On the tenth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Ten Lords a-leaping.
What famous ten of the Bible could Ten Lords a-Leaping represent? The Ten Commandments!
1. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me. 2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 3. Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day. 4. Honor your father and mother. 5. You shall not kill. 6. You shall not commit adultery. 7. You shall not steal. 8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. 10. You shall not covet thy neighbor's goods.
According to Jewish websites, there are apparently 613 laws in the Torah. Now, this Torah is more than just the first five books of the Bible and the laws contain the Ten Commandments plus many others that further define them and also laws about observing special days.
Remember how I’ve said, we humans like to have the recipe for how to attain God’s acceptance? Well it gets pretty complicated if not for the Good News of Jesus Christ. But even in the New Testament Gospel of Matthew it seems quite impossible. We read from chapter 5 :17-20
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
Here we clearly read that Jesus says we need righteousness greater than the Pharisees. The general people knew the Pharisees were dedicated to keeping the law and so how could anyone be more righteous. Remember we have talked about how we are only righteous by being in Christ and cannot earn any on our own merit. In this chapter Jesus is making it abundantly clear that the bar was high… very high. We do not get into heaven because God lowered the bar… we get there because Jesus accomplished the law… now, as he said on the cross, “it is finished”. We can only attain this mark of righteousness by being “in Jesus”.
The next part of the chapter of Matthew goes on to talk about the extent of perfection that is required, by describing that even if you are angry at your brother, you are in danger of the fire of hell. And even if you look at a woman lustfully, in your heart, adultery is committed. Similarly we find absolute judgments for divorce and oaths… and then the command to love enemies. It is all so hard…. And it is meant to be. .
People often make the mistake of trying to justify these hard sayings of Jesus and there are many who define sin in different categories with varying degrees of seriousness. I like to think of the law as a chain. Upon each link is the engraving of one of the commandments. The chain is linked to make a perfect circle. Then when a command is broken so is the link. If a link is broken the whole circle is broken. If we were to look at the link to see which commandment was broken it would make no difference to the outcome as to whether it was a “small” sin or a “serious” sin. The end result is the same and that is, the law is broken. And the Bible tells us that the penalty for sin is death. To perfectly live the Christian life is impossible – only Christ can live it
Later in the chapter of Matthew we find Jesus does simplify the law when he is asked which is the greatest: Matthew22:36-40 ““Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.””
From this we see a shift in the emphasis from a hard cold law to an attitude of the heart where love is the guide. This was present in the Old Testament also, as we find verses such as:
Hosea 6:6 “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
and
Psalm 51:16,17 “For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.…”
Notice in the verse the reference to a broken spirit and how this fits with our beatitudes in our eighth day of Christmas.
So, we’ve established that we can’t keep the law and that Christ completed it, but what about now? How does it all fit in with now, and should we be observing special days and laws etc...
Colossians 2:16 “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day.”
The short answer is, “No”. The best example I can give comes from an analogy by the late Major Ian Thomas, where he aligns the Old Covenant law of sin with the Law of Gravity, and the New Covenant law of grace with the law of aerodynamics.
The law of gravity is a reality, (and so is God’s law- it will forever remain a reality) ,but if you get into an airplane you become subject to a new law - the law of aerodynamics. This new law keeps you in the air. If you step out of the airplane, gravity will let you know that it is still there.
If you are in the airplane and start flapping your arms about to try and stay up in the air you’ll be using a lot of senseless energy that could be best served doing other activities (and you’ll look like an idiot! ).
From the book of Galatians we see that this is exactly how Paul saw the Galatians, who after receiving the Good News “fell from grace” (just like falling from the law of aerodynamics when you step out a plan), by trying to then attain God’s acceptance by works, outward signs and religious activity.
Galatians 1:1- 6 “You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? So also Abraham “believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
And the passage goes on to explain and emphasis over and over that the righteous will live by faith.
Galatians 1:10- 11 “For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse, as it is written: “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law.” Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.””
THE HEART OF THE MATTER: When we are wasting time and energy in trying to keep the law in a vain effort to justify ourselves before God, all we are really doing is self-centeredly trying to better ourselves instead of spending our energy on love and good deeds, and this is how we truly obey God’s call…. Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy”. and to walk humbly with your God.”
While we remain in human flesh there will always be struggle. No one but Christ can perfectly live the Christian live and this is why the Christian life is called the “exchanged life”.
I was most excited when I noticed that our tenth article of faith from our creed brings light to this discussion on the Law. In the tenth article of our creed we profess that we believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
Baptism is how (Spiritually) we exchange our life for Christ’s. It is how we come to have Peace with God.
Just briefly on Baptism; Once again, if we get caught up on the fine details of whether it is a sprinkle or full emersion and how and when it should be done, we would be missing the essential point. The more traditional churches name Baptism a sacrament. A sacrament is an outward sign of an inner spiritual reality. For some this reality may have already come into being… at the moment that they accepted Jesus into their life (Which is why we see the close connection in the early church, ie, they believed and were baptized.).
Baptism is the renouncing of our own lives and the accepting of Jesus life. This is the “exchanged life”. We receive Christ’s life, as we believe that we, through our baptism, are united to him in his death and therefore live in the reality of his resurrected life.
Romans 6:4 “For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”
We believe in the ONE BAPTISM FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF SIN. This is why, if you have been baptized in one denomination and move to another denomination you do not need to be baptized again, however, I personally believe that there is more to this ‘one baptism for the forgiveness of sin’.
Luke 12:50 “But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed!”
Jesus spoke about a baptism that he was to experience. We can best understand if we look at the Old Testament passages from Leviticus 16:21 “He will lay both of his hands on the goat's head and confess over it all the wickedness, rebellion, and sins of the people of Israel. In this way, he will transfer the people's sins to the head of the goat. Then a man specially chosen for the task will drive the goat into the wilderness.”
John the Baptist declared Jesus to be the Lamb of God; John 1: 29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
In the Old Testament, among those 613 Laws, were laws about how sin could be atoned. Jesus is the Lamb of God who died for our sins… how could he die for our sins? How could this happen? Jesus went through a baptism also – he was like that scapegoat from Leviticus 16, and all our sins were placed on him.
The prophecy about the Messiah makes this clear;
Isaiah 53:4- 6 “surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.…”
Truly, we are baptized and our sins are forgiven, but I believe the more profound meaning of the ‘One Baptism for the forgiveness of sins’, is the baptism with which Jesus was baptized in his death.
Friday, January 2, 2015
Thursday, January 1, 2015
On the Ninth day of Christmas....
On the 9th Day of Christmas my true love gave to me, nine ladies dancing…
Wishing you all a very merry ninth day of Christmas as we head back to our nativity story just for a while, as the nine ladies dancing remind us of the jubilant Angels who sang and announced Christ’s birth.
The Nine Ladies Dancing is possibly to symbolize the nine choirs of angels: (in ascending order)
1. Angels 2. Archangels 3. Principalities 4. Powers 5. Virtues 6. Dominations 7. Thrones 8. Cherubim 9. Seraphim.
Now, if you are anything like me you’ll be looking at this list and saying, “Angels, Archangels, Cherubim and seraphim… maybe Powers and Principalities… but what are these others?”
The other possible symbol for the nine ladies dancing is the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
I’d like to spend just a little time reflecting on both of these. I suspect that the Angels may be more the traditional symbol because back in the 16th century, around about when the 12 days were potentially celebrated, many church traditions seemed to stem from the Roman Catholic tradition, and the Catholics had re-defined the fruit of the Spirit into twelve, rather than nine. However there had been the split between Eastern orthodox and Roman Catholics way back in 1054 and the formation of the Anglican, Lutheran and other protestant churches seemed to emerge in the 16th century. It matters not what we choose to reflect on, but more importantly, that whatever we look at, are the things of God.
In Speaking of the Church and the churches; the ninth article of our creed states that we believe In One Holy catholic and apostolic Church. We profess this same creed whether we are Roman Catholic or other denominations and many are confused as to what it means.
“Catholic” means “universal”. We believe that the true church has no denominations but that it consists of all who are Christians, accepting the sacrifice of Jesus, believing in his divinity and humanity and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This is regardless of one’s culture, background and geographical location.
“Apostolic” is a word that means “sent”. The first to be sent were the apostles who were there with Christ and then those who have accepted him. It implies an adhesion to the early Church and a mission to continue Christ’s work and the commission given to receive the Holy Spirit and to go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The proclamation of God’s word is what those Angels declared when Christ was born, “Peace to all on Earth”!
The word angel means, “Messenger of God”. Angels are spoken of throughout the Bible and only very occasionally named. Gabriel visited Zechariah about the pregnancy of Elizabeth and then to Mary.
I don’t want to go into depth about the Angels and the ranks of Archangels etc., but certainly these exist and the purpose is to serve God and they have a part to play in his plan which means supporting God’s creation – ie. Humans, with protection and guidance.
There are no direct references to Guardian Angels, in the way that people think each person has one assigned to them, but there are references to suggest that Angels (Plural) look out for us.
It would appear that both humans and Angels have been given free will, and can choose Good or evil. As we know, Satan is an Angel who went against God and fights against those who follow him. We also know fallen Angels who follow Satan, as demons.
According to Baruch S. Davidson from the website: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/692875/jewish/What-Are-Angels.htm
“According to Jewish tradition, an angel is a spiritual being and does not have any physical characteristics. The angelic descriptions provided by the prophets – such as wings, arms etc. – are anthropomorphic, referring to their spiritual abilities and tasks.”
However we know that Angels can appear to look just like humans. In the story of Lot from Genesis 19, two Angels came and stayed with Lot and the men of the town demanded that Lot send the men out so that they could have sex with them. The men of the township didn’t recognize anything divine about them and it is not clear that Lot realized until these Angels gave them the message from the Lord.
In the New Testament we are urged to act with hospitality towards strangers. Hebrew 13:2 “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
Angels are not to be worshiped. Revelations 19:10 and 22:9 describes occasions when John fell prostrate to worship and Angel and the Angel quickly reprimanded him for doing so. Also we have a warning from Colossians 2:18 “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.”
And on that note, there are many who claim to have superior knowledge and when we are eager to know about God, we actively look for someone we can respect and whose knowledge we can drink in. Please remember our message from previous days, where we are all given the Holy Spirit and we all can know God and his ways… we need to respect each other and know that each of us carries God, but each of us is just as fallible. “There but for the Grace of God go I”. Any of us can fall, given the circumstances and any of us can become strong given the encouragement and gifts of God… so “let us consider how we might spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)
Other Angelic beings listed, which I find interesting are the Powers and Principalities. The reason these caught my eye is that these are spoken of in the Bible, but in a negative way. Remember that all Angels can be those who follow God or those who follow Satan.
The verse that lists these is Ephesians 6:12 KJV “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
This is speaking of a spiritual force that is behind things that happen in the physical world. Those familiar with Spiritual warfare will know more about this than me. But let us not kid ourselves into thinking we don’t want to be involved in Spiritual warfare; if you follow Christ and you are actively doing his work, you will encounter these powers and principalities. We are, thankfully given the tools to combat and this is listed in the surrounding verses of Ephesians 6:13-18
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people”
These things that are listed as the armour of God are about knowing who we are in Christ. We are clothed in Christ and belong to him… it is TRUTH. Through Christ we have righteousness and not through anything that we are or do in ourselves. We know the Gospel of peace – the Gospel that brings us into peace with God – a completely uninhibited relationship and we are ready to declare it. Our faith in God is a Shield and our Salvation is what protects us. All these are our protection and defense. Our offensive tools are also in these, but particularly with the sword of the Spirit… which is the word of God.
I have this image in my head of someone being knighted… God holds the sword and touches their shoulders and says “arise knights”…. Our readiness for the battle begins and ends with the word of God- both the living and the written.
Much of our power stems from the Holy Spirit. As I’ve said before, this involves many facets, but this being the ninth day, we look at the fruit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These fruit are not separate, but a description of what the effect of the Holy Spirit in us is.
These are things that grow in us because of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and not something that we “Paint” on. I watched the original Alice in Wonderland last night and they were painting the white roses red. They were not authentically red. It is the same with the fruit of the Spirit… you can look at these and “paint” them onto your lives, but people will eventually feel like something is not right about you.
So, what is the solution? There is none. It is a reality of your life that if you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and remaining connected to God, that this fruit will be produced in your life. You will most probably be completely unaware of its production. If the fruit is not being produced you may need to look at your “soil”, your influences and other aspects of your life that may be impeding on God’s plan for your life.
An orange tree doesn’t groan and strive to produce fruit and neither do we in producing the fruit of the Spirit, It will happen naturally. But just as an orange tree need soil nutrients and water, so do we need the encouragement of other Christians, the word of God in our lives and a focus on all that is good and wholesome to guard us against the poison of things that may harm. And remember the “solution to pollution is dilution”… which I’ll parallel to mean that we live in a world full of sinful and potentially harmful things… we can’t avoid these, but we dilute their effect on us by having a whole lot of God stuff to water that which could poison could harm.
The purpose for the fruit in our lives is to be a blessing to others and to proclaim that same message of the Angels on that Holy Night, “Glory to God in the Highest and Peace to all on earth”.
Wishing you all a very merry ninth day of Christmas as we head back to our nativity story just for a while, as the nine ladies dancing remind us of the jubilant Angels who sang and announced Christ’s birth.
The Nine Ladies Dancing is possibly to symbolize the nine choirs of angels: (in ascending order)
1. Angels 2. Archangels 3. Principalities 4. Powers 5. Virtues 6. Dominations 7. Thrones 8. Cherubim 9. Seraphim.
Now, if you are anything like me you’ll be looking at this list and saying, “Angels, Archangels, Cherubim and seraphim… maybe Powers and Principalities… but what are these others?”
The other possible symbol for the nine ladies dancing is the nine fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV) “22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
I’d like to spend just a little time reflecting on both of these. I suspect that the Angels may be more the traditional symbol because back in the 16th century, around about when the 12 days were potentially celebrated, many church traditions seemed to stem from the Roman Catholic tradition, and the Catholics had re-defined the fruit of the Spirit into twelve, rather than nine. However there had been the split between Eastern orthodox and Roman Catholics way back in 1054 and the formation of the Anglican, Lutheran and other protestant churches seemed to emerge in the 16th century. It matters not what we choose to reflect on, but more importantly, that whatever we look at, are the things of God.
In Speaking of the Church and the churches; the ninth article of our creed states that we believe In One Holy catholic and apostolic Church. We profess this same creed whether we are Roman Catholic or other denominations and many are confused as to what it means.
“Catholic” means “universal”. We believe that the true church has no denominations but that it consists of all who are Christians, accepting the sacrifice of Jesus, believing in his divinity and humanity and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. This is regardless of one’s culture, background and geographical location.
“Apostolic” is a word that means “sent”. The first to be sent were the apostles who were there with Christ and then those who have accepted him. It implies an adhesion to the early Church and a mission to continue Christ’s work and the commission given to receive the Holy Spirit and to go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The proclamation of God’s word is what those Angels declared when Christ was born, “Peace to all on Earth”!
The word angel means, “Messenger of God”. Angels are spoken of throughout the Bible and only very occasionally named. Gabriel visited Zechariah about the pregnancy of Elizabeth and then to Mary.
I don’t want to go into depth about the Angels and the ranks of Archangels etc., but certainly these exist and the purpose is to serve God and they have a part to play in his plan which means supporting God’s creation – ie. Humans, with protection and guidance.
There are no direct references to Guardian Angels, in the way that people think each person has one assigned to them, but there are references to suggest that Angels (Plural) look out for us.
It would appear that both humans and Angels have been given free will, and can choose Good or evil. As we know, Satan is an Angel who went against God and fights against those who follow him. We also know fallen Angels who follow Satan, as demons.
According to Baruch S. Davidson from the website: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/692875/jewish/What-Are-Angels.htm
“According to Jewish tradition, an angel is a spiritual being and does not have any physical characteristics. The angelic descriptions provided by the prophets – such as wings, arms etc. – are anthropomorphic, referring to their spiritual abilities and tasks.”
However we know that Angels can appear to look just like humans. In the story of Lot from Genesis 19, two Angels came and stayed with Lot and the men of the town demanded that Lot send the men out so that they could have sex with them. The men of the township didn’t recognize anything divine about them and it is not clear that Lot realized until these Angels gave them the message from the Lord.
In the New Testament we are urged to act with hospitality towards strangers. Hebrew 13:2 “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
Angels are not to be worshiped. Revelations 19:10 and 22:9 describes occasions when John fell prostrate to worship and Angel and the Angel quickly reprimanded him for doing so. Also we have a warning from Colossians 2:18 “Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind.”
And on that note, there are many who claim to have superior knowledge and when we are eager to know about God, we actively look for someone we can respect and whose knowledge we can drink in. Please remember our message from previous days, where we are all given the Holy Spirit and we all can know God and his ways… we need to respect each other and know that each of us carries God, but each of us is just as fallible. “There but for the Grace of God go I”. Any of us can fall, given the circumstances and any of us can become strong given the encouragement and gifts of God… so “let us consider how we might spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” (Hebrews 10:24)
Other Angelic beings listed, which I find interesting are the Powers and Principalities. The reason these caught my eye is that these are spoken of in the Bible, but in a negative way. Remember that all Angels can be those who follow God or those who follow Satan.
The verse that lists these is Ephesians 6:12 KJV “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
This is speaking of a spiritual force that is behind things that happen in the physical world. Those familiar with Spiritual warfare will know more about this than me. But let us not kid ourselves into thinking we don’t want to be involved in Spiritual warfare; if you follow Christ and you are actively doing his work, you will encounter these powers and principalities. We are, thankfully given the tools to combat and this is listed in the surrounding verses of Ephesians 6:13-18
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people”
These things that are listed as the armour of God are about knowing who we are in Christ. We are clothed in Christ and belong to him… it is TRUTH. Through Christ we have righteousness and not through anything that we are or do in ourselves. We know the Gospel of peace – the Gospel that brings us into peace with God – a completely uninhibited relationship and we are ready to declare it. Our faith in God is a Shield and our Salvation is what protects us. All these are our protection and defense. Our offensive tools are also in these, but particularly with the sword of the Spirit… which is the word of God.
I have this image in my head of someone being knighted… God holds the sword and touches their shoulders and says “arise knights”…. Our readiness for the battle begins and ends with the word of God- both the living and the written.
Much of our power stems from the Holy Spirit. As I’ve said before, this involves many facets, but this being the ninth day, we look at the fruit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. These fruit are not separate, but a description of what the effect of the Holy Spirit in us is.
These are things that grow in us because of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives and not something that we “Paint” on. I watched the original Alice in Wonderland last night and they were painting the white roses red. They were not authentically red. It is the same with the fruit of the Spirit… you can look at these and “paint” them onto your lives, but people will eventually feel like something is not right about you.
So, what is the solution? There is none. It is a reality of your life that if you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit and remaining connected to God, that this fruit will be produced in your life. You will most probably be completely unaware of its production. If the fruit is not being produced you may need to look at your “soil”, your influences and other aspects of your life that may be impeding on God’s plan for your life.
An orange tree doesn’t groan and strive to produce fruit and neither do we in producing the fruit of the Spirit, It will happen naturally. But just as an orange tree need soil nutrients and water, so do we need the encouragement of other Christians, the word of God in our lives and a focus on all that is good and wholesome to guard us against the poison of things that may harm. And remember the “solution to pollution is dilution”… which I’ll parallel to mean that we live in a world full of sinful and potentially harmful things… we can’t avoid these, but we dilute their effect on us by having a whole lot of God stuff to water that which could poison could harm.
The purpose for the fruit in our lives is to be a blessing to others and to proclaim that same message of the Angels on that Holy Night, “Glory to God in the Highest and Peace to all on earth”.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
On the 8th Day of Christmas...
On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Eight Maids a-Milking
The Eight Maid a-milking are to signify the eight Beatitudes. Why 8 Maid a-milking I’m not sure, but seeing as milk is the basis for cheese it might have something to do with Cheese makers. ….
For all fans of Monty Python, yes, I’m referring to the famous Sermon on the Mount which is misinterpreted, in the film “Life of Brian” as “Blessed are the Cheese makers”. A lady in the movie calls out “What's so special about the cheesemakers? “ And the reply is: “Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products”.
The highly amusing skit is a cleverly bridled comment about the way scripture is sometimes interpreted or mis-heard and then interpreted as if an authority on the subject, which makes it all quite funny, until we realize the finger is pointed at us… and then it is hilarious, but sobering at the same time.
Without the gift of the Holy Spirit we can easily fall prey to whatever the latest popular thought might be. In our Eighth article of faith we confess our belief in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who has spoken by the Prophets;
For many years people have been taught to trust authority figures without question, but the younger generations are being taught to think critically. In other words they are taught to think things through and decide whether what they are being told is true or not.
Unfortunately, young people are taught to question certain things and accept other things under the guise of it being ‘critical thinking,’ but many times it is simply following a new crowd and not actually thinking individually. Sadly, children realize quite early that they can be ostracized for thinking differently to their peers.
Yesterday we mentioned that the law of God is now, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, written in our hearts and on our minds. Jeremiah 31:34 tells us that, “No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."”
It isn’t that we don’t teach each other, but that each of us has direct access to God and to the knowledge that is in him – from the least to the greatest. We learn from each other if we are willing to respect God’s Holy Spirit in each other and experience the Holy Spirit’s gifts in our own lives.
We discussed the seven fold Spirit of God yesterday, but throughout the New Testament many gifts and fruit are spoken of that the Holy Spirit brings. The church has tried to organise these, calling some fruit and some miraculous gifts etc.. Most important is the message to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”
What this passage is telling us is that any gift that we have is not to be kept for ourselves. The purpose of the gift is for each other, for the good of the church as a whole. So, while I say that each of us has direct access to God, this is true, but we need each other and the gifts that each of us has in order to discern the will of God.
Most often I hear people talk about the Sermon on the Mount as a sermon about an up-side down way of living. That is, instead of conquering the earth with selfish ambition, we should be meek and peaceful. Of course, that is looking at the passage quite superficially.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! What do you think this means?
God does not want us to be sad and sombre, so if you were thinking that we need to have some kind of a suppressed inner spirit, guess again.
Blessed are the poor in spirit because these people are the ones who acknowledge their need. They recognise that they are lacking and need God. This is why theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those who were too proud to hear what Jesus would say could not come to faith in him, but those who recognised that they were spiritually lacking and in need of a saviour are those who inherit the kingdom of heaven.
The crowd that Jesus was speaking to consisted of many religious, and they refused to see their spiritual poverty, so they could not accept the gift of Jesus. They were those who thought they could be saved by the efforts and religious activity.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. How many of you have experienced those Christians who are ALWAYS positive… and positively a pain in the neck? They seem to think that they must be happy all the time or else they are not real Christians, and then when they see that you are not happy they heap judgement and treat you with condescension.
When Joe died I was given a little church book about grieving that said that as Christians we do not mourn to the extent that others do. This made me pretty angry because while it had an element of correctness, that we do have hope, we hurt just as much. Even Jesus mourned when his friend Lazarus died - and yet he knew that he was going to raise him from the dead almost immediately.
Those with Jesus, who accepted, loved and followed him, would mourn his death. But they would be comforted. There is a real need for us to be genuine in our relationship with God. The Psalms and in Hebrews we are exhorted to not harden our hearts. Hard hearts are impervious, but soft hearts let God in.
Those who mourn, regardless of whether it is personal loss, or the state of society or any other thing, or especially our poor spiritual condition, are those who are honest about how they feel and this is important to be in honest relationship with God.
Blessed are the meek, ( gentle) for they will inherit the earth. First reaction to this is, “you’ve got to be kidding!” This makes sense only when we look at Jesus, who as Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Like a lamb, gentle and meek, Jesus was led to the cross and was crucified. He rose from the dead and his inheritance is the earth which those who follow him will inherit with him. We are heirs of the kingdom of God and we pray his kingdom will come, on earth as it is in heaven.
But just what is this ‘meekness’?
“Meek” is the translated word for the Greek term ‘praus’. The meaning of this is strength brought under control. It was a term to describe a wild horse tamed to the bridle. Therefore, being meek describes one who has channelled his strengths into the service of God.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Righteousness only comes from God. When we have faith it is counted as righteousness. Righteousness begins with seeking God and if we seek God, we will find him. There is no righteousness apart from him.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. The Lord’s Prayer says, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”… this requires mercy. We are shown mercy by God… great mercy and so we should be merciful with others. Blessed are those who are merciful because they, once again, have soft hearts that are free from bitterness and in those soft hearts is openness to God.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Don’t kid yourself – there is none pure in heart bar Jesus, BUT…. The sacrifice of Jesus and the completed Torah in Christ means that we can be counted as God’s own children. More than this – when God looks at us we are “clothed” in Christ and so we are clean. Do you remember Jesus words to his disciples when he tells them, John 15:3 “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Ahhh! Here are the Cheese makers! I believe this is our call to bring people into a relationship with God. Just as the Angels proclaimed, “Peace to all on Earth”, because the sacrifice of Jesus would bring peace between mankind and God, so to we actively bring people to this condition of peace with God.
Now, the Church should be called the children of God, because ultimately our role as Church is to proclaim the message that Christ has restored our relationship with God, ie.-Reconciled us to God through this sacrifice on the cross. The word Angel means God’s messenger and we are to be like those Angels and proclaim the message to all.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This means being persecuted because of your faith and your right relationship with God. They crucified Jesus, and his followers should understand that a life following Christ will not be without challenges, hardships and outright persecutions.
We talk about the role of the Holy Spirit and the many faceted gifts, but we read that we are ‘sanctified ‘ by the Holy Spirit. This means that we are made spiritually clean and holy and set apart. ‘Blessed’ means to be made holy/ consecrated. To live the Beatitudes required the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
On this eighth day of Christmas we reflect on the Beatitudes and pray for God’s Holy Spirit to actualize them in our lives.
The Eight Maid a-milking are to signify the eight Beatitudes. Why 8 Maid a-milking I’m not sure, but seeing as milk is the basis for cheese it might have something to do with Cheese makers. ….
For all fans of Monty Python, yes, I’m referring to the famous Sermon on the Mount which is misinterpreted, in the film “Life of Brian” as “Blessed are the Cheese makers”. A lady in the movie calls out “What's so special about the cheesemakers? “ And the reply is: “Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products”.
The highly amusing skit is a cleverly bridled comment about the way scripture is sometimes interpreted or mis-heard and then interpreted as if an authority on the subject, which makes it all quite funny, until we realize the finger is pointed at us… and then it is hilarious, but sobering at the same time.
Without the gift of the Holy Spirit we can easily fall prey to whatever the latest popular thought might be. In our Eighth article of faith we confess our belief in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who has spoken by the Prophets;
For many years people have been taught to trust authority figures without question, but the younger generations are being taught to think critically. In other words they are taught to think things through and decide whether what they are being told is true or not.
Unfortunately, young people are taught to question certain things and accept other things under the guise of it being ‘critical thinking,’ but many times it is simply following a new crowd and not actually thinking individually. Sadly, children realize quite early that they can be ostracized for thinking differently to their peers.
Yesterday we mentioned that the law of God is now, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, written in our hearts and on our minds. Jeremiah 31:34 tells us that, “No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."”
It isn’t that we don’t teach each other, but that each of us has direct access to God and to the knowledge that is in him – from the least to the greatest. We learn from each other if we are willing to respect God’s Holy Spirit in each other and experience the Holy Spirit’s gifts in our own lives.
We discussed the seven fold Spirit of God yesterday, but throughout the New Testament many gifts and fruit are spoken of that the Holy Spirit brings. The church has tried to organise these, calling some fruit and some miraculous gifts etc.. Most important is the message to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”
What this passage is telling us is that any gift that we have is not to be kept for ourselves. The purpose of the gift is for each other, for the good of the church as a whole. So, while I say that each of us has direct access to God, this is true, but we need each other and the gifts that each of us has in order to discern the will of God.
Most often I hear people talk about the Sermon on the Mount as a sermon about an up-side down way of living. That is, instead of conquering the earth with selfish ambition, we should be meek and peaceful. Of course, that is looking at the passage quite superficially.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! What do you think this means?
God does not want us to be sad and sombre, so if you were thinking that we need to have some kind of a suppressed inner spirit, guess again.
Blessed are the poor in spirit because these people are the ones who acknowledge their need. They recognise that they are lacking and need God. This is why theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those who were too proud to hear what Jesus would say could not come to faith in him, but those who recognised that they were spiritually lacking and in need of a saviour are those who inherit the kingdom of heaven.
The crowd that Jesus was speaking to consisted of many religious, and they refused to see their spiritual poverty, so they could not accept the gift of Jesus. They were those who thought they could be saved by the efforts and religious activity.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. How many of you have experienced those Christians who are ALWAYS positive… and positively a pain in the neck? They seem to think that they must be happy all the time or else they are not real Christians, and then when they see that you are not happy they heap judgement and treat you with condescension.
When Joe died I was given a little church book about grieving that said that as Christians we do not mourn to the extent that others do. This made me pretty angry because while it had an element of correctness, that we do have hope, we hurt just as much. Even Jesus mourned when his friend Lazarus died - and yet he knew that he was going to raise him from the dead almost immediately.
Those with Jesus, who accepted, loved and followed him, would mourn his death. But they would be comforted. There is a real need for us to be genuine in our relationship with God. The Psalms and in Hebrews we are exhorted to not harden our hearts. Hard hearts are impervious, but soft hearts let God in.
Those who mourn, regardless of whether it is personal loss, or the state of society or any other thing, or especially our poor spiritual condition, are those who are honest about how they feel and this is important to be in honest relationship with God.
Blessed are the meek, ( gentle) for they will inherit the earth. First reaction to this is, “you’ve got to be kidding!” This makes sense only when we look at Jesus, who as Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Like a lamb, gentle and meek, Jesus was led to the cross and was crucified. He rose from the dead and his inheritance is the earth which those who follow him will inherit with him. We are heirs of the kingdom of God and we pray his kingdom will come, on earth as it is in heaven.
But just what is this ‘meekness’?
“Meek” is the translated word for the Greek term ‘praus’. The meaning of this is strength brought under control. It was a term to describe a wild horse tamed to the bridle. Therefore, being meek describes one who has channelled his strengths into the service of God.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Righteousness only comes from God. When we have faith it is counted as righteousness. Righteousness begins with seeking God and if we seek God, we will find him. There is no righteousness apart from him.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. The Lord’s Prayer says, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”… this requires mercy. We are shown mercy by God… great mercy and so we should be merciful with others. Blessed are those who are merciful because they, once again, have soft hearts that are free from bitterness and in those soft hearts is openness to God.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Don’t kid yourself – there is none pure in heart bar Jesus, BUT…. The sacrifice of Jesus and the completed Torah in Christ means that we can be counted as God’s own children. More than this – when God looks at us we are “clothed” in Christ and so we are clean. Do you remember Jesus words to his disciples when he tells them, John 15:3 “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Ahhh! Here are the Cheese makers! I believe this is our call to bring people into a relationship with God. Just as the Angels proclaimed, “Peace to all on Earth”, because the sacrifice of Jesus would bring peace between mankind and God, so to we actively bring people to this condition of peace with God.
Now, the Church should be called the children of God, because ultimately our role as Church is to proclaim the message that Christ has restored our relationship with God, ie.-Reconciled us to God through this sacrifice on the cross. The word Angel means God’s messenger and we are to be like those Angels and proclaim the message to all.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This means being persecuted because of your faith and your right relationship with God. They crucified Jesus, and his followers should understand that a life following Christ will not be without challenges, hardships and outright persecutions.
We talk about the role of the Holy Spirit and the many faceted gifts, but we read that we are ‘sanctified ‘ by the Holy Spirit. This means that we are made spiritually clean and holy and set apart. ‘Blessed’ means to be made holy/ consecrated. To live the Beatitudes required the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
On this eighth day of Christmas we reflect on the Beatitudes and pray for God’s Holy Spirit to actualize them in our lives.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
On the Seventh day of Christmas...
On the 7th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, seven swans a-swimming
The seven swans a-swimming remind us of the seven gifts, or seven fold gift, of the Holy Spirit.
This concept comes from a couple of passages of scripture:
In the book of Revelation the seven spirits of God, or otherwise translated, seven fold spirit of God is mentioned in four different places.
In an effort to discern the passages, three possible explanations arose; the seven spirits of God are symbolic of the Holy Spirit, with the number ‘seven’ being the number pertaining to God, or the seven spirits of God refer to seven angelic beings, or else it is a reference to Isaiah 11:2 “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—“ This passage is a prophecy about the Messiah.
The last explanation is from where the traditional church has developed the understanding of the seven gifts of the spirit. In some traditions they’ve interpreted these gifts to be: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord. ‘Piety’ appears to be in place of the “spirit of the Lord”, as we read that from the scriptural reference these gifts are:
1. The spirit of the Lord resting on him
2. The spirit of Wisdom
3. The spirit of Understanding
4. The spirit of Counsel
5. The spirit of might
6. The Spirit of Knowledge
7. The Spirit of the fear of the Lord
Though spoken of as individual gifts, the Spirit is one and the gifts tell us of the nature of the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit of the Lord resting on him”, signifies the presence of God. This was with Jesus when he walked this earth, but when he gave us His Spirit it means that the presence of God is with us too.
The Spirit of the fear of the Lord is not about fear and trembling, though it could be if we were to come face to face with God and understand the fullness of His being. The Hebrew word “Yirah” which is mostly translated as fear is also about awe and reverence, amazement, mystery and wonder. It is the kind of feeling you might get if you were to stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon.
I believe the references in Revelation are about the Holy Spirit, and the number seven is to signify that this is God. The number 7 also signifies the completeness and rest that the Spirit brings.
Also from the book of revelation we hear about the number of the beast, and at that point people tend to skip to find out what the number is and forget that God tells us clearly what the number means because it is a man’s number. We were created on the sixth day and the number that signifies humankind is six, but the number that signifies God is SEVEN.
Now, it is the seventh day of Christmas and I suspect that there may be a link between the seventh day of creation and the seven fold spirit of God. On the seventh day God rested from his work.
Genesis 2:1-3 “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
The seventh day became holy because God blessed it and made it so. Throughout the Bible the number 7, came to represent completion and perfection and rest. An interesting point is that God rested on this day because it was completed. He didn’t begin again after resting, and he didn’t rest because he needed to rest. This holy rest became a commandment later on in the story of the Israelite nation and a bone of contention, with the Pharisees when Jesus walked the earth. But I believe that this Sabbath is actually a declaration of the revelation to come in the New Covenant.
Jesus is famously quoted for saying that the Sabbath was created for mankind and not mankind for the Sabbath. The Pharisees were so particularly zealous in trying to keep the law that they dissected to an incredible degree it to understand just what actions they needed to do to keep it. Some may have had the motive that they wanted to do as little as possible to meet the requirements, but I’m sure many more were zealously striving to understand the fullness of the instruction.
We humans are often like that. We want a recipe to follow so that we can feel reassured that we are getting it right. God gave them a recipe in the Torah, but as Jesus made very clear in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, no human can fully follow the “recipe”. The recipe became rule upon rule and heart intentions, love and freedom were not understood by those keepers of the law. When we rely upon the keeping of the law, we can become deluded into thinking we keep it and we become judgmental about those who obviously fall short.
For example, the movies we’ve seen that portray the Italian Mafia. They can be brutal murderers and crooks and yet devout Catholics. Why? Because they still haven’t realized the message of Christianity… they think that there is a “recipe”. They confess, they receive absolution… etc. And so the mistake of the Pharisees is repeated – and they are not the only ones to get it wrong.
The book of Hebrews has some interesting things to say about the Sabbath rest that is blessed by God:
Hebrews 4:9 -11“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. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.”
This is not talking about Saturday worship of God, or Saturday refraining from outward works of labour, but about the refraining from labouring to attain God’s acceptance.
I once met a lady, and she was like many others who’d I met, who was active in the church and involved in so many activities. She hoped that God would accept her. She knew her sin and she worked and gave and worked and gave, praying that God would accept her.
Jesus has brought us that acceptance, so if we are now trying to earn acceptance we are not living by faith and not entering the blessed rest that God has provided. In Jesus we are unconditionally accepted. When this message dawned on that particularly lady there were tears streaming down her face.
But how does this tie in with the Holy Spirit?
From Jeremiah 33:31 ““The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
God has declared that in this new Covenant he will write his law on our hearts, and he will personally teach us. How does he accomplish this? He accomplishes it by that seven fold Holy Spirit. Firstly it is a spiritual reality, which then begins a lifelong process. Hebrews 10:14 “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy”.
The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus when he was baptized and it was just as Isaiah prophesied. The gift of that Spirit is, as we earlier discovered, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel, the Spirit of might, the Spirit of Knowledge, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord.
John the Baptist told the people about the Holy Spirit in Mark 1:7-8 “And he was preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. ”I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
The Bible lists many other effects of the Holy Spirit, sometimes referred to as fruit and also there are other specific gifts. But this seven fold Spirit is what we receive, and it sanctifies us… Jesus has made us spiritually perfect and the presence of God rests on us - the Torah is being accomplished in us, by this gift.
The Sabbath was meant to be a time of being with God in prayer – that is, it is a day of being dedicated to God and in God’s presence. It was a prototype of the Good News and New Covenant where we acknowledge that we can not please God with our efforts and actions, and we cannot attain perfection, therefore we need to cease our religious activity and rest. Although resting, we now have every day as a Sabbath as we are constantly in this “rest” ordained by God and constantly in union with him through the gift of his Holy Spirit.
We believe that there is a time when Jesus will come again, but this time will be to judge the living and the dead.
Hebrews 10:37-39 “For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”
Just as we are saved by faith, we continue our Christian life by living in faith.
Do you want the recipe of how to be found worthy of God, so that you can strive and work to make that grade? You can have it, but if you think you can achieve it you are only deluding yourself!!! The only way to the father is through Jesus, the way the truth and the life. Every day is the Sabbath in the New Covenant. We are constantly dedicated to God and always have God’s presence with us by his Holy Spirit. And so we can rest always … and rejoice, because this is amazing Good News.
I recently saw the movie, Big Hero 6. At one point in this a number of science geeks are told by the youngest, “You need an up-grade”. He takes their strengths and refines them so that they use their gifts to become super-heroes. We do have abilities to do all kinds of good works that God has already prepared for us, but we need an up-grade. The Holy Spirit seven fold gifts is the power source and the new program, like the program disc that makes an old operating system from the last century, brand new and way better.
The seven swans a-swimming remind us of the seven gifts, or seven fold gift, of the Holy Spirit.
This concept comes from a couple of passages of scripture:
In the book of Revelation the seven spirits of God, or otherwise translated, seven fold spirit of God is mentioned in four different places.
In an effort to discern the passages, three possible explanations arose; the seven spirits of God are symbolic of the Holy Spirit, with the number ‘seven’ being the number pertaining to God, or the seven spirits of God refer to seven angelic beings, or else it is a reference to Isaiah 11:2 “The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—“ This passage is a prophecy about the Messiah.
The last explanation is from where the traditional church has developed the understanding of the seven gifts of the spirit. In some traditions they’ve interpreted these gifts to be: wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, fear of the Lord. ‘Piety’ appears to be in place of the “spirit of the Lord”, as we read that from the scriptural reference these gifts are:
1. The spirit of the Lord resting on him
2. The spirit of Wisdom
3. The spirit of Understanding
4. The spirit of Counsel
5. The spirit of might
6. The Spirit of Knowledge
7. The Spirit of the fear of the Lord
Though spoken of as individual gifts, the Spirit is one and the gifts tell us of the nature of the Holy Spirit. “The Spirit of the Lord resting on him”, signifies the presence of God. This was with Jesus when he walked this earth, but when he gave us His Spirit it means that the presence of God is with us too.
The Spirit of the fear of the Lord is not about fear and trembling, though it could be if we were to come face to face with God and understand the fullness of His being. The Hebrew word “Yirah” which is mostly translated as fear is also about awe and reverence, amazement, mystery and wonder. It is the kind of feeling you might get if you were to stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon.
I believe the references in Revelation are about the Holy Spirit, and the number seven is to signify that this is God. The number 7 also signifies the completeness and rest that the Spirit brings.
Also from the book of revelation we hear about the number of the beast, and at that point people tend to skip to find out what the number is and forget that God tells us clearly what the number means because it is a man’s number. We were created on the sixth day and the number that signifies humankind is six, but the number that signifies God is SEVEN.
Now, it is the seventh day of Christmas and I suspect that there may be a link between the seventh day of creation and the seven fold spirit of God. On the seventh day God rested from his work.
Genesis 2:1-3 “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
The seventh day became holy because God blessed it and made it so. Throughout the Bible the number 7, came to represent completion and perfection and rest. An interesting point is that God rested on this day because it was completed. He didn’t begin again after resting, and he didn’t rest because he needed to rest. This holy rest became a commandment later on in the story of the Israelite nation and a bone of contention, with the Pharisees when Jesus walked the earth. But I believe that this Sabbath is actually a declaration of the revelation to come in the New Covenant.
Jesus is famously quoted for saying that the Sabbath was created for mankind and not mankind for the Sabbath. The Pharisees were so particularly zealous in trying to keep the law that they dissected to an incredible degree it to understand just what actions they needed to do to keep it. Some may have had the motive that they wanted to do as little as possible to meet the requirements, but I’m sure many more were zealously striving to understand the fullness of the instruction.
We humans are often like that. We want a recipe to follow so that we can feel reassured that we are getting it right. God gave them a recipe in the Torah, but as Jesus made very clear in the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, no human can fully follow the “recipe”. The recipe became rule upon rule and heart intentions, love and freedom were not understood by those keepers of the law. When we rely upon the keeping of the law, we can become deluded into thinking we keep it and we become judgmental about those who obviously fall short.
For example, the movies we’ve seen that portray the Italian Mafia. They can be brutal murderers and crooks and yet devout Catholics. Why? Because they still haven’t realized the message of Christianity… they think that there is a “recipe”. They confess, they receive absolution… etc. And so the mistake of the Pharisees is repeated – and they are not the only ones to get it wrong.
The book of Hebrews has some interesting things to say about the Sabbath rest that is blessed by God:
Hebrews 4:9 -11“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. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.”
This is not talking about Saturday worship of God, or Saturday refraining from outward works of labour, but about the refraining from labouring to attain God’s acceptance.
I once met a lady, and she was like many others who’d I met, who was active in the church and involved in so many activities. She hoped that God would accept her. She knew her sin and she worked and gave and worked and gave, praying that God would accept her.
Jesus has brought us that acceptance, so if we are now trying to earn acceptance we are not living by faith and not entering the blessed rest that God has provided. In Jesus we are unconditionally accepted. When this message dawned on that particularly lady there were tears streaming down her face.
But how does this tie in with the Holy Spirit?
From Jeremiah 33:31 ““The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”
God has declared that in this new Covenant he will write his law on our hearts, and he will personally teach us. How does he accomplish this? He accomplishes it by that seven fold Holy Spirit. Firstly it is a spiritual reality, which then begins a lifelong process. Hebrews 10:14 “For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy”.
The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus when he was baptized and it was just as Isaiah prophesied. The gift of that Spirit is, as we earlier discovered, the Spirit of the Lord, the Spirit of Wisdom, the Spirit of Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel, the Spirit of might, the Spirit of Knowledge, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord.
John the Baptist told the people about the Holy Spirit in Mark 1:7-8 “And he was preaching, and saying, "After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. ”I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit."
The Bible lists many other effects of the Holy Spirit, sometimes referred to as fruit and also there are other specific gifts. But this seven fold Spirit is what we receive, and it sanctifies us… Jesus has made us spiritually perfect and the presence of God rests on us - the Torah is being accomplished in us, by this gift.
The Sabbath was meant to be a time of being with God in prayer – that is, it is a day of being dedicated to God and in God’s presence. It was a prototype of the Good News and New Covenant where we acknowledge that we can not please God with our efforts and actions, and we cannot attain perfection, therefore we need to cease our religious activity and rest. Although resting, we now have every day as a Sabbath as we are constantly in this “rest” ordained by God and constantly in union with him through the gift of his Holy Spirit.
We believe that there is a time when Jesus will come again, but this time will be to judge the living and the dead.
Hebrews 10:37-39 “For, “In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” And, “But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.” But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved.”
Just as we are saved by faith, we continue our Christian life by living in faith.
Do you want the recipe of how to be found worthy of God, so that you can strive and work to make that grade? You can have it, but if you think you can achieve it you are only deluding yourself!!! The only way to the father is through Jesus, the way the truth and the life. Every day is the Sabbath in the New Covenant. We are constantly dedicated to God and always have God’s presence with us by his Holy Spirit. And so we can rest always … and rejoice, because this is amazing Good News.
I recently saw the movie, Big Hero 6. At one point in this a number of science geeks are told by the youngest, “You need an up-grade”. He takes their strengths and refines them so that they use their gifts to become super-heroes. We do have abilities to do all kinds of good works that God has already prepared for us, but we need an up-grade. The Holy Spirit seven fold gifts is the power source and the new program, like the program disc that makes an old operating system from the last century, brand new and way better.
Monday, December 29, 2014
On the 6th Day of Christmas....
On the sixth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, six geese a-laying.
So… On the subject of birds laying eggs… Did you hear about the chicken who could only lay eggs in winter? She was no Spring Chicken!
Perhaps today we will solve the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg? The sixth geese a-laying is a representation of the 6 days of creation.
It is the 6th day of Christmas, reading the account of the creation from Genesis 1 may be a very apt thing for humans, created on the 6th day, to do. This reading is often read at the Easter vigil service. The most memorable service of this type took place in Cairns where the church was in darkness and the service began outside. We each carried lit candles into the dark church. The reading from Genesis began:
Genesis 1:1-5 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.”
When these words were read a single light came on that lit up a particular stained glass window, whose artwork portrayed this part of the creation story. The sense of drama gave an exciting hint of the magnitude of a story that we often read with a politely stifled yawn.
When looking at the creation story there are always those who want to discuss the theories of fact, fiction and all places in between. I would much rather see this story dramatized and come to life then I would dissect it for its authenticity.
We know that the first five books of the Bible are attributed to the authorship of Moses, and we assume that the story of creation was an oral tradition prior to its being written. We should also remember that Moses was one who spoke, face to face with God.
“In the beginning” – This is the meaning of “Genesis”, it means “beginnings”. We know from Psalm 19:1-4 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. “
Along with the Psalmist, we believe that creation is proof of an intelligent creator. How it happened and how long it took doesn’t really worry me, but if God is God, omnipotent and all powerful, what took him so long? He could have created everything in a single moment. If we are going to be people of faith at all we need to acknowledge honestly what we don’t know or understand, but have enough faith to acknowledge that what is written is sacred and needs to be taken to heart.
God created the heavens and the earth. In that one sentence something about the nature of God is also revealed. The word for God in Hebrew is “Elohim”. It is a plural, yet the verbs and pronouns used around it are singular, which indicate that God is one. David Guzik explains it, from this website: https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Gen/Gen_1.cfm and quotes: “Rabbi Simeon ben Joachi, commenting on the word Elohim: "Come and see the mystery of the word Elohim; there are three degrees, and each degree by itself alone, and yet notwithstanding they are all one, and joined together in one, and are not divided from each other." Clarke adds: "He must be strangely prejudiced indeed who cannot see that the doctrine of a Trinity, and of a Trinity in unity, is expressed in the above words."”
“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” It is so hard to imagine that the earth as formless and empty. The word for this in the original language is, Tohu. Some have translated it as chaos or disorganized. The understanding is that the earth was not, in any way, organized or able to sustain order. Most importantly though are the words that follow, “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” This is where we first meet that part of God which is the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word is “Ruach Elohim” meaning “great wind”. The word “hover” is also used in Deuteronomy 32:10-11 to describe a mother eagle hovering over her nest, caring, protecting, nourishing and strengthening.
“And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.” This is where we find the pre-existence of the Son of God, otherwise known as, “The Word”, when God spoke. Jesus is the visible expression of God. In this instance he was the audible expression, but as we know from John 1, the word was there in the beginning and through him all things were created. It is most fitting that he is revealed and the word which revealed him was, “let there be light”, as it is light that makes things clear and understood.
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.”
God declares this light to be good. Please note that even though light was created the sun and moon were not the source.
I’ll briefly list the following days of creation:
• The sky was created on the second day. The declaration of “it was good” is absent on the second day.
• On the third day the dry ground and sea were separated… this is declared good. And then vegetation was brought forth. Once again this is proclaimed as being good.
• Finally on the fourth day God makes the sun, moon and stars. The purpose for these lights is to serve as signs to mark sacred times and days and years.
• On the fifth day living creatures are created in the water and birds that fly. These are declared good and then also they are blessed with the words, “be fruitful and increase in number”. I suspect that this means the answer to the question, “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” must then be the chicken!!!
• On the sixth day other living creatures were created and God declared it to be good.
Genesis 1:26- “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Both man and woman are created in the image of God, in that, like God, we have a mind, will, intellect, emotions, and moral capacity. This sets us apart from all others of creation. Other parts of Scripture tell us that God is spirit. Humans have this spiritual capacity, but we are mostly unaware of it. We, like God are triune beings. We have a body – our physicality, our Soul, which encompasses our emotions, our mind and personality, and we have a spirit.
When the fall happened our spirit is what died. This is why Jesus said we must be born again… born of spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but spirit gives birth to spirit – meaning that we needed to be born of God.
Each person since Adam has been born with their spirit dead – or I like to think of it like a seed is dead when it is out of the soil… Jesus is the exception.
Jesus was spiritually alive and death could not hold him. Something that most people forget is that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive still. People saw him, touched him and even ate with him. Our sixth article of faith tells us that Jesus ascended into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father.
Do we believe in the resurrection?
I have actually heard some theologians explain away miracles as possibly natural occurrences. But it all comes down to this; we have faith or we do not. Either we believe or we do not. We are Christian or we are not.
I don’t know all the how’s’and why’s, but I do know Jesus lives.
Our faith needs a starting point – a Genesis. Let there be light! A light that illuminates us to God’s truth…. All we need is faith the size of a mustard seed… Just as the Holy Spirit hovered over the deep to bring life and light, may the Holy Spirit enlighten us.
Youtube link for the song indescribable : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF9aY49oQTs
So… On the subject of birds laying eggs… Did you hear about the chicken who could only lay eggs in winter? She was no Spring Chicken!
Perhaps today we will solve the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg? The sixth geese a-laying is a representation of the 6 days of creation.
It is the 6th day of Christmas, reading the account of the creation from Genesis 1 may be a very apt thing for humans, created on the 6th day, to do. This reading is often read at the Easter vigil service. The most memorable service of this type took place in Cairns where the church was in darkness and the service began outside. We each carried lit candles into the dark church. The reading from Genesis began:
Genesis 1:1-5 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.”
When these words were read a single light came on that lit up a particular stained glass window, whose artwork portrayed this part of the creation story. The sense of drama gave an exciting hint of the magnitude of a story that we often read with a politely stifled yawn.
When looking at the creation story there are always those who want to discuss the theories of fact, fiction and all places in between. I would much rather see this story dramatized and come to life then I would dissect it for its authenticity.
We know that the first five books of the Bible are attributed to the authorship of Moses, and we assume that the story of creation was an oral tradition prior to its being written. We should also remember that Moses was one who spoke, face to face with God.
“In the beginning” – This is the meaning of “Genesis”, it means “beginnings”. We know from Psalm 19:1-4 “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. “
Along with the Psalmist, we believe that creation is proof of an intelligent creator. How it happened and how long it took doesn’t really worry me, but if God is God, omnipotent and all powerful, what took him so long? He could have created everything in a single moment. If we are going to be people of faith at all we need to acknowledge honestly what we don’t know or understand, but have enough faith to acknowledge that what is written is sacred and needs to be taken to heart.
God created the heavens and the earth. In that one sentence something about the nature of God is also revealed. The word for God in Hebrew is “Elohim”. It is a plural, yet the verbs and pronouns used around it are singular, which indicate that God is one. David Guzik explains it, from this website: https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Gen/Gen_1.cfm and quotes: “Rabbi Simeon ben Joachi, commenting on the word Elohim: "Come and see the mystery of the word Elohim; there are three degrees, and each degree by itself alone, and yet notwithstanding they are all one, and joined together in one, and are not divided from each other." Clarke adds: "He must be strangely prejudiced indeed who cannot see that the doctrine of a Trinity, and of a Trinity in unity, is expressed in the above words."”
“Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” It is so hard to imagine that the earth as formless and empty. The word for this in the original language is, Tohu. Some have translated it as chaos or disorganized. The understanding is that the earth was not, in any way, organized or able to sustain order. Most importantly though are the words that follow, “The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” This is where we first meet that part of God which is the Holy Spirit. The Hebrew word is “Ruach Elohim” meaning “great wind”. The word “hover” is also used in Deuteronomy 32:10-11 to describe a mother eagle hovering over her nest, caring, protecting, nourishing and strengthening.
“And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.” This is where we find the pre-existence of the Son of God, otherwise known as, “The Word”, when God spoke. Jesus is the visible expression of God. In this instance he was the audible expression, but as we know from John 1, the word was there in the beginning and through him all things were created. It is most fitting that he is revealed and the word which revealed him was, “let there be light”, as it is light that makes things clear and understood.
God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning--the first day.”
God declares this light to be good. Please note that even though light was created the sun and moon were not the source.
I’ll briefly list the following days of creation:
• The sky was created on the second day. The declaration of “it was good” is absent on the second day.
• On the third day the dry ground and sea were separated… this is declared good. And then vegetation was brought forth. Once again this is proclaimed as being good.
• Finally on the fourth day God makes the sun, moon and stars. The purpose for these lights is to serve as signs to mark sacred times and days and years.
• On the fifth day living creatures are created in the water and birds that fly. These are declared good and then also they are blessed with the words, “be fruitful and increase in number”. I suspect that this means the answer to the question, “which came first, the chicken or the egg?” must then be the chicken!!!
• On the sixth day other living creatures were created and God declared it to be good.
Genesis 1:26- “Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
Both man and woman are created in the image of God, in that, like God, we have a mind, will, intellect, emotions, and moral capacity. This sets us apart from all others of creation. Other parts of Scripture tell us that God is spirit. Humans have this spiritual capacity, but we are mostly unaware of it. We, like God are triune beings. We have a body – our physicality, our Soul, which encompasses our emotions, our mind and personality, and we have a spirit.
When the fall happened our spirit is what died. This is why Jesus said we must be born again… born of spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but spirit gives birth to spirit – meaning that we needed to be born of God.
Each person since Adam has been born with their spirit dead – or I like to think of it like a seed is dead when it is out of the soil… Jesus is the exception.
Jesus was spiritually alive and death could not hold him. Something that most people forget is that Jesus rose from the dead and is alive still. People saw him, touched him and even ate with him. Our sixth article of faith tells us that Jesus ascended into the heavens, and sits at the right hand of the Father.
Do we believe in the resurrection?
I have actually heard some theologians explain away miracles as possibly natural occurrences. But it all comes down to this; we have faith or we do not. Either we believe or we do not. We are Christian or we are not.
I don’t know all the how’s’and why’s, but I do know Jesus lives.
Our faith needs a starting point – a Genesis. Let there be light! A light that illuminates us to God’s truth…. All we need is faith the size of a mustard seed… Just as the Holy Spirit hovered over the deep to bring life and light, may the Holy Spirit enlighten us.
Youtube link for the song indescribable : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF9aY49oQTs
Sunday, December 28, 2014
On the 5th Day of Christmas...
On the Fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, five gold rings.
Today we look at God’s message that was proclaimed from the first five books of the bible – that is, those first five books of the Old Testament known as the Pentateuch.
These books’ authorship is attributed to Moses and is also known as the Torah – a word which is usually translated as “Law” or “teaching”.
According to the website: http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Torah.html#.VJ_VrsAk , Torah is both a name and a general concept. While we think of law as a definitive and a boundary that should not be broken, the word, “Torah” as a concept actually reflects” the way things are”.
I like the idea that our five gold rings might represent the Pentateuch because of the traditional association of gold rings with vow making and keeping. It seems like a nice idea to remember and have fidelity to the essence of our faith which, in written form, begins at Genesis.
The five books of the Pentateuch are; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Both Genesis and Exodus are fairly readable and from the accounts of creation we then follow the Journey of Jesus’ ancestry from Adam and Eve through to the 12 tribes who Moses led out of Egypt. After that point the reading gets more difficult with many detailed descriptions about how the Ark of the Covenant was to be built, along with the Tent of meeting etc, the design for the priestly garments and the sacred utensils. And then there are rules…. Lots and lots of rules… and hidden in between those, are some amazing stories that are not so often read.
As an overview we see that God created the world and set it up in a particular way, but his creation freely chose to disobey and do things their own way. From this point we see the natural consequences of sin and sometimes human nature at its worse. Through it all, it seems that God seeks for someone who is willing to have a relationship with him, and as he finds them we follow their stories and God’s promise to bless.
Right back from the Book of Genesis there are stories which record the lives of God’s people and God’s promises. These promises take two forms, ones that are conditional on our actions (obedience to God’s law), and promises that are unconditional.
It seems that we always want to be able to earn our way into heaven and over and over again, in the Bible, we see those who tried and failed. The Israelites and us also, continuously have times where we acknowledge that we’ve done the wrong thing, and determine to change our actions, but we can never attain the perfect standard.
The first promise of a redeemer appears as an unconditional promise, therefore not dependent on our actions, but on the mercy and love of God. It is found in Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Ultimately the offspring, of the woman is referring to Jesus. Enmity in the original language implies bloodshed, signifying the sacrifice of Jesus, yet the bruising of the heel implies that the wound will not be permanent. The words were spoken to the serpent who, in the narrative, is the embodiment of Satan, over whom Jesus would have ultimate victory.
These two forms of covenants, conditional and unconditional , show up in the lives of those we follow through the Bible, most notably Abraham, who was both obedient to God but also the recipient of the unconditional Covenant. His story is where we most notably notice that he took God at His word – he believed God- and it was credited as righteousness. And so we know him as the father of those recipients of God’s Covenant who enter by faith- By believing God. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Abraham tried to achieve God’s promise by his own efforts, and missed the mark, but when God blessed him with a son by his barren and old wife, Sarah, he knew that nothing was impossible for God. Seeing as God had said he would bless Abraham with a multitude of nations through Isaac, after Abraham being asked to give Isaac to God as a sacrifice, Abraham figured that God would raise the dead. The whole story is very much a prophetic declaration of the promise of the Messiah who would rise from the dead.
Our fifth article of faith states that God the Son rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures. There are many scriptures that point to the resurrection and it is so obvious- in retrospect. For example, Psalm 16:10 “you will not leave me in the grave. You will not let your faithful one rot away.” Jonah was in the belly of the whale 3 days… is a sign of the death and resurrection of Christ.
The Pentateuch is mostly known as the book of the Law and we tend to think of God’s law in terms of a conditional Covenant. It seems to be human nature and it is truly the natural order of things. Ie. You work hard and you achieve, you break the law and you pay the penalty. But the understanding of the Torah, as a teaching about how things are, means that the whole of those five books are the “Torah”… the way things are… implying that the promises of God, are also the way things are. The struggles and the failures, which are so embarrassingly honestly recorded, are also the way things are – not just for them, but also for us. And now the Torah takes on an almost prophetic element as it is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ.
Honestly, the thing that always frightens us, when we talk about the Pentateuch, is that we know that those laws condemn us. Even the very best of us can’t perfectly keep them. But there is good news… as I remember someone saying, “The only person that could ever live the Christian life was Jesus Christ”. We just can’t do it, and we really do need to rejoice that the Torah also contains the unconditional promise of God to send us a saviour.
Jesus came and he embodied the Torah… he is the Torah… and now it is fulfilled. The law has been kept and completed, and as he exclaimed from the cross, “It is finished”. This is found in the Gospel of John 19:30, the Greek word translated “it is finished” is tetelestai, an accounting term that means “paid in full.”
It is said that the purpose of the Torah was to make Israel a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This is also God’s purpose for us. As Christians we are the new Children of Abraham and heirs of the promise through faith in Jesus Christ.
Today also marks the feast of St. Thomas Becket who rose to be archbishop of Canterbury. Although previously enjoying close relations with King Henry II, when Thomas joined the ranks of the clergy his priorities changed and he clashed with the King over matters. Four knights attacked him in the church during prayers, though it took a number of blows to kill him. After the third blow he stated, “‘for the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death.' “
Would we be so willing to protect the name of Jesus and the church?
If we do not study the scriptures, if we do not go to church, if we do not financially support our churches then we in turn do not support theological institutions and the official learning institutions that promote, guard and protect the Gospel.
On this day I would like us to reflect on our fidelity to the word of God and His Church. God’s Promise to us is an unconditional Covenant. Through the sacrifice of Jesus we are offered an uninhibited relationship with God and St. Paul declares this conviction “that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:38,39). But will we let this Gospel be perverted? Will we let the Gospel be perverted by the cults that claim we can attain perfection by our efforts and good works? Will we let the Gospel be perverted by religious traditions and activities that are meant to help us understand God but instead become empty idols that placate our sense of needing to feel that we’ve earned our place in God’s “good books”.
I pray that we will dedicate ourselves to enabling the Gospel, and protecting the message of the pure Good News that Christ died for the remission of our sins, and that he rose from the dead and is living still – not because of any goodness in us, but because of the goodness of him and His great love.
Today we look at God’s message that was proclaimed from the first five books of the bible – that is, those first five books of the Old Testament known as the Pentateuch.
These books’ authorship is attributed to Moses and is also known as the Torah – a word which is usually translated as “Law” or “teaching”.
According to the website: http://www.abarim-publications.com/Meaning/Torah.html#.VJ_VrsAk , Torah is both a name and a general concept. While we think of law as a definitive and a boundary that should not be broken, the word, “Torah” as a concept actually reflects” the way things are”.
I like the idea that our five gold rings might represent the Pentateuch because of the traditional association of gold rings with vow making and keeping. It seems like a nice idea to remember and have fidelity to the essence of our faith which, in written form, begins at Genesis.
The five books of the Pentateuch are; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Both Genesis and Exodus are fairly readable and from the accounts of creation we then follow the Journey of Jesus’ ancestry from Adam and Eve through to the 12 tribes who Moses led out of Egypt. After that point the reading gets more difficult with many detailed descriptions about how the Ark of the Covenant was to be built, along with the Tent of meeting etc, the design for the priestly garments and the sacred utensils. And then there are rules…. Lots and lots of rules… and hidden in between those, are some amazing stories that are not so often read.
As an overview we see that God created the world and set it up in a particular way, but his creation freely chose to disobey and do things their own way. From this point we see the natural consequences of sin and sometimes human nature at its worse. Through it all, it seems that God seeks for someone who is willing to have a relationship with him, and as he finds them we follow their stories and God’s promise to bless.
Right back from the Book of Genesis there are stories which record the lives of God’s people and God’s promises. These promises take two forms, ones that are conditional on our actions (obedience to God’s law), and promises that are unconditional.
It seems that we always want to be able to earn our way into heaven and over and over again, in the Bible, we see those who tried and failed. The Israelites and us also, continuously have times where we acknowledge that we’ve done the wrong thing, and determine to change our actions, but we can never attain the perfect standard.
The first promise of a redeemer appears as an unconditional promise, therefore not dependent on our actions, but on the mercy and love of God. It is found in Genesis 3:15 “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”
Ultimately the offspring, of the woman is referring to Jesus. Enmity in the original language implies bloodshed, signifying the sacrifice of Jesus, yet the bruising of the heel implies that the wound will not be permanent. The words were spoken to the serpent who, in the narrative, is the embodiment of Satan, over whom Jesus would have ultimate victory.
These two forms of covenants, conditional and unconditional , show up in the lives of those we follow through the Bible, most notably Abraham, who was both obedient to God but also the recipient of the unconditional Covenant. His story is where we most notably notice that he took God at His word – he believed God- and it was credited as righteousness. And so we know him as the father of those recipients of God’s Covenant who enter by faith- By believing God. Without faith it is impossible to please God.
Abraham tried to achieve God’s promise by his own efforts, and missed the mark, but when God blessed him with a son by his barren and old wife, Sarah, he knew that nothing was impossible for God. Seeing as God had said he would bless Abraham with a multitude of nations through Isaac, after Abraham being asked to give Isaac to God as a sacrifice, Abraham figured that God would raise the dead. The whole story is very much a prophetic declaration of the promise of the Messiah who would rise from the dead.
Our fifth article of faith states that God the Son rose again on the third day, according to the Scriptures. There are many scriptures that point to the resurrection and it is so obvious- in retrospect. For example, Psalm 16:10 “you will not leave me in the grave. You will not let your faithful one rot away.” Jonah was in the belly of the whale 3 days… is a sign of the death and resurrection of Christ.
The Pentateuch is mostly known as the book of the Law and we tend to think of God’s law in terms of a conditional Covenant. It seems to be human nature and it is truly the natural order of things. Ie. You work hard and you achieve, you break the law and you pay the penalty. But the understanding of the Torah, as a teaching about how things are, means that the whole of those five books are the “Torah”… the way things are… implying that the promises of God, are also the way things are. The struggles and the failures, which are so embarrassingly honestly recorded, are also the way things are – not just for them, but also for us. And now the Torah takes on an almost prophetic element as it is embodied in the person of Jesus Christ.
Honestly, the thing that always frightens us, when we talk about the Pentateuch, is that we know that those laws condemn us. Even the very best of us can’t perfectly keep them. But there is good news… as I remember someone saying, “The only person that could ever live the Christian life was Jesus Christ”. We just can’t do it, and we really do need to rejoice that the Torah also contains the unconditional promise of God to send us a saviour.
Jesus came and he embodied the Torah… he is the Torah… and now it is fulfilled. The law has been kept and completed, and as he exclaimed from the cross, “It is finished”. This is found in the Gospel of John 19:30, the Greek word translated “it is finished” is tetelestai, an accounting term that means “paid in full.”
It is said that the purpose of the Torah was to make Israel a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. This is also God’s purpose for us. As Christians we are the new Children of Abraham and heirs of the promise through faith in Jesus Christ.
Today also marks the feast of St. Thomas Becket who rose to be archbishop of Canterbury. Although previously enjoying close relations with King Henry II, when Thomas joined the ranks of the clergy his priorities changed and he clashed with the King over matters. Four knights attacked him in the church during prayers, though it took a number of blows to kill him. After the third blow he stated, “‘for the name of Jesus and the protection of the Church, I am ready to embrace death.' “
Would we be so willing to protect the name of Jesus and the church?
If we do not study the scriptures, if we do not go to church, if we do not financially support our churches then we in turn do not support theological institutions and the official learning institutions that promote, guard and protect the Gospel.
On this day I would like us to reflect on our fidelity to the word of God and His Church. God’s Promise to us is an unconditional Covenant. Through the sacrifice of Jesus we are offered an uninhibited relationship with God and St. Paul declares this conviction “that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom 8:38,39). But will we let this Gospel be perverted? Will we let the Gospel be perverted by the cults that claim we can attain perfection by our efforts and good works? Will we let the Gospel be perverted by religious traditions and activities that are meant to help us understand God but instead become empty idols that placate our sense of needing to feel that we’ve earned our place in God’s “good books”.
I pray that we will dedicate ourselves to enabling the Gospel, and protecting the message of the pure Good News that Christ died for the remission of our sins, and that he rose from the dead and is living still – not because of any goodness in us, but because of the goodness of him and His great love.
Saturday, December 27, 2014
On the 4th Day of Christmas...
On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, four calling birds.
Can you guess what the four calling birds might symbolize?
The four calling birds are to signify the four Gospels and their writers, the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The first three books are called the Synoptic Gospels, as they look to be the same.
The first book in the New Testament is the book of Matthew. It is believed that the author is Matthew, who is also named as Levi in the other Gospels and, this being true, he came to faith in Jesus after being a tax collector and was one of the apostles.
Each of the Gospels have different “angles”, due to their own personal experience with Jesus, just as if different people were writing about a football game, each would write according to their own interests and prior understandings. Also we each write differently depending on our intended audience and the Gospel writers were no different.
Matthew seems to be concerned about the Messiah and the fulfillment of the Jewish scriptures and his intended audience is primarily the Jewish people, though written in Greek, and so possibly Greek speaking Jews. It includes a kingly line of the genealogy of Christ going back to Abraham.
The Gospel of Mark was originally thought to be written by a companion of Peter, and the second Gospel to be written, which is why it is placed after the Gospel of Matthew. Mark’s Gospel is now believed to be the first written Gospel and it is the most straightforward and succinct telling of the events of Jesus life. It is now believed that Mark’s Gospel was used as a source for both the Gospel of Luke and also Matthew as many of the stories match exactly, but this is not a full gone conclusion.
Mark uses Aramaic words in his story telling and he also explains some of the Jewish traditions. There is also no mention of the Samaritans. This would indicate that he has a broad audience in mind as he strives to make his Gospel factual and inclusive.
The Gospel of Luke is most courteous in not leaving us guessing about his audience, as it is written with a prologue that tells us clearly:
Luke 1:1-4 “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”
From this prologue we know its intended audience is a new convert, Theophilus and we also know that others had already written, yet Luke thought it necessary to draw up an account so that Theophilus could be certain about the things that he had been taught. This tells me that this account is going to be researched and reliable.
I wrote briefly about the Gospel of John previously, but I’ll add that John was that close apostle of Jesus, self-described as the apostle that Jesus loved. He was the son of Zebedee and along with his brother James, called the “Sons of Thunder”, probably a nick-name due to the pair’s personalities. Being part of Jesus’ close inner circle, he was privileged to witness some events that others were not, such as the transfiguration.
The Gospel of John is believed to be written for new believers and he gives more than just an account of the events. He tells the events that are prophetic in nature, signifying the kingdom of God and the clearly emphasizing the depth of Christ’s nature, purpose and ministry.
It is the Gospel of John that emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing us to God, teaching and comforting.
All of the Gospels tell of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
His message was that the Kingdom of God was near and that all should repent and turn to God. The word repent means, to change your mind, and therefore this call was one to realize the purpose and heart of God as revealed through Jesus. The first step of faith is, instead of following our own way, is to change our mind, and decide that in our own efforts we could not meet the perfect standard of God.
The Gospel of Matthew makes it clear that we cannot attain Godliness when he reports Jesus saying, Matt 5:22 “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
At this time, there were many who felt justified by keeping the commandments and thought that this would be acceptable as God’s perfect standard. But Jesus makes it clear that the perfection of God is deeper than any of us can reach and also that at the heart is where we needed to be dealing with things. Our outer lives can look incredibly righteous, but our hearts are seen and judged by God.
Who then can be saved?
John’s Gospel makes it very clear from the beginning of his Gospel, that those who believe in his Name, he gives the power to be children of God. Then just a little later in John’s Gospel is the famous verse John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Two very simple points of our Gospel – the Good News of our Christian faith:
1 – We cannot meet the perfect standard of being good enough for God in our own efforts.
2 – God gave us his Son, who is his own being, so that by believing in him we can have eternal life.
Why is this good news? Because it is inclusive for all, the only condition being that of believing.
Throughout the Gospels there are constant interactions with people who wanted to condemn others. Each time, instead of condemnation, Jesus healed, forgave and set them free. This is the heart of God! It is about acknowledging the truth of our condition and believing in Jesus who brings peace between us and God.
We state in our creed our fourth article of faith: Who for us men and for our salvation came down from the heavens, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man; And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;
This is the fact about Jesus Christ; he was crucified for us. The death of Christ was underserved as he who knew no sin, became sin for us. He took the sin of the world and made that sacrifice so that there can be no enmity between us and God…. Peace to all on Earth…
That Peace to all on Earth which the Angels proclaimed over the birth of Christ was because of the ministry of Jesus, bringing us into an un-inhibited relationship with God.
Peace among those inhabitants on Earth is rare. Even just a little while after Jesus was born, just after that statement of Peace was made, there was major upheaval. King Herod realized that the Magi were not coming back to tell him where this new king was born and so he killed all the babies in the area. Jesus escaped this first attempt on his life because an Angel had warned Joseph, and so they made their escape to Egypt.
This day, the 28th of December marks the feast of the Holy Innocents, those who were killed by Herod.
This day, the 28th of December in 2015 we still have holy innocents being killed. It is far away from us and so we are not so confronted, but there are Christian men, woman and children being murdered. They live knowing that their faith in Christ puts them in physical danger…. Yet their faith persists.
Peace with God, but no peace with those who do not know God’s peace. Today as we reflect on the Good News of the Gospel and on God’s amazing love, lets pray for those holy people who are in those danger zones and lets be inspired to live our lives more boldly in the honour of those who’ve given the ultimate sacrifice for our faith, and in honour of Jesus who has brought us this peace with God though his life, death and resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me “
Link to song, Coventry Carol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltVWs4jDYsw song about the Holy Innocents.
Can you guess what the four calling birds might symbolize?
The four calling birds are to signify the four Gospels and their writers, the Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The first three books are called the Synoptic Gospels, as they look to be the same.
The first book in the New Testament is the book of Matthew. It is believed that the author is Matthew, who is also named as Levi in the other Gospels and, this being true, he came to faith in Jesus after being a tax collector and was one of the apostles.
Each of the Gospels have different “angles”, due to their own personal experience with Jesus, just as if different people were writing about a football game, each would write according to their own interests and prior understandings. Also we each write differently depending on our intended audience and the Gospel writers were no different.
Matthew seems to be concerned about the Messiah and the fulfillment of the Jewish scriptures and his intended audience is primarily the Jewish people, though written in Greek, and so possibly Greek speaking Jews. It includes a kingly line of the genealogy of Christ going back to Abraham.
The Gospel of Mark was originally thought to be written by a companion of Peter, and the second Gospel to be written, which is why it is placed after the Gospel of Matthew. Mark’s Gospel is now believed to be the first written Gospel and it is the most straightforward and succinct telling of the events of Jesus life. It is now believed that Mark’s Gospel was used as a source for both the Gospel of Luke and also Matthew as many of the stories match exactly, but this is not a full gone conclusion.
Mark uses Aramaic words in his story telling and he also explains some of the Jewish traditions. There is also no mention of the Samaritans. This would indicate that he has a broad audience in mind as he strives to make his Gospel factual and inclusive.
The Gospel of Luke is most courteous in not leaving us guessing about his audience, as it is written with a prologue that tells us clearly:
Luke 1:1-4 “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”
From this prologue we know its intended audience is a new convert, Theophilus and we also know that others had already written, yet Luke thought it necessary to draw up an account so that Theophilus could be certain about the things that he had been taught. This tells me that this account is going to be researched and reliable.
I wrote briefly about the Gospel of John previously, but I’ll add that John was that close apostle of Jesus, self-described as the apostle that Jesus loved. He was the son of Zebedee and along with his brother James, called the “Sons of Thunder”, probably a nick-name due to the pair’s personalities. Being part of Jesus’ close inner circle, he was privileged to witness some events that others were not, such as the transfiguration.
The Gospel of John is believed to be written for new believers and he gives more than just an account of the events. He tells the events that are prophetic in nature, signifying the kingdom of God and the clearly emphasizing the depth of Christ’s nature, purpose and ministry.
It is the Gospel of John that emphasizes the role of the Holy Spirit in bringing us to God, teaching and comforting.
All of the Gospels tell of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
His message was that the Kingdom of God was near and that all should repent and turn to God. The word repent means, to change your mind, and therefore this call was one to realize the purpose and heart of God as revealed through Jesus. The first step of faith is, instead of following our own way, is to change our mind, and decide that in our own efforts we could not meet the perfect standard of God.
The Gospel of Matthew makes it clear that we cannot attain Godliness when he reports Jesus saying, Matt 5:22 “But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, 'Raca,' is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.”
At this time, there were many who felt justified by keeping the commandments and thought that this would be acceptable as God’s perfect standard. But Jesus makes it clear that the perfection of God is deeper than any of us can reach and also that at the heart is where we needed to be dealing with things. Our outer lives can look incredibly righteous, but our hearts are seen and judged by God.
Who then can be saved?
John’s Gospel makes it very clear from the beginning of his Gospel, that those who believe in his Name, he gives the power to be children of God. Then just a little later in John’s Gospel is the famous verse John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Two very simple points of our Gospel – the Good News of our Christian faith:
1 – We cannot meet the perfect standard of being good enough for God in our own efforts.
2 – God gave us his Son, who is his own being, so that by believing in him we can have eternal life.
Why is this good news? Because it is inclusive for all, the only condition being that of believing.
Throughout the Gospels there are constant interactions with people who wanted to condemn others. Each time, instead of condemnation, Jesus healed, forgave and set them free. This is the heart of God! It is about acknowledging the truth of our condition and believing in Jesus who brings peace between us and God.
We state in our creed our fourth article of faith: Who for us men and for our salvation came down from the heavens, and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and became man; And was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, and suffered and was buried;
This is the fact about Jesus Christ; he was crucified for us. The death of Christ was underserved as he who knew no sin, became sin for us. He took the sin of the world and made that sacrifice so that there can be no enmity between us and God…. Peace to all on Earth…
That Peace to all on Earth which the Angels proclaimed over the birth of Christ was because of the ministry of Jesus, bringing us into an un-inhibited relationship with God.
Peace among those inhabitants on Earth is rare. Even just a little while after Jesus was born, just after that statement of Peace was made, there was major upheaval. King Herod realized that the Magi were not coming back to tell him where this new king was born and so he killed all the babies in the area. Jesus escaped this first attempt on his life because an Angel had warned Joseph, and so they made their escape to Egypt.
This day, the 28th of December marks the feast of the Holy Innocents, those who were killed by Herod.
This day, the 28th of December in 2015 we still have holy innocents being killed. It is far away from us and so we are not so confronted, but there are Christian men, woman and children being murdered. They live knowing that their faith in Christ puts them in physical danger…. Yet their faith persists.
Peace with God, but no peace with those who do not know God’s peace. Today as we reflect on the Good News of the Gospel and on God’s amazing love, lets pray for those holy people who are in those danger zones and lets be inspired to live our lives more boldly in the honour of those who’ve given the ultimate sacrifice for our faith, and in honour of Jesus who has brought us this peace with God though his life, death and resurrection.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me “
Link to song, Coventry Carol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltVWs4jDYsw song about the Holy Innocents.
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