God Has Visited His People

I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the pre-conference with Missio people about two weeks ago.  There was a lot that I learned about "modality" and "sodality" which explained a lot of the pains and frustrations I've been experiencing.  I plan to bring those out here.

The most important highlight for me was Jeff Vanderstelt's talk during the main conference the first day.  Jeff is one of the founders of Soma, a missional community movement in Tacoma, Washington, under which my brother-in-law has also joined in partnership.  Jeff was sharing a little more about his friend, Clay.  Last year on facebook I posted a video of Jeff introducing Clay.  If you clicked on the video back then or have run across it yourself you may be familiar.  Clay used to go to concerts and use drugs as the highlight of his life.  Jeff and his wife were invited to hang out with Clay at concerts.  Obviously Jeff and his wife were uncomfortable, however they respectfully served Clay during those concerts.

At some point after that video, I assume that Clay became a believer.  At the conference, Jeff was updating his story.  In my memory of the conference Jeff said,

I have been wondering about Clay.  He doesn't seem to show much signs of growing so I just prayed and prayed for him.  One day I'm going over to Clay's house, and I see all these firetrucks and an ambulance with their sirens blaring.  The thought comes across my mind, "I wonder if that has anything to do with Clay?"  So I follow the sirens and they turn down Clay's street.  Then they stop in front of Clay's house.  Clay's wife is standing on the front lawn, crying.  So I go up to her and pause, and say, "Is... Clay... ??"  She says that Clay was over in their neighbor's garage.

Clay had answered a call for help from a neighbor.  The man who lived there had hung himself in the garage. Clay is in the garage and it's completely dark, and he's looking around for anything that will cut the rope.  Somehow there's a sliver of light shining on a pair of scissors, so, he's cutting the rope while trying to lift the man up to relieve the pressure around his neck.  He gets him down.  He starts doing CPR.  Nothing.  Clay starts to pray.  Clay prays, "You know, God, if it's this guy's time to go, go ahead and take him.  But if he's not would you save his life?"

The garage door starts to rattle as a wind blew through the cracks, and as the wind blew past Clay and this man, the man takes a breath....

He's in the hospital, and wouldn't you know that one of the members of our Soma community is his nurse, so as he regains consciousness in the hospital he gets to hear the story of what happened.  This nurse is only 21 years old, and she leaves Tacoma and goes on vacation to visit her family in southern California.  While she's there, a group of pastors ask her if she would come down and share the story of what God is up to with Soma and the story of Clay's neighbor.  So, here's a 21 year old girl teaching pastors about the power of God and what missional community is all about, the mission to reach others for Christ.

I talk to Clay and you know what he told me?  He said, "Yeah, I was reading the gospel of Mark lately (!!), got through several chapters and read how Jesus does miracles."

God  answered his prayer... AND CLAY'S NOT EVEN THAT GREAT A CHRISTIAN, you know... what I mean?

So here Jeff had been praying for this new believer who doesn't really understand much about God and how He works in our lives, not even knowing he had been reading the gospel of Mark!

This testimony stirred me.  It was as if I was waiting for something, but when I heard that God was even raising the dead... I felt an urgency, that I was living in the days when God moves.  Then I read Luke 7:11-16 for no good reason and was shocked by the scriptures:

Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd.  And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her.  When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”  Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.”  So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother.

Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.”  And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.

That was exactly the words I felt: God has visited His people.  Their minds were settled that His favor had come into their lives.  So I have been praying ever since, for God to visit me, visit US.  I want to see His Kingdom not for my satisfaction, but for the sake of the lost.  He taught us to pray that His Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven.  I realize He's not going to transform all till His return, but I believe nevertheless.  What if we prayed together for His Kingdom to come to us?  Would He set a limit and not be supernatural if we asked?  I believe it honors Him when I trust Him for His Kingdom, here and now!  I think the more we seek Him, the more we will find, even if we do not receive all His Kingdom in this dispensation.  Will you pray with me?  Luke 11:9-13,

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”

Strangers, An Offering to the LORD

What is an offering that would please the LORD?  Malachi 3:8-10,

"Will a man rob God?
Yet you have robbed Me!
But you say,
‘In what way have we robbed You?’
In tithes and offerings.
You are cursed with a curse,
For you have robbed Me,
Even this whole nation.
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,”
Says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it."

Does God want an offering of your money? Sometimes. I suppose if it has the power to bring the nations to Christ, then yes. But on the other hand sometimes God likes to accomplish things without our resources, so we can see the difference between our effort and God's power; so He can increase His own fame.

Simon trying to buy the Spirit he already had as a believer, Acts 8

The prophetic book of Isaiah ends with an interesting take on offerings made to God.  It describes STRANGERS as the offering God is seeking. Isaiah 66:18-21,

"For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see my glory. I will set a sign among them; and those among them who escape I will send to the nations: to Tarshish ad Pul and Lud, who draw the bow, and Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands afar off who have not heard My fame nor seen My glory. And they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles. Then they shall bring all your brethren for an offering to the LORD out of all nations, on horses and in chariots and in litters, on mules and on camels, to My holy mountain Jerusalem," says the LORD, "as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. And I will also take some of them for priests and Levites," says the LORD.

While some of the evangelism described here makes us think these verses are fulfilled in the church age (now), all brothers from all nations have not been brought to Jerusalem (being referred to as the holy mountain which speaks of the future dispensation).

If the age of the 1000 year reign of Christ is characterized by this, shouldn't our Spiritual duty today look the same?   From the beginning of the promise uttered to Abraham, God has been patiently seeking the redemption and transformation of unchurched people!  The excellence... of the power of God on display in lives being changed.  What if that is what He will have His servants offer Him?

And if in the Kingdom era there will be literal pilgrimages to Jerusalem of new believers in Jesus, shouldn't that be fulfilled now in a Spiritual sense?  Malachi 1:7-8,

"You offer defiled food on My altar,
But say,
‘In what way have we defiled You?’
By saying,
‘The table of the Lord is contemptible.’
And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice,
Is it not evil?
And when you offer the lame and sick,
Is it not evil?"

If this is true, ...  Then what, do you think possibly...

Lame  = ?

Sick = ?

Blind = ?

Disciple Making Means the Unchurched will Follow Him

We quote God's Word in the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20) a lot, but what does a discipling movement look like? The word "disciple" means "follower, learner".  Disciple-making therefore means making disciples of the unchurched. Wait a second, you might say: I make disciples of the people who already attend church!  Isn't that also disciplemaking?  Well, of substance yes, but let me explain a little further.

By definition, a disciple is someone who is willing to follow Jesus. Once someone is willing to follow, then your engagement in making a disciple is done.  The disciple is made - and a certain amount of maintenance remains.  We might differentiate disciple-maintaining from disciple-making.

Help me tell the story of Jesus....  Jesus saw the crowds following Him, picked out 12 to be His first missionaries... and then: did He send them to minister to the crowds already following Him on foot?  

Is that how the story goes??  No :)  On two occasions (prior to Pentecost) Jesus gave the 12 the power to speak and do as He did.  Who were they sent to?  They were empowered to reach the nearby villages where people had not heard the good news so they could be given the chance to follow Jesus too.

The Necessary Work of "Disciple-Maintenance" (Shepherding)

"Disciples" are the willing.  They showed up.  How about at church?  Who shows up at church, usually?  Isn't it the willing?  Those who have chosen in some motivation to follow Christ?

Jesus didn't concern Himself with developing the 12 missionaries' Christianity very far at all before He anointed them to successfully make followers of the LORD. They weren't intelligent, they weren't professionals.  It's not necessary for a "movement."  We all want Christians to have character, granted; and they will by God's grace.

God has a plan in disciple-maintenance, and maybe that is your passion to serve Him.  What I mean by "disciple-maintenance" is the giftings of Shepherd and Teacher.  In His concern for sin, Jesus said, "You follow me because I fed you the bread."  He continually ministers to develop godly character. This is the sanctification process and we're all working on becoming who He has destined us to be.  We come together as a Body to refresh and strengthen our willingness to follow, to learn.

There is a small percentage of followers that aren't what they seem.  But even that God has under control.  On occasion, disciple-maintenance leads us down a road of departure.  Followers "work themselves out."  1 John 2:19,

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

His Power is in Disciple-Making Movements

How big is the testimony of God in the world if we only offer up the incremental faith of the already faithful? Compare the faith of Paul from the writings of 1 Timothy to 2nd Timothy - can you see his faith grow between writing these two books?  Probably not, I'd guess.  By contrast, can you tell the difference between Saul the persecutor of Christians, and Paul the convert of Jesus?  Absolutely!  Conversion is His renown!  Isaiah 61:5,6,9,

Strangers shall stand and feed your flocks,
And the sons of the foreigner
Shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers....
You shall eat the riches of the Gentiles,
And in their glory you shall boast....
All who see them shall acknowledge them,
That they are the posterity whom the LORD has blessed. 

Would our God be more awe-inspiring, and be more glorious if we could bring the unchurched, the un-gathered, the non-following?   Saved... from the grip of hell on earth, transformed like nobody's business?  Can you remember the last time you heard the story of someone who just accepted Jesus as Savior?  What happened to your soul?  The newly converted remind us of what is important.  I love to hear how touching it is for a person to finally meet God in all His love for them.  How "lame" in transformation are wonderfully but predictably faithful Christians compared to a babe in Christ?  Malachi 1:12-13,

"You also say,
‘Oh, what a weariness!’
And you sneer at it,”
Says the Lord of hosts.
“And you bring the stolen, the lame, and the sick;
Thus you bring an offering!
Should I accept this from your hand?”
Says the Lord."

Stolen = Researchers have been reporting that most church growth statistics come from transfers from other congregations of people who are already Christians...?

What if the most beautiful offering in God's eyes is the testimony of His presence in a stranger's life?  What if He loves to hear a new people overwhelmed to discover God as alive, as powerful, as near, as protective, as saving, as gracious.

It can't be bought with money.

Can you give it to Him?

My World is Already Different

Is it safe to write????

Every time I've tried to start a blog post in the last few weeks, a tragic or horrible piece of news comes in our direction.  Here in the Painter household, we have been subject to secondhand news of upsetting things.  If you are managing your own mental well being and do not want to read of upsetting things, I will list the worst at the end of this post.

Skip this post when it becomes beneficial.

Have your kids returned to public school this week like mine have?  How has it gone for you as a parent?  I posted Psalm 91 on facebook; it is a great set of promises from the Promise-Maker for the concerns of physical safety.  I am praying for my kids every time I drop them off, and we are talking a lot about how to be safe and yet not live with fear.

Lijie has afternoon kindergarden.  I didn't want to be a nuisance as this tragedy was just coming across communication lines on Friday afternoon, but I really wanted to be present for my own sense of protecting my child as he went into his class.  I did not walk down to his class like I have oftentimes, I let him go and then peeked around into the office to speak to the secretary.  I asked,

"Do you have a different protocol for security at a time like this?  I assume you've gathered what happened this morning?"

I paused and waited while she gathered her thoughts.  She replied that she just received an email about their security a few minutes prior.  That there was a police car patroling the local streets around the school... that there were particular staff persons who were walking the grounds of the school at certain intervals.  I nodded my head.

I had seen a police cruiser with his lights flashing as we were driving to the school - only he had pulled over a fellow mother I knew and was giving her a ticket for speeding I assume.  It was a comfort to see the police myself.  Then I said to her,

"Okay.  I am afraid for copycats."

She replied with a "yeah" because we're all trying to take this in without overreacting. I told her with a tear in my eye how much I was thankful for all they do. She was touched and said thank you.

I am curious to brainstorm how I can be encouraging to the school at this time?  I want to help, but I don't think I can do anything to be helpful, except give them winter break to gather their wits and come up with some substantial suggestions.  I assume they will hold meetings for parents to describe their plans and solutions and on that day, I plan to be a part and offer my help.

On Monday (yesterday), things were just as tense.  Taped in the front door window there was a piece of paper which said,

Please have patience with us.  We are currently revising our security protocols for the school.  At this time you may be asked for identification before entering the building.

Well, I paused.  And then I walked inside.  I walk in a lot and have had my children attending this school for 7 years, so they "know" me.  Right?  No.  Here's the deal: Adam Lanza was "known" too.  It doesn't matter how long they've recognized me, or that I'm a parent.  Anyone, anyone can put the children at risk including me.  I stood inside and froze out of respect.  Nothing happened.  There was a teacher leading her students across the lobby area toward the gym.  They followed one another in a perfectly straight line.  The teacher, a beautiful young woman just like at Sandy Hook, stared straight at me, ignoring her students.  She just stood there between me and her students, staring at me, but smiling.

It doesn't matter who I am, I realized. All that matters is whether or not I pose a threat. I was wearing a coat that comes down to mid-thigh. Long enough to conceal a gun and I shook my head later when I thought about it.

I need to be thought of as the bad guy: this is the teachers' job, now. To size up risk, to keep me out. That is exactly what I want for my child while he is at school. I just wish it wasn't happening to me, because obviously I along with 99.999% of people who walk into that building, am not the enemy, but an ally.

My world is different now.

So is my daughter's. Grace came home from school. She said that a week prior they practiced their "lockdown drill." I asked her to explain.

Level 1 This is the level the school is commonly on every day. It means the doors on the exterior of the building remain locked during school hours.

Level 2 All classroom doors must be locked from access in the hallway. Students stay in their seats and class continues.

Level 3 All classroom doors must be locked from access in the hallway. Students are supposed to hide in the corner of the room where there is no visibility from the window on the door, or hide in closets or cabinets. Anything to make the room look vacant.

On the one hand, I was like, wow. That's great. They already have thought through a situation like this. On the other hand I marvel. I never did "lockdown drills" as a kid. We did earthquake drills, and tornado drills when I was in Illinois. I remember learning how my parent's generation had atomic bomb drills. I guess this is the next generation's most likely terror...? What kind of a world does my daughter live in, today? Why should she have to learn how to hide from a gunman... or a team of gunmen?

I drove along Broadway Street, past another elementary school. I saw children outside, lined up against the wall, perhaps preparing for recess. For a moment I thought, "oh my God" ("oh my God" is not a cuss word, it is an address to God directing His attention to a situation that needs Him). A sniper could take them out so easy. The playground is out in front of the school, right next to the street. How can teachers send them out to play? How can they protect them from a gun, there?

Fear creates such a mess. Like the airlines after 9/11, I just wonder if life in schools will ever be the same. I wonder if it is going to be just as bad as that tragedy, just as far-reaching.

This is going to be a hard time as a nation. It is going to be hard on everybody, especially those who directly care for children. I am praying for God to give me wisdom for how to encourage teachers and staff.

Public Places

Secondhand experiences have reached us from the tragedy at Clackamas Town Center Mall. Ben's mother had time off from work as an elementary teacher. She planned to go to that mall the very next day after the shooting. She shops there frequently. It is a suburban, upper-scale mall. Not the first choice for an act of home-grown terrorism. I know that she shops a lot at Macy's. She called to share her experience that night, and Ben lovingly called her the next evening to see how she was doing again. It is hard to imagine her entering that place again.

A couple days later, Ben forwarded me an email from one of his martial arts teachers of the last 9 years. His teacher's email was filled with sadness to share that one of his students, a fellow black belt in their martial art (Kosho Ryu Kempo) and friend of 20 years, Steve Forsyth, was one of the two victims (the male victim) that was killed in the shooting at the Mall. Ben had not met Steve personally, but it certainly made the grief more profound.

And then yesterday, Ben came home from work again after Kempo class. His other teacher who taught him today is a black belt and police officer with Clackamas County. He was called to the scene at the Mall and was one of the first responders as an officer. I asked him what he experienced. He said,

"things that can't be said with little ears present."

Tonight Ben tells me part of his story: that there were well over 10,000 people in the mall. That as a first responder he had to go from room to room to room to release people in hiding. The eerie state of seeing not a soul but hearing Christmas music playing overhead and seeing strollers, purses, food -- everything abandoned in an instant when people ran for their lives.

Personal Relationships

My friend Elena as I mentioned in the previous blog post was murdered. We had known Dave since before he filed for divorce, and Ben and I had built some friendship doing couples things to try and share in life and a sense of understanding. It is difficult of course, now. Ben and I joke how crazy it is that we personally know a murderer. I was told by a certain individual that she was shot in the cranium, however their were multiple gunshot wounds. It's awful. The Statesman Journal reported from police officers that Dave confessed to have thought previously of murdering her in ways other than with a firearm. I don't know if Dave is guilty of having done any wrong. It's not my place to judge; I am quoting what is commonly known. This is quite unnerving, and we occasionally have poured over our knowing him to try and come to the mindset of this outcome, but, of course, we can't understand it. As with the other tragedies, how can someone logically come to the decision to murder, which is by definition not an accident, not self-defense?

We are left picking up the pieces. The local funeral home is trying to arrange for a cost-effective way to get her home. The memorial is this Saturday and they'll release her cremated remains to me so that I can transport her to the church for the service. Tough stuff. I spoke again to Kathie at Victim's assistance and after a few minutes we both felt the need to talk about the national sense of devastation this last week, how everyone stopped processing heartache about Elena while that was happening. Kathie said that she is also working on the case of the victims at Clackamas Town Center. Crazy. She is a great lady. I love her manner. She is slow. Her tone is just perfect for grieving people. I couldn't think more highly of her.

One Thought at a Time

I recognize that I am overreacting, in some ways, to what I see as risk for children to be shot while attending school. I do recognize it. I'm allowing myself the grace to experience it as it comes. I believe this is the only healthy way to do it. I haven't yet processed fear of generally public places, such as the mall, theaters, even church. I'm trusting God, but I just haven't thought out how to be as safe as is attainable without robbing joy for life. I haven't processed yet the fear completely that the people in my own life are people who are possibly capable of doing much harm. I've seen scary moments before in my life, and I felt like I learned the lesson of walking by faith and in victory in Christ, but I guess with each new wound, it must be regained, it must be relearned. And if it takes time, it takes time.

How can anybody not feel like a jerk for having ever felt anger in their heart.... When we can all see the fruit of hate... which is murder? Jesus warned us about this. He said that hate is murder in the heart. These are horrible realities on the human condition. I want Jesus in my life so much more than I did three weeks ago.

If I'm concerned by all this, perhaps there's something wrong with me. Am I too responsible for others? Am I not responsible enough? What am I supposed to be learning about my pride and self-reliance? An unspoken goal I've had for a few years is to be a pastor without the title. Lots of people do this, it's obviously easier than attending seminary. How much does it serve to have the title of pastor or minister? Every Christian is a minister (has priesthood), there is no distinguishing ministers in God's Kingdom but by an exceptional love relationship with God. I can be even less ambitious-minded by not thinking of myself as "Christian". Ministry simply amounts to no more than living life as God intended it in community. Am I able to hear His voice in the place that I am? I could have attended seminary for a few years now. The Spirit asked me about whose kingdom I'm building, and I'm not convinced that seminary is God's best. Life seems too short to secure a measure of authority to interpret the bible by a paper's certification. If God opens doors for me to do all the work of a pastor, church-planter, etc., without ever holding a title I would be as happy as a sunflower in the sun. However, if it turns out I could really stand to grow in Kingdom relevance through seminary, if seminary would make me grow in humility or character then I trust God to lead me in that direction.

What's the Good News?

Psalm 91 has been good news to me. God's word has been good news. And His power has been good news. At a time when I feel my worst... at a time when my head is the least functioning than it's been in a couple years... I can say this: God has favor for me, and it isn't because I am on the ball. It is only because of His grace that He calls me servant in such a state as I am in. I am amazed that the story of my personal life coincides to bless the local sphere.... Translation: I never would have dreamed my friend would leave this earth. If I could change it, I would do it in a heartbeat. But it prepared me a few weeks before the whole nation, the whole culture started suffering with the same issues: Guns. The mindset of murder. Trauma. Feelings of living in an unsafe world. Wanting desperately to depend on the normalcy of people who live around me. How is God not amazing in His plans that He prepared me just a little bit so that I could send the comfort that He has given me to others.... I never saw such a thing coming my way. I would take the entire month back in every aspect if I had a choice. But it never will go back to being exactly the way it was before.

I am proud of my husband. He adds such a love for things that are pure, and patient but consistent boundary for things that are not pure. He understands grace and compassion better than fewer people I've ever known. And most importantly he loves taking risks to affect transformation. I could not have asked for a better life-partner. It means so much to me that we both have a deep, true, unfailing love for people.

God has caused His providence to protect me. Dave called me the day before he allegedly murdered my friend. I didn't pick up the phone. I didn't call him back. He didn't leave a message. At the time I was led to hear, "let the call go." I did. Generally when he calls it's because something is happening with their relationship and he wants me to listen or mediate. Sometimes it is to pick her up. If he had asked me to come and get her on that day or the next, I would have done it. I might have been there the moment that this situation turned for the worst. I've been included in their disagreements at times in the past. These things add up to tell me that God said: No. He was going to make sure that nothing would happen to me. I cannot explain why I was protected. I cannot explain why my friend died. I cannot explain the mystery of God's will. But I am thankful that God protects me. Always, God will protect me until it is also my day to begin eternity at His side.

Ask one of the ten thousand people inside Clackamas Town Center Mall why they were protected from harm and someone else was not and they will probably have no better answers. Some things are just too big for us to explain. Close call? Not by a longshot. God directs me on a level path. I gave my life to Him, and He guards it. Matthew 10:28,

And fear not them which kill the body, and are not able to kill the soul...

Missing my friend. Her life is still unfolding like a gift to me. Look forward to seeing her in eternity so I can tell her again that I love her.

So thankful for the template of one tv show in four iterations all these years. I'm thankful for art. For fanvids depicting the subtle interweavings of significance in the human experience. Life... and your story of it, is art. It is the genius of a Master. Ephesians 2:11 ("workmanship").

I'm thankful for a nation becoming my community overnight. For the fellowship with everyone in recent mourning. For the never-wished-for-but-welcome companionship mirroring this specific battle to recover.

I'm thankful for the chance to absorb all that God has purposed me to become in the image of His Son.



"I'll Be Your Soldier" by Gavin Degraw

Where did all the people go?
They got scared when the lights went low.
I'll get you through it nice and slow,
When the world's spinning out of control.

Afraid of what they might lose
Might get scraped or they might get bruised.
You could beg them, what's the use?
That's why it's called a moment of truth

I'll get it if you need it,
I'll search if you don't see it,
You're thirsty, I'll be rain,
You get hurt, I'll take your pain.

I know you don't believe it,
But I said it and I still mean it,
When you heard what I told you,
When you get worried I'll be your soldier.

Funny when times get hard,
At the last moment when you're supposed to charge,
Always on the longest yard,
Oh, they feel their feet getting cold.

Hiding here, hiding there,
Find them underneath the stairs,
People hiding everywhere,
Trying to be still like a stone.

I'll get it if you need it,
I'll search if you can't see it,
You're thirsty, I'll be rain,
You get hurt, I'll take your pain.

I know you don't believe it,
But I said it and I still mean it,
When you heard what I told you,
When you get worried I'll be your soldier.

My aim is so true,
I wanna show you,
I'll try forever,
I'm never gonna say "surrender".

Perichoresis

(This is the final post in the series, Our Savior, the Abider)
Previous two posts:
Frenemies
Who's Your Daddy?

'Perichoresis' by Derrick

Perichoresis - To "dwell," to "abide," to be "with God."  It is the flow of "resources" (John 8:44) from the Father which fund the truth-promises of Jesus Christ.  In a community, perichoresis is mutual-permeation of the Father's love, strategies and interests.  In the Gospel of John, Jesus displays His perichoretic relationship to God and then invites His disciples to widen their own flow of the Vine, through Himself.  It culminates in John 17:21,

...that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us...

In the first two posts we considered the faithfulness of Jesus Christ in contrast to Satan's betrayal. "Knowing God" was meant to be an eternal affair and Jesus called this affair, "eternal life" (John 17:3).  What we have not yet examined is how perichoresis is received by community.  Limiting this post, we will examine only the first stage of response, which has no capacity for hearing the truth. *

Those Without Ears to Hear

Joseph's brothers were all sons of the same man Jacob, but Jacob and Joseph had a special connection.  Joseph was determined to see righteousness be done.  Jacob called Joseph "my son" (Gen. 45:28).  It was the source of trouble in the family, feelings of disunity.  At first it seemed easy to blame Joseph as the disturber of the peace.  Even Jacob was troubled by his proud prophecies of greatness (Gen. 37:10).  But it was the brothers who left Joseph for dead, not the other way around.  They might argue that because Joseph held the righteousness card in the one hand, he couldn't have also held the unity card in the other hand.  He held both.  In fact Joseph even named his children to represent healing over his family (Gen. 41:51-52)!

 

This man channeled massive power from God through his servanthood.  (For more on Joseph, read the post titled, "The Ignore-Accuse Prison".)  Pharaoh plainly observed the value in making him second in command over all Egypt.  Pharaoh gave him the name Zaphenath-Paneah which means "one who reveals secret things with ease."

In another previous post, "Learning Life," we saw Mary drinking in deeply the presence of Jesus when everyone else saw it as a moment to be busy.  Martha's rebuke on Mary doesn't amount to suffering; nevertheless in a small form that is exactly what is going on.  In a later chapter we see Mary able to read "the signs of the times."  She pours on Him a year's wage of perfume for anointing His burial.  Exclusively she foresaw He was about to die.

"Son" in the Old Testament

Does perichoretic intimacy last?  "For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:26).  Those who are familiar with the New Testament are accustomed to reading the phrase "son of God."  But "son of God" is so rarely used, in the Old Testament!  I wonder.  It may be because, excluding angels (Gen. 6:2), there were so few!  Isaiah 51:18-20,

There is no one to guide her among all the sons she has brought forth; nor is there any who takes her by the hand among all the sons she has brought up.  These two things have come to you; who will be sorry for you?— desolation and destruction, famine and sword— by whom will I comfort you?  Your sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, like an antelope in a net; they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of your God.

Early in the history of Israel, she was called "my son."  Exodus 4:22-23,

Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.  So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me.

Matthew reviews the lineage of Jesus Christ calling Adam "the son of God."  Luke 3:38,

...the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

By the grace of God, God calls Adam and Israel and even born-again Christians "sons" before they have ever proven themselves to live up to the calling.  He gives us our identity anachronistically, before its time, to show His kindness to us, to show that perichoresis, the flow of God's grace, is the means by which our identity as sons becomes son-like in-deed.

Children graduate into sons through abiding belief in the promised Seed, Jesus Christ.  Galatians 4:1-7,

Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father.  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world.  But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.  And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!”  Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

Witnesses involuntarily witness whoever they have been spiritually intimate with.  A son characterizes his father.  The Hebrew word "son" and the Aramaic word "son" are not theologically vacant words.


"Son" in the New Testament

We have the same theological arrangement in the NT as well.  Romans 8 says every believer is already adopted in the Spirit in verse 15,

For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.”

And then speaks of the adoption as not having happened yet, conditioned upon our perseverance in verses 23-25,

Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.  For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?  But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

We are sons by gracious design.  We are sons indeed if we appropriate it into how we live [1].

Prophecies of Greatness

Being a son was rare enough in the Old Testament that when they saw it, most loved their own lives more.  It's not as if there were not "sons" in the OT.  Moses, David, Abraham, Joseph....  Israel by and large does not understand that as much as they study these prototypes of the Messiah, these were all rejected in their day because of their close association "with God."

Wherever perichoresis becomes incarnate, it incarnates as the servant not the ruler.  Sonship is not just servanthood.  It is also rulership.  This is why God's servants are accompanied with divine appointments, power, signs, miracles....  "The one who rules is the one who serves."

Dreamers Die for Community

Sons don't care about earthly status quo, at all.  They only care about serving the will of the Father.  It is the impartial way they devote their whole life.  Some people think that this makes a Christian very careless toward God's people, but the secret is, the opposite is true.  Hebrews 1:1-3,

God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person

His Son, is, the image of God.  Genesis 1:26, 27,

Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.... So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Man, is, the image of God.  To be the image of God, is to be a son and to be a son is to be the image.  Do you see this?  Jesus is Adam as he ought to be, as we can be, and in a portion, how we will be.  How wide the divide -- between mankind and God?  Romans 8:29,

For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Setting sonship aside - this is the divide - and it eternally wide: Jesus is in essence deity, a true son; the only begotten at that.  We are not essentially deity, of course; we are adopted.

Jesus lives as a Son, and He invites man to the same. The day man gains ears to hear, man will fulfill the oneness of John 17:21.

Perichoresis Has a Price

The Pharisees wanted to do the violence of divorce.  They still do to this day.  Malachi 2:10, 16

Have we not all one Father?  Has not one God created us?  Why do we deal treacherously with one another by profaning the covenant of the fathers?  ...  For the Lord God of Israel says that He hates divorce, for it covers one’s garment with violence....

They wanted to end their relationship with Him once for all. They wanted to kill perichoresis so badly, that they wanted to kill him.  Their belief system was religion without sonship.  Religion, without adoption. Religion without transformation.  They don't believe in it.  They don't believe a man could get that intimate with God, because they have tried to obey God and have violated their consciences beyond repair.  This is notwithstanding believers, who oftentimes lose their taste for deliverance from sin.  "Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all" (Gal. 4:1).

The religious will use their religious rules, tragically interpreted from the mouth of God, to justify their departure.

God 'With Us' is the Testimony of John

The title "Son" is used 39 times in the Gospel of John, and it is the common way Jesus refers to Himself in reference to the Father.  It is the summary of His identity upon which he invites Nicodemus in chapter 3 to believe.  Nicodemus must be born literally "from above," just as the Scriptures teach in Galatians 4:6,

but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.

It is what He meant when He spoke the most famous passage in the bible: "For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17).  It is why He invites the blind man to believe in "the Son of God" in John 9.  It is why Jesus taught, "Therefore if the Son sets you free, you shall be free indeed" in John 8.  It is why Jesus told them to prepare for the world to hate them also.  All of the signs and miracles and power that Jesus demonstrated invited believers to become great in the Kingdom of God.  Hence the final invitation in the Gospel of John writes like so in John 20:30-31,

And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Do You Believe in the Son of God?

There is so much of the image of God reflecting in fallen man, that it makes no sense to praise God and curse people (James 3:9)!

The things that partner with God we long for in our souls; "He has put eternity in their hearts" (Ecc. 3:11).

Do you want a Father who is willing to bust His butt to prove that He is knowable through sons (John 14:11-14)?  I hope that, amidst all the trials you may have in being set free of sins, you still believe God wants to deliver you from bondage, through the intimacy of knowing God and being filled by Him and being ministered to by His amazing grace.  Nowhere does it say that we have to be perfect instantaneously.  A great life's legacy is to ongoingly receive God's forgiveness and patience.  Don't give up on righteousness as the final destination. God is looking for Christians who stay in a perichoretic relationship with God till they're taken home.  We imitate our short life's version, of Christ's "forever."   This is the design for so many NT passages conditioning perseverance.  Revelation 21:6-7,

I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.  He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son.

*   For a framework depicting the stages of reconciliation between Jesus and His people through the Gospel of John, keep watch for upcoming posts.


Scene from Jesus of Nazareth the Movie, in an extended interpretation of John 7:45-52 & 11:46-53


[1]  Dillow, Joseph C.  Life in the Spirit.  Reign of the Servant Kings: A Study of Eternal Security and the Final Significance of Man.  Hayesville, NC, Schoettle Publishing Co., 2006; pp. 368-371.  

Nobody Told Me About 'Good Flesh'

...And by saying "nobody" it obviously isn't the case, I have learned about it through a mentor and I am so thankful!  Since I used the term "good flesh" over and again in conversations last week, the Spirit is leading me to just put it in a blog post.

Most believers can easily explain how sin happens; it happens when someone isn't obeying God's commands.  "Do not steal.  Do not lie.  Do not dishonor one's parents."  We could call failures in these ways, "bad flesh" - when the flesh acts out in ways that are in disagreement with God's law.  But there is a more insidious case of fleshliness, one that is much, much harder to discern from the Spirit.  Why is it harder?  Because it looks and acts just like someone who obeys God's laws.  At least, as far as most believers can detect on a less intimate level.

What does "good flesh" look like?

When I'm in good flesh, sometimes, I'm quoting scripture.  Sometimes, I'm leading someone through the gospel.  Sometimes I am getting groceries out of my pantry for a neighbor, or helping a friend across town.  Sometimes it's when I raise my hand in Sunday School.  I can be in good flesh and start a blog post.  (Okay, I'm praying right now to get me out of good flesh, because believe it or not, this is difficult to deny in myself!)

Don't all those things sound so Godly?

Don't be deceived.  I'm trying not to be.

"But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way..."

Let me explain what is at stake, the best way I know how.  Anytime anyone takes you on a tour of God's commands to disciple you, what happens in your soul?  I will tell you what happens in mine.  When someone shows me God's standards, I have tried to be the most willing and pliant of people.  Unfortunately I hear only at a certain depth, the first time I am told about God's goals for me.  This first depth is almost always, "good flesh."  It tries.  It is ready for a challenge.  It wants to grow, to develop, to be proven a good student.  It wants to perform when told there is something important at stake.

And there is a negative response in "good flesh."  It feels pressure when the discipleship program comes back for round two, three, ... fifty.  "Good flesh" looks at the same challenge on some days, and doesn't get excited.  It wants to hide.  It wants to avoid.  The mind gets foggy, not knowing where they are and where they are ultimately going.  It causes hurt.  It causes confusion.  Then later, the fog lifts because the soul gets tired of the path of pressure.  Just like it became tired of challenging itself.   There is a constant oscillation of "I'm ready for a challenge, again!" and then disillusionment and confusion come back once more.

There is no middle ground, with "good flesh."

Fortunately for us, God uses the law in a Spiritual way, oftentimes, for us after our first hearing.  He has mercy on us and intercedes for the will of God in our lives.  If our hearts are truly repentant, we will "hear" later, that same program of discipleship all around us.  We will hear it in the words of other believers and even unbelievers.  We will hear it in the Bible when we were reading for another purpose.  We'll hear it in our escapist tv programs.  And most importantly, in our experiences and our attempts to understand God's will in the moments of our lives, we'll hear it when it's time to attempt a new level of obedience.

I have a feeling that Paul's number one concern of sin in the Epistle of Romans, is "good flesh," not "bad flesh."  Think about chapter 2 when he tried to reason with the righteous as measured by God's law.  Think about chapters 6 through 10 which Paul uses to save us from the mistakes of Israel and their fate in Romans 11.  He wants our experience of salvation to be actual "saving" from the flesh in every aspect of life.  Let's read through Romans 7 and into Romans 8, 9 and 10, with the idea of "good flesh" being enemy #1.  I'm so glad God showed this to me recently.  Romans 7:6, 8-9 -

But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter.  What shall we say, then?  Is the law sin?  Certainly not!  ...  But sin, taking opportunity by the commandment, produced in me all manner of evil desire.  For apart from the law, sin is dead.  I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin sprang to life and I died.  And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death.  

Any program of discipleship or shepherding using commands and ideals from God's Word cause good flesh to respond.  It is an imperfect program of sanctification.  Not because the law itself is bad.  The law is Spiritual.  But we still have flesh and it wants to respond.  Does the law not tell you, "perform"?  Of course!  And this is exactly why, after some time of investing heavy personal efforts, those who are taking us through a tour of God's Word say... "Umm, you still don't demonstrate that you get it."  How frustrating!  I call this stage, fog.  I think Paul does, too.  Romans 7:15,18, 22-25

For what I am doing, I do not understand.  For what I will to do, I do not practice; but what I hate, that I do.  ...  ...for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.  ...  For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.  But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.  O wretched man that I am!  Who will deliver me from this body of death?  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.  So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

Anytime we fall short of perfection, guess which realm made it happen?  The flesh.  Our minds can "hear" on that first level every single day what God is leading us to become. But how to become it, defies us, as soon as our will is to manifest it.

The good news is, God understands the problem very well.  Let's read Romans 8:1, 3-4 -

There is now no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  ...  For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us....

Jesus stood in the place of attempting the will of God; His attempts stand in the place for our attempts.  He gave us a way of being in response to the expectations of God, and have complete and utter victory.  So this is what is at stake: we can walk in what Christ accomplished, or we will walk in the realm of getting all fired up to live up to the challenge of God's Word.  Every Christian deed we attempt will be judged this way: Romans 8:13 -

For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

The law was meant to sanctify us.  Even though it can't.  There is still a way that it can.  "But it is not that the word of God has taken no effect.  For they are not all Israel who are of Israel" (Romans 9:6).  Let's read Romans 10:5-9 -

For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, 'The man who does those things shall live by them.'  But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, 'Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend into heaven?' (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).  But what does it say?  "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe that in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."

There is a perfect picture of the silly maze of good flesh.  It either gets pumped up to rise itself to the occasion (ascends), or it wants to run and hide in fog and surrender (descends).  But faith offers a sane middle road.  It believes what Romans 8 just taught.  What the flesh could not do, God did by sending Jesus Christ on behalf of sinful flesh.  If we want to escape good flesh - we call out Jesus Christ as Lord.  If we put to death the deeds of the body through resurrection power (Rom 8:11), we will live!

Remember, Paul asked "Who will deliver me from this body of death?" (Romans 7:24).

Israel stumbled over and rejected the righteousness available by faith.  Faith says this when it hears the law: "The word of God is near you."  Another words, The Word is a Presence!  He is in your heart (Jesus was raised from the dead) and He is in your mouth (confess that Jesus Christ is Lord).

Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame (Romans 10:11).  Paul experienced that shame as a Christ follower in Romans 7, he even called himself wretched.  Christ followers are thus taught how to escape the error that the Israelites made - they did not call on God in Isaiah 28:16 -

Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, a tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; whoever believes will not act hastily.

My hope for myself, is this.  When I hear the Word of God, and a fellow believer most thankfully has aspirations to see my life embody it, I will stop where I am and not be inspired to try.  I will believe that Jesus is available and ready to obey it perfectly in my place.  He is the sane middle road.

Face Death

Look Death Square in the Face

In October I took a car trip south to Phoenix for a conference.  The conference was awesome, but God was much, much more.  He showed me unspeakable love turn after turn and opened my eyes.  I became aware of a deeper calling to live the image of Christ.  Less of me, more of Him.  This was right when I was doing great in my life, that I received a vision of His love.  He loves precious and cheerful sacrifices.  Remember Christ when they wanted to make Him King, and He slipped away from the five thousand to escape to a mountain and be alone (John 6:15)?  I can assure you, no one is knocking on my door forcing me to be King, and it's not likely to happen anytime soon for sure.  But the application is usable.  Christ-follower, are you feeding the crowd with the Bread of Heaven?  If you're not running hard against the grain of self-sufficiency, find a friend who will covenant to discipline you to be different.

'The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning' Ecc. 7:4

Jesus' temptation was living in His own strength and His own identity.  That is why He described discipleship as continually hating one's own life (John 12:25).  What happened in the incarnation of God in the womb of Mary?  Jesus set aside the favor & exercise of deity.  What happened in the early hours of prayer every morning for Jesus during His three year ministry?  Jesus set aside the favor & exercise of deity.  When His potential was its zenith He fled into the image of an unrecognized attendant and died.  He looked death straight in the face.  He didn't just gaze at it on occasion.  No; it was a continual mirror by which He corrected all His steps.  "Better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting" (Ecc. 7:2).  Mourning allows the heart to connect with the disenfranchised, who God is already passionate to undertake.  Mourning allows a whole community to hope in God as one.  Abundant salvation awaits those who continually take up a fresh image of brokenness.  True harmony and Body unity awaits.

Death means holding perfectly still, "Be still and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).  It also means "the life I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God" (Gal. 2:20)  There is no way to measure how much power could come into our works, if we would pursue the discipline.  I have found that when I come up for air out of a time of stillness, there has measurably been more of God's power happening through me and around me.  People get right with God left and right.  I'm getting right with God too.  It is a great place to experience.

It is hard, at times.  Very, very hard because it hurts.  It's confusing.  As soon as the pain comes from the emptiness to go without "things to be doing to remember who I am," even if you thought you were trusting God in those do-ings, trust me, you might go a little crazy when you surrender "do-ing" completely.  But this is where deeper trust develops.  Busyness delays what God desires to demonstrate.  Bring death to kiss self-effort.  Repeat it, over, and over and over, till it becomes practice.  Looking back, I am so thankful that the LORD invited me to pure death.  Recall Abraham, who waited 25 years for the promise of having a baby.  He started off, trusting God to do it.  Later he seemed to have forgotten that his body was already dead.  His flesh wanted to "help God out" who he still trusted, mixing faith-with-self-effort, and he acquired Hagar.  Don't give in to Plan B!!  (I know, it seems impossible!)  God wants to be the hero of your story.  If you have an accident, if Plan B and Plan C continually make you trip and fall down into self-sufficiency, don't surrender to the mistake.  Get up.  Go back.  Trust in God, alone.  Sarah stopped sweating and then brought forth Isaac.  God's faithfulness is not dependent on whether you conceived Ishmaels here and there as a Christ-follower.  It is dependent on His integrity alone.  Dear Christian, God is unconditionally the hero of your circumstances.  He will unconditionally perform His promise.

Don't Wait for False Life to Kill You

I'm still on this journey that started in October.  I am not sure where I am going.  Yes - that hurts, a lot.  Faith-alone, instead of faith+my own contribution, is more challenging and more counter-intuitive than any other Spiritual discipline.  Even blogging tempts me back to self-sufficiency.  Don't wait till you fall in exhaustion from false sources of life.  Offer yourself to His discipline well before you see signs of corruption.  Get uber-upset with any force in your life which feels phony, beginning with the log in your own eye first.  Could you stop right now, and pursue Him afresh through mourning and sacrifice of 'the great Christian life'?

May the LORD enlighten your eyes and mine too, to pursue the full measure of the love of God!

'No eye has seen, No ear has heard, No mind has imagined what God has in store for those who love Him.'

1 Corinthians 2:2

Learning Life

Getting life from God's Word is vastly freer than anyone's formulation of how to get it.

"The trees of the LORD are full of sap" Ps. 104:16

Mary was a young woman famous for learning at the feet of Jesus.  She makes it sound easy.  For me learning has not always been easy.  When I was a teenager my parents had big expectations that I do well in college and outside of school I was subject to daily studies and written and verbal comprehension tests.  I didn't handle it well, and as I grew up my attitude toward learning worsened.  I felt so much pressure that by the time I found my own place on campus in college, I remember opening up a textbook and I could not even read a sentence.  I just stared at the page.  All I felt was stress when I looked at a book.  I graduated college without reading for tests with a 2.4 GPA.

In spite of near failure at college it was in that time that I became a follower of Jesus Christ.  After graduating I accidentally joined a cult who told me I was not saved.  I needed to find truth in the Bible for myself.  I spent the next three years trying to understand the nature of baptism and salvation.  I thought I had answers on paper.  However I got something more out of all that searching.  It was by the life-giving experience of receiving love and restoration through His power and presence in His Word -- I noticed -- I finally enjoyed learning.  Jesus changed me!  For years I failed to identify who He is in relation to me and what it would do to me now.  Why didn't I perceive what He was going to do?  Later I went into the pre-nursing curriculum for a year and everything was different.  I studied anatomy and physiology and got the highest score in about half of the exams.  My attitude toward books transformed in the turning leaves of scriptures.

Mary had a true love for Jesus and meditated deeply before Him.  She was praised for choosing the "better" thing in receiving the truth, because it was better than her sister Martha's attempts to earn God's intimacy through works. She attempted to be a captive listener, but I wonder if she really believed what she "learned." When their brother Lazarus died in John chapter 11 I would have thought that Mary would be first to understand that Jesus wants to give life right now, not just final resurrection from the dead. Mary didn't greet Jesus when He arrived "too late."  She was only grieving.  Consequently Jesus did not test her faith.  She sat on the sidelines as an onlooker.  Though Mary failed to anticipate what Jesus was going to do, she was so grateful afterward she poured all her wages on His feet. She finally identified Him correctly; that believing in Jesus was the same as believing in the presence of God.

To Martha's credit, she was a woman of action and she rightly interpreted Jesus through those lenses. Now she understood what Jesus would do for her and she applied her less-intensive base of scripture to trust in God's power. "But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give You," she said to our Lord (Jn. 11:22).  If the Father has given Himself to Jesus, then Jesus has given Himself to us.  Jesus' rebukes always fell to strengthen Martha: "Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?" (Jn. 11:40).

Jesus prayed out loud so that all would believe that the Father has sent the Son.  It is through this amazing abiding relationship that Jesus showed He was God's only begotten heir, the first of many sons to come (Heb. 1:2, 2:10).  Jesus was God and also With God from eternity and He came to us as such (Jn 1:1).  When he prayed concerning Lazarus to the Father He showed us the intimacy of the Trinity and therefore displayed how approachable He is to us all.  Identifying with another is integral to the image of God.  When we identify with one another in the Body, we imitate Christ (1 Jn. 4:17, 5:1).  We reflect Christ's image of the God-Man who was identified as With God; we also see the glory of God in our circumstances (Jn. 17:22-23; 14:13; 15:7-8).

Believing in Jesus is to trust Him to affect me because of who He is. Though I regret my GPA I have lasting joy over God's life-giving transformation in me.  He will continue to do wonders I don't even dream of asking if only I abide in greeting Him and His people.  He has glorified Himself in this small way of granting a love to learn.  I believe that those reading here can identify many of their own experiences of Jesus giving life.  Whether you are like Mary and are praised for learning or like Martha who was ready to see God's power, may we continue as one Body to encourage each other when in our human imperfections we miss the holy mark of receiving life right now by eyes of faith.  God is with us -- grow deep.

Trust-Worthiness, a False Image

Disillusionment in the Body of Christ

When we repeatedly see in others their differences, or failures, it makes us feel dissatisfied and depressed. We call such feelings "disillusionment." It is while experiencing disillusionment that our greatest choices in life are made. Here is a picture of someone who chooses foolishly, Luke 18:9-14,

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.  I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’  And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

It's one thing to see what is "missing" in someone else.  It's another to derive one's purpose out of their shortcoming.  Comparing ourselves to others is not the way.  Our self-worth isn't obliterated when we are humble. Humility restores our sense of self-worth. It assumes the equal value of everyone, but those who don't believe it fight and quarrel to make life "fair" (James 4:1-4).  As we focus firstly on Christ and His love, our sins seem bigger and others' sins seem smaller. Knowing our own struggle with sin makes us hungry not to exclude others but to obtain peace and acceptance with others. It also fulfills our sense of purpose in living, and He richly blesses us with power and significance among the children of God.

What studies have been done noting the benefits of marriage, could be applied to believers. Many married couples divide when experiencing disillusionment. People who live alone do not live as long of lives, do not have the benefit of pooling resources, do not benefit from someone striving for their happiness, experience higher stress, and do not have anyone to help monitor harmful ways. People who stay married are happier than people who live alone.

When someone makes an accusation, usual responses include apologies, making excuses or communicating "your side," or even attack or withdraw. The issue is never the issue. The best way to interpret what sounds like an accusation in our ears is to perceive it as an opportunity to establish greater understanding. It takes a long time for married couples to learn that they don't really know their spouse.  I suspect that members of the Body take just as long to learn the same lesson.

Trust-Worthiness, a False Image

We all share in an never-ending quest to honor Christ in how we live, taking every thought captive as they say, or being careful to keep ourselves from traditions of men. Col. 2:6-10 says,

As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.

In the spirit of this scripture I make a proposal for examination, whether it would be in fact a tradition of men. Could it be that "trust-worthiness" has become our idol? I am compelled to ask, does our mind's edifice of what constitutes "trust" behave like an idol? Does it interfere with seeking oneness? John 17:20-21,

“I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.”

But Isn't Trust-worthiness Necessary?

What are your scriptural ideals of a person's trust-worthiness? I have a hunch it's solid stuff, great stuff. How do you use it? People use God-given materials to fashion false images, and good information can be used to keep people out. Trust-worthiness doesn't come from conforming someone to your own language, doctrine, or works. To this we go straight back to the gospel. A profession of faith in Jesus Christ is our Body. The only grounds for separation are the yeast(s) of legalism or licentiousness. We are all, just like marriage, members of one another. If one member hurts, all members feel it. We are a joint-venture regardless of whether we ignore or punish others, and it only returns these things back on ourselves. What's more, fruit-bearing abiders are those who've entrusted themselves to God and God to them (John 2:23-25, 14:21, 23). I think we all intuitively have grown up in the church dependent upon this being reality: If there ever was a man to whom I would entrust myself on sheer faith, it would be to one who genuinely knew and served God. 

Setting our presuppositions aside, then, trust comes through knowing someone ongoingly.  How can someone intervene gently for a sin or overlook a weakness, except by the intimate knowledge of how they were built?  We learn of our friends' humanity only by growing closer.  We don't learn from acts of escalation to keep out those who would share life.  We don't learn from aloofness which runs down the clock to conceal true terms for peace and closeness.  And we don't learn (as much) by sharing wonderful intimacy for awhile but pointedly revoking it if it doesn't suit our idealism.

Trust especially comes to those who are on-goingly known by God.  No one becomes worthy of trust through conforming to another's idealism no matter how biblical.  Such expectations are the building of earthly kingdoms.

Pick Your Grid

Find your grid in scripture, but I've never seen a happy ending in God's doctrine where His people are "fine" while alienated by others or with God. His story comes to completion by restoring one another to a place of mutual ministry and rejoicing together. Let me point out three example grids off the top of my head:

• Job. Sure, Job accepted the truth of his insignificance repenting in dust and ashes. But the story did not come to a close till he was interceding for his pain-inflicting counselors.

• Romans 4-8. We're imputed righteousness and forgiven for sins in 4. But God isn't done explaining the gift till He explains that it works in Romans 8 like following His Spirit to put to death the deeds of the flesh and partnering actively with God as sons.

• John 4. The woman at the well could have been satisfied keeping the fountain for herself. Instead, unlike the unobservant apostles she naturally runs into the city to tell others - so that He who sows and she who reaps may rejoice together.

A negative example would be Jonah. God has the last word of the book, still pursuing Jonah with that bad attitude.  We can assume that God and Jonah lived the rest of their lives that way - God inviting Jonah to abandon his thoughts of being separate from other believers (think Luke 18 (above) again).  So: how can we trust someone who wants to join in, when they've wounded us and caused us disillusionment?

The Wounded One

There is a fine and highly disputed boundary between the wounded one and the disobedient (those who want to fail at becoming one with believers). It's okay to hurt. It's okay to hurt for a long time. But according to God's character a portion of healing is being sent by Him into the inward man. Similarly an outward portion of healing comes from the party who caused trust to collapse. If they are not taking outward approaches, we can be sure they are not taking them inwardly. How can I say such a thing? This gets to the very heart of God: while we were enemies, Christ died for us, that we through intimacy might be transformed. Bank on God for this. Then observe whether they feign confusion.

There are exceptions to this generalization. Some dear believers suffer from depression or a host of various chemical or mental disorders - I have a number of such friends myself. I know that there is honest effort when it comes to these issues, and it is a challenge to be "Christian" toward others. Until there is some vulnerability, those on the receiving end won't see how grace is helpful in situations. In any case, we ought to be prepared for weaknesses and handicaps in others. The weak are even more welcome into His presence, and I will testify that at least as far as I have seen God treat the weak, it has by no means marginalized their perfectly designed role in the Body.

The Challenge to Persevere toward Oneness

Where do we go when disillusioned with God's people?  If we break off to be with those who are like ourselves, what reward will we get?  We are no different from the greedy.  Matt. 5:47,

And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so?

Sects are common, but cults are worse.  It is important to take a few basic notes on what cults do. They isolate members from family and friends - true relationships where they receive care outside of the protocol of the group. They foster disconnection from outsiders as a mainstay of their theological tenets. And in the case that someone leaves the group, relationships are radically cut off with rumors that aren't allowed a decent hearing to see if there's any truth to them.

Decide for yourself who you will serve this day.  Love isn't given or taken because of performance. Love isn't held hostage and it isn't debating in private recesses whether or not you are qualified to share in the venture of life together. Love, is. It is its own purpose. It never fails.

His Kingdom is Desirous for Outsiders

The kingdom and its work isn't possessed by a few believers at the top who have learned how to use protocols like barbed wire and booby traps (thanks Charity). It belongs to whosoever loves Him. If there is a biblical fellowship, it isn't formed and gathered firstly on the pinnacles of hierarchy. The fellowship of God and God's people is down here, where people are gaining Christ. This is where God is alive, and this is where we share the same mind and heart together in the mutual venture we have in making disciples for Him (study the use of the word koinonia in the book of Philippians).

En-Trust to Build Trust

Accepting fellowship for what it is supposed to be and not for our false images, we will glorify Jesus Christ. Ushering and acknowledging others in the presence of Christ is the safest place we should herald them to be. In His presence there is hope that weaknesses and sins will be overcome. Do you hunger and thrist for this kind of reconciliation and commission, for any kind of person, with God? Then, upon this we have obtained "koinonia." Let us set off in the boat together with our Master.

No one is immune to the fellowship-choking path to sects and the building of earthly kingdoms. This includes me. I need someone to knock me in the head every once in awhile. Doesn't have to be any more elaborate than this, "I sense pride in you, so maybe you should think about it." Christian or unbeliever, it does not matter; I need massive help to avoid serving my own purposes (in the name of God, no less!). Even unbelievers hate pride--get some--they're very astute on shortsightedness in the church. As much as I operate in the flesh, I am going to let God down. If I really want to build God's kingdom, someone has to notice the difference between God in His grace and truth, and how I love to build my own kingdom. As much as I want it to be about me because I am in flesh, it's not. When I operate in the Spirit, I see God's generosity to truly be with you because of your abiding faith in Him. That's the happy ending, to marvel at God as One. Each believer has gifts absolutely essential to feed those who have come to His table so we may be edified to grow as one in the full stature of Christ (Eph. 2:19-22).

Genuine hunger for God's kingdom is demonstrated when believers entrust themselves to those who may seem like "outsiders" in seeking the same. That has been my foremost aspiration for the Body of Christ both online and offline. I am by no means the only one who feels this way for believers - I am in the company of greatness and a great many.

There is no flourishing with fragmentation.  When Jesus was incarnated, it may have appeared as though He was alone.  However, He did not come by Himself. This is the subject of the next blog post.

Devotion for April 3: A short poem

When each earthly brace falls under
And life seems a restless sea
Are you then a God-held wonder
Satisfied and calm and free?

-John Henry Jowett in Streams in the Desert by L.B. Cowman

Illegitimate Became King

Dr. Ron Allen taught an interesting theory regarding the origins of King David, in his class called "Gaining Love for the Hebrew Scriptures." In fact he and his students a few years ago had prepared a video spoof on the tv drama "C.S.I.", and relabeled it "B.S.I." (Bible Study Investigation, if I remember correctly). In the video spoof he subtly steers his students to investigate the Word to uncover the true origins of King David.

In addition to the entertaining introduction, I was quite amazed at his concept from scripture. He suggested that when David wrote these words in Psalm 51:5

Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

David was actually confessing the truth that he was illegitimate. He proposes that David's father, Jesse, had committed adultery with another woman. Dr. Allen points out in meditation upon Psalm 51, that the marriage bed is undefiled. Therefore Jesse must have sinned in bringing forth his youngest of eight sons. He suggests that the elders of the small town had known and yet agreed to conceal the matter, which is why they trembled at Samuel's coming to inspect Jesse's children in 1 Samuel 16:4

When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?"

It also explains why Jesse's sons were called to be paraded before Samuel but for some reason David was left out, as he may have been for many other family events. He might have been neglected or abused by his older brothers, who knew his secret. This could explain David's frustrated response when he was undeservingly belittled by his eldest brother in 1 Samuel 17:29

"Now what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?"

In Psalm 51 David's description of his sin with Bathsheba is of one needing mercies beyond the typical forgiveness the LORD grants for the repentant. David knew better, which made his sin much worse. He followed the example his father had given and committed the same sin. This is an amazing thing to digest, that David had done the same wrong as his father Jesse.

David knew how unworthy he was to have his house established and a child from his own line as heir to the throne. David asks how his familial ties have become worthy of appointment in 2 Samuel 7:18-19

"Who am I, O LORD, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far? And as if this were not enough in your sight, O LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant. Is this your usual way of dealing with man, O LORD?

Indeed, is this the LORD's usual manner with men? I truly appreciated learning this idea in the class taught by the Old Testament Editor/Consultant for the Nelson NKJV Study Bible. My mind contemplates the manner in which Jesus Christ came into the world. He was also illegitimate at conception.

I realize that Jesus Christ most necessitated being born of a virgin, not from the will of a man but instead overshadowed by the Holy Spirit to bear Emmanuel. But I cannot escape the idea that the LORD also arranged this in the midst of the punishment due by His own law, which Mary and Joseph both feared for such a situation. Joseph feared his reputation and feared the disclosure of the pregnancy which would have caused her to be stoned. So the LORD sent an angel telling him "Do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife." No matter how much Mary understood the sanctity of the conception within, she surely understood the judgment typically due from Jewish rule for any other woman in her position. Is it true, she not even officially married at the time she gave birth to the Savior (Luke 2:5)? How incredible, and what a burden of undue shame she bore.



I see the parallel of David's prayer with Mary's Song (Luke 1), in being selected amidst illegitimate circumstances.

David, 2 Sam. 7:20

Now what more can David say to You? For You, Lord GOD, know Your servant.

Mary, Lk. 1:48

For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

David, 2 Sam. 7:28-29

“And now, O Lord GOD, You are God, and Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. Now therefore, let it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue before You forever; for You, O Lord GOD, have spoken it, and with Your blessing let the house of Your servant be blessed forever.”

Mary, Lk. 1:51-53

He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.

David, 2 Sam. 7:21-22

For Your word’s sake, and according to Your own heart, You have done all these great things, to make Your servant know them. Therefore You are great, O Lord GOD. For there is none like You, nor is there any God besides You, according to all that we have heard with our ears.

Mary, Lk. 1:54-55

He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever.

David, 2 Sam. 7:23-24

And who is like Your people, like Israel, the one nation on the earth whom God went to redeem for Himself as a people, to make for Himself a name—and to do for Yourself great and awesome deeds for Your land—before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, the nations, and their gods? For You have made Your people Israel Your very own people forever; and You, LORD, have become their God.

In both their prayers they recognize

1 - They were God's servant

2 - They were lowly in state when appointed

3 - They loved the LORD for his mighty provision and blessings on their behalf

4 - They realized their selection was for the LORD's magnificence

5 - They understood God's ministry to His children was based upon His covenanted promise in the scriptures

What kind of value do Mary and David's circumstances speak into our world today? How about to the illegitimately conceived children in our society? How precious it is to know that Our Lord Jesus and our King David came in the form of the most lowly, the disqualified, the illegitimate. We should not be held forever by our manner of weaknesses? When we have our sins set constantly before us, and contrast our qualification with His chosen manner of manifesting Himself to us, should it be a surprise regarding the illegitimate in our society, "Whoever does these things for the least of my brethren, he does it for Me."

Matt 25:37-40

"Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?'

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'""

The Servant by J. Shively http://www.cafelogos.org