He can give these same men the freedom to choose this salvation. Of course, with the freedom to choose comes the freedom to refuse. Just as Jesus had to chose to do God's will to provide salvation for all men, so each man must choose to accept or deny it.

Those are my two thoughts so far this morning.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Wholesale or Retail

There is a difference in the free enterprise system  between wholesale and retail. The system depends on both to work. One is broad and the other is specific. A company can often buy wholesale and pay a smaller price for buying a greater quantity, and then turn around and sell the product to specific people for a larger price, making a profit. This profit allows businesses to grow, to hire people, and to drive our economy. Though not a perfect analogy, it does serve a purpose in understanding something Jesus said in John 6:37, a passage very much favored by John Calvin in the 1600's.

"All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." Calvin saw four of the five tenets of his religious philosophy in this one verse. They are Unconditional Election (All the Father gives Me); Limited Atonement (All the Father gives Me); Irresistible Grace (Shall come to Me); and Perseverance of the Believer (I will certainly not cast out). Pretty convincing at first glance if you ask me. The question hinges on wholesale or retail.

God operates in both realms. There are times God "gives" A person to become one who serves him in some specific way. This sometimes happens outside of salvation and sometimes within it. The famous passage in Romans 9:10ff concerning the twins, Jacob and Esau, is an example of retail choice outside of salvation. God choose Jacob over Esau to be the one through whom Jesus would eventually be born, because in the nature of the case only one of them could become the ancestor of the Messiah. However, this choice did not cause either to be lost or saved. An example of a retail choice within salvation was the selection of the twelve, but this did not guarantee their individual salvation as we saw with Judas (see John 17:12).

I believe in John 6:37 God is operating in a wholesale way. We know that God desires that all be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth according to 1 Timothy 2:4. We also know that the work of God was for people to believe the One He had sent. (Jn.6:29) God had worked before the foundation of the world to bring about the salvation of the world (Eph.1:4) and He was still at work during Christ's days on earth drawing people to His Son who has the words of eternal life (Jn.6:44). God was giving men opportunities to choose the follow His Son, and giving His Son opportunities to persuade men to follow Him. But, in it all, men had a choice. We see this in John 6. The disciples' grumbling turned to withdrawal and Jesus was left at the end of the day not with crowds of thousands, but with twelve and one of them was destined to betray him (6:64). The gospel was offered wholesale to all who were in the crowd that day. At the end of the day there were only 11 retail customers.

The same is true today. God puts many in my life who are potential "buyers" of salvation. But not everyone makes the decision to "buy." (Or more accurately to be bought, Acts 20:28.) The seeds are scattered in a wholesale way over all the ground. But, only some will take root and grow and produce a crop. My advice is that if you ever fall under the sound of the voice of the Savior, you best pay attention lest your opportunity passes and you are lost.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Systems Approach

Two systems are at work, one physical and temporal, the other spiritual and permanent. There are many ways to describe both. The physical system is dependent on energy to run the system. The ultimate intent of this system is to provide true fulfillment, happiness, contentment, and joy here and now. An energy source is needed. Something has to fuel the system. There are two types of energy sources in this first system. There is the human spirit or motivation needed to pursue happiness. We find this in motivational speakers, examples of those who accomplish great things overcoming extreme odds to do so, and other earthly incentives. Inherent in this system is the promise that life will be better, even great if we do this or that (sounds like Satan in Eden, right?). The other energy source is more physical. The system needs physical fuel to run the applications that we believe will enhance "life." The fuel may be oil, radio active materials, or a fast flowing river. We fight for these sources. We will give up human life to be able to have these sources of energy.

Haiti cut down all her trees to provide fuel (charcoal) to build fires to cook their food. It was a shortsighted move. Haiti serves as a modern day metaphor for the world. We destroy our resources for a temporary fix. All physical energy sources are temporary fixes. Money is a means to energy sources. Money pays FPL. Money puts gasoline in the tank. Money runs the combines that provide the corn to make our grits. Politicians are sources of energy. If we can get them to do what we think we need then we continue to get the energy we need to pursue happiness through electronic applications. This earthly system is intricate and all consuming, and I do mean consuming. It consumes itself and uses itself up.  Romans 8:17ff calls it corruption and decay. This world is destined for it because God subjected this system to it. So how do we survive a system that is destined to crash?

The other system is about true LIFE (Zoe). As we release our grip on the first system we must grab onto the Jesus system of eternal life which is not subject to temporal sources of energy. The energy for this system comes down from heaven. It is fueled by an eternal God whose resources will never be depleted. The sun may burn up one day and cease to shine, but the SON never will. So what we need is often pushed to a secondary place as we operate in system one. We know system one. We are good at it. Any child knows how to use the applications on a cell phone to play their games that give enjoyment for a few minutes while they cannot find Colossians in a Bible without looking in the index. Our nation spends billions to develop or sustain temporary energy sources while banning the Bible and Jesus from our schools.

Whether it is John 6 with crowds searching for more loaves and fishes or 2013 with people lining up days before the next smart phone comes out, it is still the same system. If system one were an airplane and the world was its passenger, then I have some bad news for you. The tanks are nearly empty and we are loosing altitude. We are flying in the wrong plane. Jesus invites us to transfer to His.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

The Source

When I was small, a traveling evangelist named Mid McKight came to town. He was a Texas rancher/farmer turned preacher. His mother prayed for him before he was born. She asked God for a boy who would become a preacher. She got both. Mid didn't learn why he was a preacher till his mother was on her death-bed when she told him of her prayer. This self-studied preacher told me something that stuck. There are three questions one must answer in life. 1) Where did I come from?; 2) Why am I here?; and 3) Where am I going? I never forgot that and have tried to live my life with the knowledge of the correct answers to all three.

Jesus knew where he came from. There are two possible sources for all things, heaven or earth. There is a frequent phrase Jesus uses to teach us, "the one He sent." Jesus is the "sent-one." But, sent from where? Once Jesus was asked by what authority he did what he did (Matt.21:23ff). He replied with a question. "The baptism of John was from what source, from heaven or from men?" (NASB) "From what source" is the critical part. Where did I come from? Is the authority merely going out from me or coming down into me? Which? If it merely goes out of me, then you are free to listen if it "floats your boat." But, if the authority comes down from heaven and then goes out of me, then that's different.

The source of all spiritual authority is from heaven. Jesus embodied this authority and he gave this authority to others. In our fellowship we have downplayed "spiritual authority." We shy away from words like "ordained" and "clergy." We believe, and rightly so, in the priesthood of all believers. But there are obligations and responsibilities within the body of Christ that carry with the them authority from heaven. Acts 20:28 says elders/shepherds/overseers were made such by the Holy Spirit. Heb.13:17 says spiritual leaders are to be obeyed with joy (be persuaded by) because they will have to give an account for the souls in the their care. Ephesians 4:11-16 explains the purposes of such roles as gifts given by Jesus. What we have tended to do is to define away such teachings because of the abuses we have seen.

The same principle was in play in Jesus' day. The source of all life (zoe) is Jesus. He is the supreme authority (Matt.28:18). He was standing before this crowd in John 6, yet they reserved the right to decide whether they would accept His authority over them, and the gift that came with this. They had switched roles. They now were the critics of God's source just as the Israelites of old were critics of God's man Moses. When they grumbled against Moses, they grumbled against the One who gave him the authority to lead. The question was not whether Moses was a perfect leader and provided everyone with exactly what they needed or wanted over a 40 year period (BTW the grumblers could not go join another congregation in the wilderness). The structure God set up was to remain intact.

We will see this idea in the term "the ones you have given me" as Jesus spoke about the disciples, and how in John 17 Jesus took great pleasure in knowing he had not lost any one of them, except for Judas who was destined for destruction. Jesus worked to unify every person into Himself and to sustain them and maintain them. This must be played out in practicality in life, and it should be and can be in the family and in the local church. If it is not seen there, then the world cannot see the point of the one who was sent from heaven (John 17:22ff). Personally I am fighting for the very integrity and authority of God that is destroyed by every level of disunity and division.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Seasons of Discontent

I know now why God teaches us to listen to older and wiser godly counsel. Man is basically discontented. Man's appetite is insatiable. Our society in particular feeds this discontent. We want more, better, stronger, shinier, more exciting, and cutting edge. It is a never ending pursuit. Once we "get it" it is gone and we seek the next new thing. We dress our pursuit up in church clothes and make it sound like we just are wanting to save our children or "get fed" better quality of food. It seems to be a spiritual pursuit, but old men know it is not.

In John 6 the subject is bread. But it is not "bread" but looking for what satisfies this restless discontent inside of man. These folks following after Jesus were convinced that what they wanted was what they needed. Jesus switched the conversation on them. They wanted bread that satisfied body and soul (soma and psuche). Body and soul cannot be satisfied. In 6:33 Jesus tells them what they need, i.e. life (zoe). They are not sure what that is but they figure it is good and immediately ask for it (just as the woman at the well did when Jesus offered her living [Zoe] water.) They were thinking magic water and bread that was a quick fix for what they craved. Jesus tells them "I am the bread of life (zoe)."

Paul had a similar struggle with discontent in 1 & 2 Corinthians. Read 1 Corinthians 1-2. They were chasing cutting edge, human worldly wisdom and signs. They were looking for the "strong" things of the world to meet their insatiable need for relevance and fulfillment. They were even critical of Paul because he wasn't a polished preacher. The vessel didn't shine like the Greek orators did. Paul's response was to give them personal weakness and Jesus crucified. Neither Paul nor Jesus bought into the underlying premise of the crowd. Paul was personally weak, but powerful in Jesus. He was an earthen vessel, unimpressive but full of treasure, the truly valuable.

Let me be clear. If you find a church where people truly love you and show it through service and relationships and where Jesus is preached in truth and spirit, stay, enjoy it, share in it, promote it, encourage it, strengthen it, and stop searching for more. There is nothing greater or better. Zoe life is found in Jesus and in those who know Jesus. Tell your children there is no need to go look for it. We have it. We may not have the best building, the most thrilling "praise band", the biggest youth group, the largest paid staff, the endless variety of programs and groups, and on and on. But we have Jesus and solid, loving relationships which is worth more than the world.

Yesterday I saw what people were looking for. One of our sisters was stricken down in pain during ladies Bible class. 911 was called and she was taken to the hospital. When I arrived the entire ladies Bible class was sitting in the waiting room, and most stayed the rest of the day until she was released. One drove her home. Another went to pick up dinner with money supplied by another. And two more later drove her car back home. Why would anyone want more than that?

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Genesis 12:3b

I'm still in John 6 and will be for awhile. The conversation Jesus had with these Jewish people is so revealing about the contrast of mindsets. The word that comes to mind is "trajectory." When aiming for or at something it is important to have the right trajectory. Romans 3:23 speaks of falling short of the glory of God and Hebrews 3-4 strongly remind us of how the Jews fell short of the rest they were promised. Their bodies fed by manna for forty years died in the desert and never entered the promised land. They were so focused on their comfort or their misery, their earthly life, that they fell short of what God wanted to give them much sooner. The forty years of wanderings was so unnecessary. So is much of our wanderings. We could enter in so much sooner if we knew what we were looking for.

In the context of John 6 we see a people who are desperate to regain their sovereignty, their land, and their nation. The Romans, the Greeks, the Persians, and the Babylonians have controlled them for 600 years. They see in Jesus a leader like Moses who can feed them manna from heaven and lead them to retake the Promised Land. How short-sighted they were! They thought since God had promised this land to their forefather Abraham that their aspirations were godly. They believed that they were pursing the will of God. This was not just a selfish desire. This was rooted in the history of the Old Testament, in the very promise of God to Abraham. "I will make you the land I will show you, make your name great, and make you a great nation." This was as far as they could see into God's promise. They missed the most important and true part of it, i.e. "and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Gen.12:3b) Their trajectory only went as far as Genesis 12:1-3a. God was about Genesis 12:3b.

So when the Jews started talking about the bread Moses gave them in the wilderness and that Jesus might supply this bread for them, they were so falling short of what God wanted for them. This was Genesis 12:1-3a thinking. Jesus was the true bread from heaven sent not by Moses but by God Himself. Manna was merely a shadow of what God wanted to give them, that being the true bread, when eaten would alleviate true hunger. They longed for the picture on the box instead of the true contents of the box. How easy it is for us to pursue things of this world, even good things, and never raise our sights for a more accurate trajectory. Here are the coordinates: Genesis 12:3b.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

One More Sign..Just One More, Please!

The Jews of John 6 just wanted one more, just one more. I wonder if they put together a sign committee to come up with their top three all time greatest signs to ask for. Imagine the discussion. "Let's ask for fire from heaven like Elijah did on Mt. Carmel. No, how about let's ask for the parting of the Red Sea? No, those were good but they didn't last. We need a sign that keeps giving. How about manna from heaven, a seven day a week sign? That's it!" So a delegation is selected to take the idea to Jesus. Now they had their presentation down. "What then do you do for a sign that we may see and believe You? What work do you perform?" Surely Jesus could not resist their request. They just wanted a little more evidence so they could believe, right? Jesus saw through their self-deception.

Now a "sign" is just that, a sign. Signs point. Signs indicate. Signs give instructions and directions and information. But at the end of the day, they are just signs. Imagine a fellow that is really into traveling and seeing the sights of the United States. You walk into a room of his house and from ceiling to floor on all the walls are signs, bumper stickers, licence plates, pictures of places to visit in each state. The man is a sign collector. He loves looking at his signs and getting one more. He loves thinking about standing at the Grand Canyon or Niagara Falls or the Golden Gate Bridge. But he has never been there and never really experienced first hand the excitement of these places. He simply looks at the signs.

The signs of the Bible were temporary pointers to the real thing. Raised people died again. Filled people got hungry again. Healed people got sick again. Signs did not last. They always had to be replaced because time wore them away. Christians today have replaced chasing miraculous signs with chasing church experiences and programs. They ask, "What program will you give us so that we might believe (in this church or this pastor)?" How quickly a church's star falls from the sky when they fail to trot out another more exciting sign. But, if a church or pastor is really into Jesus and giving people Jesus, the true bread, and the words of life, which if consumed will conquer the hunger of the spirit, then why go elsewhere and look for a "better program/sign?" We are teaching our children to be sign-chasers instead of consumers of Jesus. Looks like folks have not changed very much.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The Work of God

My father always had projects going on. I have searched my memory and I do not remember him ever joining me in my project. I know this is a big deal today. We encourage parents to find out what their children are interested in and join them in it. But, it seems throughout my childhood, even though I had projects, I was more often joining my father in his. Don't misunderstand. My father helped me get my music equipment although I paid the loan. He assisted me in going to college, though I worked off much of the bill. But, mostly I joined him in working the garden, clearing the land, digging out the well, and fixing things. My orientation was toward what he was doing and how I could join him, not the other way around.

In John 6 Jesus was asked, "What shall we do that we may work the works of God." (6:28) Jesus has just told the crowds not to work for the food that perishes. His answer was "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." (6:29) My thinking this morning was directed to the idea of the work of God the Father and how his Son, Jesus, oriented His life to this work. Jesus' life was not about his personal aspirations. God was not asking Jesus each day, "Son what would you like to do today? Beach? Circus? Disney?" The Son awoke each morning saying, "Father what would You like to do today and may I join You."

In John 4:34 Jesus tells his apostles that His food is to accomplish His Father's work. In John 5:17 Jesus says, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." Jesus continues in 5:19 to tell us he can do nothing of Himself. He watches his Father and does what He does. It is from the Father's love that He shows His Son what He is doing. Then in 5:21 Jesus tells us what that work is, i.e. giving life. Should we be surprised? This is how the story begins. God starts the Bible with giving life. If you read the rest of Jesus' sermon in John you understand the work that God is doing to give us life. The Father gives true bread from heaven, gives people to Jesus, draws men to Jesus, and teaches men about Jesus. This is the work of God that leads us to faith and to life.

Now I would ask, "Do any of us have a project more worthy than this one?" Would any of us prefer that God leave His work and join us in ours?

Monday, January 7, 2013

God's Seal

Paul tells us "The Lord knows those who are His." (2 Tim.2:19) That person is sealed. The signet ring of God presses into a soft, believing heart his impression marking our lives with his insignia. Jesus knew who he was and that he had God's seal (John 6:27). We cannot validate our own tickets. Someone in authority has to stamp them. There is too much room for fraud. We need accreditation from someone qualified to certify that we meet the standards set.

When I went to Redland Christian Academy as the administrator one task I had was to pursue accreditation. There was a state-wide organization that set standards, did inspections, conducted interviews, and ultimately certified schools, setting their seal on them, affirming them to be a certain quality. We had to have so many books in the library. The teachers had to have certain credentials. The facility had to meet certain standards. The financial books had to be in order. One by one we met each criteria, except one, and that was ME. Even though I led the school through the process of becoming certified, I was not certifiable as an administrator. I didn't have the right degree. I had a Masters degree, but it was not in education. So if the school was to become certified, I had to resign. I never intended to make this a career, so it was no problem.

God did much to make sure his life-giving system was certified. He invested his considerable resources to make sure all was in place. And, he poured all these resources through one man, Jesus. The entire system of salvation depended on Him. If Jesus' credentials failed, the entire system would fail. So God endorsed Him personally and verbally three times (at least) while Jesus was on earth. God made sure that all prophesies concerning the Messiah were fulfilled in Jesus. God gave Jesus the right words to say in every situation. God empowered Jesus to perform a variety of miracles and signs indicating that He was the Christ. And, God enabled Jesus to live a sinless and holy life. God knows those who are His. Jesus was His man. Jesus was the one on whom God's seal was set. This was the work of God (John 6:29). But, His work is not done. God continues to set His seal on those who belong to Him. Paul tells us in 2 Cor.1:22 that God sets His seal of the Holy Spirit on those of us in Christ to identify, establish, and anoint us as His own.

My personal testimony that I belong to God really means little. His testimony that I belong to Him means everything. Peter taught us in Acts 2:38 that we receive the Holy Spirit, that special seal of God, when through faith we repent and are baptized into Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. This promise is for us today. I implore you on Christ's behalf to be reconciled to God, stand still, obey the gospel and allow Him to press His seal deep into your heart.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Perishes or Endures

The choice we have is so clear. Perishable or Enduring? Which? Choose! Jesus says in John 6:27, "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give you, for on Him the Father even God, has set his seal." Jesus is not telling us not to work for our food. "If a man will not work he should not eat," Paul tells us. However, cessation of laborious work is associated with the celebration of the Sabbath and the Atonement and other notable events. Work is put in its place. Work is a cycle of life. We earn, consume, and earn more so we can consume more. It sustains earthly life.

When God was pouring out manna from heaven His instructions were to gather enough on the sixth day for two days so that no work was carried out on the Sabbath. And gather only what you would consume each day. Brenda and I found a wonderful place to eat in Bartow on our recent mini-vacation. Fred's Southern Kitchen had it all. Whatever is southern, they had it..and it was about as good as it gets. We visited this place twice. When we sat down our waitress told me that they had two prices. If you left a lot of food on your plate it was one price, but if you cleaned your plate it was another price. Don't waste the food was the message. God had that rule for the Jews. If you gather too much you get maggots. Can you imagine how our spending habits would change if when we bought too much, more than we needed for the day, it became infested with maggots or termites? What if we could see "perishable" happening in living color before our very eyes?

What we see is fading away. Moths and rust belong to this world. Its entropy. It is a planet of death. In John 4 while Jesus was telling the woman at the well about the water that if consumed would provide enduring refreshment, the disciples were in town buying food. When they returned and encouraged Jesus to eat Jesus said, "I have food to eat that you do not know about."(4:32) Knowing they did not understand he explained, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish his work." (4:34) In John 6 the people wanted to know what the work of God is. "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent." (6:29) The only work that endures is the work that focuses on Jesus and the will of the Father.The rest will turn to dust.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Putting It Together

The verse jumped out at me this morning. The apostles in the boat (Mark 6) were in the last year of Jesus' ministry, having experienced enumerable miracles at his hands, and had recently seen him feed 5000 men with a few loaves and fishes, an act of creation, and Jesus and Peter walking on water. As Peter and Jesus get into the boat, the wind immediately is calm. Then these words: "...they were greatly astonished for they had not gained any insight from the incident of the loaves, but their hearts were hardened." (Mark 6:50-51, NASB)  The word insight literally means to put it together. It is most often translated understand.

Paul says in Romans 3:11 that no one understands. In Luke 24:45 Jesus had to open the minds of the Emmaus disciples so they could understand the Scriptures that spoke of him. It is hard for us humans to put things together, to graps things, to get it. I remember one sister I taught telling me that "now I get it" when she grew up hearing it. Another sister told me the gap between head and heart was so large that it was hard to get it. We both were excited when we saw her tears flow as she grasped the truths of Scripture. She got it. Jesus told stories that people saw and heard but did not get. Why is it so hard to get it? Jesus says the problem is hardness or dullness of heart. It is not an intellectual problem like when we just can't get math. It is a heart problem.

What did Jesus really expect from the apostles in this setting? Was he reacting to their atonishment? Should they have stopped being astonished at his miracles? Should we reach the point where we are not amazed at a sunset, or a butterfly, or a provision he gives, or forgiveness for another sin we have committed? I don't think that is it. They were amazed at his power and rightly so, but Jesus' power was not meant to merely elicit wonder; it was meant to be implemented in our lives. His power and his words are not meant to be observed. They are meant to be assimilated into our lives.

Steaks are not meant to be stared at. They are meant to be eaten. We do not admire seeds. We plant them and watch them grow within the soil to see what God will do. Even though Peter was somewhat unsuccessful in his attempt to walk on water, he did get out of the boat and became a participant in the power of God. He was getting it. Too many in Jesus' day merely wanted to see another "trick." They liked the show but did not want to leave their seats and join Jesus on stage. The only way we will "get it" is if we allow his power and his teachings to work in our lives. Truth is put together in obedience.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Decision or Doubt

When Peter went down in the lake, the moment his feet sunk into the surf, Jesus perceived doubt. It should be easy to spot. It is the twin to fear. Fear alone did not sink Peter. It was fear that led to doubt that sunk him. The word Jesus used in Matthew 14:31 comes from duo meaning two. Peter was of two minds. His single-minded focus on Jesus when he got out of the boat shifted in flight like the luggage overhead. His eyes began to dart back and forth from Jesus to the wind and waves and back again. He was distracted. He was not sure. He wavered. He hesitated. Jesus knew when Peter's focus concentration was broken. This is the ADD of faith. We have trouble staying locked on with Jesus. Eye contact is hard to maintain. But, to Peter's credit the moment he began to sink he knew he lost it too, and he cried out, "Lord save me." It is a good thing Jesus did not lose his focus on Peter. "If the blind lead the blind they will both fall into a ditch" or sink into a lake.

Jesus and the New Testament writers use another word for doubt, diakrino, meaning to judge between or to be at variance with one's self. This is the debates that go on in our head. This is the voices we hear, pros and cons, this road or that road, yes or no. According to Matt.21:21 Jesus says this occurs in the heart. A divided heart is a doubting heart. Peter had a divided heart in regard to Cornelius the Gentile (Acts 10:20). God was telling him very plainly to go teach the Gentiles, but there were other thoughts in Peter's head. The text says he had "misgivings." He couldn't get the idea that was so ingrained from birth out of his thoughts, i.e. Gentiles are inferior to Jews and one must not socialize with them. Two thoughts: the command of God to go and the belief that he shouldn't. Peter was in the same place as when on the sea. He had the command of Jesus-Come, and the idea that men can't walk on water.

Abraham is our example. Romans 4:20 says that he did not waver in unbelief. God said he and Sarah would bear a son, and Abraham believed him. God said that through the seed of Abraham all the nations of the earth would be blessed, and Abraham believed him. Abraham faced the fact that he was too old to have a child, but instead of focusing on what was physically impossible he chose to focus on what God said. Isn't that always the choice of faith? Will I believe God or trust my own ideas?

James, the brother of Jesus, may have had the Peter episode in mind when he wrote in James 1:6-7 concerning asking for wisdom: "But let him ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea and driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man expect he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways." That was Peter on the lake. Instead of being sustained by faith in Jesus he was tossed and driven by the surf of the sea. He became unstable, and it was only when he refocused on Jesus that he was lifted up and brought back to the surface of the water to walk with Jesus to the boat.

Jude provides a fitting reminder for us. In verse 22 he tells us to have mercy on some who are doubting. And then he tells us to snatch others from the flames into which they are sinking. Just as Jesus snatched Peter from the sea so we are to pull others out of the fire. It is decision time. Will it be faith in Jesus or fear of the wind?