Passing through the fire (2)

In relation to the previous post

why is it that after passing through the fires of judgment,
there needs to be a time of rest - before the new life

Note Jesus' body after the cross, resting in the grave

Note the 70 years after the burning of Israel - till the return

Note the subsiding of flood waters in Noah's time

Note the lag time between a 'seed dying' and the germination of a new plant

The next age is said to be the Age of Rest - the Sabbath age(s)
where there is no 'ordinary work'

or perhaps the theology is not quite right
as in the Sabbath is the time of restoration - a time of comfort
proceeded then by the time of New Life, New Age, New Activity
so Sabbath then becomes the underlying value of the New Creation?

We died with Him, so we also will rest with Him, then raised with Him, ascended with Him, seated with Him, judging with Him, and then - life eternal with Him, ruling with Him

More takers?

Church Membership

An extra from catechism class

what does church membership involve?
http://www.mediafire.com/?zznmltwxzwm

Trinitarian Church Dynamics

From "The Other Six Days - Paul Stevens"

A fully trinitarian approach is needed, since the identity and ministry of the laos are shaped by the God whose people we are. God has called out “a laos for himself” (Acts 15:14) or as the King James Version puts it, “a people for his name.” If the identity of the laos comes from the Trinity, the vocation of the laos also comes from the triune God. In this way both the being and the doing, both the identity and the vocation, of the laos will be considered.

Trinitarian Ministry

The ministry of the laos is not generated exclusively by the people, whether from duty or gratitude. All ministry is God’s ministry. God’s ministry continues through his people. This ministry begins not when we join the church to help do God’s work but when we join God (John 1:12) and have “fellowship . . . with the Father and with his Son” (1 John 1:3). Laos ministry is participation in the ingoing ministry of God (Father, Son and Spirit) and simultaneously participation in the outgoing (sending) ministry of God. “As you sent me into the world,” said Jesus, “I have sent them into the world” (John 17:18). On the first (the ingoing), God is “lover, the beloved and the love itself,” as Jürgen Moltmann puts it (p. 32). On the second, God is sender, sent and the sending.

_____________________

To this rich understanding of peoplehood and ministry each of the three persons of the Godhead contributes. The Father creates, providentially sustains and forms a covenantal framework for all existence. The Son incarnates, transfigures and redeems. The Spirit empowers and fills with God’s own presence. But each shares-coinheres interpenetrates, cooperates-in the others so that it is theologically inappropriate to stereotype the ministry of any one. But that is exactly what happens.

Christians tend to “play favorites” when it comes to describing peoplehood and ministry. For order, providence and sustaining the structures of society we appeal to the Father. The Son is associated with redemption and winning the lost. The Holy Spirit is the focus of those seeking renewal, empowering charisms and direct religious experience. Churches and denominations tend to form around one of the three: Father denominations emphasize reverent worship and stewardship. Son denominations stress discipleship and evangelism, thus furthering the work of the kingdom of God. Spirit denominations promote spiritual gifts and graces.

A rich and full doctrine of the Trinity avoids such stereotyping. God is more than the sum of the Three. God is not God apart from the way the Father, Son and Holy Spirit give and receive from each other what they essentially are. “One God”-the primary confession of Islam-is ironically the Christian’s deepest praise. We affirm that God is more One because God is Three. The laos too does not have a “mashed potato” unity, as is sometimes alleged, but a rich social unity in which each member becomes more himself or herself through experiencing an out-of-oneself (ek-static) community life. Unity is not the means to the end-a practical necessity to get the church’s work done. Unity is the end, the goal, the ministry itself (John 17:22; Ephes. 1:10; Ephes. 4:13). To be laos then is not merely to be a bouquet of Christians or a cluster of saints. To be laos means to be simultaneously communal and personal. In the long history of trinitarian reflection, this supreme idea of the personal and interpersonal within God forms the true basis for the identity and vocation of the God-imaging people.

Implications for Laypeople

The implications of this for peoplehood are substantial. Being laos means that members of Christ coinhere, interanimate and pour life into one another without coalescence or merger. The Greek church fathers spoke of this as pericho4re4sis, mutual indwelling within God as a model for mutuality in the people of God. It means belonging communally without being communistic or being a collective. Moreover, and pertinent to the clergy-lay dilemma, being a perichoretic people means being a community without hierarchy. The community of Father, Son and Spirit finds its earthly reflection “not in the autocracy of a single ruler but in the democratic community of free people, not in the lordship of man over the woman but in their equal mutuality, not in an ecclesiastical hierarchy but in a fellowship church” (Moltmann, p. viii). Such a community can have leadership and diversity without hierarchy; it can be a community without superiors and subordinates; it can be a church without laity or clergy-in the usual sense of these terms. Three conclusions may be drawn from this.

First, there is no such thing as an individual layperson. If, as I have proposed above, we live out the Christian life interdependently, the individual Christian is an oxymoron. Consistent with the Old Testament, the saints in Paul’s letters are really a unit. The saints are the church, which is the body of Christ. Believers are held together in what can be conceived as a corporate, inclusive personality. It is biblically inconceivable for a person to be a believer in Christ and not be a member of this community. John Wesley once observed that the Bible knows nothing of solitary religion. The believer’s identity is corporate as well as individual. In Christ we can say, “I am us!” Whereas the basic unit of the church is the individual member, for Paul the basic uniqueness of the individual arises from his or her membership in the church.

Second, there is no hierarchy of ministries. In his seminal work on the theology of the laity Hendrik Kraemer says, “All members of the ecclesia have in principle the same calling, responsibility and dignity, have their part in the apostolic and ministerial nature and calling of the church” (p. 160). Incarnating our loving submission to Christ’s lordship in every arena of life precludes saying that certain tasks are in themselves holy and others are sacred. Laos theology is concerned not only about the work of the ministry but also about the ministry of work. William Tyndale, the English Reformer, was considered heretical and executed for teaching, among other things, that “there is no work better than another to please God; to pour water, to wash dishes, to be a souter [cobbler], or an apostle, all are one, as touching the deed, to please God” (p. 98).

Third, supported Christian ministry is not the vocation of vocations but merely one way of responding to the single call that comes to all (Ephes. 4:1). Most expositions about ministry are magnetically attracted to the supreme place of the ordained professional as the minister-par-excellence. It is small wonder that laypersons aspiring to ministry attempt to become amateur clergypersons or paraclergy. There is some reason for this. Work in the church is strategic because the church is the prototype community and the outcropping of the kingdom of God, but work in the church is important only in view of what its members will be and do in society. Church leadership must be evaluated not in terms of its priestly character but by whether the saints are equipped for the work of the ministry seven days a week (Ephes. 4:11-12).

Passing through the fire

It was just pointed out to me that:

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 2 Peter 3:10

Does not give the image of total destruction
but rather of the entire universe passing through a refinery furnace

i.e. some things will be destroyed (the dross) - others will be refined

so assuming this will all happen like Christ on the cross,

His body, now riddled with sin
is passed through the fires of His Father's judgment
what is left however is a spiritual body - fully seen in Rev 1
the difference is that every part of Him is a life-giving Spirit (1 Cor 15)
as opposed to an animated piece of meat

So then... here's a question

Is it that something that was created in the first run - remains after passing through the fire?

Or is it that it is really something brand new?

Or is it something totally different all together
I have a feeling the phrase 'swallowed up' has something to do with it

(this topic is now brought up a lot by current theologians in a big way because of all this 'creation preservation' stuff)

Any takers?

Cat Class - the Church

Last session I did for the membership class
this one is on the Church

http://www.mediafire.com/?hly5zjcod5m

next week we get to talk about Bible-Presbyterian distinctives
lol... the joy...

Irenaeus and the OT

Finally Leon's essay:

https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=0ASH-45su4eeRZGZiYzRkNmJfNjQ4Y3dxNjl6Zng&hl=en

You are what you eat

30 minutes on the 2nd half of Mark 7

http://www.zionbpc.org.sg/resources/audio/2009/081109%20Dev%20Menon.wma

How to build an ideal family for eternity

Strange question?

Think about it..

One of the Father's goals
to build a family with many children

problem - if I have more children... they will fight amongst each other
they will prove which one is better
they will try to earn my love by works
(or rather - try to 'buy my love')

solution..
do something that will nullify their works
then they will see that they are all equal
no son better than another

It is by grace you have been saved and this through faith, and this not of your own doing - it is the gift of God. Not through works IN CASE any man should boast
Eph 2:8-9

Method:
Ask Firstborn Son to do all the work

Condition:
Firstborn Son must not be proud either - otherwise He too will exalt Himself
then all will have inferiority complex

Solution:
Make Test for firstborn son - to prove to others He is not proud
In fact - show that He is the most humble of all men
That He will go 'lower' than anyone

Result:
One big happy family - for all eternity
Everyone the Same...

Grace first, Grace Last

The gospel timeline is like this in Scripture
(especially reading Romans & Galatians)


-----Gospel-----|--Gospel+Law--|----Gospel------
------------------|-------------------|-------------------

So in the church it should be this:

-----Grace------|---Grace+Law---|-----Grace-------
------------------|-------------------|-------------------

Why then is law added?
"Because of sins"

When then is the law used?
1 Timothy 1:8-11 8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the glorious gospel of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.


Thus it is NOT - preach the law to convict of sin, then preach Grace
NO - PREACH GRACE, then preach the law to the disobedient if they are still unrepentant, then preach grace again!

The Glory of The Cross

A Line from the hymn "Alas! Did my Saviour Bleed"

Well might the sun in darkness hide
And shut his (the sun) glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died,
For man the creature’s sin.

Cheap Grace

Talk about a powerful opener to a sermon...

go Rico!

http://www.allsouls.org/ascm/allsouls/static/sermons/showsermon.flow?id=12621

Here's a one-liner:

"Do you see yourself as a laid back person.... it's unbiblical"

Learning the languages

The joys of Hebrew:

note the same meanings of the words

the word for servant also means worship

the word for uncover(i.e. to shame) means to exile

the noun for tribe comes from the word to extend

the word for 'to trespass' means to cross over

the word for 'to hear' also means 'to obey'

interestingly the word for wilderness posibly comes from the word 'Word/thing/matter'

God Vs the World

A talk on James 4
with a few book by book audio clips included =)

http://www.mediafire.com/?yy1mewzkzyj

Humility

Here's a question:

Usually we talk about humility that comes from brokenness - i.e. from sinfulness

Yet it is Jesus who is most humble - is that because of sin?

I'm sure humility is an 'eternal attribute' of the Living God
how then should we become humble - that is not because of sin, but because of Who our Father is?

Any takers?

Amazing Grace

Here is my lame attempt at a talk on this topic..

it's a raw recording
i have no idea how to edit it

or any desire to do so =)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/mydtzz5ho5g/45min - Amazing Grace.WMA

me ripping off Venning, Edwards, Scrivener, Reeves, Virgo, Newton, etc...

Falling Short

2nd catechism class on Man

http://www.mediafire.com/?uzkz1zjnvti

no points for original material here! =)

might do one more in a month or so... we'll see

Jesus as saviour first, judge later

Do not judge others, lest you be judged..

Christ proclaims to us that we are not to come as the judges of the world
for Christ Himself did not come into the world to judge, but to save

Therefore when we cast judgement as the judge, we proclaim ourselves greater than Christ

So we are prevented from making any judgement
Jesus (Matt 7, 18), James (james 3-4) & Paul (1 cor 5) tell us that if we judge as judges
the reason is because we 'want to be the greatest'
we put others down

therefore we are 'blind guides'
we presume we can see what is wrong with that person
even though the fact that we are judges means there's a huge lot wrong with us!
we are of no help to anyone else
and we will only cause others to fall into the same pit of destruction
the minute we try to get close to help
we stab them with the huge spear that we are carrying out of our eye

however, when Christ pulls the log out of our eye and nails Himself to it for us
then we can see clearly..
we now have correct vision - the log where it should be - cross-vision
we can now pull that log out of the eye of others
by sacrificing ourselves for their sake

i.e. we come as discerning judges - saviors
we 'judge' who is lost and how we can bring them to the cross
we are useful and we confront others, even discipline them
only to build them up and not to put them down

we do that by giving up our lives for them
facing rebuke by them
facing abuse by them
being rejected by them
cursed by them
time and time again...
finally..
being put to death by them
this is the only way to show love - Jesus style

so that they may be saved...

and this.. stunningly enough
within the church alone (we never judge the world!)
that others outside may see
and enter.. because they see our love one for another
that is the insanity of biblical evangelism.... (john 13)

in this we see the mystery:
Christ died 'for the church' - indeed by this - Christ died 'for the whole world'

in the end.. if they still refuse
we will be their Judges
we will deliver the sentence of condemnation
together with Christ

Glen going visual

Here's a fantastic Youtube video made by Glen!

Getting into the right mindset...

I've been helping to teach the new catechism class in my church

trying to make it more trinitarian and christ crucified centered
so have been changing the notes a bit
taking it slow.. =)

see what you think

this one is on God:
http://www.mediafire.com/?dzhqxqcg3bg

see if you recognize some of the points and where they are from =)

The Insane Grace of God

Read this:

Romans 2:3-5 3 Do you suppose, O man - you who judge those who do such things and yet do them yourself - that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.

The logic of God defies all human understanding...
yet it is something very clearly revealed to us in creation...

I was thinking about prayer
what happens when we don't pray according to His will?
i.e. people pray for selfish riches etc
you'd think the answer would be no...

but according to this verse, the answer is yes!
take the errant child in the parable of the wayward son
he is granted all the riches of his father's wealth
eventhough his father knows he will squander it

yet why does he give it?
in the hope that he will see the father's great love
and come to repentance!
how insane is that

and yet any 'good father' does that with his own errant children
he continues to shower grace and to try every form of blessing on his child
so that he/she turns and rejoins the family!!

what an insane love this is..
Our Father pouring out grace for us

and yet.. how terrifying
on judgement day when they see the tremendous blessings our God has given to them
how many times he has said yes
and yet how we abuse it again, and again, and again
what a 'store of wrath' that will be!!

the sign of sonship is discipline
Hebrews 12:6-8 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

to those the Father wants to 'groom' to be disciples
He is strict - the more that person wants to be a disciple,
the stricter and the more difficult the circumstances the Father throws him into
just like a coach training a champion athlete
only the strictest regimes are allowed
- the goal is perfection

Jesus had the most vicious of training circuits
indeed He was perfected in suffering - unto death on a cross

Look at the good gifts your Father in heaven has given you
is not it time to give all to Him?!

The Revelation of God

Mike Reeve's stuff on Trinitarian Revelation

Good stuff

a favourite verse from old:
Psalm 36:9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.

get it? no? listen to talks...

- although I'd add one more point
- I don't think that preaching is the end point per se
- but rather the Word must always become Flesh...
- it's never meant to 'hang out there' or 'to remain unaccomplished'

An early version of "That's my King!"

The law and the prophets and evangelists have declared that Christ was born of a virgin, and suffered on the cross; was raised also from the dead, and taken up to heaven; that He was glorified, and reigns for ever. He is Himself termed the Perfect Intellect, the Word of God. He is the First-begotten, after a transcendent manner, the Creator of man; All in all; Patriarch among the patriarchs; Law in the law; the Priest among priests; among kings Prime Leader; the Prophet among the prophets; the Angel among angels; the Man among men; Son in the Father; God in God; King to all eternity. He was sold with Joseph, and He guided Abraham; was bound along with Isaac, and wandered with Jacob; with Moses He was Leader, and, respecting the people, Legislator. He preached in the prophets; was incarnate of a virgin; born in Bethlehem; received by John, and baptized in Jordan; was tempted in the desert, and proved to be the Lord. He gathered the apostles together, and preached the kingdom of heaven; gave light to the blind, and raised the dead; was seen in the temple, but was not held by the people as worthy of credit; was arrested by the priests, conducted before Herod, and condemned in the presence of Pilate; He manifested Himself in the body, was suspended upon a beam of wood, and raised from the dead; shown to the apostles, and, having been carried up to heaven, sitteth on the right hand of the Father, and has been glorified by Him as the Resurrection of the dead. Moreover, He is the Salvation of the lost, the Light to those dwelling in darkness, and Redemption to those who have been born; the Shepherd of the saved, and the Bridegroom of the Church; the Charioteer of the cherubim, the Leader of the angelic host; God of God; Jesus Christ our Saviour. (Irenaeus, Fragments 54)

Sacraments: Infant Communion and Baptism

Been thinking recently...

What if 'communion' and 'baptism' were not the only 'officiated' sacraments?

This is of course related to the definition of sacraments... which I think should mean "God's revelation to us". Actually, that would make everything God's sacrament.

This takes me to the bow in the heavens as one of many sacraments, and the feast of meat after the global flood. What are both but pictures of baptism, the Christ-ark through the waters of renewal; and communion, where we must feast on the meat of Christ?

But then this made me think more about what then of the contemporary debates on baptism and communion (i.e. believers' baptism/communion and infant baptism/communion? My guess is this...

• Though the picture of baptism and communion, as continuations of circumcision and passover, are clear in its portrayal of the circumcision by the Spirit and the feast on Christ's flesh and covering of his blood...
• The true baptism happened long before we were even infants. In fact, true baptism was occurring when we were in the watery sack of the mother's womb!
  
• So when the goes from darkness to light, from the womb to the new world, he/she is covered in both blood and water. There, the baby has already been baptised - the sacrament of child-birth has already portrayed the true meaning of infant baptism; or should I say pre-natal baptism?
• And communion is immediately enjoyed upon feeding on the milk of the mother, a taste of new creation, though one day he must feed on the meat of Christ; just as the Israelites have been drinking milk but after Christ incarnate the entire world is feeding on His flesh. The object of faith has always been the same, though progressively revealed from Israel to the World.

Now if that is roughly an accurate thinking of sacramental theology, then long before we even knew Christ, we were already receiving the first communion and first baptism. Then, the human instituted baptism and communion are but testimonies of other sacraments which say the same thing - that, essentially, God loved us in Christ Jesus long before we even knew the Name of God. To illustrate - that crying, smelly, dirty, blood/water-covered, hungry baby is the object of God's love. If that is true sacrament, then for crying out loud, take your communion and get baptised right away: not to show how faithful you are, but how faithful He is as you stand before Him as that very infant.

Give us our daily bread...

2 Corinthians 8:13-15 13 I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack."

This passage is actually dealing with how the churches at Corinth, Macedonia and Achaia were supplying monetary provision for the needs of the others

But look at the quoted passage from the OT:
Exodus 16:15-18 15 When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat. 16 This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Gather of it, each one of you, as much as he can eat. You shall each take an omer, according to the number of the persons that each of you has in his tent.'" 17 And the people of Israel did so. They gathered, some more, some less. 18 But when they measured it with an omer, whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack. Each of them gathered as much as he could eat.

It implies that the Lord has given His church their daily bread as a whole
everyone has been given sufficient for what the day needs and not for the next
yet some gathered more, and others less - but no one had more than one omer per person
implying that the global church has been granted sufficient resources for all it needs, yet the distribution of resources has been different - such that some may learn to be humbled and ask, others may learn to be generous and give
if then there is lack - it is the fault of the church, not the Lord

so then James says:
James 5:1-6 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for the miseries that are coming upon you. 2 Your riches have rotted and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver have corroded, and their corrosion will be evidence against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have laid up treasure in the last days. 4 Behold, the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, are crying out against you, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts. 5 You have lived on the earth in luxury and in self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned; you have murdered the righteous person. He does not resist you.

his accusation is against the rich of the visible church that store up the manna - indeed it has rotted in their bank accounts! and the rest of the church is now crying out..

Lord forgive us for holidng back and show us how to give in love, generosity and abundance that all may have need - and trust the provision of the Lord

no wonder it the prayer is "our Father" "give us our daily bread"

To the third and fourth generation...

Someone asked a question last night - why in Neh 9 do they pray for the sins of their fathers?

here's a suggestion - referencing the third and fourth generation passing of sin in the 10 commandments:

Deuteronomy 23:7-8 7 "You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were a sojourner in his land. 8 Children born to them in the third generation may enter the assembly of the LORD.

things up to the 3rd and 4th generation symbolise the inherentness of something
so an Edomite or Egyptian 3-4 generations later becomes an Israelite - proving that this is his true nature

similarly for sin:
Exodus 20:5 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me,

for example.. Cain is a murderer - now Lamech is the 4th from Cain - is also a murderer
implying the inherent violence in the human race- that will cover the whole earth (cf. Gen 6:11)

also in the book of Amos, the accusations against the nations are like this:
Amos 1:3 For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
Amos 1:6 "For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
etc

So as you were saying last night..
the sins of our fathers admission is a demonstration that we know the inherentness of sin and the proneness of the flesh

now it is not that this causes us to 'blame them'
therefore in Ezekiel 18 - this is the case:
Ezekiel 18:2-3 2 "What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, 'The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? 3 As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel.
and the rest of the chapter

in this case - we are using the 'it's not our fault' argument - it's their fault

but the humble sinner recognises the inherentness of sin within himself, knowing that he will do the same sins of the fathers left unchecked - and so in Neh 9-10, enters into the covenant promise of the Lord - with a true repentance (cf. 2 Cor 7)

In fact those that understand this pray for the sins of others - e.g. Nehemiah, Moses, Jesus, Job, etc...

there is one other time this 3/4 thing is used - Prov 30
blackham has a post on that
not sure if it ties up with this!

Dos and Donts for Christian Discipleship

I use Google Analytics for this blog..
and I've noticed a very interesting thing

several hits everyday are for Google searches for 'Dos and Don'ts for Christians'

I find that very revealing and worrying

Google Search Christian folk - The "Do" of Christianity is Christ, the "Don't is to not be like Christ"

You cannot follow Christ by a a list of rules - this is what the Pharisees did...
you must love Him, trust Him and imitate Him

All your thinking must turn (repent) and be about Him
All your actions must come out of knowing Him
all your being must resonate with His Word abiding in You

Stop searching for rules... go and read Jesus in all Scripture and all creation (via Scripture), and Godly Christ-imitating men and women everywhere and everyage

Reap a Harvest of Righteousness

Often we have heard sermons and conventions based on Matt 9:38

Matthew 9:36-38 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Some saying go... (and preach the gospel)
some saying pray.. then go...

Until recently this use to confuse me..
how do we go and 'reap a harvest' ?
Jesus has not asked His disciples to go and 'sow the seed'

how about this one:
Luke 9:1-5 nd he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, 2 and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal. 3 And he said to them, "Take nothing for your journey, no staff, nor bag, nor bread, nor money; and do not have two tunics. 4 And whatever house you enter, stay there, and from there depart. 5 And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them."

same passage.. same idea
but later in Luke 22 - He tells them quite the opposite:
Luke 22:35-36 35 And he said to them, "When I sent you out with no moneybag or knapsack or sandals, did you lack anything?" They said, "Nothing." 36 He said to them, "But now let the one who has a moneybag take it, and likewise a knapsack. And let the one who has no sword sell his cloak and buy one.

We all know that 'sowing the seed' - like Jesus the true sower - is preaching the gospel
watering is teaching (cf. 1 Cor 3)
but what about harvesting?
harvesting is associated with the day of judgement - when the angels come and reap the harvest that has been sown
so what about in the present time?

NT passages:
Romans 1:13 13 I want you to know, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.

2 Corinthians 9:8-11 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all contentment in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written, "He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever." 10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way for all your generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.

James 3:18 18 And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

and that's pretty much it.. excluding the gospels and Revelation

now is the time of wilderness - it is the time of growth - the time of the visible church - the seeds that have been planted are growing
some will be genuine and 'give birth' - Christ formed in us - being born again
some will die and fall in the desert - hardness of heart has stopped the new life

the harvest of righteousness is the formation of Christ in individuals (when they are ripe for the reaping) - it is these that Paul wants to take with him on the way to Spain - it is these that are full of fruit and good works, it is these that will cause new seed to be sown again elsewhere

the Matt 9:38 passage is a passage for the church
when the 'collectors' are sent out - take no possessions, expect the previous Seed that is sown to have already been bearding fruit - if anyone receives you stay with them, yet if anyone rejects you shake the dust of your feet

the Luke 22 is a passage for witnessing to the nations
- prepare for the long haul, and indeed a battle... be patient, take time, labour and sow... water and reap - later there too will be a harvest

how is it the way we do 'Gentile mission'? is there a place for 'church mission' too? the reaping of the harvest of righteousness - to take along those that have been fruitful to go and 'sow seed' somewhere else...

Big Rock

This is quite funny:

Can God Make a Rock So Heavy Even He Can't Lift It?
I remember when I first heard this bit of immature atheistic reductio ad absurdum. I was in high school, and I didn't respond to it because the Nirvana-shirted, long-banged drama stud who said it didn't say it to me. He was laying it on his friend like it was theist's kryptonite.

My answer then, steeped in C.S. Lewis as I was, would have been along the lines of the nonsense of the question as framed. It is a rhetorical and hypothetical "gotcha" with no sincerity behind it, and in any event, it is sort of like asking, "Does the number nine smell red or yellow?"

My answer today is different. My answer today would not be to skewer the nature of the question but to inject its insincerity with the sincerity of God and all the weight of the gospel.

The truth is that God did make a weight so heavy he couldn't lift it. He did so not by building an immovable force -- we did that with our sin -- but by incarnating the frailty of humanity and willingly subjecting himself to the force. As one of us, yet still himself, he created the conundrum of the incarnate God, bearing a cross he both ordained yet could not carry by himself, becoming condemned in death and also victorious. And God was crushed according to the plan he himself projected from the foundation of the world.

So, can God make a rock so heavy even he can't lift it?

Yes. And he did. For three days only. And then he drop kicked it out of the mouth of the tomb.

Putting it all together

Right...

so as far as i've got with all these rather curious thoughts

I figure..
the old covenant, the first Adam, this creation, John the baptist, the earthly church, the baptism of repentance (the washing), the outer signs, the law, the clay-jar bodies, the provision in creation, the 'famine' (unsatisfying-ness) of creation, etc...

all of these mean the same thing
they are:
1. to convict the world of sin & judgement
2. to point the world to Christ

They are designed to be the womb, the dust in which the Seed is planted
The Seed then grows, and takes over - swallowing up what is outside
the pre-figuring is in the incarnation, the actual event is in the Cross, the culmination at His 2nd coming

the purpose of all these things is to host the Seed, then pass away - totally - nothing will remain
the formation of Christ's new body is underway - birth pains are happening
even in the individuals - Christ is being formed - 'passing the 12-week marker' so to speak

the most curiousness of the New Creation in Him..
think about how normal birth works:
there is a womb, there is the egg from the maternal side
yet the egg is merely the host, it is the Seed (the Word/DNA) that takes over and re-designs all that is there
the 'external' factors of the egg merely provide assistance - this is the Church and the angels
finally, there is no longer any left of the egg, only the Seed remains - the new life

Think now of discipleship, evangelism,etc
you need to point to Jesus, and then die...
learn from John the baptist..
if you don't point to Jesus - you are useless
if you don't die - then Jesus can never be 'born'

The Work of the Church

The work of the church is synonymous to the work of the Spirit
we prepare the way for Christ
ours is the baptism of repentance - not the baptism of the Spirit
(which makes sense why you can baptise people immediately and infants too)
cf. John 4:2
- we break up the ground (convict of sin)
- we wash away the dirt (baptism of repentance/John)
- we plant the seed (preach the Word - i.e. Christ crucified)
- we water the seed (teach the Word)
- we reap the harvest (the fruit of righteousness - cf. Jam 3:18, 2 Cor 9:10)

yet it is the Seed that grows by itself - we know not how (1 Cor 3:6-7)
people must be pointed to Christ by the church
the church must assist Christ to grow, to be formed in people in every way

interestingly - we are not told to get rid of the weeds...

Abraham's 2 'sins'

Abraham is often thought of as sinning with Pharaoh and Abimelech

I wonder if it's more of Abraham getting his bride that he sent to Egypt to be under slavery from Pharaoh - as Jesus did before coming back to Canaan

and then the triumphant bride causing the closing of the 'wombs of the world' - in Abimelech who is the Leader of the Philistines - i.e. a type of Goliath/Satan
so the church is separate from the enemies of God - yet living amongst them and they are not allowed to reap any of their benefits - the 'well incident' with Phicol
that's why sandwhiched in between the Abimelech incidents is the seperation of Isaac and Ishmael - cf. Gal 4

haven't quite thought about Isaac though...

Off with his head

continuing on my new weird notion that John the Baptist is a type of 'church'

He convicts the world of sin
He points them to the coming Seed
He preaches the same message as the seed
His is the baptism of repentance (cf. Acts 19)

He must decrease while Jesus must increase
He is the forerunner.. Christ is the destination

Isn't it then fitting that he ends his life with his head being cut off
the New Head of this body - is Christ!

One Flesh

In order for us to be united with Christ, in Christ

Christ must die, so that we can become bone of His bone, flesh of His flesh

Christ is the fruit of His Father
as long as He is in the Tree,
He cannot die, He cannot be tempted

Thus Christ must be cut off from His Father
So that the fruit may not so much wither - but the flesh may be stripped - and die
so that the Seed may be planted into the dust He has made for Himself
i.e. the dark watery womb of the earth that He must enter
in that death, He then can take into Himself all of creation
germinating something new

How does it grow? He knows not
His Father makes it grow
it is a new thing

So then all creation now becomes part of the destroyed temple
into the new temple
at least in the flesh

Yet to be ready
the dustly creation first had to be prepared
it had to be made
then it had to be broken
i.e. sent into exile
then it had to be watered, and ploughed
(breaking up the fallow ground)
thus is the initiation of the law, the old covenant
the showing of exile, sin and repentance
the baptism of John
preparing the way for the Seed to be planted

those of stubborn hearts will only continue to reject the Word
unless they are broken and truly broken (not just the topsoil)
therefore the field (i.e. the world) is continually washed
the reminder of Noah's flood in every raindrop (that's why there was no rain before)
yet the promise of deliverance in the hung up war bow of God that circles His Sun throne
continually reminded of judgement - i.e. the prophets - Elijah
the first Adam/old covenant/Law rained blow after blow of hammers and swords upon it that it may receive what they pointed to
in that the church still works - convicting with the Spirit of sin and judgement and righteousness - breaking up the fallow ground
(no wonder the Puritans always preached first law then gospel)
indeed we are told - man works the ground, and God sends the rain - all in preparation for the Seed - so that there may be a harvest
instead of warring with swords - the church will beat them into plowshares - and join in the prepatory work for the Messiah
only in the judgement will these same plowshares be beaten again into swords - to destroy the wicked

the true partnership of Spirit and Church in both ploughing, preparing, watering, planting, nurturing and even harvesting - also with the angels

then the Seed, which are His bones laid in the dust
may enter
the 'piece of the bone of Christ (remember Joseph)' now becomes your bone
and that bone then grows new flesh (as opposed to the sinful flesh)
entering this new and growing flesh comes the Spirit of life
working also from within to give life

The new creation will no longer need an outer washing
it is clean from within
all it needs is a purging of what remains from the old
the 'washing of fire'
or rather - the salting of fire - which is a washing from within rather than without
a consummation of inner realities rather than a total replacement

Those that do not receive the Seed that is cast all over the earth
or the Light that has shone in the darkness (for they hide in the shadows)
will also be part of that new creation - for all flesh is taken up by the seed
yet because they do not bear fruit, i.e. they have not received the Spirit, but rejected the Sap of the Vine
they are broken off and cast into the everlasting fire - they will not be burned up because they are part of the body of the immortal God who is everything in everyway

The outer washing first... then the inner fire

The world was created out of water,
and had to be washed by water first
yet the outer washing does not cleanse anything permanently
just as in the days of Noah, after the flood
the hearts of men were still evil

yet the outer washing prepares the way for the inner fire
John the baptist, prefiguring the old man, the old covenant
he convicts of sin, he breaks the hard soil
prepares the way for the Seed to die in ones hearts
the Holy Spirit now germinating it from within

the inner fire starts from within,
the salty seed planted that bursts into flame as it dies
the mustard seed if you will, incendiary in nature
sparking a new creation

yes the outer washing continues
but as the Word/Seed grows and abides
the inner flame takes over
the old man is not merely denied
but is mortified and crucified
the new man within becomes the reality

and on the last day, all will be tested in the fire
that comes from the growing tree coming into full blossom
the mortal swallowed up by the immortal
the permanent change of all things old into the new creation

The 2 families

Abel trusted in the atoning sacrifice of the firstborn of the flock that would shed His blood for him and was saved - indeed counted righteous

Cain hating his brother's righteousness, attempted the hypocrisy of religion to the Lord God and was condemned for his useless fig-leaf-like seduction
Hating his brother, who was now separate from him, he became a murderer - killing the righteous - guilty of all the blood of the saints

Cain then proceeded east to become a wanderer forever, the lost stars in gloomy darkness - the fortelling of the eternal casting out into the outer darkness, not annihilation but eternal wandering

Cain and family then continue their 'outcast' ways - they build cities, delight in worldly things, make a life for themselves, entertain themselves with music, and tools, establish a community of the world - that festers more of the murderers way of seventy x seven vengeance

Abel's family on the other hand hates this world - their names are sorrow, and preach about judgement, and long for the restoration to their Father - they call upon His name - this world is not their home they cry - they wait for the Rest of the Father to come - the Noah who will deliver them into the creation washed new

Again after Noah - the Way of Cain is not finished
Canaan's line continues this path - city building and continuing their rebellious creation as gods of this world - Nimrod leading the way

Perhaps then this is why the Lord picks Abram - the nomad who left both Hittite and Amorite - the tent dweller - and shows him the land that is to come

This world is not our home - do not dwell in it - be careful of being like the family of Cain - all these things seem harmless and people want to 'redeem' them for God's purposes

Yet the Way of Jesus is so utterly different... remember John the Baptist's words... if you have 2.. give away 1...
we are desert dwellers - nomads - tent makers

Help us Lord not to deceive ourselves!

The Word of God

Christ is the Word of God

the reason Scripture is also called the Word of God is because it is about Christ
more than that - Christ is this same Word (breathed out in the Spirit from the mouth of the Father, through the flesh of man) made into Flesh

He is the Living Word of God

therefore to say that anything is not about Christ- His Person and His Works
is like saying there are pieces of the Bible that Christ does not fulfill, or pages that do not make up part of His body

He consumes the entire Word and He is it fulfilled - Scripture in living colour
- the Scripture is contained within Him - thus it is referred to as a Living, Talking Entity - cf. Gal 3:8, 3:22, Rom 9:17, etc

thus then we too as we consume the Word - become more and more like Christ - the Word once again doing what it was meant to do .. the DNA of the universe coming into fleshly being
- Christ formed in us

now we are indeed His Body, the church - the very Word of God Himself
and every action and word that comes from us speaks to others
so much so that when we are spent - the Word that was within us still speaks, as that life-blood-Word is poured out on the earth - speaking a lasting testimony to all - remembered forever by our Father in heaven

Noah's Ark, Hong Kong and The Lord who Saves.

So I've never blogged before.. but I saw and experienced some stuff today that hopefully will be an encouragement to you! It's less of a theological post, and more of a collection of thoughts I noted down during a day trip in Hong Kong. So sorry, it'll be a bit long.. And Dev I hope you don't mind me just suddenly posting out of nowhere! I gather you wanted people to post here when you started up the blog, thus why we have access.. Hope it's alright!

In Hong Kong/Asia there's this massive property development company called Sun Hung Kai, and apparently the owners/founders are Christians. Recently they developed and opened a park called "Noah's Ark". The main attraction of this new development is a full size replica of Noah's Ark, as described in Genesis. Sounds pretty sweet huh? Christian property developers.. the involvement of various Christian organisations.. a great salvation story with which to point people to the cross of Christ.. I was looking forward to an opportunity to check it out.

I managed to get a ticket to go along with my dad and some of his friends and so off we went early this morning to get there for the 10am opening. It was a pretty cool sight when we got off the ferry at Ma Wan where Noah's Ark is located. This thing was huge. Bigger than I imagined the Ark to be and if you're a friend of mine on facebook, I'll have pictures uploaded soon.
So we got there and our first point of interest was to get alongside the Ark and then into it.

The first area was an introduction into the Ark and why the Lord commanded Noah to make an Ark. They were quite good at describing the lifestyle that was being condemned by the Father.. Overall, it was pretty good biblical stuff with various Bible quotes, videos giving different types of info on the Ark and how experts think the actual design worked out, and other general facts on the time period, how long it took to build etc.
It was fairly encouraging although there was no specific link to Christ or that real problem of mankind was a rejection of the Father. Gotta give them a chance i figured. Maybe the next section will have some more solid gospel presentation.

Long story short, as the day wore on, my heart sunk as the message turned into some semblance of: 'The Ark saved Noah, his family and many animals. In our calamities, struggles and issues in the world, we must find our own Ark. We must work hard to love one another. We must work hard to love the world more. We must work hard to love ourselves more. If we strive enough, we can save ourselves and this world from falling apart. Global warming, wars, famine, etc are going to destroy our world. The timebomb of the end of the world is coming.. let's work to stop it'

It's quite well summed up in the "Vision and Mission" where they state their purpose is 'intended to promote family values and teach love, social harmony and care for the environment.'
Wow great. That's totally the story of Noah. /sarcasm I don't know why the message became what it did. Maybe they didn't want to offend.. maybe they wanted to stay politically correct.. either way, it seems to be fairly common nowadays :(

It was just so sad. Most sad were the interactive sections of the Ark.
They had a series of games/activities, to teach...good morals i guess?
One was called "A date with yourself" You walked along a 'rainbow bridge' and at 10 various points there was a mirror. By each mirror there was a question/task on a piece of paper. When you flipped the paper, it gave a moral teaching. ie. "Put your left hand on your right shoulder, right hand on left shoulder and snuggle your head in. Flip paper. You're giving yourself a hug. Learn to love yourself more!" What? We need to learn to love ourselves more? .....
Another was a game in a dark room (i forget the name) where you are blindfolded and you are given a piece of string (acting as a banister) thats leads you while you walk over various different materials/textures. Then suddenly the string is gone. And you're standing alone in darkness trying to find out what to do. Then one of the game attendants links you back with your friends as a human train and you're led out the room. They ask you questions afterwards.
Q: When did you feel safe, with or without the string?
A: Obviously with!
Q: How did you stay strong when the string was gone?
A: Our friends led us and guided us.
So the lesson is that when things go wrong in our life, there are people, friends, family who you can find strength from. And I'm sure there are others who find strength from you. So we must learn to stick together and guide each other.
I had to contain my laughter. We were all blindfolded! Our security wasn't from each other. That would be to have the blind leading the blind! It's destined for failure. There is absolutely no way I'd feel safe if we were only able to rely on our fellow blind friends. They failed to see that our security was from the game attendents who were able to see. Only one who can see the light, or rather is The Light, can guide the lost and blind. Surely that is the only real teaching from such a game.
I was so sad. And not only sad but filled with a despair and helplessness.

And so the day went on. There's a bunch of other stuff there to do, alot of educational things and whatnot but this'll do. I feel like i've dragged on already and hope you aren't bored with reading this. Like I said, it's my first post and I probably neeed to learn to condense my thoughts!

It was around 4pm already and we were starting to think about leaving. There were only a couple of small places to glance in on before heading to the exit. One of them was this little sports ground, the size of 2 basketball courts with some tiered seating on the side. The peculiar thing was that there were about a dozen or so white people on various instruments looking like they were getting ready for a performance. (excuse the term 'white people' i'm not trying to be racist at all, but it was definitely a sight that drew attention given the location etc.) So we decided to sit for a quick break and check out what it was about.
Lo and behold, as they got up, they were introduced as members of a mission team from the states to spend time here in Hong Kong and share the gospel of Jesus Christ. The next 30 minutes or so, these americans put on a gospel concert with drama, singing and a short testimony in the middle. (They even sang 3-4 songs in cantonese, which was VERY impressive!) I managed to chat with them briefly afterwards, which was nice. Was really encouraging to meet them and find out how best to pray for them :)
In the midst of my frustration at the lack of gospel proclamation in this place, particularly since my unbelieving dad was there too... the Lord used the most unlikely of ways to bring His good news. I was totally hoping for and praying for God to speak through the actual Ark and the stuff inside to the people of Hong Kong.. and when I felt that the place was useless for proclaiming the gospel, the Lord showed me how wrong I was.

And this is really what I want to share and encourage you with. So often, I find myself thinking that what someone, or even myself, has done is just too rubbish to be of use to the Lord. I find myself thinking that there is no hope and that no one will be able to hear of Jesus, and come to know Him. But I was reminded today, that the Lord loves to lift high the name of His Son, and to expand His kingdom. He LOVES to save. I too often fall into the trap of thinking that I want people to hear of Christ and be saved, but alas, it just ain't happening today. I forget that no matter how much I think I want people to be saved, the Lord wants it infinitely more. And also has immeasureably more power to do so!

I still feel that the Noah's Ark attraction could be so much more faithful in proclaiming boldly the gospel of Jesus. However, my sadness cannot be intertwined with a sense of hopelessness and despair that the good news is not going out effectively. If man were acting alone then sure, the gospel would have no hope. But the Lord's strength is such that it can be displayed despite human weakness. It is a gospel given to us from above, and so will succeed. If the Lord were able to be stopped by merely the falleness of created beings then my view of God is obviously not in line with the bible!
I think in such situations of flawed/failed witness, it is right to be sad. However our sadness should be focused on our failure to faithfully reflect the glory of Christ in all it's fullness. But with the knowledge that our God, known only through Jesus, is and always has been a God who saves, there is no room for despair. There is only room for hope. Hope that somehow, someway the Lord in His sovereignty, despite the failures of our flesh, will bring many into His loving grace. Hope that the Lord will use things such as the Noah's Ark attraction, such as our flawed attempts to reflect His glory, to tell the world of all that has been achieved on the cross of the Son despite the failures and shortcomings of our witness. I don't know how He'll achieve it. Today and recently He's been using this group of young americans (amongst others I'm sure!). Tomorrow? Next week, month, year? I don't know. But what I do know is that the Lord will save. Why wouldn't He? Afterall, we do believe in Jesus, The Lord who Saves.



edit: if you want to check out the Noahs Ark website, here it the link.
http://www.noahsark.com.hk/eng/

Redemption Through Exile

When reading Jeremiah you come across a very odd thing
the good thing for the Israelites to do was to go into exile
if you didn't you would be destroyed

the old Israel had to be destroyed
it is the first Adam
it is the old covenant
it has all the imagery and facade to point to the 2nd, but it itself must go for the 2nd to come in

In Eden - we find redemption only comes when Adam is in exile
the Seed must be planted into the dust of the world which is cut out of God
so that the world can be incorporated into the new life
the life that is outside of God, and outside of Adam
this new way is the way of Christ, who incorporates both God and man and leads them both into the new creation
Christ is the end of the exile (Matt 1)

similarly, when you are born again, a new creation starts in you
your old body testifies to this new birth
but it must be destroyed - crucify it
it must be disassembled - break it
it must be poured out - spill your blood
it must die - die every day

the new life is the hidden treasure of the fiery torch that will merely be consummated on the day of judgement
it is real and present
otherwise it does not exist
the outside is merely a cracked jar - which will reveal its uselessness or will be shown to contain the power of God, that is, His Spirit

the non-Christian has no substance, he is but chaff that the wind (Spirit) will blow away

trust nothing of the flesh
do not regard your old man/life as anything but utter loss
there is nothing that will be carried over into the new
the old must be burned - even the skies and the heavens must also be burned
we do not return to our Father
Our Father whom we've never met meets us in the new place - Rev 21
Eden was merely a staging ground for the real Eden to come

the scale of the God-Man Christ Incarnation miracle is truly beyond human imagination!!

The Final Act of Christ - is to hand the keys of this new home, family included to His Father in heaven - that God may be all in all! (1 Cor 15:28)

Provision & Famine

Greetings from Singapore

always wondered why there are 7 years of prosperity followed by 7 years of famine in the story of Joseph

I kind of have a theory like this now:
God gives good gifts to all men in His provision
then He places a famine on these things so that they don't satisfy (cf. Hag 1)

Then a Ruler is raised up that stores good things in Himself
So that at the time of uttermost famine - all good things are found only in One Person
the true Joseph - Christ

So even in creation itself (of course after the church reveals it), we can say:

Acts 14:17
Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

Look around you and see the abundant provision of the Lord showing He is good - yet these things are going to be and have now been stored up in Christ and will be completely removed on the day of Judgement

The Spirit in Adam, the Covenant of Grace

Hey people.. I never really had a chance to vocalise my thoughts on the nature of Adam's faith, so here are some (non-detailed) bullet-points..

• When Adam was made of dust, he was 'good' but just like the rest of creation, is still awaiting the type of New Creation perfection.. total unity of heaven and earth, rather than just the garden of Eden
• What this means is that redemption and new creation is not a return to Eden, but is better than Eden
• So Adam, pre-fall, is less than what we inherit post-new creation
• Despite Adam pre-fall inheriting no sin, he was our head in whom we committed the same things (Hebrews 7 - the point on us tithing through Abraham to Melchizedek)
• He had the covenant of grace mediated to him via Christ the Redeemer PRIOR to his fall, not after... so Christ had already been his Mediator whether or not he sinned
  
• And so it was necessary that all of mankind be banished to death to gain this new life, just as the natural plantation and etc had continual 'reincarnation' of seeds new life death seeds new life death... a prophecy of our death long before Adam had even sinned
  
• Every good thing in Adam's faith prior to the fall was invoked by the Spirit Who was not only indwelling, but was possibly MORE than that... it was a natural and organic type of relation to Adam (re: Abraham Kuyper on the Spirit), he was more intimate with God then than he was after the fall when he still had the Spirit, but merely as a deposit... and the Spirit thereafter finds it hard to strive long in men
• Thus the mediation between Adam and the Father through Christ shifts from that represented by the covenant of grace in the tree of life to the covenant of works in the tree of good and evil... from Christ's mediation of the Trinitarian communion to Adam usurping the role of Christ and becoming part of the covenant of works which only Christ could have performed as part of the working Trinity
  
• We were never meant to be part of the covenant of works... Adam had enjoyed Sabbath immediately after he was created; but only Jesus Christ, the Father and the Spirit could live lives of purity and holiness within this covenant of works... something which a man from earth/dust could never accomplish and never partake... but he took part in it anyway
• Hence the necessary fall... for our greater redemption! death is a blessing in disguise, but indeed a curse of the greatest heresy if we live daily as if we were partaking in an enduring covenant of works..
  

Inilah Kebenaran

A new blog started by a good friend:

http://inilahkebenaran.wordpress.com/

It's in Malay and he's using it to help Malaysians get to know the One who is the Truth

Please help him boost his internet profile by clicking on it every so often or even linking it!

Buy this now.

Reading the Bible (2)

Previous post here: http://youarethechrist.blogspot.com/2009/05/reading-bible.html

There is one more really good reason why we don't read out Bibles:

Very often we see the Bible as a gravestone
much like the way we visualize the 10 commandments - 2 stones of death
and indeed they are - for if that is the way we relate to the law, then it only brings death - since it is not of our hearts

So we also see the Bible as a negative set of instructions for our lives
things that spoil our fun, and get in the way of 'life'

Yet lets go back to the 10 commandments and see how they were given

Exodus 20:2 2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.

The Lord has given His law, His instruction, commands, precepts to a redeemed people, a people that have inherited His salvation

Exodus 19:4-6 4 You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel."

More than that...
He has brought us out of slavery to Himself
to become His people - His treasure
The most precious and most beautiful thing to Himself

Now I only recently understand this...
You see I too have possessions
I have electronics, a place to stay, clothes etc - they're all mine
yet now I have 1 treasure
a most beautiful possession
It is my son - Josiah
He is the one I love more than anything I own
I would gladly sell - if not destroy everything I have for his sake
In fact - I would die for him

And so it is with our heavenly Father
He will indeed sell, destroy everything else for the sake of His sons and daughters
and indeed we have witnessed the Death of God
This then is how much He loves us

You see for my son
there is only 1 real thing I need to make sure he knows in his heart
that I love him, and how much I love him
Then no matter what I 'instruct' him,
will he not gladly listen to whatever I say and obey it?
Since he knows all things are for his good

Then if we have faith - if we trust that God loves us
then how much will we pour over His commands
His word will be a delight, indeed they will be life itself
they will guard us, guide us, keep us, save us
feed us, water us, lead us, correct us, afflict us to prevent us going astray
and all the things that Psalm 119 tells us (or Christ in Psalm 119 tells us)

Thus then, do we know the love of God?
No wonder it is Paul's prayer - oh that you may know the height, depth and breadth of His love... then would you not cling so closely to Him
and read and re-read and pour over His love letters
and His greatest Love Letter - the Word of God - His Son

He longs for us to grow up to be beautiful trees bearing fruit,
grafted into the olive tree of the Spirit

No wonder the first commands are these:

Exodus 20:3-8 3 "You shall have no other gods before me. 4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Since the first thing I'd tell my son:
'Hey - don't go off with strangers - they'll bring harm to you!'
'Trust me, spend time with me, listen to me, honour me - I love you!!'

Glory be to God
May we know His love!

The cup of staggering

I know I have a bit of a weird end of the world theology

that it is when 'the sin of the nations' is complete
when the whole world is merry in sin and the church is ineffective because no one is listening - as in the days of Lot or Noah

this is more of my reasoning:

Jeremiah 51
38 Her people all roar like young lions,
they growl like lion cubs.

39 But while they are aroused,
I will set out a feast for them
and make them drunk,
so that they shout with laughter—
then sleep forever and not awake,"
declares the LORD.

40 "I will bring them down
like lambs to the slaughter,
like rams and goats.

The Lord has given the world a cup to drink - they think it is sweet wine, but it is a cup of staggering, until the world is fat, drunk, merry, marrying and being given in marriage - then will come the time of slaughter

Incarnational Ministry

There is a lot about how we need to be culturally relevant or acceptable to get the gospel across today

The main passage used for this is 1 Cor 9 - be all things to all men

To me though, the context for that passage hardly seems to be about worldly culture - rather I think Paul is talking about within the church
so there is the weak/strong faith, under and not under the law, Jew or Gentile
very much like Rom 14 - I do all things to all men so that I may not destroy the faith of anyone
- and Paul personifies this - he performs sacrifices for the Jews, he circumcises one guy for the Jews and not one guy for the Gentiles, he doesn't eat meat when they think it's wrong, etc

A term that I have read of recently is called 'incarnational ministry'
i.e. to come into a community and live amongst the people as one of the people
that's all well and good
until we actually look at the incarnation
Jesus did not come into our culture - He created His own culture, His own people, and the irony is that this 'God-culture' of people did not recognise Him
the most basic call to the people of God is to be holy - and the easiest definition of holy is 'different', i.e. not like the nations around you

The incarnation of Christ is the Word becoming flesh
Incarnational Ministry by all means - let the Word become your flesh
you too must become incarnate
'till Christ is formed in you' or the 'Day star rises in your heart'

Then will the world know Jesus - when you are like Jesus, holy like Jesus, wholly like Jesus

Happy Ascension Day!

Glory to the risen King who is coming again bringing the fullness of the kingdom of heaven!

here's a link to last year's ascension sermon:
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfbc4d6b_25hbndv94r&hl=en

and the crazy-fast audio:
http://www.mediafire.com/file/guzcj45z2xh/Ascension Day.mp3

Christ is the Seed from the Tree of all Life that was cast out, buried (planted) so that it may grow amongst the death-dust of the nations. Ascending those from the earth into the highest heights above the clouds.

He is the Rock that was cut off from the Stone - that it may become an entire mountain - and return to the Stone

The Uber Christ in the OT sermon?

Stephen - one of the holiest men that ever lives seems to give a very strange 'history lesson' to the Jews that accuse him falsely...

Actually he is giving them an incredible view of Jesus throughout the OT..
I can't quite see all of it since I'm not particularly full of the Holy Spirit,
but here's a go:

Acts 7:2-53 2 And Stephen said: "Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, 'Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.' 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran.
- Christ being sent from glory into the world

And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child.
- The Father’s promise to Christ that He would receive His inheritance

6 And God spoke to this effect- that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years.
- The promise of the people of God after a time of trial in the world under the oppression of cruel slave-drivers

7 'But I will judge the nation that they serve,' said God, 'and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.' 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision.
- This promise comes from the cutting off of the Seed
And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
- It is the day of new creation – the new Sabbath
- The establishment of the church

9 "And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt;
- The incarnation of Christ
- Already the rejection of the Seed being plotted

but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household.
- Jesus grew in favour with God & with men – who established Him as the Messiah – “This is my Son, with whom I am well pleased – listen to Him”

11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food.
- The famine instituted in the world such that all men will come to Christ – the incarnate bread of life from heaven

12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit.
- The famine causes the church to come to Christ

13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh.
- The revealing of the Messiah only at His 2nd coming – he will be unknown at His first

14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all.
- The goal of His ministry is to bring the entire people of God to be with their Father

15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.
- The purchase the promised land where the Father will dwell with people – bought by the ransom price of His Son

17 "But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph.
- The time of this age is when the devil rules, and owns this creation

19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive.
- The attempted destruction of the incarnate Seed by the ruler of this age

20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house, 21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.
- The raising of the Messiah in the world in Satan’s territory

22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
- Well established in understanding the world – Jesus in the temple at 12, and knowing the hearts of men

23 "When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.
- After the time of testing He comes to redeem His people

24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, 'Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?' 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?'
- His people do not recognise Him at all, instead they reject Him – accused as a criminal rather than a Saviour

29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons. 30 "Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.' And Moses trembled and did not dare to look. 33 Then the Lord said to him, 'Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.' 35 "This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, 'Who made you a ruler and a judge?'- this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
- His sending is by His Father – He is given the authority because He is willing to lay down His life (seen in the story of Joseph)

36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, 'God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.'
- The real Ruler of Egypt now made Redeemer - the miracles and finally the cross

38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, 'Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.' 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: "' Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 43 You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.'
- The Rejection of the Messiah to worship the created angels

44 "Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers.
- The establishment of the church, from Presence in the wilderness – to entering Canaan (Christ conquering all power and authorities in the cross)

So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.
- The time of rest – after king David defeats all His enemies

47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him.
- The ascension – permanent dwelling place of the church – the culmination of the promises from the beginning

48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says, 49 "'Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the place of my rest? 50 Did not my hand make all these things?'
- The filling of all things
- Hardness of heart of the Jews!

51 "You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it."
- No kidding!

Jesus is the Way to be saved!

Blackham emphasizing the point:

http://web.me.com/paulblackham/The_Way_of_Jesus/Podcast/Entries/2009/5/14_Jesus_is_the_way_to_be_saved.html

Be ye perfect...

"True Christianity is to have the mind of Christ, which is demonstrated in love for God and neighbour. The real freedom of a Christian is not the freedom from guilt or release from the pangs of hell but the freedom to love with the love of God Himself shed abroad in the heart by the indwelling Holy Spirit. Freedom is nothing higher and nothing lower than this - love governing the heart and life, through all our tempers, words and actions - Christian perfection is purity of intention, dedicating all the life to God. It is giving God all our hearts." - John Wesley

Don't eat the trees in the wilderness...

Adam and Eve were hypnotised by the one tree that they were not allowed to eat from
the tree of independence, of god-vs-God-hood, the tree that was cut off from the rest of the garden of paradise

We now have our way opened to the once restricted tree of life
All the other trees are now poison, they are the vines that grow in the wilderness,
only sour wine is in their gourds

Brothers, only eat from the One true Vine
the rest is death in the pot...
can you not already feel the weariness, weakness and sickness of their effects?
do not be deceived

the serpent this time is around all the other trees whispering in our ears

Be fascinated with Christ only
eat only from 1 source
the rest are filled with the yeast of death

The Tabernacle (3)

Blackham's been posting up our Tabernacle videos(1 a day) on his podcast website:
http://web.me.com/paulblackham/The_Way_of_Jesus/Podcast/Podcast.html

Project Abraham (2)

Visit to Project Abraham @ Tarleton Farm Fellowship for the weekend!

Podcast Videos

Pics

always a most glorious & encouraging time!

Reading the Bible

Having difficulty reading?

Listen to this:

http://theologynetwork.org/table-talk/2009-04/table-talk-007--gods-heart-and-ours
Especially the last 10min

Read this:

http://theologynetwork.org/bible-reading/starting-out/three-reasons-why-you-dont-read-your-bible.htm

Eternity with God

from here:

In his little book Fear Not!, an examination of death and the afterlife from a Christian perspective, Ligon Duncan writes about the horrors of hell. Having done so, he offers a final reflection on the ultimate difference between heaven and hell. And, though I’ve read extensively, I do not recall ever hearing someone express it quite like this. These are words that are worthy of some reflection. Though he has already discussed hell, there is one more thing he wishes to say.

*****

It is a surprising thing to note, because so often we speak of hell as a place where God is not. Let me, however, say something provocative. Hell is eternity in the presence of God without a mediator. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God, with a mediator. Hell is eternity in the presence of God, being fully conscious of the just, holy, righteous, good, kind, and loving Father’s disapproval of your rebellion and wickedness. Heaven, on the other hand, is dwelling in the conscious awareness of your holy and righteous Father, but doing so through a mediator who died in your place, the One who absorbed the fullness of the penalty of your sin. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God with the One who totally eradicated sin from your life, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hell is eternity in the presence of God without a mediator. Heaven is eternity in the presence of God with a mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ.

__________________________________-

Glen's additions here:

In terms of our doctrine of God - what sense can be made of ‘God without a Mediator’? Trinity means that mediation goes way back. WAY back. And WAY forwards. 1 Corinthians 8:6 - all things have always been from the Father and through the Lord Jesus. All things. And all things always will be. Who is this God who is without His Mediator. I simply can’t recognize ‘God without a mediator’ as the Christian God.

In terms of our christology - does this sentiment give Christ His due?It could lead people to suppose that Christ is simply the wrath-averter. Now of course He is the wrath-averter. And if He was only the wrath-averter we would still praise Him into eternity for it. But He is far more than this. He is the Mediator of all the Father’s business. Christ does not exist for our benefit - we exist for His. The saying above could be easily misconstrued to mean that the Mediator is extremely important for us - but not so important for God. No. He is essential to the divine life before we ever consider His importance for us.

In terms of Scripture - 2 Thes 1:9 “Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” (KJV) There’s a translation issue about the preposition (’apo’). Should it be translated ‘from’ or ‘away from’? I favour ‘from’ - ie implying that Christ is present in judgement. This goes with Revelation 14:10 where the damned are tormented in the presence of the Lamb. See also Rev 1:18 where Jesus is presented as the Jailor of death and hades, and Rev 6:16-17 where it’s the wrath of the Father together with the Lamb. Jesus expressly says in John 5:22 that the Father has entrusted all judgement to Him.

Learning from Christ

Great post from Glen about reading the Psalms:

Following on from my last post - Psalms are about Christ. They tell of the interaction between the LORD, the King through Whom He rules, the righteous who hide in Him and the wicked who rebel.

These interactions are pictured from many angles. But one key perspective is for the King Himself to speak. This most often happens in the Psalms ‘Of David’.

Of course all the kings reigned under the knowledge that they were simply throne-warmers for the King to Whom universal tribute was due. (Gen 49:10) But David was the most idealized of these kings. The Messiah is often spoken of simply as David. (e.g. Ezekiel 34:23f; 37:25). And David himself is aware of his idealized role. Just before his death he said: “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; His word was on my tongue.” (2 Sam 23:2) He didn’t speak better than he knew, but he certainly spoke better than he lived. In the Psalms the king most often spoke as The King. The anointed one spoke most often as The Anointed One.

Peter confirms this for us in Acts 2. Even when David spoke in the first person he was speaking the words of Christ (see Acts 2:25). Quoting Psalm 16, Peter makes it clear that David was not describing his own experience. (Paul underlines this in Acts 13:36-37). Rather, David “was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ” (Acts 2:30-31).

Does this mean that such Psalms have no application to David? No of course they do - but such application runs from Christ to David rather than David to Christ. This is the nature of the whole of David’s life - from shepherd boy to rejected ruler, to reigning king to his death, he is a shadow of the Coming King.

This is my understanding anyway. Whether you take the Psalms from David to Christ or Christ to David, I hope we can all agree that the emotions and experiences of ‘The King’ are ultimately taken up and owned by Christ.

All of this is just a precursor to what I really want to discuss… What do we do with the Psalmist’s intense desire for the LORD?

On one level that’s simple - copy it. Be challenged by it. Be inspired by it. Seek it for yourself.

Well, yes, ok. But here’s the question - what do I do when I don’t earnestly desire the LORD? Because maybe once or twice in your life your white hot devotion to God has dipped below the zeal of the Psalmist. What do you do then?

Here’s the first level of my response: When I don’t desire God, first I need to see that Christ does. And He does so for me.

What do I mean?

Well take a favourite Psalm of mine: Psalm 63

Here the Psalmist says:

1 O God, you are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you,
my body longs for you,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

2 I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.

3 Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.

4 I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.

Now be honest, doesn’t some part of you go “Really? Have I really beheld His power and glory? Really? Have I in the past and will I in the future praise Him so wholeheartedly? Really? As long as I live? Am I perjuring myself here??”

But friend, read on to the final verse…

11 But the king will rejoice in God

These are the words of the king - the king on whose lips are the words of The King. And He has beheld the power and glory of the LORD in the ultimate sanctuary. He is the ultimate, white-hot Worshipper of God. These words are not a guide to human worship so much as a window onto divine worship.

So what should be our response?

Sit back and be awed by The King’s desire for the LORD. You don’t yet feel such intense passion. Well alright. In the deepest sense you never can match His devotion. But let the King’s worship be enough for you. Don’t despise his devotion like Michal (2 Sam 6:16). Simply allow your King to offer what you cannot summon up yourself. Know that He offers in your place a worship you could never initiate. And if the Praise-Worthy does not elicit your praise, let the Praise-Giver show the way. In ourselves we could never work up the right response. In Christ we see what reckless and joyful abandon to God looks like.

He is like the first Dancer onto the floor, moved by the Music, laughing and clapping and dancing as we never could. The more you watch Him dance, the more your foot starts to tap, then you start clapping. Pretty soon you’ll link arms and join in. The Music itself should get you on the dance floor. But in fact the Music never does - not really. It’s the Dancer who inspires, who links arms and who leads.

Read Psalm 63 again. And add your own Amen. For now that is enough. If these words were simply the prayer diary of an ancient near eastern ruler, your Amen would mean nothing. If these were just passionate words from an inspired and inspiring devotee they could only judge your apathy. But they’re not. This is the worship of The King. Your King. This is Christ your Substitute, your Priest, your Vicarious Worshipper. He bears your name on His heart as He comes before the LORD in joyful abandon. For now just allow Him to offer the praise you cannot find in yourself. In time you’ll join the dance.

______________________________________________

Let me just add to that
Even the Psalms that deal with sin
we learn from the one who united with sinful humanity
we learn from the sin bearer
therefore even Psalms like this:

Psalm 69:5-6 5 O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you. 6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, O God of Israel.

The New Testament explicitly quotes that this Psalm is about Jesus

One wonders if even Psalms like Ps 51 are His own words!
Since after all, He is our representative - He interceeds as one of us...

The Danger of Spiritual Myopia

I recently gave a sermon on Mark 8:22-26

in the Scripture just before that - Jesus rebukes very sternly His disciples for not understanding - He is cut to the heart by their blindness since they are the ones closest to Him

He teaches them about short-sightedness by the blind man - healing Him twice - the first healing (with remnants of the misty-clay moulding in Genesis) shows a myopic man - the man that is not intimate with Jesus - He cannot see His face

The 2nd healing - by coming to Jesus again, and receiving the Holy Spirit (hands) to enlighten Him to the knowledge of Christ - He sees Jesus clearly

The lesson
- the disciples see only to their stomachs
- the villagers to the earthly kingdom
- Peter to the earthly Messiah

Jesus's response to them - BE SILENT

Anyone who preaches a gospel that is not beyond the cross needs to be silent - whatever the context

The gospel is always through death - through the cross - the kingdom of heaven - anyone who lives a life not of the cross - go home.

Any ministry from any Christian must be heavenly, cross-based and eternal.
Earthly Christian 'gospels' are the most damaging thing on the planet to the real gospel - they have tremendous adverse effects... so much so that it is even better not to say anything at all!

The way we live also displays short-sightedness (cf. 2 Pet 1) - when we have a full view of Jesus from Jesus, we live like Jesus - otherwise we might as well be blind
and are certainly of no use to anyone else...

Project Abraham

Check out what's happening at Farm Fellowship!

http://www.thewayofjesus.com/

Read these:

http://web.me.com/paulblackham/The_Way_of_Jesus/Plant_life.html

http://web.me.com/paulblackham/The_Way_of_Jesus/Abraham_Project/Entries/2009/4/8_Why_bother_helping_others_and_living_in_tents_for_a_month.html

The glory of being wasted on Christ..

From 'The Normal Christian Life - Watchman Nee'
talking about being 'useful for Christ'

Now the breaking of the alabaster box and the anointing of the Lord filled the house with the odor, with the sweetest odor. Everyone could smell it. Whenever you meet someone who has really suffered; been limited, gone through things for the Lord, willing to be imprisoned by the Lord, just being satisfied with Him and nothing else, immediately you scent the fragrance.

There is a savor of the Lord. Something has been crushed, something has been broken, and there is a resulting odor of sweetness. The odor which filled the house that day still fills the Church; Mary's fragrance never passes away.

Friends, we cannot produce impressions of God upon others, impart the sense of the presence of God, without the breaking of everything, even the most precious things, at the feet of the Lord Jesus.

The Lord would have us here, not first of all to preach or to do work for Him, but to create hunger in others. No true work will begin in any life apart from a sense of need. We cannot inject that into others, we cannot drive people to be hungry for God. Such hunger can be created only by those whose lives convey vital impressions of Him.

Oh, to be wasted! It is a blessed thing to be wasted for the Lord. So many of us who have been prominent in the Christian world know nothing of this. Many of us have been used to the full--have been used, I would say, too much--but we do know what it means to be wasted on God.

We like to be always "on the go": the Lord would sometimes prefer to have us in prison. We think in terms of apostolic journeys: God dares to put His greatest ambassadors in chains. "But thanks be unto God, which always leadeth us in triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest through us the savor of his knowledge in every place" (2 Corinthians 2:14)

The Tabernacle (2)

Here's a preview of some of the amateur videos we did =)

have about 15 of them going through a reasonable amount of the whole tabernacle including the day of atonement

The Tabernacle

So...

we created an approximately 1:2 scale model of the Tabernacle in the wilderness
the very dwelling place of the Living God amongst His people in the desert

we could only do it for 1 day only as a whole - space constraints
but we've been doing each part every week for 5 months with the kids

so here are the pics:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=112400&id=222406230&l=cbd07
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=112403&id=222406230&l=4fe0f

We also did about 60-90min of filming explaining the components as best we can
that's not really been edited properly yet - but hopefully soon
all I have so far is a mobile phone size 90min version with re-takes =)

Marriage & Relationships

Gave a 1 hour talk on this subject based on 1 Cor 7
tried to base it on the Trinity as well

it's a really tough chapter - but Glen says it's not absolutely heretical
so here it is =)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/jiumdmzoywk/OCF relationships talk - Dev Menon.mp3

oh it's quite big btw - >27MB

thanks Jacky for this paper too: http://www.mediafire.com/?cba4wmwloll

The Story of Jesus in Joseph

Got this from a rather Jewish-looking wesbite - but it's quite good


Let us look at Jesus, the son of Joseph.

Beloved of his father

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all of his sons (Genesis 37:3).
Joseph was the beloved son of his father.
And behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17).
The Messiah, the son of Joseph, was the beloved son of His Father.

Fellowship and service

Then he [Jacob] said to him [Joseph], "Go now and see about the welfare of your brothers and the welfare of the flock; and bring word back to me." So he sent him from the valley of Hebron, and he came to Shechem (Genesis 37:14).

Joseph lived in Hebron which, in Hebrew, means "the place of fellowship." Joseph dwelt with His father at the place of fellowship and was sent by his father to seek the welfare of his brothers.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men (Philippians 2:5-7).

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).

Jesus dwelt with His Father in the place of fellowship and was sent by His Father to seek the welfare of His brothers.

His brothers' sin

And Joseph brought back a bad report about them to his father (Genesis 37:2).

Joseph testified to his father about the sins of his brothers, and his brothers hated him.

"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18-19).

Jesus testified about the sins of His brothers and so they hated Him.

They hated him still more

Then Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him even more (Genesis 37:5).

Joseph revealed to his brothers the exalted position he was to receive.

They already hated him for testifying against their sins, but now they absolutely despised him.

And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds in the sky with power and great glory (Matthew 24:30).

And the scribes and chief priests tried to lay hands on him that very hour, and they feared the people; for they understood that he spoke this parable against them (Luke 20:19).

Jesus revealed to His brothers the position of glory that He would receive and so His brothers hated Him.

Foretold that he would rule

Joseph told his brothers that "we were binding sheaves in the field, and lo, my sheaf rose up and also stood erect; and behold, your sheaves gathered around and bowed down to my sheaf" (Genesis 37:7).

"You shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power" (Matthew 26:64).

Joseph foretold that one day he would rule. Jesus foretold that one day He would rule.

Rejected and condemned

When they saw him from a distance and before he came close to them, they plotted against him to put him to death (Genesis 37:18).

"We do not want this man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14).

But they kept on crying out, saying, "Crucify, crucify Him!" (Luke 23:21).

Both were rejected and condemned to die.

Out of His mind

And they said to one another, "Here comes this dreamer!" (Gen. 37:19).

And when His own people heard of this, they went to take custody of Him; for they were saying, "He has lost His senses" (Mark 3:21).

Joseph was accused by his brothers of being a dreamer. They said of Jesus, the Messiah, the son of Joseph, that He had lost His senses.

Sold for silver

And Judah said to his brothers, "What profit is it for us to kill our brother and cover up his blood? Come and let us sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; for he is our brother, our own flesh."

And his brothers listened to him. Then some Midianite traders passed by, so they pulled him up and lifted Joseph out of the pit, and sold him to the Ishmaelites for twenty shekels of silver (Genesis 37:26-28).

Judah betrayed Joseph and sold him for twenty pieces of silver.

Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests, and said, "What are you willing to give me to deliver Him to you?"

And they weighed out for him thirty pieces of silver (Matthew 26:151).

Judah betrayed Joseph for twenty pieces of silver.

Judas (same name as "Judah" in Hebrew) betrayed the son of Joseph, after inflation, for thirty pieces of silver.

Servant's heart

So Joseph found favor in his sight, and he became his personal servant; and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he owned he put in his charge (Genesis 39:4).

Everything Joseph did, he did as a servant.

Luke 22:25-27 and Philippians 2:7 tell us that everything Jesus did, He did as a servant.

Everything to prosper

And it came about that from the time he made him overseer in his house,and over all that he owned, the Lord blessed the Egyptian's house on account of Joseph (Genesis 39:5).

The Lord caused all that Joseph did to prosper.

And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hand (Isaiah 53:10).

God shall cause all that the son of Joseph does to prosper.

Tempted

And it came about after these events that his master's wife looked with desire at Joseph, and she said, "Lie with me." But he refused and said to his master's wife, "Behold, with me here, my master does not concern himself with anything in the house, and he has put all that he owns in my charge. There is no one greater in this house than I, and he has withheld nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How then could I do this great evil, and sin against God?" (Gen. 39:7-9).

Joseph was tempted to the utmost, but he endured and would not sin.

Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God,and serve Him only.' " Then the devil left Him. (Matthew 4:1-11).

Joseph was tempted to the utmost and endured. The Messiah, the son of Joseph, was tempted to the utmost, but He endured.

Falsely accused

When she saw that he had left his garment in her hand, and had fled outside, she called to the men of her household, and said to them, "See, he has brought in a Hebrew to make sport of us; he came in to me to lie with me, and I screamed.

And it came about when he heard that I raised my voice and screamed, that he left his garment beside me and fled, and went outside" (Genesis 39:13-15).

Joseph was falsely accused.

Now, the chief priests and the whole Council kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus, in order that they might put Him to death; and they did not find any, even though many false witnesses came forward.

But later on two came forward and said, "This man stated, 'I am able to destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days.' "

And the high priest stood up and said to Him, "Do You make no answer? What is this that these men are testifying against You?"

But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure you by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Messiah, the Son of God." Jesus said, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven."

Then the high priest tore his robes, saying, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy." (Matthew 26:59-65).

Joseph was accused falsely and lied about. The Messiah, the son of Joseph, was accused falsely and lied about.

Predicted life and death

Then the cupbearer and the baker for the king of Egypt, who were confined in jail, both had a dream the same night, each man with his own dream and each dream with its own interpretation . . Then Joseph said to [the cupbearer], "This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer . .

Then Joseph answered and said [to the baker], "This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and hang you on a tree; and the birds will eat your flesh off you" (Genesis 40:5-19).

Joseph predicted that one of these criminals would live and that the other one would die.

And one of the criminals who were hanging there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, "Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!"

But the other answered, and rebuking him said, Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong."

And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in your kingdom!" And He said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:39-43).

Jesus was condemned with two criminals and, as He predicted, one lived and one died.

Promised deliverance

Then Joseph said to him, "This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days; within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh's cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer (Genesis 40:12-13).

Joseph promised deliverance to a condemned man.

And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"

And Jesus said to him, "Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:42-43).

Yeshua, the son of Joseph promised deliverance to a condemned man. And that same son of Joseph is promising deliverance to condemned men today if they will repent and ask Him to forgive them, and follow Him.

A way of salvation Joseph was betrayed by his Jewish brothers into the hands of Gentiles, but God took this betrayal and turned it around and made it a way for all of Israel, and all of the world, to be saved.

So too, the Messiah, the son of Joseph, was betrayed by His Jewish brothers into the hands of Gentiles. God took this betrayal and turned it around, making it a way for all Israel, and all the world, to be saved.

Forgotten by those he helped

Yet the chief cupbearer did not remember Joseph, but forgot him (Genesis 40:23).

And Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine - where are they? Was no one found who turned back to give glory to God, except this foreigner?" (Luke 17:17,18).

Joseph was forgotten by those he helped, and the son of Joseph was forgotten by those He helped.

Raised to glory

Then Pharaoh sent and called for Joseph, and they hurriedly brought him out of the dungeon; and when he had shaved himself and changed his clothes, he came to Pharaoh

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are.

You shall be over my house, and according to your command all my people shall do homage; only in the throne I will be greater than you" (Genesis 41:14,39-40).

Joseph was taken from a dungeon, a place of death, and he was raised by the king to the place of glory in one day.

I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power towards us who believe.

These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come (Ephesians 1:19-20).

Joseph was raised from a place of condemnation to a place of glory in one day, and the son of Joseph, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, was raised from a place of condemnation to a place of glory in a single day.

Wonderful counselor

So Pharaoh said to Joseph, "Since God has informed you of all this, there is no one so discerning and wise as you are" (Genesis 41:39).

Joseph proved to be a great counselor. In Isaiah 9:6 we read that "And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor."

Highly exalted

And Pharaoh said to Joseph, "See I have set you over all the land of Egypt" (Genesis 41:41).

Joseph was promoted to glory and honor and given a new name.

Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name (Phil. 2:9).

Jesus was promoted to glory and honor and given a new name.

Took a Gentile bride

Then Pharaoh named Joseph Zaphenath-Paneah; and he gave him Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera priest of On, as his wife. And Joseph went forth over the land of Egypt (Genesis 41:45).

After being exalted, Joseph took a Gentile bride.

For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the Body (Ephesians 5:23-32).

Jesus, after exaltation, took a Gentile bride - in figure, the Gentile church.

That is why the book of Ruth - the story of a Jewish man taking a Gentile bride - is read in the synagogues at Pentecost, which we call "the birthday of the church."

And, in both cases, the brides were given to share the glory.

About thirty years of age

Now Joseph was thirty years old when he stood before Pharoah, king of Egypt (Genesis 41:46).

Joseph was 30 years old when he began his work.

And when He began His ministry, Jesus Himself was about thirty years of age. (Luke 3:23).

The son of Joseph was 30 years old when He began His work.

"Do whatever He says"

So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharoah for bread; and Pharoah said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do" (Genesis 41:55).

His (Jesus') mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it" (John 2:5).
Of Joseph it was said "Do whatever he tells you." Of the son of Joseph it was said, "Do whatever He tells you."

Every knee shall bow

Then Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, and put it on Joseph's hand, and clothed him in garments of fine linen, and put the gold necklace around his neck.

And he had him ride in his second chariot; and they proclaimed before him, "Bow the knee!" And he set him over all the land of Egypt.

Moreover, Pharoah said to Joseph, "Though I am Pharoah, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt" (Genesis 41:42-44).

When he was exalted, every knee bowed to Joseph and he was given all power and glory.

Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" (Matthew 28:18).

Every knee shall bow to the Son of Joseph, and He has been given all power and glory.

The Bread of Life

So when all the land of Egypt was famished, the people cried out to Pharoah for bread; and Pharoah said to all the Egyptians, "Go to Joseph; whatever he says to you, you shall do."

When the famine was spread over all the face of the earth, then Joseph opened all the storehouses, and sold to the Egyptians; and the famine was severe in the land of Egypt, And the people of all the earth came to Egypt to buy grain from Joseph, because the famine was severe in the earth (Genesis 41:55-57).

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst" (John 6:35).

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12).

The whole world had to get their bread from Joseph - there was no other way the people could be saved. And there is no way for us to be saved except through the son of Joseph.

Not entrusting Himself to men

Now they were seated before him, the firstborn according to his birthright and the youngest according to his youth, and the men looked at one another in astonishment (Gen. 43:33).

Why? Because Joseph knew the past sinful history of his brothers.

But Jesus, on His part, was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men, and because He did not need anyone to bear witness concerning man for He Himself knew what was in man (John 2:24,25).

Jesus the Messiah is like Joseph, knowing the past history and sins of his brothers.

Not recognized first time

However, as we read in Genesis, Joseph's brothers do not recognize him at the first coming. They recognized him at the second.

Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, "Have everyone go out from me." So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.

And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharoah heard of it.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?" But his brothers could not answer him, for they were dismayed at his presence.

Then Joseph said to his brothers, "Please come closer to me." So they came closer. And he said, "I am your brother Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt" (Genesis 45:1-4).

Joseph's brothers did not recognize him at the first coming, but at the second.

And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so they will look upon Me who they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first born (Zechariah 12:10).

The brothers of the Messiah, the son of Joseph, did not recognize him at his first coming, but they will at the second, realizing the one they betrayed is now the exalted one who was going to save them.

The one who was crucified is the one who is the Redeemer, the King. The son of Joseph is also the son of David.

The Suffering Servant is also the Conquering King

When his brothers repented, he forgave them. And when Jesus' brothers, the Jewish people repent, He forgives them.

In the beginning Joseph used the Egyptian people, the Gentiles, to give bread to his brothers, but a time came when the Gentiles were sent away and he revealed himself to his brothers.

Right now the son of Joseph is using Gentiles, Christians, to send the food, the Bread of Life, to His brothers, but a time will come in the Great Tribulation when the son of Joseph will personally reveal Himself to His brothers.

All power to the King

Joseph, after his exaltation, turned around and delivered all into the hands of Pharaoh (Genesis 47:20).

Then comes the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and authority and power (1 Corinthians 15:24).

Joseph gave all rule and authority and power into the hands of the king.

The Messiah, the son of Joseph, will give all power and rule into the hands of the King.
Savior

So they said, "You have saved our lives! Let us find favor in the sight of my lord, and we will be Pharoah's slaves" (Genesis 47:25).

Joseph was acknowledged to be the people's savior.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior., Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds (Titus 2:11-14).

The Messiah, the son of Joseph, the Lord Jesus Christ, is acknowledged to be the Savior. of all mankind.

Not recognized

When Joseph was adorned (Genesis 41:42) with the garments of Egyptian royalty, he became totally unrecognizable to his Hebrew brothers (Genesis 42:8).

After the first century, Jesus was taken and made king of the Gentiles. It was forgotten that He came as King of the Jews and He became totally unrecognizable to His Hebrew brothers.

One Messiah : Two Comings

Joseph was given a new name upon his exaltation (Genesis 41:45). The Gentiles call Rabbi Yeshua Ben Yosef by a new name - Jesus - a Greek name, not His original one.

One Messiah, two comings.

The Jews did not recognize Joseph at the first coming but at the second. And they will recognize the son of Joseph at the second coming, seeing the one who was betrayed and crucified as the one who has indeed come to bring salvation.

One Messiah, two comings.

Jesus is coming back as the son of David. Every eye will see Him. The Jews will look upon Him whom they have pierced and mourn as one mourns for an only son.

Those who look upon Jesus, whom we have all pierced, and mourn now as one mourns for an only son, will have the same blessing and promise that He gives to His own people.

The Messiah, the son of Joseph, will return as the Messiah, the son of David. And He will restore the kingdom to Israel.

The perfume of Christ

"The Word of God is as a garden of fruit and flowers - luscious with the sweetness, pencilled with the beauty, and fragrant with the perfume of Christ. All its shadows, types and prophecies, all its doctrines, precepts and promises testify of Him. Search the Scriptures in whatever part, or view them from whatever standpoint you may, of Christ they speak and to Christ they lead... Let us, dear reader, often walk within this Divine enclosure, this sacred garden, where the north wind and the south wind blows... and eat the pleasant fruits, and inhale the perfume of Sharon's Rose."

- Octavius Winslow, 1878 - The Fullness of Christ unfolded in the history of Joseph

More thoughts from a baby...

Matthew 25:23 "His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

It has always been a wonder to me how Jesus can applaud all our pathetic efforts in serving Him - but yet He does, from the least to the greatest servant, as long as we are faithful in the smallest capacity

Looking at my son, I can see how this happens..
sure he does not do much at all, but at the least of accomplishments, his daddy is proud
every smile, every crawl-movement, even waking up at the right times
how the Father can look and say, "I'm not even paying attention to your incapacities, your inefficiencies, your uselessness. Yet I'm exceedingly proud of what you have accomplished! Well done you for whatever it is you've done in the Light!"

Luke 7:9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel."

of course knowing that - He also does not see any accomplishments done in the old flesh.

Doing a thesis or just need some resources?

Found this cool site called EthOS. Now, it isn't nearly as cool as the "mysteries" of the Hebrew language, but it is pretty darn cool nonetheless... Perhaps you will find a doctorate paper for download written by your favourite (modern-day) theologians?

Ancient Hebrew

Check out Glen's posts on Biblical languages here and here

Here's a chart showing the possible original pictographs that form the Hebrew characters and some possible meanings of the letters - so that you can actually see how words are formed as the pictures are put together - quite like any ancient Eastern language - including the current Oriental languages

http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/28_chart.html

a couple of my favourites:



(nun - meaning 'seed')



(tav - meaning 'mark')

The 'Practicality' of Sonship

In these uncertain times (which Jesus promised) we can very often turn gospel living into a very, what we call, practical lifestyle

Make sure we have a stable job, steady income, homes to live in etc..
The argument is that the gospel of Jesus Christ involves being 'practical'

While the statement is true, practicality in Jesus's eyes is far from worldly
As He says 'Do not worry what to eat or what to wear - your Father provides these things'

Imagine your own children keeping raw ingredients from your fridge under their beds - telling you that they want to store it up because their not sure where their next meal is coming from
or 10 year olds going to get a job because they don't know if you can provide for them
other than having no 'faith' in you, it is an act of mistrust

The practical child simply turns up for breakfast every morning
the practical child always trusts that his good parents will provide all his needs
The practical child is at peace because of this

the 'storing-working' child - is nothing but an orphan

We have a Father in heaven
Christ has shown us how to be His children
We glorify Christ by living the God-Child life
Since He then becomes the First of many brothers and sisters - with one heavenly Father

Hallelujah! not as orphans
Are we left in sorrow now
...
Shall our hearts forget His promise
'I am with you ever more'?

Lessons from a baby...

What can you learn by having a child?

Trinity
1. How the Father/Son/Spirit life is forever changed
2. How they are focused entirely on us
3. How they bring us into the Family
4. They long to do mature stuff with us - to enjoy us in a different way

Discipleship
1. Baby (new Christian) must eat - a lot
2. Baby must eat regularly
3. Baby must eat only milk from Mummy
4. Baby must join your family - will die on his own
5. You need to clean up after baby - all the time
6. Baby brings great joy - but not very exciting. Daddy longs for baby to grow up to have a different mature kind of relationships
7. Baby not very useful - needs to grow up to be useful
8. Baby does not know how to do things with new life - must be taught
9. Baby does not know how to relate to Daddy very well
10. Baby always sleepy - needs to wake up. Baby loves the darkness too much - must learn to live in the Light
11. Baby needs Daddy & Mummy ALL the time
12. Baby can learn from Older Brother

other stuff
1. Babies don't get a lot done - 1 adult (mature Christian) can change the whole world - vs 10,000,000 babies
2. Most Christians are babies and don't want to grow up

Doesn't that have tremendous implications on how we do discipleship??

The Story of Jesus

Check this out from Dave Bish!

We start with God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Father sending forth his word in the power of the Spirit to bring order out of chaos, the world out of water, light over darkness climaxing in the making of Man in God’s image (Genesis 1). We find The Man placed in God’s temple-mountain garden and given a Bride. He stops to sing. Together they’re to work and cultivate this temple extending it into a global garden in which man and God dwell together, man ruling the world under God (Genesis 2). One day the world will be full of people. One day the world will be full of the glory of God, that which is supremely displayed in The Man, Jesus Christ (2 Cor 3v18).

This Man overthrows God and is kicked out of the temple (Genesis 3), though he’s promised that a seed of the woman will come who will defeat evil and bring them back into the garden. The first candidate for that is murdered by his brother who builds a city for his own glory (Genesis 4). From The Man and his Bride comes another son who is not the seed who begins to call on the LORD. He is not the seed. One of his progeny Enoch prophesied of God’s coming judgement, and soon after Noah is born (Genesis 5). The world once formed out of water is deluged but Noah’s family escape, saved by God. A new world emerges from the water with the Man on his mountain, human evil remains and this new world soon descends back into wickedness. From Noah the world is filled with people who practice evil, even attempting to build an arrogant city that will reach heaven and broadcast the glory of these sinners (Genesis 6-11).

God however chooses Abraham and promises that from him will come a seed, Christ. This seed is born by God’s promised and though offered to death is resurrected, figuratively. This seed, Isaac, gains a wife and has sons (Genesis 12-25). From them come twelve sons, the tribes of Israel who flee, like their forefather Abraham, to Egypt. They are ruled over by Joseph though it is Israel’s son Judah who will one day rule them (Genesis 26-5). The memory of Israel saving Egypt is soon forgotten and a people called to rule the world are subjected as slaves. Through a Levitical priest called Moses and his brother Aaron Christ comes to save his people from slavery into a garden land. They are rescued by Christ and they stop to sing (Exodus 15) before meet him at mount Sinai (Exodus 1-18). There, to hem them in until Christ comes to his people, they are placed under law. This law, particularly in the provision of a tent-dwelling of God with his people, foreshadows Christ’s coming. It shows them what he will do for them (Exodus 19-25).

This people quickly turn back to slavery and though rescued to worship God they begin to worship things they make for themselves (Exodus 32-34). Instead of destroying them God spares them, for the sake of his own reputation and promises. On the verge of the promised land they rebel and decide to go back to slavery. This costs them their lives and it will be a generation before the people go into the land (Numbers 13-14).The sons of Korah die for their rebellion but some are redeemed and write great songs of love for to Son of God (Psalm 45).

By then Moses is dead and it is Joshua who leads them in. As they enter in, a prostitute called Rahab is adopted into God’s people (Joshua 2). The people are led by Judges who bring short-lived salvation in days when there is no king over the people. In these days a descendent of Abraham’s nephew Lot, a woman called Ruth, is adopted into God’s people (Ruth).

This is a remarkable turn around for a people born of horrific and shameful origins. Soon, the people request a king, rejecting God’s rule over themselves. God had previously set out the requirements for a king and this Benjamite, Saul fails in every way (1 Samuel). Another, David of Judah is anointed and kills the giant Goliath, he takes the throne and is the king par excellence. He sings. He desires to build a house for God’s people but is denied. Instead his Son, through adultery with Bathsheba, Solomon will build a temple. David’s son will be king forever (2 Samuel 7.)

Solomon ascends and builds the temple, the people stop to sing. The Son of David is greater than any other king of the world and the peoples of the world gather, but he too falls into sin and his sons divide the kingdom into two. The northern kingdom, Israel, is soon overthrown by Assyria. Jonah is sent to preach to the Assyrian capital Nineveh. The south survives many generations but is ultimately exiled for their rebellion against God, by Babylonians who have overtaken Assyria (2 Chronicles),

Many are killed, the kings and high-flyers are exiled (Daniel) and some rise remarkably and see God’s salvation (Daniel and later Esther). Between the days of Solomon and this time of exile many messengers call God’s people to turn back to him (Isaiah after the days of King Uzziah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah etc).

Eventually God uses a foreign king to send his people back for a partial restoration under Ezra and Nehemiah, while Haggai prophesies. The rebuilt city is inglorious and prophetic expectation remains unfulfilled until centuries later, the son of Abraham and David is born, Jesus the Christ.

This son, this seed, is the true Israel. The true temple. The true priest. The true sacrifice. The word of God. As the author is written into the story godly men and women stop to sing. Though he made the world he is rejected by it. He is killed by the whole world and yet is raised to life by his Father.

He sends the Spirit to his people, the church, and they become a global people, bringing God’s rule and blessing to all peoples. They form local communities, bodies of which Jesus is the head, where though diverse their common love of Jesus binds them together in love. They stop to sing. They live longing for the day when he returns and will renew his world, re-creating it to be the place where He, the true Man, will dwell with his bride, the church, whom he saved, forever.

Contemplating creation...

Baby Josiah Menon has just come into the world!

I was wondering before the beginning of creation if the conversation between the Father and the Son through the Spirit went something like this:

"We're going to have more children"

"It'll change our lives forever - no more just us three Persons"

"Yea awesome!"

"You do realise we're going to lose a lot of rest for the next... oh.. 10,000 years"

Lamenin

How's this for fun Christian science:

Laminin is a protein found in the extracellular matrix, the sheets of protein that form the substrate of all internal organs also called the basement membrane. It is the major non-collagenous component of the basal lamina, such as those on which cells of an epithelium sit.[1] It has four arms that can bind to four other molecules. The three shorter arms are particularly good at binding to other laminin molecules, which is what makes it so great at forming sheets. The long arm is capable of binding to cells, which helps anchor the actual organs to the membrane.

Laminin is vital to making sure overall body structures hold together.

Was man created to do work?

Was writing an essay which made me think back to what Reeves said about work. I guess it is often assumed that working or having jobs was part of God's plan for man. So an emphasis by some workplace ministries is to help people find dignity or to take pride in their jobs. Many have pointed to Genesis 2 to show or justify how man was created to work. After all, "When the LORD God made the earth and the heavens - and no shrub of the field had yet appeared on the earth and no plant of the field had yet sprung up, for ... there was no man to work the ground." So it follows that man was created to work the ground. But this is a misunderstanding of Genesis 2.

A careful reading of Gen. 2:4-9 will show that man was not created for the purpose of agricultural labour (or secular work). When there was nothing fruitful from the ground we see that it is Yahweh Elohim Himself who goes on to labour on the untilled ground. He forms man from the ground and instead of seeing Him putting man to then till the ground, again we see that it is the LORD God who gets to work! This time He planted Eden and “made to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.” So far man has done nothing and has not been asked to do anything to bring forth fruit or plants fromt he ground!

But some point to Genesis 2:15 to say "Aha! The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it!" But again there are a few important details to note. Firstly, the word translated “put” from yanach means “to rest”. So Adam is not 'put' but 'rested' in Eden. Secondly, while ‘garden’ could be either a masculine or feminine noun, ‘Eden’ is a proper masculine noun. Thirdly, what is translated “to till” and “to keep” from abad and shamar are priestly terms (to serve and to keep). Furthermore, the object (it) they are to abad and shamar (serve and keep) are feminine, and thus do not refer to the masculine Eden. What is interesting is that they are often used together to refer to the Law, i.e. to keep and serve the Law. This of course means to trust in Jesus. Thus, Adam was not put in Eden for agricultural labour but was ‘rested’ in Eden to trust in Jesus and to testify to Him. Agricultural labour (and work) does not seem to have been intrinsic to life in Eden. What seems to be intrinsic to life is trust in the LORD God who alone labours to provide. Indeed humanity begins life by enjoying and sharing in Elohim’s Sabbath.

What brought about work (and rain!) was a result of the fall. Secular jobs, having to work to survive, labouring the ground was a curse because of man's refusal to trust in Jesus! So we have to be careful about encouraging people to take pride in their jobs or to place such an importance in their careers.

Could it be that Christians are redeemed from the curse in Jesus? After all in Matthew 6:33, Jesus says, "Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Once again we can trust in Jesus for life and for daily provisions. This is certainly what many people, like Hudson Taylor, have taken seriously. As we concentrate on doing the priestly work of pointing people to Christ we can be confident that Jesus will provide for all our needs. Maybe this is what people in the workplace need to hear?

Jezreel - the gardened Vine of God

I'm working on this...
shan't explain it now
but if anyone guesses what this is about I could use all the help! =)


Hosea 1:4-5 4 And the LORD said to him, "Call his name Jezreel, for in just a little while I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and I will put an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel. 5 And on that day I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel."

Hosea 2:21-23 1 "And in that day I will answer, declares the LORD, I will answer the heavens, and they shall answer the earth, 22 and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil, and they shall answer Jezreel, 23 and I will sow her for myself in the land. And I will have mercy on No Mercy, and I will say to Not My People, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.'"

Hosea 4:1-3 Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; 2 there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. 3 Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it languish, and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away.

Hosea 5:10 10 The princes of Judah have become like those who move the landmark; upon them I will pour out my wrath like water.

Hosea 6:3 3 Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth."

Hosea 8:8 8 Israel is swallowed up; already they are among the nations as a useless vessel.

Hosea 9:10 10 Like grapes in the wilderness, I found Israel.

Hosea 10:1 Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields its fruit. The more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his country improved, he improved his pillars.

Hosea 11:1 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.

Hosea 12:13 By a prophet the LORD brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was guarded.

Hosea 13:14 14 Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from Death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

Hosea 14:5-7 5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; 6 his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. 7 They shall return and dwell beneath my(1 )shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Hosea 14:8 8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you.(1 )I am like an evergreen cypress; from me comes your fruit.

The Conclusion to Aristedes Apology

Paul Blackham just posted this on his website

This is how the church needs to live!

The Christians, O King, while they went about and made search, have found the truth; and as we learned from their writings, they have come nearer to truth and genuine knowledge than the rest of the nations. For they know and trust in God, the Creator of heaven and of earth, in whom and from whom are all things, to whom there is no other god as companion, from whom they received commandments which they engraved upon their minds and observe in hope and expectation of the world which is to come. Wherefore they do not commit adultery nor fornication, nor bear false witness, nor embezzle what is held in pledge, nor covet what is not theirs. They honour father and mother, and show kindness to those near to them; and whenever they are judges, they judge uprightly. They do not worship idols (made) in the image of man; and whatsoever they would not that others should do unto them, they do not to others; and of the food which is consecrated to idols they do not eat, for they are pure. And their oppressors they appease (lit: comfort) and make them their friends; they do good to their enemies; and their women, O King, are pure as virgins, and their daughters are modest; and their men keep themselves from every unlawful union and from all uncleanness, in the hope of a recompense to come in the other world. Further, if one or other of them have bondmen and bondwomen or children, through love towards them they persuade them to become Christians, and when they have done so, they call them brethren without distinction. They do not worship strange gods, and they go their way in all modesty and cheerfulness. Falsehood is not found among them; and they love one another, and from widows they do not turn away their esteem; and they deliver the orphan from him who treats him harshly. And he, who has, gives to him who has not, without boasting. And when they see a stranger, they take him in to their homes and rejoice over him as a very brother; for they do not call them brethren after the flesh, but brethren after the spirit and in God. And whenever one of their poor passes from the world, each one of them according to his ability gives heed to him and carefully sees to his burial. And if they hear that one of their number is imprisoned or afflicted on account of the name of their Messiah, all of them anxiously minister to his necessity, and if it is possible to redeem him they set him free. And if there is among them any that is poor and needy, and if they have no spare food, they fast two or three days in order to supply to the needy their lack of food. They observe the precepts of their Messiah with much care, living justly and soberly as the Lord their God commanded them. Every morning and every hour they give thanks and praise to God for His loving-kindnesses toward them; and for their food and their drink they offer thanksgiving to Him. And if any righteous man among them passes from the world, they rejoice and offer thanks to God; and they escort his body as if he were setting out from one place to another near. And when a child has been born to one of them, they give thanks to God; and if moreover it happen to die in childhood, they give thanks to God the more, as for one who has passed through the world without sins. And further if they see that any one of them dies in his ungodliness or in his sins, for him they grieve bitterly, and sorrow as for one who goes to meet his doom.

XVI. Such, O King, is the commandment of the law of the Christians, and such is their manner of life. As men who know God, they ask from Him petitions which are fitting for Him to grant and for them to receive. And thus they employ their whole lifetime... And they do not proclaim in the ears of the multitude the kind deeds they do, but are careful that no one should notice them; and they conceal their giving just as he who finds a treasure and conceals it. And they strive to be righteous as those who expect to behold their Messiah, and to receive from Him with great glory the promises made concerning them... It is enough for us to have shortly informed your Majesty concerning the conduct and the truth of the Christians. For great indeed, and wonderful is their doctrine to him who will search into it and reflect upon it.

And verily, this is a new people, and there is something divine in the midst of them.

Day Two - Genesis (2)

More on Day 2:

The 'expanse' made in day two can also be translated canopy (see ESV)
the word gives the feeling of something being stretched out and beaten into place

So this heavens indeed is regarded as a tent, where the Sun dwells - cf. Ps 19

It is the body of Christ, His flesh, stretched out and nailed into place by the iron tentpegs

indeed:
Hebrews 10:19-20 19 Therefore, brothers,(1 )since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, 20 by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,

His flesh becomes the dwelling place of God and man - and only because of the cross. He is indeed the way

Those iron tentpegs that hold the wings of His garment open beckon us to come in and dwell with Him

Those same tentpegs pierced the temple of Satan, just when he thought all was secure:
Judges 4:16-22 6 And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. 17 But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite. 18 And Jael came out to meet Sisera and said to him, "Turn aside, my lord; turn aside to me; do not be afraid." So he turned aside to her into the tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 And he said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink, for I am thirsty." So she opened a skin of milk and gave him a drink and covered him. 20 And he said to her, "Stand at the opening of the tent, and if any man comes and asks you, 'Is anyone here?' say, 'No.'" 21 But Jael the wife of Heber took a tent peg, and took a hammer in her hand. Then she went softly to him and drove the peg into his temple until it went down into the ground while he was lying fast asleep from weariness. So he died. 22 And behold, as Barak was pursuing Sisera, Jael went out to meet him and said to him, "Come, and I will show you the man whom you are seeking." So he went in to her tent, and there lay Sisera dead, with the tent peg in his temple.

Theistic evolution and hermeneutics

Glen here.

Last Saturday I was surrounded by Anglican curates on post-ordination training. We discussed how to read the bible. It was decided by a good majority of them that God did not desire the total destruction of the nations in the land (Deuteronomy 7:1-6). God is not into ethnic cleansing you see. Primitive cultures might be. The Israelites committed the atrocities and wrote about it after the fact (much much later apparently). And they claimed divine justification for it. But God didn't actually tell them to destroy the nations.

Anyway, sounded to me quite similar to how even evangelicals read Genesis 1.

"Yeah, we know what it says. But that's not how it happened. Now we know better, we can read back into it what really happened. It was actually very much like what the wisdom of today would tell us."

Well that was the link I drew.
Maybe you draw a different one...

Faith and Works (2)

Mark 11:13-21 13 And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs. 14 And he said to it, "May no one ever eat fruit from you again." And his disciples heard it. 15 And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. 16 And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. 17 And he was teaching them and saying to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers." 18 And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching. 19 And when evening came they(1 )went out of the city. 20 As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots. 21 And Peter remembered and said to him, "Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered."

So last time I was writing how Jesus hates the hypocrites:

This is seen very clearly in the fig tree
Like Adam and Eve who sewed fig-leaves together as loincloths
they were trying to deceive the Lord that they were fruitful together
but once the Lord draws near - He can see all their works are only a sham
Jesus is furious at those who try and deceive Him, and the punishment is quick and intense
Like Adam, we need the blood-soaked skins of the Lamb that was slain to deal with our nakedness, our shame
That blood, as we trust in it, walk in the Spirit, will cleanse and purge us from all our sins - until the last day, when we are truly washed clean - and are given white robes to wear
Mortality is swallowed up in Life

Obama - Warren

Any one heard Rick Warren's prayer for Obama?
any thoughts?

a transcript can be found here:
http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/what_rick_warren_said_at_obamas_inauguration_20090120/

Why is it we think we are building an earthly kingdom - rather than an unseen one?
sigh...

One day every knee shall bow and acknowledge Jesus - King of kings, Lord of lords

Creation

Colossal discussion on creation and creationists here:

http://christthetruth.wordpress.com/2009/01/11/the-evolution-of-a-creationist/

The real question is of course - how do you relate to Scripture?
also... are you actually reading what it says?

Day Two - Genesis

Why was Jesus Christ baptised - and just before He started His ministry in the flesh?

Of course we have the Exodus story - baptised, then into the wilderness, then leading people into the promised land

So now if we take baptism as - my declaration of faith
that would be a bit funny for Jesus wouldn't it? only at 30??

If we take baptism as merely a sign of the gospel - well it would be for us, but I doubt it would be for Him!

So what's left?

The phrase used in baptism is - "baptised into"

So what happens... Jesus is baptised into the church,
for example:

1 Corinthians 10:1-2 I want you to know, brothers,(1 )that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea


So then the Israelites are baptised (i.e. separated into) Moses, and He (also baptised) becomes their representative, or stronger than that - he is their head, they are his body

So in the ordination of the High Priest - they are washed with water from the bronze laver before they put on the breast-piece (the 12 tribes), the kingly crown, the onyx shoulder pieces (sin on His shoulders), etc...

Christ separates into His people - i.e. He leaves His Father and Mother, and now He is part of the church, He is their legitimate Head - He is their High Priest in the order of the Nazerite - a different order to Levi. He now will lead His people through the wilderness successfully and bring them to the promised land

He will do this through the cross


Now backtrack to Day 2 in Genesis 1
the only day that has nothing that 'God saw it was good' in it

So day one - the light shines in the darkness - in the midst of the waters of death and judgement

Day two - the word is stretched out - or rather stretched out and beaten out the expanse - now we have 2 water divisions - one under the THIRD heaven (throne room) and one below

So then Christ will separate out from the waters above and we will separate out from the waters below to create a new life - the THIRD WAY - where God and Man will dwell together - the new life - through the cross, where He is beaten and stretched out - suspended above heaven and earth

So then in the new creation - this time the division is by fire - all will be baptised by fire, first Christ, then His people - and live a new life in the new 'Expanse' - the new way - He will draw in from the heavens His FAther to live this new life, and from the seas of judgement He has called and fished His people out to live with Him

All the rest will remain in the fires of judgement, the outer darkness, cast away both rebellious angels and men alike...

Prophet, prophesy, prophecy

There has always been great difficulty interpreting the word 'prophet' and derivatives thereof

Usually it is thought of predicting something in the future and this is true in one sense - even in the new testament:

Acts 11:27-28 27 Now in these days prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 And one of them named Agabus stood up and foretold by the Spirit that there would be a great famine over all the world (this took place in the days of Claudius).

But in chapters like 1 Cor 14 - that would be very difficult to make any sense if that were the sole meaning of the Word
also it would be pretty hard to imagine an entire church speaking like Agabus - even the apostles hardly do it on record

1 Corinthians 14:24-25 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

why would that happen if you were telling the future?

a prophecy then is a revelation
so in the OT:

Amos 3:7 7 "For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.

It is a revelation of the 'mysteries' of God made known to His people

So to reveal something about what is going to happen in a particular context is prophecy - like Agabus
to proclaim a Word from the Lord (as the prophets of old) - is also prophecy
and to expound the meaning of the mysteries of the OT Scripture - is also prophecy
to see the secrets of men's hearts - as in 1 cor 14 above - is also prophecy

and indeed it is a gift of edification and worth asking for
and definitely cannot just be taken wholesale - but carefully weighed with all the other 'revelation of God' - which is one and the same

Revelation

Finally finished a short commentary on Revelation (<30000 words)
missing a few pieces but it's more or less done
borrowed a dozen quotes from Glen's series though!

Available upon request =)

The Incarnation

Fantastic sermon on basically everything on the incarnation of Christ:

http://danhames.blogspot.com/2008/12/one-of-us.html

Cosmetic Changes (2)

This article's been written by the Times columnist..
the world's gone so mad even the atheists are starting to make sense

Now a confirmed atheist, I’ve become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people’s hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good…

Christianity, post-Reformation and post-Luther, with its teaching of a direct, personal, two-way link between the individual and God, unmediated by the collective, and unsubordinate to any other human being, smashes straight through the philosphical/spiritual framework I’ve just described. It offers something to hold on to to those anxious to cast off a crushing tribal groupthink. That is why and how it liberates.

Those who want Africa to walk tall amid 21st-century global competition must not kid themselves that providing the material means or even the knowhow that accompanies what we call development will make the change. A whole belief system must first be supplanted.

And I’m afraid it has to be supplanted by another. Removing Christian evangelism from the African equation may leave the continent at the mercy of a malign fusion of Nike, the witch doctor, the mobile phone and the machete.

The Golden Calf (2)

more great Christian cartoon messages here

Consider the birds of the air...

How's this for meditating on Christ in all of creation..

a couple of quotes from John Flavel - 1650s England

THE SIGHT OF A BLACKBIRD TAKING SANCTUARY IN A BUSH FROM A PURSUING HAWK.

When I saw how hardly the poor bird was put to it to save herself from her enemy, who hovered just over the bush in which she was fluttering and squeaking, i could not but hasten to relieve her, pity and succour being a debt due to the distressed, which., when I had done, the bird would not depart from the bush, though her enemy was gone. This act of kindness was abundantly repaid by this meditation, with which I returned to my walk. My soul, like this bird, was once distressed, pursued, yea, seized by Satan, who had certainly made a prey of it, had not Jesus Christ been a sanctuary to it in'that hour of danger. How ready did I find him to receive my poor soul into his protection ! Then did he make good that sweet promise to my experience, :' Those that come unto me, I will in no wise cast out." It called to mind that pretty and pertinent story of the philosopher, who walking in the fields, a bird, pursued by a hawk, flew into his bosom ; he took her out and said, " Poor bird, I will neither wrong thee, nor expose thee to thine enemy, since thou eamest to me for refuge." So tender, and more than so, is the Lord Jesus to distressed souls that come unto him. Blessed Jesus ! how should I love and praise thee, glorify and admire thee, for that great salvation thou hast wrought for me ? If this bird had fallen into the claws of her enemy, she had been torn to pieces, indeed, and devoured, but then a few minutes had dispatched her, and ended all her pain and misery ; but had my soul f;illen into the hand of Satan, there had been no end to my misery.

Would not this scared bird be flushed out of the bush that secured her, though I had chased away her enemy ? And wilt thou, O my soul, ever be enticed or scared from Christ thy refuge ? O let this for ever engage thee to keep close to Christ, and make me say, with Ezra, "And now, O Lord, since thou hast given me such a deliverance as this, should I again break thy commandments!"


UPON THE SIGHT OF DIVERS GOLDFINCHES INTERMINGLING WITH A FLOCK OF SPARROWS.

Methinks these birds do fitly resemble the gaudy courtiers, and the plain peasants ; how spruce and richly adorned with shining and various colored feathers (like scarlet richly laid with gold and silver lace) are those ? How plainly clad in a homespun country ruffet are these I Fine feathers, saith our proverb, make proud birds; and yet the feathers of the sparrow are as useful and beneficial, both for warmth and flight, though not so gay and ornamental, as the others : and if both were stript out of their feathers, the sparrow would prove the better bird of the two ; by which I see that the greatest worth doth not always lie under the finest clothes ; and besides, God can make mean and homely garments as useful and beneficial to poor and despised Christians, as the ruffling and shining garments of wanton gallants are to them; and when God shall strip men out of ill external excellencies, these will be found to excel their glittering neighbors in true worth and excellency.
Little would a man think such rich treasures of grace, wisdom, humility, &c. lay under some russet coats.

Sæpe sub attrita latitat sapientia veste. Under poor garments more true worth may be than under silks that whistle—who but he.

'Whilst, on the side, the heart of the wicked, as Solomon hath observed, is little worth, how much soever his clothes be worth. Alas ! it falls out too frequently among us, as it doth with men in the Indies, who walk over the rich veins of gold and silver ore, which lie hid under a ragged and barren surface and know it not. For my own part, I desire not to value any man by what is extrinsical and wordly, but by that true internal excellency of grace, which makes the face to shine in the eyes of God and good men : I would contemn a vile person, though never so glorious in the eye of the world, but honor such as fear the Lord, how sordid and despicable soever to appearance.

It's Christmas

Glen's done a few good posts on the Reason for the season:

Incarnation & Trinity

Incarnation & Creation

Incarnation & Salvation


And hopefully if Leon doesn't mind - I'll take a quote from his essay on Irenaeus's view of the incarnation:

“Original creation was not ‘perfect’ for Irenaeus. It is good, and even very good, but not perfect, though it can be perfected. For Irenaeus, salvation (and the incarnation) is not a consequence of the Fall of creation, but that creation is a consequence of “God’s project of salvation.” For Irenaeus, a created thing is intrinsically changeable, corruptible and subject to decay. Focusing on man, from the start he was “childish and immature and not yet fully trained for an adult way of life… so God could have offered perfection to man at the beginning, but man, being yet an infant, could not have taken it”, hence the Fall. In Irenaeus theology, the Fall seemed to have been unavoidable, because man is created and is not in himself filled by the Spirit to be enabled to fight decay and corruption. Man matures only as the Image (Spirit-filled Son) takes on the flesh of Adam so as to take Adam’s flesh into the Image, and thus fill Adam’s flesh with the Likeness of God(Spirit). In Irenaeus own words, “Now this is His Word, our Lord Jesus Christ, who in the last times was made a man among men, that He might join the end to the beginning, that is, man to God.” This, for Irenaeus, is “recapitulation”. It is not a return to Eden, for man to once again be immature and fall, but to perfection along with all creation where what is “mortal should be conquered and swallowed up by immortality, and corruptible by incorruptibility.””

Generous Giving

here's a really interesting website on giving to God:

http://www.generousgiving.org/page.asp?sec=43&page=589#503

whole bunch of questions dealt with
I was quite interested with the questions on whether we should give to non-Christian charities, giving outside the church itself (to independent Christian ministries), and giving directly to the needy... (21-23)

There's a lot of work to do this Christmas...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7793106.stm

Cosmetic changes...

Recycling, cruelty to animals, free-range, organic...

Interesting how Christians seem to think these are the issues of the modern church to champion... especially the liberal churches

So what are the options?

1. Lead the way
2. Do the opposite
3. Ignore everything

Personally I sometimes want to do number 2.. just out of spite...
but of course not really the Godly option
neither in some way is number 3 - since God does not want to ignore people - as opposed to worldly concerns

Also biblically there are a number of interesting verses:
For example:

Deut 20:19 - When you besiege a city for a long time, making war against it in order to take it, you shall not destroy its trees by wielding an axe against them. You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Are the trees in the field human, that they should be besieged by you?


Jonah 4:11 And should not I pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much cattle?

and many others on plant/animal welfare etc...
now I'm sure they have a deeper gospel meaning...
but let's use them for the sake of argument

So then what is the Christian perspective on these issues?
Join in with the world's insane crusades to create earthly Utopia & ignore the new creation?
Say everything will burn anyway and be made new - so let's give it a helping hand?
Ignore everybody and everything?

How about this:
The problem with dealing with all these issues, whether preaching for them or against them is that they are all merely external problems
It's basically cosmetic surgery...
That person is really evil - let's give him a facelift
Now that may make everything look better - but actually solves nothing

We know that the problem is ultimately the human heart - it is sin

Hosea 4:
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land; there is swearing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed. Therefore the land mourns,and all who dwell in it languish,and also the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, and even the fish of the sea are taken away.


So if we then try to attempt to change the way we live by changing what is external - it usually leads to a whole host of other problems and issues, and ultimately is utterly useless..

That is why, eventhough God who is concerned for animals and creation, etc... never requests us to do such futile works, because He knows that that actually solves nothing!

What then is to be done?
The gospel - Jesus Christ - solves everything
Follow Him, have a heart transplant - proper surgery - then you get rid of the core issues, rebellion, consumerism, gluttony, oppression, greed, etc, etc....

Now a society living like Jesus would never have all the cosmetic problems either
and ultimately that is the Kingdom of heaven - filled with Jesus Christ's body - living lives that will never cause any of these situations

Let's take a real life example from history:

Crime in the UK
What does a Christian do?
The 'hardcore' crew: - Build more prisons, hire more police, Christians becoming community support officers??
The 'soft' crew: - Teach better in schools, have more youth centres, hug children when they're young??
All these campaigns may have sense from a worldly point of view - and in some sense you have to pity the world - because that's all they can really do anyway! But they all don't really work and have huge problems of their own

Now how about this - go preach the gospel, invite people to ACTUALLY live like Jesus
What happened in Wales in the early 1900s?
100,000 new Christians in 6 months
Alcoholism halved
Crime drops radically
Gambling dens are closed
Judges have to resign because there are no cases
People are genuinely helping and loving one another
(read more here)

Doesn't this solve a whole myriad of social problems and at a level WAY above anything those 'campaigns' could achieve?

Let's stop thinking we have only the world's rather pathetic solutions to these deep heart problems
We have the gospel - we have the Spirit of God
Don't act as though we are defeated - Christ is victorious!
The gospel can overcome so much more than we ever imagine
to start Christian-led worldly campaigns is a losing battle
It is quite ridiculous, it is fatalistic, it is definitely not keeping our eyes on the things to come, on heavenly things

What is the issue you are worried about?
Follow Christ... really... do what He says
Invite others to do the same
That solves all the problems
That is the life of the new creation
That Life will be reality very soon

The Tangible Spirit

How does the Holy Spirit do stuff?

Frequently we end up with inevitabilities or terms like 'mystic' or 'mysterious'

But I think it's a bit more tangible than that

for instance - in Glen's post here: Barcode or Magnum?
The gospel itself is the power of salvation - we carry the very words of the Spirit
but then it is not really mere words is it?
Because to a 'spiritual man' - the gospel comes with the Spirit Himself! and produces conviction (cf. 1 Thess 1:5)

Was talking with Tom & Leon about the mystic union we share with Christ
how that too is quite tangible - it is very real, very physical
thus that if one shares one's body with a prostitute - one unites Christ with darkness
similarly if one member of the body suffers - all suffer
or if you sin in the flesh - you grieve the Spirit

I have this view that the Spirit works like a counsellor
He tells us what to do - and then to walk in the Spirit - is to do it
Counsellor isn't it?

But as we do the things the Spirit desires of us, and not do the things that grieve Him or cause Him to withdraw (in a relationship sense) - the tangibility of the Spirit becomes more and more apparent

these connections to Christ and His body are more real - as Paul can say with a great deal of power that he will be there in Spirit
The Spirit influences all decisions and even puts creation and it's functioning into our very being as we are brought up closer into Christ - cf. Acts 27 when Paul knows what is going to happen with the ship -it's as though he has become linked to the whole body of Christ - creation and the church itself!

Food no longer is the satisfaction - Christ - the Word - becomes more of a real filling up and fulfilment

Our feeble attempts at healing one another become real - closing even mortal wounds - our attempts at communication become clearer - crossing language barriers becomes no problem with 'tongues'

The only reason most of the church considers these things mysterious or terminated is the lack of closeness with Him who indwells the body of Christ - follow Him and He will consolidate, even solidify these things - they will become reality.. until the day even our very flesh is transformed into the very physical nature of the Spirit Himself!

Faith & Works

The age old debate of faith vs works:

The Reformers basically knee-jerked everything back to faith on Christ alone
and rightfully so.. and their definitions were quite carefully made

Today however it has become quite common to hear preaching that faith involves doing nothing... and the minute words like 'discipline' and 'duty' come up - that is legalism

Now faith always leads to obedience.. because faith while in itself is not a 'thing' - it is a trusting, a knowledge-based, Word-based conviction that results in the newly-enabled 'Yes' to the divine invitation of following Christ

So then faith is doing EXACTLY what the object of faith proclaims - that is doing whatever Jesus tells us to do - the more we do it, the more faith we have - similarly the less we do, the less faith we have. Now this is not a discussion about being born again.

Faith is to rest in Who our Father in heaven is and to trust that by doing everything He says, everything will be alright, everything will be taken care of, everything will inevitably be good - what He does not say is that everything will be easy or pleasant - but He does say everything will be good

Now to do the 'works of the law' or 'dead works' is to oppose faith - it is to resent Christ - it is to say I want to go my own way - I want to leave Eden and create my own life for myself - inevitably resulting in death

Next - what is so bad about works?
Of course first and foremost it denies Christ and all He does - it undermines who God is
But what about this - the people so often accused of doing works are the Pharisees and Israelites like them - they act without knowledge - not because they do not know but rather they suppress the truth by being disobedient

Why does Jesus hate this?
To do one's own works to gain salvation is actually playing the part of the prostitute - the adulteress
We act like sin acts - we attempt to seduce - to dress ourselves up in a hypocritical show of the things we think God will like in order to arm twist Him to do the things we want to do ourselves
This is really powerplay - we desire to consume God - like sin does with us - we become sin itself - we desire to be God ourselves

In all this God's appropriate response is the same as He tells Cain - dominate and destroy - He has no time for the adulterer - she must be cast away and burned - she has no love for Him - she hates Him and only uses Him to achieve her own selfish desires

This is all forms of idolatry and moralism - it is not the poor child desperately seeking His Father's love in all the wrong places - it is the harlot seeking wealth and possessions from anyone and anything she can get it from - whatever the abuse that comes with it. Demons love this stuff - they get a real rush out of it - seeing us flaunt our nakedness before them and flattering them by doing the things they love to see - then abusing us for it - teasing us with the things we were asking for as well as degrading us further - before finally disposing us like the street trash we are...

Forget all this - let us come to the Living God for Who He is and what He has done - let us trust Him and do what He says - this is faith... let us seek Him with all our heart and seek His will for He is good and worthy to be followed - He has proven it

Vindicate His holy name...

A sermon on Ezekiel 36:22-32

http://www.mediafire.com/?tnz4t3d5zni

An attempted explanation on the reasons for the destruction of the physical Israel, sin, the cross, and the new Israel...
(ambitious isn't it? haha)

Lifehouse - Everything

Note the interesting theology of salvation...

To love God is to know God...

"Theology is not a subject like other subjects. Rather, because of the universal claims of Christ, it seeks to boldly go where no mere discipline would dare, and inform every other branch of knowledge. The university grew out of the theological faculty, and, if the gospel is to be believed, may never leave it. For, as Abraham Kuyper said, ‘there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, “Mine!”’ Thus in every aspect of our living and knowing we should seek to be informed by the word which is truth, and not to be led astray by any other words that falsely claim supremely authoritative knowledge. This is doing theology." - Mike Reeves

From this article: http://www.theologynetwork.org/theology-of-everything/starting-out/fear-and-loathing-in-las-vagueness.htm

The Faithful Witness

Revelation 1:5 ...Jesus Christ the faithful witness...

On judgement day, Christ acknowledges us based on one thing:

Matthew 10:32-33 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

The Christian life we lead now is not a life of morality or 'religion'
Rather it is one of servitude, one of being slaves of the Master, sons and heirs of His household

Who cares if we are 'good people' (e.g. Rich young ruler)
Who cares if we are very religious (e.g. Pharisees)
Who cares if we consider the Lord a hard man (e.g. Parable of Talents)

The Lord wants people who love Him
The Lord wants people who will declare His name for His sake
The Lord glorifies those who glorify Him

Therefore our words matter... because they testify about Him
Indeed how can the mouth that speaks Christ also speak the waters of death?

Therefore our actions matter... we do good deeds in the sole hope that others recognise our Father in heaven
We cannot disqualify our testimony of Him by what we do - and so on this we are also judged (cf. Rom 2, etc)
Works that have no witness to our Father are utterly useless

Therefore above all, our heart matters
Because only a heart in love with God for who God is because of what God has done can and will desire to testify about Him to others for His name's sake

This is the Christian - there is no other who will be acknowledged before the Father
Everyday we deny ourselves, we go to the cross, because only cross-work will allow the revelation of our Father in heaven - as Jesus did before us

What did Jesus actually command?

From Blackham's blog:

The 'direct' commands of Christ in Matthew's gospel's sermon on the mount:

The Commands of Jesus
Matthew 4:17 – “Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand”.
Matthew 5:12 – “Rejoice and be very glad”, when you are persecuted for Jesus’
sake.
Matthew 5:16 – “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good
works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Matthew 5:22 – “Whosoever shall say “Fool” shall be in danger of hell fire”
Matthew 5:25 – “Agree with your opponent quickly”
Matthew 5:28 – “Whosoever looks on a woman to lust after her has committed
adultery with her already in his heart”
Matthew 5:29‐30 – “If your right eye/hand offend you, pluck/cut it off”
Matthew 5:37 – “Let your yes be yes and your no be no”
Matthew 5:39 – “Do not resist evil”
Matthew 5:39 – “If someone hits you on the right cheek, let him hit you again on
the other cheek”
Matthew 5:40 – “If someone takes your coat, let him have your cloak as well.”
Matthew 5:41 – “If someone forces you to go one mile, then go two miles for
them”
Matthew 5:42 – “Give when people ask from you”
Matthew 5:44 – “Love your enemies. Bless your enemies and never curse them”
Matthew 5:44 – “Do good to those who hate you.”
Matthew 5:44 – “Pray for those that abuse you and persecute you.”
Matthew 5:48 – “Be perfect just as the Father is perfect.”
Matthew 6:1 – “Do not do charity in public”
Matthew 6:5 – “Do not sow off in your prayers”
Matthew 6:7 – “Do not use pointless repetitions in your prayers”.
Matthew 6:9‐13 – Pray using the pattern of the “Lord’s Prayer”
Matthew 6:16 – “When you fast, do it secretly”
Matthew 6:19 – “Do not possess many things that have value in this world”
Matthew 6:20 – “Possess lots of things that will have value in heaven”
Matthew 6:25 – “Do not think about this present life – whether food, drink or
clothing”
Matthew 6:28 – “Consider the lilies”
Matthew 6:33 – “Seek the kingdom of God as your top priority in life”
Matthew 6:34 – “Don’t worry about tomorrow”
Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge people”
Matthew 7:3‐5 – “Don’t focus on other people’s faults. Deal with your own.”
Matthew 7:6 – “Don’t give holy things to unholy people”
Matthew 7:7 – “Ask, seek and knock”
Matthew 7:12 – “Treat others as you would like to be treated”
Matthew 7:13 – “Enter in through the narrow gate”
Matthew 7:15 – “Beware of false teachers”
Matthew 7:24‐27 – Obey the commands of Jesus.

New Blog

You're going to love this:

http://web.me.com/paulblackham/Paul_Blackham/Home.html

A little bit of Danish...

For some strange reason..
ended up doing the KFS (IFES equivalent) conference near Copenhagen

these are a couple of hour-long talks on 'Who is Jesus' and 'So what?'

http://www.mediafire.com/?wlzmhyrntzk

http://www.mediafire.com/?dymkktmkqod

Didn't know there was a Scandinavian revival about 100+ years ago!
Although now there must be just around 100 Christian students in the whole of Copenhagen!

The Golden Calf

Update:



Check out Glen's post:

http://christthetruth.wordpress.com/2008/10/31/not-a-great-image/

How much more revealing can you get...