Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Hebrews’

The Sword and the Fig Leaf

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 16, 2011| 4 Comments »

What is the Word? Some say it is the Christ Himself, some say it is the “whole of divine revelation” and some say it is the Gospel message. There is agreement however, that this Word is an instrument of disclosure and exposure.

Hebrews 4:12a, 13
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, . . . Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

My first image is that of Adam and Eve who are the first to experience the penetrating power of “the Word.” Not long after the eating of the notorious “apple,” God comes seeking them in the garden, calling out even, “Where are you?” They hide. We are still trying to hide today.

People smile at the ludicrous behavior of Adam and Eve, after all, how can they expect to hide from their all-knowing, all-seeing God? And yet, we believe we can cover up our own sins, thoughts, and actions. We put fig leafs on our brains and our hearts.

I think God knows all along what is happening within. The real problem is getting Human to face the truth of ourselves.

People have asked me why we should bother to pray if God knows everything and I maintain that prayer is really about our own discoveries. What is important? What is a hindrance? Where are we kidding ourselves? What is the desire of the heart?

Sometimes, God uses the Christ through the Holy Spirit to cut through the bull crap with a sword — the sword of truth. Like the “refining fire” that burns up the dross of our hearts, so the sword must sometimes cut away the dead stuff that prevents us from growing and healing. Like irrigating an infected the wound, it may hurt in the process, but the repair will move more swiftly later on.

Lord, I embrace your Word and your Sword.

Read Full Post »

The Sabbath-Rest

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Photo By Irm Brown

Is this the ultimate Sabbath-rest — is this heaven? Having gotten excited about Rob Bell’s Love Wins and the idea of heaven on earth and the manifestation of the Kingdom within now, I have to ask, what is this? Or is it a call to a 7-day week with a rest day?

Hebrews 4:9-10
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his.

Instead, I’m thinking it’s more inclusive. The 6-day work week and the 7th day rest has been a classic model throughout Jewish history. It was cultural as well as mandated by the law. Why, it’s even in the Ten Commandments: (Number Four) “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work . . .” [Exodus 20:8-10a]

But, when I look more closely at these rather convoluted passages from Hebrews Four, I must re-think this idea of work and no-work. The Sabbath is a no-work day, but really, who’s doing that? We still cook, we teach Sunday School, we check e-mail, we cut the grass, we go shopping. And these are the light days! We are the lucky ones who don’t have to show up and stand behind a register all day or take food orders or hold bedpans. Are we sinning to “work” on this day?

Or is their another rest? Is there a rest that comes merely from entering and operating in the world of the Christ? Wasn’t it proclaimed that the Messiah would complete all things? There would no longer be sacrifices for sins nor striving to be good to be accepted by God. Jesus said, at the last, “It is finished.”

Perhaps we need to worry less about doing the right thing on the 7th day and spend more time building the 8th day, the time of new beginnings. Followers of the Christ are actually living in that day and time: grace above all, without condemnation, ongoing forgiveness, love as a force, while transparency and authenticity reveal the life to those who don’t know.

“This is the Day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” [Psalm 118:24]

Read Full Post »

Belief * Faith * Belief

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

The first step is belief. “I believe you; I believe what you are saying; I believe YOU are speaking truth.” But the next step is critical, when the listener moves belief into the realm of faith. Here is where the content has meaning for the listener. And here belief can grow.

Hebrews 4:2
For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.

Life in the Spirit is cyclical. With this scripture, I understand it even more than before. Belief prepares the ground of my heart to have faith, that confidence in things not seen or proven. And when faith expands, then I am able to understand more of the “message.” I understand more about the messenger.

As soon as I give room to doubt, the process slows down. It still works, but more methodically. The doubter is looking for more to believe, more information, more facts, more stories, more exposure. And when all goes well, the tipping point is reached and the process begins again.

“Then he [Jesus] said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” [John 20:27]

Read Full Post »

The Devil’s Power

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 12, 2011| 2 Comments »

In our 3-D world, the Devil (I know, I know, that label is “oh so old-fashioned”) has the power of death and as a result, the ability to cultivate a fear of death. If I succumb to that fear, I am enslaved by it. The Christ mission broke death-power and its sidekick, fear.

Hebrews 2:14-15
Since the children have flesh and blood, he [Christ] too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

As long as we fear death, audacious faith is more difficult to grasp and hold and act upon.

Supposedly, the Christian norm has been to look forward to heaven, that eternal reward promised when we die. And yet, there are few who rejoice when a loved one perishes, few who can face their own end without navigating the stages of dying and grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and only, at the last, acceptance. Christian or no, most of us still fear the unknown of body death.

I think it has to do with a bit of tenuousness in the faith journey. If I put all my faith eggs in a basket and actually pray/expect a miracle, what if . . . what if . . . it doesn’t happen? If I put my faith on the line like that, won’t it break? If I am disappointed again and again, won’t my faith suffer? Better to be safe and secure and lukewarm. Not.

No surprise here . . . I don’t exercise my faith in the majors much: you know what I mean, things like raising the dead, healing the terminally ill, bringing sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and so forth. I fear the death of my faith. And so, the “Devil” wins again.

The Devil is not a man but an entity. We can no more understand what/who the Devil is than we can understand the transfigured Christ. To say the Devil is an “angel of light” [II Corinthians 11:14] on one hand and a fallen angel [Isaiah 14:12, Luke 10:18] on the other isn’t much help either.

We live in a world of balancing opposites like night and day, darkness and light, yin and yang etc. But the most potent set of opposites are love and fear. That’s right, the opposite of love is fear, not hate (which is merely a subset of fear). If I want to do battle against fear, that includes the fear of anything–including death, I must enfold, exude, swell, manifest, embrace, share, and trust the power of love. I’m thinking that miracles, birthed by the Holy Spirit, must be an outgrowth of this powerful and singular energy.

“[That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]; that you may be filled [through all your being] unto all the fullness of God [may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself]!” [Ephesians 3:19, Amplified]

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.” [I John 4:8]

I am no longer a slave to fear by the authority and work of the Christ. Isn’t it time I stopped acting like one?

Read Full Post »

As Long as it’s Today

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , on May 10, 2011| 3 Comments »

Photo by H. Graham Smith

Tomorrow has no real meaning in the world of encouragement while yesterday is too late. If I am to make a difference in a person’s demeanor or frustration, in his/her sorrow or disappointment, in a time of loss or unexpected change, it is now . . . today.

Hebrews 3:13
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

Encouragement is a cheap price to pay for the sake of another. It doesn’t have to be particularly articulate or well thought out. I can give comfort in words or actions, or I can be present — be there, as they say. It may require a little active listening and definitely without censure, but most of all, it must be authentic.

So often, I fail in the encouragement department because I mistakenly believe it requires “advice.” I get caught up in wanting to help the person get a better perspective or help solve the problem. Some people say this is a male trait, but I confess, I am notorious for this bad behavior. I count myself a problem solver when, in actuality, my problem solving might even add to the problem.

But let me get back to the idea of immediacy. Non-judgmental, authentic encouragement is powerful in the now. The hope would be that consolation and compassion would be spontaneous and timely. We should never withhold encouragement. No matter what has happened, there is room in the moment, to give a boost, even the tiniest fragment of hope, love, and camaraderie. The message is simple: “Today, you are not alone.”

Because, it could be in this day, the world will change for that “other person.” It could be.

I can only imagine what the potential power would be if I gave a word or touch of encouragement to each and every person with whom I came into contact in a single day.

Anyone want to take on that challenge with me? Today?

Read Full Post »

Hope Needs Courage

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 9, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Painting by N.S.G.

It takes a lot of courage, actually, to continue to hope in something or someone, both unseen and yet promised for a time in a future we cannot know. There must be persistence too, but often, it takes plain courage and a type of audacity to believe despite it all.

Hebrews 3:6
But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are his house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast. [NIV 1984]

For some people, this tenacity has to have something more substantial to sustain it and so they latch on to a concrete idea still in the future to uphold their courage. Like a date. Apparently, there is a groundswell of believers who are putting their hope and their courage into May 21, 2011 as “judgment day” and the end of the world. These folks are the antithesis of Rob Bell’s stance in Love Wins. Where Bell’s hell is already manifesting here on earth and our battle is in the now for the power of the Kingdom to take hold; these folks are predicting the great rapture for the enlightened and a fiery hell for everyone else; the only winners in their minds are “people like them.”

Of course, this isn’t just in the Christian world; there’s still 2012 to face as well. With the “end” of the Mayan calendar, some people believe and predict, the end of the world as we know it is next year.

To what or in what do these eschatological folks hope? Mostly, it’s “hope nothin’ bad happens to me” and “just in case,” let’s look into some “fire” insurance . . . or assurance, and join this or that bandwagon.

Here’s the rub: hope implies a good end. And it takes courage to hold onto this kind of hope because our world is full of dark things, dark people, dark rulers and “principalities.” [For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12]

“Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. . . . ” Matthew 10:28a

Courage cannot be built on a 3D world; there are no guarantees here. Courage and hope can only be built on our faith in the truth of a Christ whose Holy Spirit defies logic and protects the Human Spirit from eternal death and separation from the Creator. Nothing more.

To become a believer in the Christ is a statement of hope. For the words of Christ promise that all will turn out for the best. Courage is the ability to face a different world that mocks hope, questions the supernatural, and defies paradox with proofs and logic. To stand. That’s the key. Whether it’s May 21st or 2012, whether it’s sickness or sorrow or disappointment that have been meted out in large doses, we are called to stand on the solid rock of faith.

And if I fall off that rock because my faith was too small or my fears too great? There is still grace.

“But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.” [Acts 27:22]

Read Full Post »

God the Builder

Posted in Eastertide, Time Up to Pentecost, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on May 8, 2011| 1 Comment »

Do we still honor the builder? I think not. I am as guilty as anyone else. Sometimes, I can’t remember the author of a book, much less an architect. I was terrible at “music memory” in grammar school and worse at signers of the declaration of independence.

Hebrews 3:2b-4
. . . just as Moses was faithful in all God’s house. Jesus has been found worthy of greater honor than Moses, just as the builder of a house has greater honor than the house itself. For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.

Instead, I get absorbed by the end result, the “house,” the object.

This morning, a friend and I spent a couple of hours at Panera Church over latte and coffee discussing how differently she looks at humanity than she did five years ago. For so long, she said, it was still about “us and them”–the believers and the non-believers. “Thems” were a shadow of humanity: they were out and we were in. They were a house without rooms. They were a shell. But now, she finds herself within the teeming masses of people, all built by the hand of God, all sacred in a way that only God can create. She sees the builder behind the human.

There are people who are still building and using their creativity. There are inventors struggling to find a place for their inventions (they even have their own reality show now); creative artists abound, longing for ways to get their work out to the general public, to share their creations. For these people, they are giving out a part of themselves. Painters, writers, composers, craftsmen, architects, and many more creators, are trying to tell us: this is how I see the world, come with me.

God is a creator too. The earth is one aspect of God’s message to humanity. And more, living things are another, animals, fish, and people included.

Today is Mother’s Day in the U.S. and we celebrate the women who carried us within their bodies and nurtured us as best they were able. Together, a female and male parent came together to create another human, endowed with a personal spirit, unique to the world in which we live.

Let us give thanks to the Builder today, the Creator, the Mother/Father of us all. Let us look at everything and everyone and remember the source of that idea, that word, that color, that shape, that sound. Amen.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »