The Ancient Future Church

Note: In my zeal to get to Christmas, I blogged yesterday (12/22/11) for today’s lessons. Today I go back and pick up a lesson appointed for yesterday. If all goes well and the stomach bug doesn’t take out the last two of six here in our home, I will write of Christmas Eve tomorrow for it will be Christmas Eve.

Galatians 3:1-14

O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you . . .?

It did not take long for folks to start distorting Christianity and bewitching Christians for personal gain, power and/or money. In Paul’s day the distortion was “Jesus plus circumcision” rather than “Jesus and Jesus alone” as the means of salvation. If faith (casting our lot with Jesus) saves then circumcision avails nothing. Yet some enthusiastic Jewish Christians were requiring circumcision of Jews and Gentles alike. Paul and the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) got it resolved. For salvation it is Jesus, not Jesus plus something else.

To this day the distortion remains Jesus plus, you fill in the blank. Jesus plus reading your bible for an hour a day. Jesus plus right doctrine. Jesus plus tithing. Jesus plus speaking in tongues. Jesus plus fasting. Jesus plus prosperity (the absence of which means you do not have sufficient faith). There are a million and one manifestations of it out there. How can you identify it? It’s the PLUS that gives it away.

And the plus is always law, something man requires of you OR something that God actually desires of you and man requires you to do it perfectly.

Worst offenders? Those promoting health and wealth in my humble opinion. That’s no surprise to any regular reader. It is the grossest of distortions in the modern day. If faith makes us wealthy why do the vast majority of people who actually obediently follow Jesus live in the third world? It defies reason and is hostile to the Gospel.

But beware too of those who say “Jesus plus I have a word for you.” That is, God has revealed to them something you must do. A good friend rightly asked once, “If that is true, why didn’t He reveal it to me?” It is a means of controlling and manipulating. It sets the table for spiritual abuse. There is no doubt God speaks to us through others, even circumstances. But there is little history of Him telling others of a personal act (law, not Jesus) that you must do in order to be in a right relationship with God.

Beware of the plus. Jesus accomplished the possibility salvation on the cross. You need only believe this in your heart. Do not let anyone tell you otherwise. He or she is a bewitcher, intentionally or not.

Luke 1:67-80

“Through the tender mercy of our God.”

What’s your view of God? Is He the clock maker that wound us up and set us in motion and who now observes from afar with little interest in the details of our lives?  Or is He the harsh judge who hovers above with a terrible bad sword waiting to take us out for our transgressions?

Scripture speaks of another God, one who reveals salvation, the forgiveness of our sins, through tender mercy. God is motivated from within by his own prevailing mercy. He is not satisfied to allow our rebellion and its consequences to have the last word.

Too often we expect justice. We live with a sense of dread that the other shoe is going to drop. Even more often we want justice for those who have wronged us. Grace (mercy) for me and justice for him!

But God is coming to us desiring mercy for us, giving it to us out of His own nature, tender mercy. Mercy is ours to receive and mercy is ours to give.

What stands in the way of our receiving it? For not receiving it is the only thing that stands in the way of us giving it. Mercy begets mercy.

Open that gift this Christmas. Let mercy wash over you like a flood.

Titus 2:11-3:8a

“Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for honest work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all men.”

So this is what Titus is to teach. How much more should he live the example!

Have you ever noticed how easy it is for godly men to disregard rules for fair fighting when engaged in a battle? The end, winning, seems to justify the means. In the face of conflict, barbs start to fly, quarreling intensifies and “perfect courtesy” is all but forgotten. Unfortunately I’ve seen church rows that begin with “Let’s get ready to rumble” and end with threats of scorched earth or the threat of lawsuits asking the civil courts to address things for which Holy Spirit filled people are supposed to have greater wisdom.

How we navigate conflict is as important as resolving it. Ambassadors and reconcilers licensed by Jesus cannot avail themselves of just any means in battle. One must stand his ground without abandoning our charge to common decency as outlined above by Paul to Titus.

How is this done? Not easily. Ever. But first we must set aside the goal of winning. Winning isn’t everything. In fact it is nothing if the victory is pyrrhic. Communion is far more important. We are so inclined to Matthew 18 when Paul allows us another way forward, “why not be wronged.” We are granted the freedom to pardon without expectation.

Next we must remember the person coming at us is as convinced that his righteous indignation is warranted as much as we are. And barring a declaration to the contrary, he remains a brother in Christ. Abandoning rules of engagement doesn’t rise to the level of blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

Finally, just love. It seems weak to the world. But God has a penchant for shaming the wise with the foolish and shaming the strong with the weak.

Rules of engagement matter and the world is watching.

Luke 1:26-38

“For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Mary has no husband and Elizabeth is in her old age. And yet, both will have babies within three months of each other. And these are no ordinary babies. Elizabeth will yield John the Baptist and Mary will yield Jesus who is “called holy, the Son of God.”

Miracles abound to make salvation possible. Some people struggle with them. It is said that Thomas Jefferson clipped the miraculous out of his Bible, choosing instead a completely rational faith. I’ve never understood that. The Gospel can’t stand without miracles. At the very least we believe God loves us. Given our nearly universal willingness to disregard him if not at times outright reject him, that is a miracle in and of itself. No, I never struggled with miracles. Either God is or He is not. If He is, then the miraculous is chump change by comparison.

My oldest was adopted 20 years ago today. Her name? Mary Elizabeth for obvious reasons. And she is just as miraculous though not nearly as famous in spite of her great desire and modest efforts. Her mother was barren. She could not conceive. And yet God wanted (he may have some misgivings about that now J) us to raise her.  So her birth mother, at just the right time, concluded she was not yet ready to raise Mary Elizabeth. She chose adoption as a course of action, then an agency randomly from the phonebook, and finally us from among several files placed in front of her. Of all the people? Amazing really – God was intervening in history, a textbook example of the miraculous. What a joy to be the personal beneficiary of that one! Mary Elizabeth the Impossible.

Luke 1:1-25

“And he will turn many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Ready for Christmas? The birth of a Savior? For the in-breaking of the Kingdom of God? It is upon us. And the time is now. Are you prepared? When this Christmas has come and gone, will anything be different? Or will it be one more December 25th  in the vein of all others?

Fathers, are your hearts with your children? Far too many men today are consumed with career. Far too many are consumed with toys. Men must be concerned about the children that God has entrusted to their care.  Our sons must know what it means to be a godly man. Are we modeling “kill or be killed” or to do justly, to love mercy and walk humbly with our God? Our daughters need to know how a godly man treats a woman. It has everything to do with the spouse they will pick. Do they see in us men who believe women are to be conquered and possessed or men who are living sacrificially and loving our wives as Christ Jesus loves the church, his Body, his Bride. Men, let us turn our hearts to our children.

To all, are we moving toward the wisdom of the just or righteous? The Kingdom breaking into our world, in the person of Jesus, demands of us compassion that sees all people of equal value, equally created in the image of God. It creates in us a desire for justice and to relate to each other on a level playing field. This is essential to experiencing Jesus in the right way, a physician coming to heal people equally saddled with an affliction called sin. Our need of a Savior is no more but certainly no less than the man standing at our side. Men and women, let us turn toward wisdom which leads to a deeper and more abiding understanding of need of the one Zechariah’s son would herald.

Christmas requires prep. Are we ready?

Zechariah 7:8-8:8

“And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets.”

What an incredible image of the restoration of Zion, children playing in the streets. Our last home in Birmingham was on a cul-de-sac with thirteen homes. Lots of families with small children inhabited the street. Yes we had the outlier curmudgeons (two) but most of the families were marked by joy. Nine or ten months out of the year children played in the circle at the end of the street, many climbing a maple in the middle. It was always a blessing to look out and see such unbridled enthusiasm and to hear raucous laughter.

Such it will be like when restoration takes place, when the kingdom is established in its fullness. And it will be appropriately desired just like our street (btw, our home sold in 11 days in the worst market in my lifetime). “You will be called sought after,” God says through the prophet Isaiah.

Sought after! Wouldn’t that be sweet! What if we were to let God reign in us enough to be called “sought after?” In that kind of world there would be no need to bribe folks to come to church with holograms or Disney styled programs or I-Pod giveaways. People would come because the fellowship would be warm and the environment beyond imagination pleasant. No advertising needed here. People would flock to a people attracted by a sweet sweet aroma.

Will we let Him reign enough in us to be called sought after? Will I? Will you?

http://youtu.be/HJL7Eis0Rb0

Matthew 25:1-13

“Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.”

We don’t know. Well, can’t we figure it out? No. It is not for us to know the time appointed for the Kingdom and the King to come in fullness and glory. Our role in all this? Be prepared. Keep watch.

Are we prepared? Sure John. The wicks are trimmed. We have sufficient oil. Yeah ok but are we prepared to come face to face with the bridegroom and answer this question: Have we forgiven others as he has forgiven us?

Jesus has made it pretty clear, that un-forgiveness has the potential to alienate us from God eternally. It will destroy us in this life and in the life to come. Then he gives us the basis for forgiveness. He forgives us a great debt. What’s the hold up for us for debts miniscule by comparison? We don’t forgive and forget. We remember and forgive. He did so we can.

So as Advent draws to a close and Christmas draws nigh, do we need to grant forgiveness to someone? Search your heart. Ask God to search it for you. Then, for Christmas, give what you have been given.

Who knew the King smiles upon re-gifting!

Zechariah 3:1-10

“Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with rich apparel.”

This was true for Joshua the high priest in his day. It became true for mankind hundreds of years later. God removes our iniquity. God clothes us in rich apparel.

What does God see when he looks upon us? Apart from His intervention, it is not a pretty picture. First He immediately looks beyond what we are wearing outwardly. Dressing up may make us feel better but to Him it is no more than putting lipstick on a pig. Why? Because He sees within. He sees the heart. He notes the lack of mercy and compassion. He probably winces at our smug self-righteousness. He sees our inclination to self-interest and making everything about me, me, me.

But He removes that from us. And He wraps something around us that shields His eye from who we really are. Not even Superman can see through it. What is this rich apparel, the wonderful garment? The righteousness of Jesus. It covers us like a London Fog or cashmere overcoat. And the Father sees that instead of our heart, the overflow of which defiles a man. So what He sees is now pleasing to His eyes.

Christmas is upon us. So when we ponder the gifts, let us not overlook the new coat.

Revelation 3:7-13

“I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown.”

Holding fast to anything seems to be out of vogue these days. Our lives, certainly our culture, is governed more by “to each his own” or “have it you way.” Common over-arching themes (which constitute what a civilization is) are abandoned in favor of less truth and more peace and harmony.

We have been bombarded now for a couple of hundred years with relativism. As Tom Oden says, absolute relativism is one of the four pillars of modern thought (reasoning since the Enlightenment began).  There are no absolutes we’ve been told. I always smile because that very statement is to assert an absolute. So potentially there is one, that there are no others. How convenient!

And yet the Holy Spirit is transforming us into people who hold fast, a people who do not whither in the face of opposition or what some endure, outright rejection. I am reminded of 17 year-old who daily ate alone at a lunchroom table in her private school. In every other way, she would have been a class favorite. She was attractive, bright, and had a sweet disposition. But she ate alone. She believed in truth. She believed in Jesus and she did it among people who were hostile to such truth.

Now I hasten to add that I am not sure that truth itself is the problem. On some occasions it is rather one of pride and submission. A healthy skepticism concerning authority is a good thing. But every feeling of being infringed upon by truth can’t be an experience of illegitimate authority. There are no absolutes remember! 🙂

Sometimes we are just saying, like a three year-old, “you’re not the boss of me.” We rebel. It is in our nature. Perhaps if we want to hold fast we must first admit there is something to hold. Submit to that. Then we won’t run when challenged before we figure out if it is illegitimate authority or simply a real truth we would rather not hear.