Living among the Dead

Luke 24:5
5 And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? (KJV)

Isn't that a meaningful question?  "Why seek ye the living among the dead?"

There are so many people upset about stores (or politicians) not saying, "Merry Christmas", or for some of them not having a manger scene.  The other day I heard on the evening news that a community in Nebraska wasn't "allowed" to put up a Manger scene this year, but the mayor told the courts they would put it up anyway because they had maintained a manger scene for 225 yrs and they wouldn't stop this year no matter what the courts said.
 It's so sad that the world takes umbrage to the baby Jesus or to the cross of Christ - but, after all, this is an end time period for the church. (Unlike other "gods", they're afraid of Christ because there IS power in that Name!)
The above question takes on such meaning, "Why seek ye the living among the dead.' We who are saved and living in the knowledge and favor of God value the manger and the cross. Why? Because our spirits have been converted...and now, we are the living! We have had a Romans 12:2 experience. We are not conformed to this world, but have been transformed. In that transformation our thoughts and hearts have been regenerated to greater and better graces than our common neighbors.
We are the living, standing among the dead.  The life and light of Christ dwells in us.  Yet, we live in a world that is dead and filled with darkness. When we expect the world to hold dearly to Christmas or to Easter or to a Holy time along with us, we are really seeking the 'living among the dead'.  It just isn't there! And it won't be until the "light of the world"....Jesus....illuminates them and the dead become living! That's our job - to tell them about "The Way, The Truth, and The LIFE"..the Child born in a manger, crucified on a cross and risen from the grave!  Merry CHRISTmas.

One Title

It is a sacred time of year.  So powerful is Christmas that the world is drawn into the sense of the season. Of course the world acts differently than the church does because they are not celebrating the season for its' deeper spiritual meaning, but still, they do celebrate it and are pulled into its sense of awe. I believe there is a spiritual synergy around Christmas time that even wicked devils can't stop. It's as though there were two entirely different meanings (and that might be true to all of us this side of heaven) but to God there is only one meaning.
  There is only one virgin birth for the redemption of mankind.  There is only one time the Magi will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and present their personal gifts.  There was only one star over Bethlehem and only one star leading those Wise men who followed it.  Only one time did the shepherds leave their flocks and have the angels babysit their sheep. It will never happen again that the angels would sing over the manger.  There is only one Prince of Peace who wears a crown fitted for His majestic head.  There is only one Kingdom which has no end. There has never been and there will never be another messenger speak to Joseph about his only love being with child, even though never touched by any man.  Only one time did God leave heaven and enter human flesh for the one and only sacrifice that had to be shed for mankind.  Jesus is the only lamb slain to break the curse of sin and death. There was no other hand that held that horrible cup of suffering that this little baby had to endure to fulfill His once-only mission. There was only one time when the great 'I AM' turned His face from His only Son. And, as all of this has been done, there is only one title for that one and only Savior and it is: 'King of Kings and Lord of Lords,' and He shall reign for one time and one time only, 'forever and ever.'

Christmas Absence

Karen and I enjoyed the recent warm spell last week (even getting a bike ride in!)  We left the bedroom window slightly open while we slept, but what a difference it was from those high energy evenings of summer. In the summer the crickets play their ochestra of active legs, the birds sing till late night, the trees are full of leaves singing that so familiar rustling song as the night wind blows through them.  Summer nights are full of life, but in the winter there is no noise. Its absence is so evident.
The Bible has a truth somewhat like our winter and summer night sounds. There are some things obviously missing and boy can you tell it.  I think of the angel Gabriel. Have you ever noticed that we've had no further encounters with this awsome message carrying angel? His absence tell us that there is something greater.  Mary and Joseph needed the angel to give them their message for direction, but for us today, we have everything we need in Christ and His provision for us.  The absence of Gabriel reminds us that now we have the totally fulfilled word in Christ and through the Holy Spirit.  We don't need the angel today.
Think about Moses.  God said He would send a deliverer...well Moses certainly would be a great guy for that.  He parted the sea, brought all those plagues to humble a nation, got water out of a rock more than once, destroyed the finest Army, tamed a desert, got God to send manna and quail, and he spent 40 days with God face to face. Man, the guy had a great resume. But Moses' time passed away.  His absense is a sign that there is something greater.
Then there's Elijah, the greatest of prophets. He stopped the rain over Israel for 3 yrs, called fire down from heaven,  destroyed hundreds of idol priests, was fed by ravens and prophesed the demise of a King and his wife Jezebeel.  He raised a child from the dead, made oil to never run out, even after filling container after container, which assured a faithful prophet's wife of financial security and sustenance. Wouldn't he be the perfect person to be the deliverer?
Yet God allowed these powerful men of faith to pass thru history.
But think about it reader...would you rather have the law, or the love shone mankind through Jesus?  The sight of Mt. Sinai is nothing but despair, God was revealed in flaming fire and bellowing thunders, but what was there to save the soul? Sinai brought judgment, vengence and punishment to the sinner..and will never surpass Calvary! Think of Elijah.  He prayed and the false prophets were destroyed, but which of us would prefer a slayer of priests to the Savior of men?

You know, there are people who prefer the Moses and Elijah types.  These people are like the people that Elijah exhorted, "If the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him,"...they are stuck between a man and Jesus our Savior, still not able to clearly distinguish who to follow. I would like to remind you that there never was a door of salvation to enter into with Elijah. And Moses could part the sea only with the help of God.....they, and many like them, passed away because there was somone greater...Jesus.  Merry Christmas. 

Thanksgiving...at least for us!

Heb 13:3 Don't forget about those in prison. Suffer with them as though you were there yourself. Share the sorrow of those being mistreated, as though you feel their pain in your own bodies.  (NLT)

It's such a joyous time for those of us in America this week.  We share such a bounty with our families and friends that it's sometimes hard to talk about difficult or sad things.  In the middle of the turkey and stuffing and the pleasantries of this wonderful thanksgiving I am still going to  throw a bit of a wrench to keep things in perspective. This week, I got my Voice of the Martyrs calender and it reminded me that we have so much to be thankful for here. 

There is tremendous suffering going on in the world for many people of our faith.  February has a family thrown out of their home for their faith, March shows a young women reading an illegal Bible to her children.  May is so brutal because it shows a young women who suffered severe burns on 40% of her body and face because she wanted to worship Jesus. July tells of a terrified Christian family who was forced to flee their burning neighborhood in Pakistan.  Muslims burned 57 homes in a Christian colony there. (And we are opening the doors for this faith here like they are bring heaps of love and pounds of goodness.) 

I think most of you get the picture that I am trying to paint.  Tim Tebow, a Jesus-loving quarterback for the Denver Bronco's, is always tormented by the "worldly others" because he talks about Christ with such affection and warmth. There is so much to be thankful for if you are at peace right now - wherever you are.  This Thursday, remember that in a world context, we are the very few who really enjoy religious freedom.  There is a reason for that, I think it is called 'the founding fathers.' You know the ones who got the whole thanksgiving thing going in the first place.

sticks

I King 17:10

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.  (KJV) When Elijah came to this little town, the home of a Gentile women, there was no reason to even imagine that it would become the site of one of his great miracles.  When he came through the gate, the woman was out gathering sticks in order to prepare a dinner for herself and her son. It would be a humble dinner and possibly their last dinner together because of the famine.  All she needed was some kindling and sticks for the fire.  Without those sticks there could be no fire, no last meal, no warmth, or light to enjoy some last simple comforts. She had to have those sticks. The fire and the sticks made everything else happen: dinner, heat, light, cooking.

Aren't we like the sticks this woman at Zarepath was gathering off the ground? In life we grow and become more proficient in things. We learn and acquire more talents and skills. These talents and gifts become our sticks.  Then God comes into our life and finds us out working and doing things of self interest in the world. To Him and His purposes, we are just laying around outside the gates of life. He comes along like the women and gathers us up for His purpose, wanting to use our talents - our sticks.  Just like her sticks are no good without the purpose of the fire, warmth, cooking or heat, so it is with us,  God comes along and begins to pick us up, take our talents and skills - our sticks - and puts the fire of the Holy Ghost in us and we begin to burn for Him and His purposes.  We become kingdom workers, evangelists, preachers, servants, lovers of God and are used by God to get something done.  Go burn bright for Him!

Spiritual Visions....when alone!

"This left Jacob all alone in the camp, and a man came and wrestled with him until the dawn." Gen. 32:22-24 NLT
Jacob was all by himself.  Alone to the world, alone in his fears, alone to family, alone to his thoughts.  It was at this time of being alone that we find such an engaging situation with God; a time when God revealed himself to Jacob.
When Jesus took three disciples up onto the mountain they were....alone, (What was that word again?) it was in this time that He brought them into close communion with Himself.  The disciples 'saw His glory'(Lu 9:32-33), and in Jacob's case, he wrestled with God.  When did all this happen? When they were alone.
Ok, lets do more. Peter is in Joppa, he goes up to the roof top, alone, and God appears to him. One time Jesus took the disciples to Mt Herman but most of the time He spent time with them on those sacred slopes of Mt Olives, "alone together".  Daniel had his "alone time" with God as he kneeled and prayed toward the East in his room amid the wicked living of idolatrous Babylon. Martin Luther found an "upper room" in Witternberg, a place that is still considered a sacred place today. The Apostle Paul found his upper room experience on the Street called Straight in Damascus. Ananias was in his place of meditation, alone, when the Lord visited him and told him to go take care of Paul and release him from his blindness.
In the book, "Streams in the Desert' Nov. 8th there is a reference to a man named Joseph Parker, who was an English Congregational preacher of the nineteenth century. He said "If we, as the church, do not get back to spiritual visions glimpses of heaven, and an awareness of a greater glory and life, we will lose our faith.  Our altar will become nothing but cold, empty stone, never blessed with a visit from heaven." And this is the world's need today-people who have seen their Lord.
I want to urge all my bloggers and all my friends that we must seek a place to come close to God. Maybe He will take you to a mountaintop, or the rooftop, a sunroom, or perhaps by the fireplace, a porch can work and so does the kitchen table - they become our 'upper room'. He took Peter who was stubborn, James and John who were the 'sons of thunder, he met Jacob who was deceitful, a treacherous Jew named Paul.
There is no reason why He will not take you.  They became available because they were in a spot where they were alone and they could hear him.  Find your alone place....and find Him.

Can you do this?

I want us to really be honest with ourselves today.  I'm going to ask you to open up and allow the Lord to point out anything that might be hurtful or dangerous to your life.  We're going to dig into the issue of unforgiveness. 

Before we do, tho, I want to establish the baseline of God’s expectations. As Christians, we're given a high standard when it comes to relationships. Romans 12:18 (NLT) reveals God’s mandate, “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.”

Live in peace with EVERYONE? Gee, that doesn't give us much wiggle room.

There is no disclaimer, no exception clause, no loophole, and no escape hatch.  I am to do everything possible to live in peace with everyone. 

One day, Peter, that impetuous disciple, engaged Jesus in a conversation around the topic of forgiveness.  He wanted to know where the boundary is.  When has he met his obligation for mercy and forgiveness?  So, he point-blank asks Jesus, “How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Now, Peter thinks he is being super-spiritual and going way past the call of duty to even suggest seven times.)

Jesus, the teacher that He is, comes right back at him with a shocking response, “not seven times, Peter, but seventy times seven.” And, then He launches into a story of timeless relevance about forgiveness.  

But for us today I want to put it in a 21^st century context. Here we have the

story of a huge, multi-billion dollar corporation.  One day the CEO, a very powerful and shrewd businessman gets a memo from the accounting department.  One of their vendors has run up an enormous debt. The CEO wants to know why this wasn’t discovered earlier.  Being the no-nonsense businessman that he is, he wants a meeting with this vendor, like yesterday! When the vendor gets word that the CEO has demanded a meeting, his heart sinks. He panics.  What is he going to do? He doesn’t have a chance of even being able to pay back a fraction of the debt.  He owes bu-ku bucks and his only chance is to plead for mercy.  But CEO’s like this one don’t get where they are by showing mercy. Anyway, he goes to corporate where he is ushered into the big man’s office.  He is immediately handed a folder detailing the run-up of his debt.  The CEO lets him know that this note is due in full....NOW! No more messing around, no more cat and mousing, no more arrears, he wants it.....Today! Immediately!

The big boss man also lets him know that they plan to come after him with the full force of the law.  They will seize all of his assets, liquidate his property and possessions. They will take him to the cleaners to recover as much as possible.  And, then they will prosecute and have him sentenced to prison.

In desperation, the man falls on his knees before this powerful, corporate CEO and he begs for mercy, for more time.  He promises to pay back every dime.  And, then, the unthinkable, the unimaginable, the unbelieveable happens. The Big Cheese is moved with unexpected kindness.  And in a moment of unbelievable compassion, he takes the file and tears up the debt.  He doesn’t grant him more time, he grants him a complete pardon.  I ask you....isn’t that wonderful.  Yeah, your breathing easier and your smiling uncontrollably, Ok enough....You can stop clapping and sit down.

As the debtor walks away from the office, tears are streaming down his face. The stranglehold of his debt has been released. He has a new lease on life and he can start to make plans again.

But the story isn’t over. As he stops to get gas on the way home, he bumps into a client who has been avoiding him because he owes a few hundred dollars and hasn’t paid him back.  So, that sense of relief and freedom of his canceled debt vanish and give way to resentment and anger.  So, with a sense of righteous indignation he demands immediate pay back of the few hundred dollars. And, he demands it now!  The client, caught off guard, begins to beg for more time and promises that he will pay back every dime.  Sound familiar? This guy will hear none of it.  He presses charges and has the client thrown in jail.

 Now, that story sparks a sense of outrage in us.  How could a man who had been forgiven so much not forgive someone who owes him so little? From this powerful story, I want to remind all of us that we enjoy two very powerful realities in our Christian faith. 

First, we have been released from God’s judgment and

Secondly, we are to release others from our judgment.  Someone has to break the cycle. Someone has to have the courage to say enough. All we are gaining is bitterness toward each other.  It is time for some of you to say ‘ENOUGH.” To utter the words “I forgive you, I release you from my judgment.”

"To forgive is to set a prisoner free, and discover the prisoner was you!"