Tag Archive for 'Jesus'

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You’ve Been to Sinai, Welcome to Pentecost

Published on 5/22/2010 in Bible Study. Closed Tags: , , , , , , , , , , .

I’ve been reading David Stern’s Jewish New Testament Commentary and listening to Dwight A. Pryor on the subject of Acts 2 and Pentecost. WOW.

text: Acts 2, John 14, Exodus 20-32

The parallels between what the Jews celebrated and taught from the traditions about Pentecost and what happened on Pentecost 50 days after the Last Passover are too crazy to be made up.

Pentecost was celebrated as the time when God gave the Torah to His people through Moses at Sinai. At that time, the people begged to not have God talk to them, but for just Moses to do all of the talking. At the New Pentecost, many many people wanted God to talk to them–and He did.

Rabbinical tradition taught that God’s voice was immediately split into the 70 languages of the nations whenever He spoke from Heaven. They said that happened at the top of Zion, so that the Hebrews and all of the aliens with them would understand what God said. VERY appropriate that on the New Pentecost, God would split His voice up for the nations through men. The Holy Spirit is no longer external, it’s within mankind, so the various languages will not come out of the sky but out of God’s people–His body.

There was fire at the top of Mount Sinai, and with His own finger God wrote out and signed the Covenant.  50 days earlier, at the Last Passover, God signed the Covenant in His Son’s blood, and sent the fire into His people on Pentecost.

Some of these events are sort of a parallel reversal. At Mt. Sinai, the people became tired of waiting and committed idolatry while Moses was on the Mountain that they wanted to flee from. The Levites executed 3,000 of them and so became God’s priestly tribe. From then on it would be Levites only serving before God in the Tabernacle and the Temple.

At the New Pentecost, there were thousands of people around that wanted to draw near to God during the feast of the Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks. Every adult male in ISRAEL had to come to this feast! Just like today, in the midst of any religion, there are hidden people that are genuinely seeking God with all of their might–whether they know of God sending Jesus to seek them out or not. That hidden remnant of genuine God-seekers were cut to the quick on that day, and 3,000 people were added to the Church. Those 3,000 were from all over the world, and they carried The Good News back to all of the nations in the world. They became the priests to the nations as God enlarged His tent (Take a look at Isaiah 54 to see why I’m crying at the Donut Bank as I write this).

Finally, at Mt. Sinai, God gave His people a way to live. The Torah was a way of life, not just rules, that when lived out, would make God’s people stand out in the world. The Torah would show off to the other nations of the world that God was the one true God, and people like the Queen of Sheba and others would come and see that the God of Israel was really the one true God of the Universe.

The Torah, however wonderful a guideline or framework for life that it was, could not change people from the inside out. God new that from before the beginning. Jesus said in His final talk with His disciples:

John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever
John 14:17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

On Pentecost that came to be, and The Great Internal Reminder/Teacher took up residence in His people. He is now living inside His Church to teach, guide, help, correct, cheer, rebuke, heal, and LIVE LIFE in the people.

In light of all of this, we can see how absolutely absurd it is to teach people to live by any method or steps, to teach people a “Christian Ethic” or a “Christian Worldview” or to force a political or philosophical agenda on people. Let us RUN to the Spirit. Let us CRY OUT to God to send His Holy Spirit into us with thunder and fire and move out into the nations to change them from the inside out. Let us THROW DOWN and THROW UP any teaching that depends on man’s desire, effort, self-discipline or ‘conviction’ and be filled with the Holy Spirit that changes people irrevocably. The 3,000 that were added that day didn’t added to have strong marriages or have financial success. They came because they knew what Peter said was true:

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Acts 2:38-39

My Paraphrase of the End of John 14

Published on 5/18/2010 in Bible Study. Closed Tags: , , .

Jesus says, look, so far not many horrible things have happened to us. We were in a storm at sea, and I took care of that. We were yelled at by crowds, and I slipped through them. John the Baptizer got beheaded, but we continue to praise and worship the Father and carry on what the Father started with John. Now I’m gonna get thrown around by the rulers of this world. It’s gonna be really bad, even to death, but it’s all part of the Father’s plan. After I submit to His plan and let the Devil do what he wants to do with me, I’ll be back, and I’m gonna bring it!

Not Just the Beatles Are Gonna be Bigger than Jesus…

Published on 4/23/2010 in Bible Study. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

John 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”

It just blows my mind to think about these three verses. The power and relationship and closeness of Jesus and the Father is now working to help us and to work through us in our daily lives–forever! Jesus was in perfect relationship with the Father while He was walking around on the Earth among us. Now His Spirit lives in us and He continues His intimacy with the Father while at the same time dwelling inside of us. THAT is greater than He ever did when He was flesh and blood down here, because now He has millions of bodies to run around in and advance His Kingdom and make His name great!

To ask “In Jesus Name” is by His authority and backing and in His Spirit, not just tacking on some magic words at the end of your prayer. When I was in Asia, there was a 2 month span in which I was one of only two expats present at our organization. Because of the financial rules, for those 2 months, I had to become the accountant of the organization. The ladies that worked there still did all of the work, but if anything major went down (PRAISE GOD IT DIDN’T) on my watch, I would have to sign for it. I couldn’t just sign the name of the Australian that was the full time REAL accountant, because HE WASN’T THERE. Even if it was something he approved of, and something he signed all of the time, I had to put MY name on it because I was the one PRESENT and RESPONSIBLE to back up my signature.

To ask for something IN JESUS’ NAME is to ask for it when He is present and responsible to back up your request. To know Him and to believe Him and to hear what He is asking. He wants to be involved in all of our activities because He knows that the most glory comes and happens when His activities are our activities.

My Infographic for John 14:8-21

Published on 4/3/2010 in Bible Study. Closed Tags: .

I make infographics. It’s what I do. I didn’t really take time to make this beautiful, but I wanted to think through John 14:8-21 graphically, and here’s what I got.

John14MindMap

‘Church’ is cultural

Published on 3/27/2010 in Bible Study, Bookstore, Short Quotes and Urbia. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

I think there is so little detail about what CHURCH is in the Bible because how people worship God is as different as the cultures in which they live.

When a missionary goes into uncharted territory, they do not prop up their video screens and the powerpoint and start singing Tommy Walker songs. (That would be a great video. End with the Metrosexual worship leader falling on his face with a back full of poison darts and a child of the tribe coming across a Bible propping up the projector…)

I know of three people, specifically, that will not go to a church that has over 100 people in it because they have anxiety about large crowds. BUT they love to sit around with a few friends, play cards, and talk deep things about life. One of them, I know for certain, has a deep respect, love, and appreciation for Jesus. What if it were culturally acceptable for them to NOT “go” to church but were encouraged to draw near to God while they were playing poker?

I just started reading Organic Church, by Neil Cole (for the second time, never got through 1st time) and I’m intrigued at what church Jesus might build in Evansville from this sort of book. From what I gather so far, it’s a lot like what would happen if somebody took Perspectives and then applied it to their local neighborhood.

If you don’t know about Perspectives, you can check it out herehttp://www.perspectives.org/site/pp.aspx?c=eqLLI0OFKrF&b=2806295

and you can check out Organic Church herehttp://bit.ly/biJXwq

or listen to them talk about this stuff here http://www.cmaresources.org/audio/missional-movements-2010-mfrost-1

more to come.

Jesus the Way

Published on 3/12/2010 in Bible Study. 1 Comment Tags: , .

- When Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” He is
  preaching the Gospel. He is covering every single thing that would be
  important to a 1st century Jew, and anyone else for that matter.
  God’s way was continually brought up in the OTit was the entire way
  of life for the people. Sometimes the Law is also called the Way.
      And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to
      fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to
      serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your
      soul, and to observe the LORDs commands and decrees that I am
      giving you today for your own good?
      (Deut 10:12-13 NIV)
    – He also covers the Jews and the Greeks in this statement. The
      highest pursuit for a Jew was God’s way, and the Greek’s were
      lovers of truth (or so they said and wanted as their reputation).
      Basically Jesus is addressing these guys, and can tell they are
      getting a little uneasy, and wants to reassure them that they
      know everything they need to know by knowing Jesus. There are no
      surprises or tricks ahead of them.
    – The Father really wants us to be connected to Jesus as the source
      of all hope and life. By sending us a MAN to take us into God’s
      presence, all kinds of vain deeds and religious duties are blown
      away. So many religions are full of activities and actions that
      breed people with disconnected hearts. Hearts that are along for
      the ride while the flesh does a bunch of spiritual things, while
      the spirit of a man covets, lusts, lies, gossips, and is full of
      ambition.
      When a person does something because of Jesus, it is easy to
      explain, “This is what Jesus wants me to do.” But when someone
      does something because their religion calls for it, you can find
      that it is very difficult to stand by. “We don’t eat meat on
      Friday because it’s a fast. Well, we eat fish, because fish isn’t
      meat.”
    – The Father knew from the beginning that we couldn’t follow rules,
      and that it would be impossible to work our way up into His
      presence, so He did it for us. That is why Jesus Himself crossed
      over from being a direction-giver to being the directions
      Himself. We can’t do it without Him, and to think anything
      otherwise is to veer from the Way, the Truth, and Life.

Jesus is Preparing to Go – John 14

Published on 3/6/2010 in Bible Study. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , .
Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Fathers house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.
Thomas said to him, Lord, we dont know where you are going, so how can we know the way?
Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.
(John 14:1-7 NIV)
Just as Jesus is having a hard time knowing that He is about to leave the disciples, they are having a hard time grasping and understanding that He’s about to leave them. Their worst fear would be compounded if not only did He leave them, but also if He didn’t come back for them and if He didn’t fulfill everything He said He would. Jesus is here reassuring them. Don’t be afraid that I’m leaving. There is a place for you in the kingdom, and I’ll come back and take you there, but you can’t come now.
William Barclay said that if you ask someone for directions they can either tell you to go down the street, turn left at the first corner, go two blocks, then turn right, blah blah blah, and you forget how to get there OR they can say, “Let’s go” and they can take you there themselves. As soon as they say “follow me” THEY BECOME THE WAY to where you are going.
Jesus spent His whole life giving directions, knowing full well that our eyes glazed over as soon as He said “love your neighbor as yourself.” Since He wants us to find our way there more than we do, He also said, “Let’s go.”
THE FATHER wants us to be in the Kingdom. He is not predisposed to keep us out, like so many people believe Him to be. He is Unalterably and UNbelievably Holy; no unholiness can be with Him, so He took away our unholiness on the cross. That was the preparation Jesus talked about in John 14:3. We have no place with God as long as we are bearing our sin. “I go and prepare a place for you.” is that place of forgiveness and redemption where we will live for eternity with God.
v.3 “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” Jesus is ALWAYS wanting us to be with Him! The only times He went to be ‘alone’ was to go be WITH the Father! And then even after His death, He still can’t stand to be alone, but comes back to take all of His with Him. It is the source and life and overflow of the Father to constantly share life with those He loves.
When you see the character of God as displayed by Jesus, how can any of these lifestyle choices that Jesus made reflect to a God that predestined people to destruction? 2 Peter 3:9 says that God wishes for no one to perish, but for all to come to repentance & eternal life. Jesus never treated anyone like they were preset to not listen or not be saved. Not just that, but He wanted to be WITH people as He spoke to them. Too often we only want to share life with people in our same social-economic-political-race demographic. THAT is not a picture of the 12. Let us be ready to continue to be WITH the people that we come in contact with, no matter their background. If they come into the Body of Christ, or are already in it, they are family-more than that, they are a part of our body!
The Father loves company. He loves company and Jesus really wants the disciples to trust Him and know that His leaving is all for them. It’s a lot like me leaving for work in the morning. My 2 year old cries when he sees me go, but I leave so that I can work and get paid and feed him Grippo’s. My 9 year old knows that, so he is only bummed that we can’t play, but he knows that I’ll be back in the evening and we’ll be able to chow down and play.

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Fathers house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.

Thomas said to him, Lord, we dont know where you are going, so how can we know the way?

Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.

(John 14:1-7 NIV)

Just as Jesus is having a hard time knowing that He is about to leave the disciples, they are having a hard time grasping and understanding that He’s about to leave them. Their worst fear would be compounded if not only did He leave them, but also if He didn’t come back for them and if He didn’t fulfill everything He said He would. Jesus is here reassuring them. Don’t be afraid that I’m leaving. There is a place for you in the kingdom, and I’ll come back and take you there, but you can’t come now.

Grippos-BBQ

William Barclay said that if you ask someone for directions they can either tell you to go down the street, turn left at the first corner, go two blocks, then turn right, blah blah blah, and you forget how to get there OR they can say, “Let’s go” and they can take you there themselves. As soon as they say “follow me” THEY BECOME THE WAY to where you are going.

Jesus spent His whole life giving directions, knowing full well that our eyes glazed over as soon as He said “love your neighbor as yourself.” Since He wants us to find our way there more than we do, He also said, “Let’s go.”

THE FATHER wants us to be in the Kingdom. He is not predisposed to keep us out, like so many people believe Him to be. He is Unalterably and UNbelievably Holy; no unholiness can be with Him, so He took away our unholiness on the cross. That was the preparation Jesus talked about in John 14:3. We have no place with God as long as we are bearing our sin. “I go and prepare a place for you.” is that place of forgiveness and redemption where we will live for eternity with God.

v.3 “I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” Jesus is ALWAYS wanting us to be with Him! The only times He went to be ‘alone’ was to go be WITH the Father! And then even after His death, He still can’t stand to be alone, but comes back to take all of His with Him. It is the source and life and overflow of the Father to constantly share life with those He loves.

When you see the character of God as displayed by Jesus, how can any of these lifestyle choices that Jesus made reflect to a God that predestined people to destruction? 2 Peter 3:9 says that God wishes for no one to perish, but for all to come to repentance & eternal life. Jesus never treated anyone like they were preset to not listen or not be saved. Not just that, but He wanted to be WITH people as He spoke to them. Too often we only want to share life with people in our same social-economic-political-race demographic. THAT is not a picture of the 12. Let us be ready to continue to be WITH the people that we come in contact with, no matter their background. If they come into the Body of Christ, or are already in it, they are family-more than that, they are a part of our body!

The Father loves company. He loves company and Jesus really wants the disciples to trust Him and know that His leaving is all for them. It’s a lot like me leaving for work in the morning. My 2 year old cries when he sees me go, but I leave so that I can work and get paid and feed him Grippo’s. My 9 year old knows that, so he is only bummed that we can’t play, but he knows that I’ll be back in the evening and we’ll be able to chow down and play.

Jesus Making Passage for Us to Love God

Published on 2/9/2010 in Bible Study, Bookstore and Short Quotes. 1 Comment Tags: , , .

In Jesus, God glorifies Himself. It is a strange thought that the supreme glory of God lies in the incarnation and the cross. There is no glory like that of being loved. Had God remained aloof and majestic, serene and unmoved, untouched by any sorrow and unhurt by any pain, men and women might have feared Him and they might have admired Him; but they would never have loved Him. The law of sacrifice is not only a law of earth; it is a law of heaven and earth. It is in the incarnation and the cross that Gods supreme glory is revealed.

- William Barclay, Commentary on John 13:31-32

Jesus Breaking Bread with the Devil

Published on 1/26/2010 in Bible Study. 2 Comments Tags: , , , .

What you are going to do, do quickly.
These are pretty disturbing words from Jesus. Satan himself has just entered into Judas and Jesus doesnt say, Come out of him! or any of the things He ever said to demons. There was a time and a place for casting out evil and liberating individuals, but now the Father wanted Him to liberate people in a different way. If it was hard for Jesus to keep it together as He washed their feet, it must have been 100x more difficult when Satan was now there at the table, in their midst.

Even a bigger deal than His words, Jesus actions are amazing.
v. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night.
To share bread with someone was fellowship, communion. Communion was a precious thing. To share in a piece of bread with someone else was fellowship, acceptance, and peace. Thats why the Pharisees got so mad about Jesus BREAKING BREAD with sinners and tax collectors. It was like wearing the same gang colors, or wearing orange in Lexington.
Jesus, in all of His trust in the Father and compassion towards Judas, is not affected by the ultimate leader of all enemies sitting with Him at the table. He knows what is to be done, and He knows that it must come via betrayal by a friend.

The Never Underesteeming, Always Luring Teachings of Jesus

Published on 1/25/2010 in Bible Study. Closed Tags: , , , , .

John 13:26-28 26 Jesus answered, It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it. So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, What you are going to do, do quickly. 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him.

The more I look at this the more interesting things pop out of it. It seems like Jesus is really obvious about who is going to betray Him, right? He to whom I will give this morsel to bread when I have dipped it. and then Jesus hands it over to Judas. So why didnt they get it? I wonder if they couldnt believe it. Or if they had pegged somebody else as the one in their heads, and none of them had pegged Judas. I wonder if the news that Judas would betray Jesus fell on their ears like Jesus words that He would die fell on Peters ears and caused Peter to rebuke Jesus. So foreign, so far out from what they conceived about the Messiah and about Judas, that they couldn’t even understand when it was told to them clearly.

All of this just shows off how merciful and amazing Jesus is. How often do we not say something or tell someone something because we think “They wouldn’t understand.” or “They’re not ready for that.” Jesus told the disciples stuff they weren’t ready for all of the time. He seems like He lived in a constant state of being around people that “didn’t get it” and He never flipped out or belittled them for it. (Once he was angry at the hardness of heart of the Pharisees, but never at His disciples. He was angered at the unwillingness to learn, not the inability to learn.)

Many times, in fact, Jesus told people something that confused them until something significant happened hours, days, or even years later.