Getting Back to Basics—Four

Regardless of how we get into an exile situation, we are not in the place G-d intends for us to be. In the book of Ezra, a wave of exiles are released to return to Israel. Once there, they follow an interesting order: First on the agenda: getting settled in and their own homes in order. They meet in Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths/Tents), and then begin the ritual sacrifices to G-d. Finally they begin work on the Temple, starting with the foundation.

Now when the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the LORD, the God of Israel, they approached Zerubbabel and the heads of fathers’ houses and said to them, “Let us build with you, for we worship your God as you do, and we have been sacrificing to him ever since the days of Esarhaddon king of Assyria who brought us here.” But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers’ houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the LORD, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.” Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia. And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.

Ezra 4:1-6

Point three in this look at Getting Back to Basics is: Once G-d’s people return to where they are suppose to be and begin to rebuild their spiritual lives, there is resistance to their efforts.

Now those “adversaries” are not Jews. But before you say, “Well, the Jews made the Gentiles angry when they refused to let them help.” I think the Gentiles wanted work, wanted a share in the money being spent. They wanted construction contracts. And they were refused. Here’s what the note in The Apologetics Study Bible says, “Some people see an arrogant attitude at work in this rejection of help. However, the Jews were applying an important spiritual principle—service should be conducted by God’s people. They should be very wary of partnerships that involve unbelievers in fulfilling their service to God.” This rebuilding is between the people of G-d and G-d Himself, without outside “assistance.” This rejection of help enrages people, and those people become resistant to the Jews’ efforts at rebuilding their spiritual lives, their nation.

So here’s the the modern-day exile: Tarnished Gold. We are Christians. We are among those who Believe. We know we are saved by grace. Our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Live. But we also know we are far from being G-d’s model Christian. We are tarnished. At some point we become conscious of the tarnish that is on us. Our Thoughts, Words, and our Deeds are not what we want them to be. We begin to try to clean ourselves up. That’s when things get interesting.

Sunday I visited Christ Community Church. Pastor Jason, in his talk, spoke of the fallacy of trying. We try, we fail. We are, he said, to train. We either do or we don’t. We train to do. We take it one step at a time, is what I took from this part of his talk. The overall theme of his talk is really interesting. It was May Day: A Heart Check. It took its core message from Mark 10:17-31 in which a man walks away from Y’shuaJesus, turns away from Y’shuaJesus, Who asked him to sell all his material possessions and come and follow Him.

The key points in Pastor Jason’s talk are:

Sincerity is not the same as obedience.
If possessions have our heart, God cannot.
Following Christ will always cost you something.
Allow his love to transform your heart.

So, in the book of Ezra, non-Jewish folks resist the Jewish rebuilding of the Temple. They raise concerns to the Earthly authority, and that authority says, “Cease and Desist.” Pastor Jason didn’t speak about resistance as such in our attempt to reconnect with G-d, to get into a place with Him to which we feel called. Pastor Jason did, however, talk about how he would, as his pastor before him, try to talk people out of going into the ministry. Pastor Jason said that if he could talk a person out of it, it wasn’t from G-d.

If we really want to build or rebuild our relationship with our Lord, we are going to experience resistance. In Ezra, the resistance is from non-Jewish peoples afraid of the power of a people totally in G-d’s plan and protection. The resistance we may receive today, to our re-establishing or deepening our relationship with G-d, should only come from non-believers in Messiah. But, from what I take out of what Pastor Jason said, this resistance can come from those near and dear to us in order to test us to be sure that we are truly called to this new thing. Wow! Assaulted from both sides.

Funny. There are so many times in which I’ve pushed toward some goal, whether physically or spiritually, that I’ve not known whether it was G-d’s desire that I push onward, or allow myself to stop and be redirected. Resistance. The real question is when is resistance to bend us toward the destination or be broken through in order to get to the destination. Interesting question, isn’t it? But then perhaps you’ve got that figured out. I suppose is has to do with knowing precisely what the will of G-d is, what the destination is suppose to actually be.

Here’s something from Mira Grant’s book Blackout (the third book in a zombie trilogy):

“You’re a crazy. . . Shaun Mason, and I think sometimes you’re not going to be happy until you’ve managed to get every last one of us killed, but you’re a good man, all the same.”

“Remind me to have that inscribed on my urn.” I said, and Becks laughed, and things felt like they might be okay again. We had a direction. I didn’t like it; I didn’t have to. All I had to do was follow it, and let it lead me to whatever the next step on this increasingly insane journey would prove to be.

Direction. The Will of G-d. Perhaps I think too much. Perhaps I’m sincere, but fail to obey. Perhaps I simply am not willing to spend what it takes to follow. It becomes a bit clearer to me now, though, that isn’t the doing. The way Pastor Jason put it is that it isn’t about finding out, and following, G-d’s will; it is about seeking G-d’s heart. This isn’t something new to me. Rephrased, yes. I’ve known it this way: “It’s not about doing, but being,” meaning being in relationship with the Lord, our G-d, our Creator, and knowing HIM.

Knowing G-d’s heart allows us to overcome all resistance, even if it means allowing the resistance to redirect us. Knowing G-d’s heart means not worrying about the moment, where we are starring at our path, but to lift our head up, to look toward heaven, to watch for our Lord with utter rapt attention.

Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Matthew 24:30

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Memorial Day in which American’s Remember

English: The "Bennington Battle Flag"... — The “Bennington Battle Flag” flying outside City Hall in San Francisco, California (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today is Memorial Day. Today we remember. We remember that the Liberty, the Freedom, that G-d has provided us, is codified in the American Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These Liberties and Freedoms allow us to worship the LORD, Who is G-d, in the way we choose. This is a Divinely inspired right, and has been successfully defended for over two hundred years, from enemies both domestic and abroad.

Today, we remember the men and women who died in defense of our country, our liberties, and our freedoms that allow us to worship G-d. May G-d continue to defend America, its Constitution, its Liberties, its Freedoms.

Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

Psalm 74:22

For then the sacrifice of so many lives will not be lost, and the worship of the LORD Who is G-d, the Lord Who is One, shall prevail in America, and throughout the world.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon all His people. . .

Save Our Military Cemeteries (foxnews.com)

Getting Back to Basics—Three

Recapping. In one of my Bibles, the book of Ezra is introduced as having a theme of “Restoration: getting back to basics.” In my reading I found a number of points worthy of discussion. The first point, “As shown in the book of Jonah, and now in Ezra, non-Jews can acknowledge G-d as The G-d of All and obey Him,” was discussed Wednesday. The second point is that “G-d sees to it that even when He allows His people to be hauled into captivity—which perhaps provides a modern analogy for backsliding into sin—He finds a way for them to return to His service.” Here’s how the book of Ezra begins (Ezra 1:1,2):

In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing: “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and he has charged me to build him a house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah.

It doesn’t seem that ol’ King Cyrus was really letting the Exiled Jews return out of pure altruism. The king said he was charged to build G-d a house at Jerusalem. Additionally, it was a general policy he’d developed of letting exiled people and their stolen goods return to their homelands. A note in The Apologetic Study Bible states that “Skeptics note that the magnanimity shown by Cyrus toward the Jewish exiles was not due to divine intervention. It was a typical policy toward displaced people under his rule. This is undeniable, but this fact of history does not diminish the significance of the return of the Jews for exile. After all, the return was a fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah prophesied the rise of Cyrus and his benevolence toward Israel 150 years earlier (se Is 44:28-45:7). Furthermore, the timing was impeccable. Cyrus’s decree coincided with Jeremiah’s prophecy that the captivity in Babylon would last 70 years (see Jr 25:11).”

Irregardless of what people think, G-d worked upon the heart of king Cyrus—says the Bible—and the king decided he would let Israel go. Good decision. Better than Pharaoh. The prophesy was fulfilled. Israel’s exiles returned.

In the book of Ezra, the people got into this state of captivity because they were hauled away after conquest. Israel was conquered as a result of forsaking G-d. Israel remained only seventy years in Babylon. Egypt is different. Israel fled from drought that would have led to famine, into a land that G-d had prepared in advance to receive them. Once there, Israel remained for four hundred thirty years. And in the beginning, Israel was welcomed, given land away from the Egyptians in Goshen (see Genesis 46:34). Israel prospered in Goshen too. But perhaps too much, as successors of Pharaoh that didn’t know Israel well, became afraid of Israel, and began to subjugate the people. As with Israel in Babylon, the people ended up in harsh captivity. As with G-d rescuing His people out of Babylon, the LORD came to the rescue of His people in Egypt, Both times, returning the people to the place He’d chosen for them. The Promised Land.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

note: There’s no doubt more that can be compared/contrasted between the two exile periods and the subsequent returns. You may also like Mark’s Blog This Day With God, in which he has great studies from the book of Ezra.

Getting Back to Basics—Two

G-d is the the King of Heaven and Earth, of Believers and unbelievers. In Ezra we see an Earthly leader, King Cyrus, who is not Jewish, acknowledging and submitting to G-d. Additionally, as I pointed out, the people of Nineveh and their leader, as recorded in Jonah 3:5-8, acknowledged the LORD our G-d:

So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them. For word came unto the king of Nineveh, and he arose from his throne, and he laid his robe from him, and covered him with sackcloth, and sat in ashes. And he caused it to be proclaimed and published through Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles, saying, Let neither man nor beast, herd nor flock, taste any thing: let them not feed, nor drink water: But let man and beast be covered with sackcloth, and cry mightily unto God: yea, let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands.

And there is King Nebuchadnezzar, who brought some of the Jews to Babylon. He had some trials and tribulations in coming to the following conclusion (Daniel 4:37): “Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.”

The opposite is seen in Pharaoh, to whom Moses appealed on behave of G-d, “Let My people Go.” Pharaoh is one who failed to submit to G-d. He was a rebellious leader. He paid the price for his arrogance and rebellion, too.

What about today? Do we see modern leaders actively acknowledging G-d, our G-d, and submitting to Him? Sadly, I can think of no one country in which the leadership submits to G-d. Have I missed such such a country? There is talk, sure. But submission? The proof is in the putting forth of G-d’s agenda, not man’s.

There are, however, many countries with rebellious leaders. In North Korea, for instance, the king is considered god. When he died, his son became king in his place, and is due worship also. The North Korean policies are not favorable to Christianity (an understatement), therefore the leadership is in rebellion to G-d. There are 50 something countries in which the Gospel of Y’shuaJesus is restricted—in which Christianity is restricted and the messengers of the Gospel of Messiah are persecuted, murdered. The leadership of these countries is in rebellion to our G-d. There are many more countries that, while permitting Christian churches to exist, have laws that call quoting from the Bible a “Hate Crime.” Um, I guess that make them restricted countries, too. Australia and Canada are two such countries. And if some of the leaders in America have their way, the United States will also adopt such restrictive legislation.

There are leaders in countries that speak as if they submit to G-d, but their actions belie this. Some leaders say they are Christian, yet demonstrate through words and actions that they are in rebellion to G-d. One cannot, for instance, support various activities expressly forbidden by G-d, and actually be a Christian. One cannot, as a political leader, advocate for homosexuality, and turn to Christian ministers for their support in an upcoming election. But Paul, in his letter to the Romans (1:21) wrote: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Given the darkening the minds taking place in our topsy-turvy world in which we live, a national leader can advocate that which is contrary to the Bible, and can ask Christian ministers to support him in his re-election. Here, in America, the President, the central figurehead representing the American people, has announced that he supports marriage between people of the same gender. He is pictured on Newsweek magazine with a rainbow-colored halo over his head. The caption under the photo implies the president is homosexual: “The First Gay President.” I infer from the photo that Newsweek feels the presidential support for same-sex marriage is saintly—that the president is a somehow divine. If President Obama is re-elected in November, it means that a majority of Americans support homosexual unions. According to the Bible, homosexual practices are forbidden. This would place America in rebellion to G-d. How long shall a rebellious nation continue before bringing upon itself the wrath of a merciful G-d?

Given all that is happening, how come I continue to see signs in front of churches proclaiming “God Bless America”? Perhaps we should be more like Ezra, and tear our clothing, fall upon the ground, and bewail our current, sad, state of affairs (Ezra 10:1). Perhaps then G-d might have mercy upon us, that we might actually find His blessings.

As the slogan for a nearby church declares, “There’s Hope!” Perhaps, like Nineveh, leaders and people will reconsider their allegiance, acknowledge the the LORD of ALL, and turn away from practices contrary to scripture. Perhaps then the wrath of a merciful G-d shall be turned away.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine upon you who take Him seriously. . .

Getting Back to Basics

Ezra shows us how G-d puts it into the heart of a non-Jewish king, King Cyrus, to not only release the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, but to fund it all. Sweet! Had Pharaoh cooperated so readily with G-d, a lot of people would have not died, including Pharaoh’s son.

Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, The LORD God of heaven hath given me all the kingdoms of the earth; and he hath charged me to build him an house at Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem, which is in Judah, and build the house of the LORD God of Israel, (he is the God,) which is in Jerusalem. And whosoever remaineth in any place where he sojourneth, let the men of his place help him with silver, and with gold, and with goods, and with beasts, beside the freewill offering for the house of God that is in Jerusalem.

Ezra 1:2-4

According to the introduction to the book of Ezra in my Matthew Henry Study Bible (KJV), “The purpose of the book seems to be threefold: 1. To show the providence of God as He cares for His people in the face of hostile neighbors, 2. To show the importance and wisdom of obedience, 3. To underline the importance of distinctness of belief and separation from ungodly practice.” The major theme is “Restoration: getting back to basics.”

As I read the first six chapters of Ezra, I was struck by the following:

As shown in the book of Jonah, and now in Ezra, non-Jews can acknowledge G-d as The G-d of All and obey Him;
G-d sees to it that even when He allows His people to be hauled into captivity—which perhaps provides a modern analogy for backsliding into sin—He finds a way for them to return to His service;
Once G-d’s people return, there is resistance to their efforts to rebuild their spiritual lives;
G-d’s prophets must stir up the people AND appeal to non-Jewish leaders to honor previously granted commitments to G-d’s people while declaring they are following the G-d of Israel;
Once again, a non-rebellious, non-Jewish leader looks reasonably into the records and sees that the Jews are entitled to rebuild their temple, and commits to help also.

I plan to finish off the book before expounding upon these initial points. Perhaps y’all might take a look at Ezra and we can dialogue on it.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Jonah and the Whale

If you grew up going to church, most likely you had some children’s classes. You probably heard about Moses parting the Red Sea, Daniel in the Lion’s Den, Samson and Delilah, and Jonah and the Whale. There are probably different versions of the children’s stories, but I tend to think mostly we all got something pretty similar. When it came to Jonah, it probably included something like this: “So instead of listening to God, Jonah thought he would run away from Nineveh and not do what God asked him. He ran to the sea where he found a ship that was going to another city. He paid the captain, went in the lower part of the boat and went to sleep.” Directly from scripture (Jonah 1:3) we see:

But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.

Run Away Jonah. We learned about Jonah running away. We grew up, and we still think of Jonah as someone who ran away. It’s not a good label to put on a person, either. Perhaps better than Judas, but not by much. On his blog “Messy Grace,” Steve Austin, on Tuesday, asked for comments to help him teach a youth group on Wednesday that “Labels Lie.” While I missed the opportunity to comment, it really fits into the Bible book I’ve been reading lately—Jonah—and how I was once called a Jonah by a friend.

My friend decided I was running from my engagement to a mutual friend. He said the marriage was G-d’s will, and I was running away from it. He didn’t accuse me of fearing commitment, which he certainly would have been correct about. And, yes, I ran away from the marriage. Not just from cowardice in the face of commitment, either.

The thing is I really loved the woman. She is an incredible Christian, servant, woman. I’ve followed some of her life since seeing her the last time many years ago: She married a man she served with in WYAM, and later served with him; Along with her husband made mission and medical mission trips overseas; And more trips with her husband and their two boys as they raised them. I’ve prayed for her and her family, too. Occasionally I’ve felt such an incredible burden to pray that it made me hurt for her, and I never learned why. And it doesn’t matter.

Being told I was running from G-d’s will hurt. I couldn’t marry the woman. And I didn’t even know why, at the time. Maybe fear of commitment. Maybe a lot to do with fearing being trapped. Same thing I suppose. But I couldn’t say that to her, or to our friends, for some reason. So I broke up and ran away. And I felt guilty for years. And I’ve played the mind games of “What if. . .” too.

Anyway, is the book of Jonah solely about a man who runs away? Is that the main principle to be learned and taught from the story. Sure Jonah fled to the sea. And, yes, when the storm hit, and the Captain woke him to join the crew in praying, he admitted that the problem might be all his fault, and explained why. (Jonah 1:9,10)

And he said unto them, I am an Hebrew; and I fear the LORD, the God of heaven, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the LORD, because he had told them.

Aboard a Ship with Jonah. There’s another connotation for the label “Jonah.” It has to do with bringing bad “luck” to those around him. I don’t recall the preacher or the sermon/talk, but I do remember the over-used slogan hammering away at the audience. “Don’t get on a ship with a Jonah.” Bad things happen around people labeled a Jonah. No, sorry to disappoint, but there’s no story about me being considered bad “luck”; I’ve got Midas touch, as one person put it once. In reality, I’ve got G-d’s touch upon me. So do you, if you’ve been redeemed, having turned from sin to the newness of Life, know Y’shuaJesus as Lord, Savior, Son of G-d. Anyway, I don’t really thing that the book of Jonah is really about bad things happening to people around a man who flees from G-d.

Jonah the bad man. There’s a more recent addition to the story of Jonah and the Whale. At least I don’t recall this sort of thing: “The only problem was that Jonah didn’t want to help the people there. He knew they were bad and he wanted them to be punished for their mistakes.” Okay, so it’s true, Jonah, like all Israel, was very familiar with the evil that was the people of Nineveh. And, hey, sure, Jonah knew all to well the threat those heathen Gentile posed to Israel. So Jonah and all of Israel would have been just fine to let Nineveh go up in smoke like Sodom. Did Jonah not want to help the people of Nineveh? No, I’m sure Jonah wasn’t too interested in taking a message to Nineveh that, if acted upon, would ensure G-d’s forgiveness of some bad dudes. But is it fair to characterize Jonah as a person who didn’t care about people. I know, that isn’t what the quote from the child’s story says. But I think, since it appears up in the front of the story, that is what is conveyed to kids, if this story is used.

The Real Point of Jonah. It bothers me that G-d’s spokesperson is characterized as one who doesn’t care about people, runs away from responsibility, and is bad to be around. Here’s my take on Jonah. He cared about his people enough to disobey G-d. That caring drove him to leave, to sail away. And here’s the really cool thing: the people on the boat didn’t worship the G-d of Israel, but that all changed. They met Jonah, and they responded to G-d. (Jonah 1:14-16)

Wherefore they cried unto the LORD, and said, We beseech thee, O LORD, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man’s life, and lay not upon us innocent blood: for thou, O LORD, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging. Then the men feared the LORD exceedingly, and offered a sacrifice unto the LORD, and made vows.

G-d knew Jonah. G-d would have predicted Jonah’s moves. And I’m sure G-d had a plan. Jonah needed some time to come to terms with some key issues. Jonah needed come to an understanding of what he’d done in disobeying G-d, that he’d put his people and the fear of what his people would think before serving G-d’s needs. Jonah also needed to let go of his way of viewing Gentiles as some how outside the mercy of G-d, and to see the way G-d sees all His people—even those who are not the Chosen. Jonah needed a little of what my son calls “swag.” He got that in his breathtaking ride beneath the waves, when he got spewed out onto the beach.

Think about it. Out of a small, despised, people, comes an unheard of man with a message to a powerful, albeit evil, nation, “Repent or Die.” Right. Yawn. But even today, CNN would be right there on the beach when it’s reported that a man is stuck in the mouth of a great fish. Then the camera’s are rolling and Jonah pops out. What an entrance. Now people will listen. Jonah got his fifteen minutes of fame.

Okay. The big message of the book of Jonah is that G-d calls, man rejects, learns from G-d that rejection isn’t an option, and comes out smelling like dead fish and seaweed—er, I mean roses. It’s also about G-d’s concern for Gentiles, to whom He extends mercy. And it’s also about G-d having the right to decide that evil, done even by a people that doesn’t acknowledge Him, needs to be quenched, purged.

And me, what about my accusation of being a Jonah? It seems to me we were not meant to be married. I wasn’t in finished enough shape to be with someone so fantastic. She’d served the Lord for many years. I’d run from Him for as many. She had a calling upon her life, from the age of five, that she’d willingly accepted. I didn’t deserve to have a wife such as she. I needed time in the belly of hell before I could be ready for someone like her. I needed to let her go. That knowledge drove me away. I didn’t run away, but ran toward. Toward the belly of a whale.

All I need is to get some Jonah swag! For that, I’m waiting.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Except it be Given from Heaven

There are moments in which I wonder, “If only I had. . .maybe then I would. . .” Usually I’m feeling a bit low and thinking about various choices I’ve made in the past—thinking regretfully. One of my favorites is “If I’d gone running to that alter call back in eighth grade. . .”

It was during my first year in military academy. Two of my teachers were Christians and took a bunch of us up to a weekend retreat. I remember that I volunteered to help out, and was assigned the task of cleaning the bathrooms. I don’t recall too much of the weekend, except how hard cleaning toilets is, and the Sunday morning Church service. I’d never been to one quite like it. I’d been in Church regularly since birth, but Episcopal, not Baptist. I know that I liked this service. I know that at the end, when everyone was told to bow their heads and close their eyes and raise their hands if they wanted to accept Jesus into their hearts, I responded—I’m sure I did, at least I think I did, I want to think I did. But when the pastor asked for all those who raised their hands to come forward to the alter, I hesitated. Then it was over and everyone was leaving and I just exited along with them, having not been able to make it to the alter. I felt guilty about that moment of indecision, of cowardice, of fear.

I still do—at times. I wonder how my life might have been different. It’s as if I think the physical act of approaching an alter would have made a difference in my life—making it somehow better, me better, or at least a bit easier. Perhaps I’d have become somebody famous, or rich, or powerful. Perhaps I’d have had the drive to finish college after high school, rather than wait twenty years. Perhaps I’d have accepted the position that I was offered as a management apprentice, rather than wanting to drive truck. Perhaps. . .I’d have been wise. I think that’s what I would have wanted if I’d known to ask. Wisdom. Like Solomon asked for from the LORD.

Or perhaps I’d just have avoided some mistakes, not have wandered around as much. Perhaps I’d have been more focused in ministry. I know, intellectually, that one can’t change the past. I know that my “better choice” thinking isn’t necessarily a particular best choice. In my heart I know that who I am, I am as a result of G-d’s desire to take all that I am and have ever been, the real person I am, and make it work for the good in the overall scheme of things. If I were to right one perceived mistake, it might upset something else that came later. At least I can rationalize it that way.

I really admire John the Baptist. He made it big, getting to baptize Lord Y’shuaJesus with water. And he made an important choice as “his” ministry slipped away, he let it go. He understood an important principle (John 3:27):

John answered and said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven.

Matthew Henry commented that “different employments are according to the direction of divine providence, different endowments according to the distribution of the divine grace. No man can take true honor to himself, Hebrews 5:4. We have as necessary and constant a dependence upon the grace of G-d in all the motions and actions of the spiritual life as we have upon the providence of G-d in all the motions and actions of the natural life.”

Perhaps success that eludes does so to spare us magnifying our own selves. “Had I just. . .’ is simply another way of taking responsibility for my own success. “If I had,” then I’d have had to fail in other ways unless I was well fortified, and able to pass on all credit to the Lord. Success is not easy. Staying humble while in the limelight of applause and flattery is daunting. I do not envy Christian musicians who, after struggling for success, gain it, only to grasp hold of the honor to themselves. Then things happen, like falling flat. Or pastors who begin to think themselves above sin, and into the depths they plummet.

Then there is the thought that things might have been easier, perhaps, for me had I just run, not walked, to the alter that weekend. Perhaps I’d have somehow been a better person, and made less mistakes. Maybe I’d have not had some of the really tough moments I’ve experienced. And yet it is during those hard time of my life that I can, now, I look back upon and see the Lord at work in me, watching over me, caring for me. Hard times are. . . just plain hard. But perhaps they are the furrowing of our spiritual garden that allow great things to grow—spiritual growth as well as physical.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Shabbat in Arcata

Opening the refrigerator door this morning, I immediately saw the plate of left-over enchilada. It would be good in an omelette, I thought. Just as quickly I imagined the Mexican omelets I occasionally ate at a restaurant in Arcata, California. This was in the late 1980s while I was a university student.

Sidebar: I know, being forty years old—then—was pretty old to be doing an undergraduate degree. So, okay, it took me twenty years to figure out what I wanted to actually study. I think I’ve finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up, but I am having too much fun being an elder child to start on it.

Anyway, this restaurant had the best omelets, especially one served with chilies, eggs, flour tortillas, and refried beans. It was almost always crowded, too, and even the wait was enjoyable. Sadly, I don’t recall the name of the place. I’ve mentioned before the shear pleasure I get from some restaurants, of sitting with an open Bible eating a delicious omelette. But while living in Arcata, I practiced my own form of Shabbat Rest, which made the breakfast experience Divine. I would put aside studies and work from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday, and I’d do something totally different. For me it wasn’t about giving something up, or doing something religious, it was about restoration.

The military calls it R&R. No, not rock and roll. Rest and Recuperation. It’s time away from duty. It’s free time in which the soldier may recover, to be better fit to serve in his or her regular duties.

Home Leave is what it’s called by the Department of State (DOS), which has Americans stationed in embassies and consulates throughout the world. Every two years, these “Foreign Service Officers” and DOS Staffers are provided with transport back to the United States. It serves a couple of interesting purposes. For one, it is the very needed rest and relaxation officers and staff require to ensure fitness. In some cases, they receive medical and dental care not available at their duty stations, too. The other reason is to re-enter the American lifestyle, to be home again.

If we think about being in this world, but not of it, then it makes sense for us, too, to have a type of home leave. We celebrate a Shabbus Rest with the Lord Y’shuaJesus, allowing the break in routine and the Holy Spirit to minister to our physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual selves.

While in Arcata, I used to run several miles each day. But on Saturday, my Sabbath, I ran a different route, often through the incredible redwood forest. I saw different sights, heard different sounds. It was a refreshing change from the flats toward the beach I usually ran. I also would read books. Not school books, but I’d read novels or some non-fiction. I’d occasionally operate my amateur radio, or take a long bicycle ride along the coast. And, yes, I had more time to spend delving into the Bible and studying it.

The idea of getting out of the routine isn’t new: it’s the reason people take holidays or vacations. For me, my shabbat in Arcata, during the two years I spent there, were times of Divine Refreshing, a day dedication to Lord Y’shuaJesus, and His restoration of me, and a form of obedience to the scripture in Exodus 20:8-11

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, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

The writing above flowed out easily on Monday afternoon. But as I looked at the actual scripture, I hesitated. I thought perhaps I was unclear of the concept of stopping work. It seemed best to me to come back to it on Tuesday, pray about it for a bit beforehand. So now it is Friday, and I’m coming back to it. It’s been a hectic week!

The answer actual came on Tuesday. While listening to “Gospel” music on the way somewhere, a song on the radio came on that really touched me. Bill Winston’s “Released” spoke about coming to the Lord and being released from the work, the striving, of trying to gain a life. I felt myself justified by the work of Messiah, Who fulfilled the Law, and granted me the freedom to honor Him in my observance of the Sabbath.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

All Must Be Well

A.W. Tozer compiled, in The Christian Book of Mystical Verse some of his favorite devotional verse to share with us. He says “it has been carefully and lovingly prepared for those God-enamored persons who … lack the gift that would enable them to express their feelings adequately.

While the word mystic is used in Eastern religion, and has crept inappropriately into some churches, to A.W. Tozer it refers to an evangelical Christian “who has been brought by the Gospel into intimate fellowship with the Godhead.”

Today, I share with you All Must Be Well, Mary Bowley Peters, 1813-1856

Through the love of God our Saviour,
All will be well;
Free and changeless is His favor,
All, all is well;
Precious is the blood that heal’d us,
Perfect is the grace that seal’d us,
Strong the hand stretch’d out to shield us,
All must be well.

Though we pass through tribulation,
All will be well;
Ours is such a full salvation,
All, all is well;
Happy, still in God confiding,
Fruitful, if in Christ abiding
Holy, through the Spirit’s guiding,
All must be well.

We expect a bright tomorrow,
All will be well;
Faith can sing, through days of sorrow,
All, all is well;
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus ev’ry need supplying,
Or in living or in dying,
All must be well.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

Carpenter Ants, Black and Yellow Bees, and Worms

Ants. A large, black carpenter ant climbed up the edge of the wooden deck. Those black ants don’t sting, I don’t think. There are also large red ants down here in Georgia that do sting—terribly so. Fire ants. And we have those small ants I think of as a grease ants, too. These are the ones that lick the oily stuff of the peonies so that the flower will bloom fully. But the large black ants just roam about ignoring everyone and everything. Harmless, seemingly. Except I’ve been told they are carpenter ants, and eat the insides of wood structures to build their nests. I’ve not seen evidence of their destruction, however. Perhaps it takes years to weaken a board on the deck, to make it collapse from my weight as I walk.

Bees. This is also the time of year I see small piles of wood dust in some places around the deck posts. There will be a small hole above the pile, bored by a black and yellow bee. I’ve seen these bees go in and out. I always thought they just bored in an inch or so and laid eggs. I thought that until one day when I cut into an old board that had been laying out back for a while. Inside, the bees had dug throughout the board, building quite a network of tunnels. I’m sure the deck posts will be damaged if I let bees continue to nest there.

Worms. A few years ago we were using some lawn treatment that helped prevent weeds. It worked pretty well, too. But I’ve never really been a fan of chemicals, and finally we gave it up. Our neighbors have done likewise, so we all now just mow the weeds with the grass. What I’ve noticed is that we’re now getting worms back in the grass, and more in the gardens that surround it. I think the chemicals destroyed the worms. Worms are good to have around, eating there way through the dirt, making small spaces that allow air to saturate the ground. That’s not bad, either. A lot of people pay to have lawns punctured with holes to do the same thing.

What do all these critter have in common, the carpenter ants, the bees, and the worms? The all makes small holes. I read Regular Joe’s article on zombies on his blog. He came out and said what needs to be said. There are zombies walking around today. Lot of ’em, too. They are the walking dead. Unless they receive Messiah Y’shuaJesus as their Lord, the will be dead for eternity.

To take up on that idea, we can see the dead speaking loudly, making small holes like the ants, bees, and worms. They teach in public schools, especially colleges. They report for various news organizations, write for television shows, produce movies, write movies. They are in our political arena, as well. And unfortunately these walking dead infiltrate our churches. And the walking dead are deceivers. As Jude wrote (Jude v10-13.):

But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves. Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core. These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.

Paul put it this way: “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. . .” Romans 1:22

Deceivers. At least three types of deceivers. One like the ant, one like the bee, and one like the worm. The holes deception bores begin small, getting beneath the surface where we don’t see what it’s really doing. Eventually, with a destroyed foundation, the structure collapses. Y’shuaJesus said that our faith must be built upon a rock. And, yes, we say Y’shuaJesus is the Rock. Out faith is built upon Him. It is still faith. We have to remember that our sins are forgiven. We have to remember that Y’shuaJesus paid the price of for our lives. But deception undermines our faith, slowly chipped away, by the walking dead, whether in the “world” or in the church. Do we begin to think we have to earn salvation through works or doing a certain type of mystical prayer? What can we offer G-d in trade for eternal life?

The black ant deception looks perfectly sound, fine. We don’t suspect a thing is going on. The bee is more direct. We see signs, but don’t think it’s really too dangerous. The worm. Well, the worm of deception appears to be a good thing. Like the worms in my lawn and garden. But our faith is to be a rock, not a garden. Worms say “The Bible teaches. . .” and we applaud, or say “amen.” Worms, well, worm their way into our lives, eating at us in ways we don’t even know.

The aim of deception is to undermine our faith. We are called to endure until the end. We can suffer set backs, but our faith must endure. We must be prepared to endure hardships without the loss of our faith. Our faith must endure. The Gospel Faith. That Y’shuaJesus lived, died, returned from the dead, and lives at the right had of the Father. Truth.

The cure to deception is what Paul wrote to the Corinthians (Ephesians 4:14,15):

That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. . .

One example. There is a deception today that goes by the name of “emergent.” It isn’t new: It’s “new age” wrapped in Bible quotes. It looks so spiritual, even something Y’shuaJesus would approve. “From the Lighthouse” is a great place to learn about exactly this type of deception, and more. You can find it here:

Evangelism and the Walking Dead. In his article, Regular Joe wrote about evangelism of the walking dead, that they might be awakened. I agree. It is our mandate, too easily forgotten as we duck assaults from an enemy that is not flesh and blood (though too easily works through physical forms). We pray for all to come to the knowledge of Messiah, to the salvation that is preached in the Gospel Message.

Tom White, from his column in Voice of the Martyrs magazine encourages us: “Don’t let the big dogs in our country—who growl loudly through the media—prevent us from finding ways to reach out.” Throughout the world, Believers in Y’shuaJesus reach out to, and from within, countries in which the Gospel is restricted or simply outlawed. There are 54 nations like this. Here, in America, we are, for the present, unrestricted in our out reach with the saving message of Messiah and Lord Y’shuaJesus. “We must thereore go outside the fence with childlike faith,” wrote White.

And we must also not become discouraged in our efforts, must not question why there seems such poor return for our efforts. Not all will hear. Paul wrote (2Corinthians 4:3,4):

But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Oh, Lord, You are our Rock. You will not be moved. Help us endure, with our faith intact, that we might greet You at Your Glorious Return and Feast with You, even reign with You as You’ve said we shall. Amen.

Lord Bless, Keep, Shine. . .

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