Christmas Message from God

The other day I wondered what God would say if He sent a Christmas card this year to Billy's address here in Palmer. I imagined it would be something dramatic and demanding like "Prepare to meet your God" or "Repent". After that line of thinking I was amazed to realize that God did send a Christmas card that first Christmas and the message was surprisingly conciliatory considering the angels were stepping from Heaven's glory into hostile territory. They said, "Peace on earth, goodwill toward men." Is that the attitude we should direct to a lost world?

Seven Wonders

I was impressed by an e mail recently that related the story of a kid in class that responded to the question about listing the 7 wonders of the world as (as nearly as I can remember):

To See

To Hear

To Touch

To Feel

To Recognize

To Love

What would the 7 wonders be without these gifts that God gives to us freely- "We are fearfully and wonderfully made" both inside and outside the womb.

"Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;

all the stages of my life were spread out before you,

The days of my life all prepared

before I'd even lived one day." Ps 139:16 Message

Lord of the Nations

Last week while singing "Like a River Glorious" I noticed the phrase ' Lord of the nations'.  It was strange and John Alexander suggested that it was not in the Bible since the earth is under the "Prince of the Power of the Air".

The Blue Line Bible gave the following references for "Lord of the Nations" (among others because it collects all verses with the words sought whether they are in order or not):

Deut 28:12  "The Lord will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand.  You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow."

Ps 22:27  "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You for the kingdom is the Lord's and He rules over the nations."

Ps 113:4  "The Lord is high above all nations, His glory above the heavens."

Is 52:10  "The Lord has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God."

Jer 31:10 "Hear the Word of the Lord, O ye nations."

Ez 38:23  "Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations.  Then they shall know that I am the Lord."

Hag 2:7  "'And I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory', says the Lord of Hosts."

That Ye Sorrow Not...

"But I would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope."  I Thess. 4:13

I am really curious to know where the Chinese Christians draw the line on grief over a deceased, Christian brother or sister.  I think we need to ask ourselves where the line is between appropriate Christian grief and ancestor worship, especially for a spouse that has passed on.  I ask the question because Paul obviously didn't want us as Christians to grieve as those that have no hope.

Hidden

Colossians 3:3 "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God".

What a gigantic bundle of concepts in such few words. The secret to happy and victorious Christian living is held in this profound statement. My life is hid in Him. Nothing outside of Him should be able to unsettle my life today if it is properly "hidden" in Him. Where is your life hidden?

A vivid example of a life hidden in another is that of Patriarch Jacob's relationship to Benjamin. In that epic speech of Judah to Pharaoh (who was really his own brother Joseph who had tricked his brothers and ordered to impound Benjamin) Judah says, "Sir, our father then reminded us that his favorite wife had given birth to two sons. One of them was already missing and had not been seen for a long time. My father thinks the boy was torn to pieces by some wild animal, and he said, 'I am an old man. If you take Benjamin from me, and something happens to him, I will die of a broken heart.'"

Law and Beatitudes

A while back it dawned on me that there are two lists that contain the essence of the Old and New Testaments.  The Ten Commandments distill the old Testament and the Beatitudes condense the essence of the New Testament.  The similarities don't stop there.  There are ten commandments and nine Blessings.  The Commandments are about "Doing".  The Beatitudes are about "Being".

The Commandments promise, "This do and live."  Presumably this is about living now.  The Beatitudes are about happiness now and living forever.

It has always amazed me that as Christians we are more familiar with the particulars of the law than we are with the beatitudes.  I really think that the Lord was consciously using the Beatitudes to transition from the Law to spiritual, eternal reality.  The Law comes with a certain curse.  In the upside-down Kingdom of our Lord the Beatitudes all come with blessing - and all without diminishing the law.  In fact, they are the way to fulfill the law.

If you sit down and read the Sermon on the Mount you can't help but believe the Lord was very consciously stepping up from the law.  He referred to if often (in fact He referenced each Commandment except the Sabbath) but warned that if our righteousness does not exceed that of the teachers of the law we will not see the Kingdom of Heaven.  That is because the Law doesn't change us on the inside.  The Sermon on the Mount takes us to the spirit of the commandments.  It raises the bar and clinches the absolute impossibility of compliance in our own effort.  May God help us graduate from being pretend "Doers" to a genuine state of  transformed Beings.

Absent or Present Bodies

At a couple of funerals recently  I have heard a reference by David Dahms to a concept that was new to me so I throw it out for examination.  He mentioned that Maxine DeVilbiss was already in her new body with Jesus.  When asked about this he quoted the familiar verse in II Cor 5:6-9 "So, always be cheerful!  As long as we are in these bodies, we are away from the Lorde.  But we live by faith, not by what we see.  We should be cheerful, because we would rather leave these bodies and be at home with the Lord.  But whether we are at home with the Lord or away from Him, we still try our best to please Him."

The context that begins chapter 5 is to the point,  "Our bodies are like tents that we live in here on earth.  But when these tents are destroyed, we know that God will give each of us a place to live.  These homes will not be buildings that someone has made, but they are in heaven and will last forever.  While we are here on earth, we sigh because we want to live in that heavenly home.  We want to put it on like clothes and not be naked.  These tents we now live in are like a heavy burden, and we groan.  But we don't do this just because we want to leave these bodies that will die.  It is because we want to change them for bodies that will never die.  God is the one who makes all of this possible."

This certainly makes the case for the new body and seems to be talking as much about being in our new bodies  as being with the Lord.  If that is the timing and sequence, then what happens at the time of the return of Christ when the mass resurrection  takes place and the old bodies are gathered up to be forever with the Lord???

A Word from God

"Faith comes by hearing a Word from God".  What an incentive to both seek that Word for our own faith and also to impart that Word to others.  

It is interesting in the context of  Rom. 10 that the "Word" is more than the written scripture.  It is a "word" that is in our heart and in our mouth but I believe still has its origins with God.  "For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Rom 10:10

  What will come from my mouth today?

Missing- the Vail

It dawned on me that in all the detail of the new temple of Ezekiel's temple there was no mention of a vail between the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.  At the death of Christ that compulsory furnishing was rent from top to bottom and now disappears altogether.  Because the final sacrifice has been made, the access to God is permanently open.

Heb. 10:19-23 "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus by a new and living way which He consecratated for us, through the veil, that is His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkles from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.  Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

According to your Faith- Ez 40-48

When God's focus turns from gathering in the Church He is going to close the age by turning back to His chosen people- the Jews.  Ezekiel 40-48 brings a lot of detail that is obviously tailored to the Jews.  It almost sounds heretical to us that the sacrificial system would come back but this kind of fits the Lord's statement in Matt. 9:29, "According to your faith be it unto you."  The sacrificial system would no longer be necessary but there is no reason that the sacrifices couldn't look back to the supreme sacrifice just as the OT sacrifices looked forward.The Lord in His grace will merge His Messiahood  with the system of worship the Jews knew and practiced.  There is ample evidence that the early church participated in the temple activities.

There are significant differences between Ezekiel and the Levitical  system that would suggest that we are looking at a different order and Ezekiel was a trained priest so these differences were likely significant.  For instance, there were no lamb's used for the Passover.  There is no mention of silver or gold in this temple.  There is also no mention of the Feast of Pentecost, Trumpets, or Atonement.  These differences would seem to be consistent if the Messiah were present.  There is also less furniture- no mention of the lamp stand, or the table of shew bread, or the ark of the covenant.  There is also no mention of a high priest.  These also would not be necessary with the shekaina  glory of the God/Man present.  

One mystery person in these chapters is the "prince".  Ezekiel 37:25 mentions that "My servant David shall be their prince..."  It is evident that the "prince" acts in an administrative role but he is never referred to as king.  It speaks of his sons and servants living with him in his portion of the divided land.

There is enough mention of defilement of this temple and the Levites to suggest that this may be the temple that the "abomination of desolation" takes place in.  There are steps to the alter and hewn stone which were both prohibited in the Levitical system.

There is then the healing waters that proceed both east and west in a fashion that defies anything known in today's geography but in the context of such intricate detail and measurements it is hard to believe anything but a literal interpretation is justified.  There also seems to be problems making the measurements of the division of the land  to the tribes, temple, priests, prince, and city actually fit the topography as it exists today. 

 Years after Ezekiel's vision Zechariah  had a vision that support this vision and explains a little more about the mechanics that might let this all happen.  Zechariah  says that when the Lord gathers the nations to fight against Jerusalem he will descend on the Mount of Olives and it will split creating the valley from east to west  that the healing waters could run through.  It also mentions moving the land north and south and describing it as a "plain" with Jerusalem in the center.  These cataclysmic events could just as easily create enough land for the grid measurements that Ezekiel describes.  Could some of this be helped by an atom bomb or two?

If we are to take the last ten chapters of Ezekiel as chronological we will see the battle of Gog and Magog precede the mass return to the land and the pouring out of God's Spirit on the Jews.  We will then see the new temple, city, and tribal divisions.  Is it possible that the New Jerusalem will descend  at this time while the King of Kings rules the earth for 1000 years with David his prince in charge of the affairs of the Jews and maybe we will have roles based out of the New Jerusalem in the governance of the rest of the world??  It certainly seems that scriptures could accommodate this scenario.  What an exciting time to be alive.

A New Jerusalem Ezekiel 40-48

One of the most ignored portions of the Bible is the last nine chapters of Ezekiel.  While with the Wayuu in Colombia I was asked about these chapters by a pastor and have given it a lot of thought since.

This certainly looks like the blueprint for a new Jerusalem that will usher in the millennium.  The context following chapter 39 which describes Israel being restored to the land. 

 "When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer.  And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My spirit on the house of Israel,' says the Lord God." Ez 39:25-29

We can now see most of this fulfilled with the return of the Jew to the land.  I think we yet have to see the Lord "hallowed in them" but that will probably follow his pouring out His spirit on the house of Israel.

If indeed these chapters are imminently before us on God's calendar, we should give them a lot more attention.  

The Divine Courtroom- Rom. 8:33, 34

During our home church service, during Jim Buckingham's expose on this passage it dawned on me for the first time that Paul set this up with classic language of the courtroom.  You have an accusation, or "charge" and an implied prosecutor being Satan.  You have the Judge who is our God who has already declared us "justified".  You have the defending attorney who is Christ who died and rose and is at the right hand of the Judge making intercession for us.  

Imagine walking into a courtroom to answer a condemnation when you already have a statement of  justification from the judge and you know your defending attorney is close to the judge and has paid the fine.  The accusation would be totally toothless as long as we were in good standing with the Judge and the Defending attorney.  There would be no case- in fact it would be thrown out.  No wonder Paul breaks into his doxology.  What an encouragement!

Lost and Found- Luke 15

Numerous are the sermons and commentaries I have heard on the lost sheep and the prodigal son.  I have become convinced that there is a broader message that is missed because this chapter is not taken in its wider context.

Luke 14:25 states that "great multitudes" went with Jesus.  This is followed by a stern discourse on discipleship with intent to thin the ranks.  The Lord never appealed to the masses.  

Luke led into chapter 15 with these words, "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.  Salt is good:  but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be seasoned?  It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill: but men cast it out.  He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."

Chapter 15 then starts, "Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.  And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, 'This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.'"

In that context the Lord then teaches three parables that obviously speak to both the publicans and sinners and the scribes and Pharisees.  There is the lost sheep and the ninety and nine "which need no repentance."  There is the lost coin.  And finally and climatically there was the lost son and the elder son to whom the father said, "Thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine."

I believe it is correct to say that the primary focus in these parables is on the lost that was found.  What I believe we more often miss is the message to the scribes and Pharisees who would clearly identify with the ninety nine sheep left in the wilderness, the nine coins that were not the focus of the celebration, and the angry elder son who at the end of the story was on the outside of the feast looking in, not because he was not invited in but by his own sinful attitude.

I think the message to them was that the only path to joyful fellowship with the Father is through lostness or repentance.  I think the Lord's parables were designed to help them recognize their lostness.  I believe His statement about the ninety nine sheep "which need no repentance" was spoken with tongue-in-cheek and a sarcasm that was not missed by the scribes and Pharisees.  When the father said, "Thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine." it was another reality check that though they were on the inside of the religious establishment they had not cashed in their spiritual vouchers and were actually in perilous danger of missing out altogether.

We are challenged to consider that our Godly heritage and "service" to God are no substitute for repentance for sins and attitudes.  They are no substitute for joyful fellowship. In fact they can become barriers to fellowship with redeemed prodigals and entering into the banquet hall to the open armed Father God.