10 Oct 2017

As a veteran I choose to stand for our national anthem. If you, for whatever reason, choose to sit or kneel that is your choice and it is fine with me. Whether we stand or sit or kneel has no eternal significance; how we disagree with one other does. This is classic divide and conquer strategy and the constant bickering-retreating into our tribal trenches and lobbing artillery shells at one another-has led to a disconnectedness that is the antithesis of everything Jesus said and taught. It is the great moral crisis of our time, a collective dark night of the soul.

We are lights-the light of the world. Connected we will shine with a brilliance that will dispel this present darkness. We are light. You are light. Be the light. Be the Kingdom. 

October 2 2017

The other day a friend told me a story about a woman he knows who seemed unusually depressed. When my friend pressed her for a reason, it turned out she was upset because the world did not end on September 23. Biblical prophecy has always been a popular subject; human  nature consistently seeks to alleviate the uncertainty of not knowing the future and there will always be those eager to profit by leading the faithful astray. Scripture, however, is very clear-no one, not even our Lord Himself, knows when the the end will come (Mt.24:36)-which might cause some of you to rethink your understanding of the relationship between Father and Son.

Scripture is also clear that the Lord is not slow in coming but patient, not desiring that any should be lost (2 Pe.3:9); it is this second point that I would briefly address. I am afraid many today are not patient, who do not care if any are lost. In fact, it seems many today are more concerned with judgement than mercy; many who claim salvation by grace through faith for themselves but would deny that same grace to anyone with whom they disagree. Those among us who want to hasten the Lord's coming may want to spend less time chasing after false prophets (Mt.24:11) and more time leading lives of holiness and Godliness, hastening the Lord's coming (2 Pe.3:11-12).

I believe this desire to prematurely end the world is one of many indications that there is a lot of questionable theology out there today. While I am certainly not saying theology has no value, I am saying any attempt to wrap God up into a nice tight package in order to better understand Him is going to fall short. God is simply too big, to mysterious. Any attempt to figure Him out runs the risk of making Him in our image, no matter how well educated we are. We can, however, know God-we can know Him by knowing Him the same way we know our spouse or our children or anyone else with whom we have any kind of loving relationship. We can know God by simply spending time in His presence sharing our thoughts, our concerns, our joys, our frustrations. God is just as interested in our failed dinner attempts as He is in our most noble intercessory prayers; I do not believe He hides His eyes when we dance around the kitchen to some old rock and roll song any more than He does when we teach a Bible class or lead a small group.

We exclude God in the little, day to day stuff of our lives to our great peril; I am convinced there are times-lots of times-when God is perfectly content just to be with us; just to hang out together. Don't get me wrong; prayer and Bible study and worship and the other disciplines are important but only to the extent that they allow us to know God on a personal level. And make no mistake-knowing God on a personal level is both possible and highly desirable. I don't understand how this works but I don't need to either. I do know this- if you bring God into the little things in your life you will be better for it.

Peace. JRG

New Stuff

29 July 2017

My mom has a unique way of reading books. She begins at the end-she reads the ending first. If she likes the ending she'll read the rest of the book; if not she won't. I used to tease her about it but these days I'm just pleased she's still reading so I don't say anything. I'm pretty sure she never read the bible that way, but I she may have. She certainly could. Might not be a bad idea for us once in a while either. 

The Bible is bookended with creation stories. The first two chapters speak of God's original creation; the last two God's re-creation. The first two describe the original, perfect environment for humankind; the last two God's perfect recreation for restored humankind. As believers we know how the story ends. It's a good ending, a perfect ending, an eternal ending and we would all do well to spend some time meditating on what God has prepared for those who love Him. Let's take a look. 

The first thing is a new heaven and a new earth. Everything is new, fully restored. Most commentators focus on the New Jerusalem but my sense is, with a new earth (and no more sea) there will be plenty of room for billions of us to live and work and grow stuff and still have space. When the New Jerusalem comes down from heaven the first thing we hear is “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people" (Revelation 21:3). This is important. God fully intends to live among us here and be our God. This was the plan from the beginning and it will be fulfilled. God, who already loves us to death (pun intended) longs to spend eternity hanging out with us, being our God, doing God stuff with us and for us. And giving us life, all the life we can handle. Life inexhaustible supplied by God Himself. The best part about all this is its already started. God is our God right now. He lives with us right now. He gives us His life right now. 

He says "I am making all things new" and "It is done". There is no doubt. Take it to the bank. All things. Not just earth, the planet, the physical environment. The whole system. No more death. No pain. No crying. The old order of things has passed away. Authority will no longer come from the imposition of will. Humanity will no longer be divided into the haves and have nots. No more exploitation, no more marginalization. All you guys out there that rail against socialism are gonna be in trouble. And disappointed. Think about this for a minute. Let it sink in because this is how things were meant to be. It's what Jesus Himself taught and what Paul, Peter, James and John reinforced. Both Testaments are saturated with this teaching. My point here is not so much what you have ( or don't have) but what you're attached to-where your heart lies. What we do in this life matters. The slate may be wiped clean but there will be consequences-God is not mocked. We are sowing now and the reaping will come. 

While we're on the subject vs.8 gives us a list of those who 'don't make it in' and why. We like to turn that into a hit list or a punishment list or an 'I'm holier than you because I don't do that stuff' list-a judging, Bible-thumping, guilt producing list but that's not what it is. These people are not kept out and sent to the second death because of what they do. They are already dead, because they have judged and rejected God. This is an important point and worth spending some time thinking about. Christians today love to make the unpardonable sin some behavioral thing but it is not. It is, judging and rejecting God to the point that one is simply not capable of accepting Him even while standing in His presence. It is not just refusing to acknowledge Him as God but refusing even to allow Him to love you and then hating Him more because He lets you do it. 

So, here's  what we have so far. All things will be made new, heaven and earth. The old socio-economic structures will be replaced. We will be fully restored by God; He will continually give us life and will Himself live here with us. Those who are miserable without Him now will be allowed to remain miserable without Him for eternity. Stay tuned. There's more. 

Peace

JRG

Revelation: A Cautionary Tale

24 July 2017

            I read revelation for the first time in July 1969. A high school friend and I spent the better part of that summer on the west coast. My friend’s grandmother lived in a small town outside Portland, Oregon; we stayed with her and worked on his uncle’s blueberry farm/chicken ranch. She had a copy of Good News for Modern Man and that’s where I read revelation. My friend’s family were Baptists, and I am convinced I am a Christian today because of his grandmother’s faithful prayers on my behalf.

            Now, at 18 the only thing I got from revelation was scared. My (miss)understanding of the book has morphed several times over the decades, going from the extreme confidence of my Dispensational days to pretty much total surrendered to unknowing today. I’ve a few books on Revelation over the years; The Late Great planet Earth being the first. There was a scholarly commentary by Dr. John Walvoord I struggled through. Dr. Walvoord was once asked what he would do if his theory on revelation was shown to be incorrected; he replied, ‘write another book’. Then there was a book around, I think, 2003 or 2004 whose author did a detailed study of all the prophetic works in both testaments. I don’t remember much about that one, except he was convinced every household would be required to own some sort of religious statue. These statues would be inhabited by demons who would report the goings on in the household to the beast or false prophet or somebody and there would be hell to pay for misbehavior. This was a serious work complete with a fold-out, poster-sized chart. My favorite is Breaking the Code by Dr. Bruce Metzger, mainly because I can understand it. And let’s not forget the Left Behind series, which I haven’t read but remains extremely popular. The one thing these books have in common is none of them are the Bible; they are interpretations or commentaries or fictional works and, as such, require caution, discernment and critical thinking in the reading.

             I’ve never been much of a conspiracy theory person but there are lots of them out there and Revelation is a favorite, in part, I think, because it is so difficult to properly exegete. Back in the early to mid-90’s I had a friend who was, among many other things, a survivalist. He was determined that, if the apocalypse came, he and his family would survive. Whenever we would talk about apocalyptic survival Revelation 13:9-10 invariably came to mind. Which leads me to my main point.

            My thinking on Revelation today is that the most important chapters, apart from 13:9-10, are 1-3 and 21-22. One to three, because they address our situation today; 20-21 because they confirm God’s plan for total restoration-the new heaven and new earth. Particularly important to me are 1:5-6-He (Christ) has washed us and freed us from our sins so that we would be a kingdom, priests serving His (and our) God and Father, to Him be the glory. I believe this to be one of the best Gospel summaries in the Bible-what Jesus did and why. We have a job to do in the here and now, and it does not involve worrying about who will die and who will be taken captive and who will escape. That is up to God and no one else.

            Regarding our situation today, to be sure there will be problems. They are described in Chs.2 & 3. Issues are addressed, solutions are given. Every church in those two chapters is today’s church; every church issue is our personal issue to some extent or other. This is a clear picture of how Jesus sees His church; this is, in my opinion, where our focus should be. But wait; there’s more. Let’s not forget we know how the story ends.

            God promises total restoration; all things made new. God Himself will dwell with us. Take some time to meditate on this promise. The new creation is described in terms of gold and precious gems-the only things John had to describe an indescribable glory. Chapters 1-3 may be read as instruction; chapters 21-22 need to be read devotionally, with what Dr. Metzger calls a disciplined imagination. I cannot emphasize this point enough-all things new, God with us, creation as it was meant to be. Christ allowed Himself to be judged, rejected and executed for this-this is who our God is, this is what He does. To paraphrase Patton, compared to this all conspiracy theories, all interpretations, pale to insignificance.         

            One more point. If God intends to dwell with us in the future-if that is why Jesus came-why would He not want to dwell with us now? I submit, with the utmost respect and humility, if our theology does not lead us into an ever-deeper relationship with our God working its way out in our relationships with one another, perhaps we need a new theology. If we don’t want Him around now-and it is possible to be a believer and not want God interfering in our lives-why would we ever want to spend eternity with Him? Let us seek His presence now, in this life, and get good and comfortable with Him. It will only get better,

Peace

JRG  

           

Belief vs. [In]action

Belief vs. (In) Action

20 July 2017

            The following partial quote is taken from a Facebook post which referenced an article in nymag.com: “Faced with evidence that only massive government action — a financial rescue coupled with fiscal stimulus — could have prevented a complete economic meltdown, one conservative made a startling confession: “Maybe it was a good thing we weren’t in power then — because our principles don’t allow us to respond to a crisis like this.” The quote immediately called to mind Jesus’ statement in Mt.9:13 and 12:7- “Go and learn what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice’”, which itself is a quote from Hosea 6:6: “For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.” Hosea goes on to say, “But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me” (6:7). The sentiment is echoed in Ps.40:6-8, Micah 6:8, and Isiah Ch.1. My intention here is not to take up political sides but to consider the relationship between belief (doctrine, or theology, or principles) and relationship (individual and corporate) within the framework of the visible presence of God on earth; a role which was once Israel’s but now belongs to the (worldwide) church.

            First, a little background. Coming off the flood, God puts His redemptive plan in motion by calling one man and one woman (sound familiar?)-Abraham and Sarah-the recipients of His promises and His covenant. In the course of time Abraham’s relatively small family ends up in Egypt, where eventually they become a huge family. Moses leads them out of bondage in Egypt and they are well on their way to becoming a great nation. Except they are not a nation, great or otherwise, at least not yet. But God has plans for them; His presence guides them and His intermediary (Moses) instructs them (as Moses himself is instructed by God). God’s mission for His new nation is to move into the promised land, demonstrate God’s presence and execute God’s judgement as directed by God Himself. Oh, and by the way, while judgement is being executed a pagan or two will become a believer and figure in the line of God’s own Son.

            God equips Israel for this mission by giving them His laws. These laws covered three main areas. Ritual Law (or Ceremonial Law) governed Israel’s worship; that is, how Israel was to relate to God. Civil Law was for the ordering of Israelite society-how individuals related to one another. Moral Law was and is based on God’s nature and character. Civil Law was specific to Israel as a nation and is replaced in this country by our constitution. Ritual Law was fulfilled (as opposed to replaced) by Jesus. Moral Law remains and is the basis for the command “be holy because I am holy”-repeated in Leviticus and 1 Peter. The civil Laws themselves had two categories-those which lay out a principle (apodictic) and those which were case-specific (casuistic). Once the full body of the Law was presented to and agreed upon by Israel it became a covenant (cf. Dt.26:16-19). The covenant brought with it blessings for obedience-accurately demonstrating God’s holiness (presence, nature and character) and curses for disobedience-causing God’s name to be blasphemed among the nations. This last is an important point and not to be missed-it goes to the heart of our discussion.

            As an aside here, this whole Exodus procedure is a word-picture of what happens to believers. We are led out of our bondage and placed into the ‘New Israel’-the Church, Christ’s body-although we have no idea what that means. And, of course, Moses was a type of Jesus-taught by God, empowered by the Holy Spirit-God with us (cf. John’s Gospel). The mission remains the same-to be the presence of God in the here and now-except now we have the actual life of God within us; mediated by Jesus Himself and made real by the Holy Spirit. God’s presence, made possible by God’s Son, taught and enabled by God’s Spirit-all three in perfect harmony and agreement (four, counting the individual believer-billions, counting all believers). This relationship-what Richard Foster calls the ‘with-God life’-was and remains the original plan. At least, that’s how I see it.

            Now, by the time of Hosea, the covenant had been broken and the promised curses were well under way. One of the many roles of the Hebrew prophets was to remind Israel of the ancient covenant and in some cases, bring God’s charges against her (cf. Isaiah, for example). In fact, Hosea’s very life was an illustration for Israel; Hosea representing God and his unfaithful wife representing Israel. The point here, however, for this discussion, is that Israel may have abandoned the moral laws, and some of the civil laws, but they kept the ritual law, and in the keeping that law they thought they were ok (or at least they pretended to be ok). This is the message of the prophets-you are not ok. You are not accurately demonstrating my [God’s] presence. You are nowhere near the holiness I require. What you believe is not enough. It is wrong and you are wrong. My intent here is not to get into the specifics of Israel’s disobedience-Isaiah 1, for example, gives a pretty clear picture of that. Get a good reference Bible and check it out for yourself. Follow the references. My aim is simply to point out what was happening, and what God’s response was.

            By the time Jesus comes this whole business was extremely refined (or totally out of control, depending on your point of view). Remember apodictic law vs. casuistic law? The religious leaders of Jesus’ time seemed to have eschewed apodictic law in favor of casuistic law and they invented lots and lots of cases-building walls of their laws around God’s laws-do’s and don’ts to prove themselves holy. Jesus, for His part, was (being God) interested in the welfare of His creatures-moral law-and if that meant eating with sinners and plucking grain on the Sabbath, well, that’s what He did. He was, after all, God present (as opposed to God’s presence) and was intent upon changing people’s minds about God (and God’s holiness). John 19:7 sums it up nicely: “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he [is] claimed to be the Son of God”. Do you see it yet? We have a belief, and according to that belief many must (unnecessarily) suffer. Our law (belief) does not allow for relationship (the greater good).

            One more point here. It is no accident Jesus uses the command ‘Thou shalt not kill’ kill as the first illustration of the deeper (moral) meaning of God’s Law (Mt. 5:21-26). This commandment more than any other sets up the conflict between our pride-who we think we are-and the humility we should have before God-who knows who we really are. Compared to God, none of us can justify pride of any sort (cf. 1Cor.4:7). Which makes the great value He places on us even more remarkable (cf. Ps.8) and the cruel disdain with which we treat each other even more heinous. Responding to the crisis was Jesus’ belief; we are the crisis and the cross was His response. Today we must be the response, to the extent that we allow Jesus to respond through us.

            So, here’s the question-do your principles prevent you from responding to the crisis, or does Christ in you enable and equip you to respond to the crisis?

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good;
and what doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly, and to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with thy God? (Micah 6:8)

Peace

JRG

           

             

Enoch walked with God

18 July 2017

            I’ve never been a big fan of personality tests. Over the years I have taken several; the results have been dubious at best (for example, I once took a theology test that pegged me as an Evangelical Quaker, whatever that is). My main concern with these tests is that my answers reflect more of what I would like to be-or see myself as-than who I am. One result that consistently appears, however, is a tendency to know things intuitively and be content with the knowing. In other words, logic and application have never been my strong suits.

            I mention all this because it speaks to the nature of and reason for these blogs-I write them because I enjoy doing it. They are not intended to be theological commentaries or life application guides (although both may appear from time to time). These blogs are pretty much just reflections-musings, if you will-of what I see as I think about what I’m reading.

            It is in this spirit of reflection that we approach Enoch. Genesis itself doesn’t tell us much about him. He was seventh in the line beginning with Seth and the first whom God took in an unnatural manner; the other two being Moses (cf. Deut.34:1-8) and Elijah (2Ki.9:12); he walked with God and then he was no more, because God took him. Cain and his line, driven from God’s presence, founded a city but remained plagued by violence, culminating with Lamech’s boast (Ge. 4:23-24). Seth’s line calls on the name of the LORD-implying personal relationship, culminating in Enoch walking with God.

            Now, there is a difference between calling on the name of the LORD (the NRSV has invoke, the NLT reads ‘worship the LORD by name’) and walking with God. The Hebrew word for call can mean to name, to invoke, to proclaim out loud, to cry out for help. Since the word could mean any of those things the writer/editor may have had all of them in mind. Humankind, recognizing the LORD for who He is, proclaimed His name, invoked His presence, cried out for help. The other side of that is humankind may have been summoning God merely to have Him bless their plans rather than seeking His guidance, a tendency which remains to this day (for some interesting remarks on how this relates to human pride, check out Rick Warren’s Daily Hope for today). I have said many times here and elsewhere, way too much time is spent today seeking God’s blessing for our will and not nearly enough time learning to discern God’s will and hear His voice.

            Which, evidently, Enoch did learn to do. The Hebrew word for walk implies habitual conduct. Enoch must have lived in close personal relationship with God. Relationships require talking and listening, time in each other’s presence (without talking at all), some type of commitment and, on Enoch’s part, a level of trust in God’s ability to define right and wrong. And to act according to God’s definitions. Walking with God goes beyond simply invoking His presence; we are now moving into the realm of discipleship, of abide in me and you will bear much fruit, of I in them and you in me (Jn.15:4; 17:20-24).

            So, the question becomes, are we invoking God’s name for our own benefit? Or will we embark on a deliberate course of action to produce the change of character God offers? Enoch walked with God and was no more, a little word-picture of what discipleship means. He must increase and I must decrease until the new creation comes, no longer I but Christ in me (Jn.3:30; 2 Cor.5:17, gal. 2:20). Take some time to be still and know He is God; see if He will not guide you in the way you should go (Ps.46:10; 32:8-9).

Peace

JRG

13 July 2017

A Call to Arms

             After Cain killed Abel he had sons and daughters, one of whom was Lemech. Lemech is responsible for the first recorded episode of blood revenge. Genesis 4, however, ends on a positive note. Adam knew his wife again and she bore another son-Seth. Seth had a son-Enosh. Ge.4:26 ends with “At that time men began to call upon the name of the LORD”. Genesis 5, tracing the lineage of Seth up to Noah, begins with this interesting statement: when God created man, He created him in His image; Adam became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image-Seth. The Bible does not say this about Cain (or Abel, for that matter). In whose likeness and image were they created?

            My guess is they were also created in God’s image; Cain, for whatever reason, chose to reject God. God’s image was there, it was just tarnished beyond recognition. That trend continues to this day. It isn’t just those who willfully reject God’s rule in their lives (or, for that matter, those who accept God’s rule but do not understand what His rule means) who bear a tarnished image. Consider those born with congenital defects, those with chronic disease or disabilities, the aged-particularly the aged with dementia, no longer able to care for themselves. Who among us sees the imago dei in someone sitting or lying in a soiled diaper, unable to ask for the help they do not even realize they need?

            While all this is going on, the sons of God took wives from among the daughters of men. Keep in mind, these early chapters are not necessarily meant to be read along a straight timeline. There is some parallel movement here; whoever put this together is not focused on when things happened but what happened. This is a historical narrative; a story is being told. At some point (most, but not all, of the commentators I read seem to agree on this) there was a divine intrusion into the affairs of men and women. Interesting to note this did not make humanity more divine; rather wickedness increased to the point that God was sorry He created the whole thing.

            We don’t get a lot of detail here about what specific wickedness is going on. Here again we see that how you interpret the story says more about you than it does about God. In today’s sex-obsessed culture many will try to make a case for all manner of sexual immorality but the text does not say that. What the text does reference, with Cain and Lemech, is violence, arrogance and authority by imposition of will. That, at least, is what I see. What do you see?

            We also encounter the Nephilim for the first time. I have heard and read many interesting theories over the years concerning who these people were. A half-human, half-angelic race would go a long way towards explaining the violence and corruption God sees in genesis 6:11-13 and would be impossible for God to redeem. He could be fully human and fully God, but fully angelic? Redeeming Adam and Eve is one thing; this group is ‘beyond the pale of orthodoxy’, so to speak. What to do?

            We have come to the peak of the fall. Satan, who seems to have been opposed to God from the very beginning, who can only destroy, never create, appears to have won total victory. The earth is full of violence and corruption. Most importantly, God Himself is grieved in His heart, sorry that he made man. Humankind, the crown jewel of God’s creative activity, created to be loved by their creator, has come to the point where God determines to blot them out. It boggles the mind to think that God Himself could be so heartbroken.

            Yet there are Christian brothers and sisters today who would like to think-indeed, seem eager to think-humanity is going down that same road. Invariably the reason they give is sexual immorality, as if that is the only sin God cares about, the only behavior capable of warranting God’s judgement. Violence is ok if God is on our side. Corruption may be tolerated if it gets God back in the public schools (as if He ever left). Millions of the most vulnerable among us are on the verge of being discarded because caring for them will cost too much. To be sure, these things grieve God’s heart, but not as much as the callous indifference we see all too often among those who should know better. I do not believe this is the time to call upon God’s judgement. This is then time to demonstrate His unconditional love and acceptance, to care for one another, to hold ourselves accountable-judgement must begin within the house of God. We must come to understand what Spirit we are about.

            These Genesis chapters will, if we are honest, pierce us to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and discern the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. What say you?

Peace. JRG