The Insanity of God

In my hometown Tuesday is the "cheap night" at our local movie theatre.  So, yesterday afternoon late, Hubster and I decided we'd see a movie.  At first, we were looking to go see "Ben Hur", which has been out a few days. Then, we noticed that there was going to be a one-night, single showing of a movie called, "Insanity of God".  Intrigued, we read the description on Fandango, and knew our choice was made.

The theater was packed.  We also ran into some of our church's ministerial staff and church friends were there, which was cool.  We sat down with our popcorn and Coke, and began to be blown away.

Here are my take-aways from this powerful movie.

1.  Most of us American Christians have no idea what persecution for our faith is like.  In countries that are "closed" to the gospel of Jesus Christ, persecution is generational.  Persecution is considered to be both a familial as well as a spiritual birthright.  In China, unless you have been to prison for your faith in Jesus Christ, you are not fully trusted by the underground Christian community.  Prison is their seminary.

2.  There is One True Church of Jesus Christ.  Do you pray for "the persecuted church"?  I have, and do.  But, there is not "the persecuted church" and "the free church"; there is just The Church.  One Body, consumed and propelled by One Spirit, following One Savior, our Lord Jesus.  Similarly, there are not "missionaries" and those that "fill the pews".  We are all missionaries, or should be.  I was shamed to hear the words of my denomination's current leader who said that of the millions of members of our denomination in America, most will go to their graves without having told one, single person the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I can only conclude that our reluctance to share the gospel on a day-in, day-out basis is due to our belief that either: 1) It is not a truth worth sharing or 2) Jesus doesn't really matter.
Yes, we pray for "the persecuted church" because we see them as "the needy ones"; we ought to pray for "the flabby church", because we are the ones who are poor, and wretched, self-indulgent and blind.

3.  God wastes nothing.  No trial or tribulation or hardship we endure, especially those we suffer because of our faith in Jesus Christ, ever goes unnoticed or unused by God.  We may never see how God will use it; but, He will.  Or, we may get to see how God uses it, but not completely.  For example, there is a story in the movie about a man imprisoned for his faith.  In the filming of the movie, as that scene was re-enacted on celluloid, for posterity, the Spirit of the Living God moved yet again, using that trial for His glory AGAIN!
Think about Paul's imprisonment.  Honestly, I do not think he had ANY idea that his little letters would form the backbone of the New Testament.  Many of them were written while he was under house arrest for his faith.
So, if you are suffering today because your Savior and Lord is Jesus Christ, and you are faithfully following Him, God will use and continue to use your sorrow, your pain, your loss to grow your faith as well as the faith of others, and perhaps even those around the world, especially if we yield to Him and let Him be God.
Don't think that your faithful ministry is for nothing. He never wastes anything, but instead uses it all to His glory.

4.  Finally, the movie made me consider the kind of faith I want.  And, here's my renewed commitment.  I want:
a faith based on the Word of God, no matter the cost,
a faith courageous in every circumstance,
a faith that enables me to truly see with Spirit-eyes EVERY opportunity, and to seize it
a fighting faith, one that confronts evil and defeats it
a miraculous faith that "moves mountains"
a faith that I don't merely possess, but a faith that possesses me, a radical, insane faith.

…16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17For our light and temporary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that far outweighs our troubles.18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.…

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Dearest, precious, most Sovereign Father, Your all-powerful works among us humans demonstrate Your perfect plan....a plan that seems rather insane to us most of the time.  Often, it requires us to make super-human sacrifices, because Jesus matters.  He matters eternally, both now and forever. And, because He is all-in-all, no persecution we endure here is either insignificant or forgotten.  I thank you for that.  Almighty One, I lift up to You in prayer today all who love You truly and who are giving their last ounces of strength in Your service, moment to moment.  Strengthen our flabby faith, Jesus, and make us into warriors, brave-hearted warriors, for the sake of Your name, and for the spreading of Your gospel, over the whole world.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Killing the Hostility

Consider this curious creature, cartoonish though it be.  It seems to have two heads, with one eye in each head.  But, would you say that, despite this, it is all part of the same being, the same life form?  I would say so.

Today's post, part 1 of a 2-part series, will offend, unintentionally, some sincere, practicing Jews and probably even some Christians.  Honestly, I doubt that any Jews (other than Messianic Jews) read this blog anyhow; but, well, there you go.  If you are courageous, please read on.

I've said elsewhere in this blog that I have a great love for Jewish people, firmly believing the Old Testament writings, which record how God chose the Jews to be His very own race of people.  Few things would make me happier than to go onto ancestry.com and discover that I have Jewish heritage, though this is "unicorn talk" for the most part.  (In other words, there's about as much chance of that happening as there is of seeing a unicorn....)

The scripture passage for today is Ephesians 2:11-16.  Paul was writing to Gentile Christians, those who lived in Ephesus.  He was not writing to Jews.

1Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh – who are called “uncircumcision” by the so-called “circumcision” that is performed on the body by human hands – 12that you were at that time without the Messiah, alienated from the citizenship of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who used to be far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14For he is our peace, the one who made both groups into one and who destroyed the middle wall of partition, the hostility, 15when he nullified in his flesh the law of commandments in decrees. He did this to create in himself one new man out of two, thus making peace, 16and to reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by which the hostility has been killed.

The rest of this post will deal with establishing background, reviewing history, which is a necessary context to this scripture passage.

Paul was already seeing the schism between orthodox Jews and orthodox Christians play out in the first century.  It was easy to see the beginnings of this in Jesus' ministry.  Although He declared that He had not come to abolish the Law of Moses, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17-20), Jesus was perceived a threat to the established, entrenched Jewish traditions and culture of His day. Accordingly, the Jewish religious leaders riled up a segment of the Jewish people to force the Roman government to put Jesus to death.  Paul, himself, persecuted Christians, whom he perceived to be a cancer on the Jewish religion.

Unfortunately, misguided people have, over the ensuing centuries, blamed and punished the Jews for this "crime" of "killing Jesus", as well as for other "crimes", such as being successful, prosperous citizens.  In particular, the Christian Church has, like an unruly child, persecuted its parent, the Jewish faith. Here are just a few of the atrocities committed against the Jews since the first century.
1.  Jesus as Messiah
Obviously, this was viewed by Jews as an extreme persecution and perversion of their faith. Although there were sincere attempts to reconcile, recruit, proselytize Jews to Christianity during the first century, this attempt was hampered by misinformation spread by the Jewish leadership as well as the Roman diaspora, that destroyed the Temple and ran Jews out of Jerusalem in large numbers.  Still many Jews converted to Christianity, as did many Gentiles.
2.  Early Christian Church Fathers
Satan continued to foster enmity between Jews and Christians through some early church fathers, such as Augustine, who advocated leaving Jews to stew in their suffering, due to their "murder of Christ".  Not all held this view.  (Eusebius was a notable exception.)  But, still, many did.
3. Constantine (300s A.D.)
Widely considered the first Christian monarch, Constantine's love for Christianity was tempered by his revulsion for Jews.  He, along with Hadrian, issued edicts making it very difficult for Jews to practice their faith.
4.  I could go on and on, to talk about the Crusades, Hitler, etc.  But, I'm sure you get my point.

It is heartbreaking for me personally to know that I have sprung from a beautiful faith which has at times been co-opted, besmirched and soiled by heinous actions toward Jews.  I say "co-opted", because such actions are not of God, nor were they advocated by Jesus Christ.  Such actions were, at best, misguided and, at worst, demon-driven.

As Jesus said in Matthew 5, Christianity can no more become divorced from Judaism as our Christian Bible can expel the Old Testament.  Christianity is "Judaism 2.0".  It sprang from Judaism.

As a result of this Satanic persecution (and one can understand why!) most Jewish people find the name of Jesus Christ highly repugnant and offensive.  To even try to talk to a Jew about Jesus is extremely difficult because walls immediately go up.  And, to the opposite, Jews do not try to convert Gentiles to Judaism, as that is generally considered patently ridiculous.

So, what is the solution to this schism?  Can it ever be healed?  What does the Bible (not just the New Testament) say?

We'll resume there in tomorrow's post, beginning with the Old Testament.  Who knows?  We may see a unicorn yet!

Father, I hate this enmity that exists between some Christians and some Jews.  I also hate the fact that even when no such enmity exists, we are so far apart theologically.  This is a schism only You can heal, Father.  I may not see it in my lifetime, but I do trust Your promises, revealed in Your holy Word.  Teach us Truth, O great Supreme Truth!  Open our eyes to see and worship You as You truly are!  In Jesus' name, amen.