Monthly Archive for August, 2008

The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Published on 8/30/2008 in Bible Study. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .

John 6.3-5
 Jesus is sitting w/ His disciples, away from the crowds, but He can see that the crowds are coming. He looks out over them and doesnt ask Should we feed these people? but instead, Where do we get their bread?

I love that. Jesus isnt waiting for the people to come and beg. None of the people are actually expecting anything like this from Him. (later in chapter 6 they will, but so far they dont)

The Father looks for ways to care for people. Jesus did not make 8,000 pounds of bread for the disciples and then say, who can we give these leftovers tooĶI know! Those 5,000 people over there! He made the bread and the fish for the people first.

When the manna came down from heaven, it was an answer to the peoples grumbling against God and they had to prepare it. This time it isnt an answer to anything, it is motivated by Jesus and its already prepared for them.

I cant help but see some parallels with this and the Law and Grace. Manna and The Law came from grumbling to help the people to see the Holiness of God. It required work to be received and could spoil. The Grace of God in Jesus came even though we werent seeking or expecting Him. All of the work was already done by Jesus on the cross, and the bread of life and salvation was brought to us, prepared and ready to take in. This grace was not something that would spoil or fade, but be in such abundance for us that there would be grace left over to share in other places at a later date.

Prepare the Way then Get Out of the Way

Published on 8/28/2008 in Bible Study. Closed Tags: , , , , .

Luke 3:3 He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.
Luke 3:4 As is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet: A voice of one calling in the desert, Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.
Luke 3:5 Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth.
Luke 3:6 And all mankind will see Gods salvation.

Is. 40:3 A voice of one calling: In the desert prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.
Is. 40:4 Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.
Is. 40:5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Whenever a king would go out into his kingdom, his subjects would go ahead of him and fix the roads that he would travel on. I saw something similar happen in Central Asia. We had some friends that lived on this really nice asphalt paved street. It was different from every single street all around it, except for the main thoroughfare through town that it was perpendicular to. I found out that the President of said country once came down that road and gave a gift to something like the oldest surviving veteran from WWII or something. Anyway, the week before the president came, they asphalted the street.

John the Baptist is preparing the way for the Lord. Preparing the way…so what is his prep?

Repent, quit cheating, share your extra coat, be content with your pay, dont steal extra for yourself, and the most haunting for the people at the time, really…That the sons of Abraham arent the ones born in certain families. The children of Abraham are created by God.

This is definitely preparing the way for Jesus and His message. The great part isnt that John is getting them cleaned up so that they look good for Jesus, he is getting them ready to leave the vain acts of the Law and to come to know God again.

He is cracking the hard boiled egg so Jesus can come and peel it.

I think we have a lot of these guys nowadays that come through and shake everyone up so we can fall and settle in new ways. The hard part is that John got taken out and his teaching slipped away as Jesus became stronger.
Today the crazy guys come and shake everyone up so we can come down and settle in new ways, but then they stick around for a long time, trying to keep their message as current and cool and different as it was a few years ago, and things just become weird.
Some of you might know some of the people Im thinking of. Very radical thinkers and full of great ideas that helped us reshape the kingdom, but now weve rethunk and we need someone else to come along and show us how to live the new stuff out.

30 Day Blog Unfast

Published on 8/26/2008 in Bible Study. 1 Comment

I know you aren’t supposed to talk about your fasting so as to bring attention to yourself, but this is sort of the opposite.

For the month of September, I’m going to post to my blog every day. 30 days of posts. And I’m not just going to tell you what I bought at Target or the funny irony I saw at Wendy’s. The challenge is a feast on God, producing real content for the 30 days of September.

Join me.

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Beggars and Charity in my Front Yard

Published on 8/19/2008 in Bible Study and Urbia. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

Two different sort of things happened this weekend that are interesting…

Ive been out in the front yard a lot the past two days. Ive been trimming bushes, cleaning up mulch, you know, good old fashioned yard work…the whole time burning a ton of sticks over which I later cooked some chicken for the weekly lunch supply. While I was cleaning out the van (cleaning vomit off the floor from my daughters concussion on Friday night, but thats a story for another day!) I had a stroller out that is headed for Goodwill. I saw a young couple walking down the street, and the man was carrying a tiny tiny little baby.
Hey, do you guys want a stroller? You need a stroller! I shouted as I walked towards my TWO strollers. One double deluxe Cadillac stroller, and a single umbrella pinto stroller, that I was going to give them. I think the girl saw the Caddy and got excited, and the guy just kind of watched. They declined and said they were just walking a couple blocks. I said ok and they walked on. Then about 30 feet later the guy turned and shouted back We need more people like you! Thats a happy thing to yell.

Fast forward, or maybe first backward, about 2 months. Me and Andy G. were in the front yard and a guy with bloodshot eyes came up and said he needed gas money because his car was out of gas. He did the whole introduction thing for the first few minutes, about how his family has always lived in this neighborhood, yada yada yada. Then he said his car was out of gas. I told him that if he would take me to the car, Id fill it up. He was a little offended and said he didnt need that much, just a little gas to get to the gas station. I told him that there were a lot of liars in our neighborhood that would try to steal from people by telling them a story but then spending the money on drugs or liquor, and I didnt want to pay for that, but if he could show me the car that needed gas, Id fill it up. He got really mad at me and stormed off.

Ok, now fast forward to the day after my stroller offer. My family was unloading out of the van and into the house and a guy came running across the park. Sir! Sir!

It was the gas man.

We had a pleasant intro, and he said, Didnt I talk to you before? I reminded him that he needed gas from me. for my weedwacker? he interrupted. No, for your car, and I said if you showed me the car Id fill it up, and you got real mad at me. I said.

Oh yeah, because I couldnt do that.

What do you want today? I asked.

I need a four prong starter relay for my car. You can call Auto Zone and ask them.

Typically I call the beggars bluff. One time in Asia a guy was begging me for money to bury his daughter that died. I said, Wow. Take me to her. I thought I was going to go raise her from the dead. The guy couldnt come up with an answer.

After this whole event was over (it ended by me smelling pot on his breath and saying I smell something on you that I dont want to help you buy, so Im not going to give you any money and he walked off cussing me and making mad faces) I was talking to my wife and we came up with something to do next time.

As soon as the beggar starts w/ the story about their car out of gas (standard story in America) or their sick/dead daughter (standard story in Central Asia) I interrupt and tell them I have a story for them…that is true.

One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayerat three in the afternoon. Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, Look at us! So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.
Then Peter said, Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the mans feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. When all the people saw him walking and praising God, they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
(Acts 3:1-10 NIV)

And then from there just follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and wait for something to happen.

I remember a turning point for me when I realized that the person coming up to me begging for money doesnt really care about freaking me out by being weird, so I dont have to worry about freaking them out by being weird. I had a Mullah come up and start praying incantations over me in the street. THATS NUTS! So what did I do? The time for politeness was over. He was speaking Persian that I couldnt understand and didnt care and didnt understand English, so I just whipped out Isaiah 61 and started proclaiming it loudly in English.

Is. 61:1 ? The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
Is. 61:2 to proclaim the year of the LORDs favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,

That was as far as I made it, (which is probably good, because the next verse talks about Zion, and you dont want an American talking to a Central Asian Muslim about Zion) and the guy walked off. I was expecting demons to come out or flashes of light, but that guy walking off was consolation prize enough.

All that said, I love the Gas Guy and I hope for him to be free of his addictions and to find life in Christ, Im just still learning how to work with him…

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Get Your Dead Body Off My Property!

Published on 8/15/2008 in Bible Study. Closed Tags: , , .

Jer. 20:1 ? When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the chief officer in the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things,
Jer. 20:2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORDs temple.
Jer. 20:3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, The LORDs name for you is not Pashhur, but Magor-missabib.
Jer. 20:4 For this is what the LORD says: I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will hand all Judah over to the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword.
Jer. 20:5 I will hand over to their enemies all the wealth of this cityall its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon.
Jer. 20:6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.

Wow.

The priest had the prophet beaten. Like it was a decree or a hit. And then hes imprisoned which means he would have just sat w/ his wounds for the night and not received any care or help or food, and then released.

The Jews took where their bodies were buried very very seriously, so for him to not have his body buried in Israel would be a real disgrace. Its like God doesnt even want their dead bodies in His land.

Preaching for The Kingdom or the kingdom

Published on 8/12/2008 in Handwritten Blog and Short Quotes. 2 Comments Tags: , , .

When you preach, do not teach interesting things. Do not preach great information to help people’s lives be better/happier/fuller/richer/stable or anything!

PREACH as if you are speaking of LIFE and DEATH. Preach as if your message MUST be heard and lived out or they’ll die. We have had enough good speaches to improve our quality of LIFE. We must now PREACH A COMING KINGDOM, Not a convenient one now.

The Pool Guy REALLY Broke the Law When He Carried His Mat

Published on 8/10/2008 in Bible Study. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

If anyone carries anything from a public place to a private house on the Sabbath intentionally, he is punishable by death by stoning. Barclay on the Mishnah in the commentary on John 5

So when the pool guy says They guy that healed me told me to hes not just making excuseshes defending himself from a STONING! I thought it was bad to carry the bed, but not DEADLY ILLEGAL! Bonhoeffer said that When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die. and some people sooner than others :)

Jesus and the ‘Social Gospel’

Published on 8/8/2008 in Bible Study. 1 Comment Tags: , .

When the paralyzed man said other people go down to the pool ahead of him, Jesus didnt pat him on the back and pout or relate to his problems. He just ended the problem. It makes me wonder how many times we help people by giving them food or shelter or clothes or whatever and God might just want us to tell them to get up and let the power of God help them to do it. I wonder how many guys that come by my house asking for gas money would take a job if I said, Do you want a job? or even Do you want to be well? I wonder what would happen if I risked sounding crazy if whenever someone came up to me with a simple need (like gas money or food money, etc.) and I just went enigmatic on them and talked about the kingdom of God what would happen?

Way Too Many Thoughts on John 5.1-15

Published on 8/2/2008 in Bible Study. Closed

Jesus asked the man if he wanted to be well. I kind of see this as the same kind of question He asked Adam when He said, Where are you? He answers those that cry out to Him, and if people dont know to cry out to Him, He gives them a chance to do so. He sets the stage for us to call on His name out of our needs, but then even when we dont call on Him because we think we need something else, He still answers. The man gave a reason why he hadnt been healed.

WAIT! I just looked up do you want to get well? and it is in the KJV as Wilt thou be made whole? the word wilt is not only do you want but also will you be made whole. I think we read a lot into Jesus asking this and the mans excuse the way we read a lot of helpless people we encounter-people that have trouble or need help but really dont want it. People that are either trapped spiritually or habitually in something that they really cant get out of. I remember one time there was a lady whose house we went to clean. She was a single mom and the city took her children away b/c her house was such a mess. It was! But as we cleaned up, we realized that the whole time she just kind of stood in the middle of the kitchen talking and complaining. She didnt lift a finger to pour out a week old half full bowl of cereal. It did not take long for us to realize that we would clean up her house only to have her almost instantly trash it again. I remember somebody confronting her about it and she gave the most defeated, silly excuses for her house being such a mess. I put that same scenario on this guy. Jesus asks him if he wants to be made whole and he just gives excuses. I have to deliberately try to read it a different way. What if the man actually IS asking Jesus for his help? I can see that if the people at this time believed such illness was caused by a persons sin, that no upright person would want to touch the man for fear of becoming unclean like him. I remember people throwing money and food to beggars in Asia, not getting close enough to touch or be touched, and sometimes even hitting them with the handout they gave because the didnt want to be within touching distance. (incidentally, it was a great day when I began breaking some serious cultural mores by holding the hand of the men or WOMEN I was giving money to and putting my gift right in their hand. I miss that.)

Ok, back to Jesus.

So the man is without hope. Will you be made whole? Jesus asks. someone always gets in before me! the man says. Like so many people, this man lives a life of if only and blames others (people with help or well enough to go faster than him) or himself (I just cant get in fast enough) or the system (the random angel that stirs the water only heals one person at a time) and has been doing that for 38 years. I just wonder what would have happened if he would have been like Simeon or Anna that also stayed in the temple all the time. I am here and when the Messiah comes well ALL be made whole! or something like that. My favorite thing is that Jesus doesnt address any of that. He doesnt try to cheer the man up or correct his superstition about the pool. He has authority and He uses it. He is the Lord over our health and the Lord over the rules of men (carrying mats on the Sabbath). BUT, Jesus does not heal the man in order to bring him to faith. YES He wants the man to come to faith, but He doesnt give the man a lesson first or lay any paths before him. He DOES kind of set the man on a course towards dependence on God though, by telling him to carry his mat. This guy would have stuck out on the Sabbath like a hairy man walking around with no shirt on at church. It was AGAINST THE LAW to carry that thing! Not only that but the guy is IN THE TEMPLE! Jesus really set him up.

God wants His acts to be noticed. There are numerous other people that Jesus healed but didnt ask them to carry their mat. Im thinking specifically of the paralyzed man lowered through the roof. Jesus told that man his sins were forgiven! That got the Pharisees attention! I think its interesting that once that guy got healed (the pool guy) that he didnt go on after Jesus. Jesus got away from him, and then sought him out again. When Jesus says stop sinning I dont think hes saying the man did something 38 years ago and as punishment for that sin he was paralyzed. I think the sin is not following Jesus, and the something worse is what will be the end for all that dont follow after Him.

God seeks us when we dont know how to seek Him. Jesus is the one that came back to that man. He didnt have to. He could have continued to be hidden from the guy and the guy would probably leave the temple and continue on for the rest of his life without ever seeing Jesus again. But thats not how the Father is. He wanted the man to know Him so he went after him. Whatever feast of the Jews was going on, the Temple would have been crowded. It would not be easy to track down somebody, but Jesus goes to the trouble, not only to tell the man the next step to life eternal, but I think also to show Himself to the Jewish leaders. I always thought it was so crazy how James Bond never used an alias, but would just walk right into the bad guys evil lair and say he was James Bond (ok ok, Bond, James Bond). Jesus makes this guy whole and tells him to carry his mat to show HE is the LORD over the Sabbath. The Jews freak out as he planned, but the pool guy failed to testify as to who did the healing, so Jesus helps him out. We get the sense that this mans testimony is different than the man born blind that said He is a prophet. The pool guys testimony is more of a ratting out of who did this healing on the Sabbath. I can almost hear the guy, Im carrying this mat because that guy that healed me on the Sabbath told me to! Its not my fault!