To Rest

Are you rested?

The more analytical of you would respond by answering, "what does she mean by 'rested'?"

In our current day, on the day I'm meditating on these scriptures, many in the USA are very restless. Last night, there were many demonstrations in large cities across the country, to protest the outcome of the landslide presidential election held just two days ago.

There are essentially two kinds of rest:  physical rest and spiritual rest, which encompasses emotional rest and peace in the soul.  Of the two, the latter is the more complex.

I have a friend whom I'm constantly enjoining to "get more sleep".  This dude runs on about 4-5 hours of sleep in a 24-hour period.  How?  I don't know.  But, he's in his 50s, and still living and breathing.  Others of us humans need around 7.5 or some as much as 9-10.  Further, there are "morning people" and "night people".  I am the former, but don't disparage the latter as my precious husband falls into that category.  Of our two sons, we have one of each type.  Physical rest is pretty uncomplicated.  Get it and you'll be healthier.  Don't, and your health will be adversely affected.

7You have put gladness in my heart,
         More than when their grain and new wine abound.

8In peace I will both lie down and sleep,

         For You alone, O LORD, make me to dwell in safety.

Psalm 4:7-8 (NET)

Physical rest, although uncomplicated, is impacted by the more complicated concept of spiritual rest. If your soul is at peace, your body will rest better also. So, let's get to that this morning.  Today's main text is Hebrews 4:9 (NET) - - -

Consequently, a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God.

What does this mean?

Those of you familiar with the Ten Commandments will recall that one of them is this:

"Remember the Sabbath, to keep it holy."  

8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:

11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exodus 20:8-11

These verses are pretty self-explanatory.  The Old Testament Jews took them very seriously.  Jesus demonstrated by picking a few heads of grain as He walked through a grain field that the Jews' many man-made "rules and regs" concerning keeping the Sabbath had become an unbearable burden all on their own. (Mark 2:23, Matthew 12:1).  Jewish rabbis had, down through the centuries, "added to" God's commandment to dedicate the 7th day of the week to rest and to worship Him.  The result was (predictably) a monstrosity.

I do believe that this principle of resting and dedicating one day a week to rest and the worship of our God is valuable, although our rest and worship should certainly not stop there.  It is also, in our day and time, horribly difficult to 100% do, (particularly if you are involved in full-time ministry.  In those cases, your "day of rest" is not Sunday because on that day you absolutely must "work".)  When I was a child it was much easier.  All commerce was closed on Sundays.  After church, you had lunch and then you napped in the afternoon before consuming a simple supper.  Maybe you drove over to visit a friend or loved one.  Simpler times.  Now, it is more challenging.

But, let's get to the larger principle that the writer of Hebrews makes in 4:9.  In prior references with the word "rest", the author of Hebrews uses the Greek word "katapausis", from which we get our English word "pause".  But, in 4:9, he uses a word that is used nowhere else in the New Testament but in this verse: "Sabbatismos".  In this way, the writer of Hebrews is linking and contrasting the "new covenant" of Jesus with the "old covenant" practice of "keeping the Sabbath".

The main purpose of the Sabbath rest in the Old Testament was to allow the people to focus their attention on their relationship with God, to praise and worship Him, as well as to experience physical rest from their labors.  In the new covenant of Jesus Christ, we find the Old Testament Sabbath expanded and fulfilled.  Jesus said this, in Matthew 11:29.

"....I will give you rest for your souls."

Both in the Old Testament and New Testament, the people of God have been invited to enter God's rest the only way God provided, which was by faith.  In the new covenant of Jesus Christ, faith is still the entry mode, but the rest Jesus provides is transformational, all-encompassing.  It is a rest prepared from before creation (vs. 3).  We who know Jesus Christ have a promised "eternal rest" for our souls, which we can experience in the form of supernatural peace today, regardless of circumstances, and will experience ultimately in "eternal rest" in Heaven with our Savior.  It is both a current, local rest for the soul and simultaneously a future rest in Heaven forever.

The heavenly "rest" will be more like a Sabbath celebration as pictured in the Old Testament.  We won't be merely sitting around on clouds "resting".  Instead, freed from the sin nature with which we constantly must contend in this life, we will worship, praise, celebrate our Savior in His "Unshakeable Kingdom" (Heb. 12:22-24).

This is our peace as Christians, an unassailable peace which buoys us up, no matter our present, earthly circumstances ... a supernatural peace that unbelievers cannot know.  As many of us have said in recent days: "no matter the outcome of this presidential election, God is still on His throne".  His promises are eternally secure.  In them, in Him, we have the full gamut of rest ... even better than that of a sleeping baby!

Dear Father, thank you for this teaching about the Sabbath and about Your holy rest provided to us through our Savior, Jesus.  In His name, amen.

Sources:

1     http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/sabbath-rest/

2     Cockerill, Gareth Lee. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. Kindle edition. 

The Ultimate Sin

This being Election Day in the USA, some of you, my readers, may think that voting for a candidate who was not YOUR choice could be "the ultimate sin"!  But, that is not what today's post is about.

What do you think of when you consider "the ultimate sin"?  What would it be?  Murder (abortion, homocide, serial killing)?  Sexual assault (rape, child pornography, incest)?  Lying?  Thievery?

As horrific and heinous as all of these sins (and many more) are, they can all be put under the blood of Jesus Christ.  In other words, those sins, if confessed, will be forgiven by God.  There is one sin which will not.

When I was a young parent....well, actually, I was never a YOUNG parent, becoming one at age 35.   But, when I had young children I believed that I would "raise them right".  I knew Jesus then, as now, and knew how principles of godly living were the best prescription out there for success in life.  So, I was excited to "train them up in the way they should go" (Proverbs 22:6).  Around 9th grade, however, they stopped listening to me.  I was completely flummoxed!  I asked God repeatedly, "Why did you give me and my husband these gifts of wisdom, which are being wasted?"  (No, disobeying one's parents is not "the ultimate sin"!)  There are few worse feelings than either wondering if your child has taken your training to heart or, worse, seeing the incontrovertible evidence that they have not.  Still, they are our children; and, we love them.

I guess that is how God felt with the Hebrew children. Finally, with the incident at Kadesh, He removed His hand of blessing from that repeatedly disobedient generation entirely.  I'm pretty sure it is how He feels about us "wayward children" every moment of every day.

Being wayward is one thing.  All of us who love and follow Jesus as Savior make mistakes, wrong choices, say unholy things, think unholy thoughts DAILY as we struggle with our still-present sin natures. We won't be free of that struggle until we die and are face-to-face with Jesus.  When we sin in this manner, there is no doubt that our sin grieves the Holy Spirit who lives within us.  Charles Spurgeon describes this grief as, not anger, but rather, a combination of anger tempered with love.1 When we Christians sin, we "quench the fire" of the Holy Spirit in our lives; this causes Him great sorrow.  The remedy is quick confession of that sin, repentance, forgiveness and restoration.

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Ephesians 4:30

The Ultimate Sin is quite another thing entirely, and some of the Hebrews at Kadesh were guilty of it. This sin underlies and gives birth to every other sin. The writer of Hebrews devotes one and a half chapters of his book to it, using the Hebrews in the desert outside Canaan as his "Exhibit A".

The Ultimate Sin is also called in the New Testament "blaspheming the Holy Spirit".  Jesus speaks of it in Matthew 12:22-32 and also in Mark 3:28-30 (given below).  In the Matthew passage, Jesus is performing miracles, which have been seen by a group of Pharisees.  They heard His words of life-saving truth. These men were presented with incontrovertible evidence that Jesus is Messiah.  Yet, they attribute His miracles to Satan.  In fact, they accused Jesus of being possessed by demons.  "Standing before the Light of the World, bathed in His glory, they defiantly closed their eyes and became willfully blind.  Jesus pronounced that sin to be unforgivable."2
Jesus' words in Mark 3 - -

28I tell you the truth, people will be forgiven for all sins, even all the blasphemies they utter. 29But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin” 30(because they said, “He has an unclean spirit”).

Calling God a liar by rejecting Him: this is The Ultimate Sin...the sin with eternal consequences, the sin that will not be forgiven, the sin that sends a person to Hell.  "Unbelief encompasses disobedience, for it is BOTH the refusal (or willing failure) to trust God and the consequent lack of faithfulness TO God."3  It springs from a rebellious heart but becomes real in the concrete act of refusal.  This is fatal unbelief.  Eternally fatal.

In the USA this is Election Day, but it is also "Today".  Hebrews 3:7 - - -

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

"Oh, that today you would listen as He speaks!"

There are some of you reading this who are rejecting God and His pleading for your soul.  You want no part of Him.  I beg you to reconsider.  Jesus made it plain that the person who rejects God and His "one way" to Heaven will NOT end up there, after this physical life ends.  Not a single person is promised one.more.day. on this Earth.  Over the last week, I have learned of two acquaintances who died almost instantly. Death was not on their agendas that day.  One was in her 70s; the other was in his 20s.  Thanking God that, from all I could tell, both knew Jesus Christ as Savior and so, therefore, are rejoicing with Him in Heaven right now.

Surrender to the Lover of your Soul today.  Here's how: (skip down to the ***section)

http://resplendentdaughter.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-main-thing.html

Lord Jesus, I am so thankful that never, ever again will I have to live one moment apart from You.  I am Yours, and You are mine.  Still, my heart breaks for those who are rejecting You, even as You extend the invitation for rescue, day after day. The enemy has blinded so many.  I pray that Your Holy Spirit will not give up on those we love so dearly.  I plead for them today, Lord God, while they have "Today".  Open their eyes and give them a glimpse of who You really are!  Have patience greater than that of any human's, Lord!  Please draw them to Yourself.  Please save them.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Sources:

1     http://www.spurgeon.org/sermons/0278.php
2     https://gotquestions.org/unpardonable-sin.html
3     Cockerill, Gareth Lee. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. Kindle edition. 

Jesus Wept, Then and Now

"Hear my prayer, O LORD!

Listen to my cry for help!

Do not ignore my sobbing!

For I am dependent on you, like one residing outside his native land..."

Psalm 39:12 (NET)

Being somewhat dense and obtuse about such matters anyway (my intuition IQ is low), it was not until this morning that I realized a contemporary of my older son had passed away suddenly over the weekend.

22 years old.  Handsome.  Smart.  Kind.  Dead from a massive heart attack.  Sudden death.

What are we supposed to do with that?

The Christian response tends toward the philosophical at such times, whereupon we hear (and spout) such platitudes as:
"It was just his time to go."
"God is in control."
Etc.

Non-Christians look at us at such times with incredulousness and horror.  And why not?  Our theology has eclipsed our humanity.

Theology, even good theology, is no cure for the broken heart of loved ones who cry out from the depths of devastation, "How can I now go on?!"

It is so very, very easy to believe God and to believe IN God when your children are safe and healthy, when things are rosy all around.  But, when they are not, we humans generally choose one of two paths:

• We either run to God for supernatural comfort that only He can give.  Or... 
• We harden our hearts against Him because of our deep pain and walk away.

It is never harder to turn to God than when in our pain because, at some level, we all have to deal with the temptation to "blame Him" for what happened. Our limited minds are unable to make sense of it.  As Martha and Mary said to Jesus, who arrived just a few days after her brother, Lazarus, had died,

"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died!" 

(John 11:20, 32 ESV)  

We, too, are prone to question, like those gathered around Lazarus' tomb, while Jesus stood there and wept with those he loved:

"See how he loved him!"  But, some of them said, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?" 

(John 11:36-37 ESV) 

In our current study of Hebrews we see the negative example of the Hebrew people given in chapters 3 and 4.  When times turned very ugly for them, after leaving Egypt, they questioned God and turned away from Him in unbelief (Numbers 14:33-34).  With every hardship, their hearts became harder against God, until finally, He removed His hand of blessing from them.

What does God long to do in our times of pain?  Punish us by pushing us away?  No.  He longs to gather us to Himself where He can pour out the miraculous comfort that only He is capable of giving. Like when Lazarus died, He knows our pain and weeps with us.  The only bit of theology He imparted on that sorrowful occasion was this beautiful promise:

"I am the resurrection and the life.  Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.  Do you believe this?"

John 11:25-26 (ESV)

Belief.  Faith.

As His children, Christians, we are the only Jesus that an unbelieving world sees.  No one wants to hear your sanctimonious words of false comfort or your theological platitudes in a time of unimaginable pain.  What is needed is for His true children to represent Him as He would if He were still here on earth, instead of sitting at God's right hand, where He is praying for us, interceding for us every moment.  What is needed is for us to live out Romans 12:15 - - 

"...weep with those who weep."

Father, our hearts are broken over the sudden loss of this precious young man.  We are just stunned, reeling.  We don't understand why this had to be.  Lord, I pray for all who loved him and will go on loving him until the day of their own death.  In this time of deepest grief, be real through us your children, who love you and trust you with all of our lives, the good, the bad and the ugly.  I trust you, Lord, because I know that your ways are perfect.  But, that knowledge is not enough right now.  So, Lord Jesus, weep with us.  I pray your immense love will shine forth, be poured out in abundance over this family and these friends today and in the many days to come.  In Your holy name I pray, amen.

Steadfast to the End

As was mentioned yesterday, it is crucial in Bible study to not interpret passages independently from other Bible passages on the same theme, but rather to "rightly divide the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).  Taken together as a whole, the Bible constitutes "the whole counsel of God" (Acts 20:27).
For example, Ephesians 2:8-9 handled so inexpertly could lead to an extreme position of "Grace will cover any evil and faithless behavior; I am able to sin freely without consequence because of grace". The bookend to Ephesians 2:8-9 is James 2:17, which tells us that faith unaccompanied by the good works that distinguish the life of a believer from a non-believer is "false faith" or "dead faith".

This example helps us to frame Hebrews 3 which, at a casual reading, could lead the reader to conclude that it is the believer's perseverance in good works that either creates his eternal salvation OR that "keeps him saved".  In other words, if a person professes Christ and then somewhere along the way begins to be sidetracked through "wilderness wanderings", shall we say, then, that person has blown it, lost his salvation, somehow reverted back into a state of "un-redemption".  Through his actions he has managed to "undo" what the saving grace of God formerly did.

Such a conclusion would be wrong and unsubstantiated through the whole of scripture.  The book of Hebrews itself must be taken all together as a whole in this regard, since in Hebrews 11:6 reminds us ....

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

A vibrant, living, life-changing faith in the One whose grace covers all our sins pleases God and makes us right with Him.  What does it mean, then, this urgent admonition to the Hebrew believers to "persevere" (the opposite of which is to "harden your heart")?

The writer of Hebrews has here given us the example of the Old Testament Hebrew children who obviously did not persevere at Kadesh.  In fact, it was this "final straw" incident which led God to remove His hand of blessing from them.  The consequence of their unbelief/lack of faith was that they did not enjoy God's rest in the Promised Land, but were, instead, relegated to wandering in the desert until their collective generation completely died out.

Did the Hebrew children cease to become God's people?  Did they lose their position as His chosen race?  No, they did not.  However, through their hardened hearts and lack of faith they lost the blessings of God upon their lives.  Obviously, some of those Hebrew children were never true believers in God and His ways at all.  They never possessed saving faith, as modeled by their God-appointed leader, Moses.  (And, even he did not make a perfect model, striking the rock as he did in a rash act of faithlessness.)

The same was true of the New Testament Hebrew believers, and the same is true today.  Not all who claim the name of Jesus Christ are truly His.  Cockerill distinguishes these two groups as "true believers" and "apparent believers".1  Perseverance and steadfastness are always marks of true believers.

According to Paul, that stellar apostle of the message of grace, true believers are to be "unmoveable".
1 Corinthians 15:58 (ESV) - -

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

What does this characteristic of steadfastness mean?

1.  First of all, it means to be firmly grounded in the Word of God, so much so that the believer has a correct understanding on which to stand.  It is easy to topple someone who is not standing on a firm foundation, that is, on an unbalanced, incorrect interpretation of the Bible.  So, Bible study is a necessity for the true believer, in order to produce discernment and to grow into a confident steadfastness.  This is not the equivalent of a stubborn "unteachableness".   It does, however, produce a Christian who can evaluate all "teaching" in light of the whole counsel of God, as revealed in the Bible.  This is why we must not shy away from "difficult" teachings in the word of God, but rather embrace them, chew on them, seek other passages on that topic in order to search out the whole of the teaching, as opposed to focusing merely on that one part.  Failure to do so leads often to error.

2.  Secondly, steadfastness means actively cultivating a soft heart.  This is not a spiritual weakness, but rather a spiritual strength.  Elsewhere in scripture we find the admonition to "break up our fallow ground" (Hosea 10:12 NKJV)

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

And what IS "fallow ground"?  Well, you can see a lot of it in my area right now!  We have had no rain here in months; therefore, the ground is hard, compacted, largely impenetrable but for the strongest tools.   In order for there to be growth, that ground will need to be softened by rain and broken up by various instruments.  Otherwise, seed planted there will die.  As true Christians, we must invite the Holy Spirit to soften our hearts by illuminating our minds as we study the Word and also to allow Him to change us through the illumination.  It does no good to merely read and learn the truths of God if we harden our hearts against what we learn and continue in unrighteous disobedience.  True faith produces works of righteousness.  James nailed it when he said, "But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

A soft, submissive, yielded heart is hallowed ground, where the Holy Spirit can produce in us "works of righteousness".  The deeds/actions which follow give evidence of the transformed life, tangible proof of the God who lives within us.  Such obedience produces and enables steadfastness.

The Christian life can be discouraging as we will never reach a Christ-like state of perfection.  Discouragement can chip away at steadfastness by convincing ourselves that we are a "hopeless case" or that holiness is an "impossible standard".  But, in the final analysis, our Savior is (as He is in everything) a perfect model for steadfastness.  He is steadfastly devoted in His love for us.  He is the anchor who holds our salvation safe and secure.  As the old hymn says...

Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,
When the clouds unfold their wings of strife?
When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,
Will your anchor drift or firm remain?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior's love.2


Sources:

1     Cockerill, Gareth Lee. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 2012. Kindle edition. 

2      https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/331

Making Biscuits

I recently completed a Beth Moore Bible study, her latest, "Entrusted"1, and I thank my sisters at First Baptist Canton (the two Barbaras, Tangella, Kathy...and I'm sure I'm forgetting someone...) for their joyful dedication in bringing this study to the north Canton community.  It was a pure joy.

In the study, toward the end, Beth asked her pupils to consider their own ministries and those areas that are the most troublesome.  On Day Three of Section 3, we were examining 2 Timothy 2:15.  I ask you to read it below, as it is pertinent to our study today of Hebrews 3, the main text.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

On this topic, here is what I wrote in my workbook the day I was plowing through my Bible study "homework":  "Regardless of the biblical teaching, if we twist the Scriptures in order to remove the power, reality, applicability of them to us today, then we are profaning the Word of God and spreading error."

This is something constantly on my mind as I study and especially as I blog (and vlog).  There are many times in writing a blog post I stop and ask the Spirit if my interpretation is right.  The consequences for being wrong are just too great.

In particular, and extremely relevant to Hebrews 3, is the tendency to crash one truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ into pieces against another.  If I, and others who teach, "correctly teach the word of truth", we won't do that.

So, here is our passage from Hebrews 3 today, ESV translation.  We may spend more than one post here.  We'll see.

1Therefore, holy brothers,^a you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, 2who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God’s^b house. 3For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. 4(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) 5Now Moses was faithful in all God’s house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6but Christ is faithful over God’s house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.^c

7Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
8do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
9where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
10Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
11As I swore in my wrath,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

12Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. 13But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. 14For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.15As it is said,

“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.”

16For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.

The theme that resonates through this chapter with me is "steadfastness".  Interestingly, when I googled "steadfastness in Christ" the first page was full of Mormon links.  I mention this to point out the potential for erroneous interpretation in this passage.  One of the reliable sources I often visit in blogging, gotquestions.org also roped 2 Timothy 2:15 into the study of this topic.  So, you see, it is a delicate one.

The image that comes to mind for me is making biscuits.  I hope to God that I am a better Christian blogger than I am a biscuit-maker!  The trick to making a light and fluffy biscuit is to not "handle" the dough overly much.  The more you handle it, knead it, stir it, the heavier and clunkier your biscuit. You end up serving something no one wants to eat, causing your Southern sisters to cluck and shake their heads!

So, this is what I want you to do.  Read Hebrews 3 here or, if you are really intrigued, in a couple of other translations, and then jot down in a couple of sentences what God seems to be saying here through the author of Hebrews.  And, next time we are together here in cyberspace, I'll try to make some good, fluffy biscuits!

Father, once again, I thank you that Your Word is divine.  We are like ants trying to comprehend a skyscraper.  Without the illumination your Holy Spirit provides, our understanding of the Bible is impossible.  Precious Lord, please protect our souls from error.  We are so prone, as were our spiritual ancestors, the members of the first century church!  If they, then how much more so we?  So, guard our hearts and at the same time illumine them!  Let Your Word be a lamp to our feet, and a light to our path.  In Jesus' name, amen.

Source:

1    Moore, B., Moore, M., & Smith, K. (2016). Entrusted: A study of 2 Timothy. Nashville, TN: LifeWay Press. 

Halloween Look-Back

Honestly, I have a mixed relationship about Halloween. On the one hand, the kids look so cute in their costumes, and they enjoy it so much.  I absolutely love fall festivals and autumn celebrations and Book Character Dress-up Days, which allow kids to wear non-scary costumes.  I've even dressed up on Halloween as an adult, in order to distribute candy at our door.

What I don't like is anything that celebrates the evil dimension of the spirit world.  I don't watch The Walking Dead.  (I did enjoy the movie Young Frankenstein several years ago as comedy, but again...comedy.)  I really don't view such media as total "fiction", you understand, because I am acquainted with the demonic origins of such "legends".

Yeah, there is a part of me that acknowledges Halloween to be a high holy day of the Satanic calendar.1  And, that makes me want to hurl.  Most of us, even Christians, want to pretend that Satanism and occult activity do not exist.  But, they most certainly do.  We get lulled into ignorance on the topic because, of all religions, Satanism is the most highly secretive.  You would never know who the high priests of Satanism are in your community, because they lead and live double lives.

So, with all that in mind, yet not proceeding down the rabbit hole, I exhort all of us believers to have nothing to do with the unfruitful ways of darkness, but rather, to speak out against them, to expose them (Ephesians 5:11).

Here's how I was able to do this on Monday night past, our most recent Halloween.  A small group from our new church set out a table with treats, lemonade and bottled water at the end of the driveway of a home in a large neighborhood.  It was a very warm night, and the lemonade was a huge hit!  The treat bags contained a postcard introducing families to our new church.  It was a pleasure to meet the neighbors of our friend whose home we borrowed, and it gave me supreme joy to "poke Satan in the eye".

What Satan means for evil God can always use for good.  Will everyone respond by visiting our church?  Probably not.  But, what if a few families attend and get to hear the gospel for the first time? Or, what if a family looking for a Bible-believing church is able to find a church home with us?  What if only one life is impacted positively for Jesus Christ and for the sake of the gospel?

Then, I'd say last Monday night was a "Hallo-win"!

Father, thank you for creative opportunities to share the good news of our Savior!  I pray that the seeds planted two nights ago will germinate and flourish.  Even if a family does not visit us, I pray that their souls will be pricked to visit another Bible-preaching church, where they can meet Jesus and where as a family they can learn and be discipled together!

Sources:

http://www.theopenscroll.com/hosting/SatanicCalendar.htm

Jesus Our Apostle

This is just a short post today to bring (hopefully!) some clarity to the confusing appellation the writer of Hebrews 3:1 gives to Jesus, namely that of Apostle.

Weren't there only 12 apostles?  Why is Jesus being called here "Apostle"?

F.F. Bruce, in his landmark Hebrews commentary, indicates that an "apostle" is "God's representative among human beings".1  The Greek word used here for "apostle" is "Apostolon" (Ἀπόστολον). The same word is also used in Philippians 2:25, to apply to Epaphroditus.  It is translated there as "messenger".  It helps me to consider the connotation of "envoy".

So, in that sense, Jesus, as God's "Last Word" to humankind, is the Ultimate Messenger of the gospel of God.  And, therefore, He is our divine Apostle.  "For he is not only, as has been emphasized already, the one in whom God has revealed himself finally and completely, but also the perfect embodiment of humanity's obedient response to God."1
Don't mistake this title as diminishing Jesus to the role of a mere earthly apostle.

Here, in the first few verses of Hebrews 3, Moses is contrasted with Jesus, who is both Apostle and High Priest.  Moses was certainly an apostle/prophet to the Hebrews, even though his brother, Aaron, was the progenitor of the Levitical, priestly line.  Though Aaron was given the title of first high priest of Israel, it was Moses who God invested with the role of Israel's true advocate before Father God. Moses represented for the Christian Jews the "old order, old economy".  Jesus represented and represents the new.   In a similar way as Moses was (although Moses was a vastly inferior "type" of Christ), as our high priest Jesus is our one, true Advocate with Father.

There is a huge church in our metropolitan area called The Church of the Apostles.  I always wondered why the founder chose that name.  In a way, like our Head, Jesus, who is our Apostle, we are all "apostles" in a very general, yet important sense of the word.

We are God's representatives among human beings, as we live out our Christian lives.
What an awesome, fearsome, amazing opportunity!  As Beth Moore puts it in her "Entrusted" study:
"One of the most grown-up realities we will ever accept is that we are His wonders with the greatest potential impact on the lost, the cynical, and the hopeless.  We - - former liars, cheaters, idolaters, adulterers, mockers, haters, backstabbers, abusers, murderers, atheists, and narcissists - - are placed by God right in the eyeshot of unbelievers who can refuse to look up but can't help looking out."

Oh dear God....may we walk worthy!  May we walk....resplendent!  In Jesus' name, amen. 

Sources:

1    Bruce, F. F. The Epistle to the Hebrews. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans, 1990. Kindle edition.