Things to ponder, friends...today I thought I would draw directly from the lectionary readings from yesterday. Let's start with the reading from Acts 11:1-18.
Imagine you are Peter in this story from Acts 11. You've just heard that Gentiles are receiving the Holy Spirit. The thing is, your religion, your very society, prohibits - or at best discourages you - from associating with Gentiles. You are a Jew. Yet, Peter goes anyway. When he returns, he is criticized for associated with "unclean" Gentiles. In fact, rumor has it that Peter has eaten their (non-kosher) meat! This is unbelievable! An outrage to the religious culture from which these followers of Jesus grew up in. If you are Peter what do you do? Lie? Deny that you shared meals with people that your religion has ignored and shunned? God already knew what Peter was going to face. Jesus was accused in like manner. How easily we religious folk forget such things in Scripture.
While in Joppa, Peter has a vision, telling him to go and eat with the Gentiles. Speculation could be made about the symbolism in this vision, but that is for another post. Peter is there, in the city, and very much within his character - he hesitates. We, like Peter, hesitate a lot. We all worry as to what the establishment will think. The voice from heaven speaks in verse 9:
"But a second time the voice answered from heaven, 'What God has made clean, you must not call profane.'"
"What God has made clean." What did God call good in the begining? All of creation. What did Jesus shed his blood to redeem? All of Creation. What is God redeeming through the work of the Holy Spirit? All of Creation.
The voice repeats this three times. I do not think this is a random occurrence. God knew that he needed to remind Peter of the time when he failed to trust Jesus and denied the Lord three times. Verse 12a:
"The Spirit told me to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us."
In other words, take the Gospel to the culture.
And Peter obeys...he goes into the place that the religious establishment told him not to go. He speaks and lives out the truth of Jesus to the Gentiles. And they were filled with the Holy Spirit. He remarks in verse 17:
"If then God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could hinder God?"
Here's the takeaway point. There is a false safety in the dogma of man. When we allow the routines, rituals, and memorized lists of religious rules to overshadow the moving and leading of the Holy Spirit - then we give into fear. God did not call us to recede from taking the Gospel of Jesus to culture, but to arm ourselves with love, the Word & prayer, and the unction of the Holy Spirit and GO into all the world. What if Peter had given into fear of being ridiculed by other Jewish Christians? The Gospel would not have spread outside of Judea, and you and I would not have been grafted into the vine of God's chosen people.
What are we afraid of? Who are we afraid to love? What is stopping us from spreading the good news of the kingdom to every corner of the world? God is calling us to "lay aside the things which so easily beset us" - whether it be sin or the old law (or dogma) - and begin to live radically dangerous lives of love to ALL of God's Creation.
Tomorrow, we will look at the adjoining passage from Revelation 21 about why we live out the kingdom of God.
23 April 2007
just me thinking outlloud
while i doubt that many (if any) of you will care to read this or the preceding four articles
www.americanthinker.com/2007/04/the_deconstructed_jesus.html i must post it as i found it fascinating. bo, ali, nelly, britt may find it interesting as well. (but i doubt you'll actually read it).
if you do, then let me say this... this is the kind of thing that makes me want to study philosophy. many have asked why i want to... it simply fascinates me in a way nothing else really does.
reading these articles has reminded me of my thoughts that have been stirred by the book 'a new kind of christian'.
one of the things from that book that i have mentally been wrestling is the concept that, while Christ is THE way you might be following him by following say buddha. the book makes a great effort to affirm the concept that you must come to the Father via Christ while at the same time saying that you may have come to Christ via something else entirely. i'm not sure i can make that leap. while i certainly agree that 'christianity' is horribly wrong for thinking that 'converting' (i despise the way this term has been used, but it is appropriate in the context) people means stripping them of their culture, i can't agree that their current and previous beliefs are congruous. maybe i have misunderstood the book and maybe it and i agree. i believe that scripturally someone who 'follows the law, without having the law' is still considered to have followed God's plan, even without awareness of it as such. so, in this sense someone could follow the teachings of buddha or mohammed and also in the process followed God's laws for right living and so be justified. (however the Bible seems to make it clear that justification is next to impossible by the law, for if you're guilty of breaking one commandment then you've broken all of them.) it seems to me (unless i am misunderstanding him... which incidently would actually go along w/ his postmodern view) that he has swallowed far too much of the postmodern soup. this way of thinking i think comes dangerously close to complete relitivism. i cannot follow the path of no absolutes, no knowable things. there is truth. there is even absolute truth. (now whether or not we can discover and comprehend it is more debatable) i suppose that philisophically speaking there could be no way to know for sure whether you had discovered absolute truth, because that absolute truth is still being filtered by your personal beliefs, ideas, cultural understanding etc.
anyway this is just a bunch of rambling thoughts... i suppose i should do this more often for my own sake, not yours as i'm sure that most of you stopped reading several sentences back.
www.americanthinker.com/2007/04/the_deconstructed_jesus.html i must post it as i found it fascinating. bo, ali, nelly, britt may find it interesting as well. (but i doubt you'll actually read it).
if you do, then let me say this... this is the kind of thing that makes me want to study philosophy. many have asked why i want to... it simply fascinates me in a way nothing else really does.
reading these articles has reminded me of my thoughts that have been stirred by the book 'a new kind of christian'.
one of the things from that book that i have mentally been wrestling is the concept that, while Christ is THE way you might be following him by following say buddha. the book makes a great effort to affirm the concept that you must come to the Father via Christ while at the same time saying that you may have come to Christ via something else entirely. i'm not sure i can make that leap. while i certainly agree that 'christianity' is horribly wrong for thinking that 'converting' (i despise the way this term has been used, but it is appropriate in the context) people means stripping them of their culture, i can't agree that their current and previous beliefs are congruous. maybe i have misunderstood the book and maybe it and i agree. i believe that scripturally someone who 'follows the law, without having the law' is still considered to have followed God's plan, even without awareness of it as such. so, in this sense someone could follow the teachings of buddha or mohammed and also in the process followed God's laws for right living and so be justified. (however the Bible seems to make it clear that justification is next to impossible by the law, for if you're guilty of breaking one commandment then you've broken all of them.) it seems to me (unless i am misunderstanding him... which incidently would actually go along w/ his postmodern view) that he has swallowed far too much of the postmodern soup. this way of thinking i think comes dangerously close to complete relitivism. i cannot follow the path of no absolutes, no knowable things. there is truth. there is even absolute truth. (now whether or not we can discover and comprehend it is more debatable) i suppose that philisophically speaking there could be no way to know for sure whether you had discovered absolute truth, because that absolute truth is still being filtered by your personal beliefs, ideas, cultural understanding etc.
anyway this is just a bunch of rambling thoughts... i suppose i should do this more often for my own sake, not yours as i'm sure that most of you stopped reading several sentences back.
09 April 2007
addendum to previous post, courtesy poor old lu
not sure why but this song has been playing on my shuffle and in my head quite a bit lately. maybe it says something about where i am currently. maybe it's just a darn good song. in any event i felt to share it here. (with all two of you)
The Waiting Room
liner notes go here... eventually
She was staring at the ceiling
I was staring at the floor
He was fixed in thought and wonder of what lied behind the door
There was a man with little movement
I knew I’d seen him here before
The people with the children were sick to death and would wait no more
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
He must’ve talked for forever
I think they finally turned away
And I was thinking to myself I should have plenty more to say
And some were getting very restless
Some were filling up the days
I was hoping that the girl with the curl would be safe
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
Just want to have the patience of a saint who waits at the gate
Please don’t be late
The floors are giving in
The walls are getting thin
The clock is moving slow
My breathing comes and goes
The room is getting small
The sin is growing tall
We wait for the day
We wait for the day
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
Just want to have the patience of a saint who waits at the gate
Please don’t be late
She was full of good intentions
I was full with all my greed
He was holding out his hands as if to give, as if to bleed
There was a man with little substance
I know I’d seen him here indeed
The people with the children spoke so soft to confess their need
And some are getting hopeless
Some are filling up the days
I am hoping on a promise, on a gift, and so I wait…
--thank you pooroldlu.com
if you have never heard any of their stuff i encourage you to check them out. also any and all solo albums from jesse sprinkle
The Waiting Room
liner notes go here... eventually
She was staring at the ceiling
I was staring at the floor
He was fixed in thought and wonder of what lied behind the door
There was a man with little movement
I knew I’d seen him here before
The people with the children were sick to death and would wait no more
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
He must’ve talked for forever
I think they finally turned away
And I was thinking to myself I should have plenty more to say
And some were getting very restless
Some were filling up the days
I was hoping that the girl with the curl would be safe
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
Just want to have the patience of a saint who waits at the gate
Please don’t be late
The floors are giving in
The walls are getting thin
The clock is moving slow
My breathing comes and goes
The room is getting small
The sin is growing tall
We wait for the day
We wait for the day
The world it can’t be moving
It’s been two thousand years or
Have I stopped breathing?
Have I stopped believing?
Believe me, I…
Just want to have the patience of a saint who waits at the gate
Please don’t be late
She was full of good intentions
I was full with all my greed
He was holding out his hands as if to give, as if to bleed
There was a man with little substance
I know I’d seen him here indeed
The people with the children spoke so soft to confess their need
And some are getting hopeless
Some are filling up the days
I am hoping on a promise, on a gift, and so I wait…
--thank you pooroldlu.com
if you have never heard any of their stuff i encourage you to check them out. also any and all solo albums from jesse sprinkle
02 April 2007
death of an ol' yeller...
i attended a funeral sat. for a woman revered by many for her spiritual prowess and prayer life. everyone knew she was exceptionally spiritual because obviously any one who screams a lot and shakes their head violently is in touch with the Almighty. much was said about these facts as well as the fact that over the years she kept numerous children in her home. yes, and she bathed them all, fed them, and prayed over each one each and every day. it seems too, although unmentioned, that she sent many of them home with massive bruises and would probably say that most of them are going straight to hell today, but it's a funeral right... we don't talk about that stuff at funerals.
the small church was packed to the gills and we had to sit on a row of green chairs quickly set up along the back. the service started with, 'let's all stand and lift up our hands and give God worship! that's what she would have wanted.' and i'm sure it was. several songs of an old school southern gospel nature were sung, contrasted starkly by 'i can only imagine'. i spent much of this time holding my wriggling son and thinking about how this old way of 'doing' church was all but dead. i meticulously deconstructed every thing that occurred bit by bit and piece by piece with a smug sense of superiority. and then it happened some old song i'd never heard before and doubt i will ever hear again about heaven and 'going home' was sung. i watched as numerous elderly men and women stood with tears in their eyes, trembling hands lifted as high as they could extend them singing with the exhuberence of a 20-something know-it-all singing some modern worship song failing to realize that when he is their age their will be some 20-something jerk sitting in the back picking apart how he is behaving at a funeral. (wow long sentence there) i was convicted. i began to watch them in a different way. i saw the joy and expectant hope in their eyes of a kingdom promised and one which they are fast approaching. sure their view of heaven may be considerably different from mine, but is that really important?
whether heaven is on earth or some mystic plane above us or any other of a number of possibilities is really not the point. the point is the hope we have in Christ. a hope for resurrection to life w/o death pain or discomfort. a hope for a better world finally restored or newly created where we finally get it right. this hope is what kept paul going as he rotted in prison. (along with many others) this hope allowed countless thousands to be tortured, pulled apart, boiled or burned alive, and otherwise disgustingly mutilated...(deep breath) and yet hold fast to their beliefs and convictions. 'do not fear those who can merely kill the body. fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.'
i'm not sure that my hope is that strong. i don't know if my hope could transcend such circumstances. apparently, i have a lot to learn from generations previous. '...whatsoever things are true...think on these things'. there is a great deal of truth in their experience and belief system. while i disagree with much of it, wherever truth is we must seize upon it.
well, i'm off to ponder (and get some work done!)
the small church was packed to the gills and we had to sit on a row of green chairs quickly set up along the back. the service started with, 'let's all stand and lift up our hands and give God worship! that's what she would have wanted.' and i'm sure it was. several songs of an old school southern gospel nature were sung, contrasted starkly by 'i can only imagine'. i spent much of this time holding my wriggling son and thinking about how this old way of 'doing' church was all but dead. i meticulously deconstructed every thing that occurred bit by bit and piece by piece with a smug sense of superiority. and then it happened some old song i'd never heard before and doubt i will ever hear again about heaven and 'going home' was sung. i watched as numerous elderly men and women stood with tears in their eyes, trembling hands lifted as high as they could extend them singing with the exhuberence of a 20-something know-it-all singing some modern worship song failing to realize that when he is their age their will be some 20-something jerk sitting in the back picking apart how he is behaving at a funeral. (wow long sentence there) i was convicted. i began to watch them in a different way. i saw the joy and expectant hope in their eyes of a kingdom promised and one which they are fast approaching. sure their view of heaven may be considerably different from mine, but is that really important?
whether heaven is on earth or some mystic plane above us or any other of a number of possibilities is really not the point. the point is the hope we have in Christ. a hope for resurrection to life w/o death pain or discomfort. a hope for a better world finally restored or newly created where we finally get it right. this hope is what kept paul going as he rotted in prison. (along with many others) this hope allowed countless thousands to be tortured, pulled apart, boiled or burned alive, and otherwise disgustingly mutilated...(deep breath) and yet hold fast to their beliefs and convictions. 'do not fear those who can merely kill the body. fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in hell.'
i'm not sure that my hope is that strong. i don't know if my hope could transcend such circumstances. apparently, i have a lot to learn from generations previous. '...whatsoever things are true...think on these things'. there is a great deal of truth in their experience and belief system. while i disagree with much of it, wherever truth is we must seize upon it.
well, i'm off to ponder (and get some work done!)
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