The Fix Is In

Today I learned that one of my beloved ones received some disheartening news.  He is discouraged about it.  I wish that I could "fix things" for him in this situation.  It hurts my heart to see him suffer, even though some of it is of his own making.  Especially since that is the case...

When I was a child my daddy would sometimes get a "switch" (a small tree branch for you uninitiated out there) and give me "a switchin'".  I never wanted it, always deserved it (being quite the headstrong child) and still remember it, all these days later.  The sting of the switch was short-lived, but there is one thing about those occasions that lives on in my memory.  My daddy would almost always say, "This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you."

I never believed him then.  In fact, it made me mad, because I thought it a ridiculous statement!  But, as a parent now, I truly understand.  It hurt him to see me suffer, even in that small way.  It hurt his heart more than the sting of the hickory switch hurt my little, scrawny legs.

When Adam and Eve so horribly messed things up for all mankind in the Garden of Eden, don't you know it hurt God's heart terribly, even though He knew they were going to do it?  And, don't you know that He said to Himself, "One of these days I'm gonna fix that."  In fact, He proclaimed that He would, as early as Genesis 3:15.

Many, at Christmas, find the seasonal celebrations unbearable because they have been separated from loved ones.  Sometimes a loved one has died, for instance.  When man sinned, a horrible breach occurred between God and man.  The pain we feel when separated from a loved one is only a taste of the pain God felt when our sin destroyed the fellowship He had formerly enjoyed with mankind.  Oh how He must have grieved that loss...after all, our race was created for fellowship with Him.   And, we had so broken, so blemished that relationship.  Not even "a switchin' " could fix it.

When it was time for Jesus to be born, do you think God may have said something like, "Finally, the time is now right for the ultimate, total solution to be given!"  All those centuries between Eden and Bethlehem, God interacted with mankind in various ways, knowing that only one way could fully reconcile all mankind to Him.  Jesus' birth was the commencement, in our time-bound world, of that eternal plan.

I watched a good, but weird, movie today.  A friends of many decades and I get together every now and then for a meal.  Today, it was a movie and a meal.  Anyway, the movie was weird in that there were aliens (weirdness assured when aliens are involved).  Beyond that, though, there was an aspect of the movie in which Time was fluid.  Time was not the linear, orderly, irrevocable thing to which we are accustomed, to which we are bound in this earthly life.

God is not bound by Time.  For God - - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - - the "fix was in" before creation occurred.  Before Time was created, God had decided "I'm gonna fix that."  At Advent, we celebrate The Fix that came, as we anticipate each year the birth of our Savior, Christ, the Lord.  I'm so glad He came and made things right.

4But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

Galatians 4:4-6 KJV

Hallelujah!  The "fix" is in!

Hello "New"!

Good morning!

Part of the human experience is "dirtying things up".  Houses don't stay clean.  Babies don't stay "changed".  Our cars tend to become "rolling trash heaps", especially in busy families.  It's just a constant battle to keep things clean!

Perhaps that is part of the allure of "new".  New things are clean and fresh and usually beautiful. They smell so good.  They look so good!  We love them.

But, more than the sensory gifts of "new", newness represents a fresh start.  Don't we often want this? Like the little child who erases her pencil scribbling on her classwork to the point she tears a hole in the paper, we long for a new, clean sheet...a second chance.  We long for redemption.

Today's focal point in the Scriptures is 2 Corinthians 5:17, a beautiful jewel in yesterday's passage:

So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away--look, what is new has come!

(NET)

This verse bring hope to the weary, the beaten down, the despairing.  It hands a crisp, new sheet of paper to the frantic soul, searching to be made clean.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, a spiritual transaction takes place between us and Him.  It is as if He hands us a fresh start.  At that moment of our salvation, He places His Holy Spirit within us, forever, takes away all of our sins, forever, and (metaphorically speaking) puts His indelible stamp of ownership on our foreheads.  This transaction brings a transformation: at that moment, we become a new creation of His!

Now, this may seem confusing because this verse does not mean that we will not ever again battle the filth of the human condition.  "Becoming new" does not take away our humanity.  Unfortunately, our in-born, sinful nature co-exists alongside our new, re-born spirit.  So, while He forgives all our sins -- past, present and future, we will continue after our salvation moment to lapse into sin.  We will get somewhat dirty, and will have to regularly come to Him for confession, forgiveness, a spiritual bath, if you will.  Still, the victory overall is ours, because we belong to Him, who has triumphed over sin and death.

Although we will still continue to struggle against sin, Christ "remembers our sins against us no more" (Hebrews 8:12).  Isn't that a precious thought?  So often, we find it hard to accept His forgiveness, his offer of cleansing and newness, because others will not forgive us, or because we won't forgive ourselves.  This is one of Satan's traps.  God has promised that He removes our sins "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12).  While this does not usually mean that we escape the earthly consequences of our past sins, we do in Jesus Christ escape the eternal death that is payment for them.  In our omniscient God's mind, they are eternally "forgotten".

Part of knowing Christ is that we look at things in a new way.  For one thing, in our salvation experience and then resplendent walk, our view of Jesus Christ changes.  Before coming to know Him, our view of Him was tainted by Satan's lies and the world's false portrayals.  Once He lives inside of our hearts, we come to know Him, spirit to Spirit, ours communing with His.  The unbelieving world stops at examining Jesus's earthly life; but we, His own, plumb the depths of His Spirit's riches.  The world is mesmerized by a baby in the manger.  We worship a risen and glorified King on His heavenly throne.

Therefore (as Paul would say), because of this, "and so", when we receive that new sheet of clean paper, that fresh start, what we write on it is different.  We not only view Christ differently, we view others differently also.  We enthusiastically embrace our spiritual gifts .... gifts He gave us to use in the ministry of reconciliation, blogged about yesterday.  We see people not as family, friends, or acquaintances, but rather as people for whom Jesus gave His all, so that they, too, can become a new creation, so that they, too, can receive forgiveness for sins and eternal life in Heaven.

The salvation experience is a glimpse of Heaven, actually.  As humans, we love newness because it gives us a taste of the eternal newness, completion and perfection we will experience that moment we leave this earthly body and come face-to-face with Him.  The image of God in every human, Believer or not, longs for that, because it is how He created us from the very beginning.  He created us to long for the peace which is only found in Him.

Do you know Him?  I don't mean "know OF Him".  But, have you encountered His offer of salvation and accepted Him into your heart?  If not, reach out to Him in prayer, asking Him to rescue you from sin and it's inevitable consequences (eternal death).  Only He is able to hand you that beautiful new start.  Reach out and take it today!

Father, I know that this post was meant for someone today who feels like there is no hope, that there is no escape from his or her past decisions.  But, Lord God, You are the God of the impossible!  It is only You who can "make all things new".  I thank you, Lord Jesus, that you took the payment for all my sins and gave me that "fresh start" so many years ago.  It is a "foretaste of glory divine" to know You and to walk with You, every day of my life.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Peace, Bro'!

Good morning!

I'm attending my first ornament exchange tomorrow night!  Yes, it's only early November.  No, this was not my choice of timing.  No, my house is not decorated.  Yes, I still love Thanksgiving.  Calm down.  The truth is, we are (ready or not!) hurtling inexorably toward the Christmas season.

Reading this morning's passage, one of my favorites, I thought about one of the common Christmas themes "Peace on earth, goodwill to men".  This actually is from Luke 2:14, and is part of the greeting the angels gave to the shepherds who were "keeping watch over their flocks by night" (2:8).  I thought of the Luke 2 passage because its message is the same as the message in today's passage.  Well, enough referring to it!  Here it is:

17 So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away—look, what is new has come! 18 And all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and who has given us the ministry of reconciliation. 19 In other words, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting people’s trespasses against them, and he has given us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His plea through us. We plead with you on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God!” 21 God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (NET)

The peace on earth verse is the "star" of Christmas cards for generations, but most people misinterpret that theme.  They think it means that at Christmas time everyone should stop fighting with each other.   In fact, there are battlefield stories, passed down by soldiers, telling that on Christmas Eve the shooting and shelling stopped, enabling the members of the opposing sides to converse and wish each other "Merry Christmas"!  Still, while that is wonderful, this is not the true meaning of the verse.  When the angels made this proclamation, if you go back and look at it, they exclaim, "Glory to God in the highest"!, right before they proclaim "peace on earth".  Why is that?

The angels were saying, "Give God all the glory because He has made a way for mankind to have peace with God."  The emphasis was not on peace with the fellow man.  God was demonstrating His goodwill to all mankind by sending His Son, the only way to effect peace between God and man. Looking at Paul's words in 2 Cor. 5:18-19, Christ is God the Father's answer to reconcile mankind to Himself.  Only through Jesus Christ's substitutionary sacrifice are our "trespasses" not counted against us.

And, there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among people by which we must be saved.

Acts 4:12 (NET)

Do you like to reconcile your checkbook?  It is a hideous task to me.  Yesterday, I ran into a couple of ladies in charge of an organization's finances and heard them delightedly exclaim, "they both agree"!  I commented to them that it's a fine thing when, in looking at a ledger, the columns "agree". That is what it means to "reconcile".  It means that both parties "get back in line with each other".  The 2 Cor. 5 and Acts 4 passages (and others, such as John 14:6) make that truth very plain.  When we submit to God by accepting Christ's blood sacrifice for our sins, He balances the ledger book.  He reconciles the columns.  We are made right with God.  Hallelujah!

The Greek word Paul chose for "reconcile" is katallaxantos, which was a term used in his day to mean "exchanging coins", or "to pay for something".  When we are "reconciled" to God, it is only through Jesus Christ, who "katallaxantos", paid the price, exchanged the coins with God the Father. Through His obedient death, burial and resurrection, He paid the price for our sins.
God made the One who did not know sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.  So that there would be peace between each person and his God.  When there is peace between God and individuals, you don't have to worry so much about peace between people.  That tends to take care of itself.  Peace, Bro'!

Heavenly Father, all glory to You!  You are worthy of all praise, Father, Son, Spirit!  Thank you for making one and only one way for us to "get our peace in order".  Thank you for being the Author of Peace.  I pray that any reading this blog today will seek and find true peace by going to the Source, by running to You.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Lifting the Veil

Good morning,

It used to be that most brides wore veils which obscured their faces.  Today, that has pretty much fallen by the wayside.  My niece is getting married next month.  I don't know if she is planning on wearing a veil or not, and that's not really the point.  Why did this tradition start in the first place?  Why is it relevant to a reading of today's passage, 2 Cor. 3:7-18?

Remember that Jesus Christ's Church is referred to as His Bride several times in the New Testament. In most of these verses, He is referred to as the Bridegroom. (John 3:28-29) However, there is nothing in either the Old or New Testaments requiring a bride to wear a veil.  In Genesis, we see Leah wearing a veil, although it seems obvious that the main reason she did so was to further her father's deception upon Jacob.

There is a good bit of church tradition associated with the bride wearing a veil, however.  The practice began in Europe in medieval times, when the Crusaders brought the tradition back with them from the East.  At that time, a veil symbolized modesty and purity.  In the traditional Christian wedding ceremony, who would lift the bride's veil? - - - the groom!  Hold on to that thought...

Now, in this passage, Paul is making a comparison, something he loved to do in his writings.  He had studied the Old Testament Scriptures for years, and knew them well.  So, he was very accomplished at weaving together God's dealings with mankind before Christ with how He was manifesting Himself through Christ, as well as after Christ's ascension (the Holy Spirit).

7 But if the ministry that produced death—carved in letters on stone tablets—came with glory, so that the Israelites could not keep their eyes fixed on the face of Moses because of the glory of his face (a glory which was made ineffective), 8 how much more glorious will the ministry of the Spirit be? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry that produced condemnation, how much more does the ministry that produces righteousness excel in glory! 10 For indeed, what had been glorious now has no glory because of the tremendously greater glory of what replaced it. 11 For if what was made ineffective came with glory, how much more has what remains come in glory! 12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we behave with great boldness, 13 and not like Moses who used to put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from staring at the result of the glory that was made ineffective. 14 But their minds were closed. For to this very day, the same veil remains when they hear the old covenant read. It has not been removed because only in Christ is it taken away. 15 But until this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds,16 but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled faces reflecting the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, which is from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

2 Cor. 3:7-18  NET

 In Exodus 24:9-18 we are told that Moses (and about 70 elders) journeyed to the top of the mountain (Sinai).  Although all of these men "saw God" (!), only Moses was permitted direct access.  He stayed on the mountain for 40 days and nights.  In that time, Exodus 25-32, God gave Moses the Mosaic Law, God's rules for the good development and the preservation of His chosen people.  Moses was gone so long that many feared he was dead, and that led to the disastrous golden calf debacle. Anyhow, we read in Exodus 33:11 that

"the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend."

However, in His dealings with Moses, God veiled His own glory.  Look at Exodus 33:18-23.

18 And he {Moses} said, “Please, show me Your glory.” 19 Then He said, “I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.” 20 But He said, “You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live.” 21 And the Lord said, “Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by. 23 Then I will take away My hand, and you shall see My back; but My face shall not be seen.”

So, Moses only saw the glory of the Lord from that back side, because he could not live had he been exposed to the full-on glory of God.  Such mystery!  It is plain that God revealed Himself in varying degrees to men and women of the Old Testament, as suited His purposes.

Next, we have the passage Paul references in 2 Cor. 3.  It's Exodus 34:29-35, which describes how Moses' face shone supernaturally after his second trip up Mt. Sinai to speak with God.  It shone so fiercely that the Israelites were frightened.  So, Moses donned a veil, when he would appear before the people.

Paul states that God's way of dealing with the Israelites, the way of the law, was a "ministry of death".  It begs the question, then, "Why did God choose to establish the 10 commandments and the Mosaic Law?"  Most theologians agree that He did it for a couple of reasons:
1.  To show people how to live clean, honorable and productive lives
2.  To show people that keeping God's standards of holiness is impossible.

In Christ, we who believe in Him partake of His new covenant, not the old, condemnatory covenant of death (the Law).  He lifts the veil from our eyes and minds, allowing us to see God the Father in a revolutionary revelation.  Because of this, we are actual recipients of God's glory in a way Moses could never have been.  Because His Holy Spirit lives within us continually, we are to an ever-greater degree reflecting the glory of our Lord as we are transformed more and more into His image.  The Lord God Himself does this in our lives.
Remember what I said earlier about how, in the traditional Christian marriage ceremony the groom lifts the bride's veil?  A beautiful picture of what Jesus Christ does for His own Bride, is it not?

Another image that comes to mind here is the image of what was called the Temple Veil, which was supernaturally split in two from top to bottom, during the earthquake that occurred the moment Christ died on the cross (Matt. 27:51, Mark 15:38, Luke 23:45). God did this to symbolize the removal of the barrier between God the Father and His creation, mankind, because it revealed the most holy room of the Temple, the Holy of Holies, the place where the presence of God would come down to meet with select priests, who represented God's people.  With Christ's finished work, however, (under His new covenant) there was no longer any need for such separation, or even a priest, as Jesus Christ is now our "High Priest", our only pathway to the Father.  Glory to God!

Dear Father,
Thank you for how you tore down the veil separating us from You, by providing the eternal solution to our sin problem, through Your Son.  Thank you for how Jesus Christ lifts the veil of His Bride, the Church Universal, as He transforms each of us, His children, more and more into His glory.  May we reflect His glory in our unveiled faces, more and more each day.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

http://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/17212/what-is-the-meaning-and-origin-of-bridal-veils-in-christian-weddings

Making Whole

Good morning,

When I was growing up, I expressly remember my parents telling me that it was wrong to sue another person in court.  It was a pervasive belief in my small community, of whom most members were church-goers.  That belief stemmed from today's scripture passage, 1 Cor. 6:1-8.

6 When any of you has a legal dispute with another, does he dare go to court before the unrighteous rather than before the saints? 2 Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you not competent to settle trivial suits? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? Why not ordinary matters! 4 So if you have ordinary lawsuits, do you appoint as judges those who have no standing in the church? 5 I say this to your shame! Is there no one among you wise enough to settle disputes between fellow Christians?6 Instead, does a Christian sue a Christian, and do this before unbelievers? 7 The fact that you have lawsuits among yourselves demonstrates that you have already been defeated. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 But you yourselves wrong and cheat, and you do this to your brothers and sisters!

Two things jump out to me in this passage, the first being that we will judge the world (vs. 2) and the second being that we will judge angels (vs. 3).  My current understanding is that this will take place after the true Church is removed from this world during the Rapture, and after the Antichrist/Beast has been destroyed.  Elsewhere, we are told that we, His children, will "possess the Kingdom" and rule and reign with Him.  The Holy Ones' rule/reign will begin during the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ.  Here are some verses that support that assertion:
1.  Daniel 7:17-18, 21-22

17 ‘These large beasts, which are four in number, represent four kings who will arise from the earth. 18 The holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will take possession of the kingdom forever and ever.’ 21 While I was watching, that horn began to wage war against the holy ones and was defeating them, 22 until the Ancient of Days arrived and judgment was rendered in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. Then the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom.

2.  Revelation 20:4

4 Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

3.  Luke 19:17-19  In the parable of the talents, Jesus indicates that His own would rule over cities:

17 And the king said to him, ‘Well done, good slave! Because you have been faithful in a very small matter, you will have authority over ten cities.’ 18 Then the second one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 So the king said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’

4.  Psalm 149:6-9

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth,

And a two-edged sword in their hand,

To execute vengeance on the nations,

And punishments on the peoples;

To bind their kings with chains,

And their nobles with fetters of iron;

To execute on them the written judgment—This honor have all His saints. Praise the Lord!

5. And, finally, 2 Timothy 2:11-12

11 This saying is trustworthy:

If we died with him, we will also live with him.

12 

If we endure, we will also reign with him, 

If we deny him, he wlso will deny us..

Positionally, in eternity --- that state of being in which there is no time, no past, no present, no future - - - we are already kings and queens, based on what Jesus Christ has forever settled on our behalf. Our sin debt, our account before God, is settled.  Done!  He has made us whole.  Oh, if only we could embrace what we already have in Him!  How the Church could revolutionize the world for Jesus Christ.  His kingdom, which lives in each of us now, would truly come, on earth, as it is in Heaven. And, one day, that will happen....not because we have willed it so, but because God has declared it.

With all of this in mind, Paul is terribly agitated about the carnal behavior of the Corinthians.  Instead of living out their birthright in Christ, they were wallowing in their sin, like pigs.  Specifically, they were suing one another in the civil courts, over what we are not told.  But, it really does not matter. Paul's injunction to not sue is directed to Christians who sue one another.  He does not prohibit a Christian from suing a non-believer.  Paul's point in reminding the Corinthians about their position in Jesus Christ is that they need to settle their disputes among themselves, within the Christian community - - - that when they sued one another they brought ridicule and scorn down on their heads from the unbelieving world.  Such behavior tarnished their testimony of Jesus Christ.  They had lost sight of who they were and more importantly, WHOSE they were.

There will be disputes among people of faith.  We all struggle with our sinful nature in what I call "the nasty now-and-now", even while positionally, we are Christ's and are "new creatures".  (I want to blog about that later.)  The answer is NOT to simply "swallow it down" when we are wronged or perceive ourselves to have been wronged.  This "solution" only produces bitterness and suppressed rage.  The answer is found in Matthew 18:15-18, 21-22...Jesus' words!

15 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. 16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. 17 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.

21 Then Peter came to him and said, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother who sins against me? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy-seven times!

Furthermore, when we realize we've wronged a brother or sister in Christ, when the Holy Spirit convicts us of such, we should be quick to run to them and apologize, make restitution, and basically "make whole".  Again, Jesus' words (Sermon on the Mount):

So then, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother and then come and present your gift. 

"Make whole" is a term used in reference to compensating a party for a loss sustained. The precise definition varies, according to contract terms and local laws. It may include either actual economic losses or to actual economic and non-economic losses, and not necessarily to the settlement value of the case. In the context of a loan, it typically refers to the amount left owed to the lender under the terms of the loan.1
Sometimes, "making whole", reconciliation, requires giving selflessly to make things right with a Christian brother or sister.

Making whole....isn't that what Jesus Christ did for us?  He has made us "whole", forever and ever.
Should we do less for one another?

Whew!  All of this prescribed behavior requires swallowing a big old "pride loogie", doesn't it?  I declare to you that if we, the Church, practiced this, there would be far fewer schisms and fractures in the Church.  The non-believing world would be astounded!  Jesus Christ would be glorified, as opposed to our own self-aggrandizement; and, the world would be drawn to Him.

Father, I confess that I'm not terribly fond of 1 Corinthians.  It is hard to study these teachings and even harder to embrace them.  Coram Deo, Lord!  As R.C. Sproul says2 : "To live coram Deo is to live one's entire life in the presence of God, under the authority of God, to the glory of God."  May we live as though we walk in your presence every moment, because that is our present reality and our future as well.  You live in us, and are with us at every moment.  Lord, make coram Deo so, in my life.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Sources:
1     http://definitions.uslegal.com/m/make-whole/
2     http://www.ligonier.org/blog/what-does-coram-deo-mean/