Holy is the Lord God almighty, the Holy One who makes all things new!!
I just wanted to come on and share a little bit with anyone who would see this. As we come into passion week I can’t help but think of how awesome our God is. I am reminded daily of His deep personal love that He showers on His creation. The story of Jesus continues to move me not only in what He taught but what He lived. The Almighty God in the form of a man became like a helpless lamb to the slaughter. He did this for us, He did this so that we could have a relationship with the Father and so that we could be saved from ourselves and sin. But this story is a constant reminder to be humble. OH The cost of our salvation! I almost come to tears every time I consider the cost and I am not a very emotional man but this story grabs me at the core of my heart.
The fact that our God, timeless, ever present, all powerful and never ending humbled Himself in the form of a man, came to Earth dwelt among us not as a King but as a humble carpenters son, took on a counter cultural ministry, denied Himself due worship, honor and praise, was humiliated, had His character questioned, mocked, shamed, beaten, and unjustly convicted to death because of our sin, our God, a God that is infinite in nature, that will know no end, experienced an end when He was crucified and was killed, as a created being I understand what it is to have a beginning and end, but our God who will experience an ever lasting self existence experienced an end in death…for us.
The story doesn’t end there,we know that because sin has no hold on our God, Jesus rose again through resurrection and is now seated in heaven, offering up prayer for us even to this day. He never stopped loving us, He never stopped putting us first, and He will never stop yearning for those outside the flock, because His love goes to the deepest level of our existence. This is why God desires all people, because the cost of salvation was so significant, that it covers even the most wicked.
So as we go about this week, remember our Lord, remember the price. I pray that we all remember so that we are so moved as to live out our days in thankfulness. Rejoice because our God is an intimate God, One who redeems His people and loves them without end. Let us be inspired by His love so that in turn we may truly love others.
Word or Work?
I happened to be pondering this after a long study session. Where has our sense of awe in regard to scripture gone?
I find myself in the middle of my studies, reading the Bible, reading books about the Bible, reading books about books people have read on the Bible…ect. I study the Word of God and soak it up. But I have to admit, I find myself looking at the Bible as some sort of text book for life. That I must glean as much from it as possible and in some cases this is a good thing. But what is lost is the relationship forming power in the Word when its treated like a textbook.
Its great to learn something new and to understand every single aspect about historical context, literary context and so on, but at the base the Word was given to us so that we could form a tight bond with the One who inspired it. In the quest to better understand and scrutinize the Word I have been trying to reduce God into something that can just be studied. Have we been so caught up into extracting moralisms (do’s and don’ts) or doctrine from the Bible that we have missed the point in which it was given? A guide to the lost and the church to reunite us to a longing God. I mean I really have to ask the question, what has been lost when we are always critically analyzing every verse or cannibalizing every teaching? Is this what our religion is about?
Do not get me wrong, it is good to be inquiring of the Word of God, please do not hear me say I am advocating for anti-intellectualism. But what I am advocating for is, taking the time to appreciate what it is. It’s God’s letter to us, explaining who He is and most importantly just how much He loves us and what He has done to be with us. Let God renew a passion in us for His Word, so that we can see it for what it is, a life giving/relationship building/edifying word to us. Let us resolve to not just make the Bible into work but something we can do to connect with out creator. Remember it is not by our works God reveals Himself, Sometimes we just have to truly be still and know that He is God.
The difficulty of Silence
Above is a video that really hit home to me. I am what you describe as an antsy person. I love to constantly be doing something. I love to read, write, research, play games, music and so on. But what I really wrestle with is the issue of being silent before God.
Some claim that prayer is a problem because they don’t know what to say, well that is the exact opposite for me. I can pray for extended periods of time with so many people, issues and things to pray for. Prayer is wonderful and it fulfills my sense of duty from Paul’s words in 1 Thessalonians 5, to pray without ceasing. But in my quest to fulfill this I have lost something very important. I have lost my ability to just rest in the presence of God and just “drink Him in”. It is easy to get caught up in the things we must do and all of those things are important, but just as equally important is the ability “to be still and know that He is God”. It is in silence that the heart begins to reflect and if your heart is turned to God you will begin to see His love displayed all through your life. You reflect on the grandness of God and how big He truly is. Also in silence the Spirit brings to mind the things God has written on your heart and allows God a chance to simply just love on you.
I begin to wonder isn’t this the nature of a healthy relationship? I begin to think of the story of Mary and Martha. Where Martha is busy away doing things for her Lord and Mary is resting at His feet. Martha gets upset at Mary for not doing all the work she was and when she confronted Jesus about it, Jesus says to her ““Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one.Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” I am sure Martha was astounded by what Jesus said because it goes against our very nature. We feel the need to simply just “do” things for the sake of feeling accomplished or to honor our Lord and these things while being good can distract us from what is really important and that is not leaving the side of Jesus. So again in my silence I am reminded of who I serve, I see the things that He has done and my heart is renewed by His presence. I love God more than anything, but I can’t shut up long enough for Him to tell me how much He loves me. So let us resolve to make time for silence because in that silence God will be found because just as we are seeking God, He is seeking us as well.
The Mystery of The Sacraments
There may be nothing more sacred and more intimate then the sacraments of baptism and of communion. But yet we practice these things so trivially. What has happened to drive these sacred practices lower in value then what we regard even secular things such as money? Perhaps the reason is because we do not yet fully understand these sacraments or perhaps we have not done a good enough job in teaching the significance of these things. Whatever the reasons it is clear for the health of our relationship with God and with each other we need to clearly define and describe what these are and how they affect our relationship with the father.
The first thing we must understand about the sacraments is the inherent mystery. The sacraments are steeped in deep meaning, something we cannot strip down and completely quantify but yet they are vast enough in their representation that we can participate. This mystery cannot be measured by relative means per se but it can be experienced in some fashion. But if we were able to completely quantify this experience where would our sense of awe be? This is a problem that exists in the American church today. We feel the need to rationalize things and put them in a way so as to completely grasp everything with our logical mind and pay little attention to the things in which we cannot completely define. How could this be? I believe this is because of the way our culture operates. In some aspects we may be too reasonable to acknowledge the supernatural aspects of God in his created sacraments. In this way we take away from the true meaning and rich symbolism.
The sacraments are like being thrown into the sea of God. We can see a little bit below the surface and may be able to recognize something beneath the surface water but we cannot fully see to the bottom in which the mystery lies. It is out of what we cannot see that produces the greatest power and foundation. This in return produces results in what we see as waves throughout the body and we can measure the effects. But if we get caught up in what we can measure then we stop looking for what is deeper below the surface. Sacraments practiced without acknowledgement of mystery is much like waves. If the source of the sacraments is the surface level then there is no activity coming from the core of the body of water, (in this case the mystery of God), and then the waves simply just disappear overtime.
So how do we get to that deeper level? How do we keep our focus? Well simply the answer is found in Jesus. In Christ our perfect example is found. Christ made the way for us to exercise righteousness. He represented our current praxis through baptism and through the breaking of bread with his disciples. This was very important for these events to occur. Even within the gospels we have John the Baptist claiming that he was no worthy of baptizing Jesus but Jesus responded to John by saying it must be done so that the scriptures may be fulfilled. If Christ specifically did it then there is a significant meaning to what he was doing and in no way did Christ deny the importance of these things. There are times Christ told people to not only to believe but also to be baptized, (Mark 16:16). In the same way he made a significant effort in the breaking of bread. According to the scriptures Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and then showed us what we considered to be communion. He did this specifically so we could relate and identify with God. The part of Christ serving his disciples provided an image of what type of leadership and sacrifice he requires of us, to serve one another always keeping others above ourselves. It was this sort of intimate interaction that God desired and still does not only with him but within the context of our worshipping communities as well. No matter what we are doing in worship it is reasonable to state that we are to be intentional with our actions regarding the sacraments.
It is the mystery that defines the action where we as finite beings are reaching forth into something that isn’t completely understood. This is not to suggest that what we are doing is completely incomprehensible or absurd. What this does suggest though is that there is a force at work within these rituals that we can only understand in part. What we can understand is that there is an unseen God in which we worship. A God of infinite power and majesty beyond what a human can possibly fully comprehend. This is because our minds cannot completely grasp the untainted and uninhibited perfection and love represented in our triune God. It is the mystery of coming together and sharing in the ancient as well as the present community in the breaking of bread. This sort of communion brings us all together in one accord and in one heart all focused on reaching the true heart of God. This is a timeless and an indiscriminate practice bridging the gap between the ancient event and the present practice. In other words just because we did not physically experience the first event of Christ being baptized and when he broke break does not mean we are not partaking of the same moment in our remembrance, for even Paul claims that he was crucified in Christ. In a similar way if we claim that we are crucified in Christ we are partaking in a moment already passed but continuing on as well. It is the same thing with the sacraments, we are partaking in a moment passed but yet continuing on. The moment has not passed but yet it is something that is continuous through the body of Christ. The faithful believers in Christ given over to him in submission embody the sacraments.
The mystery of baptism is traditionally understood as the mark of a believer identifying with Christ. On the surface this is completely true but there is so much more to baptism. Upon baptism we are not only being identified in Christ but we are being baptized into his ministry. The true mystery comes when we realize that in baptism we are not only being dipped in water but we are symbolizing the death, burial and the resurrection of Christ. When approaching this sacrament with reverence there is a part of us that is put to death and that is our identification with the sin nature. This act can represent pure and intentional repentance and the willingness to submit to the will of God. In this way we make a true commitment to bury ourselves in order that Christ can take over. This, as our book mentions, is a deep cleansing of sorts. I agree with this statement whole heartedly. There is something in baptism that completely renews and refreshes the mind, body and spirit. It is like we are connecting to the heart of God when we are unashamed to publically proclaim our faith. In this way it identifies us as part of the world but not of the world. In our rebirth we are in essence ushered into the kingdom of God. As we stand before the throne of God if we submit his will, we are changed. We are now a part of a greater narrative in which we serve him as king towards the redemption of his people. The whole of our being is now intertwined in communion with the God of the universe. What a beautiful and sacred moment baptism truly is!
The most profound and beautiful sacrament to me is the mystery of communion. What could I say about this that could truly provide an adequate picture of what this means? All of what Christ did on earth is summarized within the sacrament of communion. It is the culmination of his mission and purpose. There is the breaking of bread that symbolizes his torture and brokenness from bearing the world’s sin and the sharing of wine to symbolize the pouring out of his lifeblood for the forgiveness of sins. This simple gesture grips my heart every time I think about it. The true mystery lies in what is behind it. The God of this universe who created everything and is above everything came to earth as a helpless, weak baby. Not only did he just come to earth and embodied himself in our flesh but he was tempted and tried, felt what we felt, and experienced what we experienced. Not only did he take on our weakness but he showed us perfect compassion, love and mercy. He spent his earthly life in service to others when he could have easily demanded comfort. Despite the goodness of our God in what he did for the people, they abandoned him and persecuted him. They brutally beat him with whips and clubs even their own fists. They mocked him and dishonored him in every way. The torture was so brutal that they beat him until the point of death. Then to add even more insult to injury they made him carry his own cross until he could not anymore. Then they nailed him to the cross naked and abandoned by most. This was the most embarrassing and dishonoring execution they could have given. The bible says, “Cursed is the one that hangs on a tree” and by this he was cursed by his own standard. The mystery in which I know I will never be able to grasp is how an omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient God would ever do this for us. He doesn’t need us but yet our God loved us so much that he would allow himself to be dishonored and desecrated so that we could have the chance to be with him. I will never be able to fathom what it was like, a God that knew no beginning and will know no end, to come and experience death, an end so to speak. Not only to experience death but to experience hell so that he could make an open show of powers and principalities. I cannot know the horror involved in such a thing, I am a created being I knew a beginning and I will know an end, and it is expected. But for God to experience such a thing I cannot begin to describe what that felt like. But through that entire situation God raises victorious! He conquered sin and brought death to an end! He restored an entire world for all of time to come through as simple of a gesture of giving our lives over to Christ! This is what the sacrament of communion is about. We do this in the awesome and reverent remembrance of the sacrifice that was made. But not only in the sacrifice but in the life of the one who showed us how to connect to the heart of God.
In sharing communion we join with Christ in that sacred moment in which he creates a new covenant with humankind; a covenant that is no longer based on merit and legalism but yet on pure love and mercy. The breaking of bread in essence symbolizes represents the faithfulness of God. It is through his sons sacrifice that we are allowed to commune with God and that a life of righteousness is finally obtainable. This is something believers throughout the ages can join in and rejoice in the Lord. In the same way we remember the covenant and the sacrifice we can use this to remind us of what true service looks like. We are to break our bodies which represents our earthly presence and to pour out our own blood which represents our lives so that we no longer live for ourselves but yet we give up what is physical and material gain to devote our lives to the service of God through the ministry of Christ. This reminds us also that we have been have been bought at a price and how great a price! We are no longer of ourselves and slaves to sin but yet we have been given the opportunity to be born again in Christ!
So as we can see there is much to be gained from regarding the mystery involved with the sacraments. I believe in doing so we give the sacraments the proper amount of reverence and respect they deserve. When we lose the sense of mystery is when we begin to take for granted the rituals in which we practice. It is the sacraments that are at the core of our praxis and if we do not revere them then it is almost impossible to honor God because he is the one that instituted such things. The solution to the return of the mystery is simple; we must allow ourselves to be moved by the Holy Spirit. If we allow ourselves to be caught up in the spirit of God then we will begin to regard the sacraments in a whole new light and the possibilities of where our relationship with God goes are endless!
Reverent Reflections 