Catching Up

I've been woefully neglectful of my duties here. If you're new to reading this blog, however, here are a few posts on which I'd love to read your comments:

• What Is Death?
• Listening: a thread or an iceberg
• How the Blood Works
• Into Thin Air
• How Important Are We Really?
• What In the World Am I Doing Here?
• Come Back to Life

Come Back to Life

Guesstimated between 5 and 10,000 years ago, in a perfect garden somewhere in the East, a man and woman thrived. Yet even with everything they could desire or need, they believed the doubt the serpent fed them, telling them God held back what should be theirs. They relied on their own reasoning. They distrusted God's word, ate the forbidden fruit, and died.

"God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” (Genesis 3:3)

They didn't die till much later, you say? Oh, but they did!
 
If you put on these glasses to see beyond the surface of skin... See that corpse lying in the man and in the woman as they walk through the garden, as they are sent forever from its perfect life? That, my friend, is the spiritual life of mankind.
 
And just as a dead man and woman cannot produce a live child, so Adam and Eve could not produce children who lived spiritually. As God breathed life into the first man and woman, so He must bring life again.
 
The difference between the first life given and the need for life after the Fall is the debt. Now, instead of God walking and talking with mankind as He had, there instantly formed an unbreachable chasm. Man had chosen to defy God and to trust himself. God could not fellowship with those dead "in trespasses and sins."
 
A price had to be paid. It could only be paid by a second Adam; a perfect one and one who would obey God at any cost. Jesus the Messiah, God with us, came as a man and gave His life in obedience to His Father and in our place, receiving our punishment, so that He could breath life into those called by His name.

I know Christ is all in all. Man is nothing: he hath a free will to go to hell, but none to go to heaven, till God worketh in him to will and to do of His good pleasure. ~George Whitefield

If not for God, we would all remain dead. Isn't it only natural that the dead should remain so until they decay?

This is why God delights in election. It is the first work of free grace that takes away the final refuge of human self-reliance and casts man on the unshakable Rock of covenant love. ~John Piper

Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. (Ephesians 2:9)

What a powerful and merciful God to awaken any of us who were so contented in our sins.

Until God breaths life in us, we cannot live. When God breaths life into us, we cannot boast.

What In The World Am I Doing Here?

Do you ever wonder why there are flowers growing where no one sees them, animals at play with no one to watch, creatures undiscovered in the depths of the ocean, not to mention the galaxies far beyond satellite eyes? Why is there beauty in so many unseen places?

In The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God, John Piper contemplates why a God, who is complete and happy in Himself, would create all these things, seen and unseen.

From Psalm 104 (and other Scripture passages), Piper points to five reasons for creation.

1. Creation is an expression of God's glory (Ps 104:31). The world around us gives us a glimpse of the workmanship of our Creator. If what is produced is just a thought in the mind of God, how great must be our God. This flower is just a glimpse at the magnificence of the One who designed it.

The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament proclaims His handiwork. Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. (Ps 19:1-2)

2. Creation praises God. The skipping fawn, the rain falling in a barren desert all praise their Creator by being exactly what He designed them to be and doing what He planned for them to do. Seen or unseen.

3. Creation reveals God's incomparable wisdom. Piper shares:

Did you know that there are ten thousand known species of diatoms? In a teaspoon of ordinary lake water there may be a million of these tiny invisible plants. And what are they doing while entertaining God with their microscopic beauty?...What are they doing? They are making tons and tons of oxygen so that the animals in the water can breathe! The world is full of the wisdom of God.

4. Creation reveals His incomparable power. The stars, galaxies, and universes beyond our own are enough of a glimpse at the power of One great enough to create and sustain such brilliant blazes of fire and space.

5. Creation points beyond itself to God. All the details, all the beauty, all the intricate designs and purposes point to an Artist. How vastly complex our world is! If so, how much more incomprehensible must be the mind of Him who spoke it into existence!

What does this mean for us?

What about those moments of laughter, those dark nights of tears, those kind acts unnoticed? You have a more attentive audience than all of creation!

See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:28b-33)

Today, finding our purpose or destiny is all the buzz. We have forgotten the simple farmer of the past who glorified God while plowing his fields or the mother whose tender lullabies and love for her family, flowing from her love for God, brought pleasure to Him.

We want a big show, big applause, big congregations, big publicity. Maybe God wants you to be small. Maybe God wants me to have an obscure life. Maybe what pleases Him best is getting us quietly away from success in order that we may delight in His presence.

God loves us so much that He asks us today to be faithful in the small things.

God loves us so much that He keeps us from that which would take our hearts away from Him, the only Satisfier of all our longings.

What an amazing Father!

How Important Are We Really?

It's hard to get a right perspective on ourselves, is it not?

I have lived for over 35 years yet still find myself yielding to the whims of selfishness. My spirits sag when I'm neglected and soar when I am praised. It's natural, I believe, but dangerous.

My desire to be comfortable, both physically and in myself, become the driving force in what I do and how I perceive life. So I find it necessary to stop and consider—how important am I really?

Long before science could analyze us to the smallest molecule, God's Word described how unique each individual is.

For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. ~Psalm 139:13-14

You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. ~Job 10:11

And what unique gifts God has given us to do specific tasks on this earth.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. ~Ephesians 2:10

Jesus described how intimately God cares for us.

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows. ~Luke 12:6-7

He not only knew us before we were born, but chose to save us before the world was created and mapped out the days we would live.

Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. ~Psalm 139:16

For [God] chose us in [Christ] before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will. ~Ephesians 1:3-4

But we should know that it was nothing we did, not who we are, that made God determine to save us.

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ~Romans 5:8

It isn't just that we didn't deserve God's love in the passive sense; we were actually antagonistic, in rebellion, against God in our spirits and actions.

For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life! ~Romans 5:10

All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. ~Isaiah 64:6

 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God's glorious standard. ~Romans 3:23

So why am I recounting what is so elementary to the faith? If you haven't tuned me out, here is why.

I frequently follow a blogger named Carl Trueman on the Reformation 21 site. Trueman lives in the States but is from England. I enjoy his humour, even at our expense, and, though I don't always agree word for word, he challenges my thinking.

This past week Trueman published a post called An Unmessianic Sense of Non-Destiny. In it, he discusses the changes to his outlook on life in reaching middle age. He said he has come to realize how dispensable he is in his personal and professional life and in his spiritual influence. He acknowledges what I emphasized above, but focuses on correcting our distorted sense of self-worth.

Trueman claims that we have focused so completely on our destinies as individuals that we have a type of messiah-complex. Our own life purpose has become such a priority that we "trump all else." And I think in a sense he is right.

He writes:

Put bluntly, when I read the Bible it seems to me that the church is the meaning of human history; but it is the church, a corporate body, not the distinct individuals who go to make up her membership. Of course, all of us individuals have our gifts and our roles to play: the Lord calls us each by name and numbers the very hairs of our heads; but, to borrow Paul's analogy of the body [Romans 12:4-5], we have no special destiny in ourselves taken as isolated units, any more than bits of our own bodies do in isolation from each other. When I act, I act as a whole person; my hand has no special role of its own; it acts only in the context of being part of my overall body. With the church, the destiny of the whole is greater than the sum of the destinies of individual Christians.

To clarify, I would add that it is the churches focus on Christ and energy in seeking Him that matters, not the church as an organization or even as a universal body. But I take Trueman's point: we get so caught up in our own tastes, opinions, desires, gifts, goals...pride, that we live as if the "arm" was the whole body; as if our small service was the salvation of the world.

Trueman goes on—

This is an important insight which should profoundly shape our thinking and, indeed, our praying. My special destiny as a believer is to be part of the church; and it is the church that is the big player in God's wider plan, not me. That puts me, my uniqueness, my importance, my role, in definite perspective. The problem today is that too many have the idea that God's primary plan is for them, and the church is secondary, the instrument to the realization of their individual significance. They may not even realize they think that way but, like those involuntary `tells' at a poker game, so certain unconscious spiritual behaviours give the game away.

He points out how this attitude affects our prayers and our church commitments. If it's all about me, then I can pull out of membership (or not join) because getting my personal strokes is more important than supporting those in a local body.

God chose us, uniquely designed us, reached down and saved us (despite our warped, ugly souls), and gave us gifts. These gifts and our salvation are to be offered up to Him as offerings of love.

He is the Head of the Body; we are merely members. Though we are loved, we must keep in perspective that life is not about "me."

We live for Him. We love others for Him. And someday, our complete and utter satisfaction will be realized when we live with Him.

Christian Militia

What is coupled with the name Christian never ceases to amaze and frustrate me. Recent headlines proclaim the arrest of a “Christian Militia” group in Michigan. The ironic fact is that this arrest took place just before Easter.

The disciples of Jesus were equally amazed and dismayed before Easter some 2000 years ago, but for polar-opposite reasons.

They had expected a King, a Ruler who would come and wipe out Israel’s enemies and set them free from Rome. They watched their Messiah get arrested, charged with blaspheming and rabble rousing, and sentenced to die, all without a fight. They must have felt they had somehow they’d pinned their hopes on the wrong man.

Yet Scripture, hundreds of years earlier had predicted this scene:

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. (Isaiah 53:7)

When questioned by Pilate, Rome’s Procurator of Judaea, Jesus answered: “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." (John 18:36)

The word “Christian” originated in the Near East city of Antioch (in modern day Turkey). It meant to be a follower of Christ, one who adheres to Christ’s teachings.

“A new commandment I give to you,” Jesus had instructed His disciples, “that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

Blowing up synagogues, as some have done in the name of Christ, killing abortion clinic workers or police, gathering soldiers to crusade against those of other faiths—none of these are what Christ taught His followers to do, none have anything to do with love. All these actions derive from an earthly kingdom estranged from God.

This is the Ultimate Blasphemy: to call yourself by the name of Christ and to live like the devil.

Into Thin Air

I recently read Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Jon, a journalist, joined one of the teams on the 1996 tragic expedition of Mt Everest where eight fellow climbers died.

To be honest, the book topic did not peak my interest. I find it hard to relate to the drive that causes men and women to risk their lives for a moment that will not make any significant difference. My mom, however, who has great taste in literature, convinced me I wouldn't be able to put it down.

The story gripped and haunted me. At least three of the eight who died on May 10, 1996 were guides. They knew what it took to survive. They knew the caution signs. They used the right equipment.

The main dangers each climber faced, besides the obvious one of falling, were

1. Ice in their oxygen tubes or running out of oxygen. They were acclimated enough that they could breath even in the thin air, but the sublimental oxygen increased their chances of not succumbing to several deadly altitude sicknesses and enabled them to have clearer reasoning.
2. Not keeping warm enough. The solutions (besides warm clothing/equipment) were to keep moving, even at times of rest, and to drink hot tea.

I don't mean this to be a book review, so, naturally, I see parallels for the Christian life.

One of my father's favourite quotes (though I don't know the source) is "Few men run well to the end."

The apostle Paul said something similar to the church in Galatia: "You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?" (Galatians 5:7)

It may sound metaphorically contradictory to combine climbing and running, unless you understand that the climb to the top of Mt Everest is a race against time, limited oxygen, elements, and physical limitations.

We, as Christians, should never relax our guard against the flesh. We need the oxygen of conversation with God through His Word and prayer.

1. If sin blocks the flow of life from Him to us, we may very likely wander off a spiritual cliff or discourage others in their search for God.
2. If we do not keep busy serving Him, our abilities may freeze up, becoming limited; pride or other sins may cut off our dependence on God to use our gifts, and we may lose our privilege to serve in an area. Or if we refuse to give or receive the warmth of fellowship, we will become cold, weak, and ineffectual.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:25)

And what about non-Christians? What is their part in the climb of faith? Scripture makes it clear that without the Holy Spirit of God they are, as we were, "dead in trespasses and sins" (Ephesians 2:1). They have not even made it to Base Camp.

For those of us born again by the Spirit, let's not become confident in ourselves, our talents, our intellects, or our energies. We need to remind each other from where our righteousness comes: "for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

Paul said: So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! (1 Corinthians 10:12)

Far from discouraging us, this should cause each of us to cling more tightly to the hand of our Father, to lean closer to hear the beat of His heart.

Jesus warned us: "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold" (Matthew 24:12).

Let's encourage one another in our walks to look to Jesus and to do good, to love and to fellowship.

Let's remember our capacity for sin and our Source of righteousness. We need to believe as Paul did: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst (1Timothy 1:15).

If we seek God, He promises we will always find Him. If we climb in our own strength, we will always fall. This world is stronger than we are, but our God is stronger than all.

How the Blood Works

I've often wondered why God made the payment of sin to be death when He knew He would have to pay it in order to have any relationship with us at all.

Recently, my Pastor preached on the biblical covenants. Last week he reiterated God's covenant with Abraham. All these covenants were made directly to the Jews, but the Abrahamic covenant promised to spill over to the rest of the world through Abraham's Seed—Jesus.

Another unique distinction in the covenant with Abraham (here still called Abram) is how the oath was sworn.

Yahweh said to him, “Bring Me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon.”

Abram brought all these to Him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. Then birds of prey came down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.

As the sun was setting, Abram fell into a deep sleep, and a thick and dreadful darkness came over him.....

When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. On that day Yahweh made a covenant with Abram... (Genesis 15:9-12, 17-18a)

In the ancient Near East when a covenant was sworn, both covenanters would walk through an aisle of dead animals, such as described in Genesis. The purpose of doing such said, in essence, that both were agreeing to fulfill the covenant or sacrifice their lives.

Throughout the Old Testament, Yahweh was always the One reaching out to mankind. With Abraham, it was no different. Yahweh desired to fulfill a promise through this man. Being a man, however, Abraham would not be able to keep his end of the contract, perfect obedience to Yahweh's covenant, for himself or for his descendants; therefore, all of us would be condemned to eternal punishment...the sacrifice of our lives.

Because Yahweh desired a relationship with the human race, He took the fulfillment of the covenant upon Himself. He alone walked through the dead animals, guaranteeing the covenant at the sacrifice of His life.

Humans, Abraham and every person throughout time, has failed to keep the requirements of God, as Yahweh had known. To remind us of the horror our sin is to Him, He required that the Jews sacrifice animals. The lambs, goats, cattle, etc. took the death that we deserved. This did not cleanse us of our sin. It only reminded us of the blood that needed to be shed because of our faithlessness.

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Hebrews 9:22)

As Yahweh foreknew, a time came when sacrifice had to be made. He came in flesh. He came to be one of us, to experience the temptations, yet to resist them. Someone once pointed out that His withstanding the temptations were a greater test of His empathy than if He had given in to them. Because He resisted, He knows the extent of temptation's strength.

For thirty-three years as a man, He completed our half of the covenant, which not one person in thousands of generations had been able to do. At the same time, as God, He fulfilled His promise to sacrifice His life because of our breach of the covenant.

Jesus blood became the entrance into the New Covenant. The cost is incomparable. Because it cannot be matched, any who refuse to enter into this covenant through Jesus will never find peace with God. Any who refuse to accept Jesus death as their payment will be required to pay with their lives...for eternity.

Each Easter we remember again, not just the sacrifice, but that Jesus rose from the dead. His resurrection placed Him at the right hand of Yahweh to interceed for all who come before God in His Name.

Are you trying to arrange a covenant of your own, which will leave you the sole fulfiller and the one responsible for a perfect life?

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)

God paid it all. There is no greater insult to Him than to say: It wasn't enough.

(Picture curtesy of http://www.freefoto.com/)