Drunken Mystic

Time to formulate some thoughts here in a more cohesive statement to address some modern (postmodern? … whatever) thinking.

There is this idea, both implied and specifically stated, by many that the Bible has lost its validity over the last two thousand years because of either a) the limitations of the time they lived in, b) the progressive state that our society has achieved or c) both.

As a historian, these are short sighted and ignorant of the facts.  To assume that Paul (or Peter or Jesus, for that matter) was such a product of his culture that his thoughts on certain things are to be summarily dismissed is based on a certain type of ethnocentric pride: our own.

What things?  Well, we can dance around it, but our postmodern society (and more liberal Christians) take issue with Paul’s strong stand and language against things like homosexuality, premarital sex, and other issues some pride themselves in either finding tolerance for or even celebrating.

But when we look at the Hellenistic culture of which Paul was intimately familiar, being highly educated in Greek philosophy and a Roman citizen, and the Gentiles that were also products of that culture, we see a culture that was not only tolerant of homosexuality and other sexual practices, but openly celebrated many of them in their religious ceremonies through male and female prostitutes.  The Hellenistic culture was also pluralistic with its many gods and acceptance of all religions, as long as you ultimately bowed your head to the state, too.  The fact is that the Roman world, even with its impressive Pax Romana, in the days of Jesus and Paul were farther down this road than we are today.

Why were Christians and Jews so persecuted under the Roman systems if they were products of commonly held beliefs?  Their ideas were so radical as to engender fear against a perceived political rebellion.  This was due to more than just the Christian stand on sexual purity, surely.  But it wasn’t mutually exclusive from it, either.

Were these men products of their culture?  In many ways they were.  This isn’t to deny their cultural involvement, whether Jewish or Hellenistic, only to point out that many of the things our modern liberal thinkers have the most problem with were counter-cultural then, as well … far more than we today realize.

The Church in the West is undergoing a much needed transition.  Traditions of men that we’ve held on to for so long will be put away or further corrupted by modern institutions.  A simpler, more genuine, more radical faith and church is emerging.

But in times of transition, people want to throw everything out.  It is natural.  You begin to question and you end up questioning everything.  And if not done reasonably, we throw out things we shouldn’t in favor of the worldly philosophy of our own society, becoming in fact the very things we accuse men two thousand years ago of doing.

What those who truly want to be disciples of Christ will find, however, is that as the church is reformed once again (judgment must begin at the house of God), the reforms that bear the most fruit and address our growing pluralistic, hedonistic culture the best will be the principles and clear teachings of the Bible.  The Bible, in many ways, is more valid and applicable today in our Western world than it has been in centuries, possibly a thousand years or more.  This excites me and encourages me.  The Church today has an opportunity not seen in hundreds of years, to prove that believing and living the truths expressed in the New Testament will turn the world upside down again.  I pray that we take it seriously.

Peace.

I just finished reading Cross-Cultural Servanthood by Dr. Duane Elmer for a class I’m taking.  Although limited in its scope, it is an instructive book with some compelling thoughts which really hit home in light of my experiences in Korea and traveling and ministering overseas.

One of the thoughts he shares communicates something I’ve been meditating on (and sharing to a certain degree) in a powerful way, and I’ll share some of my thoughts on it.

Elmer gives us a new definition of profanity.  In dealing with others, how we treat them indicates what we believe about their worth.  If we believe that this is a person created by God, in His image, then we treat that person with a certain degree of sacred dignity.  If we do not, then we profane that person.  Dr. Elmer: “We profane another person whenever we fail to honor them as human beings.”

Of course Jesus had something to say about this.  He tells us:  “If you say ‘Raca’, you’ll be in danger of the council.  But if you say ‘you fool!’, you’re in danger of hellfire.”

Think about that.  Hellfire.

Why would Jesus find this idea that important?  Often Christians understand that there are certain words you just don’t say, aren’t allowed to say.  I think Canada recently banned the classic 80′s song “Money for Nothing” because the singer, in the voice of a character, uses the word “faggot.”  We all have our lists of words that our culture determines is wrong to say in and of themselves.  And Christians definitely shouldn’t be known for crude language.

But just not saying certain words doesn’t change the heart.  That’s what we call legalism.  And we find great loopholes in legalism.  Jesus was pointing out that to search for the loophole, the exception to the rule, reveals something worthy not of getting in worldly trouble, but eternal trouble.

Because in searching for the loophole, we are essentially telling God that we fear worldly powers more than spiritual and eternal ones.  We follow moral laws not because we will be brought before an earthly judge but because we understand there is a heavenly one.  To fear the former and ignore the latter is evidence of a lack of faith and true revelation.

So to call someone “a fool” but not use culturally understood crude language is worse than just cussing up a storm.  Whether or not you use crude language doesn’t matter.  Your words and attitudes can still communicate a lack of dignity and understanding that the person you are speaking of – or to – has intrinsic sacred spiritual worth.  God wouldn’t have sent His Son to die otherwise.

Where do these words come from?  Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  We must renew our minds and hearts to think this way about others.  We have been trained to label and categorize people and separate ourselves from one another.  It generally comes from emotional reaction than any effort to bring true discussion and sharing.  That sort of divisive language is meant to create winners and losers, to conquer and not to serve.

Only true disciples can have a heart change this deep with the power of the Holy Spirit.  This, again, shows us our need for God and His Son to teach us and train us in the Way.  Once the heart and mind change, the words and lifestyle will reflect truth.

“Thus the greater profanity may not be cursing, as bad as that is, but failing to extend openness and hospitality to another person who bears the Creator’s image.” – Dr. Elmer.

Peace.

In the latter part of Revelation, Jesus, sitting on the Throne, says, “Behold, I make all things new.”

I’ve been meditating on this statement.  What a glorious thing to say … and believe.

BEHOLD: This is the ultimate, “Hey, watch this!”  Not the redneck kind that ends up with someone in the hospital or winning a not-so-coveted Darwin Award.

No, this is God.  Perfect, holy, loving, longsuffering and kind.  When God says, “Hey, watch this!”  Prepare to be amazed and astounded.  It’s gonna be awesome.

I: Again, this is Jesus speaking.  This is the subject of the sentence … so guess who makes all things new?  Jesus.  Not Mohammed or Buddha or any of the thousands of Hindu gods.

Not you or me, either.  Not our organizations or paradigms or political causes.  Nope.

Jesus.  In Christ, all things are made new, Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians.  In Jesus, the Word of God, alone, are all things made new.

So as we renew our minds, be sure to submit to the work that God is about.  Don’t do something and ask God to bless it.  He is the initiator of good and holy things.  Find out what God is doing, plead with Him to let you get out of the boat and walk on water with Him, and then be blessed while you do the impossible.

MAKE: Strong’s says, “to do, make, practice, produce, a generic term of action or performance.”

God is an active God.  The image of Jesus on the Throne shows us His authority.  Don’t mistake it for passivity.  He is not passive.  He is constantly at work.  The Word, Jesus tells Satan during His temptation in the wilderness, continually proceeds from the mouth of God.  The Word is always moving, always speaking, always working, always tearing down, always creating, always producing something completely new.  And don’t put separation on that list I just gave you.  It’s all one Word and work from One Person.  Jesus does it all at once.

ALL THINGS: If you think your life stinks, then this is good news indeed.  People who are certain they have it all together have difficulty seeing the true need for Christ.  But even those who think their life stinks … usually there’s one or two things that they want to hold onto in all that mess that they think is pretty cool.

He’s going to make those things new, as well.

We like to hedge our bets with scripture, but this means ALL THINGS.  God alone could say the term “all things” and actually include everything.

God doesn’t care how great you think something is, He’s out to make it new.  CS Lewis had a great analogy about how we want God to come into our little cottage and just fix the plumbing or something and be a handyman around the house to make our lives more comfortable.

But that isn’t the God we serve.  God tears down our cozy little cottage, Lewis says, and begins to build a castle.

You can’t have your cottage and His castle, too.

Hence the many scriptures that clearly state you have to give up your very life to have His life.  But don’t be discouraged.  It is a great bargain.  You were going to lose that cottage anyway.

NEW:  When God makes things new, He makes things better than they were before.

Doesn’t seem that way when He starts to tear down our cottage, and can be confusing in the interim stages of His building a castle, can seem pretty messy in fact, but the work He is ultimately about is something far greater than we had before, and usually greater than we can even understand or would have chosen for ourselves.

God’s restoration is never back to how it used to be … or usually how we think it should be.

Adam and Eve messed up in the Garden.  Through Christ, we’ve been given access to something greater than what they had in the Garden.  They were created; we are now of the uncreated seed, our natures born from God Himself through His Spirit.  Through Christ, we are not restored back to the Garden but made heirs of the heavenly Kingdom and sons and daughters of God.

“Watch Me make all things new,” Jesus tells us.  This is something we have experienced and will continue to experience.  Have faith that He is at work for something truly amazing.

Peace.

Nowhere in the scripture do we get a right to be wasteful or luxurious for ourselves.  We aren’t even supposed to “take a thought” for our own needs, much less more than that.

But we are, however, called to lavish love on others.

The gospels repeat the story of how a woman took a very expensive perfume and poured it all out upon the feet of Jesus after washing them clean with her own tears.  This gift cost her something emotionally and financially.

The culture around us, through advertisement and other means, brainwashes us with the right to pamper ourselves, to take time and money and make our own lives more convenient.

As usual, the way of the Kingdom is the complete opposite.

The Bible tells us to consider others as better than ourselves, to have the mind of Christ, who gave up the riches of heaven to be born in a cave and the death on a cross so that others might have the blessings of being children born of God.

The way of the Kingdom tells us to lavish love and luxury on others, on the Body of Christ first and the world second.  Because if we were all thinking of how to comfort others, all would be comforted.  That’s the plan.  And that being God’s design, we are completely comforted and loved within that system.

But the mindset that seeks our own comfort only leads to more desire and discomfort.  Dead people don’t seek their own comfort.

And before you start making the excuse that we can’t live up to the ideal, you’re right.  We can’t.  But the Spirit within us can.  We haven’t been born of God, given His very nature and His Spirit, the riches of Heaven, everything pertaining to life and godliness, and taught the way of righteousness … so we can fail at it all and make excuses.

Within our weakness is His strength, and we are pretty weak … which means He is ready and willing to be strong through you.

And just as the woman lavished everything she had emotionally and financially upon the physical body of Jesus, let us “keep Christmas” all this year by lavishing love upon His Body, the true disciples we have committed our hearts and lives to without reservation, living breathing people, not thinking about our own comfort but how to bless and edify others.

Just as He was blessed two thousand years ago by that woman, He will be blessed today … if not more so.

Peace.

You can’t minister to the Church unless you love her.

That might be a big “duh” statement, but I believe there are many people put into leadership who do not truly love the Church.

This is true because people either don’t know who the Church is (so how can you love something you are ignorant of or have no revelation on?) or they love other things more.

So let’s first discuss the biblical definition of the Church: the assembly of true disciples gathered to corporately love one another as Christ and spread the kingdom of God on the earth.  Within that definition, even, we need to define a true disciple, which I went into great length in this series, but the short version is a person who has submitted his will and left everything of this world to obey the Lordship of Jesus Christ through a life of repentance unto righteousness and holiness through faith, grace, and the empowerment of the Spirit of God.

The Church is the gathering of true disciples and is the only way by which God has designed His revelation, love, and kingdom to be spread upon the Earth.  The only way.

So loving the Church is loving people, but a specific kind of people.  Loving the Church means you have fallen in love with the design of God to reveal Himself through a corporate body of disciples.

To truly minister in the Church, or even be an effective evangelist outside of it, you must love the Church.

But many don’t.  Like I said, some of this may be out of ignorance because they’ve never really seen the Church, but many love to minister more than they love the Church.

Why would they?  Ministry gives you a title, a role, sometimes money and security, a definition, a use for talents or charisma, and can even garner you great acclaim.  But these have nothing to do with ministry in the Church.

You minister to the Church because you love her.  You see who she really is and then your life becomes obsessed and focused on keeping her clean, protected, and challenged to live as she was born to live.  You call her to greatness because you see the greatness she was created to be.  And no one else can do her job … no institution, denomination, organization or government can express Christ.  Only the assembly of people counting one another as better than themselves and spreading the kingdom of love, healing, restoration and regeneration to the world around them.

You would do it without money or acclaim or definition or title.  You would do it for no other reason than that you love her and couldn’t imagine being with anyone else.

And too often we put people through seminaries and all kind of training before we ask the simple question: do you SEE the true Church and do you LOVE her with all your heart?  If the answer is yes to both of those questions, that person is infinitely more qualified than the best trained, educated, and charismatic minister on the planet.

Peace.