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Posts Tagged ‘Messiah’

Holiness is Within

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 10, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The holiness of Jesus was ultimately proven by his resurrection. That’s the first leap, the real miracle, in believing on this man-God. But what about us? Where is our holiness?

Romans 1:4
…and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.

There were many prophecies in the Judaic texts that foretold of the Messiah, his birth, his suffering, his Godhead, his eternity. For Paul, this was the point. By his resurrected life, Jesus proved himself that Messiah and now, we are invited into this life with Him.

Before the day comes when our spirits are released from our bodies and we are joined with the Holy Spirit in that non-dimensional, non-time-anchored place, there is a promise that we can be more like Jesus on earth. I think some people translate that into outward behaviors only. And of course, behaviors can reveal the heart. But the focus, surely, should be on the spirit within. It is from there that the outward self manifests.

This is why we “ask Jesus into our hearts”… into our interior lives, so that we might experience holiness and transformation.

There is a place in Catonsville, Maryland called the All Saints Convent where I sometimes go for personal retreat. Some of the sisters there are blessed with artistic talent and create illuminated prayer cards, greeting cards, book marks, and the like. One of my favorites is a card that simply says, “Holiness is Wholeness.” This speaks volumes to me about the interior life.

This is the true goal of the united spirit to transform the soul and thereby, direct the body.

There are people who are working on holiness in a variety of ways, through a variety of religions, through a variety of practices. But, it is only the Christ, who guarantees the transformation, who guides without condemnation, who leads with grace and love, who unites with us on the way.

The human spirit longs for wholeness… for holiness. That is part of our nature.

But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal … [Philippians 3:13b-14a]

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Hope of Israel

Posted in Christmas Through Epiphany, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 7, 2010| Leave a Comment »

In biblical times, the “hope of Israel” referred to the long-awaited Messiah. In recent years, this phrase has been adopted my Messianic Jews as a way of communicating that the Messiah has come. What is our hope?

Acts 28:20
For this reason I have asked to see you and talk with you. It is because of the hope of Israel that I am bound with this chain.

Hope is a powerful word but one that is used too casually. Hope is actually entwined with faith. Hope is believing in things or people not seen, things that have not happened, people who have not yet done what has been promised. Hope, corralled, is pure energy.

As Christians, supposedly, we are awaiting the second coming of the Messiah. When Christ returns, He returns not just as the “hope of Israel” but the “hope of the world.”

I confess, I have not put much personal energy into the idea of a returning Christ and I’m not sure why. Is it because the world has “waited” so long? Perhaps it is because I haven’t full understood what that waiting should look like, much less the arrival. Or, do I fear such a return? Heaven is one thing: a non-dimensional place where my non-dimensional spirit will exist in pure joy. But the returning Christ will enter this world and in this dimension. This is Christ returning and changing time, changing everything.

There are all kinds of teachings and predictions about the Second Coming. And of course, as soon as that discussion starts, there’s the controversy over post or pre-millennialism, dispensationalism, etc. These conversations are of not interest to me. We can’t just talk about hope anymore.

Many Jews did not recognize Jesus when He came and proclaimed that He was, indeed, the long awaited Messiah. They, too, had many theological discussions about his appearance. The second coming is supposed to be clear as day: no doubts.

But, lately, I’ve become aware of the power of denial, and I’m thinking that even second coming Messiah will not be accepted or even recognized. If there is no expectation and no hope, there may not be recognition. It may just appear as a cataclysm or 2012 predictions come true or natural disaster. Deaf and blind to the truth.

Today, I ask for the stirring of hope in my soul, for the stirring of expectation. Open my ears, open my eyes, I want to see Jesus.

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Cup of Grace

Posted in Advent, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Each day has an abundance of bad choices, wrong steps, hurt feelings, and ill temper. If my sins were collected in bottles, I’d have a case of them in no time at all. This is why I am so grateful for a faith that offers an abundance of grace (unmerited favor, spiritual blessing, and mercy [Amplified]).

Acts 20:24b
“…if only I [Paul] may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the gospel of God’s grace.”

The people of Paul’s time were equally downtrodden with the burdens of their day. For the Jews, it was the codified law that had become a heavy weight around their necks. There was no way to follow and meet the standards of that law. For the non-Jews who believed in Yahweh (and thereby, one God), there was this overwhelming sense of being on the “outside” of the whole truth, stepchildren of the faithful. And for those who had walked away from God, there was no hope of redemption at all.

This was the message of grace that Paul offered to everyone he met: accept Jesus as the Messiah and find freedom in his rabbi’s yoke.

Some fear this emphasis on grace and have coined the appropriation of God’s Grace when applied everything and everyone as “cheap grace” particularly when a person calls on grace to cover ongoing and willful sins or bad behaviors. But, if grace belongs to God, then it is God who ultimately sorts out the application of His love to a person’s circumstances or human troubles.

My job, like Paul’s, is to tell the story of God’s Grace in my life. I cannot know how grace will feel or look in the life of another. But I do know, on the day that Grace covered me, I was made new. Where there had been no hope, there was hope. Where there had been disillusionment and fear, there was confidence and peace. Where there had been deep sorrows, there was a possibility for joy.

And so it goes each day, I pour out my bottle of sins and grievances into the hands of Christ and He has me drink instead from the cup of his mercy.

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Resurrection Starting Point

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 13:30
But God raised him from the dead…

God raising Jesus from the dead is pretty much the starting point.

This miracle part of the Jesus story is essential to the faith. None of it quite works if this part didn’t happen. Otherwise, it’s all smoke and mirrors.

I mean, if he didn’t die at all and just pretended to be raised from the dead, that would pretty much go against everything else Jesus had ever taught or said. He would be a charlatan and we would all be fools.

If Jesus died and that was the end of the story, then that’s exactly what would have happened: the end of the story. The story lives because Messiah Jesus lives. And what about all those witnesses? They all lied? That doesn’t exactly go with the teaching either. What would be the point of promoting a lie so that you could teach people to love each other, share with one another and ultimately, not lie?

Nope, I’ve never had trouble with any of the miracles. Once I accepted the idea of God in Christ, then I figured anything could happen. If people can be raised from the dead, then people can be healed. If people can be raised from the dead, then a virgin can have a baby. If people can be raised from the dead, then blind people can see, deaf people can hear, and crippled people can walk. If people can be raised from the dead, then criminals can be forgiven and turn their lives around. If people can be raised from the dead, I can be whole.

If we start with the miracles, then our lives become a miracle as well.

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Opposing God

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , on November 2, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 11:17
“So if God gave them [gentiles] the same gift as he gave us [Jews], who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I [Peter] to think that I could oppose God?”

How often do we make judgments against others? How often do we doubt that God can touch a life? How often do we assume that we have “it” right and the others do not?

If we didn’t doubt, we would be telling our story every day. We would be loving everyone whose life path crossed our own. We would love as Jesus loved.

One would think I’d get this right by now. After all, I was once on the other side of the story.

After I accepted Christ as my guide and my King, my savior and my redeemer, I returned to acting school in New York (I was in my brother’s home for the holiday). As people began to hear about my conversion experience, I was told quite bluntly (and more than once): “You? You are the last person that I would ever expect to become a Christian.” My life was so depraved that no one imagined that I could change. My language was peppered with swearing; I really doubt there was one sentence I could say without some form of f**k, sh*t, or any of the other expletives, be they verbs, adjectives, adverbs or nouns. I was a regular drug and alcohol user. I was active sexually. I even worked as a bookkeeper in a place where I kept two sets of records. I was a liar and a thief. I justified my behaviors easily because I was totally self-absorbed.

There were some things that actually did change overnight but there were many other lifestyle habits that did not. Was I any less a believer or lover of Jesus?

I can see now that it was the Holy Spirit who was my patient teacher. And I am learning that it’s not about “being” a Christian by following the laws or rules. Instead, it’s about walking on the Way, a process of integrating the kingdom of God into my heart, mind, soul, and eventually, my daily life. The Bible can open the door but it is the body of believers who walk through it together that changes lives.

A young woman who was in one of my bible studies once asked me if I really believed that a Democrat could be a Christian. And I say yes, because God is not limited by political agendas, sin, violence, or religious dogma. God can touch anyone, teach anyone, love everyone. Who am I to oppose God?

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Seeking Redemption

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 1, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 10:43
“…All the prophets testify about him [the Messiah] that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” [Peter speaking to the gentile family of Cornelius]

My daughter is in English 12 and apparently, most of these classes are reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (a wonderful book in my estimation) and I was looking forward to discussing it with her. What was striking to me was her lack of mercy… in the sense that she and her class spent a lot of time discussing the lead character’s flaw/mistake and how he spent the rest of the book “seeking redemption.” In her mind, there was no true redemption possible: his boyhood friend was dead and gone. That was his burden to bear.

Two things came to mind as we were talking. First and foremost, of course, as a believer, is that this is the whole point of the Messiah, Christ Jesus, the great redeemer. No sin is too great that it can’t be covered by the blood and promise of the Christ.

But secondly was the realization that very few teenagers have experienced something in their lives, so horrible, so wrenching that they would need to search with all their hearts for the peace of forgiveness and redemption. They cannot imagine making such a huge mistake that someone would die or be permanently injured or lost. There is no room for true mercy and grace.

I am also reminded of an old friend whose husband broke their marriage covenant and had an affair. She, too, was unable to extend forgiveness or grace. And all I could think was that someday it would be she, herself, who might face her own unthinkable sin or crime. Then she would be the one who needed redemption.

In fact, we are all capable of great sin. We are fooling ourselves to think that we couldn’t act selfishly in the face of difficult circumstances.

Naturally, people may also act nobly. I am not saying that we, as humans, always choose the evil way. There are many who have lost their own lives or lived sacrificially. But I think they are able to do this because they have faced the truth of themselves.

For many years, I have never felt comfortable praying the Jesus Prayer: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” I just couldn’t identify with this concept of calling myself a sinner… what had I really done so bad.

But now, the longer I am a follower of Jesus, I see the truth within. I am no better than any other. My sin is no less than another person’s sin. Even Paul bemoaned this state in Romans 7:19, “For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing.”

Oh yes, I am in need of a redeemer. I am in need of forgiveness and mercy and grace every day. My sin is too great for me to carry alone.

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Message of Ananias

Posted in Ordinary Time, tagged , , , , , , , , , on October 27, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Acts 9:15
But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man [Saul of Tarsus] is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.”

Usually, the story of Ananias is used to illustrate the unwilling messenger who is obedient ultimately and delivers the message of God. Courageous Ananias spurns reason and goes to the appointed house to lay hands on the most notorious anti-Christ of the time, Saul of Tarsus. I believe he went with fear and trembling, but he went with faith.

One thing, however, that Ananias does not really do: he doesn’t tell Saul the whole story. Oh yes, Ananias lays hands on Saul who then receives his sight. And this laying on of hands brings the anointing of the Holy Spirit. But Ananias does not drop the bomb that Saul (eventually changed to Paul) would be the one to carry the name of Jesus to the Gentiles. This would have been a huge deal–a shock!

At this point in the story, the Gentiles were not anywhere in the equation. Ananias was really the first to hear and record this fact: the Son of God manifested for everyone, not just the Jews.

That is no less true today.

The way of Christ is not a mandate but an opportunity. It’s far-fetched and far-reaching. It’s not about race, nationality, or religion. God is sovereign and His Son no less so.

Oh, if we could just walk the essence of His message. Truly, the lion and the lamb could live together.

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